Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 123: Audacious Garrick

The freshmen were admittedly disappointed by Isabella's loss, but compared to the previous matches before hers, she already did incredibly well that they couldn't voice out their complaints.

Still, the Freshmen hasn't won a round yet. And since Isabella lost, their hopes of having at least one significantly dwindled.

"I'd like to try next."

A voice suddenly cut through the depressing mood of the freshmen. It came from Garrick who's now slowly marching towards the stage.

"It's Garrick!"

"He's strong! Maybe he could win."

"Let's hope so. Surely he has made progress during the past two weeks!"

The freshmen felt their hopes being rejuvenated by Garrick's appearance. And as he arrived at the arena, the instigator of this event asked him who he wanted to challenge.

"I choose him." Garrick said while staring intently at the Older Student he wanted to fight.

His target grinned at the invitation and took a step forward, he showed an amused expression at the freshman's invitation.

"Hoh...raw power versus raw power, this is bound to be fierce." The instigator chuckled at this. "Let's hope the arena can endure their clash."

The contenders met at the arena, sizing each other up. The older student then said:

"I like your fighting spirit, Kid. Garrick Stoneheart, right? My name's Julius, let's have a great match."

"Yeah, let's..." Garrick replied softly as he summoned his broad axe.

Even those below the arena could feel the pressure emanating from these two. Seeing as both of them were ready, the instigator stopped hesitating and started the battle.

"Start!"

Pshew! BOOM!!!

Both of them turned into streaks of light that clashed in the middle. Their struggle kicked up a cloud of dust and cracked the floor of the arena. The shockwave of their clash could be felt by the audience, stunning them with the sheer force it generated.

Whistles

"Dang, that's some force right there."

Somebody from the Freshmen camp commented. Others looked back to see who it was and were stunned to see a blonde guy with golden eyes staring intently at the fight above.

"Hey, isn't that..."

"Yeah, it's him. I thought he wasn't coming though?"

"Beats me, maybe he changed his mind? I don't know."

"Why is he late though?"

"Does he plan on participating?"

Cedric's sudden appearance caused the Freshmen Camp to be distracted from the fight. Even though none of them had interacted with him so far, his performance during the Entrance Exam left a lasting impression on them.

His appearance boosted their hope. They really wished that Cedric would participate later. Because if there's anybody who stood a chance against the Seniors, it would be him.

"Hey! Cedric!"

The audience was startled by the sudden call out. They looked over and saw a beautiful and stunning senior student waving at Cedric.

"Sit with us! Come on!" The fair lady invited, causing both the Freshmen and the Older Students to be stunned.

Cedric smiled beneath his mask and walked towards her. The freshmen were reeling at this sudden development while the other older students were puzzled.

Upon arriving, Cedric asked: "Can I really sit here? Wasn't this supposed to be reserved for Older Students?"

"Nope, there's no such thing. This is the Arcane Arena, it doesn't discriminate to either old or new. So yes, you can sit here. And others have a problem with that, they can face me, instead. That's if they have the balls to do so." Erica replied while sending a frigid glance at the people looking at them.

Those who were entertaining some ideas flinched at her declaration while turning their gazes away. The freshmen aren't aware of this but Erica held a strong reputation in this Academy.

'Did she come here for the sake of this new guy?' The instigator narrowed his eyes as he reveled at the sudden development. 'Her, the 'Violent Saint', entertaining a freshman like him?'

'What's more is that, it seems that Senior Christina seems to know him too.' The instigator sneaked a glance in their direction and saw both girls almost fawning at the new guy.

His eyes bulged and he started sweating nervously before looking away.

'Holy shit! Did I just see that right? Not only the 'Violent Saint' but also the 'Venomous Mistress' knows him and fawning at him! What the hell? Who's this kid!?'

'This is a scoop! The biggest scoop ever! Shit! I'm glad I came here! I didn't expect to encounter a banger headline for tomorrow! Damn, I guess I won't be sleeping this night!'

It wasn't just him who noticed this peculiarity. Erica and Chrissy weren't lying when they said that they have some reputation in this Academy.

