SWNOVELXO Chapter 185 - 5x5 Battle (7)
Chapter 185: 5×5 Battle (7)
A light flick of the fingers.
In contrast, the line spoken was anything but light.
A mere first-year novice taunting a third-year.
And not just any third-year, but Gunther Ryder. This provocation was enough to bewilder everyone, regardless of the situation or the people involved.
Even Goetz, too.
“Ol… Owl? Is that you?”
Goetz, who had always been the one to startle others, was now so taken aback by someone else’s actions that he even stuttered.
But the one who was actually the target of the provocation, Gunther, simply looked at Yuri with calm eyes.
Then, as Gunther suddenly withdrew the overwhelming aura that had been pressing down on everyone, sounds of relieved breaths echoed all around.
“Ugh!”
“Huff, huff.”
Yuri tilted his head as he looked at Gunther, who had unexpectedly eased the pressure.
“What? Why’d you stop? I wouldn’t mind if you kept it up.”
Despite the continued taunt, Gunther didn’t respond.
Instead, the one who reacted was someone else.
“Don’t get cocky, 50th Cadet.”
“Huh?”
Michelle Ang, wielding twin axes in both hands, stepped between Yuri and Gunther.
With a deep scowl, he raised his presence.
“An idiot who doesn’t know his place, running his mouth recklessly in front of Lord Gunther.”
Yuri’s eyes narrowed at the voice dripping with palpable hostility.
‘Lord Gunther…’
Even though they were the same rank, Michelle treated Gunther as though he were a superior.
And seeing Gunther, watching this familiar scene unfold from behind, Yuri smirked.
‘So that’s why he withdrew that annoying aura.’
It was similar to the overwhelming presence the Sword Master had unleashed during the Hundred Steps Ceremony.
The reason Gunther pulled it back was simple.
‘He wants to test the waters?’
Among those who were subdued, some were Gunther’s subordinates.
It seemed Gunther wanted them to step forward in his stead. Or perhaps…
‘A test.’
Yuri gave a slight snort, shrugging at Michelle.
“Oh, I see. A worthless piece of shit like me shouldn’t open my mouth in front of the noble Lord Gunther.”
“If you understand, kneel and beg for forgiveness right now.”
“Hmm, forgiveness…”
Yuri muttered as he flashed Michelle a sly smile.
“But senior, there’s something I’d like to say first.”
“…?”
As Michelle’s confused gaze met his, Yuri’s expression turned serious and his voice grew cold.
“Know your place, and back off, lackey.”
The words had barely left his mouth when a flash of lightning struck.
Boom—.
A thunderbolt cleaved the air and descended directly in front of Michelle.
Crash!
“Gah!”
Crunch—.
With a short scream and the sound of something breaking, Michelle was flung back like a cannonball.
But the wild lightning didn’t stop there.
Crackle—.
The lightning that had sent Michelle flying suddenly changed direction.
And then…
Boom—!
“Guh!”
Another flash erupted, and this time Aris Moore was sent flying.
“Huh?”
“…?”
“…Huh?”
In the brief moment it took everyone to blink, both Michelle and Aris had been thrown, leaving the onlookers baffled and blinking in confusion.
They had seen it with their own eyes, but their minds couldn’t process it.
‘What the… what just happened?’
‘So… um… what?’
‘Why did Michelle and Aris go flying?’
Michelle, who was known as Gunther’s right-hand man, and Aris, a scion of the esteemed Moore family.
As Gunther’s closest aides, they were top-tier among the 48th Cadet Rank.
Michelle was ranked third, and Aris was ranked fifth.
That these two were defeated so swiftly and lay unconscious was hard to believe.
Michelle’s state, in particular, was pathetic.
His prized twin axes had lost their heads, leaving only the handles, and his arms dangled uselessly as if broken.
As the onlookers stared blankly at Michelle and Aris, their gazes slowly turned to the center of the clearing.
Crackle—.
The figure still enveloped in lightning.
Their eyes fixed on the one who had left Michelle and Aris in that state.
As the realization dawned, their eyes widened in shock.
“Huh?”
“Is that…?”
“…?!”
They saw it.
The radiant golden aura enveloping Yuri’s sword.
“Is that… is that real?”
Someone murmured, but everyone already knew.
That was definitely a magical sword.
