The story of the black silk female knight

"Top student, what do you think?"

Valensa, who had anticipated this, sighed:

“I don’t know anything about alchemy, so I don’t know how to stop that special accelerant… but I know that to solve any problem, you should start from the source… so I’ll try to get rid of the arsonist first.”

Just like Heleman, fire-based mages, while possessing immense destructive power, tend to have relatively weak defense and endurance... A sneak attack, even against a strong opponent, still offers a chance.

"Hmm... I'd say it's a decent answer."

Hugh frowned slightly and nodded:

"Your method might indeed solve the fire problem at its source, but fires that have already occurred can still cause enormous damage, so it's not the best solution."

Think about it again. If you don't understand the unknown accelerant, is there really no way to stop a fire?

It's possible to stop it, but it would definitely be extremely dangerous.

Valensa thought to herself.

As a transmigrator from a technologically advanced civilization, she knew how dangerous chemical fires were. Explosions upon contact with water were just the most common type; those toxic gases that killed silently after burning were even more terrifying... Therefore, firefighters have always been the profession with the highest casualty rate in peacetime of a technologically advanced civilization.

So if Valencia were to encounter such a fire, she would like to stay far away from the flames, only helping people evacuate or trying to kill the arsonists, and leaving the fire itself to those who are more capable.

But if Hugh insists on Valensa giving an answer, Valensa is capable of doing so.

She pretended to think for a while before answering again:

"Different oxidizers will give flames different characteristics, and it is very dangerous to do things haphazardly... but it is not entirely hopeless."

As far as I know, Frenoia's flames are actually divided into two main categories. One is the manifestation of fire-attribute magic, which is the purest and easiest to deal with.

The second type of flame is a natural phenomenon, and its properties vary depending on the combustion conditions. It can be extremely dangerous in some situations, but it still shares common weaknesses.

Chapter 158 Did you peek at my lesson plans?

"First is pure magical flame composed of fire element."

Seeing that Hugh didn't intend to stop her, Valensa continued:

"This kind of flame is actually the easiest to deal with. In most cases, a dispel spell can take care of it, or a fire mage can absorb the fire attribute magic power. At the very least, other elemental magic power can be used to neutralize it."

There's another misconception here, which is that many people commonly believe that water and fire are mutually restraining. Strictly speaking, that's not true... Any two different magical elements can react and cancel each other out, it's just that the reaction is most intense and obvious when water and fire collide.

Therefore, the best way to counter pure magical flames is never to use water-based attacks, but rather to use a dispel spell.

This is the main reason why, although there are many mages skilled in fire magic, there are not many who are as good at arson as Heleman.

Arson also requires talent and skill. While magical flames are indeed a good ignition source, they are far less effective at causing fires than natural fires.

"Yes, that's a very accurate assessment. As expected of you, top student."

Hugh nodded in satisfaction, offering generous praise, and then asked:

"As you said, pure magical flames are indeed easy to deal with, but fires that truly cause significant damage are often natural fires with various properties... You mentioned before that these natural fires also share common weaknesses?"

"Yes."

Valensa smiled confidently, her charm instantly captivating almost all the male students, while many of the female students unconsciously rubbed their legs together.

"For a flame without magic to continue burning, it needs three things."

Valensa continued:

"The first factor is temperature, the second is air, and the third is combustible material."

All the firefighting methods we know actually target these three points.

Just as water magic doesn't counter fire magic, water also doesn't counter fire.

The reason why rain can quickly extinguish most flames is because water has a higher specific heat... well, in the case of the same amount, water has the most obvious cooling effect.

In addition, liquid water can effectively isolate air, and when it wets combustibles, it increases the amount of heat required for combustion, further blocking the spread of fire.

The ability to simultaneously address the three conditions necessary for combustion is why water is so effective at extinguishing fires, and this is the origin of the common belief that water can extinguish fire.

However, when faced with flames containing special combustibles or accelerants, the contact between water and the combustibles or accelerants often results in new reactions, either making the fire burn more intensely or producing more dangerous explosions and toxic fumes. This is the most dangerous aspect of the Revelers' Firestone.

Unlike some revelers who like to give a heads-up before causing trouble, the fires he creates often start out no different from ordinary fires. By the time people realize that conventional firefighting methods are ineffective, it's too late to change tactics... and by then, the fire has already started.

