Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Backup Plan

"Haha," Jash chuckled dryly as he channeled his mana, enhancing his speed and strength.

"We can talk," he said, not believing his own words in the least.

"Talk, my ass!" Grunghin exclaimed, sharing their sentiment, and even ended up attacking Jash in a fit of anger.

Yet Jash sidestepped and then backstepped, only to find himself against an invisible barrier as an arrow landed near his feet.

The examinees seemed hellbent on not giving Jash any escape as they kept attacking him, making him regret his decision.

Had he not taken down the boss monster out of suspicion, Jash's plan would have gone smoothly.

He would step back, leaving the stage to Amael and the protagonist, getting the others agitated by speaking like an orator.

'That way, I wouldn't be in this shit! Damn that flicker in its eyes!' Jash cursed inwardly, not happy with his current situation in the least.

However, it was actually a good thing as the professors didn't miss his change in movement during that split-second of emotion in the monster.

If it was a real monster, it would've gone berserk and definitely dispatched all the examinees easily.

But, considering a real-life scenario, it would have spelled their doom.

So, they already decided Jash as the winner as he gave up whatever plans he had, trying to kill the monster before anything could go wrong.

Naturally, it wasn't just this one action that earned him Rank 1; it was due to their observations since the start.

Well, except for Jash appearing late and taking the backseat to reap the rewards at the perfect time.

But that's something that could be worked upon, or so the professors considered.

And the current situation just solidified their decision as who could fight against the most talented in their generation all alone.

Jash didn't even have any weapon to boot!

He used the horn he had cut to deflect and parry attacks, causing his opponents to tangle up, allowing him to escape.

Two swords, one spear, one sledgehammer, one archer, two mages and a lightning martial artist...

Those were the weapons or basically the opponents he had to face all at once.

Thankfully, he was familiar with their fighting techniques from the novel and his past life had more or less synchronized its experiences within him.

It was just his body that was lacking to be able to use everything to its fullest.

'Thankfully, I reached the intermediate sword mastery or else,' Jash thought, unable to complete his dangerous thought as a kick landed on his sides.

"Urgh," he gritted his teeth due to the lingering lighting element on the attack causing him discomfort more than pain.

Just when Jash was about to use the horn to injure Avon's arm, he got kicked from behind him.

Attacking someone from behind was not considered good by nobles, but the one attacking him was no noble.

Even the ones he was fighting against were too agitated to even care about their principles and integrity.

That was how every life-and-death battle went, nothing mattered except for victory as anything besides that meant death.

Still, Jash wasn't one to lament his situation and immediately picked himself up, using his free hand to push him away from the ground.

Although rolling on the ground was also not considered noble-like, Jash couldn't care less.

'No amount of integrity, morals or principles can help one in the face of death,' he recalled the life lesson from his previous life.

After all, being a hero was not all rainbows and sunshine.

While he may have been a hero to the humans of his previous world, he sure as hell was a villain to the demons.

And that's why he ought to be despicable, for the sake of his race.

That's why he had no hesitation to do anything to survive and win, unlike others who had some sort of hesitation.

A few times, they even clashed weapons, protesting, "It's not right to gang up on him!"

However, it changed nothing as someone mentioned they didn't know how much time was left and he was the key.

Only, Amael was similar to Jash in that mindset, except, he had several bottom lines and Jash had his own.

Though none of them stopped either from executing their plans.

Both wanted to achieve first rank but that was impossible.

Still, Jash had a better plan.

'I need to eliminate someone...' he mused in a hurry, his eyes darting around the area, trying to find the weakest link.

While doing so, he bent backward, but Avon was prepared for it and pushed his spear downwards.

Jash used his free hand to push Avon's spear further downward and used that split moment to shift himself to his right and dodging the Icicle.

Of course, he was devious enough to pull Avon in the line of the flying arrow, using him as a meat shield.

"Urgh," Avon grunted at the sudden pain from his left shoulder, immobilizing him for a second as blood dripped from his mouth.

'Forget the weak link,' Jash decided to make Avon the weak link, alas, a sharp sword slash forced him to create distance.

Avon used that opportunity to wipe the blood from his mouth, channeling his mana to coat his arms and stop the bleeding.

He tightened his grip on his spear, ready for any betrayal but it never came as he saw Amael clash with Jash.

Of course, the scene of so many fighting against Jash as he maneuvered deftly despite that made the crowd awe at his ability.

Sadly, it also made the crowd angry at them as it was a cowardly tactic.

More people cheered for Jash despite their dislike for him during the starting period where he just rested.

Yet nothing changed the fact that Jash felt no sympathy for his opponents and started using them to tank his damage.

His stomach was rumbling, his limbs were trembling, his head was aching—the three days of exhaustion caught up to him as he continued the fight.

It forced him to use this tactic but the audience didn't mind as Jash was indeed giving them a good show.

Sadly, everyone was swept by his flow as he kept going with the flow.

Only those with abundant experience in battles could tell that Jash wasn't in the battle at all.

Everything was just instinctively following the flow of the battle, allowing him to survive until now and even injure others.

Jash countered Amael and the protagonist's swords at the same time as everyone grew more and more tired.

No matter, they were still kids and being able to fight such an intense battle, heavy on the mind and body was no joke.

Gritting his teeth, Jash overexerted himself, kicking the protagonist in the stomach who backstepped in time, making Jash lose his balance.

Despite his precarious situation, Jash had already thrust the horn at Amael's thigh, scratching it as Amael retracted his leg.

"YOU FU–" Grunghin cursed as Avon stopped his hammer from attacking Jash, indicating he wouldn't allow anyone else to win.

And it was the same for everyone.

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For someone else to take the credit and win?

However, that was all Jash needed as he had finally changed the area of the battlefield.

'My backup came into action, huh?' he mused with a wry smile.