Chapter 207
Chapter 207
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: Finals (2)
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Yuri stood still for a moment, taking in the atmosphere around him.
First off, jeers erupted from behind him nonstop—cowardly, sneaky, dirty, that sort of thing.
Of course, Yuri ignored it all nonchalantly, picking at his ear.
'What, so what?'
The rules of this Martial Dragon Tournament were simple: win, and you're good.
Cowardly? Sneaky? That crap didn't exist here.
'The idiot's the one who gets hit because he's careless.'
But even Yuri, with his mindset, couldn't ignore everything.
After standing there for about twenty seconds, just observing the surroundings without doing a thing, Yuri grinned.
"This... you can take it as approval, right?"
No matter how much Kwon Ter boasted that he could handle things himself to a certain extent, that was just his opinion.
It might differ from Yoram's.
'Better to confirm it clearly than get the match invalidated later for not following procedure.'
That's why he'd paused and waited.
But the Black Sword Soldier who should've appeared immediately if there was a problem still hadn't shown up.
That said it all.
Yoram had acknowledged this as the finals.
No more hesitation needed now.
Step by step.
Yuri walked toward the direction Kwon Ter had flown.
Just then, he passed by Goetz, sprawled on the ground, and stopped for a moment.
"Urk."
Glancing at Goetz, covered in blood and dirt, Yuri clicked his tongue softly and crouched down.
"Tch, well, you did help wear that bastard out, so..."
He muttered that, grabbed Goetz by the scruff of the neck, and tossed him toward one side.
Whoosh.
Goetz flew lightly like a skipping stone for over ten meters, tumbling across the dirt ground again.
He slammed into the arena wall and spat up more blood.
The impact had probably worsened his internal injuries.
Of course, Yuri didn't give a damn.
'Better to deepen the injuries than get dragged into the fight and croak.'
Having done his version of a good deed, Yuri headed toward Kwon Ter again.
Step by step.
Kwon Ter still hadn't emerged, shrouded in the rising cloud of dust.
* * *
The second semifinal had finally begun.
Goetz had put up a decent fight but crumbled all too easily.
Then came Yuri's taunt and ambush.
Many spectators were still dumbfounded by the chain of events unfolding before their eyes.
Then, belatedly, voices rose here and there about Yuri's ambush.
"No matter that it's a no-rules Martial Dragon Tournament, there are still procedures!"
"No wonder from a rootless punk—he pulls off shameless dirty tricks like that!"
Most of them, of course, were condemning Yuri.
But a few were replaying the moment Yuri sent Kwon Ter flying.
"Did anyone see Yuri Holland's movement...?"
"What the hell happened?"
While the majority fixated on and got riled up over Yuri's ambush, they all realized upon reflection that they had no clue what actually went down.
All they'd seen was Yuri drop into the arena and vanish in an instant.
Then the explosion sounded, Kwon Ter flew off and crashed into the arena wall.
Finally, the billowing dust cloud.
The more they mulled it over, the one conclusion they reached was this.
"No way Kwon Ter... missed Yuri Holland's movement too?"
Why else would Kwon Ter Rider get hit and sent flying.
He hadn't reacted in time.
Even Kwon Ter Rider.
'The holy sword... it was definitely the holy sword. Kwon Ter shredded Goetz's phantom sword to bits!'
'Kwon Ter's level has advanced way beyond what we knew before. And even he couldn't react to Yuri Holland's attack...'
Those analyzing the situation and sensing something off now looked at Yuri a bit differently.
And right then.
"Who starts the finals out of nowhere like this!"
Someone jumped in angrily.
It was none other than the gambling boss who'd grabbed Yuri by the collar on the first day of the Martial Dragon Tournament.
Panting as he rushed over, he shouted.
"It's finally here! The match to cap off this Martial Dragon Tournament—the finals! Time to predict the winner!"
Someone asked him dubiously amid his yelling.
"Now... that's the finals? It just started out of the blue like that?"
"Can't you see? No Black Sword Soldiers showing up? That means Yoram acknowledges it—the finals."
"Ah...!"
"Come on, no time! Who'll claim victory and enter the Black Dragon Pavilion... decide quick and place your points! The match might end while you're dithering!"
Urgency filled the cadets' faces at the boss's shrill urging.
And he wasn't wrong—if this really was the finals, it had effectively already started.
"We'll take bets for exactly two minutes!"
People scrambled up and rushed to the gambling boss at the deadline warning.
To bet on who they believed would win.
Jerry Bee was among them.
"Come on, line up calmly and we'll process you fast! Hey, you third-year— no cutting!"
The boss handled bets at blinding speed, and the line shrank in no time.
Meanwhile, Yulia couldn't bring herself to stand.
'Who do I bet on?'
Normally, she'd bet everything on Yuri without a second thought, certain he'd win.
But seeing Kwon Ter wield a holy sword just now had shaken her confidence.
'Yuri beat Kwon Ter Rider before... but that was luck.'
She hadn't realized it then, but after analyzing that fight over the past few months, she knew now.
Kwon Ter's strength had been steady, even in defeat.
Yuri Holland's victory had been the unstable one.
If Kwon Ter Rider had known more about Yuri back then.
Or if the fight had dragged on longer, the outcome might've flipped.
And now Kwon Ter Rider had returned even stronger, so Yulia couldn't confidently predict Yuri's win anymore.
"Hmm..."
