Chapter 231
Chapter 231
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 231
Chapter Title: Student Confrontation (2)
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The corridors of White Poplar Hall.
Having entrusted Glen to Karandis, Krash was sprinting down the hallway at breakneck speed.
Boom! Boom!
The noises echoing from all directions were the sounds of battles breaking out throughout the White Poplar Hall building.
Aslan...
He's surely clashing with Barquam right now.
No telling who'll come out on top.
Magic was a pure battle of knowledge, after all.
Compared to Aslan, who'd paused his magical studies for a time, Barquam—as befitting the son of the Demon King—must have researched spells relentlessly.
Barquam was a genius rivaling Aslan.
Have to trust him.
Even if it meant total annihilation in this fight, he had to reach Mayri no matter what.
With that resolve, Krash accelerated even further.
At the same time, his Sixth Sense began spreading out sharply, probing the surroundings.
Mayri would be guarded in the safest spot in White Poplar Hall.
Knowing that, Krash heightened his Sixth Sense to track her down.
Before long, his senses had permeated every corner of the White Poplar Hall building.
It was a chaotic mess with so many people around, but he steadily pursued Mayri's trail.
And soon enough, he spotted a place his Sixth Sense couldn't penetrate.
A spot that felt deliberately shielded from his detection range, like a barrier had been thrown up.
There.
The moment he realized it, Krash whipped his body in that direction.
Maybe he'd overused his Sixth Sense—his head throbbed faintly—but with the location confirmed, there was no time for hesitation.
"It's Krash!"
"Stop him!"
Right then, in the middle of his path, he ran into members of White Poplar Hall and Human-Demon Hall.
Proof that the two halls had allied.
"Hoo."
The instant he spotted them, Krash exhaled smoke from his mouth.
At the same time, he swept Blazing Erosion through his body at high speed and exploded forward in a leap.
As Krash vaulted toward them, a White Poplar Hall member swung a spear at him.
But Krash grabbed the shaft mid-swing, twisted his body upward, and slammed his foot into the man's head.
Crack!
The White Poplar Hall member crumpled into the wall from Krash's counter.
Krash yanked the spear free in one motion and hurled it at a Human-Demon Hall member.
The thrown spear rocketed toward the Human-Demon Hall member with ferocious speed.
The man hurriedly swung his sword to parry it.
But in that instant, the spear vanished from in front of him.
Left slicing empty air, he lost his balance completely.
By the time he sensed the danger and tried to recover his stance, it was too late.
The spear, now back in Krash's hand, had already torn through his chest.
Splat!
"Gahhh!"
The man with his chest ripped open screamed as he tumbled across the floor.
Krash flung the spear he'd been gripping at another who was sneaking up from behind, skewering him, then resumed sprinting down the corridor.
Three cleanly taken out.
They were top talents from their own halls, but they were nowhere near Krash's level.
Unless it was the Generation of the Sky, no one could even grab his ankle.
Perhaps they realized that too.
Krash finally had to halt his charge.
Because a familiar face stood in his path.
"Hoo, so you're the one who showed up."
"...Krash."
As Krash caught his breath and scowled unpleasantly, the man ahead gave a wry smile.
A tall young man with brown hair.
The student captain of Vast Sea Hall.
The hero of the commoners, Pelei.
That's who was waiting there.
White Poplar Hall had Sigrin.
Her influence wielded immense power within the empire.
Vast Sea Hall, filled mostly with commoners from the empire, couldn't stay free of her grasp.
Moreover, Sigrin had lent her strength to ensure nobles couldn't bully the commoner students at Raheln Academy, all for Pelei's sake.
So Pelei couldn't just ignore her freely either.
Krash was well aware of the situation.
Without a word, he pointed Thunderclap at him.
"You'll try to stop me, huh."
"Yeah."
For Vast Sea Hall's sake, Pelei had to block Krash.
With that, Pelei drew his sword to match him.
"I'll stop you, no matter what."
A fierce aura poured from Pelei's body.
He'd grown far stronger than when Krash had saved him from Hardenharts.
Pelei's entered Master realm too, huh.
Everyone was grinding to get stronger like their lives depended on it.
Yet even facing Pelei as an enemy, Krash wore a smile.
Because Pelei had been steadily growing under Krash's guidance.
One day, when crisis struck, he'd be able to overcome it.
"Then I'll break through, no matter what."
With those words, black flames rose from Krash's sword.
Vast Sea Hall's student captain, the hero of the commoners, Pelei.
Raheln Academy's legend, the top of the Martial Department second-years, Krash Valheim.
The moment the two clashed.
The garden in front of White Poplar Hall.
There stood a massive hemispherical space, cut off from the rest of the area.
It was a space made entirely of pitch-black shadows.
Inside that shadow space.
Endless explosions and the clamor of battle rang out without cease.
At the center of the noise was a girl with jet-black hair whipping in the wind.
She dashed through the hemispherical space of dark blue-black hair? Wait, no: jet-black hair.
It was none other than the Sword Saint, Charlotte Valheim.
In that moment, shadow pillars erupted chaotically from the walls of the shadow space toward her.
