Journey to Become the Zenith

Chapter 263: The Sudden Alarm

The Sudden Alarm

Back to Fantom city, in knight academy Principal office.

The atmosphere inside the office had been surprisingly lively just moments earlier.

Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, illuminating shelves filled with books and old records. The scent of tea still lingered in the air.

Max sat quietly behind his desk.

Unlike the three young women in front of him, he rarely spoke unless necessary.

Instead, he watched.

Observed.

Listened.

That was one of the reasons he had managed to remain principal for so long.

Across from him sat Videl, Ruby, and Natalia.

The discussion from earlier had yet to conclude.

Ruby leaned forward slightly.

"You’re really stubborn, you know that?"

Videl crossed her arms.

"And you’re really persistent."

Natalia giggled softly.

"That’s because Lady Ruby doesn’t like losing."

"I heard that."

"You were supposed to."

The blonde holy maiden smiled innocently.

Ruby clicked her tongue.

Videl shook her head.

She had already spent far more time in this office than she originally intended.

For the last hour, the two holy maidens had practically taken turns trying to convince her to cooperate more closely with them.

Unfortunately for them, Videl wasn’t the type to blindly agree with anyone.

Especially strangers.

Ruby sighed dramatically.

"Honestly, I still don’t understand why you’re so difficult."

"Because I think before making decisions."

"That was definitely aimed at me."

"It was."

Natalia couldn’t help laughing.

Even Max’s lips twitched slightly.

The conversation had become far more casual than when they first met.

Though Videl still maintained her guard, she had at least stopped viewing the two holy maidens as potential enemies.

That alone was progress.

Suddenly—

Bang!

The office door burst open.

Everyone turned.

A young academy student stumbled inside.

His face was pale.

His breathing was ragged.

Sweat dripped from his forehead.

"Principal Max!"

The student nearly tripped over his own feet.

"There—there’s an emergency!"

The relaxed atmosphere vanished instantly.

Max’s expression sharpened.

"What happened?"

The student swallowed.

His voice trembled.

"A massive undead army has been spotted approaching Fantom City!"

Silence.

The room instantly became still.

The student’s words seemed to echo through the office.

Ruby’s eyes widened.

Natalia’s smile disappeared.

Videl’s expression immediately turned serious.

Max slowly stood from his chair.

"Repeat that."

The student nodded rapidly.

"Reports arrived from scouts outside the city."

"They confirmed thousands of undead."

"Skeletons."

"Zombies."

"Undead beasts."

"They’re advancing toward Fantom City."

A chill settled over the room.

Natalia exchanged a look with Ruby.

Neither of them looked relaxed anymore.

"An undead army?" Natalia muttered.

Ruby frowned.

"How could something that large get this close without earlier reports?"

The student lowered his head.

"We don’t know."

Videl’s blue eyes narrowed.

Something felt wrong.

An army that large shouldn’t have been able to move unnoticed.

Yet here they were.

Already approaching the city.

The four exchanged glances.

For the first time since entering the office, nobody was joking.

Nobody was smiling.

Nobody was arguing.

The threat was too serious.

After hearing about the undead army from the messenger, Videl stood up and was about to leave. Max reacted quickly and stood before Videl blocking her path.

The movement was instantaneous.

Before Videl reached the door, Max had already stepped in front of her.

The old principal moved with surprising speed.

Ruby blinked.

Natalia looked genuinely surprised.

Neither had expected the elderly man to move that quickly.

Videl stopped.

Her brows furrowed.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Max’s voice was calm.

But there was unmistakable authority behind it.

Videl met his gaze directly.

"Of course, I’m going to the adventurer’s guild to gain more information about the situation," Videl answered a tiny bit annoyed that she was stopped.

Ruby looked between them.

Natalia tilted her head.

The tension in the room rose noticeably.

"Have you forgotten that you are a knight apprentice, that you are a student of this knight academy? In this time of crisis, you need to go back to your dorm and wait for further instructions."

Max’s voice became colder.

The atmosphere changed.

The kind old principal from earlier seemed to disappear.

In his place stood a veteran.

A man who had survived countless battles.

The pressure he released wasn’t physical.

Yet everyone could feel it.

Even the student messenger instinctively took a step backward.

Max was emitting a dangerous vibe as he said this. The usually kind old man was looking extremely dangerous at this moment.

Videl wasn’t one to back off, so she too started to unleash her vast amounts of mana. The atmosphere of the room grew tenser and tenser.

A faint golden aura began appearing around her.

The floor beneath her feet trembled slightly.

Ruby raised an eyebrow.

Natalia’s eyes widened.

Both holy maidens had known Videl was strong.

But this?

This was considerably more impressive than expected.

Interesting.

Max silently observed.

Neither side yielded.

The office suddenly felt far too small.

"Old man, how about you let her go."

Ruby stepped beside Videl.

Her voice cut through the tension.

The pressure in the room lessened slightly.

Max glanced toward the scarlet-haired holy maiden.

"The Big boobies girl is right, Sir Max. I think it’s better to let Videl do her thing."

Natalia chimed in as she stood on the right side of Videl.

Ruby immediately turned.

"Who are you calling a Big boobies girl?"

Natalia blinked.

"You."

Ruby’s eye twitched.

"You’ve been calling me that for days."

"Because you get angry every time."

"That’s not a reason."

"It absolutely is."

"That’s a terrible reason."

Natalia laughed.

Ruby pointed accusingly.

Natalia laughed harder.

Even Videl looked momentarily speechless.

The serious atmosphere nearly collapsed because of the pair.

Max watched the exchange silently.

For some reason, seeing the two holy maidens standing beside Videl felt strangely natural.

Seeing the two holy maidens defend Videl, made Max sigh as he finally eased up. Seeing that the old man was no longer emitting that overbearing aura Videl eased up as well.

The pressure vanished.

The room could finally breathe again.

Max rubbed his forehead.

"You three are troublesome."

Ruby grinned.

Natalia looked pleased.

Videl remained silent.

"Fine, since the two holy maidens asked of it, I will allow it just this once."

Once he was done saying that Max made way and Videl left alongside Ruby and Natalia.