### Chapter: 224
Lion’s Order Class 1
In Class 1, there gathered a particularly commendable group of individuals.
The reason was simple.
It was because Charlotte was just too strong.
The moment the mission began, Charlotte was off, charging ahead at the front.
To keep up with her, you needed to be at a certain level of skill; otherwise, it was basically impossible.
Thus, the average strength of Class 1 was impressively high.
Among them stood the man who had played the role of Charlotte’s punching bag for ages.
Cromosh Daikram, breathing out a light sigh, was right in the center of Class 1.
The reason he was constantly dragged into training by Charlotte was none other than his name.
It was because his name was somewhat similar to Kraush that he found it comforting.
Thanks to that reason, Cromosh had to endure hellish training repeatedly.
But maybe because of it, his skills had skyrocketed, placing him among the upper echelon of the Lion’s Order.
Having a decent foundation to begin with, the formidable Charlotte had helped him grow at an astonishing rate.
As a result, he was now treated as an honorary vice-captain within the Lion’s Order.
“Hey, Faux-Kraush, our Captain Charlotte seems to have headed that way.”
Beside him stood a woman with black bobbed hair tied up on both sides, chuckling as she twirled the lollipop in her mouth.
Chelberi Findra, one of the Three Crazy Cats of the Lion’s Order along with Cromosh.
“Don’t call me a faux!”
Cromosh sighed again at her teasing. It was a familiar jest by now and hardly surprising.
“So, if she’s gone toward the second-years, it means Kraush is probably coming this way.”
“Seriously, our Captain Charlotte can be a bit much. She’s purposely setting us up to fight against less familiar opponents to make things difficult for us.”
“…I don’t think so.”
Cromosh quietly disagreed with Chelberi’s comment. Having suffered the most at Charlotte’s hands, he figured out her reasoning behind everything.
“She probably just wants to fight the second-years herself.”
“Oh.”
Chelberi inadvertently agreed with Cromosh’s point. If it was Charlotte, that was definitely her mindset.
“Then it’s not just Kraush who’s in trouble, is it?”
Chelberi had heard the rumors about Kraush’s skills.
But she had never seen just how powerful he really was with her own eyes.
“That…”
Cromosh hesitated slightly. Like Chelberi, he hadn’t personally faced off against Kraush either.
The only clear confirmation of Kraush’s strength was that he had faced off against Arsoldar Freya, a monster from Class 1, and won.
While that was a significant achievement, those present were all highly skilled individuals from Class 1.
In individual fights, perhaps they could hold their own, but in group battles, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Arsoldar.
“I’m curious. Just how strong is the top second-year?”
Chelberi licked her lips as if that thought excited her. She loved challenging powerful opponents.
Heck, she entered the Lion’s Order just because she was impressed by Charlotte’s strength.
At that moment…
“Here they come.”
From among the Three Crazy Cats, another member, Kaya-Sem, lifted his head eagerly while holding a long saber.
The moment his cream-colored long hair flowed, he sensed a presence nearby.
Hu-zhak—
A roaring sound of flames igniting resonated.
Boom!!
Immediately, the black flames engulfed the spot where Class 1 had gathered.
Amidst the swirling remnants of the black flames were Class 1 members, some scattered on the ground.
Those who had successfully defended against the flames peered through the smoke.
The Three Crazy Cats were among them.
“Cromosh, Chelberi, Kaya-Sem.”
Through the smoke, a low voice echoed.
The owner of that voice, a boy with dark blue hair resembling Charlotte’s, fluttered his locks as he approached.
The moment the three faced that hair color, they all felt a chill.
They had merely heard tales of Kraush, the top second-year, but had never personally clashed with him.
Cromosh’s face showed concern.
Chelberi’s displayed joy.
Kaya-Sem looked utterly defeated.
As this trio expressed their contrasting emotions, Kraush raised Thunderstorm.
“Your junior greets you all!”
A rather rude junior, launching an attack right off the bat.
The moment Kraush grinned, the faces of the Class 1 members turned pale.
This was the same boy who had just released flames strong enough to decimate the forest moments ago.
Yet, on his expressionless face, he already had the next black flame ready.
Without a hint of hesitation, Kraush swung down his sword.
Boom!!!
The sound of an explosion echoed as the attack obliterated ahead of him.
The sheer force of the attack was so strong that the trees surrounding them shattered and flew.
Kraush’s gaze shifted toward the direction the attack had come from.
There stood a boy with cream-colored hair, effortlessly flaunting his saber, clicking his tongue.
The last of the Three Crazy Cats, Kaya-Sem.
Unlike the technique of wielding a sword, which Kraush mastered, he was a master of saber skills, a different flavor altogether from being a Swordmaster.
“Looks like you’re decent enough to follow in Charlotte’s footsteps.”
The Three Crazy Cats had followed Charlotte around even before Kraush’s reincarnation.
Many had chased after the star that was Charlotte, even if she hadn’t entered Rahern Academy.
Their collective strength was beyond Kraush’s imagination.
“Have they all grown stronger from meeting Charlotte so quickly?”
At that moment, they were undoubtedly stronger than before.
It wasn’t a bad wind.
Competition within people leads to growth.
