Chapter 194: Silverleaf Academy (XLII)

“…Do we really have to?” Maya asked, clearly irritated.

“Seriously, that Ulgar guy pissed me off,” she clenched her fists.

“I mean… they’re strong,” Iris murmured, hesitant.

“But their attitude…”

“Forget strength,” Mia cut in, frowning. “They look down on us. If they act like that in battle, it’ll get someone killed.”

Lucas stared at the wyvern’s burned remains for a moment before turning his gaze to Eira’s group.

“I’ll try talking with them.”

He walked towards them, and immediately, their eyes landed on him.

“Look, we don’t all have to like each other. But if we’re heading into unknown territory, wouldn’t it be smarter to go together? Even for just a little while.”

Eira looked down at the rocky path silently. Her icy white hair fluttered with the wind, and her pale fingers curled slightly.

But Ulgar instantly snorted at his words. His huge shoulders rose, then dropped as he stomped toward Lucas like a bear about to charge.

“Are you deaf or just stupid?” Ulgar growled. “I don’t take orders from some polished golden boy with a stick up his ass.”

As soon as he uttered those words, his fist shot towards Lucas.

CLANG!

Lucas caught the incoming fist with his blade’s hilt, sliding one boot back across the ground.

“You’re attacking me now?” Lucas frowned, voice lowering. “Is this really how you want to handle this?”

“You talk like you’re some saint,” Ulgar spat, eyes glowing red. “But I can smell the arrogance from here. You think you’re better than us. You look at us like we’re weak. Like you pity us.”

“I don’t—”

“SHUT UP!”

Ulgar roared, and the ground exploded beneath his feet as he lunged, fist aimed at Lucas’s face.

BOOM!

Lucas spun back, drawing his sword fully. The tip slashed through the air, grazing Ulgar’s gauntlet with a metallic screech. Sparks flew.

“Ulgar!!” Eira shouted, grabbing at his arm, but he shrugged her off.

“You’re just proving my point,” Lucas said coldly, stepping back into a stance. His golden eyes sharpened, his sword raised.

“If this is what you want… I won’t run.”

At his words, Ulgar’s eyes burned with rage, gritting his teeth. His fists started to glow as mana surged around them, hot and thick like steam rising from his skin.

“You think you’re better than me?” he growled.

WHOOM!

A blast of mana shot from his feet as he dashed forward, raising his right arm high. He aimed a heavy punch straight for Lucas’s chest.

But before his fist could land—

CLINK!

Dozens of crystal chains burst out from the ground, wrapping around Ulgar’s arms, legs, and torso.

He was yanked backward, his feet leaving the ground as the chains pulled him into the air.

“Wha—?!” Ulgar roared, thrashing in midair.

『 Crystal Series: Crystal Chains! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

The spell echoed in the cold air.

Lucas turned around fast.

“Violet?!”

A calm voice followed his words.

“It seems I arrived at a very tense moment,” Violet said, strolling from the path behind them.

Her long purple coat swayed with the wind, her purple crystal eyes locking onto Ulgar as he hung in the air like a wild beast in a cage.

“…Violet,” Eira whispered, her eyes fixed on the shimmering chains wrapped tight around Ulgar’s chest and arms.

Then, she stepped forward.

“Let him go.”

Violet raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “Why? He was about to attack one of us.” Her lips curled into a lazy smile.

“Seems fair to me.”

Ulgar growled from above.

“Let me down and I’ll break his face myself—!”

CRACK!

The chains tightened, pressing into his arms until his muscles twitched.

“Keep yelling, and I’ll snap your elbows next.”

“Violet, enough!” Lucas said, stepping between them.

“We don’t want to make this worse.”

Violet looked at him before letting out a sigh, and then turned to Eira.

“…Just get out of here.”

Eira looked down for a moment, her hands were clenched at her sides, but then, she turned and walked away without saying another word.

Violet waved her hand.

Crack!

The chains disappeared all at once.

THUD!

Ulgar dropped hard onto the ground, sending dust flying everywhere. He grunted, slamming his fists into the snow in anger.

“YOU FUCKING BAST—!”

FWEEEP!

BAAAM!

A body dropped from the sky and slammed into the ground, crushing the stone beneath with a deep, echoing impact.

Dust flew up in every direction as the shockwave hit their legs.

Everyone flinched as their eyes widened.

“…Rayn?” Lucas muttered.

It was him.

His body was twisted, bruised, and blood was dripping from his mouth.

But then—

STOMP… STOMP… STOMP…

Heavy footsteps echoed.

The sound of something wrong coming closer.

A tall figure stepped into view, but he wasn’t human, not even close to it.

He was at least five meters tall, and his skin was dark gray, almost like rotting stone.

Thick black tentacles writhed across his chest and shoulders, curling around his body like snakes. Two pairs of giant black wings twitched behind his back, spreading open with a sickening crack.

He looked down at the group, his eyes glowing a sinister black color.

His voice came out slow and cold, like something dead was speaking.

“Humans…”

He raised one hand. A black ball of energy began forming in his palm. It spun slowly, sucking in the air around it.

“Get. Ready. To. Die.”

WHHHHRRRMMM…

The ball pulsed, buzzing with dark power.

“Fuck…”

Ethan cursed, taking a few steps back.

『 Holy Series: Divine Barrier! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

Iris rushed forward. Her boots scraped the ground as she raised her staff. A flash of gold exploded outward.

SHING!!

A giant glowing shield formed in front of them—tall, wide, pulsing with holy light. It surrounded the whole group like a dome.

BOOOOM!!

The black ball fired.

A thick black beam tore through the air, screeching as it slammed against the barrier. Sparks flew. The golden shield trembled under the impact.

Cracks spread across the surface like spiderwebs.

