The last event of the morning was Cavalry Battle.
This was the main event of the team competition and the peak of the class morale showdown.
Sudo Ken, who had the strongest physique, acted as the horse's head; Ike Kanji and Ayanokoji were responsible for rear support; and the rider sitting on top responsible for snatching the headbands was Hirata Yosuke.
At first, relying on Sudo's physical prowess, they charged recklessly and successfully snatched several sets of headbands from Class B.
Soon, only one group remained on the field.
That was Class C's strongest cavalry team, composed of Yamada Albert, Ishizaki Daichi, and others.
And the one sitting on top was Ryuuen.
"Yo, Sudo. You're quite capable."
Ryuuen Kakeru looked at the surging Red Group forces charging toward him, showing no fear, but instead flashed his signature mocking smile.
"But don't you feel ashamed that you only survived this long relying on the cover of those Class A guys?"
"What did you say?!" Sudo Ken, predictably, exploded instantly. "I won based on my own ability!"
"Is that so?"
Ryuuen Kakeru raised an eyebrow and beckoned Sudo with his finger.
"Since you're so confident, do you dare to have a real showdown?"
"Make those annoying Class A small fry scram. Just the two of us, one-on-one."
"Whoever loses is a coward. What do you say?"
"Sudo-kun, don't listen to him!"
"It's a trap! We'll definitely win if we just cooperate with Class A to surround them!"
"Shut up, Hirata!"
Sudo Ken was currently obsessed with washing away his previous disgrace and proving himself in front of Horikita. Ryuuen's provocation hit him right where it hurt.
"I'm not a coward! A duel is a duel! Who's afraid of whom!"
He roared at the Class A cavalry team who wanted to assist:
"Don't come over! This is a fight between him and me! I'll pick a fight with anyone who dares to interfere!"
The Class A students exchanged glances, and finally, at Katsuragi's signal, reluctantly stopped.
"Heh heh, gutsy."
The smile at the corner of Ryuuen Kakeru's mouth deepened.
"Charge!!"
Sudo Ken let out a roar, unleashing astonishing power, and charged toward Ryuuen like an out-of-control chariot, bringing the two people behind him.
"Hah, getting impatient already?"
Facing the aggressive Class D cavalry, Ryuuen Kakeru did not dodge; instead, he had Albert confront them head-on.
"Come on, let me see what you've got."
The two groups collided violently.
"Bang!"
The immense impact almost shook Ike and Yamauchi apart, but Sudo managed to withstand Albert's charge purely through brute force.
"Now! Hirata!" Sudo roared.
The distance between the two sides closed completely.
Hirata Yosuke didn't hesitate, leaning forward and extending his arm, aiming precisely for the red headband on Ryuuen Kakeru's head.
Ryuuen seemed half a beat slow, failing to execute an effective block.
Hirata's fingers successfully grasped the edge of the headband.
'I got it!'
The feeling of victory was right at his fingertips.
However—
Just as Hirata was about to tighten his grip and pull off the headband, a greasy, slippery sensation came from his fingertips.
"?"
Hirata was startled. Because of this unexpected slipperiness, his fingers couldn't grip tightly enough, and the headband slipped out of his grasp with a "swoosh," like a loach.
He missed!
The moment Hirata's center of gravity shifted forward, exposing a weakness due to the missed grab, the smile on Ryuuen Kakeru's mouth became vicious.
He grabbed backhanded and immediately snatched Hirata's headband.
"Get down here!"
He yanked hard.
"Swoosh—"
The red headband drew a dazzling arc in the air and landed in Ryuuen's hand.
"Beep—!!"
The referee's whistle sounded mercilessly.
After getting off the field, Sudo Ken looked at Hirata.
"Hirata! What were you doing?! You clearly grabbed it, so why did you let go?!"
"No, that's not it..." Hirata looked confusedly at his own palm, where a slight sticky feeling lingered. "It was his hair... it was too slippery..."
"Slippery?"
Sudo abruptly turned his head to look at Ryuuen.
Ryuuen Kakeru leisurely wrapped the stolen headband around his hand, and with the other hand, casually smoothed his shiny, greasy hair, flashing a malicious smile.
"You bastard! That's cheating!"
"Oh dear, my apologies. I just used a little too much Hair Wax today to make my hairstyle look cool."
"Damn it... Damn it all!!"
