Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 286: Assault on the Secret Branch (1)
Ludger, having launched an assault on the Liberation Army’s secret branch, immediately scanned his surroundings.
Though the shabby building appeared deserted, dozens of people were huddled together deeper inside.
All of them were armed with firearms and were on the verge of descending into a hidden underground tunnel, the door already open.
Had Ludger arrived only a few minutes later, the Liberation Army would have already dispersed in all directions through the burrowed underground escape routes.
“A whole damn swarm. Packed together like cockroaches. Disgusting bastards.”
Ludger spoke with contempt as he focused his gaze squarely on Karl.
The others still looked dazed and panicked by the surprise attack, but not Karl.
He clearly recognized Ludger.
That reaction, so different from the rest of the rabble, marked him as either the person in charge of this branch—or at the very least, someone of considerable ability.
If that was the case—
“It’s you.”
This was undoubtedly the man who had threatened Leo.
“......!”
As Ludger’s gaze narrowed with sharp precision, Karl’s lips quivered.
Still unable to grasp the full extent of the situation, he roared at his subordinates.
“What the hell are you doing?! We’re under attack!”
Only then did the Liberation Army come to their senses, gripping their weapons and aiming them at Ludger.
From sawed-off shotguns to pistols and automatic rifles.
Weapons that would make anyone freeze on the spot—but not Ludger.
As if he had anticipated this, he triggered a spell using preloaded mana.
Watching it, Karl inwardly sneered with delight.
‘Idiot! “Silence of Fire” won’t work here!’
The gunpowder they used was a special blend immune to that spell.
And Ludger, ignorant of that, was placing all his trust in “Silence of Fire”—how laughable was that?
“Fire!”
Naturally, Karl didn’t feel the need to wait for the spell to complete before issuing the order.
Triggers were pulled, primers ignited, and bullets fired toward Ludger.
This was the moment when firearms—once cowed before mages—finally saw their day.
But it lasted barely an instant.
Tt-tt-tt-ting!
The bullets, flying through the air, rebounded as if they had struck an invisible wall.
Karl’s eyes bulged.
The magic Ludger had used wasn’t “Silence of Fire.”
He had deployed a physical mana barrier for defense.
“H-How?”
Karl knew full well—
Just how arrogant mages were.
Most of them cared only about efficiency.
That’s why, when facing firearms, mages typically relied on “Silence of Fire” rather than a proper defense spell.
It used less mana and activated faster.
But Ludger didn’t do that.
Not because he disregarded efficiency.
He had known.
‘He knew that our bullets would fire ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) even under “Silence of Fire”?!’
Ludger was aware of the special gunpowder they used.
Otherwise, how could he have stood there so calm and unshaken when bullets were being fired at him?
Did Leo tell him? No way. Even Leo hadn’t known that detail.
“You look like you’re wondering why I used a mana barrier. You really thought I wouldn’t see through your petty tricks?”
At Ludger’s haughty words, Karl gritted his teeth.
“Shoot him! Overwhelm him with sheer volume!”
The plan had already been exposed. This branch was a lost cause.
All Karl could do now was pray the other branches would succeed.
Which meant the only thing left for him—
Was to kill the man before him, no matter the cost.
Ta-ta-ta-tang!
Weapons in the hands of the Liberation Army erupted with fire.
Ludger watched calmly—then snapped his fingers.
Mana surged outward.
But Ludger’s mana didn’t carve extravagant sigils into the air.
It simply drew a single straight line through the air—like a flash of light.
And yet—
The spell activated.
Translucent mana plates materialized in midair.
Dozens of plates appeared diagonally near the muzzles of the guns, effortlessly deflecting the incoming bullets.
Puh-puh-puh-puh!
The mana plates scattered throughout the room caused bullets to ricochet wildly.
Each deflected bullet struck another plate, changing trajectory again.
And again, and again.
Until finally—every rebounded bullet rained back down on the Liberation Army.
“Uwaaagh!”
“Kugh!”
Their own bullets turned against them, and the Liberation Army was thrown into chaos.
Only Karl, untouched by the storm of ricochets, widened his eyes in disbelief.
At a glance, it looked like Ludger had just summoned mana plates in midair—simple, basic magic.
But Karl could tell.
The magic Ludger had just demonstrated was a composite of multiple complex spells.
He had used [Source Code] to calculate the spell rapidly, and [Coordinate Designation Magic] to summon the plates in specific locations.
Not stopping there, he used [Enhancement] to make the plates strong enough to resist bullets, angled them just right to deflect them—
And as the bullets bounced, the mana imbued within the plates appeared to reinforce the bullets with magic.
