Chapter 224
Chapter 224
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 224
Chapter Title: Seniors, Your Juniors Have Arrived
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Lion Corps 1st Generation.
They were an exceptionally elite group even among the 1st Gen.
The reason was simple.
Charlotte was just too strong.
The moment they set out on a mission, Charlotte would charge ahead at the front.
To keep up with her, you had to be at a certain level—it was impossible otherwise.
That was why the average strength of the 1st Gen was so high.
And among them.
The man who had been dragged into spars with Charlotte every single day as her personal punching bag.
Kromosh Daikram let out a light sigh as he stood at the center of the 1st Gen group.
The reason he'd been hauled off for training with Charlotte daily? His name.
It was similar enough to Krash's that it barely met her approval.
Thanks to that, Kromosh had endured hellish training regimens over and over.
But because of it, his skills had skyrocketed before he knew it, placing him in the top ranks of the Lion Corps 1st Gen.
He'd started with a solid foundation, and sparring with a powerhouse like Charlotte had triggered explosive growth.
Now, he was treated like the honorary vice-captain of the Lion Corps.
"Fake Krash, sir. Looks like our Charlotte Captain headed that way."
A woman with black bobbed hair tied into twin tails on either side rolled the lollipop in her mouth and grinned cheekily at him.
Chelberry Phaindra.
One of the Lion Corps' Three Mad Cats, alongside Kromosh.
"Don't call me Fake."
Kromosh sighed again at the teasing from beside him.
By now, he was used to it, so it wasn't anything new.
"So that means the real one's coming this way, right?"
And as Chelberry said, if Charlotte had gone to the 2nd Gen side, then Krash would be heading here.
"Our Charlotte Captain's really going too far sometimes. She's deliberately pitting us against opponents we know little about just to give us headaches."
"......I doubt it."
Kromosh quietly refuted Chelberry's words.
He'd suffered the most under Charlotte, so he had a good sense of what she was thinking.
"She probably just wanted to test herself against the 2nd Gen."
"Ah."
Chelberry unwittingly nodded in agreement at Kromosh's words.
That sounded exactly like something Charlotte would think.
"Then doesn't that just leave Krash to deal with all the trouble?"
Chelberry had heard all the rampant rumors about Krash.
But she'd never seen his true strength with her own eyes.
"Well."
Kromosh paused for a moment.
Like Chelberry, he'd never crossed paths with Krash either.
The one solid proof the 1st Gen had of Krash's strength was just one thing.
That he'd beaten Arshould Phrea—one of the 1st Gen's monsters—in a head-on fight.
Impressive as that was, the people here were the elite of the 1st Gen.
One-on-one was one thing, but in group combat, none of them would lose to Arshould.
"This is getting me excited. Wonder just how strong the 2nd Gen's top dog really is."
Chelberry licked her lips out of habit.
She was the type who loved clashing with the strong.
What else? The very reason she'd joined the Lion Corps was because she'd been captivated by Charlotte's strength.
That was when it happened.
"He's here."
Another of the Three Mad Cats.
Kayasim, gripping his long sword, snapped his head up.
The moment his eyes—framed by cream-colored long hair cascading down—caught a presence.
KABOOM!
The Black Flame that engulfed the forest obliterated the entire spot where the 1st Gen had been standing.
Amid the swirling remnants of Black Flame.
On one side, 1st Gen members rolled across the ground.
On the other, those who'd properly blocked the Black Flame glared through the smoke.
The Three Mad Cats were among them.
"Kromosh, Chelberry, Kayasim."
At that moment, a low voice echoed from within the smoke.
The boy who owned it had dark blue hair identical to Charlotte's, swaying quietly.
The instant they locked eyes on that hair color, the three felt a chill run down their spines simultaneously.
They'd only heard tales of Krash, the 2nd Gen's top, but never faced him directly. Their faces twisted in varied expressions.
Kromosh: worry.
Chelberry: ecstasy.
Kayasim: dread.
Krash raised Thunder Roar before the trio expressing their opposing emotions.
"Your juniors have come to pay respects to our seniors."
Not that this rude underclassman who struck first cared about manners.
The moment Krash grinned, the faces of the 1st Gen—including the Three Mad Cats—drained of color.
He'd just unleashed power enough to blow away part of the forest.
Yet his sword was already loaded with the next Black Flame.
With a completely nonchalant expression, Krash immediately swung down the Black Flame.
KRAAANG!
The descending Black Flame swallowed the area whole, surging toward them at blinding speed.
They'd already had their formation shattered once by the previous Black Flame.
If they took another beating here, they'd be defenseless and done for.
THUD!
In that instant, Kromosh stepped forward in front of them.
With his arm turned to stone, he slammed it into the ground.
BOOM!
A soaring rock wall clashed against Krash's Black Flame.
A fierce storm of Black Flame raged.
When the Black Flame cleared, the wall stood—partially eroded, but enduring.
The moment Krash's Black Flame vanished.
A woman seized the opening and advanced.
Moving so fast her legs blurred, she leaped atop the rock in an instant.
In her hand was a massive longbow.
The moment she gripped it, a pure white aura gathered on the bow.
What formed was an arrow of pure aura.
The instant she crafted an arrow spear-sized in scale, she released the string.
FWOOOSH!
A sound no bow should make roared as the arrow shot forward at extreme speed.
Weaving through the forest, it finally reached Krash.
CLANG!
Krash, who cleaved the arrow in two, looked up through the trees at the woman.
There floated Chelberry, her black hair whipping in the wind aloft.
Sagitta
Perfect accuracy from visual lock until target travels 10km
A skill in perfect harmony with her archery.
'Not called the Three Mad Cats for nothing.'