Whoosh—.
The magical sword spun in Yuri’s hand, tracing an arc before pointing directly at Gunther.
“You seemed eager to use your lackeys to gauge my skills, so I gave you a little demonstration. How do you like it?”
Gunther still didn’t say anything.
Yuri gave up on waiting for an answer.
Instead, he slowly took a few steps forward.
“Well, if you’re not going to make the first move…”
Yuri lowered his sword, pointing it at the ground.
“This time, as a special favor… I’ll go first.”
Bang—.
With a sound like a small explosion, Yuri’s form shot forward again.
Soon, Yuri appeared like an apparition in front of Gunther, and the onlookers thought.
That it was reckless.
That Yuri was getting carried away just because he’d managed to knock down Michelle and Aris.
No matter how skilled he was with the magical sword, they all thought Yuri would end up like Goetz.
That’s what everyone thought.
But.
Boom—!
‘Huh?’
A clash of golden and jet-black magical swords.
As they witnessed Yuri and Gunther’s forms flickering in and out of sight.
‘What the…?’
It was so fast that even the Cadets of the Cradle could barely keep up.
The interweaving trails of gold and black tangled chaotically in the air as their eyes tried to keep up.
Boom!
‘…?!’
The onlookers finally realized something was off.
Especially Goetz Röthen, who stared blankly at the golden magical sword that was holding its own against the jet-black one and mumbled as if entranced.
“It’s… not losing?”
Unlike his own magical sword, which had shattered instantly, Yuri’s sword was holding its ground against the black magical sword.
What that meant was simple.
“He’s strong…”
It meant that Yuri Holland was strong.
Strong enough to stand against Gunther Ryder, perhaps even on par with him.
Goetz wasn’t the only one who realized this.
“…So it wasn’t just bravado.”
Yulia, her eyes slightly unfocused, recalled a memory from the past.
Yulia’s gaze fell on Territories 5-1 and 5-2.
The two places Yuri had confidently claimed he would conquer on his own.
She shook her head inwardly.
‘Impossible.’
Given that 5-1 and 5-2 were closer to the starting base of the Blue Army, the Blue Army was sure to have secured those territories first.
It would be far more difficult to reclaim territories that had already been occupied than to defend them from the start.
‘This is… undoable.’
Yulia knew Yuri’s skills well.
‘Even though Yuri Holland didn’t seem that advanced when I saw him last… he managed to deflect the Sacred Sword.’
Based on the abilities she had witnessed.
Considering Yuri’s uncanny ability to surpass his level.
Maybe he could retake one territory on his own.
The problem was the time limit.
Traveling from the White Army’s starting base to 5-2 and then to 5-1.
Including the time required to reclaim both territories.
It all had to be done within 30 minutes.
No matter how she calculated it, factoring in all possibilities, it was simply impossible.
And everyone thought the same.
“No matter how good that guy is… this seems a bit much?”
“Yeah, really.”
Even the 50th and 49th Cadets who knew Yuri somewhat well.
“So arrogant.”
“He’s overestimating himself.”
Even the 48th Cadets.
They all reacted dismissively.
Only Yuri’s original companions nodded slightly.
As negative comments filled the air, Yuri glanced around and spoke.
“You all think we’re going to lose this quest anyway, right? That there’s no chance of winning, am I right?”
“……”
“So just follow my lead. It’s not like you have any better alternatives, do you?”
“……”
“If this quest ends with the Blue Army’s victory, you can put all the blame on me. It won’t be because you were incompetent; it’ll just be that my strategy was garbage. I’ll take full responsibility for that.”
The slightly sarcastic tone left the onlookers silent.
Yuri smiled at them.
“Of course, I have no intention of losing.”
A strong sense of confidence tinged that smile.
“I’ll win. Absolutely.”
I’ll win. Absolutely.
At first, they thought it was just Yuri’s bluff.
They assumed it was the recklessness of someone who hadn’t faced Gunther Ryder.
But.
Boom!
Watching Yuri clash with Gunther.
Seeing them exchange blows without yielding an inch.
Yulia realized.
Yuri’s words back then weren’t bravado, but confidence; it wasn’t recklessness, but a calculated declaration of victory.
Boom!
A loud explosion sounded, and the fierce battle entered a brief lull.
Tension tightening the air, Yuri and Gunther stared at each other.