Yulia agonized over it for a long while.
Yuri Holland versus Kwon Ter Rider.
After weighing the two names, right before betting closed, she stood up.
"...Alright!"
Yulia pulled out every point she'd steadily accumulated through victory predictions since the tournament began.
Not a huge sum, of course.
Who'd let a Silver Ring lackey join gambling? She'd started with exactly 1,000 points, promising not to grow it beyond that, barely squeezing into the betting pool.
And as the boss had worried, her predictions had been 100% accurate so far.
Never once wrong.
Half for fun, half in earnest, Yulia had nurtured those points carefully...
"All in here!"
On the one who'd keep her perfect prediction streak alive.
The boss gave her choice a puzzled look.
"You sure?"
Yulia nodded silently at the question implying it might be wrong.
* * *
While the stands buzzed with betting, Yuri stopped a set distance from the dust cloud and called out loudly.
"What're you doing? Come out already?"
Even after smacking him with a holy sword, Yuri figured Kwon Ter wouldn't go down that easily.
Last time, a solid hit hadn't stopped him either.
'Still, he took some damage, at least...'
He'd expended energy fighting Goetz.
Plus the hit from Yuri's attack.
That was exactly what Yuri wanted.
Kwon Ter moderately drained and wounded.
That way...
'I can finally see it properly this time.'
Yuri's eyes sparkled.
'If he drops from just one hit, it'd be a problem for me instead.'
As Yuri rolled his shoulders loosely with a smile.
Whoosh.
Black aura surged from within the dust cloud, shaking it violently, just as Yuri hoped.
Flash.
Gleaming green eyes pierced the pale dust.
Then, beyond the settling haze, a black shoe shot out.
Step by step.
Yuri's relaxed expression stiffened slightly upon seeing Kwon Ter finally emerge.
'That bastard... why's he look so fine?'
He knew even a holy sword wouldn't drop him in one hit, but there should've been some damage.
Yet Kwon Ter stepping out showed no sign of distress.
Clothes dusted but intact.
Aura still radiating intimidation.
Unbelievable he'd taken a direct holy sword hit moments ago.
Step.
Kwon Ter stopped at a distance from Yuri, sword dangling, and spoke.
"Thanks."
Yuri blinked at the sudden gratitude.
"Huh?"
"Thanks to you slamming me the exact same way as before, I cooled my heated head."
"..."
"Can't afford to waste months of waiting by losing emotional control. So..."
Shing.
Kwon Ter's sword pointed at Yuri.
"I'll savor this time... calmly and thoroughly... until you're broken."
Yuri looked troubled at the chilling warning.
'Hmm... didn't see this coming.'
He'd figured one solid hit would injure him at minimum, then he'd rage and flail.
Instead, Kwon Ter had apparently calmed down while embedded in the wall rubble.
Totally opposite from what Yuri intended.
He gave a wry smile.
'Looks like... this won't be easy.'
Had he gotten too many free passes to the finals? Was fate balancing the scales?
He could clearly envision himself suffering in the final match.
The moment Yuri sensed his grim future.
Whoosh.
Kwon Ter's form, black veins bulging up to his jaw, vanished.
Boom!
With a delayed thud, Kwon Ter appeared before Yuri and swung his black demon sword vertically down.
Yuri dodged lightly with a shoulder roll.
But Kwon Ter's assault was relentless.
Slash.
The vertical swing abruptly curved diagonally after Yuri.
A trajectory defying physics, but Yuri calmly evaded with a head tilt, as if expecting it.
Refusing to just take it, he countered, stabbing at an opening.
Kwon Ter swung to parry Yuri's blade.
Swoosh.
Kwon Ter's sword infused with black demonic energy versus Yuri's plain one.
If they clashed like that, Yuri's sword shattering was a given.
But.
Crack!
Just before impact, Yuri's sword glowed golden, batting away Kwon Ter's demon blade.
As the swords parted, the demonic energy on Yuri's blade had already faded.
Kwon Ter's eyes hardened slightly.
'Unbelievable manifestation speed.'
Using a demon sword at the perfect moment would surely save mana.
Everyone knew that, yet most kept theirs manifested mid-battle for a simple reason.
Impossible to time it in split-second life-or-death moments.
Yet Yuri Holland was pulling it off casually.
It was all desperate flailing to escape his 'mana premature ejaculation,' but Kwon Ter didn't know that—he was just stunned.
And that stun brought Kwon Ter deep satisfaction.
'Yes, this is it! This is why you...!'
A cruel smile curled Kwon Ter's lips.
'...make me want to shatter you utterly!'
Slash.
Kwon Ter's sword accelerated again toward Yuri.
Boom.
Yuri matched the speed.
The high-level exchange in the arena silenced the stands.
Piercing attacks met perfectly timed blocks.
Crisp counters flowed into seamless combos.
The now-full Yuri-Kwon Ter bout felt less like a deadly duel and more like a grand, choreographed sword dance.
Not just Yuri's acquaintances.
Even those who'd cursed him as cowardly.
Even those lining up to bet.
Every spectator was utterly captivated.
How much time passed like that.
Boom! Boom!
Cascading explosions and crimson sparks.
Amid them, someone from the 50th Cohort blinked watching Yuri counter while dancing through Kwon Ter's attacks.
"Huh... that?"
Replaying the technique Yuri used, he muttered in disbelief.
"...That's mine?"