## Chapter 869 – Murder Instigation: Kim Katt

I arrived at the drill grounds with the students who had followed me.

It was morning, so it was empty. I found a suitable spot and stood there. The students seemed used to this, immediately planting a flag on the ground and arranging themselves neatly behind it.

“Paladin Professor’s swordsmanship lecture is about to begin!”
“Uwooooooooh!”
“Hooray!”

The students roared.

I briefly wondered if it was okay to use the drill grounds like this, but I figured nothing major would happen. They wouldn’t punish me for this, would they? Besides, the students were supporting me.

Who would stop me?!

“Students!!! We must develop the strength to protect ourselves from evil beings! And furthermore, to protect this Kingdom of Karga!!!!”

Still, I needed to sprinkle in the justification of benefiting the kingdom, just in case someone brought it up later.

“That’s right!”
“Long live the Kingdom of Karga!”
“Long live Verde!”

As I spun Vigal around, preparing to start the combat lecture, students besides those already gathered swarmed in from all directions like a disturbed beehive.

—Tutatatatat!

“Seniors!! This way!!! Paladin Professor is giving a swordsmanship lecture in person!”
“What!! Really?!”
“It’s true!! Over there!!! He’s over there!”
“Ooh!!! Looks like it’s true!”
“Hurry!”
“Seniors, we have to go quickly!”
“Paladin’s swordsmanship lecture!”

The loudest voices belonged to the knight academy students. They said they were going to call the upperclassmen, and it seemed they all came. This wasn’t a common opportunity.

“Kiyoooooooh!”
“It’s over there!”
“That way!! We have to hurry!”

Of course, it wasn’t just the knight academy students; regular students were also rushing over. This guerrilla lecture was getting an extremely enthusiastic response.

All these kids wanted my swordsmanship.

But the truth was, swordsmanship wasn’t that important to the academy students in general. Only the knight academy students aiming to join the Royal Knights considered it important. But judging by the crowd, almost half the entire student body had come to hear my lecture.

Kids liked useless things more than studying, after all.

What would help them in their future wasn’t swordsmanship but something like public administration or business management. Nevertheless, these kids were enthusiastic about swordsmanship. Well, that’s just how kids are. And besides, it wasn’t just swordsmanship; they were also enthusiastic about my reputation.

I was a star.

More than anything, having something fun to do was more enjoyable than boring classes. The students were thirsty for entertainment.

“Uwaaaaaaaaah!”

Still, the most excited were the knight academy students. These kids had truly set their sights on becoming combatants, joining the Royal Knights.

They had to bet their lives on it.

A swordsmanship lecture from the Paladin who even defeated a Great Demon?
It was a stroke of luck.

“Where is Paladin Professor?!”
“No way, even the swordsmanship instructors?!”
“All the upperclassmen are here too!”

Perhaps that was why not only the upperclassmen but even a swordsmanship instructor came running in a flurry. But an instructor? I thought they’d tell me it was inappropriate to hold a lecture here, but the instructor also found a spot and stood there.

Was the instructor just here to watch?

Even though they had retired and become an instructor, they hadn’t lost their interest in swordsmanship.

“Where is it! Here?”
“Kyaaaaaaaak!! It’s really Paladin Professor!!!”
“So cool!!!”
“Take off your shirt!”
“Take off your shirt! Take off your shirt! Take off your shirt!”

It wasn’t just the male students who were going wild. A group of female students in robes appeared from somewhere and started chanting that slogan like crazy.

No, take off my shirt… This wasn’t a martial arts tournament. I couldn’t show my bare body to the kids. Still, it was good. This kind of atmosphere was enough.

—Cheok.

I waited for the students to surround me, then raised my sword high at the right moment.

—Silence.

Instantly, silence fell.

It was a great situation for creating a spectacle. As the winner of the martial arts tournament, I was an idol to these students. Then I would show them my true worth right here!!

—Tsupapapapat!

As soon as I concentrated, fierce sword energy rose along the blade and burned like flames. Inhuman skill poured out from the increased mana! Those who could manifest sword energy like this were rare!

“Heok!”
“Sword Aura!”
“That Sword Aura that even many members of the Royal Knights can’t use!”
“It’s real Sword Aura!!!!”
“A true master!”

All the students admired the sight and applauded.

—Tsut!
—Paaht!

In that state, I performed a simple sword dance. Slicing through the air, stepping efficiently, and slashing in all directions. In between, I showed off unnecessary but cool acrobatic jumps and continuous rotations, dominating the space.

“Heok…!”
“That level of movement…!”
“If that kind of movement is possible, how efficiently could one fight in an actual battle!”

The students admired seriously.

In fact, this kind of deformed movement wasn’t very useful in combat. But what if you could freely do even this kind of deformed movement? That meant you were a master who could freely control your body, and if that was the case, you could respond to any situation.

The reason I was obsessed with unnecessary jump rotations was precisely that. A strong warrior was strong because they could do even that.

“An amazing level of sword dance…!”
“It’s the same as the martial arts tournament! I saw it myself!! That overwhelming power!”
“So strong!”

I had shown them enough of my skills.

—Cheok.

I immediately stopped the sword dance and extinguished the sword energy.

—…

Silence.

