Chapter 168

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Episode 39 - Team Competition [4]

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Kaaang! Clank!

The heads of several cadets flew through the air, their bodies covered in deep wounds as they fell lifelessly to the ground.

Veronica vanished from the cadets’ sight.

"....?"

Slash!

Without warning, another group was defeated in a second. The cadets looked around as they gathered together and formed a defensive line.

According to their preparations, they had to stay together and form a sort of shield.

Although Veronica could fight several enemies at once, her attacks normally lacked raw power.

So, in general, she could only wound her enemies and needed to use all her strength to kill them in a single strike.

"Team A, hold the line. Team B, attack. Team C, stay alert; if she becomes visible, surround her and capture her."

One of the cadets shouted. Then, swords appeared from the center, ready to strike.

At the same time, Team A took up defensive positions.

Then...

Boom!

The air trembled, and everything around them was cut apart by something invisible.

Clank!

The sound of metal colliding echoed as Team A barely managed to defend themselves.

However, dozens of shallow wounds soon appeared across their bodies.

Blood dripped onto the ground, staining it crimson red.

"Now."

At a cadet’s shout, Team B attacked.

Those who were mages unleashed a barrage of magic within a twenty-meter radius.

Then the attacks stopped appearing. Next, Team A charged forward at full speed.

Shortly afterward, Veronica appeared in the distance, and the mages attacked her position.

Veronica drew her katana. The blade shone with a golden color.

Veronica’s Attribute was the Solar Attribute, and the moment she used Mana Coating, a golden radiance blossomed.

Then...

Slash! Boom!

Thin golden lines streaked through the air at astonishing speed.

The magic they had previously cast was cut in half.

"....?"

The mages, stunned, could not believe what they were seeing, but...

"What are you doing? Don’t stop."

At a cadet’s shout, the mages raised their hands.

Boom!

Dozens of magic circles appeared in the air, about thirty meters above Veronica.

Veronica stopped and looked up.

"....!"

Her expression changed when she noticed the dozen magic circles.

"Mana Rain."

All the mages present completed the chant for the spell they were about to cast through their combined synergy.

Then the magic circles glowed with different colors due to their various Attributes.

The next second, a rain of different natural phenomena fell upon Veronica’s location.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The magic fell like a storm in the middle of the sea as an entire thirty-meter radius was bombarded.

Without wasting time, the mages cast different types of magic once again.

Kaaang!

Shortly afterward, Team B advanced and raised their various weapons: swords, spears, halberds, and many others.

"Attack."

At the command, the mages stopped attacking and the swordsmen advanced.

They did not know whether Veronica had managed to survive, so as a precaution, they had to step forward.

"....?"

However, as they ran...

The curtain of smoke before them suddenly dispersed.

Standing before them was Veronica, completely unharmed, and behind her was Rinna.

Both girls were being protected by a barrier radiating an intense light.

Shortly afterward, Rinna raised a staff. It was the Staff of the White Dawn that Adel had given her a couple of months ago when he had been accused of murdering a professor in the main building.

The staff amplified Light magic. Mana surged from Rinna’s body as she manifested enormous magic circles.

Soon after, the magic circles emitted a faint white glow, and the spell descended upon Team B.

"Team C, attack."

Several cadets scattered.

"Team A, defense."

Another group formed a defensive formation and raised their shields. At the same time, the mages created barriers over Teams A and B.

Then, Rinna’s magic struck the mages’ barriers.

Crack!

However, the barriers cracked within a few seconds, and after a few more moments...

Kaaang!

The barriers shattered, and Rinna’s magic struck several cadets.

One by one, they fell to the ground.

Boom!

Then Team C appeared and surrounded Veronica and Rinna.

However, Rinna ignored them and continued her magical assault. Then Veronica, with a smile on her face, said:

"Did you think I was tired, injured, or something? Well, you’re out of luck."

First Form: Thirty-Two Earthly Realms.

Without moving and without touching her katana.

The next second, a dozen slashes that distorted the wind and air around them shot forward at tremendous speed.

Slash! Boom!

The cadets, four in total, were cut to pieces.

The katana sliced through flesh and reached the bone. The cadets were covered in countless cuts in the blink of an eye.

Then blood gushed out, and shortly afterward, the bodies of the four cadets fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Veronica let out a sigh as she felt fatigue and exhaustion in her mana.

’I should train my stamina more or drink an elixir like my older brother.’

