Viren POV
The battle was already over.
The strongest enemy had fallen.
What remained was cleanup.
I turned my attention to the rest of the stronghold.
The spearman was the first target.
I spotted him immediately as he attempted to retreat.
He had already understood the situation.
Too late.
I activated movement and closed the distance in an instant.
He barely managed to turn around before the strike landed.
No armor.
No defense.
Just one clean hit.
His body collapsed without resistance.
The difference between Rank 2 and Rank 1 was absolute.
And with Blessing of Sylph active, it was even worse.
The remaining bandits reacted too slowly to matter.
Some tried to flee.
Some reached for their weapons.
Most did neither in time.
To them, I was not a human opponent.
I was a moving disaster.
Wind blurred my presence.
Each step carried me across entire sections of the stronghold.
A strike here.
A cut there.
A collapse of resistance everywhere.
It took less than a minute.
When I stopped, silence had fully taken over the mountain.
The stronghold no longer functioned as a living settlement.
Only corpses remained.
I exhaled slowly.
This level of opposition was insufficient for meaningful resistance.
But it was useful for testing my limits.
I began searching the buildings.
The leader's residence contained a modest amount of wealth.
The second-in-command's room was similar.
Nothing extraordinary.
A total equivalent of roughly 350 low-grade mana stones.
For an ordinary person, it would be a fortune.
For me, it was negligible.
More importantly, I found something else.
Captives.
Women held inside separate rooms.
Their condition was poor mentally, but physically intact.
A predictable outcome.
I ordered them to remain in place.
Then I descended the mountain and returned to the nearest town to retrieve a carriage.
The process was inefficient, but necessary.
When I returned, I escorted them down safely.
The sky was already beginning to lighten.
Dawn was approaching.
After ensuring they were transported properly, I handed over the recovered resources to the church's rehabilitation system.
The Church of the Holy Light handled such cases adequately, even if the higher ranks were often corrupt.
The lower clergy still performed their duties correctly.
That was enough.
After completing the transfer, I returned to the academy.
The report was already waiting.
Margaret reviewed it without hesitation.
"You performed well. You are promoted."
Her tone remained calm, as always.
"But you are not the first this week."
She listed the names.
Cecilia Eldristan.
Eleris Valmir.
Seraphina Aureliss.
Leon Luminaris.
They had already advanced.
More were currently undergoing their promotion missions:
Mia Solarin.
Toren Servalin.
Jian Lei.
Sigvard Helm.
Lucian Veilmore.
I listened quietly.
The gap was expected.
I had delayed my own progression for preparation.
Now that preparation was complete, it no longer mattered.
I nodded once.
"Understood."
With that, I left.
Back in my room, I finally allowed myself to rest.