Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: The Cradle's Brutes (3)
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Bern Vigete’s plan was this:
The moment the team battle began, his members would engage their pre-assigned opponents.
Once the one-on-one duels started, even Group 3 would have no choice but to focus on the enemy before them until a victor was decided.
It was a simple plan, hardly a strategy at all, but he had no doubt it would succeed.
The only problem was deciding whether Group 1 or Group 2 would face Group 3.
He’d had to engage in a silent war of nerves with Amelia Justice, the leader of Group 2, over this.
Whichever team fought Group 3 would inevitably be drained of stamina when facing the remaining team.
Neither Group 1 nor Group 2 wanted the dishonor of claiming victory over an exhausted opponent.
In the end, however, it was Group 1 that took on the role of facing Group 3.
“They’ve promised to give us time to recover our stamina, but there’s no telling how much we can regain within the time limit. So, we must minimize our energy loss as much as possible.”
Group 3, a collection of underachievers, wasn’t even on his radar.
Bern Vigete’s only concern was the showdown with Group 2, led by Amelia Justice.
“Go all out from the start.”
If they had to fight, he figured finishing it as quickly as possible was the best way to conserve stamina.
His team members agreed with his plan and readily put it into action.
“Hah!”
The sight of his team members rushing forward in unison, brandishing their swords, was truly dependable.
In contrast, Group 3 failed to react properly even as their opponents closed in.
Bern Vigete thought the battle wouldn’t take long to conclude.
But he was wrong.
The cadets of Group 3 hadn’t failed to react.
They had intentionally chosen not to.
He realized this fact far too late.
“Group 3, you crazy bastards!”
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
By then, the bewildered screams of his team members were already echoing across the training grounds.
Just before the clash, the cadets of Group 3 had suddenly turned, exposing their backs.
Seeing their opponents abruptly expose their backs just before their swords could connect, the cadets of Group 1 flinched and twisted their blades away in alarm.
It was a natural reaction, as no one who revered the knight’s code wanted to bear the dishonor of stabbing an opponent in the back.
It was an honorable act, worthy of praise.
And as a reward for that honorable act, they completely lost the initiative.
“Time to run wild, kids!”
It was then that the cadets of Group 3, who had been showing their backs, began to move in unison.
“Hey, you’re my opponent—!”
“Pon, where are you going! Come back!”
“Damn it! I challenge you to a duel!”
Even as they watched the cadets of Group 3 ignore their immediate opponents and attack others, there was nothing the members of Group 1 could do.
All they could manage was to block the swords flying at them.
If they recklessly pressed their assigned opponents, it could easily look like they were ganging up on them.
“Hah!”
They’d advance, then stop, advance, then stop.
The swords cutting through the air halted intermittently.
“Ugh!”
“Gak!”
His team members couldn’t even properly swing their swords and were repeatedly struck.
Amidst them, the cadets of Group 3 were rampaging wildly.
Sometimes they attacked the opponent in front of them; other times, they suddenly struck an opponent to the side.
At other times, they would abruptly turn and swing their swords behind them.
Faced with this chaotic assault from all directions, the members of Group 1 couldn’t get their bearings.
*Grit.*
Watching the scene, Bern Vigete ground his teeth.
The honorable battle he had envisioned when first drafting his plan was nowhere to be seen.
It was a chaotic brawl.
A dizzyingly frantic and utterly undignified fight that would make any spectator frown.
“Well, now this is a rare dogfight.”
“Ah…!”
At the unknown commentator’s assessment, Bern Vigete let out an involuntary gasp.
The description was so apt that he felt a sliver of relief.
But the catharsis of having his frustration articulated was fleeting.
An even greater sense of suffocation washed over him.
His plan, utterly ruined. His team members, tossed about in a classless brawl far from any semblance of honor.
It wasn't unfamiliar.
It was a feeling he had experienced before.
The mock battle he participated in during the entrance exam.
The emotion he felt then was identical to what he was feeling now.
Bern Vigete realized it too late.
He knew what this stifling despair in his chest was.
It was the feeling of defeat.
The moment he recognized it, flames erupted within him.
His sword, which had been hanging loosely since the competition began, now pointed forward.
At its tip was a boy with ash-gray hair.
The instigator of this dreadful commotion.
“Udo, to the left!”
“Selma, Emma! Support Boen!”
“Lian! Finish it!”
The de facto commander of Group 3, who, even now, was driving his team members into a corner with just a few words.
*Swoosh.*
Mage Slayer Yan turned to look at him.
“Ah.”
His round eyes curved.
A vexing smile played on his lips.
“All your team members have been taken out. What will you do? Finally going to step up?”
Bern Vigete’s rage exploded at the cheerfully asked question.
“You dishonorable cur!”
Bern Vigete kicked off the ground.
***
Oh, that one’s completely lost it.
Bern Vigete was charging at me, his eyes gleaming with a cold light.
His face was so fierce, he looked like he wanted to tear me to shreds right this instant.
“Ah, you’ll have to get through the kids first if you want to fight me.”
I said nonchalantly as I watched him.
“Who are you calling a kid!”
“Are you treating us like your underlings?!”
The kids shouted back indignantly.
But contrary to their words, they were already moving to block Bern Vigete, swinging their swords.
“Oh.”
The first to step forward were Dario and Peter.
The two of them swung their swords at Bern Vigete from the left and right simultaneously.
It was truly commendable and heartening to see them no longer hesitate to attack one person as a pair.
But that was just my personal sentiment.
Their combined attack didn't hold Bern Vigete for even a moment.