“Strong demons!!!”

I shouted to the students who had become quiet.

“Use a power similar to Sword Aura, just like I showed you just now!”

A shocking fact.

“Wh-What! Is that true!”
“What!”
“Demons use Aura?!”

The students tore at their hair and freaked out, as if they didn’t know at all.

I had fought demons many times, and I had seen them use black power to cover their weapons and bodies with dark auras. Its power was by no means a joke. Even I had to give it my all.

It was a power that could sufficiently compete with sword energy.

“It’s the truth! I know because I’ve fought them many times! That’s why it’s difficult to fight those demons head-on!!!”

If you didn’t know that and faced them, you would definitely bleed. Beyond losing your weapon, there was a high probability of losing your life. That aura could even destroy weapons.

“Then how!”
“How do we kill demons!”
“There aren’t many people who can use Sword Aura!”

I said to the students who were wailing.

“Acknowledge the difference in power! Demons are as strong as their reputation! This is reality! Demons are so strong that they can commit such massacres!”

Demons are strong.

“So gang up on them!! If you’re in a one-on-one situation, run away! You must always stick together and surround them before hunting carefully! Demons often travel alone!! Unite to live, scatter to die!!”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”

Generally, demons are few in number, so you should naturally gang up on them. That was the safest and best way. You couldn’t expect to have a good outcome by facing enemies who used sword energy-like powers head-on.

“Resist the temptations of demons, and be wary of corruption! Above all, avoid head-on fights!! You must know this! Demons are infiltrating!!!”

As a professor, I had to tell this to the students who were angry at the demons.

The current world was unstable.

The Great Demons might tear through the boundaries of dimensions and invade from Pandemonium at any time. Now was just a prelude, but they would definitely start invading in earnest within a few years.

When that time came, my lecture today would save many people.

—I wasn’t joking.

Once I started, I acted with a sense of duty.

This was my duty. To save more people from demons, I taught the academy students everything I knew. If the children, who were the future of the kingdom, received my education and spread throughout the country?

The number of people who could respond to demons would increase.

This was that kind of lecture.
We had to prepare for the future.

“I-I see!”
“Be careful of temptations… and aim for the advantage of numbers!”

The students agreed.

“Here, let’s show our students the gap between us and the demons! I’ll gather volunteers to challenge me! Five volunteers! Come out here!!”

I said immediately.

“A-Are we fighting the professor directly?”
“That’s right!! There’s nothing better than this to directly show you the dangers of those demons!”
“I-I’ll do it!”
“I’ll do it!”
“Me!”

—Urooru!

Instantly, students who seemed quite skilled gathered. I immediately stuck Vigal into the ground and had the volunteer students draw their swords.

“I won’t use a sword, so all of you attack me at the same time!”
“I-Is that alright!”

When I nodded, the five students with swords rushed at me at once.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
“Please accept my sword!”
“I’ll do my best!!”

Of course, the combat power of students who weren’t professional warriors wasn’t up to my standards. I immediately kicked off the ground and used my gauntlet-clad bare hands to knock away the students’ swords, grab their wrists, throw them down, and quickly subdue them.

“Keuheuk!”
“As expected of Paladin…!”
“We’re no match!”

It was very simple.

“Look at this sight of being trampled by one strong person! A strong demon can do this kind of thing casually!!”

The other students who had become spectators covered their mouths with their hands and admired.

I shouted at them as if brainwashing them.

“That’s why there’s the power of friendship!!”

The power of friendship.

“Friendship…?”
“The power of friendship?”

The students tilted their heads for a moment, and I continued to shout.

“Friendship with your comrades! You need friends and comrades you can trust and rely on!! To defeat demons, you need love that doesn’t succumb to corruption and strong friendship! Look at the faces of the friends next to you right now!! Your friendship with them will save you someday!!”

Friendship is as powerful as love.

“Even if you gang up, if you have the power of friendship, its power will be amplified even more! So make reliable comrades and cherish your friendship with your friends!!”
“T-That’s right…! The power of friendship!”
“Friendship is the strongest power!!!”
“Friendship!!!”

The students began to realize.

“Everyone! Shout it together! The power of friendship!”

I injected fighting spirit into the students who were moved.

“The power of friendship!”
“The power of friendship!”
“The power of friendship!”

A roar erupted.

“Good… Keuheuk! I learned something good!”
“We might have been neglecting friendship until now!”
“To defeat demons, we have to cherish friendship!”
“People shouldn’t fight each other! Our enemies are those evil beings!”
“If we gather the power of friendship, we can make the Kingdom of Karga even stronger!!”

The moved students shed tears.

I had educated them about the information and threat level of demons, so finishing with a heartwarming lesson would make it even more memorable.

The students, moved by my lesson, nodded with tears in their eyes and picked up the flags they had planted, raising them high.

“Paladin Professor, hooray!!”
“Long live the Kingdom of Karga!!”
“Long live Verde!!”
“Defeat the demons!!”

An extremely touching sight.

“You guys are really…!”

I clapped and shouted.

“Wonderful and righteous students!!!!”

Looking at it long-term, creating this mess would definitely be helpful. If the second-generation nobles who knew my reputation and received my education spread throughout the country, it would ultimately benefit me.