Novel Full Chapter 222: More interesting
Chapter 222: More interesting
The person who was probably the most shaken by Elion’s display of strength was none other than William himself, and to say he was sweating buckets right now would be an understatement of the century.
His entire back had soaked through his clothes, his palms were clammy, his breathing was uneven as his eyes remained glued to the screen, replaying that final strike over and over again in his mind as if he was trying to convince himself that what he had just seen was not real.
But no matter how many times he thought about it, the conclusion remained the same.
’How am I supposed to fight that monster…’
That single thought echoed endlessly in his head, growing heavier each time it repeated, crushing whatever little confidence he had left, because there was no denying it anymore, not after seeing that fight.
It was obvious to him that the woman Elion had fought was not weak; she could decimate William without using even half of the strength she had used right now.
And yet, he had watched her get completely overwhelmed and thrown off the platform like that.
William had already given up any hope of landing a single blow when he faced Elion, let alone winning, because thinking otherwise would not just be foolish, it would be delusional, and while he was not the brightest, William was not that stupid.
His fingers trembled slightly as they curled into fists, and his nails dug into his palms as his jaw tightened.
’How… how was I this unlucky…’
It made no sense to him, and the more he thought about it, the more suffocating it felt. How had he become this powerful already!? It wasn’t that long ago that he remembered making Elion lick his boots, and yet, it may as well be a lifetime ago.
For a brief moment, a weak thought surfaced in his mind, one born from desperation rather than logic.
’Maybe… father will understand…’
He clung to it for a second, just a second, imagining that his father had seen the fight, had seen how absurd Elion’s strength was, had realised that this was not fair in any sense of the word, that maybe, just maybe, he would excuse this whole arrangement.
But that thought died almost instantly because he knew better. More specifically, he knew his father well.
There would be no understanding or sympathy from that man. He would take no excuses, because in his father’s eyes, there was only one truth that mattered, and his father would definitely say it straight to his face.
If it were Xavier… he would have won, no questions asked.
William’s teeth ground together harshly at that, the bitterness rising in his chest as his expression twisted.
“I have to win…” he muttered under his breath, his voice sounded low, almost trembling, but there was nothing like determination in it, only desperation.
His mind began to move toward the darker thoughts, because deep down, he already knew that there was no legitimate way for him to win.
No amount of effort he could put in overnight would bridge that gap, so his thoughts naturally shifted toward other methods, methods that did not rely on strength.
’Should I poison him before the fight…?
The first idea came easily and rather quickly.
Maybe if he could poison him before the fight, and weaken him, and make the fight somewhat possible for him to win, but even as he thought about it, another idea pushed forward.
’Or… Maybe I can just get rid of him entirely.
That thought settled heavily in his mind, and unlike before, he did not push it away, because this was not the first time he had considered it, no.
He had already thought about hiring an assassin or a hitman before, more than once, but he had held back, because he wanted to prove himself first. He had wanted to defeat Elion properly and to show his father that he was not so useless.
But now, after seeing that fight, that idea felt laughable. There was no proving himself against someone like that. It would be nothing but a one-sided massacre.
“Yes…” he muttered quietly, his breathing steadying as his thoughts sharpened, his fear slowly twisted into something colder.
“Our fight is tomorrow…”
“So I have to do it today…”
The plan began to take shape in his mind, solidifying quickly, because there was no hesitation left but only the need to survive and to win, no matter how it was done.
He had to somehow hire someone who could get to Elion either today or tomorrow in the morning before their fight began.
“And that blue-haired girl…” Aria.
His gaze darkened further as he thought of her, because she was standing in his way before that fight, another obstacle.
She was meant to be his first opponent when they fought later today, and he would vent all his pent-up frustration on her.
Maybe that would make Elion suffer in part.
“After I deal with her…” he muttered, his lips curling slightly in a disgusting smile, “after I smash her face in with my own two hands…”
His eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint forming within them.
“I’ll go hire someone to kill him.”
His expression twisted into something unpleasant, something ugly, but there was no longer any doubt left in him.
This was the only way he believed he could win.
…
Xavier’s thoughts were not far off from William’s, but they moved in a completely different direction, because while William had been crushed by what he had seen, Xavier was… recalculating.
He was standing calmly to the side as he watched the aftermath of the fight play out on the screens.
His expression was composed, but his mind was already dissecting everything that had just happened.
By all rights, that matchup had been arranged with purpose, because he knew of Lilian, he knew her strength, her background, her discipline, and based on the academy’s current information on Elion, he had expected a loss there.
A clean and decisive one, especially considering that Elion’s other second-year opponent was weak, meaning the overall projection had been simple/#.
Elion would win nine out of ten fights, and that one loss would be enough to keep him grounded.
But once again, it seemed like he had underestimated him.
“…Interesting.”
If anything, the result did not disturb him as much as it should have, because rather than seeing it as a problem, he saw it as confirmation, confirmation that Elion was even more valuable than he had initially thought.
And instead of trying to suppress that value, it only made one thing clearer to him. He needed to bring him over to his faction.
Right now, he was not even in the balcony with his father, instead moving through one of the inner corridors as he handled various tournament matters, his steps unhurried, his posture relaxed, but his thoughts sharp, because even without being there, he could already guess how his father would react to all of this.
Duke Dawncrest would not care. Not about the fight. Not about Elion’s strength. And not about the spectacle.
The only thing that mattered to him was whether William could prove himself. And Xavier knew very well how that would end.
Which meant this situation was now entirely his to handle. His gaze shifted slightly as he walked, his mind already moving ahead.
The advantage he currently had, the small edge gained from having early information on Elion, was already slipping, because after that display, it would not take long for other factions to begin moving, the guilds, the clans, the organisations, all of them would start paying attention, and once they did, they would act, and when they acted, they would not be subtle about it.
That window was closing for him, and fast.
“…I need to move first.” The thought came calmly.
Because while he had underestimated Elion’s strength, he had not lost control of the situation entirely, not yet, but if he delayed, if he hesitated, then he would lose the initiative completely, and that was something Xavier did not allow.
His mind began to form a plan.
Not something crude. Because that would be beneath him.
He would not chase after someone like a desperate fool, nor would he reveal his intentions too early, because someone like Elion, with that kind of awareness and composure, would notice immediately, and once he noticed, it would become harder to approach him properly.
Xavier’s lips curved slightly.
Because even now, even with everything that had just happened, he did not feel like he was losing control.
He simply felt like the game had become more interesting.