abcnovels
Chapter 130
Chapter 130
Chapter 130
Too Many Words
***
The Empire is vast.
In such an Empire, the August family was quite far from the capital.
Perhaps because of this, they had independently formed their own power base, different from the central nobles.
The Ephania royal family had turned a blind eye to their independent power base to some extent.
Even the royal family lacked the manpower to deal with World Erosion outbreaks or external invasions in the provinces.
Thus, the provincial noble factions tended to band together.
‘Originally, Sigrid would have actively prevented them from uniting at the academy.’
This time, she had failed to stop them from uniting because she was busy dealing with the Skyborne Generation.
As a result, the provincial noble factions in the Empire had rallied around Pandora August.
Kraush silently observed Pandora.
With his arrogant demeanor and glasses, Kraush had a bad history with him.
“The great Balheim is no match for the Empire. You understand now, right?”
Pandora was a staunch Imperial supremacist.
He had repeatedly oppressed Kraush, a direct descendant of the Balheim family that represented Starlon.
By suppressing Kraush, he could prove the superiority of the Empire and himself.
Thus, during their time at Rahelrn Academy, Pandora had relentlessly tormented Kraush.
“Who are you to tell me what to do?”
Kraush’s eyebrows twisted in anger.
Just seeing Pandora’s face made him want to vomit.
One shouldn’t judge people based on memories from a previous life.
People can change with small events.
But if that small event never occurred and someone grew up unchanged.
It was likely they wouldn’t stray far from their original path.
“Ah, junior, I wasn’t telling you to stop. I was stopping my peers from doing anything foolish.”
Pandora smirked, a smile that resembled a snake, reflecting his inner self.
These guys had clearly targeted the Starlon second-years under Pandora’s command.
Their change in attitude as soon as Pandora intervened confirmed it.
Pandora, past and present, remained a staunch Imperial supremacist wanting to degrade other kingdoms.
Kraush, with his keen eye for character analysis, was certain.
This guy hadn’t changed a bit.
“So, junior, what did my peer do to deserve that?”
Pandora pointed to the peer under Kraush’s foot as he asked.
Hearing Pandora’s question, Kraush laughed lightly.
“He annoyed me.”
Kraush’s answer was entirely different from what Pandora had expected.
Pandora hesitated, clearly not anticipating this.
He probably wanted Kraush to say he was standing up for the Starlon second-years.
But Kraush had no intention of playing along.
“Annoyed? By us?”
“Yeah, he gave me a disgusting smile the moment he saw my face. So I hit him. After dealing with the rest here, I plan to hit you too.”
“Ha ha.”
Pandora laughed as if it were absurd and adjusted his glasses.
“How barbaric. Is that what all of Starlon is like?”
Unable to steer things his way, Pandora showed his true colors.
He had intended to provoke Kraush by subtly oppressing the Starlon second-years.
But since Kraush directly responded, he decided to target him directly instead.
Kraush smirked in return.
“Hmm, looking at the central nobles, not all of the Empire seems uncouth.”
Kraush decided to provoke him in return.
Pandora’s eyebrow twitched.
“Why are you like this?”
The smile Pandora maintained like a snake cracked.
“Oh, is it because you’re from the provincial nobles?”
Driving the point home, a cold aura emanated from behind Pandora’s glasses.
“Seems you know a bit about me.”
“Not really, it’s just obvious.”
Sorry, but provoking people is my specialty.
[Can’t tell who the snake is.]
Pandora was an Imperial supremacist.
And with such a supremacist mindset, he always wanted to be part of the central noble faction.
No matter how exceptional the independent power base of the provincial nobles was, the central nobles were still superior.
Thus, being from the provincial noble faction was a sort of complex for him.
He wanted to be a central noble.
Kraush’s provocation was like a catalyst for him.
“You seem to have a knack for pissing people off.”
A gust of wind swirled around Pandora.
Even his peers seemed taken aback by Kraush’s provocation.
“Can someone explain what’s going on?”
Pandora managed to suppress his anger and asked his peers what had transpired.
“These second-years intruded on our space. We just gave them a warning. We needed training space to synchronize our efforts. But this guy resorted to violence right away.”
