Chapter 156: Growth Verification (3)
Yulia gazed quietly at the two people facing off against the Demon King.
On one side was Theresia Winchester, known as the strongest of the 49th generation.
On the other side was Yuri Holland, an emerging powerhouse.
She didn’t know how the two were connected, but it was an odd combination that didn’t seem to fit.
However…
‘They strangely resemble each other.’
Was it just her imagination, or did the atmosphere of the two standing shoulder to shoulder seem oddly similar?
Clearing her mind of such idle thoughts, Yulia focused on Yuri.
‘Good. Now I can get a closer look at Yuri Holland.’
Through the quests completed by the 50th generation, Yulia had gathered some information about Yuri Holland.
But she knew that information passed through others could be distorted.
Nothing could compare to directly observing the subject to accurately analyze them.
Thus, Yulia meticulously observed Yuri’s every move, recording them in her mind.
‘Yuri Holland… the disciple of the Indomitable Sword, Johan Redner.’
She had discovered this purely because of her admiration for Johan Redner.
The Unyielding Sword aimed at the strongest in the world.
The story of a man who ceaselessly threw himself into challenges, even if it meant shattering and wearing down.
The tales of Johan she heard in her childhood were greater than any heroic saga and had instantly captivated Yulia.
As a result, gathering information about Johan had become Yulia’s hobby.
Recently, after a long time, traces of Johan had been found.
To her surprise, she had obtained information that he had recommended someone for the Dragon Plaque in the northern Irons Territory.
From that day on, Yulia had eagerly anticipated.
She hoped the one recommended by Johan Redner for the Dragon Plaque would enter the Cradle.
And finally, when Yuri Holland entered the Cradle.
When he took his fifteenth step during the Hundred Steps Ceremony, Yulia felt a thrill.
‘As expected… as expected of the Indomitable Sword!’
The talent of the individual chosen by Johan Redner was astonishing, as if he aimed to continue Johan’s legacy.
It was almost as if Johan Redner had been reincarnated.
‘Come on, show me, Yuri Holland! Everything you learned from the Indomitable Sword!’
Yulia’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Her heart raced with anticipation as she watched Yuri prepare to fight the Demon King.
However, there was something she didn’t expect.
‘To face the Demon King, you will need to unleash everything you have; hold back nothing!’
She did not expect Yuri and Theresia to win against the Demon King.
And this sentiment was not hers alone.
“How long do you think they’ll hold out?”
“Well, with Theresia there, maybe about 200 exchanges?”
“200? No way. That Demon King… he’s like a Squad Commander level as Yulia said. They’d be lucky to last 100 exchanges.”
“That’s true. If it weren’t for Yulia, we would’ve been done for long ago.”
“Damn, why is Theresia helping someone like him?”
“Yeah, it’s a fight they can’t win anyway.”
“By the way, what’s the deal between those two?”
Everyone watching was convinced of Yuri and Theresia’s defeat.
And Theresia, standing beside Yuri, wasn’t much different.
“What’s with that expression?”
Yuri asked, his voice casual as he carefully set down the concentrated energy wrapped in his coat.
Theresia tilted her head slightly.
“…Expression?”
“It’s like you’ve already accepted defeat. Or are you not planning to win?”
“I never thought that.”
Although she replied firmly, her hand holding the spear twitched slightly at Yuri’s observation.
Yuri was right.
Inwardly, she thought that they couldn’t win this fight.
And as if knowing her thoughts, Yuri let out a small chuckle.
“Not planning to win, huh?”
But his smile quickly faded.
“Straighten your face, we’re going to win.”
“…….”
“If we hadn’t decided to fight, that would be one thing, but now that we have, we’ll definitely win.”
“…We’ll win?”
“Yes, so…”
Yuri took a step forward.
At that moment, Theresia felt chills run down her spine.
For some reason, Yuri’s back seemed larger than before.
Yuri took a stance, slightly leaning forward.
Click.
He lowered his sword horizontally.
“…Don’t fall behind, keep up.”
With those words, Yuri’s figure vanished.
Bang!
