The next day, I headed to the waterfall area to execute my plan to destroy the Dragon Clan and the Lion Clan. It seemed they would meet at a river flowing toward the waterfall.
I hoped Brian could get Geralt to duel him this time. Without that, my plan wouldn't work.
When I arrived, I saw the Dragon Clan and the Lion Clan gathered on opposite sides of the river, glaring at each other, ready for battle.
I moved closer and hid behind a tree not far from them. Brian walked toward the bridge connecting the two sides of the river.
"Geralt de Jimena! I challenge you to a one-on-one duel for control of this area!" Brian shouted at the dozens of Dragon Clan members across the river. "Accept my challenge if you have any honor as a knight!"
Hearing Brian's offer, the Dragon Clan members began whispering to each other, some even laughing at him.
"Honor as a knight? You're just afraid that we'll defeat your weak clan, Brian!" one of the Dragon Clan members taunted.
"Exactly, a clan full of losers like yours could never beat us!" another added.
Logically, the Dragon Clan would be better off rejecting Brian's offer. They could easily defeat the Lion Clan, which was mostly filled with weaker members. However, Brian was Geralt's eternal rival. He had always wanted to avenge his defeat from their previous duel.
This was the perfect time to do so.
Geralt approached the bridge. The two men, one blonde and the other red-haired, faced each other.
"Alright, you've got your duel, Brian."
Hearing Geralt's words, his team members looked shocked. On the other hand, Brian smiled, knowing his plan had succeeded.
"Geralt! Why are you accepting his challenge?! We can defeat them easily if we fight together!" one of the Dragon Clan members yelled.
Geralt turned around.
"Relax, I won't lose to him again," Geralt said confidently. "I've trained hard for this moment."
Geralt versus Brian, huh? No doubt, once I force Brian to unleash his power, if Geralt doesn't have another ace up his sleeve, he'll surely lose to Brian.
Geralt has the Blazing Fury Blessing. Its power is almost identical to my Villain Destiny Blessing.
Villain Destiny gets stronger the more the owner is hated by others. Conversely, Blazing Fury grows stronger the more hatred the owner harbors toward someone.
That's why, in the future, Geralt will be consumed by hatred in his pursuit of power. He will betray his family, his country, and his sister Scarlett, all to become stronger and defeat Brian.
"It's settled! We'll resolve this with a duel!" Brian said excitedly.
"I will defeat you this time, Brian!" Geralt shouted, equally determined.
The two fighters moved closer to each other.
The duel arena was the large bridge in the middle of the river—a perfect spot for a PvP battle if this were a game.
Brian and Geralt were ready, their gazes focused solely on their opponent.
"Accel…!"
"Acceleration…!"
They activated their speed spells simultaneously. Both dashed toward the center of the bridge, aiming to strike each other.
Geralt was the first to throw a punch at Brian, but the blonde easily dodged it.
"Justice Blow!" Brian countered, his left hand glowing.
"Temper…!" Geralt blocked Brian's attack, his body pushed back slightly and almost falling off the bridge.
"Tch, you've gotten better since last time," Brian said with a pleased smile, seeing his rival's improvement.
"Don't act like you're stronger than me!" Geralt shouted as he dashed back toward Brian. "Fiery Kick!"
Geralt's legs were engulfed in flames as he leaped to attack Brian. However, the blonde man ducked to the left, avoiding Geralt's strike.
Seeing Geralt's vulnerable position, Brian aimed a punch at his head. But before the punch could land, Geralt twisted in midair and kicked Brian in the head with his left foot.
"Aghhh...!" Brian's body was thrown back.
That was a slick maneuver by Geralt. He had predicted that Brian would dodge his attack and responded with a quick follow-up.
"How does it feel to get a taste of my mud-covered boots?" Geralt taunted Brian.
"Damn…! I'll make you pay!" Brian growled, his face now dirty. He spat out blood from his mouth.
"Try me if you can, tough guy..." Geralt retorted, continuing to provoke Brian.
Brian's hands and feet began to glow with a golden light. A faint aura of mana surrounded his body.
"Sunlight Fury!" Brian slammed his hands toward Geralt. Golden light shot from Brian's hands toward Geralt's position.