Of course, if there is a powerful elemental mage present, no fire can cause any trouble... Under the cover of superior ice magic that freezes everything, there will be no temperature that can cause combustion.

Therefore, Huoshi usually targets small villages and towns without strong inhabitants. The only time he chose to attack a city was in a border town, and he was eventually driven away by brave adventurers...

Ahem, we seem to have gotten a bit off-topic. Let's get back to putting out the fire.

Dealing with large-scale fires that are not afraid of water is indeed difficult without a strong leader in charge, but it is not entirely impossible.

The approach is the same... By addressing the issues of cooling, isolating the air, and cutting off combustibles, the spread of fire can be effectively blocked.

There are many ways to do this, depending on the skills each person possesses... I can think of two methods that I can barely manage to implement myself.

One method is to create a barrier, such as a holy light barrier, a magic barrier, or an alchemical tool. Use the barrier to isolate the flames from the outside world. Once the air inside the barrier is burned out, the flames will naturally go out.

In fact, the time when Firestone wanted to burn down the city, it was stopped in this way... Several mages from the Adventurers' Guild and the Guard sacrificed their lives to use a magical barrier to stop the fire from spreading.

This method is the most effective, but not everyone can cast a barrier, and often a large fire cannot be easily covered by a single person's barrier. In this case, the second method is needed: clearing flammable materials.

Before the flames spread, destroy and clear away the surrounding flammable materials. This is less efficient than casting a barrier, but it is still effective.

"Woo..."

After speaking at length, Valensa paused before tilting her head slightly towards Hugh:

"That concludes my answer. Are you satisfied, Professor Hugh?"

"...Satisfied, extremely satisfied."

Hugh looked at Valensa in silence for a long while before letting out a helpless sigh:

"I have to admit it... When I first heard other teachers say that this year's top freshman might be the most talented elite soldier in a century, I didn't believe it... because when I was in school, I was also the top student in the elite soldier department and a genius in the eyes of the teachers."

But now I admit defeat... When I was in first grade, my fighting ability might not have been weaker than yours, but I definitely didn't have your outstanding awareness and understanding.

The truth is, even most active-duty elite soldiers don't understand the nature of fire as well as you do... A large part of what you said before was part of my prepared lesson plan... but before I even had a chance to say it, you had already said almost everything.

To be honest, if I weren't confident in my abilities and alertness, I would have suspected that you broke into my room last night and peeked at my lesson plans..."

"Mr. Hugh, you flatter me~~"

Valensa quickly lowered her head, feigning shyness.

"These are just my own random thoughts and speculations. They can't compare to your carefully prepared lesson plans, so please be sure to give us your guidance."

"..."

Hugh didn't say anything, but just took out a stack of documents he had prepared beforehand, flipped through them for a while, and then closed them with a helpless snap and put them aside.

This lesson plan is even worse than what Valencia just said. Forcing guidance will only lead to students comparing their answers to Valencia's, making you look bad.

What's the point of providing guidance then?

Hugh immediately took out the third magic crystal:

"Let's see what the student who got third place did... Well, the student who got third place is Chiba Kusa, an exchange student from the Shishima Alliance."

"What? I only got third place?"

The thousand-leaf clover immediately stood up incredulously:

"This can't be right, right? Mr. Hugh, are you mistaken? Damn, I'm only third... then what kind of monsters are the top two?"

Chapter 159: Like a scene from a zombie movie

"Oh? You're not satisfied with third place? It seems Chiba is very confident."

Seeing the thousand-leaf grass's surprise and doubt, Xiu chuckled lightly:

"Indeed, Chiba Grass caused a lot of damage to the virtual city, and her score was only slightly lower than the second place... If you hadn't been so careless at the end, you should have been able to get second place."

"emmm..."

Chiba clearly knew where she went wrong in the end, and, unwilling to give up, gritted her teeth and stomped her little feet inside the fishnet stockings and tabi socks:

"Damn it... I should have known better than to sleep so much... I really didn't expect that the mannequin in my dream would be so smart..."

"That's only because you weren't paying attention in class before the test, Cao Cao."

Valensa added insult to injury in a very gentle tone:

"Didn't Teacher Hugh say this before the test? Although the characters in the illusion are all fake, their reactions to events are very realistic... Who can you blame for your carelessness?"

