Chapter 224
Lion Order First Year Students.
Among the First Year Students, they were a fairly outstanding group.
The reason was simple.
It was because Charlotte was too strong.
The moment they set out on a mission, Charlotte would rush to the very front.
To keep up with her, one needed to possess a certain level of skill; otherwise, it was impossible.
Therefore, the average level of the First Year Students was quite high.
And among them.
A man who had been dragged into daily sparring as Charlotte's punching bag since the past.
Chromosh Deikram stood at the center of the First Year Students and let out a light sigh.
The reason he was dragged into daily training by Charlotte was none other than his name.
Because his name resembled Kraush's, she found it somewhat to her liking.
Because of that reason, Chromosh had to endure hellish training repeatedly.
However, perhaps because of that, his skills had improved significantly, placing him among the upper ranks of the Lion Order First Year Students.
Originally possessing quite a decent foundation, he experienced explosive growth thanks to Charlotte, a powerful individual.
Thanks to that, he was currently treated as the Honorary Vice Commander within the Lion Order.
"Fake Mr. Kraush, it seems our Commander Charlotte has gone that way."
Beside him, a woman with short black hair tied on both sides rolled the lollipop in her mouth and smirked.
Chelberi Findra.
She was one of the Three Mad Cats of the Lion Order, alongside Chromosh.
"Don't call me fake."
Chromosh let out another sigh at the teasing from beside him.
By now, he was so used to the teasing that it didn't feel new.
"So you're saying the real one is coming this way."
Moreover, if Charlotte had gone toward the Second Year Students as Chelberi said, it meant that Kraush was coming this way.
"Seriously, our Commander Charlotte is too much. She deliberately pits us against opponents we know little about to give us headaches."
"......Probably not."
Chromosh quietly denied Chelberi's words.
Having suffered the most from Charlotte, he could figure out what she was thinking when she did such things.
"She probably wants to face the Second Year Students herself."
"Ah."
Chelberi unintentionally agreed with Chromosh's words.
If it were Charlotte, that would indeed be her thought process.
"Then doesn't that mean only Mr. Kraush is having a hard time?"
Chelberi had also heard plenty of rumors about Kraush.
However, she had never seen his true strength with her own eyes.
"That is."
Chromosh also hesitated for a moment.
Like Chelberi, he too had never personally encountered Kraush.
There was only one thing the First Year Students could be certain about regarding Kraush's strength.
That he had faced Arsholder Freya, one of the monsters among the First Year Students, in a direct confrontation and won.
While that fact was highly regarded, the people here were among the top ranks of the First Year Students.
As individuals, they might struggle, but in a group battle, they wouldn't lose to Arsholder.
"I'm looking forward to it. Just how strong is the top of the Second Year Students?"
Chelberi habitually licked her lips with her tongue.
She also enjoyed facing strong opponents.
To the extent that her reason for joining the Lion Order was her admiration for Charlotte's strength.
It was then.
"He's here."
Another member of the Three Mad Cats.
Kayaseom, holding a long blade, suddenly raised his head.
In the moment his cream-colored long hair swayed, his eyes caught a presence.
Whoosh-
The sound of flames rising had already echoed.
Boom!
Soon, the Black Flame engulfed the forest and blew away the spot where the First Year Students had been.
Amidst the remnants of the swirling Black Flame.
While some First Year Students were rolling on the ground.
Others who had successfully blocked the Black Flame were glaring into the smoke.
The Three Mad Cats were among them.
"Chromosh, Chelberi, Kayaseom."
At that moment, a low voice echoed through the smoke.
The owner of the voice, a boy, quietly swayed his dark blue hair, identical to Charlotte's.
The moment they saw that hair color, the three of them simultaneously felt a chill.
They had only heard stories of Kraush, the top of the Second Year Students, but never faced him directly.
Chromosh showed concern.
Chelberi displayed excitement.
Kayaseom expressed dread.
In front of the three showing contrasting emotions, Kraush lifted Rain Thunder Prime.
"Let me greet my seniors as a junior."
Though I may be an impudent junior who strikes first.
The moment Kraush smirked, the faces of the First Year Students, including the Three Mad Cats, turned pale.
He had just unleashed enough output to blow away part of the forest.
However, his sword was already loaded with the next Black Flame.
