Chapter 266
Chapter 266
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 266
Chapter Title: Passing the Bomb (1)
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Over a hundred puzzled gazes clung to Yuri, refusing to let go.
The bright, sparkling eyes of Yuri, as if he had gained some great enlightenment, made the pupils of everyone around him tremble violently.
‘That bastard’s eyes… his eyes are weird!’
‘W-Why is he looking like that so scarily?!’
Whenever Yuri’s eyes darted around wildly, the 50th Cohort—who had always faced major incidents and accidents—couldn’t help but be terrified.
It was so bad that even Clarice, who had just been praised by Yuri, turned pale as a ghost.
“Uh… I… I’m sorry…….”
“What did you do wrong?”
“…Yelling at you?”
“Nah, not over something like that.”
“N-No, everything’s my fault!”
As Yuri tried to brush it off casually, Clarice panicked even more and desperately waved both hands.
Yuri patted his shoulder and shook his head side to side gently.
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, you did great.”
“Whaaat……? What the hell did I do?!”
“You gave me a huge realization.”
Yuri smiled warmly and patted Clarice’s shoulder again.
Clarice’s face turned corpse-like in response, but Yuri, lost in his own thoughts, didn’t notice.
‘Yeah, that bastard’s right.’
It had already been a year since he started sparring with the 50th Cohort.
Now, he could predict their movements just by looking at their eyes.
So why, despite that, had he kept tormenting… no, training only the 50th Cohort all this time?
Why had he been trapped in the fixed idea that he had to only deal with the 50th Cohort?
‘Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’
If he was sick of the 50th Cohort, he just needed to find new opponents!
Why hadn’t he thought of that simple solution earlier?
And those new opponents were scattered all over this cradle.
‘My seniors.’
Unlike the immature 51st Batch or the 50th Cohort who had been squeezed dry with nothing left,
they were fruits that had grown by feeding on the cradle’s nutrients for longer than the 50th Cohort.
Ripe, fresh fruits were everywhere.
‘The 50th Cohort’s martial body arts have been sucked dry with nothing left to eat, but I haven’t properly tasted the seniors’ martial body arts yet.’
Moreover, the higher the year, the more likely they had mastered advanced martial body arts.
The cradle would have filtered out the rotten fruits on its own, leaving only the worthwhile ones.
Just thinking about it made his mouth water.
*Slurp*-.
As Yuri licked his lips with his eyes darting wildly, Clarice looked like he might faint any second.
But then a voice rang out that revived Clarice in an instant.
“You guys are free for a while.”
“Huh?”
“You guys, free.”
“…Why?”
“You told me. Why I only torment you guys.”
“I-I did……?”
“So now I’m gonna play with other people.”
“……?”
“I’m off! See ya!”
“…Huh? O-Okay.”
Yuri patted Clarice’s shoulder once more, waved grandly, and left.
Clarice stared blankly at his retreating figure with a dazed expression.
Only after Yuri had completely disappeared did the 50th Cohort members creep toward Clarice one by one.
“H-He’s gone?”
“He really… left?”
“…Looks like he really did?”
Everyone wore confused expressions at the sudden turn of events.
They were still too stunned to fully grasp what was happening.
Then Arin tilted her head and spoke up.
“If I didn’t hear wrong, didn’t that Yuri guy say he was going to play with other people?”
Her mumbling question made the others nod.
“I heard that too.”
“…Yeah, he definitely said that.”
Testimonies poured in from here and there.
Afterward, they all fell silent for a moment, trying to decipher what Yuri had meant.
Finally, Nella summed it up briefly.
“So we’re really… free?”
“…….”
Silence fell again at her words.
But this silence didn’t last long.
Soon, a thunderous cheer erupted.
“Woooaaah!”
“Fr-Freedom at laaaast!”
The 50th Cohort, who had been sprawled out like corpses on the clearing, rose like zombies, threw their hands up high, and cheered.
Then they charged at Clarice.
“Clarice… you bastard!”
“C-Clariceee!”
“Clarice! Clarice!”
Chanting his name loudly, they hoisted him up and tossed him into the air.
Hearing his name echo loudly, Clarice also threw his hands up and shouted.
“I… I did iiiit!”
Honestly, Clarice, and the other 50th Cohort members, didn’t fully understand the exact meaning of what Yuri had said.
But that didn’t matter to them.
There was only one thing that mattered to them.
And that most important thing was in Clarice’s immediate follow-up shout.
“As long as it’s not us iiiii!”
Who Yuri played with or tormented didn’t matter.
As long as it wasn’t them.
“As long as it’s not us!”
“As long as it’s not us!”
Having endured for over a year and finally gaining freedom, the 50th Cohort went wild, howling nonstop.
And so, the bomb Clarice had tossed started rolling southward with a rumble.
Its final destination……
“Isn’t that… where our kids are?”
The western side of the circular arena, the 3rd-year residential area.
Waaaah!
Amid the ongoing cheers of the 50th Cohort.
The only thing Theresa, the first in the 49th Cohort to notice the signs of disaster, could do
was stare pityingly in the direction Yuri had disappeared.
* * *
Dozens of shabby tents huddled together.
Laundry hung on lines connecting the tents.
To outsiders, it might look like a refugee camp or a beggar settlement.
This was the 3rd-year residential area.
The living quarters they finally got after becoming 3rd-years were far too shabby compared to expectations.
But to the 49th Cohort, who had lived mostly without roofs for two years, there was no cozier home.
Still, gathering people who had been scattered for two years inevitably caused friction.
“Hey, Jerry! It’s you!”
A short-haired boy yelled angrily in front of a tent.
“Come out before I drag you out!”
The tent flap rustled open at his fury-filled voice, revealing a disheveled Jerry.
“Yawn, what?”
Yawning and scratching inside his pants, he eyed the one who called him lazily.
The short-haired boy exploded again at the sight.
“It was you!”
“What was?”
“The one who stole my underwear!”
“Man, what’s the big deal? It wasn’t me.”
“I’m pretty sure it was.”
“Sheesh, what are you talking about? Why would I? What do I lack that I’d steal your underwear?”
“You stole my underwear last time too.”
“Ah, how many times do I have to say it? I just grabbed it by mistake thinking it was mine!”
“…How confused do you have to be to take laundry hanging waaaay over there?”
The spot the boy pointed to.
It was far from Jerry’s tent.
Practically the opposite side.
Jerry thrust his chin up proudly in response.
“I’m a bit bad with directions!”
“…….”
“It happens!”
Seeing Jerry’s shamelessness, the boy grimaced.
Then he smoothed his face and smirked.
“…Take ’em off.”
“What?”
“Your pants.”
“…What kinda crazy talk is that? Why would I?”
“I knew you’d say that, so I wrote my name on the corner of my underwear. Only I can recognize it. So… pants off.”
“A-Are you nuts?”
Panicked, Jerry took a step back.
The boy realized Jerry’s fluster wasn’t just about stripping and stepped forward smugly.
He grabbed Jerry’s pants and yanked.
“Hey!”
Terrified, Jerry clung desperately to the boy’s hands and his waistband.
“Take ’em off!”
“Damn it, let go!”
“I said take ’em off! I just wanna check!”
“Would you take yours off, you psycho?!”
The struggle between the stripper and the defender dragged on.
“Eek?!”
Suddenly, a third party’s voice intruded.
Jerry and the short-haired boy froze and turned toward the sound.
And there stood Yuri, who had appeared out of nowhere.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
The three exchanged wordless glances for a long moment.
Then Yuri sheepishly lowered his head first.
“Sorry for interrupting. I respect tastes, so… carry on.”
As Yuri shuddered subtly while saying he respected it and turned away, Jerry and the boy shouted simultaneously.
“It’s not like that, you lunatic!”
“It’s not like that, you lunatic!”
Their cries matched perfectly, word for word.
They were so loud that 49th Cohort members who hadn’t shown up before started emerging one by one.
“What? What’s that noise?”
“Who’s the sudden lunatic?”
They gathered with puzzled looks.
Some frowned upon seeing Yuri’s back and red epaulet.
