Chapter: 133
The students of Staroon engaged in a passionate act of doping self-destruction.
Thanks to that, the Staroon students had made the most of their numbers.
But their opponents were not to be underestimated; they had faced various unpredictable situations too.
Realizing that the effect of the poison didn’t last long, they relentlessly bought time until the Staroon students collapsed.
As a result, six students from Staroon fell, while the imperial faction suffered only four losses.
Now, on Kraush’s side, only Haring and Kraush remained.
On the other side, Pandora had Arsoldar and one more imperial member still standing.
Ultimately, the numerical disadvantage leaned towards Kraush’s side as they had intended.
However, Pandora’s expression was far from relaxed.
This was initially a plan to bring down Kraush.
If things continued like this, even if they defeated Kraush, the credit would likely all go to Arsoldar.
Besides, Kraush was in perfect condition.
Even Pandora understood just how much power he could unleash in an instant.
What if Arsoldar loses here…?
Pandora knew full well he would be on the receiving end of an onslaught from the other imperial factions.
He didn’t care about Arsoldar, but it was crucial for Pandora to advance as a central noble faction.
“Libra.”
Thus, Pandora turned to the imperial ally with his long hair tied back.
His outfit was distinct, thanks to the white scarf he wore around his neck.
He was from the Reitnis family, the furthest edge of the imperial nobility.
A region characterized by vast wastelands, almost akin to the wild.
The direct descendant of the nomadic Reitnis family was none other than Libra Reitnis.
“I can win, right?”
Moreover, he was the one Pandora trusted the most among the local noble factions.
Always yawning as if bored, he rubbed his eyes and replied.
“Dunno.”
He was always evasive with his answers.
Yet, his skills were undeniably truthful.
Taking slow strides, he entered the arena.
Seeing this, Kraush warned Haring as she was about to step in.
“That guy’s pretty strong, so be careful.”
“Got it, leave it to me.”
With that, Haring stepped onto the arena.
Nevertheless, even after Haring’s arrival, Libra let out an extended yawn.
While he looked perpetually tired, Haring held two daggers firmly, staring at him.
“Begin!”
With that, the referee announced the start of the match.
Haring’s figure vanished as she activated Invisibility.
While Haring disappeared, Libra continued to yawn leisurely.
“Libra, get serious!”
Pandora shouted at him, to which Libra lazily opened one eye and looked around casually.
Invisibility had completely concealed Haring’s presence and movements.
It was impossible for Libra to locate someone even Kraush couldn’t sense.
Just at that moment, he felt something prick at his side, causing him to sway.
“Whoa.”
As he stumbled, a small wound broke on his side, and droplets of blood splattered.
It wasn’t a deep wound.
He had pulled back just before it could penetrate deeper.
In his field of vision, he saw Haring as she dispelled Invisibility and thrust her dagger.
As Libra swung his sword in response, Haring had already dodged and activated Invisibility again.
Libra squinted, realizing she was a more troublesome opponent than expected.
“Hmm.”
Rubbing his chin, he came to a decision.
“This is getting complicated.”
He rolled up his sleeves.
At that moment, chains hidden within his sleeves fell to the ground with a swish.
Simultaneously, he began to twirl the chain that had a weight at the end.
“Whoa, Libra’s bringing that out. Everyone, get back!”
The referee, standing nearby, bolted away without looking back, as the students scattered in fear.
Then, Libra’s chains began to move wildly.
Crash, clang, clang!
On the arena, the chains extended endlessly, starting to wreak havoc.
The chains rampaged violently enough to send shockwaves outside the arena.
Kaboom!
Naturally, even Haring, who was under Invisibility, couldn’t avoid the chaotic chain attacks.
In a rush, she dropped Invisibility and raised her aura, deflecting the chains with her daggers.
She felt the jolt of power from the chains and realized just how strong they were.
“I found you.”
At that moment, the chain that had made contact with her dagger coiled and immediately wrapped around Haring’s arm.
Before Haring could react, Libra’s arm muscles bulged with power.
His gathered aura pulled on the chains, yanking Haring towards him with unmatched speed.
But Haring was no ordinary fighter.
While being pulled, she threw a dagger toward Libra.
Seeing the dagger flying toward his head, Libra quickly turned his head.
However, what landed instead was Haring’s leg.
Thwack!
The clear sound resonated as Libra’s head snapped back.
Haring kicked his face and, landing back on her feet, grasped her dagger again.
Then, she aimed a dagger at the chains.
The poison from the dagger sizzled as it touched the chains.
Shhh!
She was intent on severing the chains right then and there.
Clang!
At that moment, the chains tightened again.
When Haring looked up, Libra, with a nosebleed from the kick, wiped it off with his sleeve.
“That hurts.”
With that, Libra pulled the chains again.
Haring could do little against the pull as her body was dragged along.
Haring’s brows furrowed slightly.
It was because Libra seemed completely unfazed.
“You’re just waiting for the poison to kick in, huh?”
Then, wiping his nose, Libra spoke.
“You guys have been sending a lot of poison-related materials to our family, so we’re quite familiar with it.”
The Reitnis family resided in both flatlands and immense forest areas.