Before her eyes, every one of Adel’s actions had been observed. Naturally, Veronica knew that Adel had taken an elixir in Black City.

In any case, Rinna had already finished on her side.

Then she turned toward Veronica and said,

"I’m out of mana. I don’t think I’ll be able to use any more magic for another ten or twenty minutes."

"Ah, same here. My stamina is at its limit, and I have a terrible headache."

Then Rinna asked,

"How can you attack without even moving your katana?"

In response to her question, Veronica answered,

"It’s like Sword Intent; it requires mana and a combination of willpower, but also great stamina, concentration, and calculation. This sword art is difficult to master."

"Wow, that’s incredible, but what is Sword Intent?"

As the two talked, the bodies of the cadets around them suddenly vanished into particles of light.

Shortly afterward, the entire area around them had been completely cleared, as if there had never been a fight there at all.

"Illusion magic is so amazing, isn’t it?"

Rinna looked at Veronica, and Veronica nodded.

"Yes, well, I know a mage who used illusion magic on a massive scale."

"What? Really? I wonder who that could be."

"That’s a secret."

Kaaang!

Then, suddenly, loud sounds echoed in the distance.

At some point, the two girls had moved, just like the people fighting farther away.

"I think Adel will be fine, right?"

"Yes, my older brother fights better on his own."

***

Four cadets stood before Adel, all of them on high alert.

Adel smiled faintly and said,

"Four against one, isn’t that a little unfair?"

In response, Charlotte was the one who spoke.

"Winning is everything, so it doesn’t matter whether it’s unfair or not, right?"

"I suppose that’s true."

Adel shrugged as he let out a sigh.

Honestly, he was confident he could defeat all four of them.

He knew them like the back of his hand.

He knew how each of them thought, as well as the way they acted.

And, above all, he knew their weaknesses, as well as their lack of experience in a four-against-one battle.

In short, Adel was confident he would win, and one of his Unique Traits would be extremely useful.

"It’s not arrogance, but I won’t lose."

"Then we’ll see about that."

Shortly after those final words were spoken, the four moved at high speed, their bodies leaving afterimages behind.

Slash! Boom!

Four swords arrived and appeared right in front of Adel.

Each blade targeted a different area: his heart, his neck, his abdomen, and his head.

Second Form: Time.

"....?!"

Just as the four swords were about to reach him and fulfill their purpose—

Adel disappeared.

"Be careful..."

Clang!

At Charlotte’s shout, everyone immediately adopted defensive stances.

Unable to see their target, they had no choice but to defend themselves.

In less than a second, just as a purple-colored blade touched the ground—

Boom!

Adel’s sword sliced through space, and a dozen attacks appeared across the bodies of the four cadets.

Charlotte, having already seen this before, reacted quickly enough to block every attack.

Clementine, who had also witnessed it once before, managed to block most of the attacks; however, some of them still injured her.

Julian and Leon were the only ones left covered in deep wounds.

Kaaang!

Charlotte kicked off the ground, swung her sword, and slashed at a spot where there appeared to be nothing.

However...

Clang!

Her sword struck something, and sparks flew through the air.

Then Adel appeared before her. Charlotte stared at him and tightened her grip on her sword.

Clang!

The others joined in and attacked.

Slash!

Adel moved his sword, pushed Charlotte back, and blocked Julian’s blade. Then, exerting his strength, he forced Julian’s sword aside and jumped backward.

Next, Clementine rushed toward him and leaped.

Kaaang!

The two swords collided; however...

"....?"

Clementine saw Adel’s smile and pressed her lips together.

Then, without warning, Adel’s body disappeared, and the next second, Clementine’s body was sent flying.

Bang! Bang!

She crashed into the ground a couple of times before slamming into a tree.

"Cough...!"

Blood spilled from her mouth as her eyes turned white for a brief second.

"A-ah... ugh..."

Finally, she realized that her left arm had been severed.

Clementine rose from the ground while gritting her teeth. She felt intense pain.

"Damn it..."

Seeing this, Charlotte cursed and, shortly afterward, channeled mana into her legs, causing her figure to vanish.

A moment later, she appeared in front of Adel. Her sword came down from above, but then—

"....?"

"What the hell...?!"

Adel raised his hand and, as if it were nothing, grabbed the sword blade with his bare hand without even using mana.

"It’s not arrogance. I will win."

An expression of disbelief appeared on Charlotte’s face, unable to comprehend what was happening.

’How did he become so strong?’