SWNOVELXO Chapter 187 - 5×5 Battle (9)
Chapter 187: 5×5 Battle (9)
White smoke exploded in the sky.
This was not something that happened only in the territory where Yuri was.
Bang-! Boom-! Bang bang!
Everywhere, from all directions.
Each occupied zone’s devices launched white or blue smoke grenades into the sky.
The question was why such small devices existed in the occupied zones and why the hourglasses had that shape.
All of it was designed to indicate who had taken control of each territory.
Given the situation, it was natural that the signal flares in the zones closest to the White and Blue armies would be the first to go off.
It also signified that the end of this joint quest was approaching.
However, those in the 3-5 zone were unaware of this fact.
Just dealing with the incident unfolding right before their eyes was enough to cause their brains to malfunction.
‘…What?’
‘……?’
People’s gazes turned to Gunther, who was slumped, head down, among the shattered wooden debris.
The sword he held was neatly cut, with only the hilt and a portion of the blade remaining.
And some distance away from the fallen Gunther.
Yuri stood tall, his sword hanging by his side, in a position where the unconscious Gunther was fully visible.
The victor and the defeated.
The distinction was clear, and the crowd was in disarray.
‘What… happened?’
‘Gunther… why? And what’s with his sword?’
People’s faces reflected utter confusion.
All they knew… or rather, assumed, was that Gunther had brought the darkened sun crashing down to the ground.
And that Yuri, from within the darkness, had unleashed a golden light that, like a comet, split the dark sun in half.
It was all just an abstract illusion.
Not even half of those present had seen the real events clearly.
But even those who did see it were equally bewildered.
Then, someone, unable to suppress their confusion, muttered under their breath.
“That golden light earlier… could it be… the Sacred Sword?”
An inquiry voiced for the first time.
That question spread like wildfire through the crowd, and soon a rebuttal emerged.
“That’s impossible. There’s no way! How old is that guy anyway?”
“Yeah, right. It’s absurd to think that a first-year could wield a Sacred Sword.”
A couple of people denied it, and the grounds for their denial followed.
“Didn’t that guy just ask Gunther earlier to teach him the Secret Sword?”
“Yeah, that’s right! He did!”
It was logical.
How could someone who couldn’t even use a Secret Sword wield a Sacred Sword?
It was nonsense.
Moreover, the golden trail had appeared only for a fleeting moment.
People could easily convince themselves that what they saw was just a trick of the eye.
But only two people.
‘Gunther’s final attack was clearly… one of the ultimate moves of the Riders, the Eclipse. And for Yuri to counter that and break Gunther’s Demonic Sword? The kind of force and impact required for that… can only come from a Sacred Sword.’
Julia Singh, using her knowledge and calculations, was convinced that the golden trajectory was indeed from the Sacred Sword.
‘That was… the realm of the Sacred. Absolutely!’
Goetz, trusting his intuition, was also certain it was the Sacred Sword.
Both of them were sure it was the Sacred Sword, though they arrived at that conclusion in different ways.
Meanwhile, the rest were still caught up in a heated debate over whether it was the Sacred Sword or not.
Many thoughts swirled and mixed chaotically, but in the end, their final realization was the same.
‘Gunther lost!’
‘A mere first-year rookie… defeated Gunther Ryder!’
Whether the golden trail was the Sacred Sword or not, it didn’t matter in the end.
What mattered was that Gunther Ryder had been defeated.
And soon, this news would spread throughout the Cradle via the surviving 50th, 49th, and 48th class members.
It would signal the beginning of a new upheaval in the Cradle.
Now, Yuri Holland was no longer just a first-year.
No longer simply a rising star who showed an astonishing performance during the Hundred Steps Ceremony.
He would rise as a true powerhouse encompassing the entire Cradle.
Knowing this all too well, the crowd watched the newly emerged apex predator with eyes filled with various emotions.
Meanwhile, Yuri, who was the focus of everyone’s attention.
He clicked his tongue in mild regret.
“Ha, damn… That was close.”
His original plan was to observe Gunther for as long as possible.
But Gunther’s final attack.
A strike that seemed to swallow the sun made Yuri feel a sense of crisis, prompting him to unconsciously draw the Sacred Sword with full force.
He had intended to defeat Gunther without drawing the Sacred Sword, relying only on his basic abilities.
Yuri clicked his tongue inwardly at this thought.
‘Tsk, not easy at all.’
He had been confident of victory and indeed had won in the end.
But it was a victory snatched by a cheating move called the ‘Sacred Sword.’
Yuri was dissatisfied with this fact.
‘Time and effort… can’t be ignored, after all.’
Gunther, using the Secret Sword, was a certified fifth rank.