With a loud sonic boom, he reappeared on the Demon King’s left flank.
The 49th generation cadets watching the situation flinched.
‘D-Didn’t see it?’
‘Did we miss his movement?!’
‘Damn, was it just me who couldn’t see?’
The distance between Yuri and the Demon King was at least 7 to 8 meters.
It was already astonishing that he covered that distance in one go, but to move at a speed that even those watching from afar couldn’t see?
It was no wonder the 49th generation was shocked and bewildered.
Only a handful, fewer than ten, managed to vaguely catch Yuri’s movements.
Among them, only Theresia, who was familiar with Yuri’s speed, accurately followed his motion.
Meanwhile, Yuri, having reached the front of the Demon King, swiftly swung his sword.
Swish.
The blade sliced through the air, striking down from the Demon King’s left upper side.
Unlike the 49th generation, the Demon King’s eyes tracked Yuri precisely.
Simultaneously, his massive sword was raised vertically, blocking Yuri’s attack like a shield.
Clang!
But Yuri’s sword, as if anticipating this, slid down the surface of the massive blade.
And then.
Sss.
In an instant, Yuri shifted from the left side to the right, thrusting his sword toward the Demon King’s side.
If it continued like this, the Demon King would soon be pierced by Yuri’s sword.
At that moment, the Demon King’s colossal sword moved in a strange arc.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, it accelerated immensely, deflecting Yuri’s blade.
Bang!
With the sound of two chunks of metal clashing, Yuri was forced back significantly.
Screech—.
Yuri, sliding across the ground, looked at the Demon King and smirked.
“I gave you a couple of quick hits since you waited so long. I hope it was to your taste, Demon King?”
“…….”
Despite Yuri’s playful tone, the Demon King showed no reaction.
He simply stared at Yuri with a deep, contemplative gaze.
Yuri rose to his feet, clicking his tongue inwardly.
‘Tch, what a tough one.’
Contrary to his intimidating appearance, the Demon King’s demeanor was quite reserved.
‘With such intense killing intent, he should be lunging at us right now.’
He didn’t even interrupt their conversation earlier.
Even after taking the initial attack, he didn’t rush into a counterattack.
Finally, Yuri let out a disgruntled sigh.
“If you’re going to radiate such killing intent, shouldn’t you lose control and charge at least once?”
“…….”
“Not coming?”
Seeing the Demon King still standing quietly, Yuri frowned.
‘A stronger opponent who remains calm…’
Truly without conscience.
If he was strong, he should at least let his guard down a little so the weaker ones could find an opening.
“Sigh…”
Yuri exhaled deeply.
‘I thought I had an edge in speed…’
However, the strange movement of the giant sword earlier was enough to put Yuri on high alert.
And that wasn’t the only issue.
As expected, the power contained within that enormous sword was not something to be ignored.
‘One solid hit… and I’m done for.’
Even after glancing off the attack, Yuri’s wrist throbbed, causing him to wince.
Despite deflecting the strike, the strength still lingered.
Thanks to this skirmish, Yuri could confirm something for certain.
‘This guy… is really strong.’
His speed matched Yuri’s own movements.
His attacks were short, concise, and powerful without any excess.
Clearly, he was at least a certified level 5 or higher.
But.
‘Not as strong as the Tiger Auntie.’
He was weaker than Greta Wigun, who had been at the peak of the certified level 6 at that time.
This Demon King was, at best, at the upper limit of certified level 5.
Having reached this conclusion, Yuri’s eyes sparkled.
Clench.
Ignoring the pain in his throbbing wrist, Yuri dashed forward.
At that moment.
Tap tap.
A shadow appeared beside him.
‘Teshia?’
The one who joined Yuri’s side was Theresia, with her spear lowered.
Their gazes met as they ran parallel to each other.
At that moment, Yuri read dissatisfaction in Theresia’s eyes.
‘Don’t go ahead, that’s unfair.’
It seemed that his earlier remark about not falling behind had pricked her pride.
Yuri chuckled at that.
Then, without a word, he circulated his Mana Road.