That alone would be impressive.
But Ludger had gone further, adjusting the angles so precisely that each bullet rebounded perfectly back toward the shooter.
‘This is insane! That would be impossible without knowing the exact position and angle of every muzzle and bullet trajectory!’
And the time from Ludger's entrance to their counterattack hadn't been long at all.
In that brief span, Ludger had calculated all of that—and made this scene unfold.
‘He’s a monster!’
No matter how capable Seorn instructors were, this couldn’t be something achievable in real combat.
Even if Ludger had military experience, he was only ever a commissioned officer—and for a short time.
Not even a veteran War Mage with 20 years of frontline service would attempt something like this.
Because it simply wouldn’t succeed.
And yet, Ludger had done it.
‘Unbelievable—but it’s happening right in front of me!’
Grinding his teeth, Karl immediately hurled a bomb.
If bullets didn’t work, he’d obliterate him with blast force and flames.
KWA-AANG!
With a deafening blast, searing heat roared outward.
Even then, Karl didn’t turn his eyes to confirm Ludger’s fate.
But that’s why—
He saw it.
Fwoooosh──!!
The crimson fire, expanding violently, suddenly stopped—and then began spiraling inward, being sucked into a single point.
“Wh-What the hell...”
Karl’s voice trembled.
What had absorbed the flames was a red gemstone resting on Ludger’s open palm.
“A gem that absorbs fire?!”
Faced with the sight before him, Karl found it impossible to accept.
Even if it was some legendary artifact, this would be absurd—but this gem had no special embellishment.
And yet it absorbed flame.
Ludger, meanwhile, placed the gem—left behind by Quasimodo after death—back into his pocket, recalling its function.
‘It doesn’t block artificial magical flame, but it handles real fire just fine.’
The red gem still shimmered faintly, as if hungry for more fire, but Ludger ignored it.
What was now certain—
Was that bombs using their special gunpowder were utterly useless against him.
He was completely immune to firearm-based attacks.
To the Liberation Army—who prided themselves on using enhanced firearms and special explosives—Ludger was nothing short of a nightmare.
“W-Wait! If you kill me now, I can’t guarantee the hostage’s safety!”
Karl quickly reevaluated and shouted toward Ludger.
“Leo must have told you everything, right?! But maybe you’ve forgotten—his family is still in our hands!”
“Not quite. You’re only keeping watch over them.”
“That watcher isn’t just some ordinary guy! He’s a knight—one of the best swordsmen alive! Do you really think a mage like you can save the hostage from a knight? No, you wouldn’t even reach them in time!”
“No need.”
“What?”
“I sent someone else. Someone who can use a sword better than anyone.”
Karl’s jaw dropped and didn’t close again. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
* * *
Fyren was a knight who didn’t hesitate to kill if the money was good.
Though he possessed the skills of a formal knight, he had been expelled from the order and now wandered the world as a rogue.
Assassinations, mercenary work, human trafficking—
He handled dirty jobs in the underworld and naturally fell in with the Liberation Army.
And now—
Fyren was tailing a mother and daughter silently, carefully keeping his distance so as not to be detected.
This was the mission assigned to him.
The woman and child were family of an intelligence agent the Liberation Army had designated for special observation.
Once the signal was given, Fyren was to kill them.
It was a cruel task—murdering innocents with no ties to the Liberation Army.
But Fyren accepted it without hesitation.
‘Killing is the best. Especially when the target’s a woman.’
That mother and daughter had no idea Fyren was following them. They were completely unaware of the danger they were in.
Even if they had known, it wouldn’t have mattered.
In fact, Fyren would’ve preferred it.
Because then, he could’ve enjoyed watching them break down in fear.
‘Hope the signal comes soon.’
Having done nothing but tail them for weeks, the anticipation was driving him mad with itchiness.
But his seasoned instincts told him the long-awaited moment was approaching.
‘Hm?’
Just then—
The two women, who had been about to buy fruit from a street vendor, suddenly darted into a side alley, taking advantage of a brief lapse in Fyren’s watch.
“Heh.”
Fyren let out a low chuckle.
Because of his sunken cheeks and protruding cheekbones, the resulting smile looked grotesque.
“What, so you were aware of me? Guess you’re not as clueless as I thought. Pretty sharp, too.”
But this was a mistake on their part.
Had they just pretended not to notice him, he wouldn’t have had a pretext to touch them.
“Running away like that is basically begging me to come catch you.”
Now he could kill them without a signal. He’d just say they ran and left him no choice.