These two were undeniably top-tier among the 1st Gen.
'And finally.'
Krash's gaze pierced beyond the rock.
And in that instant.
SLASH!
The rock cleaved apart, and every surrounding tree halved as slashing waves surged toward Krash.
Krash summoned Flame Extinction Erosion, bulging his arm muscles.
He channeled its flames into Thunder Roar and swung down.
KABOOM!
With an explosive roar, the slashes shattered before him.
The waves' power was immense—the aftershock pulverized nearby trees.
Krash's eyes turned toward the slashes' origin.
There stood a man with cream-colored long hair, drawing his long sword with a click of his tongue.
The last of the Three Mad Cats, Kayasim.
Unlike Krash's swordsmanship, he wielded the blade in iaijutsu mastery unlike any sword ghost.
'So this is the level that keeps up with Charlotte.'
The Three Mad Cats.
Even before Krash's regression, they'd stuck close to Charlotte.
Many had been drawn to follow the star that was Charlotte, even without Raheln Academy.
These three's prowess exceeded Krash's expectations.
'Must be from meeting Charlotte sooner.'
At this point in time, they were far stronger than before.
It wasn't a bad development.
Competition drove people to grow.
Raheln Academy gathered the world's top geniuses.
If those around you kept getting stronger, it pulled out your own talents.
And that would undoubtedly strengthen the Generation of the Sky sooner.
'In the end, bringing Charlotte to Raheln Academy was the right call.'
Krash, who'd overcome countless ordeals thanks to Charlotte, chuckled briefly.
Who'd have thought the day would come when he felt grateful for her in his life.
Truly, you had to live to know what life brought.
'Then.'
He'd let these followers of Charlotte's star know one thing.
That there was another star who shone just as bright.
CLANG!
Krash cleaved another incoming arrow and stomped the ground.
His figure blurred and vanished.
"He's coming!"
Chelberry, spotting him first, nocked an arrow.
He'd started moving, but her arrows never missed.
No matter where Krash was, she was confident. She loosed it, and it streaked through the forest.
But oddly, no sound of him slicing it came.
When her sharp ears strained.
She heard the faint rustle of brushing grass.
And then she witnessed something bizarre.
Her arrow flew through the trees into empty air.
But ahead of it.
Krash was outrunning the arrow.
His figure flickered into view, then gone.
Chelberry's eyes widened as she lost him the moment she spotted him.
Krash was too fast. Way too fast.
"What kind of monster is this guy?!"
As she hurriedly drew the next arrow.
"Once is enough for being chased by arrows."
By the time she whipped around at the voice behind her, it was too late.
CRUNCH!
Her longbow shattered against Krash's sword.
A steel bow reinforced with full aura.
The sight was utterly shocking.
But Chelberry had no time to gape.
Krash's sword, having destroyed the bow, was already closing in on her.
RUMBLE!
Just then, the rock beneath her feet crumbled.
Kromosh had collapsed it.
WHOOSH!
Krash's sword grazed past her head by a hair's breadth.
Seizing the gap, she kicked off the crumbling rock and leaped down.
The 36 Stratagems: run like hell.
Krash immediately pursued, kicking off the rocks after her.
BOOM!
But rock pillars erupted from the ground, blocking his path.
Kromosh's sabotage to hinder him.
Krash smirked at the sight.
Sorry, but these wouldn't stop him anymore.
As Flame Extinction Erosion flared around his body, Heavenly Killing Star gleamed against Knox's night sky.
Red-hot aura rose from his sword.
ROAR!
Krash thrust at the rising pillars.
SLASH!
The pillars sliced clean like tofu.
In one motion, Krash kicked the severed pillars toward fleeing Chelberry.
The collapsing debris plummeted at her.
Just before it crushed her.
SHRRRIP!
A barrage of slashes shattered the pillars to dust.
Kayasim's iaijutsu.
Through the debris, Chelberry came into view.
Beneath the fragments, she aimed an arrow at Krash.
Bowless now, she wielded one forged purely from aura.
The arrow brimmed with condensed aura.
Using the blinded moment from the pillar.
Trusting Kayasim to shatter it, she'd prepared her strike.
True to the Three Mad Cats, their teamwork was seamless.
Wind howled around Chelberry's arrow.
Pillar shards whipped fiercely in the gale.
The air warped, rotating around her.
This shot would end it.
Her fingertips tore as a storm of power surged into the arrow.
GRIT!
Chelberry gnashed her teeth to splinters.
The instant her eyes bulged wide.
TWANG!
Her fingers released, and the arrow vanished into a whirlwind.
The target: Krash.
A gale arrow meant solely to fell him swallowed all in its path.
"War Tempest Bow" "Fifth Form" "Storm Tempest Bow"
⟨ Battle Tempest Archery ⟩
The storm engulfed even the pillar remnants, whipping Krash's hair.
Her arrow, inches from his face, seemed poised to impale him.
But before it, he wore a savage grin.
Dark red energy poured from him, eroding everything around.
Even an arrow without will hesitated.
His sheer presence froze every 1st Gen here.
The moment alarm bells screamed in their minds.
Krash spoke.
"I told you already."
CRACKLE!
Thunder boomed from Krash's sword.
Those who heard it snapped to their senses late.
The thought to flee flashed through their heads.
But realizing it was far too late took only moments more.
SHATTER!
Something broke on Krash's sword as lightning and flames erupted.
Within that thunderfire.
Krash thrust forward.
"Flame Extinction Erosion" "Third Form" "Flame Extinction Heavenly Thunder"
⟨ Annihilating Inferno Storm ⟩
The storm of thunder essence and Black Flame erased Chelberry's secret art, the pillars—everything.