Chapter 312: It’s different (1)

Airn Pareira.

Ilya Lindsay.

Judith.

Bratt Lloyd.

Among the many young people who walked the path of the sword, these people were the brightest stars.

Of course, it wasn’t like they were without any shortcomings.

They all suffered similar yet different wounds and had emotional scars like normal people. All of them were moving forward for a better future, and it was no wonder that they, along with Bratt, were at an age when they faced numerous ups and downs in their lives.

‘Still, he picked himself up…’

‘Bratt. Bratt is the most mature.’

‘Bratt…’

Looking at their friend on the magic screen, the three people had strange expressions.

It was a little different. Unlike his usual relaxed atmosphere, Bratt was now staring somewhere with a slightly more intense and focused look.

Unlike the other contestants and the public, the three of them looked at his inner side rather than his outer appearance.

After he came off the stage, they kept thinking about him. but it wasn’t like that for long.

Airn, Ilya and Judith were all contestants in this contest. They couldn’t sit there with intrusive thoughts messing with their heads.

And the first one among the three who was called up was Ilya.

The genius who reached the level of Master fastest on the continent.

Kwang!

“… Winner, Ilya Lindsay!”

It was an easy victory.

Woong!

Spak!

“Winner, Airn Pareira!”

It was the same with Airn.

The moment the opponent saw the golden aura, they lost their fighting spirit. His opponent thought that he was lucky to have reached the Round of 32 as an expert.

The middle-aged man, who kept retreating without a will to win, reflexively swung his sword at Airn and that was it.

The swordsman who was waiting in the room, mumbled looking at the opponent who was leaving with a shattered sword.

“… certainly looks stable for his age.”

“Who do you mean?”

“Both of them. You are asking such an obvious thing.”

“Right. So anyway, we will see the three of them again. The young ones.”

“Um.”

The Masters were chatting as they nodded their heads. It wasn’t known how skilled Airn and Ilya were.

Their match-ups till now weren’t that great and they would only face a true Master when they advanced to the Round of 16.

However, the flawless movement he displayed, and the well-refined Aura he wielded were confirmed in the brief second, he defeated his opponent. More than anything else, Bratt Lloyd’s propaganda made them even more wary.

The star of Gerbera, who was considered the weakest among the 20s Masters, showed a great level…

“Karahan cannot help but be nervous, right?”

“Right. He must have thought that he would keep winning until the quarterfinals.”

“…”

Has he heard about it yet?

Inashio Karahan who was staring at the screen turned away. Of course, it didn’t last long. It was because he had no intention of arguing with the words which were true.

‘… if possible. I want to protect my real skills.’

Of course, he didn’t think he would lose. However, the more cards he had up his sleeve, the better chance he would have to face Camrin Ray, the strongest candidate.

From that point of view, it was inevitable that Airn Pareira, who had now been reborn as a more intimidating existence than initially expected, was constantly shining.

“Huhu, feeling a little nervous?”

“It wouldn’t be easy for a senior right? And…”

Jarrot was also nervous.

Of course, there was nothing people could say. Jarrot was going to meet Ilya in the quarterfinals. Above all, there was one more hurdle for him.

Inashio smiled.

He mouthed out Zakuang, and Jarrot’s expression turned harsh. However, this didn’t lead to a fight either.

Their eyes turned to the magic screen that showed the stage. From there, they heard a terrifying roar.

Kwang!

Kwang!

“Kuak!”

Whoop!

“…”

“…”

“…”

The expressions of the contestants changed again. It was because this was Ignet’s match.

As soon as the match started, she strode ahead and kicked. The opponent blocked it with their sword and that was it.

The man flew back with a broken sword and even knelt on the ground coughing up blood…and this man was a Master, not an expert.

‘Even the aura sword was… stopped?’

‘It wasn’t stopped, but it broke the sword that had aura on it?’

‘A master in one blow?’

‘This…’

Silence befell the stadium.

Everyone, even Camrin Ray who wasn’t shaken by Devan Kennedy’s defeat now looked nervous. The face of the Black Knight commander was shown on the screen.

Her lips were firmly closed. However, her voice could be heard by everyone who was watching.

‘What do you think is the reason the Holy Kingdom is conducting the Warrior’s festival?’

Rumors spread around.

However, no one believed it because of the gap they thought existed between the generations. Even the contestants who realized the truth were anxious. It was to the extent that no one brought up such topics.

“Hmm. My next opponent is pretty strong.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Judith’s lively voice resounded in the heavy air.

And after a while.

