Chapter 124: Chapter 124

Chapter 124 - The Train Rushing Towards the End (1)

A little time had passed since the battle began, but outwardly, the flow of the battle seemed unchanged.

In Elwin's case, there was nothing more to say as he was in a one-on-one confrontation, and Rain had only dealt with one of the eight enemies so far.

However, that didn't mean his skill was lacking.

The enemies' skills were on a completely different level from the previous Joint Grade Mock Battle.

Unlike Milo and the other students who, even when collaborating, ended up hindering each other, these enemies were launching organic coordinated attacks at Rain, honed in actual combat.

From that perspective, it might even be harsh to decry Rain's achievements as insufficient.

Because managing to take down one person while barely deflecting the attacks of such seasoned warriors was an accomplishment difficult to achieve at a student level.

However, Rain had no intention of being satisfied at that point.

Nor did he intend to let this situation continue indefinitely.

Rain was waiting. For the most perfect timing he could envision.

The physical stamina issue was clearly holding Rain back, but 『Space Perception』 was making Rain's fighting style so precise that it more than compensated for it.

'The marksman is outside the area; I have no choice but to create a blind spot by judging their position by feel.'

'D2, E4, D6... Ah, damn it.'

However, even with unwavering concentration, there were physical attacks that couldn't be endured.

One of the enemy's sword strikes, coming in a coordinated attack, cut Rain's shoulder.

But he twisted his body at the last moment the sword reached him, avoiding a fatal wound.

One might wonder, where did his Knight Robe's defensive ability go?

The answer to that question was simple.

He deliberately didn't activate the Knight Robe's defensive ability, waiting.

To use it at a truly crucial moment.

Rain continued to wait. Even if it meant cutting into his own flesh during that wait.

'The way to win is... no, the only way I can think of right now is that.'

Slowly depleting stamina.

The ever-lengthening wait.

These would certainly cloud a soldier's judgment on the battlefield, but Rain's judgment remained unclouded. Fınd the newest release on novel{f}ire.net

And this was proof of the battlefields he had traversed until now.

When the battle began, Rain had identified the enemy's composition as two marksmen and six vanguards.

And what Rain was most wary of among the enemy's composition was being shot at by the marksmen.

'If I were a normal knight, the marksmen's attacks would be nothing more than a deterrent...

but what can I do, my durability is .'

Activating the Knight Robe's defensive ability would make dealing with them no problem, but... Rain realized something as he continued the battle.

'Dealing with these guys right now isn't the problem.'

As he clashed swords with the enemies and saw the skill of the old man confronting Elwin,

No matter how quickly he dealt with these guys he was currently facing, these so-called 'small fries,' he couldn't win if he couldn't stop that old man.

Having reached that conclusion, Rain continued to wait.

For the moment when he could employ all his available moves to deal with the old man.

And finally, the time to reap the rewards of that wait had come.

'Marksmen, F3 and F4...'

The moment he felt the positions of the two marksmen align, Rain, in that fleeting instant, turned his eyes to confirm their positions.

More precisely, he checked what was beyond them.

And what he saw in that direction was Elwin and the enemy commander clashing.

That was the exact moment he had been waiting for.

When the marksmen's positions were close.

And when the enemy commander was located... in the direct line of sight of those marksmen.

Rain had endured the wait, even at the cost of his own flesh, for this moment.

If the wait was over, there was no reason to hesitate.

[System: Skill, 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』 has been used!]

Rain immediately activated 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』.

The surge of blood flow. The sensation of expanding muscles was vividly etched into his mind.

[ Strength : D → B+ ]

[ Stamina : D+ → B+ ]

[ Intelligence : B → A ]

Immediately after, Rain used the hand opposite his sword to precisely strike the vital point of the enemy closest to the marksmen among those confronting him.

Then, grabbing the collar of the enemy who had momentarily stopped moving due to the impact...

He rushed directly towards the direction where the marksmen were positioned, and beyond them, where the enemy commander was.

Although his speed had suddenly increased, it was a straight line. The marksmen fired bullets at the charging Rain, but...

Rain, as if expecting it, used the enemy in his hand as a shield, deflecting the enemy's bullets.

Rain then lowered the enemy he was holding and simultaneously cut down the torsos of both marksmen.

The two fell without even a scream, but Rain had no time to stop there.

Rain continued to move forward without slowing his pace.

And his target was the enemy commander confronting Elwin.

It might seem like an action targeting a secondary objective, but it was an action carried out with meticulous calculation.

Rain thought. In the early part of the battle, if he showed himself struggling against his subordinates, wouldn't the enemy commander dismiss him as a 'dangerous person' from his perception?