Seeing this, Geralt leaped to the side.
Brian's attack struck the wooden bridge, causing an explosion. Fragments of wood flew into the air from the impact.
"Hey, are you crazy? You could destroy the bridge we're standing on!" Geralt shouted, clearly displeased.
"I don't care if it means defeating you! Sunlight Fury!" Brian fired another series of attacks with both hands.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Geralt dodged and rolled, avoiding Brian's relentless attacks. He focused his mana into his right hand, igniting a small flame.
"Fire Bullet!" Geralt's fireball shot rapidly toward Brian.
"Huh? Temper…!" Brian hurriedly activated his defense spell.
Boom!
Geralt's spell hit Brian, a cloud of smoke erupting where the blonde man stood. But as the smoke cleared, Brian remained standing, though some parts of his body were burned.
"Hoo~ You're still standing with burns like that?" Geralt said, somewhat impressed with Brian.
"Yeah... I won't give up." Brian's body was enveloped in golden light as he finally activated his Blessing. "Because this is the way of a Knight."
Tch, more cringe-worthy lines from a cringe-worthy character. Why are dialogues like this so popular with fans? I don't know. I guess they watch too many shows about a yellow-haired ninja who loves ramen.
"I won't lose either, not after training so hard to beat you!" Geralt's body was now engulfed in flames.
I guess it's time.
I began sneaking toward the bridge where they were fighting, carefully moving between the large rocks along the riverbank so they wouldn't notice me.
Boom!
There was an explosion on the bridge where Brian and Geralt were dueling.
Both their bodies were covered in wounds from their back-and-forth attacks. They were breathing heavily, their faces showing exhaustion.
"Brian! Brian! Brian!"
"Geralt! Geralt! Geralt!"
Both clans cheered on their leaders.
"This is it, Brian," Geralt said, opening his palm. "Blazing Vortex!"
A spinning fireball appeared in Geralt's hand. It looked like his version of the Rasengan—a spell Geralt developed specifically to defeat Brian.
"I won't lose, Geralt." Brian's hands began to glow with golden light. "Lightning Fist!"
The two of them charged toward the center of the bridge, preparing for their final clash.
"Briaaaannn!"
"Geraaalllt!"
Just as their fists were about to collide, their expressions suddenly changed to shock.
That's because they saw me, appearing suddenly between them.
"Huh, Raul? What are you do—Ughhh!" Before Brian could finish, I kicked him in the head, sending him flying into the river.
"How dare you interrupt our du—Aghhh!" I punched Geralt in the face, knocking him into the river as well.
The two men, who had just been fighting to the death, were now swept away by the fast-flowing river. A few hundred meters downstream, there was a waterfall that would send them plummeting from a great height.
A stunned silence fell over the area, with the members of both clans standing with their mouths agape, unable to believe what had just happened to their leaders.
I didn't waste any time and immediately began running to leave the area.
"Chase that bastard!"
"Burn him alive!"
"Don't let him get away!"
I heard the angry shouts of both clans...
This was to be expected, considering I had interrupted a duel between the two leaders. Interfering in a duel is a dishonorable act for a knight.
I glanced back and saw nearly a hundred students chasing after me. Their expressions showed that they wanted to tear me apart.
"Wind Blow!"
I dodged the magic cast by one of the students.
I had to hurry into the cave. No matter how strong I was, I couldn't defeat them all here.
As I entered the forest, I noticed the students spreading out in all directions, trying to surround me.
"Earth Missile!"
Another spell was shot towards me.
I turned and punched the chunk of earth flying at me, then continued running to escape their pursuit.
Not long after, four students appeared ahead of me, running straight towards me.
"I won't forgive you, filthy noble!"
"How dare you interrupt the duel between our leaders!"
The student in front launched a punch.
I quickly slid between his legs, dodging the attack.
As I passed him, two more students came at me, wielding wooden sticks like baseball bats.
I stood up and used the Charging technique to dash past them.
Only one student remained in my path. He stood frozen, shocked to see me suddenly appear in front of him.
"Radical Blow!"
I landed a punch squarely on his face. I heard the cracking of something from his mouth—likely a few broken teeth.