Rahern Academy was a place where top-notch geniuses gathered.
If those next to you keep getting stronger, you could draw out your own abilities and grow alongside them.
And that would undoubtedly strengthen the Sky Generation at an earlier date than usual.
“Consequently, bringing Charlotte to Rahern Academy was a good decision, I guess.”
Cromosh, who had easily navigated countless obstacles thanks to Charlotte, smiled briefly.
Who would’ve thought he would feel grateful for having Charlotte around in his life?
Indeed, life has a way of surprising us like that.
“Well then.”
There was one thing he had to tell those who had flocked to the star that is Charlotte.
That there existed another star, just as bright.
Twang!
As the arrow came flying and was sliced by Kraush, he planted his feet firmly on the ground.
In that instant, his silhouette shifted and vanished.
“Here it comes!”
The first to spot Kraush was Chelberi, who quickly nocked another arrow.
Kraush seemed to move, but Chelberi’s aim was spot on.
No matter where he moved, she felt certain she could hit him, and released the arrow as it sped into the forest.
However, for some reason, there was no sound of Kraush slicing the arrow as before.
With her keen hearing, she tuned in to the rustling leaves around her.
Then, she saw an astonishing sight.
The arrow she shot was racing between the trees, slicing through the air.
But ahead of it, Kraush was sprinting faster than the arrow itself.
As his silhouette appeared for just a moment, it vanished again.
Chelberi’s eyes widened in shock as she lost sight of him.
“Just what kind of monster is he!?”
Just then, as she hastily drew another arrow, a voice emerged from behind her.
“Just one arrow is plenty to keep up with you.”
Before she could even respond, it was too late.
Swoosh!
Her large bow shattered against Kraush’s sword.
It had been a powerful bow infused with aura.
The sight of it breaking was utterly shocking.
However, Chelberi didn’t have time to be stunned.
Kraush’s sword was already heading her way.
Boom!
Just then, the rock beneath her feet crumbled.
Cromosh had caused the rock to collapse.
Whoosh!
Kraush’s sword narrowly missed Chelberi as she leaped aside just in time.
The moment she spotted an opening, she used the crumbling rocks to jump away.
She was pulling a typical escape strategy.
Seeing this, Kraush pursued her right away, smashing through the rocks.
Boom!
But as if to obstruct him, stone pillars rose from the ground.
Cromosh had decided to interfere by blocking Kraush’s path.
Watching this, a smile appeared at the corner of Kraush’s mouth.
Sorry, but you wouldn’t be able to stop me with that now.
With the surge of the flames of Ablation Erosion wrapping around him, the Thunderstorm lit up the night sky over Nox.
Then, red-hot energy erupted from Kraush’s sword.
Whoosh!
Kraush thrust his sword toward the rising stone pillars.
Sh-raak!
Just like cutting through tofu, the stone pillars fell with complete ease.
In an instant, Kraush severed the pillars and kicked them aside.
Those toppled pillars came crashing down toward the fleeing Chelberi.
Just before they could crush her…
Bzzzzt!
A flurry of slashing strikes descended upon the pillars, smashing them into tiny bits.
It was Kaya-Sem’s saber technique.
Through the flying debris, Chelberi darted into view.
Underneath the now-shattered pillars, she aimed her arrow at Kraush.
Having lost her large bow, she only had a simple aura-crafted bow left.
That arrow was packed with an overwhelming amount of gathered aura.
Using the cover of the stone shards, she was prepared to strike while Kaya-Sem distracted Kraush.
Typical of the Three Crazy Cats, their coordination was spectacular.
As the wind began to swirl around Chelberi’s arrow…
The debris of the stone pillars soared through the air.
For an instant, the atmosphere seemed to writhe around her, as if it were turning.
Just one shot to finish this.
As the intense power surged toward the tip of her fingers, Chelberi clenched her teeth.
Crack!
She bit down, her eyes wide open.
Thwooosh!
As soon as her finger bent, the arrow shot off like it was being pulled through a cyclone.
It aimed straight for Kraush’s heart.
The storm arrow meant to pierce him was launched, sweeping everything along and soaring upward.
Battle Bow of Winds
Five Styles
Storm Bow
As the arrow raced through the remnants of the stone pillars, Kraush’s hair fluttered in the breeze.
The arrow was now dangerously close, seemingly ready to pierce Kraush at any moment.
But before that deadly arrow, Kraush wore a chilling grin.
A deep crimson energy flowed from him, consuming the area around.
Even the will-less arrow seemed to hesitate.
The pressure radiating from him froze the very bodies of all Class 1 members present.
At that moment, alarm bells rang in their heads.
Kraush opened his mouth, “I told you earlier.”
Crack!
Thunder erupted from Kraush’s sword.
Those who heard it snapped back into reality.
As a thought of, ‘We need to run!’ flashed in their minds, it didn’t take long for them to realize they were already too late.
Clang!
With a shattering sound, lightning and flames erupted from Kraush’s sword.
Amidst that fiery storm…
Kraush thrust his sword forward.
Ablation Erosion
Three Styles
Ablation Flame Thunder
The onslaught of thunder and black flames obliterated Chelberi’s arrow, along with the stone pillars and everything in between.