With an utterly nonchalant expression, Kraush immediately swung the Black Flame down.
Boom!
The descending Black Flame engulfed the area and rapidly extended toward them.
Having already had their formation disrupted by the earlier Black Flame.
If they were struck by the Black Flame again, they wouldn't even be able to defend themselves and would be completely overwhelmed.
Thud!
At that moment, Chromosh stepped forward in front of them.
With his arm transformed into rock, he immediately reached out to the ground.
Boom!
The rising rock wall collided with Kraush's Black Flame.
A fierce storm of Black Flame raged once.
And as the Black Flame disappeared, the rock wall, though partially eroded, remained standing.
It was Chromosh's Secret Technique, Rock Tough Unbreakable.
The moment Kraush's Black Flame disappeared.
A woman took the opportunity to advance.
Moving so fast her legs were almost invisible, she instantly climbed atop the rock wall.
At the same time, in her hand was a massive longbow.
As soon as she gripped the longbow, a pure white cluster of light gathered onto it.
And what formed was an arrow made of Aura.
The moment she created an arrow so massive it resembled a spear, she immediately released the bowstring.
Whoosh!
A sound that shouldn't come from a bow roared as the arrow shot forward at high speed.
The arrow, after tearing through the forest in all directions, finally reached Kraush.
Clang!
Kraush, who split the arrow in half, looked up at the woman through the forest.
There, Chelberi, her black hair fluttering in the wind of the sky, stood.
Chelbery's skill, Sagitta.
A skill that allows her to shoot arrows with perfect accuracy as long as the target is within her line of sight and hasn't moved 10 kilometers away.
It was a skill that could be called a perfect match for her archery.
'It's not for nothing that they call her part of the Three Mad Cats.'
The power of the two was certainly among the top ranks of the First Year Students.
'Finally.'
Kraush's gaze landed beyond the rock.
And at that moment.
Swish!
As the rock was sliced apart, all the surrounding trees were halved, and a slash extended toward Kraush.
Kraush immediately raised Annihilation Erosion, swelling the muscles in his arm.
Then, he infused the flames of Annihilation Erosion into Rain Thunder Prime and slashed downward.
Boom!
With a sound like an explosion, the slash was effortlessly crushed before Kraush.
The impact of the slash was so powerful that all the surrounding trees were shattered and scattered.
Kraush's eyes turned toward the direction from which the slash had come.
There, a man with cream-colored long hair clicked his tongue as he drew his longsword.
The last of the Three Mad Cats, Kayaseom.
Unlike Kraush, who wielded a sword, he wielded a blade and was a master of iaido, albeit in a different sense from the Sword Demon.
'As expected, he's good enough to follow Charlotte around.'
The Three Mad Cats.
They were among the individuals who had stuck by Charlotte even before Kraush's regression.
Even if Charlotte hadn't entered Rahelrn Academy, there were many who were captivated by the star that was Charlotte and followed her.
The strength of those three was beyond Kraush's imagination.
'Is it because they met Charlotte early?'
At this time, they had grown much stronger than before.
It wasn't a bad wind.
After all, humans possess a sense of competition.
Rahelrn Academy is a place where the world's most outstanding geniuses gather.
If the person beside you continues to grow stronger, you can draw out your own talents and grow stronger as well.
And this would undoubtedly make the Skyborne Generation stronger at an earlier time.
'In the end, was it the right decision to bring Charlotte to Rahelrn Academy?'
Kraush, who had overcome countless difficulties with ease thanks to Charlotte, let out a brief laugh.
Who would have thought a day would come when he felt grateful for having Charlotte in his life?
Life, after all, seemed to be something one had to live to truly understand.
'Then.'
He decided to let those who followed the star called Charlotte know one thing.
That there was another star, one that could shine just as brightly as Charlotte.
Clang!
Kraush, who split the flying arrow once again, stomped on the ground.
In that moment, his figure wavered and disappeared.
"He's coming!"
Chelbery, who first caught sight of Kraush, loaded her arrow.
It seemed like he had started moving, but her arrows never missed their mark.
Confident she could hit Kraush no matter where he was, she released the arrow, and it swiftly flew into the forest.
However, for some reason, the sound of Kraush cutting the arrow didn't follow this time.
When her keen hearing picked up a faint rustling of grass.