And if he could escape their vigilance in that way, wouldn't it be easier to launch a surprise attack?

However, even someone no longer vigilant couldn't help but be wary if someone charged at them in a straight line, but the story changes if there was another target in that path.

The target would be the marksmen, not himself. The enemy, being a seasoned veteran, would quickly make such a situational judgment.

That was Rain's ploy.

An unsuspecting enemy whose entire focus was on Elwin.

A sudden surprise attack from outside their perception and awareness.

With these factors, wouldn't it work even against an enemy who was fighting Elwin fairly equally? That was the calculation.

Rain, holding the sword that had cut down the marksman, charged directly at the enemy commander confronting Elwin.

The situation was clearly flowing in a better direction than Rain had designed.

This was partly thanks to Elwin, who was fighting bravely despite clearly being unable to perform at his full capacity due to various factors, and partly thanks to the accumulated 'karma' of combat Rain had unconsciously built through hundreds of regressions.

As Acaite said, martial arts were like a stingy old man, never giving anything for free, but it also never failed to give what was rightly due.

Yes. Certainly, in a normal situation, it should have worked... but traversing countless battlefields wasn't a story exclusive to Rain alone.

Just before Rain's sword strike was about to accurately pierce a part of the enemy commander—Vargas's armor that didn't protect—Vargas felt a certain sensation.

It was killing intent, bloodlust, or perhaps a sensation that could even be called survival instinct.

But if one had to name it, it was certainly a value named 'years.'

Simultaneously with feeling that sensation, Vargas swung the spear in his hand in an all-around sweep.

A flowing series of movements, shown despite wearing quite heavy armor.

It was a single strike that pushed back both Elwin, who was confronting him from the front, and Rain, who was launching a surprise attack from the rear.

I was dumbfounded. More than that, my hands were throbbing.

'It must have been an improvisation, not something that could be in the realm of calculation.'

Yet, this power and movement?

No, perhaps his skill was revealed precisely because it was an improvisation?

Honestly, either way was fine. That wasn't what was important right now.

In that fleeting moment, I reactivated 『Space Perception』 and, without looking back, ascertained the enemy's position.

'F3, F4... quick to cover.'

Yes. Of course, it would have been good if it ended easily, and I thought it would work... but of course, I hadn't prepared a subsequent move.

If one plan didn't work, then two, or if not, three, four.

That was how I had crossed the line of death until now.

I assessed the enemy's position, made all my judgments in that instant, and then shouted to Elwin.

"Elwin, let's switch roles!"

A remark whose precise intention might be hard to grasp, if seen from the outside.

However, the boy born with the blessing of the sword seemed to understand the true meaning of what I had said accurately.

I had expected as much.

I rushed towards the enemy commander who had recoiled after parrying our attack, and Elwin, crossing past me, rushed towards the enemy approaching from behind me.

[ Time Remaining: 54.21 ]

I launched a sword strike at the retreating enemy commander again, and the enemy commander parried it with his spear.

And this happened just over 5 seconds after activating 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』.

As we clashed swords like that, I suddenly had a thought.

I hadn't heard his name yet, I realized.

It might be a useless thought. Having used 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』, and with a strategy in mind, not a single second should be wasted.

However, I replayed his words in my mind, words I had only briefly heard.

-Drop your weapons and surrender. I swear I won't let any harm come to you.

-...So it comes to this.

I hadn't exchanged much meaningful conversation with him. I didn't even know exactly what kind of person he was.

Nevertheless, I could vaguely feel it.

He was the most proper human among all the opponents I had seriously fought to the death so far.

"...I still haven't heard it."

"Your name. Only I have spoken mine."

The moment my words ended, Vargas swung the spear that was clashing with my sword, shaking me off.

However, it wasn't a strike meant to refuse.

For less than a second, he seemed to be thinking something...

Then, taking his stance once again, he spoke.

Those words came from his mouth. It seemed to be his name.

"That was an excellent strike, boy."

And then he added a small compliment.

I responded to the praise from the veteran, who had revealed his name as Vargas, by revealing my name again, as if it were anew.

Well, even I didn't know why I was doing this.

If I were to make even a faint guess, it might have been... the minimum courtesy towards an opponent with whom I was about to fight a life-or-death battle.

A shaking train, a chaotic environment.

My stamina, already at its limit, was screaming.

Even with my physical specs boosted by 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』, the accumulated fatigue and damage in my body were acutely felt.

Nevertheless, I was still alive. My body was still moving.

Therefore, I would fight. To survive.

Now, to do that, let's put an end to this tedious fight.