Chapter 123.1


    If there were a cold wind in this world, today would be the first.


    Under the autumn sky, where the cold winds rage, I stood in the grasnd, observing the divided positions of east and west.


    Commanding the eastern forces is Kurtos Norbert Pesim.


    He is the heir to the Pesim barony and tends to be overconfident, but among the third year, he stands out as the best.


    And themander of the west is Lambert Alois Ketten.


    He is the third son of a baronial family, excelling in individual skills, leadership, and judgment, ranking top among the third years.


    Excluding loyal subjects like Felix and oddballs like me, there’s no one among the upperssmen who surpasses him.


    The joint exercise involving second years—who will emerge victorious in the first battle?


    Both camps, along with the senior students acting as judges, take their positions.As the battle drum sounds in the central tent, both sides spring into action.


    Following the standard strategy, the Kurtos squad sends out a mobile unit in advance.


    In contrast, the Lambert squad’s movements seemed somewhat sluggish.


    Moreover, they seem to be nning to confront the enemy without reorganizing their squad.


    As I watch, Kamar and Neji from the Kurtos squad rush past me.


    “Judges, thank you for your hard work!”


    “You guys do your best too!”


    I reply to the two with a rxed response.


    Then, as I see the mobile unit led by Kurtos set off, a nearby upperssman signals me with his eyes.


    Well then, time to get to work.


    I chase after the mobile unit and head toward Lambert’s position.


    Picking up speed, I overtake the mobile unit, and Kamar and the others ahead look back, confused.


    Since the Lambert squad abandoned the battlefield capture, they seem to have advanced more than anticipated.


    Having boldly prated deep into enemy territory, Kamar and Neji turn back and join the rear mobile unit.


    They’ve wasted their stamina.


    The two avoided istion, but the mobile unit is still protruding.


    As they make contact with the steadily advancing Lambert squad, the mobile unit entersbat.


    The messenger from the Kurtos squad arriveste, issuing orders to retreat and join the front lines.


    They arepletely on the back foot.


    Despite their important role, the messenger is slower than the mobile unit.


    This is likely due to their reluctance to weaken their forces by assigning nonbatants.


    Moreover, even if the messenger is slow, if they could have anticipated Lambert abandoning the battlefield capture, they could have directed Kamar and the others to the next best strategy.


    They probably couldn’t read the situation.


    Elphimia is the judge, and Elliott is with the Lambert squad.


    Only Liz seems to have the wit to manage this; it’s quite the burden.


    The isted Kurtos mobile unit shes with the front line led by Elliott.


    While Kamar and the others are fighting bravely, who knows how much they understand.


    The only reason they aren’t being crushed is that the opposing Elliott squad and third years aren’t stepping up, leaving the fight entirely to the second years.


    It seems to be a strategy to allow the underssmen to gain experience, following the precedent set by Sobralst year.


    Whether they are aware of such intentions or not, Nils charges out energetically.


    Even though Elliott instructs him to fall back, Kamar and Neji calmly handle the situation and are quickly taken down.


    “Okay, Nils is out. Head back to the waiting area.”


    I dere while tossing a white cloth that indicates his elimination.


    “I wanted to show Alter a good performance…”


    “Don’t disrupt the formation for such a reason. It’s not just you who will die, but your teammates will get caught up in it too.”


    “Absolutely! Please reflect on this!”


    Nils is scolded by Elliott and leaves the battlefield with his shoulders slumped.


    After that, Kamar and Neji struggle but the front lines of the Kurtos squad, trying to regroup, are hit from the side by the Lambert squad, halting their progress, and ultimately, they retreat alongside the isted mobile unit.


    With that, the tide of battle shifted dramatically.


    Prioritizing coordination among squad members, the Lambert squad steadily defeats the Kurtos squad due to the difference in their capabilities.


    When the front lines copse and they invade close to the main camp, Liz leads the mages, charging forward with the intent to die honorably.


    However, mages without offensive spells are merely children.


    Elliott assigns the task to the second year, ultimately breaching the Kurtos’ main camp through sheer numbers.


    The first battle ended in victory for the Lambert squad.


    The injured receive treatment, while the others return to the tents.


    I attend the judges’ debriefing, where the seniorsmunicate tomorrow’s points of caution.


    After the debriefing, as I try to return to my tent, Elphimia approaches me.


    “We won decisively, didn’t we?”


    “Given the disparity in strength. Lambert’smand ability is beyond that of a mere student, and there are also Felix and Elliott’s squad.”


    “Your followers were curled up in the waiting area, though? In the early stages.”


    “Don’t mention it. They’re usually reliable forces.”


    Everyone prepares dinner or rests in preparation for tomorrow.


    By now, I imagine Nils is being scolded by Elliott somewhere.


    Also, the other ‘Ranaine’, Jonas, was fighting with the Lambert squad.


    He couldn’t use any support magic, so he served as a messenger, but in the end, he mixed with the assault unit and scattered Liz’s attacking squad.


    Even among mages, the difference in determination and experience for closebat is night and day.


    If Liz’s assault unit were made up of people like Jonas, Kurtos might havested a bit longer.


    “I wonder what will happen tomorrow.”


    “It’s obvious. It’ll get chaotic, right?”


    Recallingst year, Elphimia smiled faintly.


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