She heard the sound of leaves brushing past.
And soon, she witnessed a bizarre sight.
The arrow she had shot was passing through the trees and rapidly moving through the air.
But ahead of it.
Kraush was running faster than the arrow.
The moment his figure briefly appeared, it vanished again.
Chelbery's eyes widened as she lost sight of him the moment she caught him in her view.
Kraush was too fast—far too fast.
"What kind of monster is this!"
It was when she hurriedly grabbed the next arrow.
"One arrow chasing me is more than enough."
By the time she swung her bow at the voice from behind her, it was already too late.
Crack!
Her longbow shattered into pieces as it collided with Kraush's sword.
It was a steel longbow wrapped in a dense aura.
The sight of it shattering left her in shock.
But Chelbery didn't have time to be shocked.
Kraush's sword, having destroyed her longbow, was flying toward her at close range.
Rumble!
At that moment, the rock beneath Chelbery collapsed.
It was Chromosh who had caused the rock to crumble.
Whoosh!
And Kraush's sword narrowly grazed past Chelbery's head.
Seizing the opportunity, she kicked off the collapsing rock and leapt downward.
A classic retreat strategy.
Kraush immediately pursued her, kicking off the rocks as well.
Boom!
But as if to block his path, pillars of rock rose from the ground.
Chromosh had set up an obstruction to block Kraush's path.
Seeing this, Kraush smiled faintly.
Sorry, but this was no longer enough to stop him.
With the energy of Annihilation Erosion burning through his body, the Heavenly Slaughter Star shone in the Night of Nox Sky.
Then, red-hot energy began to rise from Kraush's sword.
Whoosh!
Kraush slashed toward the rising rock pillars.
Swish!
The rock pillars were sliced cleanly, as if they were tofu.
Kraush, who had sliced the pillars in an instant, kicked the cut pillar.
The collapsed pillar, instead, fell toward the fleeing Chelbery.
Just before Chelbery was crushed by the pillar.
Slash!
A series of consecutive slashes shattered the pillar into pieces.
It was Kayaseom's iaido.
Between the shattered pieces of the rock pillar, Chelbery appeared.
Amidst it all, she was aiming her arrow at Kraush from beneath the fragments of the rock pillar.
Having lost her longbow, she now held a bow and arrow made solely of aura.
A large amount of aura was condensed into that arrow.
Using the cover of the rock pillar to obscure her view.
She had prepared her attack, trusting that Kayaseom would destroy the rock pillar.
As expected of the Three Mad Cats, the coordination among the three was exceptional.
Wind began to whirl around Chelbery's arrow.
Following the raging wind, fragments of the rock pillar were fiercely scattered.
For a moment, the atmosphere seemed to distort, revolving around her.
This one shot will end it.
Chelbery's fingertips tore apart as a storm of intense power surged into the arrow.
Crack!
Chelbery clenched her teeth so hard they seemed to shatter.
At the moment her eyes widened.
Thwang!
As her fingers bent, the arrow, which seemed to devour even itself, surged forward riding the gale.
The target was Kraush.
The arrow of the storm, meant solely to bring him down, consumed everything as it soared.
Battle Typhoon Bow
Fifth Form
Storm Typhoon Bow
Following the storm that swallowed even the remnants of the rock pillar, Kraush's hair fluttered.
The arrow, which had come so close to piercing Kraush, seemed as if it would strike him at any moment.
However, before that arrow, he bore a savage smile.
The dark red aura flowing from his body spread relentlessly around him.
Even an arrow devoid of will seemed to falter.
The momentum pouring from him froze the bodies of all the First Year Students present.
At that moment, an emergency alarm blared violently in everyone's mind.
Kraush opened his mouth.
"I told you earlier, didn't I?"
Crackle!
Thunder sound erupted from Kraush's sword.
Those who heard the sound belatedly snapped back to their senses.
When the thought to flee immediately flashed in everyone's mind.
It didn't take long to realize that such a decision was far too late.
Clang!
With the sound of something breaking from Kraush's sword, lightning and flames surged upward.
Within those flames of lightning.
Kraush's sword thrust forward.
Annihilation Erosion
Third Form
Sky-Thundering Annihilation
The storm imbued with thunder energy and black flame erased Chelbery's secret technique and the remnants of the rock pillar.