Rivers of the Night-Chapter 288: Heavy

Chapter 288: Heavy

The silence hung heavy, almost desperate.

Faustin had paled considerably, Sura’s eyes were opened wide, and Lyn’s face seemed etched with surprise.

Drake seemed to have the fiercest reaction of them all, cursing beneath his breath. He didn’t get the chance to speak a single time, but just by virtue of being on the winning side, his points wouldn’t have been too bad. But now?

None of them was a fool. Theron had stood there, letting things play out without a care in the world, silently watching as they hopped around like dancing clowns.

And then gave a closing statement that gave no quarter, no peace.

There was no doubt in any one of their minds that he had not only scored the best, but he had won the debate for their party.

In the end, he proved his words to be true.

The mention of cowardice weighed especially heavy now. The risk that Theron had chosen to make this time was a great one. If one thing went wrong, he had to trust himself to adapt on the fly and prepare a new closing statement that would ignite the passion of the crowd.

But Theron had confidently stepped forward, wasting precious seconds of his time to prove his point, and then stepping off without even having used them all regardless.

He had embodied what it meant to be the talent of a nation, to take on the pressure of wielding the hopes and dreams of so many. One would have thought that he was a true countryman, that he would lay down his life for the Nightingale Empire, even.

Only those that knew the current inner workings of the Empire understood just how truly ridiculous such a sentiment was.

What was clear, though, was that Theron Galethunder’s name would be known.

The true scholars in the crowd, and amongst the judges themselves, looked at the young man as though fires were blazing in their eyes. Even they hadn’t realized where Theron was going with this until he finally spoke the first line of his opening statement.

Scholar McIntyre shook his head. “… It seems… I owe this young one an apology.”

He spoke out so softly that only the surrounding judges heard him, but it wasn’t long before any slight echo there might have been was swallowed up by the eruption of the crowd.

The shaking and swaying of the arena was such that some might have really felt as though it could collapse at any moment.

—

[First Round Results]

[Theron Galethunder – S+]

[Sura Firewing – A]

[Faustin Sangun – C-]

[Lyn Auran – C-]

[Drake – F]

—

The results were soon put out and the eruption of the crowd only continued.

The usual grading system from the round was from S down to F. An additional + could be given when a flag wasn’t used, or at the behest of the judges.

Depending on the grade, the next challenge for the following rounds would be adjusted accordingly.

Drake’s grade wasn’t a surprise. He not only picked wrong, but he didn’t speak a single time. His demeanor was also quite lacking, and he was no doubt dinged extra points for his reaction after Theron spoke.

Lyn’s grade would have been even worse, but since he was on the winning team, he was still granted some grace in the end.

Ultimately, this would decide much about the next rounds, but the name at the top spoke with the loudest roar. The more people thought about what Theron had done, the more ridiculous they felt that it was.

Had he known Lyn and Sura would pick him? Had he been ready for Faustin’s arguments? How was he going to flip things around if Lyn hadn’t tried to sabotage things further? What if Lyn had performed just as well as Sura? Would that have made the argument hit as hard?

It was like he had already peeked into the future and knew exactly how things would go down, and those thoughts made them especially shocked.

Just what sort of monster was this Theron Galethunder?

The sound of clapping cut through all of the noise. Every gaze shifted, landing on Elder Kelyne Black. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

“Well done. I take it that Scholar Galethunder would like to use this to continue participating in the military stream?”

Theron smiled brightly. “I would. I cannot give up such an opportunity.”

“In that case, I doubt there would be anyone who would bring up any objections at this point. You may continue to participate in the First Year military stream. I would like to see if your performance there is as good as it has been here. Good luck.”

As heavy as the atmosphere was, the weight of a Black Clan Elder’s words somehow seemed even heavier than that.

In all their years, these crowds, and the representatives of the various Empires couldn’t ever remember a participant receiving such praise from the Black Clan.

They had always been lofty and untouchable, swimming high above the masses and looking down on everyone. So… just how had Theron managed to catch their eye in this way?

Off to the far side, Chopra watched in silence, feeling his interest in Theron increasing by the second. The bloodlust in his eyes was hardly contained, the handsome etches of his face growing darker and darker until he looked more like an ink painting of an ideal man rather than a real, living, breathing one.

“Thank you for your praise, Elder. I will remember these kind words and use them to spur me on.”

Elder Kelyne Black smiled. “You may call me Elder Kelyne.”

Theron nodded. “Thank you, Elder Kelyne.”

A light chuckle came from the old woman and she waved a hand.

“You have seen the result of the first round. There will be a brief intermission before the second years step forward. Judges, take this time to adjust the difficulty of the second round based on the results of the first. It seems that some seniors will have the chance to stand on the shoulders of giants today.”

Faustin paled considerably when he felt the jab drill into his ears.

Just what were the Sangun thinking, bucking up against the overlord of their territory like this?