Chapter 1084: Chapter 53: Private Revenge
Gienegarde swallowed the bitter fruit of arrogance, while Kiluat enjoyed the fruits of victory.
This result is neither good nor bad.
The Son of the Church will not vent their anger on Kiluat for losing the secret battle, and the Spider God Church will only punish Gienegarde for losing due to arrogance.
Undoubtedly, Kiluat’s victory had an element of luck, but it was enough to barely convince the middle-grade to acknowledge the Holy Light Squad’s claim over Lu Li. More crucially, they envied seeing Lu Li’s "loyalty"—or rather, his recognition—toward the squad.
Ken put out the No. 9 and No. 19 Sequence Potions for Kiluat to use. Especially No. 9, potions from the top 10 sequences are almost legendary, even middle-grade professors have never seen them, yet Lu Li allowed Kiluat to use them in the duel.
They didn’t know that Lu Li didn’t have to pay any price for these two Sequence Potions, unless goodwill counts as compensation.
The secret battle has ended, but its ripples have yet to fade, sweeping across the entire Canopy Academy.
Early the next morning.
Naxi returned to the lounge and mysteriously asked Kiluat, who was applying potion, "Do you know what I heard in the dining hall? That jerk Gienegarde was punished by the Spider God Church hahahaha—"
He lost a sure-win battle, and in the name of the Spider God Church no less. Most importantly, summoning the Divine Guard couldn’t change the outcome. If not for the family backing Gienegarde, the Spider God Church would likely have expelled him, rendering him a betrayer.
What excited Naxi more was the disappearance of past hostility. When he appeared in the dining hall, other students mostly looked at him as "Look, there’s that lucky guy," instead of the previous disheartening "You don’t deserve Lu Li."
Although prejudice still existed, everything was improving.
Then Naxi noticed that the others weren’t very enthusiastic. Fudote was elegantly sitting on the sofa, occasionally glancing at Lu Li. Lu Li and Yege were helping Hemou with the treatment of Kiluat’s Tremor Syndrome, changing her bandages and administering a recovery potion.
Kiluat’s injuries weren’t severe but were sufficient to be considered brutal—while tangled in a dream and maintaining a running stance, Kiluat toppled over, causing abrasions and contusions on her cheeks and arms.
And using a large amount of Sequence Potions in a short period, especially front-end potions, pushed Kiluat into "Tremor Syndrome," a spatial dislocation feeling where the world rejects you and shakes your soul. She needed a few days to recover until the duel’s injuries vanished completely... or sank into her soul.
Naxi lowered his voice, tentatively asking, "Is it serious?"
"Not serious, but she’ll need some rest."
Kiluat opened her eyes, bloodshot and weak, "Lu Li, you’ll lead Fudote’s coordination task. Yege, you’ll take over my combat position."
"Can’t you fight anymore?" Yege asked.
"Tremor Syndrome feels like a hangover... or being jostled in a carriage for days. I can’t focus..."
Lu Li nodded in agreement and noticed Yege across from him winking.
"Is something wrong with your eye?" Lu Li inquired.
Yege widened his eyes abruptly, and Fudote, who had been observing him, sighed helplessly, saying, "Lu Li, I have something to tell you."
Lu Li and Fudote left the fireplace and walked out of the lounge, leaving Yege to ask Naxi to look after Kiluat as he followed them out.
"What do you want to say?"
In the hallway outside the lounge, Fudote turned to ask Yege, who had followed them.
"Are you both willing to let it end like this?" Yege spoke directly, "Letting Gienegarde, who hurt the team leader, off the hook."
"But the secret battle is already over," Fudote replied.
She really didn’t like Gienegarde. Apart from him, it was also because of his backing, the Mars Family—people thought snakes were equivalent to bugs, but Fudote felt how could snakes ever be as cute as bugs.
Yege whispered coldly, "Don’t forget what that bastard did in the end... Even after it ended, he was still hurting the team leader. If the Gatekeeper Elder hadn’t stopped him, the team leader would surely have been maliciously harmed, cursed venomously..."
"What do you want to do?" Fudote asked with interest. "Don’t forget, Giant Tree Academy prohibits students from fighting privately."
"We can beat him up, as long as we don’t get caught." Beneath Yege’s calm exterior burned the fire of revenge.
Gienegarde would never dare to report this, even if he could guess the culprits, he wouldn’t dare to retaliate.
"Naxi is too timid, so I can’t tell him."
"If you’ve decided, count me in." Fudote gently flicked her hair, unwilling to miss out.
"I’m in too."
The calm words surprised both Fudote and Yege.
...
"You’ve brought disgrace to the family, Gienegarde."
Midnight City, Inner City.
An elder from the Mars Family reprimanded the silent Gienegarde coldly.
"The family will resolve the pressure from the Spider God Church, and we don’t want a next time."
After a brief conversation, the middle-aged man picked up his bowler hat and placed it on his head, leaving his seat. His silhouette blocked the light pouring in from outside the door.
"Don’t let the Exorcist detest you."
The shadow disappeared, and the light once again illuminated Gienegarde’s cold, pale face, with his tightly clenched fist in the elongated shadow behind him.
Due to one mistake, all of his efforts in the middle-grade were erased.
"Kiluat..."
From the academy camp back to the Giant Tree, Gienegarde returned to his resting area.
As he passed through a warped, empty hallway corner, darkness suddenly engulfed him.
Gienegarde, caught off guard, released his power but was thwarted — what trapped him was an Alchemy Blanket.
As he maintained his composure and attempted to break free from the predicament, the world suddenly turned upside down, pain erupted around his eyes—
Gienegarde was enshrouded and laid flat, while Yege kicked and beat him rhythmically. Fudote, holding up her skirt, was eager to try but maintained her composure, standing on the side as Lu Li did nothing.
After tens of seconds, the panting Yege stopped and quickly left the hallway with Lu Li and Fudote.
Left at the scene was Gienegarde, his upper body covered by the Alchemy Blanket.
...
"We did it!" On the way back to the lounge, the usually calm Yege let out a rare, excited growl, "Gave that bastard the punishment he deserved! Thank you... Lu Li, and Fudote."
He couldn’t wait to announce the results to Kiluat and Naxi.
However, upon their return to the lounge, a startling scene unfolded: two Gatekeepers waited by the fireplace’s sofa, with a weak-looking Kiluat gazing helplessly and a shocked Naxi.
The announcement of the results came from the Gatekeepers instead of Naxi.
"Lu Li, Fudote Lins, Yege, you’re confined for one month for beating up a classmate."
Yege pursed his lips; he thought this operation was foolproof.
"Sorry... I got you involved."
"I just got out of the Solitary Cell!" Fudote stomped her foot in frustration.
She had joined the middle-grade the day after getting out of solitary, and on her second day in the middle-grade, she was confined again.
"The low-grade Solitary Cell and the middle-grade might be different," Lu Li said calmly.
Fudote snorted, "Is this Lu Li’s black humor?"