Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 714: A Good Time

The moment Cindralis left the hall through her portal, the hall immediately exploded into a thunderous shower of noises, overlapping voices, disbelief, and echoes as the students could no longer hold in their thoughts and excitement any longer. The fear they had felt earlier from Cindralis’ overwhelming existential presence immediately vanished, as excitement seemed to completely override that lingering fear in that very moment, leaving behind only anticipation and restless energy.

"LET’S FUCKIING GOOO!!!!" a student shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing across the massive hall.

"Another Empire? Fucking crazy," another added with a wide grin, as though he still couldn’t fully believe what he had just heard, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"I wonder what the women and men of the foreign Empires taste like," another student added, his curiosity clearly drifting in an entirely different and questionable direction, drawing a few amused yet relatable glances.

"Time to show the other Empires why we are called the Zarethorne Empire," a male student stated confidently with a smirk, his pride evident in his tone.

"Exactly," another followed up with the same smirk, both looking at each other for a moment before their eyes slowly turned toward the front row, where the top rankers of each year sat. Their smirks couldn’t help but widen into grins; to them, having a Wargrave in such a competition guaranteed victory, but having two? Now that was nothing short of absolute, overwhelming overkill.

"I’ve been eyeing a few items; now that things are free, I’m definitely getting them today," a female student stated. Although she didn’t mention what she wanted specifically, everyone could already guess it was something extremely expensive and likely far beyond the reach of her and her friends.

"I wonder what the training with the Instructors that the Principal personally picked will look like. Are they like Instructor Jane and the rest, or are they a completely different breed of people altogether?" a student spoke as she fell into her thoughts about the upcoming training, clearly looking forward to it with both curiosity and excitement.

Asher sat in silence, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips. Honestly, he barely had many, if any, thoughts about foreign Empires before now. He had simply never been curious, as he knew absolutely nothing about them, so there was nothing for him to even base his curiosity on. But now, that had changed. Curiosity burned quietly yet steadily within him.

’I should have expected this,’ Asher thought to himself as he sat in silence, his gaze calm. To him, he should have guessed with certainty that it would eventually lead to a tournament or competition. ’After all, what kind of academy arc doesn’t come with some school competition of some sort?’ he concluded inwardly as he shook his head slightly in mild amusement.

’I’ve barely explored the Zarethorne Empire, and now I’m heading to another Empire to meet people from all across different Empires,’ Asher’s thoughts continued, becoming more contemplative. For a brief moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if other Empires also had families as absurdly powerful and dominant as the Wargrave family.

His head turned slightly as he gazed behind him, his purple eyes landing on Ryaen Silvershade, who was deep in thought with a faint smile on her face, she, who rarely ever smiled, now visibly intrigued and fascinated by the mere thought of another Empire. Even William, who was seated directly behind her, was swallowed in his own thoughts, his expression unusually serious.

Thalric and Teo Swig didn’t move for a moment; they too were lost in their own thoughts. Thalric was visibly excited at the thought of crossing blades with students from other Empires, eager to see how he measured up against them, while Teo also looked forward to the event, though in a far more composed and reserved manner.

After a moment, Thalric spoke, his words directed at Asher, "Ash, it seems we have an opportunity to show other Empires why we are Wargraves," his tone low and steady, yet filled with confidence. At his words, his soul-bound sabre seemed to emit a faint hum, almost as if it resonated with his intent.

Asher simply smiled and said nothing in reply. To him, he was personally going to have a good time. He would try to enjoy himself as much as possible when he arrived at the other Empire. After all, who knew when next he would ever get such an opportunity again? Of course, he wouldn’t go around staring at every building like some clueless outsider, no, he would maintain his composure while still enjoying everything to the fullest. While there was a competition taking place, this was also, in a sense, a tour of a completely different Empire.

Teo Swig, who had remained silent up until now, finally turned to face Asher and Thalric, his calm blue eyes settling on both of them. He didn’t bother with greetings, as they were past such formalities at this point in time. "Although it hasn’t been determined what kind of rules or mode of competition it will be, I look forward to working together with the both of you. After all, we three are the top rankers of our respective years," as he spoke, he rose smoothly from his seat.

He stopped directly before Asher and extended his hand for a handshake, which Asher accepted without hesitation before replying, "I look forward to working with you too," his tone flat yet genuine.

Teo nodded once and then turned to Thalric, extending his hand once more. Thalric accepted the handshake without saying anything further, his expression unchanged.

"If you both want to train together, my door is open anytime," Teo Swig added, before turning and walking away as though it made no difference whether he had been speaking to Wargraves or not.

Neither Asher nor Thalric responded to that. Based on what Cindralis had said earlier, they could already deduce that every single student, from the first year to the final year, would likely be trained together at the same time and within the same location, though with varying levels of intensity depending on each individual’s talent and current strength.

Since there was nothing else to do, Thalric rose to his feet. However, before he walked away, he turned to Asher and asked, "How about a mission together after we win the competition?" his voice calm and assured, as though he already knew that either he or his brother would come out victorious if they ended up representing the Zarethorne Empire. There was not even a hint of doubt in his tone.

Asher’s purple eyes lifted slightly as they met Thalric’s black ones before he replied, "We could have gone sooner, you know?"

Thalric simply shook his head and didn’t respond. Instead, he turned and walked away, fully understanding that Asher had essentially agreed to his suggestion. Although he didn’t yet know how strong Asher truly was, this upcoming competition would serve as the perfect opportunity to find out.

And if, by chance, Asher ended up not representing the Zarethorne Empire, then they could simply take on a weaker and simpler mission together and enjoy the experience without pressure.

But of course, Thalric’s definition of a "weak" and "simple" mission might very well be another person’s definition of a death-flag mission, one where survival itself was far from guaranteed.