F-Rank Soul Eater-Chapter 175: A Fight For Soren

Li of the Lion Heart, Kiva of the Wild Tigers, and Buttermint of the Tea Party.

Third years.

The three most powerful party leaders in the academy had all gathered in one place.

And more importantly—

All three of them were interested.

Interested in Soren and Cynthia.

Or more precisely... they were interested in Soren.

After all, everyone present understood something obvious.

Cynthia would follow Soren no matter which party he chose.

Soren allowed a faint sideways smile to appear as he looked at Aegon.

Aegon saw it.

And his teeth ground together.

Still, he didn’t step back.

Before he could speak, Li casually broke the silence.

His golden eyes shifted briefly toward Kiva and Buttermint.

"I believe," Li said lightly, "I was the first to show interest in that commoner."

He gestured lazily toward Soren.

"So both of you should probably piss off."

Kiva snorted from her tree branch.

"Relax, goat boy," she said, stretching her arms behind her head.

"I’m not even interested in the skinny one."

Her sharp yellow eyes slid toward Cynthia.

"I want the big one, meow."

She grinned, showing her sharp teeth.

"My party is made entirely of women. A monster like her would fit in perfectly."

Buttermint swallowed the last bite of his sandwich before speaking.

"I’ll make it simple."

He pointed at Soren.

"If you join the Tea Party, I’ll give you ten thousand points immediately."

A small wave of shock passed through the surrounding cadets.

Ten thousand points.

Even Bloodshine’s eyes lit up like stars as she looked at Soren.

Even members of the Mohawk Party couldn’t hide their envy.

Ten thousand points could support a cadet for months.

But more than that, it was general knowledge that points were needed to create a stable foundation for one’s future as a knight if the empire or a soul bound pilot.

This was the Tea Party showing their sincerity.

But Li chuckled softly.

"If the commoner Soren joins my party," he said calmly, "ten thousand points will be his monthly allowance."

The forest went quiet again.

That was a completely different level of generosity.

Then—

The three leaders began going back and forth, casually raising their offers.

Each trying to outbid the other.

And throughout the entire conversation...

They completely ignored Aegon.

As if he wasn’t even standing there.

Behind him, the Mohawk Party couldn’t help whispering among themselves.

Their voices carried faintly.

"Ten thousand..."

"That’s insane..."

"Only the top parties can afford that..."

"Boss only gives us one thousand monthly..."

The jealousy in their voices was impossible to hide.

Aegon heard every word.

And finally—

He snapped.

"THIS IS MY PREY!"

His roar exploded through the forest.

Soul energy burst violently from his body.

The surrounding plants trembled—

Then turned to stone.

For a brief moment...

Everyone paused.

But only for a second.

Li simply looked away from Aegon as if the outburst had come from a barking dog.

Then he continued speaking to Soren.

"For both of you," Li said calmly, "I’ll make it twenty thousand points a month."

Immediately, Kiva and Buttermint began raising their offers again.

Still ignoring Aegon completely.

That was the final straw.

Veins bulged along Aegon’s temple as rage twisted his face.

He pulled out his standard cadet-issued soul steel dagger and pointed it directly at Li.

"You son of a bitch," Aegon growled.

"You’ve mocked me for the last time."

His voice shook with fury.

"I challenge you to a Gauntlet match!"

Li turned his head slowly.

Looked at Aegon.

Then calmly looked away again.

As if an annoying insect had buzzed near his ear.

That was enough.

Aegon moved.

Even Soren had to admit—

The bully was fast.

In the blink of an eye, Aegon appeared beside Li.

His dagger came down in a violent arc, purple soul energy bursting from the blade.

B—Rank

BOOM

The impact shook the ground.

But when the energy cleared—

Nothing had changed.

Li hadn’t moved.

Not a single step.

Only his golden hair and the long earring dangling from his ear swayed gently from the wind of the attack.

Aegon’s dagger had stopped inches from his face.

Because a hand had caught it.

Soren looked at the person standing there.

The girl with the short brown bob cut.

He recognized her instantly.

She was the same one he had seen the first day he met Li.

Bambi.

After that day, Soren had heard plenty about her.

A commoner personally chosen by Li during his first year to serve as his second-in-command.

Utterly loyal.

Fiercely protective.

And terrifyingly strong.

She had caught Aegon’s blade with her bare hand.

Gripping the weapon directly by the blade itself.

Her brows furrowed slightly as she glared at him.

"You second-year trash," she said coldly.

"How dare you raise a blade at Boss Li?"

Her voice sharpened.

"You must really be courting death."

Aegon’s instincts screamed danger.

He immediately leapt backward.

