The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 700 700: The View from the Cliff

But maybe taking longer would've been better.

At least that way, it might've been better for everyone else's sanity.

Maybe then they would've been more prepared to face the returning cadets after everything they'd witnessed from afar.

Because how could they have possibly prepared for all that?

No, definitely not for that.

Outside the satellite outpost of Zone Four but within the ergency barrier of the shelter, soldiers and officers stood on the high cliffs, looking at the raging sea before them. They couldn't feel the pounding of the waves, but even from this distance, the tremors could be felt through the soles of their boots.

As for a closer view of the clash, the Duchess's terminal projected the feed above them in crisp, glowing clarity. The moving images lit their faces with every flash of light and explosion, painting disbelief in real ti.

Soone finally croaked, "Is that… is that really a cha?"

Another voice, incredulous and high-pitched, replied, "Which one? The big one or the tiny one that's scuttling all over?"

"Obviously the small one, genius."

But before that person could say anything else, soone smacked the back of his head. "Shut it. That small one's doing better than the rest of your giant chas combined."

"…"

"…Yeah, that's fair."

The feed moved ever so slightly again as another shot lit up the screen. In truth, if they hadn't heard the conversation earlier, no one would've figured out which cha fired the shots. Because all they could see were flashes of light, streaks of energy, and explosions that appeared almost before the shots were heard.

But not anymore. By now, they'd accepted that all those wordless shots were coming from one frightening cha.

Soldiers, especially those who piloted dium chas, would regularly flinch every ti a shot exploded. Because in their fragile minds, it could've been them.

"Who even shoots like that? There's no warning!" one pilot muttered, imagining how he would've likely succumbed to friendly fire even if he had managed to survive a raging tentacle.

"And what's with the aim?! How can they even tell where to shoot?!"

"They said they actually can't! Maybe they're just insane?!"

"Sure, that's really sothing, but have you even seen the cha that's been firing the shots?"

"!!!"

It obviously started an uproar. From the location to the aim that always hit true, many were starting to question their own skills.

"I'm probably just hallucinating, but it really looks like they're moving without delay..."

The chas on-screen were too fast. Way too fast. Even for soldiers with enhanced senses, their movents blurred together like a dance most couldn't follow. They even cut through water and air with precision so sharp it looked unreal.

Soone muttered, "They're definitely custom-made, right? They don't move like ours."

"Definitely. If even you're custom-made, how could they not be? I an, just look at them!"

"..."

There were no answers, just muttered curses and disbelief. The screen flashed again, showing a smaller white-and-gold cha slicing through another set of tentacles. Behind it, the red cha continued blocking oncoming sneak attacks, then turned the block into a counterattack that sent the limb spiraling back into the waves.

The soldiers could only gape.

But Sera, who had already seen footage of her support cha versus the Marshal's new cha several tis over, clenched her fists as she stared. Her heart pounded in her chest.

Because of the cha's classification, most would likely dismiss her support cha as relatively weak. Still, as soone who had piloted it for herself, she knew her cha was already one of the most advanced units in the Empire—a model straight from Young Lord Luca Kyros himself. And yet… this?

Her fingers trembled as she whispered to herself, "What… kind of level is this?"

Because what they were all seeing went far beyond skill.

It was sothing entirely different.

Inside the Imperial Battleship's command center, Deputy Officer Curtis stood stiffly beside the Marshal, eyes locked on the projection coming from Captain Kane's terminal.

He thought he had seen the peak of insanity back when the Marshal's cha single-handedly flattened an entire unit after they all failed to scratch his cha.

But what do you know? They had barely even scratched the surface of cha advancent with those two.

And just when everyone thought chas were already the pinnacle, now there were weapons in the mix too. Curtis rembered the last auction and quietly feared for the Empire. Then again, maybe it was the Federation that deserved pity.

Thank every star that the one wielding that insane cannon was the Imperial Prince himself. Because if it had been anyone else, the rest of them might've needed to rethink their life choices.

What kind of weapon had no tells? And unless he'd gone blind, Curtis was sure there was sothing strange about the nature of each shot.

How could every single one hit like a homing missile?!

Which terrorist wouldn't trade their soul—or their third-born—for sothing like that?!

He glanced at the Marshal beside him, half expecting him to start muttering or fainting. Instead, Julian Theron looked strangely calm. Too calm.

Curtis blinked. "Sir?"

The Marshal didn't answer right away. His jaw was tight, his eyes fixed on the screen.

In truth, Marshal Julian was taking it far less gracefully than he looked. After all, he knew more things than he could let on.

Deep inside, the poor uncle was desperately trying to wipe his mind clean of the visit he'd made to Luca Kyros's cha manufacturing facilities.

He was trying very hard not to think about the piles of rejects and perfect parts, or about Duke Leander's personal biocha, or the fact that there were plenty more where those ca from. Because after seeing them in action, he could finally understand Killian's despair.

So many miracles—and just as many potential disasters.

But that was for later. For now, the biggest one of all—literally—was still unfolding right before them.

The waters clamored once again.

More than a dozen tentacles shot up, whipping through the air like black storms. Each strike cracked the surface of the sea, sending geysers skyward.

The next round started with an explosion of light.

All five units moved at once. From the command center's feed, it was chaos made beautiful—coordinated strikes, sweeping arcs of tal, and explosions.

Luca's sword-whip lashed out before turning solid as it split through a cluster of tentacles. In the sa breath, tentacles were exploding as Xavier burst them in rapid succession.

anwhile, Jax continued using directional shockwave, knocking back the tentacles, while Kyle shot through the air in sharp, controlled movents, his cha's rapier cutting through anything that tried to get close.

And to everyone's surprise, D-64 kept swooping down from above, its blade-like limbs slashing apart the tendrils that tried to flank them.

Then again, amidst the clash, a silent battle had long been going on as a certain blonde once again directed the little cha towards their most valuable loot.

This ti, their efforts took out a much larger chunk of the monster.

And for a mont, it looked like they were winning.

Until the tentacles began to move again.

From the command center, Marshal Julian and the others stared as the monstrous limbs began to grow back rapidly. The severed parts twitched, then bubbled over, stretching and reforming. The cut edges elongated, making several military officers turn pale.

It wasn't that they didn't know about it, but because they'd been taking out tentacles one after another, it mostly looked like new ones were replacing them.

But now they were seeing that big chunk regenerating, and it was definitely unsettling.

Even more alarming was how the monster still managed to attack while in the middle of regeneration.

The tentacles moved once again, but this ti the cadets switched formations.

This ti, their chas moved in five different directions. The tentacles split apart in pursuit, stretching like a pentagon as it followed each one like predators chasing prey.

Unrelenting attacks followed in their wake, and the cadets dealt with the pursuing tendrils with just as much fervor.

But no matter how many tis they cut, the tentacles just kept on growing back.

"Didn't they just hit that part?" Curtis asked quietly.

"At this rate, probably more than twice now," soone answered. "Yet it's still moving."

Curtis's eyes narrowed. "Are they testing sothing?"

Marshal Julian didn't answer right away. His gaze followed the synchronized pattern of movent as well as the particular choice of formation on the screen.

"I think they are," he finally said. "Record everything. Start analyzing the data. If they're trying to understand that thing, we'll learn from it."

The command center buzzed with activity as officers scrambled to interpret what they just saw.

Well, Marshal Julian wasn't completely off the mark.

But if any other responsible adult heard the thoughts plaguing Luca's mind, they would've had a ltdown. After all, the little money-grubber was desperate to get up close and definitely personal with the maw of that creature.