Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Bit the Bait
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"Interesting. If I take down that crow they call the master of the empire's underbelly, I'll get some real high praise."
Garda seemed pretty confident in his skills as he swung his greatsword around with a whoosh.
"Both contestants, prepare... Begin!"
In the meantime, the announcer called for the start of the match.
Garda kicked off the ground in the same stance, gripping his greatsword, and charged forward.
At the same time, his robe billowed, fully revealing his appearance.
The people who saw it belatedly realized his identity.
"A child of the Prea battle tribe!"
Deep green eyes and the distinctive tattoos covering his body.
The Prea, a small tribe living in the Prea Mountains, known as the most treacherous range in the empire, and bearing the mountain's own name.
Garda was a child of that Prea tribe.
Among the empire's regions, Prea was rumored to suffer the worst from World Erosion.
Those raised there possessed innate martial prowess and were called the battle tribe.
So, if he was a child of that battle tribe, could even the Night Raven be defeated?
That thought flashed through their minds.
But it didn't last long before their opinions began to shift.
Krash was only dodging Garda's greatsword swings.
"Aw, he's just dodging."
"Can't even find an opening to counter?"
At first, the spectators mistook it for desperate evasion, but as time passed, that perception changed.
Garda's attacks were fierce.
But no matter how sharp the offense, it meant nothing if not a single blow landed.
Krash hadn't been hit by even one of Garda's attacks.
He dodged them all with precision bordering on precognition.
"N-No, that's not it."
"He's doing it on purpose. He's deliberately dodging!"
Those who noticed gasped in shock.
It was safe to say Krash was toying with his opponent right now.
It was a performance impossible without a vast gap in skill.
"What the hell is that guy?"
"The Night Raven! Was 'assassin nobility' just empty talk?"
"We mocked them, calling them assassin nobles lurking in the shadows. Who knew they were this good."
"The Prea kid can't even land a hit."
The crowd couldn't hold back their admiration.
Even if it was a joke, the Night Raven were called assassin nobles for a reason.
That made Krash's evasive maneuvers all the more convincing proof of his Night Raven identity.
"Ugh, you rat bastard!"
Even Garda, facing Krash, couldn't hide his growing anxiety.
No matter how much of a Prea battle tribesman he was, he was still just a 15-year-old boy.
Mentally immature, his movements began to stiffen under Krash's agile footwork and the crowd's gaze.
"Kuh!"
In an attempt to shake off his hesitation, he instinctively swung his greatsword in a wide arc.
Whoosh!
The space where the greatsword passed.
Garda's eyes widened hugely.
Because Krash, who had been there moments ago, had vanished.
"You were too hasty."
At that instant, a voice came from behind him.
Crack!
Krash's swung fist slammed precisely into his back.
Thud!
At the same time, the follow-up strike from Inch Strength ravaged Garda's internals.
"Gahk!"
Garda couldn't withstand the impact and tumbled across the ground.
No amount of trained physique could block Inch Strength.
Drained of stamina from his frantic movements, he passed out from that single blow.
The referee, confirming it directly, raised his hand toward Krash's side.
"Winner: Krash!"
"Wooooaaah!"
At that moment, a massive cheer erupted from the stands.
It was only natural after glimpsing the veiled prowess of the Night Raven.
'Though I'm not actually the Night Raven.'
Krash chuckled inwardly, having fully capitalized on the rumors Sigrin had spread.
By now, the real Night Raven must be in utter panic.
'And they'll come closing in.'
They wouldn't leave a fake Night Raven alone.
Krash glanced briefly at Garda.
Sorry about that.
He had been a top contender, after all.
'Besides, another Prea kid from the Generation of the Sky is already guaranteed entry to Raheln Academy, so the tribe probably doesn't mind.'
The real Prea child belonging to the Generation of the Sky.
With that thought, Krash started walking.
At that moment, his eyes met someone in the stands.
It was Sizly, giving him a faint smile.
Despite the warning, her presence at the martial tournament meant she had seen through Sigrin's plan too.
Sizly was sharp like that.
-Night Raven, huh? What a cool identity.
Though her voice didn't reach him, Krash read her lips.
She knew he wasn't the Night Raven and was teasing him anyway.
Krash ignored her and headed to the exam waiting room.
'The bait's been laid.'