“Winner! Judith!”

“Okay!”

She won cleanly against the top expert.

That was the day that marked the real start of the festival and the contest.

‘What is the real level of the Black Knight Commander?’

‘No, the winner has to be Ignet, not Camrin.’

‘Her state is already at the level of the 5 strong swordsmen… and the outcome is already more or less decided.’

It was the day after one person, Devan Kennedy suffered a shocking loss.

The hottest topics that began to flow around included the reevaluation of the contestants in their 20s like Bratt Lloyd as well as the real skills of Ignet.

It was natural.

Even though Bratt didn’t win easily, he still had the skills to take down one of the strongest people and his reputation rose up because of that.

On the other hand, there was Karim Jenkins from the north, who made the orcs go silent with his strength.

The man wasn’t as witty as Bratt.

But his power was strong, and it was a sight that would rattle even the strongest people. But such a man was taken down by Ignet effortlessly

Ilya had the youngest Swordmaster title, but the title of the greatest talent belonged to Ignet!

With such a public opinion, Ilya, Airn and Bratt had little attention.

But Judith was different.

It was because her next opponent was Ignet. And this caught a lot of attention.

It was the fight between the one who was considered the closest to Camrin Ray, and the only one who didn’t have the Master title among the contestants.

How could people not expect a great battle!

“She won’t die right?”

“Eh, she is the commander of Holy Knights, why would she do that? It will be fine. Even Karim, who was defeated yesterday, was fine.”

“But Zakuang was strange. What was that injury which made him unable to fight? There are so many high priests waiting…”

“Enough talk. Let’s continue with what we were talking about before… uh? Since the gap is so wide, it can be very painful for an Expert to even attack a Master…”

“Well, it could be so.”

“It doesn’t seem weird to have a nice fight.”

“But it is funny. A battle of the strong and weak…”

“It would have been fun if Zakuang had been there…”

People felt bad for Judith. Apart from that, those who expected something more provocative from the fight didn’t like this.

But the red-haired swordsman didn’t care. For the first time, her heart didn’t move for her.

It was strange.

Judith, who had only lived for herself until then… was now concentrating on others.

She saw Bratt Lloyd and her expression hardened.

‘… it is like back to the old days when we were prospective trainees.’

To be precise, there couldn’t be better a example than that.

At the time, Bratt Lloyd had a strong obsession with Ilya and he was always excessive during the evaluations.

However, it was also true that his will to break past the limit shone in his eyes. This was why, after the final evaluation in Krono, he admitted to Judith that she was better than him.

‘If not for pride, I would admit that Bratt was great.’

But it was different now.

In terms of obsession and tenacity, it was more pronounced in his eyes now rather than hers. It was like looking at her reflection in him. No, it was like seeing Ilya in the Land of Proof.

That was the problem!

The pain she suffered because of her obsession with Ignet was too high.

If Bratt was suffering under the pressure to defeat Airn… then Judith couldn’t stand it.

‘Why is he being like that all of a sudden?’

‘You are Bratt. You aren’t me!’

‘Why are you hurting yourself and getting caught up?’

‘More than anyone, you are someone who walks your own path.’

‘Then why…’

‘…’

As Judith thought of various things, Bratt was in front of her. He was wielding the sword. He was meditating. His face, sitting in the centre of the hall, was serious.

What was he thinking?

She was curious, but…

“… it won’t work if I disturb him.”

Judith turned back.

She wanted to go to him…approach him. She wanted to ask him why he was acting like this.

But she didn’t have the courage to do that. Seeing him so different from how he normally was, she could barely hold tears back.

She patiently moved away ready to leave him alone. Well, that was what she was trying to do.

“Judith.”

The voice of her lover stopped her. She took a long breath and pushed down her emotions.

After that, a voice came but trembling couldn’t be avoided.

“Continue the training, why…”

“I heard the voice of the person I love, why are you here?”

“…”

“Did you feel it?”

“Ha, hahaha.”

Judith laughed.

It was strange. She didn’t know why, but his words felt reassuring.

Just like that, the voice of Bratt blew away her worries. She sighed and turned around.

Then approached him and hugged him tightly and then kissed him.

Taking a step back with a slightly red face she said,

“Tell me why you are being like this.”

“…”

“Don’t just simply say it. You have to make me understand it, entirely… and don’t think of deceiving me. Tell me everything.”

“…”

“… was that too selfish?”

“Uh.”

Bratt Lloyd, laughed and said,

“But it is fine. I knew you’re like this when we started to date.”