"Mmmmm..."

Chiba pouted and sat back down, then stubbornly made a face:

"Anyway, big sister, you're definitely one of the top two, right? I didn't expect Cao Cao to lose again... But this time it was just because I was careless. I'll definitely beat you next time! Hehehe~~"

"It's just a small quiz, Cao Cao doesn't need to take it to heart."

Valensa smiled and blinked again:

"And what I promised Cao Cao before still stands! Cao Cao, you made it into the top three, so you'll get a reward from me... So instead of reflecting on where you went wrong, Cao Cao, why don't you think about how you want me to reward you?"

"Huh? Big sister is really going to reward Cao Cao?"

Her dull emerald eyes suddenly brightened again, and Chiba Grass excitedly twisted her body, instantly forgetting the humiliation of only getting third place in the test:

"Okay, okay... Cao Cao should think carefully about what reward she should ask for... Hehe~~"

"You guys... tsk, whatever, just do what makes you happy."

Hugh simply sighed at their conversation, offering no further comment, and directly activated the magic crystal:

"So, let's all see what Chiba Kusa did to make her not satisfied with just third place."

At the front of the classroom, the projection solidified, and the image gradually became clear.

A green-haired, emerald-eyed girl wearing a one-piece mesh anti-demon ninja uniform ran swiftly through the streets, leaping over obstacles and even occasionally using people's heads as stepping stones, yet attracting no attention whatsoever.

The art of concealing oneself within leaves.

The students watching the projection quickly realized that Thousand Leaf Grass was currently invisible, and people on the street couldn't see her at all.

But to activate invisibility right from the start... could it be that you're going to assassinate someone?

But the direction they're running isn't the city center where the big shots live, is it?

Most people looked puzzled, but Valencia's eyes lit up.

Having fought against Thousand Leaf Grass twice, she understood Thousand Leaf Grass's true greatest danger, and Valensa could roughly guess the target that Thousand Leaf Grass was rushing towards in the projection.

Sure enough, after passing through a residential area with increasingly higher elevations, Thousand Leaf Grass stopped by a rushing river on the north side of the city.

This place is located upstream of this river, which flows through the entire city downstream. Most of the city's residents get their drinking water from this river, and many underground water veins in the wells are also connected to this river.

After standing by the river for a short while, Qianyecao took out two small bottles without hesitation and poured all the liquid in them into the river.

Poisoned.

Just as Valencia had guessed.

While the Leaf Concealment Technique and the Sowing of Seeds to Form a Forest are powerful, there are ways to counter them. On the contrary, the two times that the Thousand Leaf Grass poisoned the weapon caused Valensa a lot of trouble.

Fortunately, those two were just friendly sparring duels. If it had been a life-or-death battle, the poison from the Thousand Leaf Grass wouldn't have just intensified the pain and caused unbearable itching, but would have been fatal. In that case, it's hard to say whether Valensa would still be alive.

This is what Valensa finds most threatening about Thousand Leaf Grass, and it's one of the main reasons why Valensa tries to repair her relationship with Thousand Leaf Grass and truly become friends with her.

The poisons concocted by those ninjas were indeed potent; most of them were even immune to purification by low- to mid-level divine arts.

If such a ninja wanted to cause trouble and go on a killing spree, poisoning would be the most effective method.

And that was indeed the case; moreover, the poison that the thousand-leaf grass added to the water source was even more potent than people imagined.

About two hours after the poison is applied to the Thousand Leaf Grass, it begins to take effect on a large scale. The poisoned person will not die or lose the ability to move immediately, but will become extremely excited and aggressive, like a human powder keg. The slightest provocation will cause them to enter a state of rage, and they will attack and bite wildly like a mad dog.

Moreover, those bitten by the poisoned person will also be poisoned, even faster than if they had drunk the river water.

Regardless of the type of poisoning, the victims either die from being beaten by others due to their indiscriminate biting and fighting, or from exhaustion and bleeding from all seven orifices.

Under the ravages of this terrible poison, the city of illusion was transformed into a zombie movie set, and the entire city descended into chaos, with a large number of nobles fleeing in panic.

In just one day, Thousand Leaf Grass turned the Illusion City into chaos by poisoning it... If the Illusion City remains in this state for the next two days, Thousand Leaf Grass will definitely surpass Valensa's score.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing.