Chapter 749: A hard pill to swallow

Chapter 749: A hard pill to swallow

Cervantez found it hard to believe that he had been hit so easily by Luke.

His knees staggered, but not because he sustained any injury on his knees, but because he felt his mental state wobble.

‘Is he stronger than me?’ Cervantez wondered, as a large part of his brain immediately screamed ‘No’, however, there was a small part, which said ‘Yes’.

The part of his mind that screamed ‘No’ was fueled by his male ego and the pride of a warrior. While he could grudgingly accept being surpassed by ‘TheBoss’, a man whose sheer dominance was undeniable, he could not stomach the idea of Luke—a man he once mentored—rising above him.

When Cervantez first entered this second life, his ambition was singular: to become the best. He had set his sights on the number one position, refusing to concede it even to ‘TheBoss’ at first. But as time passed, he realized he simply couldn’t keep up. The gap widened, and eventually, he was forced to abandon that dream.

Instead, he shifted his goal—to become the strongest Guildmaster. It wasn’t his original vision, but it was a consolation prize he could live with. At least, he reasoned, he could still be seen as one of the top three players in the world.

In his past life, ‘TheBoss’ and PinkLotus were untouchable stars, players so far above the rest that even Cervantez had to accept their superiority. But Luke? Luke was different.

Back then, ‘SkyLion’ had been just another player. He wasn’t a top-ten ranker, nor was he ever considered one of the strongest solo fighters. His brilliance only began to shine towards the end of the game, a flicker of greatness that arrived too late to leave an indelible mark.

Cervantez’s ego, the very force that drove him to train relentlessly and claw his way to the top, could not accept this reality—that someone like Luke, someone without extraordinary talent, could surpass him through sheer determination and hard work.

It was the one outcome he had never accounted for, the one variable he had dismissed outright. With the knowledge from his past life, Cervantez believed he was destined to remain “the best of the rest.”

But now, as he stared at the blood dripping from the wound across his chest, the bitter truth began to sink in.

He wasn’t even “the best of the rest” anymore.

The man who once served as his Vice-Guildmaster, a man who lacked the same advantages and privileged start that Cervantez had, now stood against him as a superior opponent.

This realization didn’t just shake Cervantez—it shattered his self-confidence, leaving him with a gnawing void where his pride once stood.

‘A lucky shot…. It has to be a lucky shot, otherwise it can’t be… I can’t be weaker than SkyLion! I have the best skills…. I have the best class, I- I cannot….’ Cervantez thought, as he gripped his sword hard and tried to shake-off the injury and turn the tide of this battle.

“A lucky shot!” he spat, his voice trembling with anger and denial.

“But let’s see you try and block this!” He declared, as he raised his sword high above his head, the blade glowing with an ethereal starlight.

Mana surged around him, whipping up a violent wind that scattered debris and dust across the ruined courtyard, until slowly but surely, the glow of the sword intensified, the blade now radiating an almost celestial brilliance, as if the stars themselves had been forged into its edge.

[Ethereal Sword Slash]

Cervantez roared, his voice echoing like a thunderclap as he brought his sword down in a devastating arc.

A crescent-shaped slash of pure energy erupted from his blade, tearing through the air with a piercing hum.

This was his strongest attack, the sheer force of which caused the stone pavement beneath its path to crack and disintegrate, and the shockwave to shatter nearby walls into clouds of dust and rubble.

Luke’s eyes narrowed as the attack raced towards him.

[Guardian Shield] He muttered, as he relied on the same legendary move he had used earlier to block Cervantez’s first attack.

Immediately, a shimmering barrier of pure light unfolded from his knight’s shield, forming a radiant, semi-transparent wall of mana in front of him, with the barrier shielding him from the incoming attack.

*BOOM*

The two forces collided with an explosive shockwave, sending cracks rippling across the ground and blinding light bursting outward in every direction.

The impact forced Luke to be pushed back along the cobbled surface, forcing him to dig his heels into the fractured stone to somehow hold his ground.

“ARGHHHH—” Luke screamed, as he resisted the attack with all the might in his body, with every ounce of strength that he could muster.

At first, holding it back seemed impossible, however, as the attack lost momentum, slowly but surely, Luke gained some footing as he stood his ground bravely.

When the light finally faded and the dust settled, Luke stood firm, uninjured despite Cervantez’s best efforts.

His breathing remained steady, his stance unbroken, and his armor untouched.

The only sign of the clash was a faint, thin gash etched across the surface of his shield, however, the metal still seemed solid enough to withstand a few more blows and wasn’t completely broken yet.

Witnessing this outcome, Cervantez froze.

His sword trembled slightly in his hand as he stared at Luke, his expression a mixture of disbelief and horror.

“No…” he whispered, his voice cracking. “No, that’s impossible. That was my strongest move… My best attack… You—You’re not supposed to block that!”

Luke remained silent, his shield lowered slightly as his piercing gaze met Cervantez’s frantic eyes.

“There’s… there’s no way you could withstand that. Not without some kind of trick—some secret that he taught you!” Cervantez’s voice rose, his words dripping with raw frustration. “It’s TheBoss, isn’t it? He must have taught you something… something unfair… something beyond reason!”

His breathing grew erratic, his shoulders rising and falling with every uneven breath. His carefully honed composure—the foundation of his strength—was now crumbling before Luke’s eyes.

“No, no, no… this isn’t right!” Cervantez’s voice wavered as he charged forward again, his sword raised high.

But something had changed. His movements, once sharp and precise, now carried a wild recklessness. His strikes lacked the discipline and calculated precision that once made him a force to be feared.

Luke parried the first strike with ease, his sword deflecting Cervantez’s erratic slash. The second strike came sloppily from the side, and Luke sidestepped it with a calm pivot.

Another slash. Another deflection.

Cervantez was leaving himself wide open, and Luke could see it. Every overextended swing, every rushed lunge—it was like watching a man drowning in his own desperation.

“Your movements are too wide, Guildmaster,” Luke said coldly, parrying yet another strike and stepping into Cervantez’s guard.

With a sharp twist of his blade, Luke forced Cervantez’s sword arm downward, leaving his opponent vulnerable.

Cervantez stumbled back, his face twisted in frustration and disbelief as Luke stood resolute, barely even breathing hard.

“Stop… stop looking at me like that!” Cervantez yelled, his voice breaking. “You’re not supposed to be this strong, Skylion! You were never supposed to surpass me!”

But Luke didn’t respond. His silence spoke louder than words, his calm, unyielding presence towering over Cervantez like an immovable wall.

Cervantez lunged again, wild and desperate. But in his frenzy, he wasn’t fighting Luke the ex vice guildmaster—he was fighting Luke the avenger, who was finally venting his anger.

And Cervantez was losing.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep