Chapter 92: The Third Duel: The Best Cheer

They succeeded in winning the second round following the first.

The funny thing was that while Sophia ended it looking like an obvious, confident winner, Mars walked out seemingly fine. However, Ligrit didn’t come out even after a long wait, so Grace sent someone to search for him and found him collapsed on the ground.

Because of this, suspicions arose that the orc side had targeted their opponent.
But Ligrit himself said he was simply exhausted, and Mars, though visibly dissatisfied, admitted his defeat without complaint.

Upon checking the results, it was revealed that Ligrit had won with a score of 6 to 4. The orc side was puzzled by Mars’ loss.
However, as Mars acknowledged his defeat like a true warrior and Ligrit appeared like a warrior who had fought valiantly until he collapsed, the orcs eventually accepted the loss.

An unexpected, somewhat heartwarming scene unfolded at this point.

“Human, what did you say your name was?”
“Ligrit…”
“If I had fought seriously from the start, I could have beaten you and left you behind.”
“…”
“This defeat is due to my mistake in underestimating you as a weakling. Next time, I want to fight you properly.”

Mars, who seemed like he was about to pick a fight, instead left behind a challenge to Ligrit to duel again next time.
He seemed extremely frustrated by his defeat.
Since today’s strategy was a one-time tactic, the next time might indeed have a different outcome.

‘Well, that’s none of my business.’

What mattered was that they won.
With this, they had taken half of the four matches.

‘Now, things will get tense on the other side.’

They were confident they wouldn’t lose to humans and welcomed the duels.
But they had already lost twice.
Not only was their pride on the line, but losing one more time would mean a 3-0 defeat, so their strategy was now completely derailed.

That meant the orc side’s contestant for the third round would likely be one of the strongest warriors among the clan chiefs.
If they lost here, it would be over. Given the situation, they would aim to at least force a tie.

‘Will Glaka step forward?’

If so, I was ready to prepare to participate as well.

“?”

Just then, someone passed by me without making a sound.

“Elaine?”

At that moment, the orc side’s next contestant stepped forward.

“The representative for the Iron Fist Clan is Boom!”
“Uwoooaaahhh!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

A massive orc, nearly the size of an ogre, roared as he came out. The other orcs, seemingly his fans, chanted his name enthusiastically.

“……?”

I vaguely remembered that guy.
The name didn’t come up, but the enormous club, the massive build, and the protruding tusks.
He was the orc that fought against Aran’s comrade.

‘That means he must be quite a formidable opponent.’

Just because a character had some significance in the story didn’t necessarily mean they were powerful.
But among the countless orcs, the one who fought the protagonist’s group couldn’t be a weakling.
At the very least, he was probably on par with Glaka. Given that he was stepping forward at this critical juncture, he might even be stronger.

“Luke.”

Elaine, who had started to walk forward, suddenly stopped and called me.

“Do you have any advice for me?”

Honestly, I had been keeping Elaine as my hidden card.
No matter how well a plan was crafted, it was always bound to go awry somewhere.
A legendary boxer once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Even Zhuge Liang, the fabled strategist from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, experienced setbacks despite his strategic brilliance.

Elaine was the secret weapon I counted on to resolve things in case one of the other three faced unexpected defeat.
I was confident she would never fail.

“If you step forward, it’s all over without a fight.”

I subtly nodded in Grace’s direction, implying that winning too easily might draw unwanted attention. Elaine chuckled softly.

“Well, do you think it’ll be over just like that?”
“Huh? Is that opponent really that dangerous?”

Though the giant orc certainly looked formidable, I was a bit taken aback to hear that Elaine might actually lose.

“Not at all. I have no intention of losing. Even if you’re not watching, that won’t change.”
“Then…?”
“It’s just that I know you too well. You’re a clever man who always thinks a step ahead. You’re also a greedy man who, after defeating the Silver Sabertooth, couldn’t help but mine ice crystals from the Crystal Lake.”
“Haha.”

I couldn’t fool Elaine.
Yes, even though I considered her a hidden card, my real objective was a complete sweep.
I had already planned for a scenario where everyone won, making it unnecessary for the match to drag on until the end.
Elaine had seen right through that plan.

“Are you trying to open that path for me?”
“I did say I’d be your wife, didn’t I? If my husband wants to achieve something great, it’s only right that I support him.”

A surge of emotion welled up inside me at the realization that I had the world’s most dependable wife by my side.
If it was Elaine, she could turn a plan that I only considered a possibility into a 100% certainty.

“So, do you have any advice?”

She seemed a bit envious of the advice I had given Ligrit before the second round, as she subtly urged me.
I smiled, leaned closer to her ear, and…

“Darling, win. I’m cheering for you.”
“!!”

