Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: 25. Wilderness Festival
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My provocation caused the smile on Lucian's lips to shatter into pieces.
He set the wine glass he was holding down on the table with a sharp clink.
"...An eyesore, you say?"
Lucian murmured softly.
His voice was calm and serene, but the killing intent laced within it was fierce enough to drop the room's temperature below freezing in an instant.
"No one's ever wagged their tongue like that in front of me and walked out on their own two feet."
"Then I'll be the first."
Screeech.
"...Ungrateful rat, you don't know your place."
The chair screeched as it was pushed back. His movements as he slowly rose were elegant.
But the aura he exuded was sticky and repulsive, like a serpent tightening around one's throat.
"Kill him."
With a flick of his finger, his command rang out, and killing intent surged from all directions.
Seven burly men raised their swords and axes in unison, charging straight at me.
"Hell yeah! Orders are given—kill him!"
"Lord Lucian's taking responsibility! Tear him apart!"
They rushed in like a pack of wolves that had caught the scent of blood, looking fairly ferocious.
But to my eyes, they were just like excited puppies spotting food.
No, that might be an insult to puppies.
These guys were just disgusting.
I stood there, arms crossed, not moving a muscle.
Even as their gleaming blades closed in on my neck.
"Tundra."
I murmured his name in a low voice, mimicking him, and flicked my finger.
Shhrrk.
The shadow at my feet rippled, and black figures erupted upward.
Thud!
"...W-what the hell?!"
"My feet... my feet won't move! What the fuck?!"
Black hands seized their ankles in an instant, yanking them down to the floor with tremendous force.
[I shall carry out your command, my lord!]
Tundra's cheerful voice echoed in my mind.
"...What, what is this?! I'm being dragged!"
"S-save me!"
The men finally grasped the situation and screamed from all sides, but it was already too late.
They were sucked helplessly into the shadows like sinking into a swamp.
In mere seconds, all seven vanished without a trace.
"..."
As if the chaos had been a lie, silence returned to the room.
"Not bad, right? How's my magic that cleaned up the trash in a flash?"
I shrugged and looked at Lucian.
A faint crack appeared for the first time on the face of the man whose expression hadn't changed once.
"...So you had something to rely on."
"You're not the only one with minions."
Lucian's lips twisted as if holding back rage.
But I ignored it and took another step forward.
"Not sending the guy behind you? You can't just let him stand there gawking."
My gaze shifted to the man standing like a shadow behind Lucian.
I hadn't bothered with the others—they were nobodies anyway.
But that one back there looked somewhat competent.
"As if."
Lucian raised his hand.
"Jesse."
"Yes."
At Lucian's call, the shadow stepped forward slowly.
Black energy rose from both his hands, instantly forming two sharp curved swords.
'Mana materialization, huh.'
Not summoning a weapon, but solidifying mana itself into one—an advanced technique.
Definitely a cut above those earlier thugs.
"Dual wielding?"
Interesting.
Not many at the academy used dual blades.
"Kill him."
At Lucian's command, his figure blurred.
Flash!
In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and swung his twin blades.
Two blades crossed toward me.
Aiming straight for my neck with no room to dodge.
Shing.
I leaned back with minimal movement to evade.
A sharp whoosh cut through the air, severing a few strands of my hair.
"Whoa, pretty fast!"
"..."
He ignored my genuine admiration and launched the second attack without a word.
This time, a tricky combo of low sweeps and thrusts.
His movements flowed seamlessly without a single opening.
Clang! Scraaaape!
No time to draw my sword—I deflected with fists and feet.
The clash of steel and flesh rang out sharply.
'Definitely fast.'
And not just in raw speed.
This Jesse guy's swordsmanship was bizarre.
Flexible like a spineless mollusk, yet piercing like a needle when targeting vitals.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Clothes tore under the relentless assault, a scratch bloomed on my cheek.
Anyone charging in blindly would take a fatal blow in seconds.
His strikes were sharp, one and all.
But I didn't retreat.
Instead, I pushed forward step by step through the barrage, pressuring him.
"That all you got?"