Now he just had to wait for the one to bite.
Clack, clack—
As Krash walked down the corridor, footsteps approached from the opposite direction.
Realizing they belonged to another contestant, Krash looked up.
There stood a man.
Tall with long limbs, he had dull black hair hanging down lengthy.
His eyes, devoid of any light, fixed on Krash before his lips curled slightly.
"Fun impersonating the Night Raven?"
The moment Krash registered the voice from his throat,
A white blade surged from below, halting right at Krash's throat.
Because Krash had grabbed his wrist.
"Whoa, no way."
Krash looked up at him with a dumbfounded chuckle.
"Didn't expect you to bite the bait so immediately."
Was this good luck or bad?
The real Night Raven had come to punish him.
＊＊＊
Since ancient times, crows had been seen as ominous creatures that fed on corpses.
They were beings closest to death, lingering by the dying.
The Night Raven, bearing that name.
One of their assassins now stood before Krash.
Yet Krash tilted his head at the Night Raven member in front of him.
"Huh?"
A short, puzzled sound escaped his lips.
In that instant, a sword flew from the arm opposite the one Krash held.
Krash casually dodged the blade aimed at his head and kicked the man in the stomach, pushing him back.
The man retreated a few steps but showed no sign of pain.
Watching that, Krash grew even more certain.
About the true identity of the guy before him.
"This is new even for me."
Krash didn't know much about the Night Raven.
The biggest reason was that they had vanished while he was attending Raheln Academy.
The rumors had spread far and wide.
The empire's kids had made such a fuss about the Night Raven being wiped out.
After that, aside from learning they were actually a hidden weapon of the imperial family, he hadn't heard a thing.
Who would've thought the Night Raven's true nature was this guy.
'Did Arthur pick him up?'
Fitting for a regressor.
He must have known and acted ahead of time.
'That's why they disappeared during my academy days.'
And this time, Sigrin had gotten to the Night Raven before Arthur.
Having been with Arthur, she must have known their true identity already.
"Not bad?"
In the meantime, the man cracked his neck and spun his sword in a bizarre pose.
"So, impersonating the Night Raven means you've got some skill?"
He flashed a relaxed smile.
The moment it faded, another sword strike came.
Krash drew his sword and parried it cleanly.
The man opted for a swift thrust, but Krash's slow counters deflected them all.
He couldn't match Krash in swordsmanship.
The instant he realized that, the man's mouth gaped wide.
What burst from it was a poison-coated dagger.
Krash tilted his head to dodge it, and then an arm protruded from the man's clothes.
An arm made of black bone.
It shot toward Krash in an instant and promptly struck his body.
A sinister grin spread across the man's face.
He was certain Krash was dead.
"What're you doing?"
But Krash looked up at him perfectly fine.
"Wha—"
In his moment of fluster, Krash's fist rocketed up, smashing into his jaw.
The man tumbled to the ground, vision spinning.
Krash stomped on the fallen man's chest and dusted his hands.
"Death arts born from World Erosion don't work on me."
Extreme Blood Poison Infusion neutralized all such techniques.
"W-World Erosion power... What the hell are you...?"
Seeing Krash wield World Erosion power, the man paled in shock.
Krash looked down at him and scratched the back of his head.
He had planned to lure the Night Raven and propose a deal to help them escape Sigrin.
This changed things; he'd need to adjust a few plans.
"Evelask."
So Krash called his name.
The moment he did, the man's body froze stiff, and Krash asked,
"Where are you right now?"
"Wh-what, what is this? You!?"
The man blurted out in panic.
Krash cracked his neck, seeing the intense reaction to just five letters.
"Sigrin's got your heart right now, doesn't she?"
"Hik! Hiiik!?"
He even screamed.
The man who saw right through him embodied pure terror.
Krash spoke calmly to him.
"Let's make a deal."
"A d-deal?"
"I'll get your heart back for you."
For the first time, the man's expression changed.
He didn't know how Krash knew him, but Evelask couldn't ignore those words.
"In exchange, tell me everything about Sigrin's plan to reclaim your heart and what she's ordered you to do."
And so Krash tempted Evelask to betray her.
The World Erosion being whose heart was taken by the imperial family, imprisoned for a millennium.
The Necromancer.
Evelask Benapoci.