The murmurings and whispers of the Iron Fangs were like background noise to Simon as he completely ignored them.
His mind was on the faction message Akaza just gave to him.
Was it surprising?
Yes?
Did he expect it?
Somewhat.
Simon had thought of numerous ways by which the three factions would retaliate against him, and a life and death battle was one of the ways he had thought of.
In a way, this was one of the worst possible outcomes, but for it to be a terrible outcome, he had a few questions.
He looked at Akaza.
"Did they tell me who I’m facing?" He asked calmly, still completely ignoring the stares and murmurs of the Iron Fangs.
Akaza nodded. "Yes. You’re facing an Initiate called Blackblade. He’s a second year and a Supreme Archfiend."
Simon frowned slightly when he heard this.
"Do you know anything about him?"
Akaza scratched the back of his head as he tried to recall the little he knew about this... Blackblade.
"Well, I’ve heard of him, but I don’t know much about him. All I know is that he’s good with swords. Like very good."
Simon raised a brow, and he was now interested in this child called Blackblade.
’Swords huh... If he’s truly talented and good in my opinion, then it would be a waste to kill him. Truly talented swordsmen are not easy to come by.’
He placed his right fist beneath his chin and supported his head as he pondered on everything.
A few seconds later, he spoke again.
"If you and Blackblade fought, who would win?"
Akaza did not hesitate in answering.
"Me of course." He scoffed and folded his arms. "Many factions have tried recruiting me, and they’ve offered me lots of money. It’s just my stubbornness that made me to refuse all their offers."
Simon nodded, though he didn’t really care about Akaza’s last words about the factions trying to recruit him.
"Would you overwhelm him in a one on one battle? Or would it be close?"
This time around, Akaza could not help but furrow his brows deeply with a thoughtful expression.
"I wouldn’t overwhelm him, but it would not be a close match for me. I’ll just have to expend some effort to defeat him."
Simon nodded again. "And why are you so sure? When was the last time you guys fought or you saw him fight for you to be so confident that you’d win?"
Akaza’s frown deepened, and it took him nearly ten seconds to respond.
"We’ve never fought in a duel before, but the last time I saw him fight was in the exam of our first year... As for why I’m so confident, it’s because I have a Royal Bloodline and he does not."
Simon nodded again.
"And do you know if Blackblade was consistent with his training or if he was laying around like you?"
Akaza froze, and he could not answer.
Even if he did, he knew what Simon was getting at.
Akaza had been lazying around for a long time and his rate of improvement had been slow.
Unless Blackblade was as lazy or even more lazy than Akaza, which Simon does not expect, it was very likely that Blackblade was on par or maybe even stronger than Akaza.
Akaza realized this, and his expression behind his mask was ugly and solemn.
As for Simon, he asked no questions for now. He shifted his gaze back to the writhing and groaning Iron Fangs.
’It would make more sense if this Blackblade is stronger than Akaza because they should know that I defeated Akaza.’
’But do they actually want to kill me?’
’Why does it feel like their intention is not truly to kill me?’
To many, it might seem like the main goal of this life and death duel was for Simon to die, and maybe the reason why they made it a life and death duel is for Simon’s death to be publicized.
Some might also believe that the reason why the factions were challenging him to a life and death duel is so that they could kill him by the rules and regulations of the academy.
But Simon knew that this was false.
Completely false.
One must not forget that he was still a slave. Despite all that he had done and his current reputation, his status in the clan was still that of a slave.
If the factions wanted, they could kill him without suffering any consequences from the academy.
Simon believed that if the factions wanted his death, they could send some of their elites to assassinate him, then they could hang his corpse and publicize it in the most degrading and embarrassing manner.
However, challenging him to a life and death duel made Simon suspect that there was more to this duel than met the eye.
To him, it felt like somebody was pulling the strings and attempting to make him a chess piece, but Simon... he wanted to become a player, and a player he would become.
’The factions know that I can refuse the duel completely, and they also know that they cannot use the laws of the academy to force me to accept the duel despite everything I did to them.’
’It’s why they didn’t threaten me but the Iron Fangs if I refused the duel.’
’I wouldn’t be surprised if there would be more deaths and even disappearances of the Iron Fangs. If that happens, the Iron Fangs would crumble in no time.’
’Hmm... And that messenger. It seems he lied and exaggerated to his masters.’
Simon’s eyes flashed with a calculation glint as he had these thoughts.
’I might not know what their true goal is, but accepting the life and death match is the best decision for me to take.’
’If I don’t, then the Iron Fangs would be over and they’ll use another method to get at me... Maybe something more sinister and subtle.’
He looked at Akaza.
"When is the duel?"
"Tomorrow."
Simon nodded. "I’ll be there."