Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

incredible.

Only awe.

original……

One person, one sword...

It really is that powerful.

It’s just...

Monster!

……

"He's even more impressive than I imagined, kid."

At some point, Tsukimi-sensei, who had been standing aside all along, actually put down the romance novel she was reading.

He tilted his head slightly, looking at the lone figure bringing up the rear in the distance with admiration.

Upon hearing this, the girl's long-suppressed dissatisfaction and anger instantly found an outlet.

He immediately retorted sarcastically:

"Hehe, this person, as a teacher, not only did not protect his students when they were in danger, but he actually hid behind them. He is truly shameless."

Upon hearing this sarcastic remark, Tsukimi was not angry at all. Instead, a smug smile, almost as if she thought the boy was teachable, appeared on her face.

He casually crossed his legs and swung his toes.

"Shameless? Setsuna-kun, you just don't understand."

Being shameless is actually a very good quality.

Since you call me teacher, I'll just give you a free lesson in the philosophy of life.

Tsukimi glanced at the students around him, whose expressions varied but were mostly filled with anger, and slowly began to speak:

"Take that little devil over there wearing a mask, for example."

A lone figure holding off the beast tide and protecting his companions sounds incredibly cool and impressive, right?

But—

It's this kind of person who habitually shoulders responsibility, the expectations of others, and the so-called 'right thing'...

Often, they are the ones who die first.

"It's better to die a glorious, early death than to be surrounded by a crowd of people, grateful and expectant..."

Tsukimi paused, spread her hands, and revealed a smile that was almost shameless and self-righteous.

"What's wrong with choosing to be a 'shameless' guy, living a long and uneventful life?"

"Saki-kun... he won't die!"

Liuli, who had been somewhat silent since the beginning, suddenly spoke up.

The girl's usual top student smile was nowhere to be seen at this moment.

She couldn't stand Yuejian's seemingly curse-like words and couldn't hold back.

Huo Mu also spoke up immediately, clenching his fists in rebuttal:

"Tsukimi-sensei, you're wrong!"

Saki-kun...

He is an absolute powerhouse! A genius who will never lose!

Therefore, he is bound to win!

"Heh." Yuejian chuckled, withdrawing her gaze from the distance and returning it to the novel, as if the conversation had just been a boring diversion.

He casually turned to a page, his tone suddenly turning cold:

"That's right, that's how you should think."

Thinking like this makes me feel much more at ease, doesn't it?

Because there was an absolute powerhouse standing in front of them, because there was a genius who would never lose who shouldered everything...

So you can comfortably dump all the dangers, all the responsibilities, and all the pressures onto his shoulders, and then run away without looking back, right?

You're saying I'm shameless?

As my students, you've learned my shamelessness quite quickly and well!

"..."

Upon hearing this, Huo Mu's cheeks flushed instantly, not with shame, but with anger at being misunderstood and insulted.

"Tsukimi-sensei, I don't agree!"

We are not shirking our responsibilities.

Instead, they were following Saki's instructions!

Here, right now, Saki is the strongest, the most accurate in judgment, and the smartest!

Therefore, our responsibility is to trust him unconditionally and listen to everything he says!

He tells me to run, and I'll run; but if he says I need to stay and fight alongside him, I won't hesitate for even a second!

At this point, perhaps realizing the enormous gap in strength between himself and Saki, Hōki gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Of course, I probably don't have the right to say such things right now, do I?"

But one day, I will become strong enough!

I'm so powerful that even the strongest of them all, Saki, would need me.

When the time comes, I will shoulder my responsibilities and fight alongside Saki-san!

At this point, Hōki raised his head and looked directly at Tsukimi:

"So, the one who truly shirked responsibility from beginning to end was you, teacher."

……

……

Chapter Thirty-One: A Luck That Reverses Life and Death

Upon hearing Huomu's words, the chat in the main live stream instantly began to scroll:

"Holy crap! Is this the kind of verbal sparring skill that every anime protagonist has to have?"

