NOVEL NEXT Ch 15 - Freshman Tournament (2)
Chapter 15
Freshman Tournament (2)
The arena where the freshman tournament was taking place.
Professors who had come to watch the match were discussing their impressions of the event.
“The first match where Yellow Team 3 won wasn’t that impressive, but the second match was excellent.”
“Indeed, the ‘prodigy’ from White Team 5 showed incredible skills.
It was well-deserved victory.”
“Though, it’s a shame we didn’t get to see much of the ‘genius’ from Blue Team 2’s performance.”
After the match between Blue Team 2 and White Team 5 ended, and the clean-up was finished, the final match between Red Team 1 and Black Team 6 was about to begin.
“Red Team 1’s ship has arrived from the northwest.”
“It looks like Black Team 6 has arrived from the southeast as well.”
Students, arriving by boat from the island where the dormitories were located, were now disembarking.
With Rufus Ignias, the representative of Red Team 1, and Ernas Lanzstein, the representative of Black Team 6, leading their teams.
“It’s finally starting, Professor Kaleon ,”
“Hmph, indeed.”
Looking toward the northwest where his son Rufus was, Kaleon glanced over at Yols.
“Red Team 1 and Black Team 6… let’s see who comes out on top.”
“…”
Yols didn’t respond.
He simply kept his mouth shut and stared toward the southeast where Ernas Lanzstein was disembarking.
The island covered in rocks.
Rufus, who had landed, looked around at his subordinates from Red Team 1 and spoke.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes, Lord Rufus!”
Despite the exhaustion from their hellish training, their voices were filled with strength.
Anyone who answered weakly would be punished by Rufus.
“You’ve all memorized the terrain of the arena.
We’re in a far superior position compared to them, so don’t worry and just push forward with the attack.”
“Yes, Lord Rufus!”
“Good.
Let’s go over the strategy once more.”
Rufus spoke confidently.
“We’ll split into two groups.
Out of the 50 of us, 40 will form the attack force and advance.”
“…”
“The remaining 10 will stay behind as the main force.
I’ll wait here and react according to the situation.”
If Rufus’s name tag is taken, Red Team 1 loses.
But him staying behind wasn’t because he feared losing his tag.
It was because he wanted to appear and show off his skills when the attack force started to struggle.
“Ernas Lanzstein, the representative of Black Team 6, will probably be hiding somewhere.
He’s always been that cowardly.”
“…”
“There’s no need to search the whole arena for him.
He’ll come crawling out once the other students are all down.”
Rufus’s plan was simple.
There was no need to waste time searching for Ernas ; he just needed to crush the entire Black Team 6.
“As I said before, the one we need to be most cautious of is Serine Bastian.”
“…”
“If Serine Bastian shows up, send a signal to call me.
I want to take her down myself.”
Serine had topped the entrance exam.
Being the top student in the exam didn’t necessarily mean she was the best in swordsmanship, but for Rufus, she was an annoying presence.
“Ernas Lanzstein is the same.
I’ll be the one to take his name tag, so be sure to call me.
Got it?”
“Yes, Lord Rufus!”
“Good.”
After nodding, Rufus looked up at the sky.
It had been fine in the morning, but by the afternoon, clouds were gathering.
It might start raining soon.
“It’s almost time…”
Whistle!
The loud whistle echoed across the island.
It was the signal for the start of the match.
“Attack force, move out!”
“Yes, Lord Rufus!”
The 40-strong attack force moved out in unison.
Watching them maintain their formation in perfect order, Rufus smiled.
‘We’ll push forward like this… and win.’
If they won the tournament, they would earn Elixir, which would help gain magical power, bringing them closer to Graduate status and giving them an edge over other swordsmanship schools.
‘Especially to surpass those guys from Blue Team 2 and White Team 5… I have to win here!’
He couldn’t afford to let Ernas Lanzstein trip him up.
He had to crush that fraud… and secure victory in this tournament.
“Both sides have begun moving.”
“Red Team 1 seems to be advancing aggressively.
