My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 123

“Damn it. What the hell…!”

The ice dragon plummeted from the attack of Urka, whose magical power exceeded expectations. Soro gazed at it in disbelief.

Having consumed vast amounts of mana to create the ice dragon, Soro had planned to use it efficiently and then dismiss it to recover his mana.

But before he could even cancel the summon, the ice dragon melted, spreading all the mana he had used into the environment, leaving him unable to recover.

Of course, as a magician, Soro could recover mana if given a moment’s reprieve. However, he was well aware that Urka would not allow him such time.

This was the groggy state of phase one of the Resistance’s assault on Soro, as known by Praus.

Nobility, commoners, and the royal family alike gasped in shock at the sight of the ice dragon crumbling. They all began to shout and panic.

Some were even causing a ruckus, thinking they were about to lose their money. Naturally, knights quickly subdued them.

Meanwhile, Praus’s group, who fervently cheered for Urka, applauded loudly.

“Isn’t it really going to turn out like Praus said?!”

Tori, unusually excited, asked.

“It’s not over yet.”

“No, the duel is clearly leaning in Urka’s favor. This is clearly her victory!”

‘Is that so…’

The duel was indeed shifting towards Urka. It made sense to be confident in her victory.

However, Praus couldn’t think like the others.

Praus never saw Soro as an individual. He always regarded them as siblings.

The reason was simple: wherever Soro was fighting, Ter was sure to be there as well.

Even though it was named Soro’s Assault in the game, during phase two, Soro would have to face Ter. While Soro recovered, Ter would engage him, and once Soro was fully restored, he would have to contend with both of them simultaneously.

In other words, Urka, who pressed Soro hard, would now have to face Ter as well.

‘Urka, don’t let your guard down. Now that Ter is the judge, he’ll do everything to win.’

Praus clenched his fist while looking at the duel arena.

*

“Are you ready, Soro?!”

Slamming the ground with a thought to repay what had been done to him, Soro was about to take a step when he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his shoulder and slipped on the ice, falling flat.

“What?”

Urka tilted her head, bewildered by her body not moving as intended.

She got back up, the pressure on her shoulder gone. Thinking it might be the aftereffects of the cold she had received, she evaluated her condition but found no trace of frost.

‘I don’t know what that was, but right now, I need to focus on taking down Soro.’

With her legs braced, Urka approached Soro at an unbelievable speed. She closed the distance to his sword strike range without hesitation and swung her sword.

Clang!

In a frantic reaction, Soro created ice in the path of Urka’s sword.

“…What the hell?”

Urka furrowed her brow. The blow she aimed to cut through the ice was unexpectedly blocked by something unknown.

To those watching from afar, it might have seemed as though Urka couldn’t break the ice, but in reality, Flamme’s blade wasn’t making contact with it at all.

Yet, for some reason, Urka’s sword wouldn’t move as if something solid was obstructing it.

“Ugh!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Even swinging her sword wildly to break the ice, it wouldn’t shatter.

She sensed something was there, but the mana was too weak to easily identify.

‘It really won’t break. No, something is preventing the sword from ever touching the ice. A barrier? But Praus said once he defeated the ice dragon, he wouldn’t have enough mana left to do anything. Praus wouldn’t lie… Could someone be interfering in this fight? I need to test it.’

Urka shifted her stance slightly to prepare a skill.

If she was to stop a skill, then her opponent would be forced to use considerable mana.

“‘Blazing Slash’!”

A massive flame erupted toward Soro. Soro gazed at the inferno rushing towards him, then glanced at Ter.

It was a silent command.

As siblings who were always together, they understood each other’s intentions just with a look.

Boom!

As the flames collided with something, an explosion erupted. Through the dense smoke, the ice stood tall, unharmed.

“…As expected. There was something else.”

She muttered while gazing at the expansive mana surrounding Soro. Then she realized that its flow connected to Ter, the judge.

“Was it you!”