While he, using the Sacred Sword, was a certified sixth rank.
Comparing just those two factors, it was true that he was vastly superior…….
‘But if we were comparing just our basic abilities… this battle would be my loss.’
Gunther had steadily built up his basics to reach the certified fifth rank.
But what about himself?
By a combination of coincidence and luck, he had reached the certified sixth rank faster than expected.
However, it was a half-baked and sloppy level of mastery.
Even now, look.
‘My mana is almost depleted.’
Even though he had maintained the Demonic Sword during the fight with Gunther, using Cloud Step and Thunder Wing.
In just that brief moment of using the Sacred Sword, his mana had already run dry.
If he hadn’t learned the techniques of using the Sacred and Demonic Swords from Johan.
If he hadn’t taken potions and elixirs intermittently over the past four months, his mana would have been completely exhausted just from using the Sacred Sword a moment ago.
‘Thinking a three-second Sacred Sword extending to ten seconds was something to celebrate….’
It was hard to be happy just because he won; his shortcomings were too glaringly obvious.
And if he were to face Gunther again next time, it would be even harder to defeat him.
Gunther surely realized that what hit him was the Sacred Sword.
He would undoubtedly prepare for it.
And to counter such a Gunther, the only thing Yuri could do was to steadily build up his basic abilities… and study what he witnessed today.
The more he thought about it, the more regret he felt.
‘Damn, I wish I could have seen a little more.’
No less than the Martial Body Technique of the Sword Master.
It had taken quite some time to figure out Theresia’s Chwisung.
Trying to grasp something accurately from Gunther after just one fight was far too short.
‘If I could observe him daily like when I copied Chwisung….’
Of course, that was wishful thinking.
Yuri could only count himself lucky to have gained even a small clue from today’s battle.
Reflecting on what he gained from this fight, Yuri allowed a faint smile to play on his lips.
Then he looked up at the sky.
Despite the time that had passed, the white and blue smoke still lingered in the sky.
He gauged their positions.
“Let’s see, 5-5 and 4-5 are done, and 3-5, well, that’s obviously done.”
Yuri glanced at the white smoke floating above his head and then shifted his gaze.
“2-5 is also completed.”
His gaze, tracing along, stopped at a certain spot.
His eyes narrowed.
After staring up at the sky for a while, a low curse escaped Yuri’s lips.
“Damn it.”
The moment he cursed, Yuri swiftly climbed up a tree.
He reached the top of the tree in an instant, and another curse burst from his mouth.
“Ah, damn it….”
From the high vantage point.
With a clear view, he could see the open sky.
But nowhere could he see any white smoke rising from 1-5.
What did that imply?
‘We lost 1-5.’
Having secured 3-5 where Gunther Ryder had appeared, it seemed another area had been breached.
Yuri turned his head.
‘Only up to the first, second, and third rows have gone off?’
Just as he thought that, four blue smoke grenades simultaneously launched from the fourth row.
Boom boom boom-!
Blue smoke flowed in a line, all neatly clustered together.
Seeing this, Yuri let out a faint smile and descended to the ground.
Immediately, cadets from the White Army gathered around him.
“How did it go? What about 1-5?”
The first question was from Julia.
In response to her inquiry, Yuri answered in a calm voice.
“1-5 is completely silent. The first, second, third, and fourth rows have all been taken by the Blue Army, just as expected.”
Naturally, the White Army’s expressions hardened at this news.
Although they had defeated Gunther Ryder and won the skirmish, at this rate, they were on the brink of losing the war.
To the disheartened cadets, Yuri threw a glimmer of hope.
“But we’ve taken 5-4 and 5-5, and there’s no smoke rising from 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3 yet.”
At this, Julia’s face brightened.
“You… did it, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Yuri’s nonchalant response, as if it was nothing special, made Julia’s eyes widen.
“Wait, don’t tell me… did you handle both 5-1 and 5-2 and come here in that short time?”
Without answering, Yuri just gave a light nod, looking at those gathered around him as he spoke.
“From now on, we’re going to secure our victory and provide support.”
“Securing victory? Support?”
Someone asked again, and it was Julia who provided the answer.
“The Blue Army has already used up most of their hourglasses. They chose to attack all the territories. Judging by the smoke grenades, they’ve used at least sixteen, and others may have been destroyed….”
Julia’s voice was very bright.
“The Blue Army’s remaining hourglasses are either nonexistent or, at most, one or two. Meanwhile, we’ve captured four zones in the fifth row, so no bingo will come from the Blue Army in rows two, three, and four.”
Realizing something, Goetz blinked and picked up where Julia left off.
“On the other hand, we still have plenty of hourglasses left… So even if we lose a zone, as long as the smoke hasn’t gone up, we can retake any zone.”