But Bambi didn’t let go.

She was still holding the blade.

And then—

Something happened that Soren had never imagined possible.

Bambi tightened her grip.

The soul steel dagger folded.

Like paper.

The metal warped and crumpled inside her hand with a dull crunch.

Soren’s eyes widened.

He couldn’t help glancing subconsciously at the dagger hanging from his own waist.

Soul steel.

Not the grade used for crafting Soul Mechas—but still one of the strongest metals known.

He had used his own blade in hundreds of battles.

It had proven tougher than any metal he had ever known.

Yet Bambi...

Crushed it like it was nothing, and it did not so much as prick her palm.

No wound.

No blood.

If soren had not seen it woth his eyes, he would have believed that it was metal that crushed that blade and not flesh.

Bambi looked down at the crumpled dagger still in her hand.

Then she glanced at Aegon with open disdain.

"A Gauntlet match?" she repeated slowly.

Her eyes carried a condescending amusement.

"How many times would that be now?" she continued, tilting her head slightly. "Ten... or a hundred?"

She snickered.

"Your kind isn’t worthy."

From that brief exchange alone, Soren could already piece something together.

Aegon had challenged Li before.

And apparently...

He had lost.

More than once.

Aegon’s face twisted violently. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"You fucking bastard!" he snapped, pointing a shaking finger at Li. "You’re the reason I’m in this position!"

His voice rose with rage.

"It’s you!"

But Li didn’t respond.

He didn’t even look at him.

Instead, Bambi answered again.

"Don’t you dare try to bad-mouth Boss Li," she said sharply.

Her eyes hardened.

"You incompetent fool."

She crossed her arms.

"Everyone knows the only reason you’re still a second year instead of a third year is because you intentionally failed the promotional exams."

Her lips curled.

"That way you could repeat the class and keep calling yourself the leader of the second years."

She snickered again, this time with open disgust.

Behind Aegon, the Mohawk Party members began whispering among themselves.

Their voices were low.

But not low enough.

It was obvious.

They knew the truth too.

Aegon had managed to silence the rumors inside his party before.

But here...

Surrounded by the top factions of the academy...

There was nowhere to hide.

Because deep down, Aegon knew something he never dared say out loud.

His desperate desire to be the best...

Was also born from his fear of becoming the worst.

Soren’s gaze shifted between the three party leaders.

Li.

Kiva.

Buttermint.

And he could see it clearly in their eyes.

Disgust.

Real disgust.

They didn’t just look down on Aegon academically.

They looked down on him entirely.

And yet—

From what Soren had seen earlier, Aegon wasn’t weak.

Not even close.

He was a B-rank cadet that could fight good.

A position far above the average student.

From the way he commanded his party and the speed he had shown earlier, there was absolutely no reason someone of his level should still be a second-year student.

Especially when all second years had only failed to advance because they simply weren’t good enough.

But Aegon suddenly shouted again.

"I am Richnic Aegon!"

His chest rose and fell violently as soul energy leaked from his body.

"Son of the mighty Aegon family!"

His voice echoed across the forest.

"I am the best! The greatest!"

His eyes burned.

"The heir of the Aegon noble family!"

He pointed around him with trembling rage.

"And you will look at me with the respect my station deserves!"

"Heir?"

Bambi interrupted casually.

Her tone carried mild curiosity.

"I think you misspoke."

She tilted her head.

"Isn’t your younger sister the current heir to the Aegon noble family?"

The moment she said that—

A figure stepped forward from the ranks of Kiva’s Wild Tiger Party.

The girl looked strikingly similar to Aegon.

Same sharp jaw.

Same fierce eyes.

Even the same Mohawk hairstyle.

Aegon’s sister.

But the way she looked at him...

Held nothing but disgust.

"Again," Bambi said coldly, "remember your place."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You second-year..."

She paused deliberately.

"...second-hand trash."

Only now did Soren truly understand just how bad Aegon’s situation was.

And just how desperate he had become.

If Aegon had already lost his position as heir...

Then everything else would follow.

Resources.

Support.

Political backing.

All of it would vanish.

And without that kind of stable support, his dream of becoming a Soulbound Pilot in the future would become nearly impossible.

Because noble families invested heavily in the heir.

Not the spare.

His younger sister would always come first now.

Which meant Aegon had only one path left.

One desperate gamble. Like most of the other students, he would have to build a Soul Mecha by himself.

That was why he had been hunting Soren.

For the 100,000 point bounty on Soren’s head.

(Author’s note: Okay. I never expected to give such depth yo a character. But don’t worry there is more, and a huge fight scene coming up. Also, Looping...)