They harvested poison materials from those forests and sent them to the Lagren family.
So, it seemed Libra had quite the immunity to poison due to his exposure from a young age.
Realizing that she was up against a tough opponent, Haring grimaced.
“Let’s finish this. I want to sleep.”
The moment those words left her mouth, Libra swung the chains wildly.
With that, Haring was yanked along like a dumbbell tied to the end of the chain, hurtling toward the ground.
Crash, bang, crash!
Haring crashed against the arena floor, the sounds echoing around as those watching couldn’t bear to keep their eyes open.
“Good job, Libra!”
Pandora cheered, watching Libra with pride.
With both Invisibility and poison sealed away, it was almost a certain victory for Libra.
Excitedly calling out, he turned to Kraush.
Now it was just Libra, himself, and Arsoldar left.
It was a burden for Kraush to handle alone.
Just as he began to smile victoriously, his gaze met Kraush’s.
Despite Haring being beaten down like that, Kraush’s expression remained unchanged.
As Pandora realized this, he felt a shiver of doubt.
“Gah.”
Suddenly, Libra spat out blood and staggered.
His eyes went wide in confusion.
His vision started to blur.
Wait, is this poison?
Could it be that the poison he received earlier is just now hitting him?
Libra questioned himself.
He believed he was immune to most poisons.
After all, poisons tend to have similar properties, and anything usable in a duel wasn’t meant to affect him.
“Did you use a poison that could kill during training?”
No matter how he thought about it, that seemed a bit too much, and while Libra pondered this, Haring struggled to rise from the ground, looking a mess.
She still had the chains wrapped around her arm.
“I didn’t use anything like that.”
She spat the blood pooled in her mouth onto the ground and glanced at Libra with sparkling purple eyes.
“I just used something new.”
Recently, Haring had been studying poison and curses alongside Darling and Dorma.
In that process, she acquired a brand-new poison through Dorma.
It was similar to what Kraush aimed to create using poisons and curses, as Haring had developed a new poison combining the two.
Though still inexperienced, she could manipulate lower-level curses, vastly expanding her poison’s range.
I’ll get stronger.
In Haring’s eyes, Kraush would indeed keep growing stronger.
Whatever his goal was, he had saved her twice.
If that were the case, she would follow him, even as a show of gratitude.
She reached into her pouch of poison.
Although Libra had been weakened by the poison, he was still strong.
The chains hadn’t been made from ordinary material; even a dagger coated with acidic poison couldn’t melt through them.
Thus, she decided to change tactics.
She pulled out a Dan Jeong Dan.
It was a broad-based pill that amplified muscle strength while the poison circulated.
“No, don’t!”
Despite still swaying, Libra instinctively lifted the chains to prevent Haring from doing anything reckless.
Yet even now, Haring had already popped the pill into her mouth.
Crunch!
The sound of her biting down echoed, and she felt an unprecedented vigor coursing through her.
Along with the sudden boost, she grabbed hold of the chains mid-air.
With that, she pulled them upwards.
Swoosh!
In an unbelievable display of strength, Libra was suddenly yanked off the ground.
His eyes widened in shock before he could react, and Haring struck downwards with her dagger.
Clang!
The clash of Libra’s sword against Haring’s dagger echoed as Libra’s body was forced apart.
In the interim, Haring’s leg stretched out again.
“Ah.”
Thwack!
With a short sound from Libra, Haring’s foot connected precisely with his chin.
His head flipped back as he crashed to the ground.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, dust erupted into the air.
As the dust settled, Haring lightly landed.
And as the dust began to clear, there lay Libra, sprawled out with closed eyes.
Though he didn’t appear unconscious, he seemed incapable of moving.
“I surrender.”
“Haring Lagren, wins!”
As Libra declared his surrender, the distant referee called out immediately.
Upon hearing that, Haring quickly looked at Kraush.
In her childhood, she often looked for praise from her older brother whenever she accomplished something.
When her eyes met Kraush’s, she realized she had acted unintentionally.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Kraush nodded.
“You did well.”
Hearing those words, she felt a sense of pleasure swell within her.
“You can come down now.”
Once Kraush said that, Haring turned.
“I can still do more.”
Hearing her stubbornness, Kraush frowned just slightly, letting out a sigh.
He had expected nothing less.
“Libra, you idiot.”
At that moment, as Libra slipped out, Pandora clambered up, gritting his teeth.
His plans were now completely in ruins, leaving him in an extremely foul mood.
Especially, it irked him to no end that Glen and Haring, who were from the Imperial side, were on the other team.
“Junior, I didn’t know you guys were this foolish despite enjoying the Emperor’s favor.”
While he spoke, Haring took a deep breath.
The shock from Libra’s attack and the remnants of the Dan Jeong Dan started to weigh on her.
“Ready.”
She shook her head to clear her blurry vision.
She still had more she could do.
Even if she could just land a single stab with her dagger, it would make it easier for Kraush to win.
She clenched her dagger tightly.
“Start!”
Just as she activated Invisibility, her vision started to blur.
Through the haze, she saw Pandora slowly adjusting his glasses.
“So, would you try to use the same trick?”
Around Pandora, a storm of dust began to swirl violently.
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