Iris dropped to one knee, gripping her staff tightly, her face twisting in pain.

“Damn it!” she cried, pushing more mana into the spell.

Her hands were shaking, her forehead dripping with sweat.

The barrier flickered, struggling to hold.

And then, the monster’s second hand started glowing as another black ball started spinning in his palm.

“He’s gonna fire again!” Lucas shouted.

“I can’t hold this much longer!” Iris yelled, sweat dripping down her chin. Her hands were glowing gold, shaking from the pressure.

CRAAACK!

The golden barrier shattered.

BOOOOM!!

The group flew backward from the explosion. Dirt and rocks shot up like bullets.

Lucas rolled across the ground, slamming his hand down to stop himself. He stood up fast and dashed forward.

“I’LL GO FIRST!”

He leapt into the air, golden light flaring from his blade.

『 Piercing Sword! (✦ S-level Swordsmanship ✦) 』

ZWOOSH!

Lucas flew in like a rocket, twisting his body, and stabbed his sword straight at the monster’s neck.

CLAAAANG!!

The sword stabbed into the monster’s neck with a loud metal-like clang, but only a shallow cut formed.

Its skin was hard like iron.

Before Lucas could jump away, the monster swung one of its massive fists straight into his stomach.

WHAM!

The blow landed hard, and a loud, dull thud echoed through the field. Lucas’s body flew back, crashing into a boulder with a loud cracking sound.

CRASH!!

Dust flew into the air, and the stone cracked behind him.

“LUCAS!!!” Maya shouted.

She jumped high into the air, flames gathering around her fists. Her entire body twisted mid-air, and she shouted the name of her spell as she came down hard.

『 Fire Series: Fire Knuckles! (✦ 4th-Level Spell ✦)』

THUMP!

Her punch landed right on the monster’s jaw with a loud impact.

A burst of fire exploded on contact.

The creature’s head snapped to the side from the force, but it didn’t fall. Instead, one of its thick tentacles lashed out and grabbed Maya by the waist.

“ARGGHH!”

She screamed as it swung her around and slammed her into the ground like a hammer.

The impact made the dirt explode upward, and her voice cracked from the pain, but Maya gritted her teeth and forced her body to move again.

Suddenly, a sharp burst of blue light came from the side.

A massive crystal hammer formed in the air and dropped onto the monster’s shoulder, smashing into it with a powerful crash.

Violet appeared next to him, her eyes cold and focused.

『 Crystal Series: Crystal Hammer! (✦ 5th-Level Spell ✦) 』

Without hesitation, she spun her body and swung the hammer again, this time hitting the monster on its ribs.

CLANGGG!

The second blow sent another shock through its body.

Cracks appeared on the skin.

“HAAAA!”

Ethan instantly saw the opening and charged in with a loud yell.

He jumped forward, his axes glowing with blue mana, and slashed across the monster’s leg. The blade dug deep into the flesh just above the knee, and dark blood poured out.

“GRAAAGHHH!” The monster growled in pain and fury.

It roared loudly and slammed its wings against the ground.

THRUUM!

The impact sent out a strong shockwave.

Everyone near it was thrown back.

Violet slid across the dirt, barely keeping her balance, and Ethan hit the ground hard and rolled.

While everyone was recovering, Prince Leon stepped forward.

He held his sword up and focused completely on the enemy. His body moved in a blur as he activated his technique.

『 Royal Swordsmanship: Heaven’s Punishment! (✦ SS-level Swordsmanship ✦) 』

Fwoop!

His body vanished for a second, then reappeared in front of the monster.

Splat!

He slashed horizontally across the chest, leaving a deep gash that sprayed dark blood across the field.

The monster stumbled slightly, growling low in its throat.

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

That was when Ulgar came in, charging with both fists glowing with heavy mana. His muscles tensed, and his face twisted in anger as he shouted.

He punched the creature in the ribs with a full-force blow.

THRRUUUM!

The impact was so loud it echoed like thunder, and then he stepped in again and punched its jaw upward.

The monster’s head flew back.

Fwoop!

But right after, one of its tentacles shot forward and pierced Ulgar’s side.

“ARGH!”

Blood burst from the wound as he let out a loud groan.

He grabbed the tentacle with both hands, ripped it out, and backed off with a shaky breath.

『 Wind Series: Piercing Wind Spears! (✦ 5th-level Spell ✦) 』

From behind the group, Telmo summoned a strong gust of wind into a sharp spear and launched it with both hands.

Fweep!

Splurt!

It flew across the battlefield and stabbed into the monster’s upper arm, lodging deep inside the muscle.

Eira’s group moved next.

One of the mages pointed both hands forward and fired thick bolts of lightning straight into the monster’s chest.

The other mage slammed his hands to the ground and sent thick earth spikes up from below.

One of the spikes stabbed through the monster’s foot and pinned it in place for a second.

Then, Eira surprised everyone.

SWOOSH!

She ran toward the creature with mana wrapping around her body.

As she got close, she jumped and spun in the air. Her right fist slammed into the monster’s jaw with all her strength.

THUMP!

CRACK!

A loud crack rang out, and the monster roared again.

In response, the creature slammed both fists into the ground.

The impact caused a huge tremor.

The earth split and shook, cracks running across the battlefield.

Everyone lost their balance for a moment as dust rose around them.

Lucas, bruised and panting, stood back up. His eyes were locked onto the monster. Golden light surrounded his blade once again.

He dashed forward.

『 Devastation Sword! (✦ Advanced-level Swordsmanship (A) ✦) 』

He raised his sword with both hands and brought it down in a wide arc.

The blade slammed into the monster’s neck with a huge explosion of light.

The cut was deep this time.

SPLURT!

Black blood poured out like a fountain.

“GRAAAAGHHHH!”

The monster screamed louder than ever.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep