In the blink of an eye, Beru was the only one left standing on the field.
That was only natural.
The Reformist Faction and Traditional Faction were indeed fighting fiercely, but what did that have to do with students like them still in school?
Aside from Beru, most of the noble youths who had entered the academy were merely here to further their studies and polish their credentials.
They only wanted to find a better position in the military after graduation, so they would not have to go to the front lines because of forced conscription.
How many of them truly cared about the struggle between the two factions?
At any rate, the young men around Beru did not.
If Li Qi had been a simple opponent, someone who could be knocked down easily, then there would have been nothing wrong with making trouble for him.
But now...
One only had to look at the three fools who had charged in the fastest.
One Third Rank and two Second Ranks had been dismembered by Li Qi in less than three seconds, leaving them lying on the ground wailing.
If they did not want to end up like them, turning around and leaving now was the best choice.
However, they were still sons of noble families. Constrained by their own "honor," none of them dared to be the first to say they were running away.
And Jamie, who had turned around and fled without the slightest concern for his image, had undoubtedly opened the way.
Since someone had already run away, what were they staying here for?
To wait for their hands to be chopped off?
The two nobles saw the situation clearly. Ignoring the almost fire-spitting look in Beru's eyes, they soon disappeared from his sight.
In the end, only Beru remained standing before Kevin.
He pointed at Li Qi's Military Blade with a trembling finger. His face shifted from white to green, his expression exceptionally vivid.
Li Qi began walking toward Beru.
The blood flowing around his feet was crushed beneath his shoes, leaving footprints on the ground.
The footprints formed a line behind him. Their bright red color made Li Qi look even more terrifying.
Even though Li Qi wore a smile, in Beru's eyes, that smile was as frightening as a demon's.
At last, when Li Qi was about to reach Beru, he stopped before his Military Blade.
The brim of his military cap was only a few centimeters from Beru's blade. Beneath it, his gaze fixed on Beru's chest and abdomen.
Then Li Qi said, "Sergeant Beru, aren't you going to swing?"
Beru's breathing grew heavier. His eyes were bloodshot, and the emotions of anger and fear nearly burst from them.
His grip on the Military Blade tightened harder and harder, while his expression grew increasingly savage.
Between ragged breaths, Beru gritted his teeth and said to Li Qi:
"Don't get cocky!! Commoner! I'll show you what a true knight and a true noble are!!!"
As Beru spoke, the magic power within his body began to circulate wildly.
In Li Qi's vision, some force drove the magic power in Beru's body toward the Military Blade in his hand.
A second later, the sound of crackling Thunderclap rang out.
Yellow lightning wrapped around Beru's Military Blade!
"Go to hell, commoner!! This is a true Knight Skill!!!"
A flash of lightning burst forth, and Beru's body vanished from its original position at a speed nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.
At this distance and with such an attack, even a Strategic Rank Mage Master would end up decapitated if they failed to use magic power for defense in time.
That was why Beru had neither surrendered nor fled.
His family's unique Knight Skill was the confidence that allowed him to stake his life against Li Qi!
How could a mere commoner—a commoner who only knew how to fight by using basic magic-power enhancement—possibly compare with an heir of a knightly family like him?
Beru appeared behind Li Qi, his eyes blazing with fanaticism. He seemed to have already witnessed Li Qi's decapitated body.
The lightning-wreathed blade descended, about to touch Li Qi's completely unprotected neck.
However—
Clang!!
Li Qi's Military Blade had appeared on the blade's inevitable path at some unknown point.
The golden lightning was blocked by blue-black magic power. Then, under Beru's disbelieving gaze, the blue-black magic power instantly transformed into golden lightning identical to that on his blade!
"Thanks." Li Qi turned his head slightly and spoke to Beru.
Then, as if the scene were repeating itself, his body vanished before Beru's eyes.
The sound of Thunderclap rang beside Beru's ears, while Li Qi's afterimage still lingered before his eyes.
When he realized that Li Qi had vanished from in front of him, he felt that he could no longer control his body. His entire body toppled forward.
The arm holding the blade fell from his shoulder.
His torso slid from the legs that had been supporting it.
Pain immediately followed from his severed limbs, and a shrill scream burst from Beru's mouth:
"Ahhhhhhh!!! My hands!! My legs!! Ahhhhh!!!!"
Without his limbs to support it, his body writhed in the pool of blood.
Beru's miserable cries consumed what little reason he had left. Amid the unbearable pain, he could do nothing but lie on the ground and wail.
Li Qi walked before Beru, his blade pointed at Beru's head. After thinking for a moment, he tossed the Military Blade aside and took out a tissue to wipe the blood from his hands.
By rights, he should have killed Beru here.
But the family behind Beru was a marquis's family. If Li Qi really killed him here, then even Bolent would have no way to protect him.
On the contrary, if he left Beru alive, Bolent could use "self-defense" as an excuse to negotiate with those nobles.
It was always best to leave some room for maneuver.
Besides, the Knight Skill Beru had just displayed happened to be something Li Qi needed. He could consider sparing Beru's life payment for it.
Looking at Beru rolling in the blood, Li Qi gazed at him with disgust.
He silently moved away from Beru, took out the signal flare he used to call for help, and fired it.
The signal flare exploded in the sky, and its red fireworks drew everyone's attention across the campus.
Hidden in the shadows, Li Qi waited until he was sure someone had come to take the group to the infirmary before turning and leaving.
With someone taking them to the infirmary, and a Medical Mage Master there, their limbs could still be saved.
At most, they had suffered some blood loss. Their lives were not in danger.
Aside from losing some face, this would hardly affect them at all.
It seemed that even the family behind Beru would probably not truly do anything to Li Qi over this incident.
After all, Li Qi had people backing him now as well.
After destroying the files he had shown Li Qi, Bolent sat on his desk, smoking and deep in thought.
Li Qi was not the only person he had chosen. Of the ten new students who had enrolled this time, three were people he had high hopes for.
Aside from Li Qi, there were Li Qi's roommate, Sean, and that... noble youth named Jamie.
That was right—not Andrew.
Andrew had passed the trial through his own ability. It had been beyond Bolent's expectations.
From the very beginning, the people Bolent had chosen were only Li Qi, Sean, and Jamie.
But now, it seemed that only Li Qi and Sean could become spies.
Jamie... although he had indeed been to the battlefield and the front lines, he still did not seem suited to becoming a soldier.
As for Sean, his magic aptitude was good, and he was kind, tenacious, and willing to fight. Bolent also had high hopes for him.
And Li Qi... in Bolent's eyes, he was the best of them all.
It was difficult to find a soldier as outstanding as Li Qi even among adults, let alone among people his own age.
That was why Bolent had placed such great hopes in Li Qi, hoping that he could accomplish what Bolent wanted him to do.
"Tomorrow, have this kid study the spy curriculum, and then..."
Bolent planned out what Li Qi needed to do over the next few days.
But just then, someone suddenly knocked on his office door. Immediately afterward, Miller, the Second Lieutenant, pushed the door open and said to Bolent:
"C-Commander! This is bad! That kid Li Qi chopped up someone from the Granger family!"
Hearing Miller's report, Bolent froze slightly. He was unable to recover his senses for quite some time.
Thanks to "Supreme Great Firmament Celestial Immortal Emperor of Ten Thousand Longevity" and "Fire Flame Great Sun" for the generous support!!
Thank you! (′‵)I L
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