I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 135: Sekeong Walker (1)

No one spoke up in response to Yuri’s proposal.

They just quietly kept their mouths shut, their eyes darting around.

At the moment, their minds were tangled with countless thoughts.

‘The fact that those epaulets are in Yuri Holland’s hands clearly means that even the Black Sword Corps are condoning this situation.’

‘Is fighting Yuri Holland here and now really the right choice?’

Would it be beneficial for them to engage in a full-blown battle with Squad 1?

They each asked themselves that question and all arrived at the same answer.

‘Rationally speaking, Yuri Holland’s proposal is far more reasonable!’

Their gazes then turned toward the epaulets that Yuri was holding.

‘With so many top-ranked elites eliminated, Squad 1 is currently the closest to winning.’

‘If I buy that from Yuri Holland… I, too, would become part of the winning squad.’

The sound of mental gears turning could be heard from all around.

Their faces clearly showed their inner conflict.

Seeing this, Yuri spoke up with words that would ease their dilemma, smiling as he did so.

“Oh, right. I forgot to mention this. From now on, any customers joining us won’t be entitled to any winner’s points. However!”

“……?”

“You will be able to obtain the personalized weapon crafting rights.”

“……?!”

No sooner had those words left his mouth than the eyes of Squad 7 members flared up.

‘That’s right, that’s a thing! The weapon crafting rights!’

Another shocking twist.

Moments earlier, they had been so fixated on the mere concept of “winning” that they had temporarily forgotten about the rewards that came after victory.

Yuri had reminded them of it.

‘This is effectively buying the weapon crafting rights for at least 50,000 and up to 100,000 points.’

100,000 points.

In the past, that would have been an amount so large they wouldn’t have even considered it.

But now, that was no longer the case.

While it was still a substantial amount, it wasn’t beyond their means.

Especially for the highly skilled members of Squad 7, who ranked among the top 50, gathering around 100,000 points was entirely feasible.

Of course, it would be better to purchase it at the lowest possible price.

‘The difference between 1-5 and 1-10 in price is double!’

‘The first to act… gets it for 50,000!’

As they swiftly completed their calculations, they began to glance around.

The first to make a move was none other than Nellie Blanc.

“Sorry, Gunther!”

With an expression that showed no hint of regret, Nellie shouted as she swiftly broke formation and dashed toward Yuri.

Startled, Pana and Ivan also sprang into action.

“I’m going first!”

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

As the two chased after Nellie, the expressions of the others watching changed as well.

“Damn it! You shameless lot, is it okay to betray your own team this quickly?!”

“Like you’re any better! You’re running too!”

“That’s why I’m saying, betray a little slower, let me go first!”

One after another, they raced forward, each eager to be ahead of the others.

Those who remained with Squad 7 were left furious, realizing they’d missed their chance due to their hesitation.

The only one left standing in shock from the betrayal of his once-trusted comrades was Gunther.

‘Ah…….’

Gunther blankly watched those who had gathered around Yuri.

“I got here first!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Anyone can see I arrived first!”

They jostled, arguing about who had arrived first as they lined up.

Among them were those who had been with Gunther from the very beginning of Squad 7, and others who had joined later.

They were all the very squad members who, just moments earlier, had been determined to fight alongside him.

But now, those same squad members.

Those whom Gunther had trusted implicitly were now lining up before Yuri, each receiving an epaulet one by one.

The sight overwhelmed Gunther’s thoughts.

In that moment.

A memory suddenly surfaced in Gunther’s mind, turning everything white.

[Ha… Honestly, do you think just because we’re in the same class of the 50th term, we’re actual friends? What, are you planning to hold hands and play patty-cake like best buddies?]

[Wake up. I’ll say it again, this place is the Cradle. And those so-called peers are actually your competitors.]

That day, Yuri Holland had said those words after shoving a peer off the Black Ship.

Up until a moment ago, Gunther had thought Yuri’s words were wrong.

But he was mistaken.

Now, Gunther understood why Yuri had said what he did.

‘Was I the one who was wrong?’

Building camaraderie with those labeled as peers was possible.

But the fundamental truth that they were also his competitors remained unchanged.

He had forgotten that fact.

Watching the now-dazed Gunther, Schleiman shook his head.

‘…He’s done for.’

The numerical advantage had now completely flipped.