‘If you’re late, I’ll leave you behind.’
As a surge of lightning erupted from Yuri’s body.
The Redner family’s secret magic body technique.
Thunder Wing.
And just like Yuri, Theresia, reading the intent in his eyes, activated her Mana Road.
The Winchester family’s secret magic body technique.
Shadow Bullet.
Swoosh—.
Whoosh—.
A streak of lightning and shadow blended together, swiftly charging toward the Demon King.
When they first met in the Forest of Beginnings.
The alliance of lightning and shadow, which once targeted each other, was now in harmony.
The golden and black lights shooting straight forward split at some point.
Simultaneously, Yuri, enveloped in lightning, appeared behind the Demon King in midair.
Theresia, with her emerald hair flying, emerged from beneath the Demon King’s legs.
Without exchanging a word, the two had instinctively taken up their respective positions.
Yuri slashed downward at the Demon King’s head from above.
Theresia thrust her spear upwards, aiming for the Demon King’s heart.
It was at that moment.
A red aura exploded from the Demon King’s body.
Boom—.
What scattered in all directions was a killing intent-infused mana.
The mana and concentrated killing intent of a certified level 5, with overwhelming pressure, struck directly at Yuri and Theresia.
“Kugh!”
“Urgh!”
The blow caused both of them to stiffen.
Seizing the moment, the Demon King’s red giant sword moved swiftly, scraping against Theresia’s spear.
Screech—.
The Demon King’s sword twisted the trajectory of the spear and suddenly accelerated.
Faster.
Even faster.
Faster still.
Initially moving at an average pace, the giant sword quickly reached incredible speed and soon became a red streak rushing right in front of Yuri’s face.
Yuri’s eyes widened sharply.
‘What kind of ridiculous acceleration is this!’
Compared to Yuri and Theresia, the Demon King’s initial movement was as slow as a turtle.
That was a common drawback for those wielding heavy weapons.
But this Demon King compensated for that weakness with such ridiculous acceleration.
A magic body technique that allows one to compound acceleration despite starting slowly.
That realization struck him in an instant.
But at the moment, Yuri needed to deal with the red streak hurtling toward him.
Yuri’s eyes followed the trajectory.
‘Accelerated movement is certainly fast. But… this isn’t enough to take me down!’
Swish.
Using Cloud Step, Yuri narrowly avoided the blade as it grazed his face.
His shadow blurred, and from within that, his sword emerged again, targeting the Demon King.
Shlunk—!
Almost as if anticipating this, Theresia’s spear found its way into the Demon King’s opening.
Clang— Bang!
Each sharp sound that echoed raised the concentration of the 49th generation cadets.
Their gazes never wavered from the battle unfolding in the center of the clearing.
Golden lightning.
Black shadow.
And red aura.
Three colors intertwined, with three figures faintly visible amidst them.
In other words, their movements were so fast they were barely perceptible.
One of the cadets from the 49th generation muttered in a trance.
“That Demon King… doesn’t he seem stronger than when we fought him?”
“Yeah, really?”
The battle between the Demon King and the 49th generation hadn’t been intense.
That could be attributed entirely to Yulia.
Thanks to her genius mind, reading several moves ahead, the Demon King’s momentum had been thoroughly disrupted.
Because his attacks had been rendered meaningless, the 49th generation never saw the Demon King’s ‘true’ strength.
Moreover, since he only focused on Yuri, the Demon King had treated the 49th generation with indifference.
Thus, the grand spectacle of the current fight, showcasing the true strength of a Black Sword Corps Squad Commander, captivated the 49th generation instantly.
The sheer force evident in each sword strike.
The astonishing acceleration that spiked momentarily.
Even from a distance, just watching made their skin tingle from the killing intent.
It was indeed a skill fitting the infamous Black Sword Squad Commander.
And so, it was only natural to be filled with strong doubt.
Against that monstrous Black Sword Squad Commander.
How…
Just the two of them…
“…can they fight like that?”
The eyes of the 49th generation cadets watching the center of the clearing.
Reflected within them were the red aura and the relentless intertwining of lightning and shadow.