Urka pulled out a kunai and threw it at Ter while swinging Flamme toward him. It was intended to keep him from using magic against her. But she had no intention of hitting him; she aimed it to the side.

Bang!

However, despite that interference, Urka still could not break the ice.

“Ugh!”

And the kunai she had thrown landed squarely in Ter’s forearm. He could have easily avoided it, yet he intentionally took the hit.

Urka scowled at Ter, who was clutching his arm with the kunai embedded.

‘Wait, could he have baited me? That slippery bastard…!’

“Ter! You bastard!! What did you do to my brother?!”

Soro unleashed ice, but Urka shattered it like it was nothing. Yet, inside, she felt a rush of anxiety.

The fact that Soro, who had been on the defense, was now starting to attack meant his mana recovery was going smoothly.

“That bastard intervened in our duel—”

[Stop! Cease the duel!]

A rough voice erupted through the loudspeakers, echoing throughout the arena. Then, Ter swung his arm, flipping the ground of the duel arena and creating a wall between Urka and Soro.

‘This bastard thought his sister would be at a disadvantage….’

[Urka! What are you doing?! Attacking the judge during the duel is an act of barbarism!]

Emperor Lupin revealed himself, having dropped the barrier.

His chest heaved with barely contained excitement. Urka looked up at the Emperor towering above her and bit down hard on her lower lip. A sharp pain caused blood to spill out.

[If you feel you cannot win by skill, do you resort to attacking the judge?!]

“This is absurd, Your Majesty! This is clearly a foul play!”

Urka responded urgently into the microphone attached to the arena.

[What do you mean foul play?!]

“Don’t talk about foul play! Look at how you’re yapping because you think you’re going to lose, you filthy bastard!”

“You damn beast! You’re disqualified! Forfeit and get out of the duel arena right now!”

“See, this is why you shouldn’t let bastards without proper family upbringing run wild!”

Fueled by the Emperor’s wrath, the audience hurled every kind of insult and jeer at her, even some exceptionally vile words.

“You damn human scum! I was winning! If you open your eyes and look carefully, you’ll see the truth!”

Eventually, unable to hold back, Urka shouted back vehemently. With a sound like thunder, her killing intent spread, leaving everyone silent.

Urka, breathless and trembling, composed herself.

“Your Majesty! Judge Ter intentionally blocked my attacks to ensure Soro wouldn’t get hurt! What could be more of a foul play than that?!”

As Urka spoke, murmurs began to rise from the audience.

Indeed, not only Urka, who was facing Soro, but even those sensitive to mana, like the Magic Guild Leader standing next to the Emperor, were aware of it.

Ter had interfered in this duel.

When he blocked Urka’s Blazing Slash, he must have used significant mana, making it impossible for the mana’s flow to remain hidden.

But they pretended not to notice because that was what the Emperor wished.

This match was important not only for Praus but for the Emperor as well.

It was a declaration of war against Praus’s faction.

[Judge, Ter! Is that true?]

The Emperor asked quietly, his tone suggesting he was itching for an answer. Ter raised both hands in a hurry, shaking his head.

“No! I did not intervene at all! You must have ‘misunderstood’ since you know Soro is my kin.”

Urka turned to look at Ter, dumbfounded at his impassive face as he lied.

“You bastard…!”

[Urka, do you have evidence that Ter intervened?]

“…Those sensitive to mana should know. When I used Blazing Slash, the mana’s flow connected to Ter.”

[Is that so? Magic Guild Leader?]

[Regrettably, I did not perceive it.]

The Magic Guild Leader’s nonchalant reply made Urka’s brow twitch.

[An 8th-tiered Magic Guild Leader would say such a thing; can it really be considered evidence?]

‘These bastards….’

Realizing it was a rigged game, Urka gritted her teeth. Ignis, who had been watching the entire scene, whispered to her.

[You’ve been played well, Urka. By despicable and selfish humans.]

