Chapter 74: Crushing the Nuts of an Arrogant Prince.

I looked at the repulsive bastard lunging at me, his sword pointed rudely in my direction. His movements and trajectory were painfully slow in my eyes but I didn’t dodge immediately.

I let the blade come within inches of my face before desperately sidestepping at the last second as if it had taken everything I had, throwing myself onto the ground in a clumsy roll to make it look like a close call.

Originally, I planned to crush this bastard outright without any mercy. It would have attracted some useless attention but I didn’t really care about such things anyway.

And more importantly, I knew that if I lost, I would have to agree to one of his conditions. But his condition was completely normal unlike the absurd possibilities I had in my mind.

So, I changed my plans slightly.

I still planned to crush him but... in a completely different way.

A smile spread across my face at the thought.

Just then, Ruvian twisted his body and moved his sword at me horizontally, the previous thrust having been nothing more than a feint.

I acted like I was surprised and couldn’t react in time, stumbling backward before barely escaping the blade at the last possible moment.

The vectors flowing through my body adjusted everything instinctively, reinforcing each movement and making every desperate-looking dodge effortless.

"How did you dodge that?"

Ruvian stared at me in disbelief, as though he’d already pictured me skewered by that painfully obvious feint.

"Maybe I am just that lucky."

I grinned.

The veins on his forehead bulged as his anger intensified.

With an angry shout, he jumped towards me, raising his sword high before bringing it crashing straight down toward my head.

And at that exact moment, the smile on my face widened.

I deliberately threw my balance off, acting as if I had slipped and was falling backward.

As my body moved towards the ground, everything happened within seconds.

Mana surged into my right leg as I swung it upward, making it look like a complete accident while reinforcing force and trajectory through it using my Vector affinity.

Ruvian’s sword descended towards my head, his arrogant grin widening as my legs moved towards him.

The tip of the blade moved closer and closer before it was mere inches from my head but before it could strike me, my leg connected...

...Right between his legs.

His groin.

Crack!

The sound echoed throughout the vast banquet hall as everything froze and barely a second later, I finally hit the ground as well, my leg instinctively rising just a little higher into his groin as I landed.

For a single horrifying moment, absolute silence fell across the whole banquet area before every man in the hall sucked in a sharp breath at the same time, instinctively clutching their own crotches as if checking to make sure everything was still intact.

Meanwhile, Ruvian’s arrogant and overconfident grin shattered in real time, his sword slipped from his fingers while his body lifted off the ground for a moment, suspended entirely by my foot before he slowly slid off my leg as if realising gravity existed.

"..."

"..."

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A guttural scream erupted from his throat and any attempt to speak words died before they could leave his mouth.

All he could do was twitch violently on the floor while continuing his agonized scream.

Silas appeared almost immediately, his gaze falling upon Ruvian, who was twitching on the reflective floor with foam gathering at the corners of his mouth.

"Ruvian Divus Auremont is incapacitated, but—"

Before he could finish, I interrupted him.

"I cannot accept this victory, Senior Silas." I said, my voice calm. "Although I have won, I believe it was not the honorable victory I had hoped for."

An amused smile appeared on Silas’s face as I continued.

"So, I forfeit my victory."

The moment those words left my mouth, the entire crowd standing around the banquet hall erupted into whispers.

"He is forfeiting?"

"He is mature enough not to accept such an unsightly victory, unlike what the rumors suggested."

"He is so cool."

"Meh, he won by sheer luck anyway. What’s so noble about forfeiting?"

"Shut up, you are just jealous."

I could hear all kinds of opinions.

Some believed I was being humble while others dismissed it as nothing special but either way, the narrative surrounding me had shifted slightly.

And honestly, that alone made it worthwhile.

But that wasn’t the only reason I had forfeited.

I knew that regardless of whether I had won fairly or not, the senior students would have been dissatisfied. After all, this entire banquet was meant to show the junior students their place, and a junior defeating a senior in a duel would have had the exact opposite effect.

The seniors would have looked for some pointless excuse to trouble me.

Especially that giant, Silas.

Although the bastard acted like a neutral and benevolent president who governed fairly, he despised anyone who existed outside the system he had built.

Still, I didn’t mind their childish attempts but I did find them quite annoying.

So, it was simply better to handle things this way and the improved reputation was merely an added bonus, one I certainly didn’t mind.

"You are quite the humble one, despite the many rumors suggesting otherwise. I must say... you have amused me very much."

Silas whispered.

"Rumors are often deceiving, Senior. In the end, one can only trust one’s own judgment."

I replied confidently.

Silas’s smile widened even further before he turned to face the crowd gathered throughout the banquet hall.

"Since the challenger himself has forfeited the match, the victory should rightfully belong to Ruvian. However, in light of the humility shown by Zenith, I hereby declare this match a draw."

His booming voice echoed throughout the banquet hall.

"And since our little event has concluded, we shall now resume the banquet without any more delay. Thank you all for your patience."

He clapped once.

The other Student Council members immediately got to work, neatly rearranging the tables while Silas himself turned his attention toward me.

"Now that all other matters have been settled..." His smile remained as calm as ever. "Would you care to have a little chat with me, Zenith?"