Yulia watched them, clenching her fist unknowingly.
Then Yuri tilted his chin up slightly, looking at Gunther, and spoke.
“Boring.”
A disinterested gaze.
A stiff tone.
Everyone knew he was mimicking Gunther’s earlier demeanor.
Feigning indifference.
Or pretending to be playful, Yuri suppressed the sadistic urges that kept bubbling up.
His opponent was Gunther Ryder.
The strongest among the third-years and the owner of the Black Dragon Plaque.
And, of course… the son of the Sword Master.
The thought of it made Yuri want to draw his Sacred Sword immediately and blast Gunther away.
To crush him at once, making sure the Sword Master would hear of it.
To show that the once-insignificant boy who was barely worth fifteen steps had grown this much.
To prove that even the offspring of the Sword Master couldn’t stand against him.
But Yuri held those emotions back with all his might.
‘I can’t waste this opportunity on something so trivial.’
His opponent was the son of the Sword Master, inheritor of his martial arts.
He needed to see, hear, experience, and learn as much as he could from Gunther.
To dissect and absorb it all, as thoroughly as possible.
To learn the martial arts that had placed the Sword Master at the top of the world!
‘So come on, Gunther Ryder… show me more!’
Yuri’s golden eyes gleamed with intensity.
Boom!
The clash resumed.
From the moment Yuri appeared and taunted him.
When he sent Gunther’s subordinates flying.
Gunther had tried to dismiss Yuri.
But as soon as Yuri managed to parry his golden magical sword, revealing his skills, Gunther realized he could no longer ignore him.
‘He’s strong.’
Yuri Holland was stronger than any other Cadet in the Cradle.
He was strong enough to stand against him.
Yuri Holland must have also realized this the moment their swords clashed.
Boom!
In the brief instant when their swords connected.
Gunther’s gaze met Yuri’s golden eyes, and he recalled how Yuri Holland had looked at the Hundred Steps Ceremony months ago.
He had staggered and fallen, yet stubbornly got back up, relentlessly moving forward.
To Gunther, Yuri had seemed like nothing more than a tenacious insect back then…
‘But Father… acknowledged him.’
Even when he had surpassed his siblings’ records.
When everyone around him praised his exceptional talent.
His father had never once complimented him.
‘But then Father…’
His eternal idol, the absolute figure, had granted a reward to that nobody.
That irrefutable fact was a torment to Gunther.
When his father hadn’t given anyone else praise or rewards, it had seemed normal, a part of his nature, and Gunther had been able to accept it.
But for his father to give a reward to someone else meant that Gunther had not met the standard to earn it.
It also implied that Gunther was inferior to Yuri Holland, who had received that reward.
Gunther tried to erase that fact from his mind.
To cut out the budding jealousy and sense of defeat that kept creeping in.
‘It’s shameful to harbor jealousy over someone like that.’
So Gunther had ignored everything about Yuri Holland.
But despite his efforts, he kept hearing about Yuri.
That Yuri had broken his quest records and set unbreakable milestones.
That his point income had decreased because of Yuri.
That Yuri, just a first-year, had pulled off something bizarre during the 49th’s quest, and so on.
News of Yuri persisted, almost as if taunting Gunther, who tried to disregard it all.
And finally, after clashing with Yuri Holland, Gunther understood.
‘…I was wrong. I shouldn’t have ignored him.’
He wasn’t ‘just some bug.’
He wasn’t someone to be ignored or overlooked.
‘I should have acknowledged him. I should have accepted that Yuri Holland deserved Father’s attention.’
And crushed him so he couldn’t grow.
But because he hadn’t done so and had dismissed and ignored him, Yuri had grown strong enough to point a sword at his throat.
So Gunther resolved to correct that mistake.
Boom!
Gunther’s black magical sword pushed forcefully, causing Yuri to skid back.
Gunther aimed his sword at Yuri, who was preparing to charge again, and declared.
“Today, here… I will crush you.”
Barely had those words left his mouth when Gunther’s magical sword moved strangely, like a living creature.
As the black aura rippled through the blade, a terrifying pressure emanated from Gunther.
A moment of tension where something cataclysmic seemed about to happen.
In that charged atmosphere, Yuri…
Licked his lips, as if savoring a delicious meal laid before him.