Cedric also noticed their reaction but he did nothing to stop it. Not like he could, anyway. He could already anticipate the trouble coming his way but that's not enough to peel him away from these two.

"Why are you late, by the way? We thought you weren't coming." Erica stated.

"Yeah, you made us wait here. We thought about leaving since it had gotten boring. Fortunately, you came." Chrissy leaned closer to him while pouting.

"Sorry." Cedric smiled beneath his mask, he stroked their faces gently and said: "Got too immersed by my training, forgot the time. But I'm here now so it's all good, right?"

As he entertained the girls and studied the expression of the audience, he was also paying close attention to the ongoing fight between Garrick and Julius.

At this point, Garrick and Julius had clashed a hundred times. At a glance, it seems that they're evenly matched, but Cedric could tell the nuances of the battle.

'Julius is relaxed while Garrick's giving it his all.' He mused inwardly as he paid attention to the match. 'It's normal since Julius has been here longer than we do, he has honed his skills longer than Garrick does.'

'Plus, he's clearly holding back because of the rules. I reckon that Julius is at Tier 5 or Tier 6, if he had gone all out, this match would be over before it even properly begins.'

'Garrick most likely knows this too.' Cedric judged. 'Technically, he could win this round because of the stipulated rules. He only needs to force Julius to exert the strength of Tier 4 and he'd win. But that's not what he wants.'

The tanned, broad axe-user was ferocious on his chase. He exerted his entire strength in this battle, not even bothering to hold back. His foe was meeting him in the middle in terms of raw power and ferocity but Cedric's judgment was right, Garrick knows that his foe was holding back by a lot.

That didn't matter to him though since he had a different goal in this match. Even before he stepped into the arena, Garrick never thought about winning for the sake of his fellow freshmen.

He's at a training paradise - an environment many sought after but cannot enter. He'd be damned if he didn't milk every single ounce of benefit he could get from this place.

No, his goal isn't to win and gain some reputation for doing so. He's also not that heroic to stand up for his vexed batchmates and make things even.

His goal is to progress...

"...he's using him as a sharpening stone, huh? Damn, what an audacious fellow." Cedric chuckled after realizing what Garrick was after. "And by Julius' expression, it seems that he knows it too and giving him a chance."

"That's some fast analysis, right there." Erica commented next to him. "You're right though. However, Julius isn't that generous."

"Yep, that one's a miser. He's totally going hurt that kid for doing this to him."

Cedric could predict that much. He could see past the mask of indifference on Julius's face. He noticed the subtle signs of irritation and annoyance earlier.

The fight continued and as the crescendo peaked, Garrick's body suddenly emitted a bright light. His skin took on a deep bronze hue and his energy fluctuated, even becoming unstable for a moment.

Seeing this, Julius stopped his assault and allowed Garrick's breakthrough to pass. Once again, Cedric stopped an annoyed expression flickering on Julius' face upon witnessing this.

Once Garrick's breakthrough subsided, he opened his eyes and released a breath of turbid air. He then glanced at Julius and said:

"Thank you for staying your hand."

"Cheeky brat." Julius spat before cocking his head to the side, "You think I don't know what you're trying to do? You're not that subtle, kid. That's gonna cost you."

"We'll see about that." Garrick snorted.

"Oho...it seems that your breakthrough made you delusional." Julius' eyes narrowed.

He then took two steps forward, causing Garrick to raise his alertness. However, that was useless since Julius promptly disappeared after that.

Garrick's instincts warn him of a great danger nearby but it's too late for him to react. He just felt a massive force slamming onto him from the side, causing him to fly like a broken kite and crashing towards the protective barrier of the arena.

"Arrogance. That's how you lost. You're also climbing too fast for your own good. You're damaging your foundations by doing that." Julius snorted as he started walking away.

"Oh, I won't be paying your Medical Fees. Pay it yourself. That's for using me as a whetstone. I'm a fervent advocate of a fair deal, after all."

These events just proved what Cedric, Erica, and Chrissy predicted earlier.