The Smiling Death

Chapter 476: Sparring

Marcus blinked.

"What?"

Amon nodded confidently.

"Granddaughter of Alistair. The man who is the main reason why the Demon Emperor died."

Marcus stared at him.

Then his eyes widened slightly.

"What?! Isn’t that worse? What if there are groups of people who hate Alistair for killing their late Emperor? What if they attacked her?"

Amon immediately burst out laughing.

"LOL."

Several nearby students turned toward him.

Amon shrugged.

"Who would have the guts to anger the strongest person in the world?"

He grinned.

"It was the Emperor before."

Then he pointed dramatically toward the sky.

"Next time it might be their whole kingdom. Seraphina might be like our shield."

Marcus thought about it.

Then slowly nodded.

"True."

Amon leaned back comfortably in his chair.

"Well, anyway, we should just enjoy it."

His grin returned.

"I am looking forward to seeing the Demon Kingdom."

Marcus looked toward the classroom window.

For once, he actually agreed.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Me too." Finally Marcus accepted that he was also excited.

---

The lecture eventually came to an end.

Soon afterward, the second-year students gathered inside the large training hall for their combat training class.

The spacious hall was already filled with students. Some were stretching while others chatted excitedly about the upcoming trip to the Demon Kingdom.

At the front stood Professor Asher.

He was their combat instructor from first year and had remained their instructor for the second year as well.

Just like always, he stood with his arms crossed and his stern gaze sweeping across the students.

The moment everyone had assembled, he got straight to the point.

"We’ll begin with sparring matches."

A collective groan and excitement spread through the hall.

Some students loved sparring.

Others dreaded it.

Meanwhile, Amon stood together with his usual group.

Marcus, Seraphina, Eliana, and Aisha.

The five of them occupied one corner of the hall while waiting for their names to be called.

Amon was currently focused on a much more important matter.

The trip.

With a thoughtful expression, he rubbed his chin.

"I wonder what clothes I should bring."

Eliana immediately turned toward him.

The elf princess seemed even more excited about the trip than he was.

"That’s what you’re worried about?"

"Of course."

Amon nodded seriously.

"I can’t just wear the same thing every day."

Eliana giggled.

"You have a point."

"I think I should go shopping."

"Me too!"

The elf girl’s eyes sparkled.

"We should all go shopping together."

Amon immediately pointed at her.

"That’s exactly what I was thinking."

Marcus rolled his eyes.

"How did this conversation become about shopping?"

Aisha folded her arms beneath her chest.

Her tail swayed lazily behind her.

"I don’t really care about shopping."

Eliana immediately grabbed her arm.

"No. You are coming."

Aisha blinked.

"What?"

"We’re buying you clothes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes. We are buying!"

The beastwoman sighed heavily.

Amon laughed at the sight.

Meanwhile, several noble students glanced toward their group.

More specifically toward Amon.

Their gazes carried obvious envy and jealousy.

Some couldn’t understand why a commoner like him spent so much time with people like Seraphina, Eliana, Marcus, and Aisha.

A royal, an elf princess.

The heir of a powerful noble family.

And a beastwoman noble.

Yet somehow Amon stood among them naturally as if he belonged there.

The sight irritated quite a few students.

Amon noticed some of those looks.

As usual he didn’t care.

After everything he had experienced during the last seven months, jealous stares were the least of his concerns.

Or maybe...he was just unaware of their jealousy.

Eventually Asher began calling names. One pair after another entered the sparring fields.

The training hall gradually became louder as battles started across multiple arenas.

Then Asher called out.

"Seraphina Luminous. Marcus Ravencrest."

Marcus clicked his tongue.

"Great."

Seraphina simply stood up calmly.

Without saying anything, she walked toward her arena.

A few moments later another pair was called.

"Aisha Darkfang. Sam Williams."

Aisha cracked her neck before heading toward her assigned opponent.

Then came another announcement.

"Amon Vale. Eliana Sylvaris."

Amon blinked. Then he slowly turned toward Eliana.

The elf princess blinked back at him.

The two stared at each other for several seconds.

Then Amon grinned. "Now this will be interesting."

Eliana immediately groaned. "Damn! You are so strong now! How am I supposed to defeat you?"

Amon chuckled. "Hehe. Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll go easy on you."

Eliana placed a hand over her chest like she was struck by his gentleman attitude.

"Hehe. Thank you, Amon. You are the best."

"Of course I am."

The two of them laughed.

Then they walked toward one of the empty sparring arenas.

Students nearby noticed their matchup and quickly became interested.

Many began watching.

After all, both of them were among the strongest students in the class.

Few pairs battle at one time. So few students still remained standing and watching.

Soon they stood opposite one another. Several meters separated them.

Amon rested his sword on his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Eliana reached into her storage ring.

A beautiful silver bow appeared in her hand. The elegant weapon looked perfectly suited for an elf princess.

A gentle breeze formed around her. Her platinum-blonde hair fluttered slightly.

Amon smiled. He asked. "Ready?"

Eliana raised her bow. "Yes. I am ready."

The instructor overseeing their arenas raised his hand.

Different pairs standing in different sparring platforms. Ready to clash.

"Begin."

The instant the match started.

Amon moved.

Boom.

His foot struck the ground. He shot forward like an arrow. The distance between them rapidly disappeared.

Eliana reacted immediately. Her fingers pulled back the bowstring.

Mana gathered.

A translucent arrow made entirely of wind formed between the bow and string.

She released it.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot toward Amon.

Halfway through its flight, the single arrow split apart.

One became two. Two became four. Four became eight.

Then more.

Over ten wind arrows suddenly filled the air. They approached Amon from multiple directions.

Several students watching widened their eyes.

"What accuracy."

"She improved."

"Those arrows are fast."

Amon, however, remained calm.

Shadow beneath his feet flowed above and covered his feet.

Darkness wrapped over the shadow around his boots.

His speed instantly increased. The world around him seemed to slow.

One arrow passed beside his shoulder. Another flew past his head. A third nearly struck his leg.

Amon twisted his body and slipped between them.

The students watching gasped.

"He dodged all of them?"

"No way."

"That was ridiculous."

Eliana wasn’t surprised. She immediately fired another volley.