SWNOVELXO Chapter 198 - The Great Battle of the Dragons (7)
Chapter 198: The Great Battle of the Dragons (7)
—Daaaarrr—!
The sudden appearance of a giant and its echoing roar.
Naturally, the spectators and even Aris were stunned.
In that instant, Poppy quickly drew his shield and hurled it towards Aris.
Swoosh—.
Startled by the rapidly approaching shield, Aris frantically twisted his body.
Fortunately, the shield flew in a straight line, making it relatively easy for him to dodge.
Whoosh—!
The round shield grazed past Aris’s chest.
Crash— Kabaang!
With a deafening noise, it embedded itself into the wall of the arena.
Had it hit him directly—or even just brushed against him—it would have caused at least a severe injury.
Aris managed to dodge such a powerful attack by sheer luck.
But his luck only extended so far.
Poppy had thrown the shield as bait and leaped forward, stomping the ground forcefully.
Thud—!
He had only taken a single step, but in no time, he was right next to Aris.
Using the momentum from his run, Poppy twisted his waist and swung a punch at Aris, who still hadn’t fully regained his stance.
Whoosh—.
Poppy’s fist, larger than the average adult male torso, whipped up a gale as it approached, and fear settled on Aris’s face.
‘This, I have to dodge it…?!’
But, unfortunately, Poppy’s punch was faster than Aris had anticipated.
‘No, no, I need to block it?!’
It was far more solid than he had imagined.
‘Ku—Kugh?!’
And it was vastly stronger than he could have ever expected.
‘Wha—what kind of strength is this?!’
The force was too overwhelming for his thin sword to block.
Crash!
“Ugh?!”
It was just a bare fist clashing with a sword, but the sound resembled that of an exploding bomb.
The sword, which briefly managed to halt the punch, was the first to snap.
Crack—.
Soon, even the arms holding the sword fractured.
The colossal fist, unstoppable, slammed into Aris.
Boom—!
Crack— Crack—.
Aris, having sustained a tremendous impact, immediately heard the sound of bones breaking throughout his body.
Simultaneously, he realized that his body was floating in mid-air.
Thud—!
With a loud noise, Aris flew through the air and crashed into the arena’s wall, collapsing amidst the rubble.
Poppy swiftly rushed over to the spot.
“I’m hungry!”
As he raised his fist to smash down on Aris, who lay within the debris—
“Stop… Stop!”
At the feeble cry, Poppy’s fist halted precisely three centimeters from Aris’s nose.
Whoosh—!
Feeling the powerful wind from Poppy’s fist, Aris muttered weakly.
“Stop… I… I lost…”
With those words, he fainted on the spot.
The giant silently withdrew his fist.
And faced with the overwhelming match and its result, the spectators were left speechless.
“Ah…”
“Oh…”
They were left bewildered.
What they had witnessed wasn’t a battle between humans.
It was just… a legendary beast emerging and ravaging a human.
While the crowd was engulfed in shock and silence, Poppy’s body began to revert rapidly.
Crack—Crack—
Finally, Poppy returned to his original form and…
“I’m hungry!”
He darted out of the arena without picking up his clothes or shield, looking visibly distressed.
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Huh?”
A sudden turn of events.
And the sight of him frantically rushing away left the spectators dumbfounded.
Moments later.
Poppy returned, now dressed in clothes that Gunther had brought and with his shield strapped to his back.
“I’m hungry!”
Seeing his refreshed and happy face, Yuri finally understood everything and mumbled incredulously.
“…So, this guy really just needed to poop?”
The joke had turned out to be true.
Theresia, forcing a smile, asked hesitantly.
“Do you get stomachaches when you’re really nervous?”
“I’m hungry.”
Poppy nodded while scratching the back of his head, and Yuri clicked his tongue.
‘Even when I asked him to show that giant form, he never did. So, this was why he finished the match in a hurry…?’
For someone aware of the disaster that would unfold when the sphincter weakens, the only desperate wish was to escape this hellish time as quickly as possible.
And for that, Poppy was… willing to risk losing muscle.
If Arin’s match was shocking, Poppy’s match was shocking in many ways as well.
It was a match that highlighted the significance of weight class in battle.
With two first-years showing such astounding matches consecutively, the audience began to murmur.
Gunther Irons, Yuri Holland, Arin Helga, and Bobikrutankapurtabi.
Four of the 50th batch participants had advanced to the round of 12 in the Great Battle of the Dragonless.
This had never happened since the tournament began, drawing the crowd’s attention to the final 50th batch participant.
“Do you think that one will be like the others?”
“Well, we’ll see.”
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the first-year, Clarice Van from Group 11, entered.
Bang—!
But in less than 15 seconds, she was struck by her opponent, a fourth-year cadet, and slammed into the arena wall.
“Oh…”
“That’s…”
Just coming out to the arena without forfeiting was enough to be commended.
But having witnessed the 50th batch’s impressive performances, especially in the previous two consecutive matches, the audience couldn’t hide their disappointment at the one-sided defeat.
At the same time, there was a sense of relief.
“Right, that’s normal.”
“I thought all the 50th batch were exceptional, but I guess not.”
It wasn’t that the 50th batch was special, but rather that Yuri Holland and those around him were extraordinary.
With a sense of satisfaction, the relieved faces nodded in understanding.
The following Group 12 match saw Vangelis easily defeat a 49th batch cadet to claim the last spot in the top 12.
The day concluded with all 12 contestants of the round of 12 finalized.
Returning to his quarters late in the evening, Yuri wrinkled his nose slightly at the foul stench emanating through the wooden door.
“Ugh, the smell’s going to stick to me.”
Muttering in frustration, Yuri entered, only to be greeted by Johan, who was sitting cross-legged and clutching a bronze cauldron.
‘Hmm…’
Yuri glanced sideways.
He noticed that the food prepared in the morning was still untouched.
‘He’s skipped another meal, huh?’
On the day the Great Battle of the Dragonless began, Johan announced that he would start crafting the Harmonious Divine Beast, or whatever it was called.
And ever since, he had been in the same position.
For two days now, even skipping meals.
‘Didn’t he say it would take about five to seven days? I didn’t think he’d actually stay like that for the entire time…’
But seeing that he hadn’t opened his eyes since yesterday, it seemed likely he would.
‘Guess I’m sleeping outside again today.’
Johan had mentioned that creating the Harmonious Divine Beast would consume a considerable amount of mana and mental energy.
Moreover, if disturbed externally, he could be at risk.
Thus, Yuri had to vacate his quarters and find a place to sleep outside.
Though, even without that reason, he would have chosen to sleep outside.
‘Seriously, what’s with this smell?!’
Yuri scrunched his face at the stench that assaulted his nose.
A foul odor had begun emanating from the Harmonious Thunder Cauldron hours after Johan had started the crafting.
It was hard to believe that such a stench could come from a cauldron filled with various precious elixirs, all supposedly part of something with the grand name of the Harmonious Divine Beast.
Yuri took a quick look inside the cauldron.
Despite not being heated by any fire, the interior of the cauldron shimmered with a warm haze.
Perhaps because of the heat, the elixirs inside were gradually disintegrating.
By the time Johan’s estimated period ended, those elixirs would likely transform.
Shifting his gaze away from the elixirs, Yuri examined the exterior of the Harmonious Thunder Cauldron.
He noticed something he hadn’t seen before.
‘Is that… rust?’
Initially a dark bronze, the cauldron now had spots of green appearing like tiny patches all over.
The greenish hue resembled that of aged bronze.
Yuri gazed curiously at this, then turned to leave.
Creak— Click—.
The door closed, sealing off the room once more.
Ssss—.
Johan continued pouring mana into the cauldron as the Harmonious Thunder Cauldron slowly heated, both now engulfed in darkness.
The previous night, Yuri had slept at the training ground.
So, as expected, he seemed headed for the training ground again today but instead took a completely different direction.
Yuri made his way to one of the four spires located in the fortress.
After climbing the spiraling staircase to the top, he arrived at his destination and encountered an unexpected scene.
“…What are they doing?”
Gathered in front of a door were Theresia, Gunther, and Poppy, heads stacked by height, peeking through the crack.
Hands in his pockets, Yuri approached them from behind.
“What are you doing?”
Sensing his presence, the group turned their heads and put a finger to their lips.
“Shhh!”
“Shh!”
“I’m hungry!”
They turned back to the door, peering through the gap once again, and Yuri, curious, joined them.
He slipped between them and peeked through the gap into the room.
It was a spacious area.
It was Arin’s quarters, who had claimed the spire’s summit, stating she liked high places.
Despite its size, the lack of furniture made the space feel barren.
By the massive window, Arin sat hugging her knees.
She had the wooden window wide open and was gazing blankly at the forest cloaked in darkness.
Her profile seemed unusually melancholic.
Seeing this, Yuri understood why the three had been peeking inside.
They had likely come to comfort Arin but were caught off guard by her uncharacteristic demeanor and ended up staying outside the door.
Realizing everything, Yuri…
“Geez, I thought it was something serious.”
Still with his hands in his pockets, he kicked the door.
Bang—.
Rattle— Rattle—.
He had kicked it so hard that the door swung back and forth as if it would fall off at any moment.
Startled by the loud noise, Arin turned her head.
What she saw was Theresia, Gunther, and Poppy, who were stacked together and now staring in shock.
And Yuri, who stood with his hands still in his pockets, his legs stretched out defiantly.
Blink— Blink—.
Faced with the unexpected situation, Arin could only widen her eyes.
Meanwhile, Yuri walked over and stood beside her.
Their gazes met: Arin looking up, and Yuri looking down.
“……”
“……”
In that moment, for the first time since he had left his quarters, Yuri pulled his right hand out of his pocket.
That’s when it happened.
“Huh?”
With a startled look, Yuri stared out the window.
Following Yuri’s gaze, Arin also naturally turned her head.
And in that instant.
Smack—!
Yuri’s hand swiftly swung and struck Arin’s temple without hesitation.
Thud—.
Arin, who had been hit so hard, toppled sideways from the window sill and fell onto the floor.
The others, witnessing Yuri’s sudden assault, gasped in shock.
Meanwhile, unfazed by their reactions, Yuri grinned.
“Ah, that felt good.”
As if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, Yuri smiled brightly, then turned around, shoving his hands back into his pockets.
His retreating figure appeared carefree and light-hearted.