Chapter 229
Chapter 229
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 229
Chapter Title: Shattering the Aries Squad
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White Sheep Squad.
It was the squad formed around the Empire's Third Princess, Sigrin Epania.
Originally, the Aries Squad should have been made up entirely of Empire loyalists.
But the current Aries Squad was anything but.
That was because it had become a gathering of all sorts of colorful personalities.
"Ughhh, now that that's done, I wanna go find Krash."
The first voice belonged to the burliest man in the Aries Squad.
Arshoulder Prea, son of Prea.
One of the freest spirits among the Generation of the Sky, he let out a massive yawn, showing zero willingness to cooperate.
"Ugh, Arshoulder, you didn't brush your teeth again, did you? You filthy bastard! Get out right now! I can't stand sharing the same space with you every time!"
A man recoiled from him in disgust, putting as much distance as possible between them before pulling out some wet wipes to cover his nose.
Starting with this germaphobe who had his entire body wrapped up tight, head aside.
"Sigreeen~ The kids are fighting again. Why not just kick them all out and keep only me?"
In stark contrast to Arshoulder, a boy of small stature—who could almost pass for a girl at a glance—flashed a smile to show off his cuteness.
"Whoa, that girl passing by is hot. Totally my type."
And then there was the one grinning ear to ear at a female student walking past the classroom window.
This sleazy-smiling guy shot Sigrin a provocative look as if it were the most natural thing.
Finally, the man with his eyes covered by sunglasses hadn't said a word, but bizarre orbs floated around him.
Everyone gathered here was bursting with their own quirks.
This was the result of Sigrin actively recruiting from the Generation of the Sky.
However, Sigrin had a few shortcomings.
She had the power to draw people in, but not to lead them.
As proof, no one here knew how to unite.
They all acted like they were the best.
But even so, everyone knew who the leader was here.
"That's enough."
The moment Sigrin's voice rang out from where she lounged on the sofa, the classroom's atmosphere shifted.
The chaos from moments ago vanished in an instant.
"Meiri."
Sigrin called to Meiri, the Aries Squad's secretary standing by her side.
Meiri bowed politely to Sigrin before delivering her report.
"The Lion Squad is heading this way right now. It looks like they're targeting us from the start."
Meiri's specialty was detection skills.
Among the Generation of the Sky, she possessed the widest-range detection techniques, so she'd spotted the Lion Squad's movements immediately.
"What about the Yinma Squad and Gehae Squad?"
"I just instructed Toy and Tai to relay the Lion Squad's movements to them."
Sigrin's subordinate twins—White Serpent Toy Popoa and Black Serpent Tai Popoa—had been dispatched to the Yinma Squad and Gehae Squad respectively.
This was so they could report back immediately if anything happened.
Satisfied with Meiri's competent handling, Sigrin rose from her seat.
"You all heard that, right?"
Over the past period, Sigrin had tried training and managing the Generation of the Sky recruits in her own way.
But handling these strong personalities was no easy task.
So Sigrin had reached a conclusion.
Rather than forcing these headstrong types to unite, it was better to let each do what they did best.
"At least I don't think any of you will tarnish the Aries Squad's name."
Sigrin didn't mind if they didn't band together.
After all, each individual's power in the Generation of the Sky was on a whole different level.
"Annihilate the Lion Squad."
She would tolerate no defeat.
With those words, she flung open the classroom door.
And there stood a man gripping a spear.
His once-serious eyes had lost much of their spark compared to before.
But the aura emanating from his body was as sharp as any first-genner's.
Glen Diana.
The cousin of former Divine Spear Mary Diana.
"You too, Glen."
"Yes, Lady Sigrin."
Glen bowed his head at Sigrin's command.
Sigrin brushed past him.
This was all-out war with the Lion Squad.
'No matter what...'
Charlotte Valheim.
Krash Valheim.
These two siblings had to be crushed this time.
Sigrin's blue eyes gleamed coldly.
The Aries Squad's building was on the western side of the Martial Arts Department's formation.
Krash and his group arrived there and hid themselves.
The Aries Squad had Meiri, the detection specialist.
She would later even detect the Worst Calamity itself—her sensing abilities were that exceptional.
So the Lion Squad didn't move rashly either.
There was no upside to their movements being detected.
"If we go just a bit farther in, even my magic will definitely get spotted."
Currently, the Lion Squad was concealing themselves with Aslan's magic.
But Aslan's spell only went this far.
About 300 meters from the Aries Squad building.
Even at that distance, Meiri's detection pierced through Aslan's magic.
"Meiri is the Aries Squad's key brain. Her outstanding detection and rapid information relay are the main drivers of the Aries Squad."
Delron, son of the Staron Kingdom's prime minister, adjusted his glasses as he explained Meiri's role.
"Eliminating her takes top priority over the others.
The Aries Squad relies on her the most.
Given their trait of having many elites but failing to unite, her presence might even surpass Sigrin Epania herself."
Remove Meiri, and the Aries Squad loses its command structure.
Of course, that wouldn't weaken the power of those in the Generation of the Sky.