Smirking, Fyren followed the path into the alley where Leo’s sister and mother had vanished.
For ordinary people like them, no amount of running would allow them to escape a knight.
“Whiiistle~.”
It didn’t even take five minutes before he found them standing at a dead-end.
The two of them trembled at the sight of him.
“You ran straight into a deserted dead-end? Come on, now. That just makes it better for me, doesn’t it?”
Fyren licked his lips with his tongue.
The repulsive sight made the women freeze in horror—
When suddenly:
“Yeah. Desolate alleys like this... work out just fine for me.”
“......!”
A voice rang out from behind.
Fyren instantly whipped out a dagger from his waist and slashed toward the source like lightning.
Thunk!
The blade, aimed precisely at the neck, was blocked midway.
The man who spoke had calmly grabbed Fyren’s wrist.
‘He caught it?!’
Sure, it wasn’t a full-powered swing—but for it to be stopped this easily?
Still, Fyren was a pro at this sort of thing. Without missing a beat, he drew a second dagger with his offhand and slashed for the man’s wrist.
Only then did the intruder release his grip—and not just that. He immediately counterattacked.
Fyren barely jumped back in time, glaring at the interloper.
“Who the hell are you?”
The man was a blond pretty boy.
He looked so gentle that it was hard to believe he’d just deflected an attack—his golden hair was tied at the nape, making him look more like a scribe than a fighter.
But Fyren could tell.
‘That man’s a knight. Just like me.’
A knight who preferred pragmatic combat over honorable duels.
The fact that he hadn’t sensed the man’s presence until now confirmed the intruder’s skill.
As Fyren stayed on guard, Passius approached Leo’s family and checked on them.
“Are you two alright?”
“Y-Yes, we’re okay.”
“Good. I’m glad I wasn’t too late.”
Passius smiled gently, then turned back toward Fyren.
Fyren let out a derisive laugh.
“Heh. So you came to save them? Damn. Looks like Karl screwed up and got himself caught.”
Shaking his head, Fyren readjusted his grip on the daggers in both hands.
Shhhk.
A bluish aura began to glow along the blades, extending their reach.
Fyren gave them a light swing.
Slice.
A pipe running along the alley wall was neatly severed in one clean motion.
“You’re a knight too, huh? Tough luck. You should’ve killed me while you had the chance.”
Fyren noticed something—Passius wasn’t holding anything.
No sword at his waist. No hidden weapons.
Completely unarmed.
He could tell the guy was competent, but without a weapon, there was nothing to fear.
Even for a superhuman knight, a duel between equals always hinged on weapons.
‘Still, no getting cocky. He did catch my blade effortlessly just now. He’s no amateur.’
Fyren inhaled calmly, bouncing slightly on his feet—
Then launched himself forward like a bullet.
He moved so fast, it created the illusion that his body stretched through the air.
Stopping just short of Passius’s nose, Fyren swung both daggers in a blur.
“Die!”
One blade came from the left, aimed at the neck. The other from the right, targeting the chest.
But Passius simply stepped back—just two steps—and dodged it all effortlessly.
Fyren had slashed nothing but air.
‘Fine. Let’s see you dodge this!’
His arm muscles twitched as he poured energy into them.
Cha-cha-cha-cha-chak!
Fyren’s hands moved at blinding speed, painting the air with countless arcs of aura.
The deadly trails all converged on Passius.
The swirling blue light engulfing him looked like a massive azure shark about to devour its prey.
“Look out!”
Leo’s younger sister shouted from behind—but this time, Passius didn’t retreat.
Instead, he calmly stepped forward.
What he did was simple.
He raised his right hand in a karate-like chop and swung it lightly across.
Crackkkkk───!
All of Fyren’s sword aura—dozens of lines—shattered instantly, scattering into glowing blue fragments.
The pure-white aura on Passius’s hand didn’t stop there. It passed through the broken shards and struck Fyren’s body.
CRACK-BOOM!
A massive gash tore through the alley wall.
The shockwave continued, streaking down the alley far behind Fyren.
“Wh-What the...”
Fyren looked down at the strange sensation in his chest.
A thin red line was forming across his torso, tracing the arc of Passius’s hand.
As Fyren stared in disbelief, Passius finally spoke.
“There’s no particular reason I didn’t kill you when I had the chance.”
He casually shook off his spotless hand.
The white aura at his fingertips dissipated like mist.
“Because a chance like that? I can make one whenever I feel like it.”
This was the power of a knight who had surpassed the upper ranks—
One who had reached the level of a master.