Meanwhile, Black Team 6 is a bit slow in their movements.”
“It looks like they’re moving cautiously because of the difficult terrain.”
From the observation deck on the high ground, the professors were conversing.
All the professors here were graduates, so they could enhance their eyesight with magic and survey the entire island without any special equipment.
“Rufus from Red Team 1 is waiting near the starting point with his subordinates.
As for Ernas from Black Team 6… where is he?”
“From this angle, it’s hard to make out his face.
It doesn’t look like he’s waiting in the rear like Rufus…”
Due to the terrain, Red Team 1 was easier to see.
Since Red Team 1 was more aggressive, the professors were focusing more on them.
“Oh, it looks like they’re about to clash.”
“Red Team 1 has started charging toward Black Team 6!”
Red Team 1’s attack force charged forward with fierce momentum.
Black Team 6 hesitated, quickly forming a defensive formation.
The sound of wooden practice swords clashing echoed across the island.
“Red Team 1’s momentum is amazing!”
“Black Team 6 doesn’t seem to be able to retaliate properly!”
“Oh, they’re retreating! Black Team 6 is retreating!”
Less than a moment after the battle started, Black Team 6 began to fall back.
Seeing Red Team 1 gain the upper hand so quickly, Professor Kaleon smiled with satisfaction.
“This… they can’t do anything but run.”
“Isn’t Black Team 6 being too passive?”
“They’ll end up backing into the lake at this rate, haha!”
As several professors laughed at Black Team 6 retreating, Professor Markels, who taught Swordsmanship History, spoke up.
“Isn’t something strange going on here?”
“Huh?”
“Professor Markels, what do you mean?”
The other professors, now focused on him, waited for his response.
Markels spoke in a calm tone.
“Black Team 6 is retreating under pressure from Red Team 1, but their formation hasn’t broken at all.”
“Huh? Their formation?”
Hearing Markels, the professors once again turned their attention to Black Team 6.
“Now that you mention it…”
“They’re still retreating, but their formation is holding strong.”
While the students of Red Class 1, on the ground, might not notice, the professors watching from the high ground could clearly see that Black Class 6 was maintaining their formation well.
On the other hand, Red Class 1’s formation was starting to falter as they pursued.
“It doesn’t seem like they’re retreating because they’re losing.
This looks more like a tactical withdrawal.”
“A tactical withdrawal?”
“Professor Markels, do you mean…?”
At that moment, Yols, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
“Professor Markels is right.
It seems like…”
He observed the students from Black Class 6 moving toward a canyon-like terrain.
“Black Class 6 seems to be luring Red Class 1 in.”
“…!”
“They probably have an ambush set up ahead.”
Before anyone could respond, there was movement.
Two students, who had been hiding in ambush, swiftly attacked the rear of Red Class 1 while twirling black ties in the air.
“That’s…!”
“Serine Bastian and Schmitz Hartmann!”
Except for those from the six great swordsmanship families, these two were among the best new students.
As their surprise attack began, other Black Class 6 students, led by Chloe and Viola, stopped retreating and began their own counterattack.
“Send the signal! Let Lord Rufus know about the situation!”
“If Rufus arrives, we can turn the tide! We just have to hold on somehow… Ugh!”
Suddenly, colorful flames shot up into the sky.
The students of Red Class 1 had sent a signal to Rufus at the base.
“You think you can beat us with this ambush…?!”
One of the Red Class 1 students shouted as he blocked Serine’s attack.
“You thought you could lure us here and win because our main force is so far away, right?”
“…”
“You thought you could destroy us before Rufus arrives, but that won’t happen! Lord Rufus… his mastery of the Kyunshin technique is extraordinary!”
The Kyunshin technique.
A martial art that allows quick movement over rough terrain.
“Lord Rufus will use Kyunshin to reach us in no time! And then he’ll wipe you all out! Even you, Serine Bastian…”
“No.”
Serine shook her head and swung her sword.
The representative technique of Bastian swordsmanship, Vertical Trinity, struck with precision, and the opponent fell without even screaming.