“What, 50th Cohort?”
“A 50th Cohort barged into seniors’ turf without fear?”
“What crazy bastard…….”
But when Yuri turned around and they saw his face, they panicked and yelled.
“Th-The lunatic!”
“W-Why is that lunatic here?!”
Excluding the 50th Cohort, no other batch had suffered as much from Yuri as the 49th.
At their intense reaction, Yuri grinned.
“Wow, quite the rough welcome.”
The 49th Cohort recoiled at his smirking eyes.
Meanwhile, one person stepped forward alone.
“What brings you here?”
Yulia appeared with a puzzled expression.
She tilted her head.
“Came to see me? You’ll have to wait a bit longer for the info you want.”
Yulia thought the only reason Yuri would show up in the 3rd-year area was to meet her for information.
But Yuri waved it off lightly.
“Nah, different purpose today.”
“Purpose? What purpose?”
*Shing*-.
In response to Yulia’s question, Yuri silently drew his sword slowly.
He pointed the tip at the 49th Cohort and declared.
“Let’s have a go.”
“…With who?”
“You guys.”
“With us?”
“Yeah.”
“B-But… we’re your seniors…….”
“Yes, this pathetic junior wants to spar with the esteemed 49th Cohort seniors. Accept my challenge?”
A heavy silence fell the moment Yuri finished.
They knew he was a lunatic, but this was beyond ridiculous.
Amid the atmosphere thick with bewilderment and absurdity, one person shot forward and stood by Yuri.
Jerry chuckled and bowed repeatedly.
“Oh, my liege! How can you say such a thing?! We couldn’t possibly handle it, so please withdraw!”
“No thanks?”
At Yuri’s curt refusal, Jerry whispered lowly.
“Haha, why’s our liege acting up today?”
“……?”
“Dunno why, but save my face here.”
Jerry patted Yuri’s shoulder as if to say “call it a day.”
Yuri gave a faint smile.
“Right, Jerry. You’ve had it rough.”
“Rough? No such thing, my liege!”
“Haha, but do you know this saying, I wonder.”
Excited that Yuri seemed to accept, Jerry bowed with shining eyes.
“What saying, my liege?”
Yuri leaned close to his ear and whispered dryly.
“That the sycophant who can’t tell when to step up or back in the face of power loses his head first?”
“Eek?!”
Startled by the chilling killing intent, Jerry clutched his ear and neck, stumbled back, and hid behind Yulia.
Meanwhile, Yuri wagged his sword again.
“Alright, enough chit-chat. Let’s spar quick.”
The 49th Cohort shook their heads at Yuri’s tantrum.
“N-No thanks?”
“Refusal not accepted.”
“What the hell… Why are you doing this? What did we do to you?”
“Nah, nothing like that.”
“Then why?”
“Just ’cause I feel like it. So let’s spar!”
“…….”
“Why no answers? Scared?”
Sticking his hands in his pockets and casually swinging his sword, Yuri’s demeanor wrinkled the 49th Cohort’s brows instantly.
His last words scratched their pride.
Yuri drove the wedge in.
“Scared of a junior? Pfft!”
Unable to endure the provocations, about twenty drew their weapons in rage.
“That bastard really!”
“Fuck, pushing it huh!”
“Fine! I never liked that punk anyway! Let’s go!”
“Everyone, charge!”
As the furious group rushed in boldly, Yuri welcomed them with a bright smile.
“Yeah! That’s the cradle’s cohort spirit!”
Yuri swung his sword gleefully.
Exactly 30 seconds later.
*Boom!-!
“Gah!”
“Urk!”
With a massive explosion, five or six who had charged flew back even faster than they’d come.
They were all knocked out cold, naturally.
And then.
“Uwaaaah!”
“W-Wait!”
“R-Run!”
“Retreat! Retreeeeat!”
Those who had charged in fury now fled back the way they came, scrambling over each other.
Chasing their heels was Yuri, eyes blazing with double pupils.
“Hey now, where you going?”
Uwaaaah!
Kwaaaah!
Soon, screams filled the 3rd-year residential area.