Clang!
I smacked his curved sword with my knuckles and grinned.
"Tch. Decent speed, but no real weight behind it."
"...!"
Jesse's eyes flickered.
Probably rattled that all his attacks were being blocked.
"My turn now?"
Flash!
I drew on my power, aura wrapping my fist with heavy pressure.
"Watch closely. This is real power."
Boom!
Instinct drove him to cross his blades in desperate defense.
Futile. My mana-clad fist smashed through, shattering the swords into fragments.
"...Kuh!"
Jesse's eyes widened for the first time, his composure cracking.
I didn't miss the opening from the weapon's destruction.
Kaboom!
"Guhak...!"
A heavy impact sent him flying through the air.
Crash!
He slammed into the wall with a gruesome thud and tumbled to the floor.
Blood spurted from his mouth, staining the ground red.
"Cough...!"
His face twisted in agony as he gasped for breath.
The refined poise from moments ago was gone, leaving only a groaning loser.
"Damn, you're useful. Even tanked that."
I dusted off my wrist.
Normally, that would've ruptured organs and knocked him out, but he'd shielded himself with mana just in time to stay conscious.
Too bad—passing out would've hurt less.
Definitely a league above those earlier scrubs.
With skills like this, he'd be on par with Tundra or Borin.
"..."
Hmm.
Tempting.
"Tundra."
I called his name softly, and the shadow rippled with his voice.
[Yes, my lord.]
"I like this one. Grab him."
I nodded toward Jesse.
"He could be useful with some polishing."
[Ooh, another recruit? Hell yeah! Fresh meat incoming!]
With Tundra's excited voice, black hands surged up again.
They began swallowing Jesse's body, which heaved with ragged breaths and had no strength left to resist.
"Grrk... l-let... go...!"
He thrashed with his last ounce of energy, but half his body was already submerged in shadow.
Despair filled his eyes as he was slowly consumed.
[Welcome aboard, newbie! Big bro's gonna take real good care of ya!]
With Tundra's sleazy laugh, Jesse vanished completely.
Heavy silence settled over the room once more.
Just the two of us left.
"You're the last one now."
"Impressive."
"I know. I'm pretty strong."
A sigh that wasn't quite admiration escaped Lucian's lips.
Even with his loyal subordinate vanishing before his eyes, there was no agitation or regret on his face.
Does this bastard lack any emotions?
"Didn't expect Jesse to go down that easy. Honestly surprising."
He pulled white gloves from his coat pocket and slipped them on slowly.
So leisurely and aloof, like a noble prepping for a ball.
"Not stalling, are you? Hurry it up."
"Don't rush me."
"Let's wrap this quick so I can sleep. I'm busy."
Busy tomorrow too.
Irritated by his sluggish pace, I snapped.
Lucian clenched and unclenched his gloved fist.
"One must prepare before enjoying a feast."
What?
"...Feast?"
"Indeed. Your screams will be the main course of tonight's banquet."
"...Bullshit."
With preparations complete, he drew his sword.
The blade gleamed coldly in the dim light.
And coiling around it like a serpent was a blood-red aura.
...Serpent?
"...Hey. Where'd you learn that?"
"Does a man about to die need to know?"
The energy writhing from his sword wasn't the standard mana control nobles used.
"Trendy these days for young masters to pick up back-alley tricks?"
Not mere condensed mana, but a sinister power born from burning life force.
No technique a noble heir should know.
"I don't know what magic you're using... but this time will be different."
Lucian's eyes turned crimson.
Sticky killing intent rose like mist, filling the room.
Thick with the stench of blood, choking.
How many had he killed to exude it so naturally?
Disgust made me stick out my tongue.
"Feels like it'll end the same."
My taunt made his brow twitch.
Flash!
Before my words finished, his figure vanished from sight.
No form, no presence—like teleportation magic.
But I quietly pointed my drawn sword at a spot.
Empty air.
Anyone watching might call it madness, but I thrust without hesitation.
Kaboom!
Sparks flew with a harsh scrape.
Lucian appeared abruptly in midair.
My pre-extended blade blocked his descending sword.
