F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 272: Bland Threat

The crowd burst into murmurs.

Some had noticed, while others are only noticing now. One of the four highlights of the event, the S-ranker Edelweiss, was nowhere to be found.

Naturally, no one thought she was scared of the second day’s matches. Her performance had been nothing but a ruthless snowstorm, after all.

Even Rasharen didn’t think she was cowering out.

’Then why is she not here?’

What could have been more important than the most prestigious academy competition where professional eyes watched like their careers depended on it?

Nathalie felt the winds of excitement thin. This she could not allow as the breath of the competition.

"It seems Class 69’s representative will be late. Competitor Rasharen, please return to your seat for now. We’ll reschedule the match for later.

The brackets were set, but Nathalie had been permitted to schedule the matches as she pleased for the sake of maximum excitement.

It would be unfair for a late participant to be disqualified simply because she decided that their match would go first.

That would be bad business, as well, and the sponsors would be displeased if an S-ranker were disqualified so easily.

Rasharen bowed and honorably descended the stage.

While a free win here would be good, the smart A-ranker actually did not care about how deep her run in the competition would be.

She preferred to showcase her abilities against an appropriate, stronger opponent, so that even if she lost, the scouts would still rate her highly in their reports.

In short, it was better to fight Snowflower and lose to her in a close match than to risk being one-shotted by the Sky Prince deeper into the tournament.

Rasharen was pretty satisfied with the arrangements.

Rescheduling the match for later, Nathalie replaced it with an equally exciting one that tapped into the betting chaos.

Daru still hadn’t recovered from the slight concern in his heart when his name was called.

He definitely would be a bit sad for Iris if she were eliminated from the tournament just like that, so he hoped that she would arrive soon.

Daru didn’t linger on the topic too much, though, as he could be eliminated himself if he didn’t focus.

His opponent was still an A-ranker, after all.

Still, Daru didn’t think he would have much trouble, even if he found it quite strange that his opponent, Seigetsu, was smirking.

Does his foe have a plan? If so, then he was all for it.

’Show me...’

A faint smile appeared on his face, suddenly finding himself looking forward to the match.

"Yo, Omaru. I heard you and your little pals had a bit of a brawly squabble with Lucas over there?" Seigetsu began, taking a moment to glance at the blue-haired Lucas — Skylar’s right-hand and his comrade.

Daru’s eyes narrowed.

"So?"

"Hahaha! Nothing. I just wanted to confirm that you really did dare cross Boss Skylar. Looks like you did, huh? Oh, how I pity you. You’d better pray he settles for humiliating you in this tournament."

With a shake of his head, Seigetsu struck a fighting stance, his nodachi’s tip pointed forward.

Daru didn’t feel there was a need to respond to the provocations. Skylar and his goons can come at him all they like; he wasn’t afraid of them...and he didn’t need anyone to know he wasn’t.

What was the point in engaging in senseless barks when he prefers to speak through bites? In the end, things would be resolved through swords in the Myriad Sword Realm.

The onlookers’ opinions as to whether he was intimidated or whatever was merely unnecessary noise, and they could believe their speculations, for all he cared.

Of course, this thought process happened almost instantaneously in Daru’s head.

It was all over and at the back of his mind by the time he was in a combat stance.

Like a majority of those in the arena, Seigetsu took his silence as cowardice, pleased at what he did.

His boss definitely liked that, even though he was framed as a villain.

Because Skylar Ashwind fancied himself one.

He preferred to be feared rather than to be seen as some goody-two-shoes on the surface.

The Sky Prince was not at all afraid of the academy learning of his tyrannical acts in the past few months, as he was simply certain he was among those above the law.

His father would take care of those he still can’t handle, and he didn’t need protection from those of the same generation.

Who can match him, really, when he believed he could easily stand his ground even against the four SSS-rankers of his generation?

Certainly none in Noravia’s Southern Bladeborn Academy.

Here, he was the king of novices, and no one could stop him even if they wanted to.

Skylar watched everything unfold with the same playful smile, his silence a bold agreement to his subordinate’s words.

The crowd shuddered, pitying Omaru as questions flooded their minds.

’Why the hell would someone even throw one’s life and career away crossing such a young tyrant?’ was the core of the resonating thoughts.

Soon, however, even the musings vanished.

The match was starting.

With the referee pulling his arm skywards, it did, and almost at the same time, Seigetsu jumped back.

This seemed to have been the standard thing to do against Omaru.

However, the A-ranker had more of a reason than that: the reach of his sword.

A tachi was long, but a nodachi was longer, and as long as he could keep the F-ranker at bay, Seigetsu believed he could win, even though the task assigned to him by his boss was a bit displeasing.

Daru, meanwhile, didn’t let himself be confused by the nonsensical move.

He performed short, zigzagging steps without hesitation, exploding into a dash from two directions.

Seigetsu’s eyes widened, barely suppressing his panic on time.

He was being charged from two sides at such speed!

’This is a darned F-tier Sword Skill?!’ the A-ranker cursed inwardly. If so, then he wanted it, too!

Unfortunately, he could only react, slashing a simple white crescent at one of the two attackers.

Fortune smiled upon Seigetsu.

Daru was forced to swat the projectile to the side, revealing that he was the true body. He didn’t care much, though, blitzing at the A-ranker all the same.

He slashed forward, to which his opponent barely reacted on time.

Seigetsu lashed forward, mirroring Daru’s attack. The song of their swords, spoken in steel, reached the ears of the onlookers.

Then, almost simultaneously, their eyes widened.

The A-ranker’s eyes widened, too, as he felt his feet leaving the ground...and the momentum was not a joke.

Seigetsu felt the winds violently brushing at his back, his arms completely numb as he struggled to find land. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Still, he had the presence of mind not to take his eyes off his opponent, watching Omaru, who was now performing strange, circular steps as he gave chase.

Then, the F-ranker...just vanished.

And he felt no control over his body in the next moment.