Gunther, who should have been leading Squad 7, was paralyzed by the shock of repeated betrayals.

Even the three remaining squad members appeared to have lost their will to fight before the battle had even begun.

At this point, there was no hope of a fight.

Schleiman came to that conclusion just as Gunther tore off his own epaulet.

Rip-.

The torn epaulet fell limply to the ground.

Having voluntarily disbanded Squad 7, Gunther glanced at Yuri briefly before turning and walking away.

No one tried to stop him.

“It’s over.”

Watching Gunther’s retreating figure, Schleiman muttered to himself.

Then, as if there was nothing more worth seeing, he, too, turned and left.

The others followed suit.

Starting with Gunther and Schleiman, one by one, the squad members of the disbanded squad departed.

In the clearing, only Squad 1 remained.

Clarice clicked her tongue at the rapidly resolved situation.

‘Clean. And perfect.’

Not only had they wiped out two of the top squads without a proper fight, but Squad 1’s strength had even increased.

Yuri had flawlessly executed everything, like a flowing river.

His plan and the process were so perfect that Clarice couldn’t help but be continuously impressed.

Others likely felt the same.

They all watched Yuri.

Now, with the remaining quests ahead, they were curious about his next moves.

In response to the gazes cast upon him, Yuri opened his mouth.

“Alright, first things first……”

What came out of his mouth was unexpected.

“Let’s take a break!”

“…A break?”

“Yeah, let’s rest while we can.”

Yuri answered with a smile to the still-questioning eyes of his squad members.

“We’re going to get busy soon. We’ve got to have some fun with those guys later, right?”

With that, Yuri pointed eastward.

Then, faint sounds could be heard.

Screams.

### Chapter 135: Sekeong Walker (2)

*Clang! Clang!*

“Of course, I’m not sure how much those worn-out guys will play with us.”

“……?!”

At those words, Clarice and the other squad members realized something.

‘Revealing the night raid… so that was the reason!’

By leaking the real information about the night raid, Clarice managed to build trust.

And Schleiman’s side gained time to prepare, preventing them from easily collapsing under the surprise attack.

This led to a large-scale engagement that drained both sides’ strength.

From the start, it seemed Yuri had orchestrated this situation by deliberately leaking the true information.

‘Yuri Holland, you are…….’

The presence of Yuri deeply imprinted itself in the eyes of everyone watching.

* * *

While Squad 1 was scattered around, taking a rest.

Arin whispered quietly into Yuri’s ear.

“Hey, are those epaulets real?”

When Yuri had willingly handed over the epaulets, Arin had her doubts.

Yuri frowned at her whisper.

“I have some integrity, you know. What do you take me for?”

“You? Integrity?”

“Yeah, a little bit.”

“…….”

“Anyway, they’re real. I really got those epaulets from the guy with glasses.”

“And you sold them at that low price? You, of all people?”

That was the point where Arin thought the other epaulets might be fake.

She was certain that if it were Yuri, he would have sold them at a much higher price.

Seeing Arin’s train of thought, Yuri wagged his finger back and forth.

“Low price? I think it’s just right. I told you I have integrity, didn’t I?”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

“…Truly?”

“Absolutely! I priced them reasonably after accounting for labor costs!”

“Labor costs?”

At the sudden remark, Arin tilted her head in confusion, and Yuri flashed a faint smile.

Just then, the noise from the east stopped.

This was a signal that the time for reaping had dawned.

Yuri shouted loudly.

“Now, let’s go collect our victory!”

In response to Yuri’s signal, the eyes of Squad 1 members shone with determination.

* * *

A fierce confrontation.

In the end, it was the ‘Yuri Alliance,’ the side that had been counterattacked, that unexpectedly emerged victorious.

“Huff, huff… These guys were nothing after all.”

The captain of Squad 12, struggling to keep his legs steady as they threatened to give way, forced a smile to feign composure.

But inside, he thought differently.

‘That was close.’

They had been surrounded and cornered, but only for a brief moment.

Despite launching a triumphant counterattack, Schleiman’s forces turned out to be weaker than expected.

No, to be precise, the ones attacking lacked real skill.

Strangely, there were no capable fighters in Schleiman’s ranks.

Because of this, they failed to capitalize on the opportunity of a counterattack.

The members of the Yuri Alliance soon caught on.

‘No way? Did they send all their skilled fighters to Squad 1?’