Crash!
The man was flung back and collided with a tree.
"Damn! He's quick!"
"Come on, let's get him!"
Using Acceleration magic, I increased my speed.
After running for a while, I saw the cave that was my destination. I glanced back and saw the students were still chasing me.
Perfect… just as planned.
I entered the cave, and the students followed me inside.
Once I was deep enough in, I stopped and turned to face the dozens of angry students.
"Haha! Give up, filthy noble! You're trapped here!" one of the students said.
"You'll pay for dishonoring our clan leader!"
Heh, you're all so confident because you think you've cornered a snake.
But do you know? A wild animal becomes even more dangerous when it feels cornered.
"I'm not the one trapped here," I said with a sinister smile. "It's you who are trapped here with me!"
Boom!
Suddenly, there was an explosion. The entrance to the cave began to collapse, sealing the exit and plunging the cave into darkness.
Yes... I had already instructed Scarlett to use magic on the cave entrance to trap them inside.
Rumble!
"Huh? What's that sound?"
"Why is the ground shaking?"
Piers must have broken the dirt wall connected to the river.
Not long after, the sound of rushing water echoed towards us.
I quickly moved towards the exit I had prepared earlier. Water began to fill the cave, causing the students to panic.
"Does anyone have light magic!?"
"Hurry, get to higher ground! The cave is flooding!"
"No! Try to break the debris blocking the exit!"
Hahaha! Enjoy your little water adventure!
After a while of searching, I found the exit hole that led upward. It was the one Piers and I had dug in preparation for this plan.
Climbing out, I saw a human hand extended towards me.
I grabbed it, and the hand pulled me out of the hole.
"Did you succeed, Captain?" Piers asked.
"Yes... With this, the strength of the two clans will be greatly weakened."
I glanced back at the hole I had just emerged from, seeing water beginning to fill the space.
"Piers, quickly close the hole," I ordered.
"Yes, Captain."
---
After the slaughter of the two major clans, I sent Piers to scout their basecamps to see how many had survived my trap.
Now, I was back at our basecamp, resting.
For some reason, Scarlett hadn't returned yet.
Earlier, I had ordered her to cast fire magic at the cave entrance to trap the students from both clans. After that, I told her to return to the basecamp immediately.
I deliberately didn't tell her the full plan. I was afraid she wouldn't agree, given what I did to her brother.
Crack!
I heard the sound of a twig snapping under someone's foot.
Turning around, I saw Scarlett standing there.
Her expression was blank, but I could feel the intense aura of mana radiating from her.
"I went to the battlefield to see what happened," Scarlett said in a cold voice.
This was the first time I'd heard her speak. Until now, she had only responded to my orders with a nod.
"I heard that you interrupted Geralt's duel," Scarlett continued, walking slowly towards me. "I heard that just as he and his opponent were about to clash, you suddenly appeared and knocked them both into the river."
Yeah... I knew my actions were dirty and dishonorable. But I hadn't broken any rules.
"I thought the bad rumors about you were wrong after seeing how you acted until now." Smoke began to rise from Scarlett's body. "But it turns out they were right. You are a dishonorable noble with no integrity."
Hearing such hurtful words from someone as beautiful as Scarlett shook me a little.
Well... I had anticipated Scarlett's anger when I made this plan. But I had hoped to avoid fighting her at this point.
"I did it to pass this exam," I tried to explain.
"Is that why you didn't tell me the details of your plan? You were afraid I'd stop you if I knew you planned to ruin Geralt's duel, right?" Scarlett's voice grew louder. "Geralt had been waiting for that duel for so long. He trained tirelessly for that moment, and you destroyed it with your shameless actions!"
Her eyes were full of hatred as she glared at me. It seemed she was ready to attack me.
"This is a competition. These things happen," I replied.
After hearing my words, Scarlett got into a fighting stance. She was 100% ready to fight me now.
"Yes… it's a competition, and you've destroyed all my brother's hard work!"
Scarlett's body was engulfed in flames, and the leaves around her began to burn.
"I'm going to burn you alive, trash!"
Immediately after saying that, Scarlett darted towards me to beat me to a pulp.