“Exactly! In other words, the tide has completely turned in our favor, and we need to provide support to cement this victory! Right?”
Julia looked at Yuri with a face asking how her explanation was.
As Yuri nodded with a faint smile, the crowd’s expressions began to brighten.
They, too, realized.
How the current situation had turned in their favor.
Everyone looked at Yuri with slightly astonished eyes.
‘Did he even foresee the reversal of the situation and plan the strategy?’
‘This strategy was only possible because of him.’
As faintly admiring looks followed, Yuri spoke urgently.
“There’s no time; let’s move immediately. Julia, take everyone here and head to 5-4. I’ll leave the next judgment to you.”
Julia would be able to assess the situation and act accordingly.
So Yuri gave those instructions and revealed his destination.
“I’m going to reclaim 1-5.”
No one showed the slightest doubt when Yuri said he’d retake a zone on his own.
They simply showed belief that he could do it, naturally.
However, Julia asked with a worried look.
“Isn’t it better for you to go to 5-1 and 5-2 instead? If you’re here, doesn’t that mean those areas are completely empty?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Yuri shook his head with a voice full of confidence.
“I left that area to someone trustworthy.”
He thought of Arin, to whom he had entrusted the zones.
Knowing her, she would be seeking help from allies at 5-3 to defend the zone.
And Yuri believed they could hold the territory.
Thus, Yuri could easily decide to move to 1-5.
With most of the tactical orders given.
“Alright, let’s move!”
At Yuri’s command, everyone, regardless of rank, began to move.
Or rather, they were about to.
Thunk-.
‘He,’ who had been stuck in the shattered tree debris, started to get up.
“Huh? Oh, hey! That…?!”
One of the White Army cadets, surprised at Gunther’s slowly rising figure, pointed.
Soon, Gunther was fully on his feet.
His torn black clothing.
His face, half-drenched in blood trickling down from his head.
Despite his wretched appearance, he gripped his severed sword and shouted.
“Yuri Holland!”
Woom-.
Gunther’s voice, soaked with an overwhelming amount of mana.
The crowd clamped their ears shut, and Yuri grimaced.
‘Damn, why did he have to get up now?’
Honestly, Yuri thought he wouldn’t get up so easily.
No, anyone would have thought the same.
No matter what, taking a hit from the Sacred Sword should have left him incapacitated for days, but Gunther was back on his feet in mere minutes.
Yuri couldn’t help but click his tongue.
‘What kind of body endurance does he have?’
From the way he stood, apart from some bleeding from the head, he didn’t seem to have any major injuries, and he still appeared to have mana to spare.
It was probably those black veins again.
That must have played a part.
Yuri clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Tsk, this makes things a bit complicated….’
Now wasn’t the time to be tied down by that guy; he needed to move to secure the quest victory.
For that, Gunther had to be dealt with swiftly… but.
‘The problem is whether that guy will be taken down so easily.’
Gunther was exuding a truly terrifying aura.
A more intense flow than before emanated from him.
Even with his sword severed, he wasn’t someone to be easily dismissed.
‘His mana reserves are really enviable. Damn.’
What kind of nourishment must he have had since childhood to have mana left over after using so much?
Yuri let out a small sigh and turned to Julia and Goetz.
“Go ahead. I’ll handle this.”
At Yuri’s words, the two nodded slightly.
Afterward, Julia and the others slowly retreated, but Gunther paid them no mind.
He was only focused on Yuri.
“…….”
“…….”
As tension spread between Yuri and Gunther.
Just before the second round was about to erupt.
Boom-.
Another smoke grenade went up.
This time, it was white smoke.
Julia, who was just about to leave 3-5, widened her eyes.
“Huh? That’s… 5-1?”
White smoke rose from 5-1, which was the farthest away.
Since she didn’t know Yuri had already handled 5-1, it was natural for her to be puzzled.
But her confusion didn’t last long.
Boom-!
This time, white smoke erupted from 5-3.
Shortly after.
Boom-!
White smoke erupted again from zone 5-2.
Upon seeing this, Julia beamed and cheered loudly.
“We did it! We did it, Yuri! Just like you said… Bingo has been completed in the fifth row!”
Since white smoke had already been set off from 5-4 and 5-5, the recent events meant that bingo was just completed.
It signified that, as Yuri believed, his allies had managed to defend the territories to the end.
And it also meant that Yuri, as promised, completed the bingo by himself.
Furthermore, it indicated that Yuri had secured victory for the White Army in this quest.
Pheeeeew- Boom- Boom boom-!
The red fireworks signaling the end of the quest exploded high in the sky.
As if celebrating Yuri’s victory.