What kind of advice could I possibly give to Elaine?
She was far stronger than me.
So instead of saying something pointless, I chanted a spell for victory.

Elaine widened her eyes, momentarily frozen in place.
Then she grabbed my shoulders.

“Hoo…”

Squeeze.
Her grip on my shoulders tightened.
The buff must have worked well; my shoulders hurt. And I still had to fight in the next round.

“Luke.”
“Yes?”
“That was the best advice.”

Having barely regained her composure, Elaine adjusted her expression as if nothing had happened and headed to the arena.
Her steps, as she moved to fight, seemed more powerful than ever.

“Ssshh, ssshh. Is this little female my opponent?”

Elaine was tall for a woman.
But Boom was two to three times bigger than the other orcs, and he looked down at her while letting out a rough breath.
Elaine said nothing and simply drew her sword.

“A tiny human that looks like I could crush with one hand. Ssshh, but since you stand before me as a warrior, I’ll just crush you. Uwoooaaahhh!”

Boom’s roar was so loud that even from a distance, my forehead wrinkled.
I was worried about Elaine’s eardrums, being so close to him.

“…….”

But Elaine’s expression was as calm as if she couldn’t even hear Boom’s voice.

“As expected of the Captain’s composure. I almost thought she cast a protective spell on her ears.”
“Protective spell? ……Oh.”

No way.
I knew Elaine was someone overflowing with affection despite her stoic appearance.
Could my cheer have actually become a buff?

Boom, who had roared for the purpose of intimidating her, lifted his massive club as if intending to smash Elaine entirely out of the arena.

“Orc, I’ll warn you beforehand.”

Elaine raised her sword and assumed her stance.

“I feel like I can’t hold back right now. Move away if you value your life.”

The moment those words left her mouth—
Shhk. Ssshhk.
A gust of wind echoed.

Swish. Swish. Swish.
Elaine vanished from her spot and slashed Boom’s body three times in an instant.

“Urgh!”

The slashes landed twice on his right leg and once on his left leg.
Boom flinched from the pain but swung his club backward without hesitation.

Whoosh. Shhk!
Elaine narrowly evaded the swing and drew a graceful arc with her sword.
The Snowfall Sword—a swift slash that cut through Boom’s waist.

“Ssshh, you little pest!”

Boom opened his massive hand and swung it as if trying to catch a pesky insect.
Thud!
But Elaine, already positioned beside him, executed a rapid thrust—the First Snow technique of the Snowfall Sword—piercing Boom’s thigh.
The flow of the battle was completely in Elaine’s favor.

“Gahhh!”

Boom, now thoroughly enraged, stomped the ground hard, creating a tremor.
The ground beneath shook, and Elaine leaped back, creating some distance.

“I got you now, human!”

Like a seasoned warrior, Boom took advantage of the gap, swinging his club down like a battering ram.

If Boom was a seasoned warrior, Elaine was a seasoned knight.
Bam!
She infused her sword with mana, poised herself in midair, and met Boom’s club head-on.

The force of the blow pushed her back farther than expected, but for someone as quick as Elaine, as long as she wasn’t thrown out of the arena, it wasn’t a problem.

Tap.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Elaine sprang forward once more, executing another First Snow thrust to Boom’s thigh.
As soon as the sword withdrew, she followed up with a flurry of slashes, a dazzling series of strikes.

Like a fierce sleet storm, the relentless barrage of sword strikes rained down on Boom.
He tried to move his body to avoid them, but it was clear—Boom wasn’t one of those massive warriors whose size belied exceptional speed.

Swish. Swish. Swish.
Elaine’s blindingly fast sword tore through his lower body, making it impossible for Boom to stomp the ground as he had before.

Bang!
Desperate, Boom tried to stop her attacks by slamming his club down.

Ssshhk. Shhk!
Had Elaine been a regular knight, Boom’s tactic might have worked.
Even if it didn’t directly hit her, it would have created enough space to buy time or open a counterattack.
But her opponent was one of the top five knights in the North.
Elaine sidestepped just enough to evade the club, then seized the opening that Boom had created by swinging with all his might.

Boom staggered backward, using his club as a cane to prop himself up.

“Ssshh, you’re fast, human female.”

Boom finally realized he couldn’t possibly keep up with Elaine in terms of speed and took a deep, labored breath.
We, who were watching Elaine fight, couldn’t help but blink in amazement.

No one had expected the battle to be this one-sided.
Then again, she hadn’t even lost to Roe, the official fastest character in Brave Road.
I couldn’t help but wonder if the reason Elaine was merely an extra in the novel was that, had she been fully functional, she would have overshadowed the main characters, disrupting the balance.