If they had known about the night raid, then they surely knew Yuri Holland would be coming too.

If they had separated the skilled fighters to confront Yuri separately, this situation would make sense.

Realizing this, the Yuri Alliance’s eyes lit up.

‘If we just hold on… our chance will come!’

The number of Schleiman’s forces that launched the counterattack was similar to their own, suggesting that about twenty skilled fighters had been removed.

If those fighters ended up in mutual destruction with Yuri Holland, then this match would be entirely theirs.

So, to weather this counterattack, the Yuri Alliance gritted their teeth and held firm.

As a result, their enemies were annihilated, and four squads of the Yuri Alliance remained standing.

Though, even with four squads, only a little over thirty were still on their feet, and even they were panting in exhaustion.

For them, however, this was nothing short of a major victory.

‘It worked!’

‘Now, if we just deal with Yuri Holland……!’

Though they were tired too, Squad 1, who had fought against the carefully selected twenty elites, would be even more exhausted.

And if Squad 1 had lost, it was unlikely that those who had fought against them would be in any better shape.

Everyone knew now was the time to act.

Thus, the ‘Yuri Alliance’ quickly turned into the ‘Anti-Yuri Alliance.’

“Let’s go!”

The four squads, eyes burning with determination, began to head west.

They hadn’t gone far when—

“Where are you rushing off to?”

Their target appeared in the direction the ‘Anti-Yuri Alliance’ was headed.

Alone, no less.

Naturally, the faces of the ‘Anti-Yuri Alliance’ brightened at the sight.

“Where else? We were coming to meet you.”

“Ha, this is the first time I’ve been this glad to see you.”

“What happened to your usual buddies? Why are you alone? Did they all get hurt? Heh.”

They assumed Yuri’s squad members were injured when they saw him standing alone.

Amused, they each tossed a remark at him, and Yuri responded with a sly grin.

“What are you talking about? I’m not alone. I’ve got lots of friends.”

“……?”

Question marks floated above the heads of those facing Yuri’s smile.

Yuri waved his hand casually towards his rear and called out.

“Guys, they’re teasing me for not having friends!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the bushes behind him rustled, and a group emerged.

“What? Who dares!”

“I’m hungry!”

Leading the group with slightly irritated expressions were Arin and Poppy.

“Well, at least it’s fortunate we weren’t on the same side from the start.”

“Does it really matter now whether we were on the same side? We’ve already betrayed them, anyway.”

“Still, it feels a bit less guilty to fight against those who weren’t on our side from the start, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm… In that case, whose side was I on from the beginning?”

Pana, Ivan, Nellie, Clarice, and the rest who had newly joined Squad 1—all of them appeared.

Seeing the group of Yuri’s allies, the ‘Anti-Yuri Alliance’ was taken aback.

‘What… what’s going on? Why are they all together?!’

‘How… how is everyone wearing Squad 1 epaulets? Squad 1 was only three people!’

‘What… what’s happening here?’

Watching the confused ‘Anti-Yuri Alliance,’ Yuri’s smile took on a cruel edge.

He snapped his fingers, issuing a short command.

“Crush them.”

In an instant, Squad 1’s members charged forward.

The ‘Anti-Yuri Alliance,’ initially startled, quickly regained their composure as someone shouted out.

“Everyone, get it together! We outnumber them by several times!”

“Yeah, we can do this!”

Voices rose, rallying each other.

But it didn’t take long after a few clashes for the ‘Anti-Yuri Alliance’ to realize something was off.

‘These bastards……!’

‘Why… are they so… lively?!’

Each retaliatory strike from Squad 1 packed a force that was on a whole different level from their own, who were on the verge of collapse.

*Bang!*

*Argh!*

*Ack!*

*Screams!*

Every spot Squad 1’s members swept through was littered with enemies falling weakly.

Yuri watched all of this without a word.

Since the fight began, he hadn’t moved a single step, standing with his hands behind his back.

With a satisfied expression, he nodded.

‘It’s nice to get something for nothing sometimes.’

He had siphoned off points.

Dumped the troublesome aftermath.

Of course, he had offered some discounts on the epaulet prices to account for labor costs, but…

‘Still, it was a profitable venture in many ways.’

Yuri’s face was awash with happiness.

Until everything was settled.

Yuri didn’t lift a finger.