Journey to Become the Zenith

The Fool Who Challenged Victor

”Cripple that guy and take the girl.” The young master gave out the order like it was such a bother.

”As you wish young master.”

Günter stepped forward without hesitation.

The moment the order left his employer’s mouth, the atmosphere around him seemed to become heavier. The surrounding crowd instinctively shifted backward, creating a little more space between themselves and the confrontation. Nobody wanted to become involved in a dispute between powerful people.

Günter slowly cracked his knuckles.

Crack.

Crack.

The dull sounds echoed through the tense silence.

He approached Victor with steady steps, his expression carrying a strange mixture of pity and resignation. From the beginning, he had not particularly wanted to hurt this man. Victor had simply happened to interfere at the wrong time.

Günter glanced at the beautiful woman standing beside Victor.

His employer had ordered him to take her, and Günter knew exactly what kind of person his employer was. That knowledge made his stomach turn slightly.

’Sorry, but orders are orders, I’ll make it quick.’

He kept those thoughts buried.

He couldn’t say them aloud. The young master of the Valier family was not someone who tolerated disobedience, and Günter had seen what happened to people who displeased him.

The surrounding people were also watching Victor with complicated expressions.

Some looked genuinely sympathetic.

The man had stepped forward when everyone else had remained silent. He had seen a woman being harassed and decided to interfere, even though the person responsible clearly possessed considerable influence.

Now that decision had placed him directly in danger.

”What a pity...”

Someone quietly muttered from within the crowd.

Another person shook his head.

”He shouldn’t have interfered.”

”Doesn’t he know who that young master is?”

”That man is from the Valier family. Even the guards won’t dare provoke him.”

A few people lowered their voices even further, afraid that someone might overhear them.

They didn’t know Victor.

They didn’t know where he came from.

They only saw a handsome young man standing in the middle of a situation that could easily turn deadly.

There were also people who thought Victor was simply foolish.

Why interfere in another person’s business?

If he had remained silent, he could have continued walking through the city with his beautiful companion. Instead, he had chosen to play the hero.

Now he was about to be beaten half to death, while the woman beside him would be taken away.

The crowd’s pity therefore carried another emotion as well.

Regret.

Not their own regret, but the regret they imagined Victor would soon feel.

Diana, however, remained perfectly calm.

She stood beside Victor with her long black hair falling over her shoulders, her blood-red eyes quietly observing Günter’s approach. Her black-and-red gown shifted gently in the breeze, while the boots beneath it made almost no sound against the stone street.

She didn’t look frightened.

If anything, there was a faint amusement hidden in her eyes.

Diana knew Victor too well.

She knew that the man walking toward him had no idea what kind of person he had just chosen to challenge.

Victor himself merely watched Günter approach.

His golden eyes remained calm.

There was no nervousness in his expression, nor did he seem particularly concerned about the threat.

Instead, he looked almost curious.

When Günter was only a few steps away, Victor finally spoke.

”Are you really going to do this?”

His voice wasn’t loud.

Yet it carried clearly through the surrounding silence.

Günter paused for half a breath.

There was no arrogance in Victor’s voice.

That somehow made it stranger.

Günter studied him carefully.

Victor was suppressing his mana to an extremely ordinary level. To Günter’s senses, there was nothing remarkable about him. Combined with Victor’s relaxed posture, Günter came to a simple conclusion.

This man was probably just an ordinary person who had gotten carried away by his sense of justice.

Günter sighed internally.

”No hard feelings,” Günter replied as he took a fighting stance.

His feet settled firmly against the ground.

His shoulders lowered.

His fists tightened.

The surrounding crowd immediately became quiet.

Everyone recognized that posture.

The pity in their eyes deepened.

Günter wasn’t some random thug. He was one of the young master’s personal guards, and his strength was considerably greater than that of ordinary city warriors.

He suddenly stepped forward.

His fist shot toward Victor’s face.

It was a casual punch.

Günter wasn’t using his full strength. He didn’t think there was any need.

If Victor was truly as weak as he appeared, one clean strike would be enough to put him down.

Yet—

Victor moved.

His body shifted only slightly.

The punch passed harmlessly beside his face.

Günter’s eyes widened.

”Huh?”

The crowd reacted at almost the same moment.

Several people had expected blood to splash across the street.

Instead, Victor was still standing exactly where he had been.

Günter’s fist had missed.

He quickly turned and attacked again.

This time, his movements were faster.

Another punch.

Victor leaned aside.

A second strike.

Victor stepped backward.

A third.

Victor tilted his head.

Each attack came close enough that the wind produced by Günter’s fists brushed against Victor’s clothes, yet not one of them managed to touch him.

Victor’s black hair moved gently with every motion, while the golden jacket over his black shirt swayed behind him.

His expression remained almost unchanged.

The more Günter attacked, the more confused he became.

’How is he doing this?’

Günter’s eyes narrowed.

He increased his speed.

His fist swept past Victor’s shoulder.

Victor turned slightly.

Another strike came toward his ribs.

Victor simply stepped away.

There was no wasted movement.

No dramatic technique.

No visible burst of power.

He was merely avoiding every attack.

From the perspective of the crowd, however, the situation looked completely different.

They couldn’t understand what was happening.

”Why isn’t Günter hitting him?”

”Is Günter playing with him?”

”He must be.”

”Perhaps he’s trying to frighten him first.”

The crowd couldn’t imagine another possibility.

After all, Günter was a known expert.