“Ssshh, even if I can’t catch you, there are other ways.”

But Boom wasn’t a warrior to be underestimated.
Despite his lower body being riddled with wounds from Elaine’s relentless attacks, he stood firm and spread his legs like a batter at the plate.
Holding his club with both hands, he steadied himself.
Was he planning to do something?

“Our orc warriors don’t use mana like you do. The only power we wield is pure strength. But when a warrior’s fighting spirit reaches its peak, even something like this is possible! Urryaaaah!”

Boom let out a fierce cry, swinging his club with the intent of hitting a home run.
Elaine was still at a distance.
Why was he swinging at nothing?

“!”

Elaine’s eyes widened as she quickly dodged to the side.
And then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

“What… What the hell?”

Even the spectators were shocked.
Did he just send out a shockwave using the wind pressure?

“Hmph!”

Apparently, he could do it repeatedly, as Boom smirked and took the same stance again.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A second shockwave, just as powerful as the first, rushed toward Elaine.

I realized that sending Regrit out in the second round had been a stroke of genius.
If I had to deal with those shockwaves, not even bullets would be enough.
That guy was like a walking cannon.

What was more terrifying was that to launch such powerful shockwaves, his lower body would need to be firmly planted on the ground.
But despite all the slashes Elaine had delivered to his legs, he was still managing to produce such devastating shockwaves… Wait.

Elaine was well aware of the shockwaves and kept her distance, carefully observing her opponent.

“Ssshh! If the distance increases, it only benefits me!”

Boom, now seeking to make up for being on the defensive earlier, continued to send shockwave after shockwave.
Elaine remained calm, dodging the attacks that seemed strong enough to rattle one’s internal organs with a single hit.

Then—

“Ssshh!”

Just as Boom was about to launch another shockwave, he suddenly grimaced and momentarily faltered.

Tap.
Elaine seized that brief opening and charged forward at full speed.

“Ssshh, not so fast!”

Boom, noticing Elaine’s advance, hurriedly sent another shockwave toward her.
Shhk.
However, the rushed shockwave, launched without sufficient power buildup, was much weaker than the previous ones.
Elaine’s Snowfall Sword, imbued with mana, sliced cleanly through the shockwave as she closed the distance even faster.

“Fine, let’s end this. Human!”

Boom didn’t retract his swing. Instead, he reversed the direction of his club, aiming it straight at Elaine.

Neither of them bothered to defend.
It was a game of chicken to see who would bring down the other first.
Would Elaine’s swift, precise sword strikes prevail, or would Boom’s overwhelming brute force win?

The two collided, crossing each other like a scene straight out of a manga.
But unlike those cliffhanger manga moments where you can’t tell who won, I was confident of the outcome.

If Elaine had been hit, she wouldn’t have been able to pass him like that.

“Ughhhh!”

Boom dropped to one knee.
A deep, gaping wound marred his leg.

“At least wear some armor on your lower body.”

Elaine casually shook off the blood from her sword, giving Boom some unsolicited advice.
Then she sheathed her sword and turned away, as if to declare her victory, and walked back toward us.

During the second round, the duel had taken place in the forest, so it hadn’t been the right moment to burst into cheers.
But now, having fought in the orc’s traditional style and secured victory right before our eyes…
Having won three out of the four matches, our victory was already assured.

“Wooooaaaahhhh!”

A thunderous cheer erupted from the northern army.

“Haha, as expected.”

I had believed in her victory from the start, but seeing it with my own eyes was something else. It made me laugh in sheer amazement.

The opponent had been a massive, hulking brute. No matter how skilled Elaine’s swordsmanship was, it would take quite a while to bring down a giant like that.
Elaine’s swordsmanship wasn’t like Grace’s, which focused on a single, powerful strike. Rather, it was a rapid, relentless assault delivered with unmatched speed.

From the very beginning, Elaine had been targeting only one thing—the lower body that supported that massive frame.
When Boom started launching shockwaves, she had pretended to be at a disadvantage, drawing out as many of those powerful attacks as possible to strain his legs.
And when the wounds on his legs finally split open, she didn’t miss that chance to finish him off.

It had been a strategic, clean, and masterful fight that made perfect use of her strengths without a single moment of crisis.
Moreover, after her battle against Roe, Elaine had honed her skills even further.
Her Snowfall Sword was stronger than ever before.
This was the Captain of the Northern Duke’s Escort Guard, the leader of our escort unit.

Elaine received the roaring cheers from the northern army with a calm expression.
Then, she looked in my direction and slightly curled her lips.

That subtle smile was a signal, a request for praise.
I responded to her signal with a grin.

There was a reason I had such absolute faith in her.