Urka glanced in the direction where Praus had been before the barrier covered him. Though hidden from view, she recalled that he was watching over her, believing in her, and took a breath.

‘If the Emperor thinks he’s on their side, there’s no way they’ll believe anything I say. Therefore, what I need to do is shatter Soro, no matter the cost.’

She strengthened her grip around Flamme.

‘But with the duel interrupted, there won’t be another chance to fight—’

“Your Majesty, may I present a suggestion?”

Suddenly, Ter shouted. Lupin looked at him and smirked before addressing the loudspeaker.

[What is it?]

“This level of injury does not require a potion to heal. Although Urka entirely misunderstood and attacked me, it’s still just a misunderstanding. I propose that we do not stop the duel and continue!”

[…Are you really okay with that?]

Not only was this duel central to stifling Praus’s faction, but there was also a significant amount of money at stake. Ending the duel in ambiguity could inevitably lead to losses during the settlement phase.

Noticing that, it was commendable that Ter spoke up.

“Yes. Now that we know it was a misunderstanding, Urka will no longer have any reason to attack me.”

[Very well. Then we’ll consider what just happened as null and void. But if anything like this happens again, Urka will bear the consequences. Do you understand?]

“…Understood.”

The chaotic murmurs calmed down as the duel resumed. Observing her surroundings, Urka chuckled lightly as she looked at Ter.

“Aren’t you ashamed, playing around like you’re all S-Class?”

“To be honest, I apologize for underestimating you. I didn’t expect you to perform at this level. Perhaps… it’s because of that Praus. I’ve heard he raises exceptionally strong disciples.”

“And so?”

“Quite the clever maneuver you pulled, Praus. We were even considering recruiting you.”

He muttered with a relaxed tone, dropping the kunai embedded in his arm, making a cheerful clang as it hit the ground.

“However, regardless of his abilities, I’d like to personally insult Praus. Sorry, Urka, but you’ll have to lose.”

He took a potion from his inner pocket and gulped it down.

“Soro, how’s your recovery?”

“It’s over.”

“Ha, so that’s what you were aiming for?”

Urka managed to contain her rage while asking.

Ter’s scheme.

It was to give Soro time to recover.

With this, Urka found herself on the unfavorable side.

Though she was compensating for her mana reserves with Flamme, the gap was widening again.

Urka had expended a considerable amount of mana during the earlier duel. As someone who wasn’t a magician, it would take her a minimum of several hours to recover mana. Meanwhile, Soro was nearing full recovery.

The side that uses mana selectively vs. the one that doesn’t.

It was clear who had the upper hand.

“I’d love to stomp you down directly, but since I’m not the main character today, get ready again.”

He lifted his kunai-embedded arm. A massive surge of magic was gathering in Soro’s hand. It was as if even the atmosphere was being sucked into the gathering mana.

“Shall we go again, kitten?”

Soro’s provocation made Urka take a deep breath.

“Ignis, let’s go all out.”

She had realized that if she delayed any longer, she would be the one losing. As she spoke, a humanoid flame revealed its form.

[…Are you sure about this? Your body can’t handle it. You’ve already expended quite a bit of mana. If you overdo it, you might risk mana depletion and end up on the verge of collapse.]

“There’s no other option. I must deliver victory to Praus.”

[…Is Praus really that important to you?]

“He is important. With him, the future I’ve longed for will definitely come true. So I’ll do everything I can for him.”

[Is that so.]

At Urka’s immediate response, Ignis quietly replied.

[You’ve grown up.]

“What?”

As Urka expressed her confusion, Ignis seemingly absorbed into her body, causing her to ignite with flames.

The flames took the form of armor and wrapped tightly around her, showcasing the complete form of spirit fusion.

Clenching her fist while feeling the boiling power, fire sparks erupted in Urka’s eyes.

“Let’s have a go. Round two.”

“I won’t let my guard down this time. I’m going to tear your ears off!”

With the vigor of both, Ter’s hand dropped once more.

“Begin!”