Charlotte dodged every single one with minimal movement, unperturbed by the onslaught.
At first, she'd sliced through a few shadow pillars.
But like water, the shadows reformed and stretched out regardless of being cut.
So Charlotte opted for evasion over wasting energy swinging her sword.
"You look just like you're dancing."
Watching her was a boy with black hair and red eyes.
Zodiac Gloria.
Shouldering a black scythe made of shadows, he grinned ear to ear at Charlotte's display.
His skill, Umbra.
This was a shadow space he'd created, where he manipulated shadows at will.
The thick shadow outer walls were immune to physical attacks, regenerating instantly no matter how much they were slashed.
For a swordsman, there was only one way out: defeat Zodiac.
But even that wasn't easy.
For one, Zodiac's close-quarters combat wasn't weak.
Clang!
And two, because of the one clashing swords with Charlotte right now.
"Charlotte, your sword always feels so heavy!"
A man with tousled blond hair and a vulgar grin.
Hyzen Hendrickson.
Oddly enough, he wielded the exact same swordsmanship as Charlotte.
His skill, Exigo.
A skill that perfectly mimicked an opponent's secret arts—and if the user's own realm surpassed theirs, it could even replicate their nuances and habits to a tee.
However, the drawback was immense: mimicking others overloaded the user's body.
But right now, Hyzen's weakness was being compensated by something else.
Zodiac's shadow armor enveloping his body.
The shadow armor perfectly supported his flesh, even infiltrating deep inside.
Thanks to it, he could wield Charlotte's swordsmanship, despite her far superior realm.
Charlotte's icy gaze turned to Hyzen.
"Eek."
Hyzen kicked off the ground the moment he saw it—but sword winds battered his position.
But only for a moment.
Charlotte had to parry another sword swinging at her back.
Kaboooom!
The impact from this downward slash was on another level entirely.
Even Charlotte, who blocked it, felt her arm go numb from the shock.
One figure reflected in Charlotte's eyes.
A woman stood there, radiating pure white energy.
Beautiful sea-blue hair.
Sapphire-like shining blue eyes.
Anyone seeing her for the first time would gasp in admiration at her stunning beauty.
The empire's Third Princess, Sigrin Epania.
One of the Ten Heavenly Swords.
The wielder of the "Sword of White Flash" had struck at Charlotte.
Crack!
Part of the sword in Charlotte's hand froze over.
The cold of the imperial White Dragon bloodline had seeped from the Sword of White Flash.
Charlotte grimaced slightly, whipping up sword winds around her—only for Sigrin's White Dragon aura to pour forth.
Scraaaaaape!
Charlotte's sword winds clashed with Sigrin's White Dragon aura, unleashing a deafening roar.
Neither overwhelmed the other, but both forces canceled out simultaneously.
Charlotte's signature secret art, Sword Realm—which shone brightest in group fights—had been nullified.
"You're in quite the pickle."
Charlotte batted away Sigrin's sword, who smiled faintly over the blade of White Flash.
Immediately after, as Charlotte swung, shadow pillars surged up before Sigrin.
Clang!
This time, a solid-form shadow pillar—not liquid—clashed with Charlotte's sword.
It only bought a split second, but Sigrin used it to pull back.
Meanwhile, shadow pillars began raining down again.
Between them, Sigrin and Hyzen relentlessly pressed Charlotte.
They conserved their stamina while forcing her into nonstop combat.
Persistent.
Charlotte didn't see it as cowardly.
Holding back against the strong was foolishness.
The real issue was Sigrin, more than anyone.
Doesn't feel good.
Sigrin was already one of Raheln Academy's top fighters.
For some reason—perhaps deliberate—she'd kept a certain distance, avoiding direct clashes with Charlotte.
So Charlotte hadn't gauged her full strength.
But now, clashing directly, she understood.
Why their two names were always mentioned in the same breath at Raheln.
Not hype without substance.
Sigrin was strong.
The White Dragon power unique to Epania imperial blood elevated her body beyond mortal limits.
Like the so-called blessed heavenly martial body.
Among the imperial line, Sigrin wielded the strongest White Dragon force.
Naturally emanating cold made even Charlotte hesitate to close in.
Plus, the White Dragon bloodline's inherent aura overwhelmed foes psychologically.
Anyone but Charlotte would bow in submission or cower in terror upon facing her.
Sigrin's White Dragon presence was a cheat ability.
But the main reason Charlotte felt uneasy was something else.
My sword's getting heavier the longer this drags on.
Each clash with Sigrin's sword amplified its power progressively.
In fact, it was now nearly three times stronger than at the start.
Charlotte couldn't pinpoint why.
She didn't know the origin of Sigrin's bizarre swordsmanship.
But one thing she was certain of.
If it reaches ten times...
She wouldn't be able to block Sigrin's sword anymore.
And it wouldn't take long.
She was shocked.
To think she'd sense defeat against someone from Raheln Academy.
Interesting.
And for some reason, the corner of her mouth twisted upward.
Normally, anxiety would lead to mistakes—but not for Charlotte.
She was Charlotte Valheim.
Her face warped into a demonic grin.
How far could she push her true power?
She decided to test it.