F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 265: Execution

Crownspire Arena roared to the heavens.

What a sweet, sweet treat! A worthy main course after an appetizer match.

While the crowd’s interest in Daru lay not in his strength but in his qualifying for a spot despite his oddly low rank, their anticipation to see him in action was no less than their excitement watching the top-rankers showcase their might.

His back was as straight as a jian’s blade, and his face an unexpected mirror of a still lake.

Wind Warden, clad in an enchanted armor of pristine white adorned with ivory feathers, surveyed his serene foe across the stage.

His lips curled downwards, gaze frigid like a winter night.

The inferior dared be so calm...

Wind Warden felt a bit insulted, his body screaming for the barricades to be raised. He would never accept that he was a mere side show, wanting nothing more than to end the infuriating mysteriousness of the low-ranker, who was garnering far more attention than he deserved.

Wind Warden’s arm waved gracefully, his hands gripping the alabaster cord wraps of his katana.

Daru was unfazed, however, merely walking to the designated starting spot at the centre of the main stage and pulling his tachi out.

A few sharp individuals from Class 70 immediately noticed the oddity. That tachi...why did it look so divinely gorgeous?

Shouldn’t it be rusty?!

They broke out into whispers, the strangeness slowly crawling outwards from their little circle.

Unfortunately, no one could deduce anything before all competitors were ready.

With sharp gazes locked firmly and muscles ready to burst, the referees raised their arms, barking: "Begin!"

The four minor arenas erupted in the same way as all five did from the first batch of matches.

But the crowd...it was as though time had stopped for them. They grew eerily silent, greatly disorienting the competitors in the four minor matches.

What happened?

Why was the entire place suddenly silent? 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Well, of course it was.

After all, in the main stage, a torso bid farewell, sliding off to the stone floor and dissipating into red cubic particles.

Wind Warden’s next memory was that he was standing at the respawn point.

He stood petrified, unaware of his foe performing sheathing motions at the stage.

’That was a good quick draw...’ Daru nodded in satisfaction, a shadow of a smile fleeting on his face.

In the next moment, the arena thundered.

Voices rose to the heavenly canvas like a mad prayer — the only audible among them that of Nathalie’s, spoken through an enchanted stone:

"G-Gods!! Omaru decimates Wind Warden with a single, vicious strike!! The second match of the main stage ends as swiftly as a guillotine’s drop! The F-ranker scores a victory for Class 70 and advances to Round Two of the Inter-Class Representative Competition!!"

Some individuals knew Daru personally, but their knowledge regarding his prowess in combat varied.

Iris was captivated more by the gracefulness of the quick draw. Caleb, on the other hand, had a grin on his face, not finding the execution strange in the slightest.

It was Cody and Elune whose eyeballs threatened to slip out, their mouths agape in bewilderment.

They’d discussed once in the past that Daru was probably hiding his true strength in the Myriad Sword Realm during one of their after-class training sessions.

However, they never expected it to be to a degree that he could one-shot a B-ranker...a B-ranker like Elune herself...

The young lady of the Tseradze Family gulped.

They weren’t the most affected individual, though. Principal Jebroham Jackson was.

Although unshakeable like a stoic mountain in exterior, the old academy head’s heart was barely intact.

All the aged hairs on his body stood on end after witnessing the mysterious bladeborn, Onimaru Kunitsuna, in action.

The first time he heard it from Hailey, he could not believe his ears.

Jebroham thought he was going senile in the middle of an important call.

Only when the young division leader reminded him that his only task was to ensure the smooth progression of the competition did he manage to collect bits and pieces of his wits.

Still, in his mind lingered doubts, washed away only after he saw how the "F-ranker"’s speed surpassed the B-ranker’s perception and cut his entire torso off before he could react.

There was simply no way in hell that would be possible under regular circumstances.

Clearly, Daru Finnley had a method to hide his true identity, which the old academy head was curious about but didn’t dare pry into.

The commotion caused by the otherworldly upset only grew more uproarious, obscuring the upcoming matches in its shadow and reducing them to mere insignificant exhibitions.

The called participants cursed their luck for being called to fight after such an anomalous match.

Inevitably, though, the excitement settled with everyone looking forward to Omaru’s next match.

They wanted to see more of the surprisingly deep F-ranker. Will there be another upset, or did he only use some kind of one-time trick?

The crowd was eager to know.

Fortunately for the infuriated B-rankers, who were reduced to side characters despite fancying themselves protagonists of their own stories, the scouts weren’t so easily distracted.

They only missed the rest of the matches in Daru’s batch and nothing else.

The matches proceeded, and soon, the A-rankers like Cody were called to fight, too.

Cody won fairly easily. Iris, Alopecion, and Taiya, too.

Only the Sky Prince hadn’t fought yet.

His match was the final touch of perfection to the finely sequenced First Round, and of course, before such a performance, opening acts must unfold.

The Moon Fairy, Elune Tseradze, had the honor to be one.

The moment she heard her trial name, Moonpiercer, called by Nathalie, she took a deep breath and ascended the stage, stopping a distance shy of the centre.

Across from her stood a faintly smirking young man with spiky red hair, fancying himself lucky to be given a chance to showcase his might to a fairy and to the scouts at the main stage.

Oh...how lucky he was!