"...How did you know?"
For the first time, shock widened the eyes of the great Lucian.
No way to predict it without foresight.
"I smelled you."
I grinned and pressed my sword harder.
"That disgusting stench of blood on you."
Scraaaape! Kaboom!
The steel-blue sword arced like the moon.
Evan dodged and pulled Lucian into his range with Nightfrost.
Clang! Scraaaaape!
Dozens of exchanges later, the old warehouse was utterly wrecked.
Walls crumbled, floors caved, but the two ignored it, swinging relentlessly.
Kaboom! Clang clang!
Lucian's swordsmanship was far from orthodox.
No noble elegance—just a hunter's craft honed purely for killing.
Perhaps that's why he craved noble arrogance.
Infused with that life-burning energy, its power was beyond imagination.
Kabooooom!
Another clash sent shockwaves crumbling the warehouse wall.
Through the dust cloud, Lucian's bloodshot eyes gleamed.
"...Not bad. Didn't expect this level."
He panted roughly but kept his predatory smile.
Bluffing he still had margin. But his sword hand trembled faintly.
"You're decent too. Thought you were all talk. S-class worthy, huh?"
I shrugged back at his arrogance.
Lucian was strong, indeed. Fitting for a second-year S-class.
But.
'That's it.'
His swordplay, movements, even breaths—all crystal clear to me.
Even his technique of erasing presence.
Tricky, but manageable.
Yeah, just tricky. Nothing more.
Exactly that level.
"Seen enough. Time to end it. Getting boring."
I shook blood from my blade and assumed stance, sword vertical.
Fun, but not worth more time.
"That's my line!"
The man who'd sneered at others all his life finally tasted.
That condescending tone, that gaze looking down.
Rage exploded his blood-red aura.
A thicker, stickier killing intent filled the space.
"How dare you, you arrogant shit... look down on me?!"
His eyes fully crimson, reason gone.
Only madness to rip the enemy apart remained.
"I'll chew and swallow every scrap of your flesh!"
Roaring, he kicked off the ground.
His sword tore the air with a rift-like boom.
"Whew. Coming in scary."
Hummm!
Facing the strike about to cleave me, I surged mana through my body.
"Black King Style Swordsmanship, Third Form."
Thump!
I focused every nerve on the blade tip.
In the frozen stillness, only his heartbeat echoed.
Thump!
"Flash."
Flash!
Two sword flashes crossed in the air.
Kaboooooom!
A world-splitting roar unleashed massive shockwaves.
The roof flew off, walls shattered and collapsed.
Dust clouds blanketed everything.
And from within came a groan.
"Gahak...!"
As dust settled, the devastation revealed itself.
At the center, Lucian knelt vomiting blood.
"Impossible...!"
His sword was snapped in half.
A deep gash ran across his chest.
"H-how... me...!"
He muttered at the broken blade in disbelief.
Even with life-burning power, defeat was inconceivable.
I sheathed my sword and approached slowly.
"Told you. Boring."
"What trick did you...!"
Lucian tried to rise screaming, but his legs buckled.
His body was at its limit.
"Stay put now. Before you get uglier."
"Damn... you...!"
I grabbed his collar and hoisted him up.
His limp body was feather-light.
"No matter how loaded your family is, this is the academy. You'll pay."
I nudged Zeke sprawled on the floor with my foot.
"Hey. Get up."
"Eek! P-please spare me!"
Zeke, huddled trembling in the corner, shrieked in terror.
He'd lost the will to fight long ago watching Lucian fall.
"Listen well."
I spoke lowly to the quaking Zeke.
"When the guards come, explain properly. I wasn't here. Got it if you spout bullshit?"
He nodded frantically at my threat.
Having seen this, he wouldn't dare lie anyway.
"Take care."
Thump thump.
Seemed smart enough to handle it.
I patted his shoulder twice and left the warehouse without looking back.
Cleanup wasn't my problem.
Iris probably handed those guys to the guards by now anyway—this place would get noisy soon.
"...Time to head back and sleep."
Moving made the fatigue finally hit.