But the Lion Squad was Generation of the Sky too.
With a solid command structure, the outcome of an all-out battle between the Lion Squad and Aries Squad was already decided.
"The problem is Senior Meiri's position."
"Yes, she'll be guarded at the heart of it all. High chance she has one of the bracelets too."
The other was almost certainly with Sigrin.
Krash pondered Delron's explanation.
Like Delron, Krash wanted to prioritize taking out Meiri.
But to do that, they first had to disrupt her detection.
Otherwise, even approaching would be impossible.
"Simple."
At that moment, Charlotte, who'd been watching the Aries Squad building, spoke up.
A vicious smile curled her lips.
"I'll be the bait. The rest of you hit 'em from behind."
Everyone froze at her words.
"Lady Charlotte."
Even Delron, who usually backed her ideas, tried to dissuade her.
Charlotte was undoubtedly the Lion Squad's strongest fighter.
But she was still human.
No matter how strong, clashing head-on with the Generation of the Sky in the Aries Squad would drain her stamina.
Especially since the enemy had siege-ready mages lined up.
If it were close range, maybe.
But crossing nearly 300 meters under a barrage of spells would sap even her strength.
With the showdown lasting until 18:00, no one wanted to burn energy like that.
"You guys are misunderstanding. Bait means bait—literally."
"Ah."
That was when Krash caught on to Charlotte's intent.
"The weakness of detection types."
Krash's words made Charlotte's lip curl higher.
Delron let out a short "Ah" too.
Detection abilities shared a common flaw.
They were incredibly delicate skills.
And the more delicate the ability, the weaker it was to sudden, massive shocks.
If the impact exceeded what the brain could process, it would shut down momentarily.
Charlotte planned to exploit that.
And it was a move only she could pull off.
"Let's do it."
It seemed the most feasible plan to Krash as well.
"Sis, can you come back safe?"
But her being the bait was still the reality.
When Krash asked, Charlotte snorted.
"Who do you think I am? Piece of cake."
She was the most reliable sister in the world.
Krash's eyes met everyone else's.
Operation start.
Lion Squad member Meiri.
A commoner, she hadn't been highly regarded by others originally.
Because her visible combat prowess wasn't that impressive.
But she had an innate detection ability, even without fighting skills.
That was why, on the day of Raheln Academy's entrance exam, she put on a bizarre show.
Without landing a single attack, she dodged everything her opponent threw, wearing them down until they collapsed from exhaustion.
The sight of this petite girl making a musclebound brute tire out by pure evasion...
It felt a bit cowardly to onlookers, but everyone acknowledged it.
Her application of detection into evasion was the best in Raheln Academy.
And now.
A massive presence hit Meiri's senses.
Clack, clack—
A lone woman strolling leisurely toward the Aries Squad building.
Her deep navy hair and blue eyes stood out; she was like a proud blue rose atop a cliff.
"Charlotte Valheim is on the move."
The moment Meiri detected her, she reported it to the entire Aries Squad.
'Is she seriously heading for the Aries Squad alone?'
Most would suspect a trap, but this was Charlotte.
She just might come alone for real.
"What the—"
- Meiri, shut off detection now!
It happened in that instant.
As her doubt formed, Sigrin's sharp shout rang out.
Meiri tried to react immediately.
But Charlotte's form fully reflected in her senses.
The woman's curled smile twisted like a demon's.
And then Meiri witnessed it: a blue rose blooming to fill her entire detection field.
It was Charlotte's destructive killing intent and aura.
A saturation from a realm beyond human.
The moment her exquisitely sensitive detection clashed with it directly...
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
Meiri screamed, nosebleed and tears of blood streaming as she collapsed rolling on the floor.
"Meiri!"
The first-genners guarding her rushed over in shock.
They hurried to administer first aid, but Meiri's mind was utterly blanked out.
Charlotte's power had overwhelmed her detection in that instant.
"L-Lady Sigrin! Meiri's unconscious!"
A panicked first-genner rushed to report her status.
Sigrin ground her teeth at the news.
Even though she'd realized Charlotte's ploy and warned immediately, it was one step too late.
"The rest of you, protect her until she comes to. Lion Squad members will definitely infiltrate the building now. Zodiac Gloria, Hyzen Hendrickson."
At Sigrin's call, two men followed behind her.
"Lady Sigrin, if the Aries Squad wins this time, you'll grant my wish, right?"
One was a black-haired boy with red eyes.
Zodiac Gloria.
"Man, if only Charlotte could fix that attitude of hers."
The other was a blond man with a sleazy grin.
Hyzen Hendrickson.
The perfect combo handpicked by Sigrin herself to take down Charlotte.
"Before that."
Sigrin decided to give Charlotte one gift before facing her.
"Barclam."
The Yinma Squad leader, son of the Heavenly Ten Strong's Demon King.
Barclam Arias, runner-up in magic studies.
Sigrin addressed him, the long-range interception magic specialist.
"Blast her with everything you've got."
Out the window.
A crimson beam scorched the surroundings as it fired.