“Was there any physical conflict during the warning?”
“No, of course, we spoke to them calmly.”
As if rehearsed, they smoothly conveyed their side of the story.
Hearing this, the Starlon second-years felt wronged.
“What do you mean intruded! We were here first!”
“Yeah, and the training ground is free to use by everyone.”
The Starlon second-years began to protest.
Kraush wished they would stay quiet, but they were still inexperienced.
As newly minted adults from noble families, they found it hard to tolerate such injustice.
This was why Pandora had targeted the Starlon second-years, not Kraush.
To ensure Kraush, the representative of the second-year Martial Arts students, couldn’t back out.
As the protests continued, Pandora looked back at Kraush.
“Seems our side has been unreasonable, but isn’t this excessive?”
His face regained its composure.
“So, what, you want compensation?”
Kraush responded nonchalantly.
Making it clear he had no intention of accommodating them.
“Not compensation. It would be troublesome for us if news spread of students clashing like this.”
He approached his peers with a leisurely stride.
“So, to resolve this, let’s settle it with a Martial Arts duel.”
Kraush moved his hand to the back of his neck.
A habit before a fight, as he cracked his neck.
“Sure, if that’s the case.”
“Let’s split into teams of first-years and second-years and duel.”
Kraush frowned at the next statement.
“What?”
“Yeah? We need to give the juniors the right to voice their opinions too.”
“First-years and second-years dueling is claiming a right? It’s suppressing a right.”
Kraush responded incredulously, and Pandora shrugged nonchalantly.
“This is Rahelrn Academy. The Chief also said to prove it with strength. If we Martial Arts students don’t prove it with strength, how else?”
The Imperial faction students started to chuckle.
“But that’s too unfair. Let’s do it this way.”
Pandora offered Kraush a proposal as if he were being generous.
“Each team sends out one participant at a time. The winner stays on, and the losing side sends a new participant. The team that runs out of participants first loses.”
He suggested while looking at Kraush.
“How about it? You intended to take us all on alone anyway. If you’re confident, you can finish it alone.”
Kraush understood Pandora’s plan.
‘This guy knows about my Annihilation Erosion.’
Kraush had made several prominent moves at Rahelrn Academy.
And during those moves, he had often been forced to retire.
Many students had seen and heard about this.
So Pandora had figured it out.
Kraush’s fighting style was like a burning torch.
A torch that burns out quickly once its wick is consumed.
So Pandora’s plan was to drag out the fight to burn out Kraush’s wick.
‘If I refuse here.’
That would be exactly what Pandora hopes for.
He’d spin it as Balheim running away in disgrace.
Spreading such rumors was Pandora’s specialty.
His current position owed more to his scheming than his actual abilities.
Moreover, many didn’t like Kraush being the top second-year Martial Arts student.
They’d jump at the chance to drag him down.
For them, regardless of the truth, it would be good fodder.
Conversely, if they could defeat Kraush, it would be a great victory.
Defeating the biggest thorn in the Empire’s side, a top second-year Martial Arts student of the Balheim family, would be Pandora’s ticket to joining the central noble faction.
Judging it as a win-win situation, Pandora aimed for Kraush.
Kraush looked at the Starlon second-years.
They were considered geniuses in their own regions.
But this place was a gathering of geniuses.
First-year students, having experienced a year more than second-years, were much stronger.
Essentially, Kraush had to defeat the Imperial faction alone.
“Wow, really.”
Kraush couldn’t help but laugh.
Seeing him laugh, Pandora looked puzzled.
Kraush stared at him.
“Do you really think those are winning conditions for you?”
He seemed to think of Kraush as a glass cannon.
But there are always opponents unworthy of a cannon’s fire.
And sorry, but against these first-years, unless they were exceptional members of the Skyborne Generation, Kraush had no fear.
“Fine.”
They had only heard about Kraush’s reputation, not experienced it firsthand.
Over the past year, they had grown stronger.
They believed that with numerical superiority and favorable conditions, they could surely win.
Not realizing they were like frogs in a well.
“I don’t mind at all.”
Kraush decided to use them to his advantage.
It was a chance to make the first-year students know for sure.
That Kraush Balheim, Rahelrn Academy’s second-year, was not to be trifled with.
And whether they liked it or not, they were part of the Imperial faction.
Even Sigrid, representing the Empire, couldn’t ignore this.
Kraush flashed a bright smile.
With prey walking into his mouth, there was no reason not to eat.
“What’s going on here?”
A voice called from the entrance.
Looking, Kraush saw Balak and Glen Diana, Mary Diana’s cousin.
They alternated glances between Kraush and the Imperial faction before approaching.
“Is there a problem, seniors?”
Glen asked curiously.
Pandora gave Glen a friendly smile.
“There’s a disagreement. We’re going to settle it with a Martial Arts duel. No need to worry, Glen.”
“Martial Arts duel? With Kraush?”
Glen sensed something was off.
When everyone remained silent, Glen looked at Kraush.
“With these guys included.”
So Kraush filled him in on the situation.
Glen frowned slightly.
First-years dueling second-years.
It was an obviously unfair situation.
“Seniors, I don’t know the details, but isn’t this against the code of chivalry?”
Glen was one who couldn’t tolerate injustice.
So when he criticized them for being dishonorable, Pandora sighed briefly.
“Sigh, Glen.”
Pandora’s eyes turned cold as he looked at Glen.
The look said, “Who do you think you are to interfere?”
“This isn’t your place to meddle.”
Pandora advised, and Glen frowned.
“It’s not about meddling.”
“A member of the Diana family that tried to assassinate a royal? Why don’t you know your place?”
“Do you not have any shame?”
Hearing the voice from behind Pandora, Glen’s eyebrow twitched.
Mary had attempted to assassinate Sizelry Ephania.
The Diana family had suffered humiliation because of it.
They had almost faced annihilation.
Naturally, the Diana family’s status had plummeted.
Knowing this, the Imperial faction didn’t consider Glen a noble.
In their eyes, he was just someone from a family that tried to assassinate royalty.
“Why is my family being mentioned here?”
Glen asked, looking at the Imperial faction members.
But they just chuckled without answering.
Thud—
At that moment, Pandora placed a hand on Glen’s shoulder.
“Sorry, Glen. My friends can be a bit harsh.”
Pandora said with a sly smile.
“But they’re not entirely wrong. Your family caused a lot of trouble for the Empire. Your sister, who barely retained her life and got second place, and the Diana family have been a burden.”
Pandora patted his shoulder, smiling brightly.
“So please stay out of this. Honestly, you’re being a nuisance.”
Pandora’s words made Glen seethe.
For Glen, it was a huge blow to his pride.
But he couldn’t say anything.
The royal family wouldn’t protect a family that tried to assassinate royalty.
Glen clenched his fists tightly.
Reality was harsh, leaving him unable to refute.
However, someone else was irritated by this conversation.
“Ugh, too many words.”
Kraush grabbed Pandora’s clothes.
Before Pandora could react, Kraush pulled him in.
As Pandora’s eyes widened, Kraush’s eyes locked onto his.
“I may not know everything, but I know one thing.”
Black flames began to flow from Kraush.
The intensity of his aura made even the Imperial faction hesitate.
“Mary Diana, no matter how much she’s fallen, is still much stronger than you.”
Even if she had fallen, the Divine Spear was still the Divine Spear.
Even without returning, these guys couldn’t match Mary.
Despite her stupidity, Kraush acknowledged Mary’s martial prowess.
When everyone else was dying from stolen curses, she stood as an unyielding spear.
Though she gave him the most curses, if it weren’t for her, their formation would’ve crumbled first.
“The reason she’s second isn’t because she’s lacking.”
Kraush decided to give them a reality check.
“It’s because I’m just that damn strong.”
Mary is second because Kraush is stronger.
Even if they gathered a hundred people, Mary would still defeat them all.
“And you guys are picking a fight with the one who even Mary couldn’t beat.”
Kraush’s fierce smile resembled Charlotte’s in many ways.
“So shut up.”
He planned to smash them so hard they’d run at the mere mention of his name.