*Thud, thud.*
Faint sounds of impact were heard.
Bern Vigete, struck glancing blows on his waist and shoulder, didn't slow down at all.
Udo, Boen, and Pon stood in his way.
*Thwack.*
It was the same this time.
Despite taking successive hits, Bern Vigete continued to charge toward me.
“Not bad.”
He only dodged Udo’s downward strike, the most threatening one, and took the attacks from Boen and Pon with his body.
His judgment in that brief moment was considerable.
It seemed that a scion of one of the Eight Families couldn't be dismissed as a mere pampered brat.
Only three remained before he reached me.
The twin sisters and Lian.
“Lian! If you have even a shred of honor left, do not stand in my way!”
Of the three, Lian was the first to face Bern Vigete.
“If you put it so blatantly, calling it a ‘shred,’ I can’t exactly step aside even if I wanted to.”
If his opponent was from one of the Eight Families, Lian was a proud member of an Ascendant House.
Bern Vigete’s pace, which had been constant, slowed for the first time.
*Clang! Clang!*
Countless flashes of light from a sword rained down on Lian, who stood firm as a fortress, befitting his title, ‘The Bulwark.’
“You are still not strong enough to overcome the name of the Bulwark… Huh?”
Lian, who had deflected all the sword strikes, was shouting triumphantly when he let out a bewildered sound.
Amazingly, Bern Vigete had left Lian behind and was charging straight for me again.
“Wow, anyone would think we had a personal grudge.”
I couldn't help but genuinely admire his incredible tenacity.
“You bastard!”
A blue will-o’-the-wisp flickered in his eyes.
He really seemed desperate to get his hands on me.
But unfortunately for him, he wouldn't get the chance.
*Flash.*
Two streaks of light suddenly intervened, forcing Bern Vigete to hastily scatter them with his sword.
But the flashes didn't end with one.
*Swoooosh.*
Two more streaks of light cut through the air in succession.
“Hah.”
Bern Vigete gripped his sword with both hands and deflected the flashes.
After blocking the successive attacks, Bern Vigete’s eyes widened for a moment.
Before him stood Selma and Emma, the twin sisters.
He seemed completely unaware that there was anyone in Group 3, besides Lian, skilled enough to stop him.
“Ah, actually, Lian is the weakest of our Four Heavenly Kings. To get to me, you have to get past the ice and fire…”
“Who’s a Heavenly King?!”
“Ice and fire? He must be crazy.”
“Has he no shame?”
At the kids’ protests, I couldn't finish my sentence and clicked my tongue.
Bern Vigete was overly agitated, so I was just trying to cool him down with a joke, but all I got was scolding from the kids.
And he seemed to have gotten even angrier.
“You two, I’m counting on you.”
I dropped the playful tone and made a request to the twin sisters, Selma and Emma.
Bern Vigete’s eyebrow twitched.
It seemed he still didn't consider the two of them his opponents, thinking they had only managed to stop him once by chance.
But that was a clear misjudgment.
Though I had spoken playfully just a moment ago, when considered as a set, Selma and Emma were the strongest in our Group 3 at this point.
The two of them kindly proceeded to carve that fact into Bern Vigete’s bones and muscles.
“Ah…?”
The protective gear on his two arms, swollen and rigid from absorbing impacts beyond their limit.
*Clatter.*
The sword fell from Bern Vigete’s hand.
“…Group 1 is eliminated!”
As if on cue, Instructor Dieter Rissner declared Group 1’s elimination.
Then, the waiting White Knights entered, picked up the cadets of Group 1, who were lying on the ground staring blankly due to their stiffened armor, and carried them away.
“…Huh? Huh? Huh?”
“W-We beat Group 1?”
“Our Group 3 did?”
The kids belatedly let out dazed remarks.
The fact that Group 3, considered the weakest of the Silver Eagle Class, had defeated the universally acknowledged top team, Group 1, seemed utterly unbelievable to them.
And it wasn't just the kids; everyone else here likely felt the same.
“…”
Amelia Justice and the other cadets of Group 2 were silent.
Only their wide eyes and gaping lips betrayed the emotions they were feeling at this moment.
“To defeat Group 1 without a single elimination.”
“I can’t believe it even after seeing it.”
Belated sounds of admiration flowed from among them.
“There was talent in Group 3 other than Lian.”
“I never thought they’d defeat Bern.”
Selma and Emma’s noses rose higher in real-time.
Not just them, but the other kids’ egos had also grown several sizes in that short time.
It seemed their recent victory had given them a considerable boost in confidence.
“Their individual skills haven’t improved much compared to a month ago.”
Someone threw cold water on the celebratory mood.
“It looks like they’re moving randomly, but it’s clear everything was coordinated in advance. Otherwise, there’s no way they could have moved so smoothly while fighting such a chaotic battle.”
Amelia Justice, the leader of Group 2, stepped forward, her sharp eyes scanning our side.
“If we hadn’t seen it, we might not have known, but now that we’ve seen all your tricks, I don’t think we’ll lose.”
Her eyes met mine, and she lifted her chin provocatively.
“I will give you time to recover your stamina.”
At her confident words, I shook my head.
Taking a half-hearted rest for a short time would only cool our bodies down.
Right now, fired up by victory, was a much better time to fight.
“What do you say? Want to come at us first? Like Group 1?”
When I asked with a grin, Amelia Justice shook her head.
She said she wouldn’t be foolish enough to repeat a method that had already failed.
“Is that so? Then…”
I gestured to the kids.
If they weren't coming to us, we would go to them.