“Rufus won’t make it here.”
Everything was unfolding just as Ernas had planned.
Even if Rufus used Kyunshin to rush here, it was all part of Ernas’ strategy.
“Pathetic bastards!”
Rufus clicked his tongue.
The flames rising in the south indicated that his attack force had been ambushed and was in danger.
“R-Rufus, what should we do?”
“The attack force pushed too far.
I didn’t expect them to go so deep…”
His subordinates were flustered.
Even if they rushed to help now, the distance was too great to get there in time.
“I have no choice.
I’ll go alone.”
“Wh-What? You’ll go by yourself?”
“It’s too dangerous, Lord Rufus!”
When his subordinates tried to stop him, Rufus shouted.
“You idiots! It’ll be too late if I go with you!”
“…!”
“It doesn’t matter if a few of you follow me!”
From the signal, it seemed Serine Bastian had launched an ambush.
If Rufus just took her down, the tide would turn in an instant.
“I’ll use a shortcut and get there first! You guys can catch up later!”
“A-Understood!”
Leaving his subordinates behind, Rufus used Kyunshin.
The Kyunshin technique he used was the Ignatius family’s special technique, passed down for generations.
It specialized in straight-line movement, perfect for getting to the destination in the shortest time possible.
“Pathetic bastards! How did they not realize they were being led into a trap?!”
Cursing inwardly, Rufus charged through the rocky mountains.
Though it had started raining lightly, with Rufus’s Kyunshin skill, he could move forward without slipping.
“Black Class 6… they already came up with a plan like this…?”
According to the information Rufus had received, Black Class 6 hadn’t even been aware of the map of the arena.
But now, seeing their movements, it was clear they had already known the terrain from the start.
“Who came up with this plan? Serine Bastian? Or…?”
Rufus suddenly thought of a man’s face in his mind.
The face of the coward who made excuses and ran away during their duel.
“Ernas Lanzstein… could it be him…?”
As soon as Rufus recalled the face of the man leading Black Class 6, a wooden sword flew through the rain and struck him on the side.
This morning.
I had explained to the other students the true purpose of the plan.
The goal of luring Red Class 1’s attack team into a trap was really just to draw Rufus out.
“After all, this isn’t a match where we need to annihilate the enemy.
We just need to take down Rufus, the representative.”
When Serine’s surprise attack put the team in danger, Rufus would definitely use Kyunshin to rush to their aid.
And he would do it alone, without any guards.
I had anticipated this, so I set up the plan.
“I’ll ambush him here, while he’s rushing in alone…”
This was the exact spot he had to pass through to save his team.
This was the place where I could use Yusburck Swordsmanship to launch a surprise attack.
This was my spot to defeat Rufus.
“Ugh…!”
Rufus, struck by the wooden sword thrown with Yusburck Swordsmanship, rolled down the rocky hill.
No matter how good Rufus was with Kyunshin, if he was ambushed while charging at full speed, he couldn’t maintain his balance.
Especially with the rain falling now.
“Ugh…!”
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Rufus, covered in blood from the fall, jumped back up, revealing a deadly glare.
Though I had ambushed him with Yusburck Swordsmanship, it hadn’t been enough to take him down completely.
“Still… seeing him clutching his side in pain… looks like I cracked a rib or two.”
I drew another wooden sword from my waist and moved forward.
When Rufus saw me appear on the high rock, he shouted in fury.
“Ernas Lanzstein, you…!”
Rufus charged at me, his body adopting the stance of the family’s legendary Ignias Swordsmanship.
“How dare you…! You think you can defeat Rufus Ignias…?!”
“…”
I didn’t respond.
Focusing my mind was more important.
“Combining Kyunshin and swordsmanship… I’ll take down Rufus Ignias.”
I’d learned the Lichtenauer Kyunshin technique from Annaliese.
And this morning, I’d picked up the Hartmann Quick Swordsmanship from Schmitz.
With those two techniques in harmony, I launched myself off the rock.
Breaking through the rain, a lightning-fast sword strike was unleashed.