Farmboy becomes King with the Lust System Chapter 262: The captain

With a low, smoky chuckle, Tirel lounged on her feet as her flames whipped out, tearing men asunder. "Oh, she already expects plenty from him," she purred, her voice like velvet over steel. "But I must confess, seeing him swoop in like that—" her tongue traced her teeth in amusement, "—mm, it presents quite the heroic image."

Elise’s face burned hotter than any blaze on the field, flushing a deep crimson. She wrenched her gaze downward, forcing her attention onto the bleeding cadet still beneath her hands. She resisted the urge to look at Jae, refusing to let Tirel’s jests draw her into conversation. Her mana surged with greater intensity, steadier, as if her focus were being soldered directly into the wound.

Jae offered a silent smirk, dragging his flaming blade through the air. The flames flared in response to the movement, roaring louder than any words he might have uttered.

Above the fray, Lord Veynar’s booming laughter echoed across the battlefield, seeming to swallow the night itself. His voice, undeniably dramatic and taunting, was too immense to be ignored.

"Marvelous! Absolutely spectacular!" he crowed, twirling his spear in wide, gleaming arcs illuminated by the firelight. "A healer who disobeys orders, a boy who defends her like a legendary knight—oh, don't you dare perish yet, my little ones. This is far too entertaining!"

His spear swept outwards in a grand gesture, felling three cadets simultaneously. Their bodies tumbled like discarded props from a forgotten play. He raised his weapon high, his grin stretching impossibly wide. "Dance for me! Dance until the final curtain!"

The south flank cried out once more under the relentless pressure. Shields clanged, and arrows rained down. The line wavered, teetering on the brink of collapse.

But Jae's unit held firm.

With Elise at its heart, her sheer will and mana pulling the wounded back from the clutches of death, and Jae incinerating every foe who dared approach her, the flank bent but did not break. Shadows knit the gaps together, fire cleaved through the darkness, and lightning flashed at the periphery. Their small circle of defiance remained intact.

Meanwhile, in the middle distance, Sun observed. His Sovereign Vein drew stamina and strength from every enemy that ventured too close. His jaw was clenched tight, muscles rigid, his eyes narrowed to slits as his gaze fixed upon Jae's unit—the so-called weakest flank, the very group anticipated to falter first.

Yet, they endured.

They fought back.

They refused to yield.

The field reeked of iron and ash. Smoke snaked low across the churned mud, carrying the sizzle of burning pitch and the muted cries of men who had fallen too far from a healer's reach. The clang of steel was incessant, and the flickering firelight made every shadow writhe as if possessing sharp teeth.

Jae wiped a smear of blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, a faint smirk playing on his lips as if the cut were a mere inconvenience. His crimson eyes reflected the distant flames, remaining steady and unfazed despite the surrounding chaos.

The ground beneath his boots jolted, once, then again with a more profound tremor. Cadets staggered, their weapons slipping in the mire. A ripple surged through the soil, making the very earth tremble.

The ground ripped open. Emerging from the chasm was a man of colossal stature, as broad as two soldiers side-by-side, his armor deeply scored with cracks and battle scars, his jaw set in a perpetual snarl. Mud and dust clung to him as if the battlefield itself had adorned him for war. In his gauntleted fists, stone coalesced and hardened, morphing into jagged gauntlets bristling with sharp edges like a set of chisels.

The captain's voice rumbled, low and guttural, like grinding gravel. "Farmboy. You are the one I was instructed to break."

Byun let out a low whistle, shadows curling with hungry intent around his shoulders. "Well, isn't that flattering. They had to send their prized boulder just for you."

Tirel leaned against a shattered barricade, flames dancing idly between her fingers as if enjoying a spectator's view rather than participating in a war. "I'll admit, blondie, he appears to be your type—large, menacing, and destined to shatter when subjected to sufficient force."

Jae merely smirked, brushing a stray lock of hair from his eyes. "I shall manage."

The captain wasted no further time. With a roar that vibrated the air, he smashed his fists into the ground. Stone spires erupted in jagged lines, surging forward like the predatory maw of a beast snapping shut. The earth tore apart, creating a direct path towards Jae.

Jae moved. Ember Step propelled him sideways in a fleeting burst of fire and smoke, leaving behind only a scorched afterimage that disintegrated beneath the rising stone. He reappeared behind the captain, his Dragonfire Blade already ignited in his grip, and brought it down in a molten arc, intending to cleave through both armor and flesh.

The impact struck solid stone. The captain's gauntlet grew denser, rock coalescing around his arm just in time to intercept the blade. Fire spat against the earth, its sparks erupting in a shower of light. For a fleeting moment, they were locked, neither giving ground, the clang of their conflict echoing louder than the surrounding din. Then, with a surge of raw power, the captain pushed forward, forcing Jae to take a full step back.

Nearby cadets maintaining the line gasped in unison. Elise's hands froze mid-weave as she channeled mana into a wound. Her eyes widened, her mouth falling slightly open. "He's not a common soldier. That magic—"

"Right," Byun grunted, a sharp grin playing on his lips as his gaze remained locked onto the intense duel. "But neither is Jae."

The captain attacked once more, his fist swinging in a wide arc. The very air seemed to crack under the immense force of the blow. Jae dropped into a low duck, flames licking his shoulders, and retaliated with a swift slash that left a searing line across the man's side. The scent of heated metal rose, yet the captain didn't even flinch. He spun around, stone creeping further up his form, and drove his knee into the ground.

Sharp spikes erupted from the earth in a furious display. One impaled Jae's thigh, not a deep wound, but sufficient to draw blood.

His confident smirk tightened into a grimace. He hissed through clenched teeth, stumbling backward as a warm trickle of blood seeped down his leg, a stark contrast to the chilling mud beneath.