"Hakim, based on those words alone, I approve of you!"

"Well said! Hakimu! Get stronger quickly! Don't let Laoji fight alone every time!"

"Holy crap! So, characters with growth arcs actually do grow stronger?!"

Tsukimi listened quietly, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly smiled:

"You speak quite eloquently, and it sounds very convincing."

His tone was flat, revealing neither praise nor criticism.

That's perfect—

Now you have a chance to prove it to me.

Do you have the awareness to back up your words?

The instant Tsukimi's words fell—

"Wow!!!"

"Fizz!"

A sharp, piercing screech and the sound of violently vibrating wing membranes suddenly rang out without warning!

Everyone felt the surrounding light suddenly dim, as if an invisible curtain had fallen over their heads!

A chilling gust of wind, mixed with the stench of fish and scales, came from above!

Alarm bells rang in everyone's ears, and they looked up abruptly!

All that could be seen in the night sky was a dense, overwhelming cloud that had covered the entire sky!

Do not!

That's not a cloud at all!

They were countless creatures the size of a Kunqiu (a mythical creature), entirely gray-black, with ferocious mouthparts and transparent wing membranes—

Winged poison fly!

Winged Poison Fly: A gregarious flying void beast commonly found in D-level and E-level rifts.

Individually, they are only at the first tier in strength, but their sheer numbers and ability to operate in groups make them formidable.

They are fearless and their mouthparts contain neurotoxins, making them extremely difficult to deal with!

This swarm of winged poison flies was clearly attracted and driven here by the "red heat fragrance".

Qi Ji, alone with his sword, managed to stop all the surging void beasts on the ground.

But for these flying units that can circle around at high altitudes and ignore terrain obstacles...

Even someone as powerful as Saki is ultimately powerless to reach him.

At this moment, the swarm of poisonous flies hovering overhead, as if they had finally locked onto the scent of their prey, swarmed out of their nest in an instant!

"It's a swarm of flies!"

His expression changed drastically in an instant; he reacted the fastest.

"Lili, you protect the children and the caravan! The rest of you, raise your guns! Aim for the junction of their chest and abdomen, that's their weak point—"

However, before he could finish speaking—

“Swish swish swish——!!!”

Like a torrential downpour of black rain.

After being berserk by "Red Heat Fragrance", the flying winged poison fly's speed and ferocity increased dramatically.

Before the trainees could even fully organize their formation, they launched a suicidal attack from all angles.

"Bang bang bang!"

Sporadic gunshots immediately rang out!

Several quick-reacting trainees were the first to open fire.

The specially designed armor-piercing projectile easily penetrated the fly's relatively fragile body, exploding into several disgusting blobs of liquid in mid-air.

But... it's just a drop in the ocean!

More flies followed one after another, and even if they were hit by bullets and their bodies were shattered, as long as they could still move, they still used their last momentum to ferociously pounce on the crowd.

It seems that death is meaningless to them; their only mission in life is to pierce their prey with their mouthparts and inject fly venom.

"what--!"

A girl screamed as a fly that had slipped through the net grazed her arm.

Instantly, a charred mark appeared, and numbness quickly spread throughout the body.

"Huomu! Watch out for your head!" Bai Lili shouted at the same time.

She shielded the child behind her with one hand, and with the other hand, she flicked out several strands of spiritual energy, barely managing to entangle two poisonous flies that were pouncing on Huo Mu's neck.

But even more poisonous flies, like piranhas that have smelled blood, have swarmed in from all directions!

Huo Mu tried to dodge, but the rope pulling the cart was still around his shoulder, restricting his movement immediately.

The sharp proboscis of several poisonous flies were about to pierce his unsuspecting neck—

Tsukimi, who had been lying quietly in the car reading a novel, moved her eyelids almost imperceptibly.

His gray eyes, which were always half-closed and seemed to have no interest in anything, seemed to flicker very faintly in the moonlight.