The rage in Sudo Ken's eyes nearly burned away his reason. But under the advice of Hirata and Ayanokoji, he held back from charging over to strike Ryuuen... Lunch break arrived.
Class D's main camp was shrouded in a suffocating atmosphere of low pressure.
All morning events were over. Class D not only performed poorly in the Individual Events, but the highly anticipated team events resulted in total defeat, leaving them at the bottom of the scoreboard.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Sitting in his chair, Sudo Ken grew angrier the more he thought about it, his mind filled with Ryuuen's arrogant, mocking face and his dirty tricks.
If it weren't for those dirty tricks, facing him head-on with pure strength, he definitely wouldn't have lost!
"Those bastards... how dare they trick me like that..."
The anger continued to ferment in his chest, finally bursting through the floodgates of his reason.
"I refuse to accept this!"
Sudo suddenly stood up, his face full of murderous intent as he prepared to rush out.
"Sudo-kun? Where are you going?"
Hirata Yosuke, who had been watching him, quickly put down his water bottle and blocked his path.
"Get out of the way! I'm going to settle the score with Ryuuen!"
Sudo's eyes were bloodshot and veins pulsed on his forehead. "Since he likes playing dirty, I'll use my fists to teach him what rules are! I'm going to smash that ugly face of his!"
"No! Sudo-kun, calm down!"
Hirata spread his arms, desperately blocking the way, his face filled with anxiety.
"It's lunchtime now, and the teachers and Student Council members are patrolling! If you go fight now, you won't just be disqualified, you might even be expelled! All our efforts this morning will be wasted!"
"Efforts? Don't make me laugh!"
Sudo roared, "Being played like a monkey—you call that effort?! And you, during the Cavalry Battle, if you had gripped tighter, we would have won already! It's all because of you weaklings!"
"Sudo-kun..."
"Get lost! Don't block my way!"
Sudo was completely blinded by rage now, and seeing Hirata blocking him and nagging made him intensely irritable.
He fiercely swung his arm.
"Bang!"
A heavy fist landed squarely on Hirata's face.
The unprepared Hirata stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.
"Ah—!"
The surrounding girls let out screams of terror.
The Class D students who had been resting and eating all stood up in shock, watching the scene in disbelief.
Sudo Ken remained in his punching posture, looking at Hirata on the ground, his chest heaving violently.
"It's all your fault... all your fault for being so weak!"
He turned around, facing the entire class, and yelled hysterically:
"Why are you looking at me like that?! Huh?!"
"I'm fighting desperately for the class! I signed up for so many events, and I'm giving my all in every single one! I'm the current leader of this class! I am the Ace!"
"If it weren't for me, you bunch of trash would have been dead last long ago! You should be thanking me! You should be listening to me!"
His voice echoed on the edge of the empty sports ground, filled with grievance and violence.
However, the response he received was neither understanding nor support.
It was pairs of eyes filled with fear, disgust, and even loathing.
Those gazes were like cold thorns stabbing into Sudo's heart.
"Is this... a violent maniac..."
"Hitting even Hirata-kun, that's too much..."
"He says it's for the class, but I think it's just for his own ego..."
"I don't want to be around him anymore, he's terrifying..."
Whispers surged like a tide. But not a single person stood by him or spoke up for him.
Sudo Ken froze.
He looked at those cold eyes and suddenly felt a bone-chilling coldness.
He thought he had finally become the King who led the class to victory; that as long as he was strong enough, everyone would obey him.
But reality delivered a painful blow.
"You... you guys..."
He messed up.
He completely messed up.
He was still the same rotten kid who had always been looked down upon... "...Damn it!"
Sudo Ken could no longer endure this suffocating atmosphere. Gritting his teeth, his eyes red, he glared fiercely at everyone, then turned around and bolted out of the rest area without looking back.
"Sudo-kun!"
Hirata covered his swollen cheek and tried to stand up to chase him, but the girls nearby held him back.
"Forget about him! Hirata-kun, you're still hurt!"
"Exactly! Let someone like that leave! It'll be peaceful once he's gone!"
...Under the shade of a nearby tree, Natsukawa Sosuke held the unfinished Glucose Packet in his hand, coldly observing the conclusion of the farce.
He turned his head to look at Horikita Suzune, who was pale and moving with difficulty on the other side, and a faint smile curved his lips.
'Ryuuen's stage must be almost set by now.'
'Horikita, accept this great gift gracefully. You don't need to thank me.'
'You deserve it.'
.....
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