Students from Kastal's academies weren't weak, they were simply outclassed in terms of spells, speed, and attack power. Most of the matches ended in the same humiliating fashion as the first. Only the king's grandson Jaxar Linster and his two cousins managed to hold their own long enough to avoid a complete humiliation before finally losing.
Seth watched as Marine fought the fourth Bridani combatant inside the ring. So far she was doing as well, if not better, than the arrogant noble before her. Clenching her whitewood bow, she wove around to dodge the Paladin's attack while she kept the armored man at bay with a series of powerful Wind spells. Eventually, the soldier of the empire charged forward with a dome of glowing lines formed up around him.
Yet Marine didn't flinch.
She sidestepped cleanly at the last second, planted a foot on his shield, and launched herself backward. Mid-air, she pulled her bowstring and fired a giant arrow of condensed wind. The projectile struck the Paladin square in the chest, eliminating his barrier and sending him flying across the ring. The young man crashed and skidded a dozen yards across the sand, a sizzling mark in the middle of his armor. Marine landed lightly on her feet, panting.
A victory. Yet no one from the Kastal side cheered. No one smiled. Marine was the last of Kastal's Rank 60 combatants, and there was still one from the empire left to go in that bracket.
The Dark Assassin, Kaelen, stepped forward. The small youngster with the 'X' scar walked onto the sand with a shuffling gait, his shoulders hunched. He looked just as frail and out of place as he had the night before in the alley, which starkly contrasted with the other combatants who had preceded him.
The Dark Assassin advanced without casting a glance at Marine while clutching a pair of simple, unadorned daggers when suddenly, a ripple of unease spread through the crowd—the empress' white snake had uncoiled from her shoulders and was now flowing down the side of the granite throne. The beast slithered across the platform and onto the sand of the arena.
"Xylos," the empress shouted from her throne, barely looking at the Oracle Snake. "Do not intervene in the fights."
The snake clearly paid her no mind; its attention was now settled on Captain Michaelson. It glided toward the man, its large head rising to meet his gaze while its forked tongue flicked out to taste the air. Suddenly, its mesmerizing purple eyes began to glow.
A sibilant, aether voice then came out from the snake and echoed through the arena. " I hope I can protect the marshal's granddaughter… Hope my barrier will be quick enough… against this Dark Assassin…"
Captain Michaelson's face instantly lost all its color as the empress' contracted beast continued to speak, "Hssss… Freaking Oracle Snake… if only I could kill it."
Seth's current eyes widened, and his stomach churned.
Nightmare began inside the necklace,
Seth retorted mentally to the direwolf.
He sensed a sudden stir from Elena beside him. He glanced over and saw her face; it was pale, and her hands were clenched so tightly by her sides that her knuckles had turned entirely white. A bead of sweat traced a path down her temple.
, Seth thought with a frown.
From the royal platform, King Theron gave a nonchalant hand wave in Captain Michaelson's direction. "Continue with the fight," he ordered as if the brutal display of all the fights he'd just witnessed had no more significance than a passing cloud.
Seth glared at the man.
Near the ring, Captain Michaelson straightened up and nodded to the two remaining combatants. Seconds later, a fresh barrier formed around them and the fight began.
Marine didn't hesitate for a second and loosed a volley of whistling wind arrows that curved through the air, seeking to hit the Dark Assassin from the side. Yet before the spells could strike true, Kaelen dashed forward. At the same time, his form blurred and melted into the surroundings, turning almost invisible to the naked eye.
, Seth thought.
The moment Marine began to cast another spell, the Dark Assassin was on her.
Kaelen's daggers were more like surgical instruments than weapons. They didn't clash with the noble's blades, which she had just unsheathed; they flowed around them to slash her barrier with a deadly precision. Dark, ephemeral wisps of shadow clung to the youngster's form, occasionally flaring out to create fleeting, solid-looking afterimages that drew Marine's attention while the real Kaelen was already striking from another angle.
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The moment the noblewoman tried to create distance to use her bow, a pool of shadow coalesced at her feet, grasping her ankles and disrupting her balance while also slowing her down—just enough for the Dark Assassin's daggers to slice her depleting barrier again.
Marine spun to deflect another incoming slash, but to her surprise it was nothing more than an afterimage made of shadow—her opponent had already slipped around to her back. One of his blades sliced her barrier just above the hips, causing the entire azure shield to vanish. The other dagger, held in a reverse grip, came forth in a blur, ready to slice her throat from behind, though it stopped inches away.
Marine gulped loudly.
After staring at the marshal's granddaughter for a brief instant, Kaelen simply pulled back his weapon and turned around. He walked out of the ring without saying a single word, daggers held loosely at his sides.
The supervisor of the Bridan fighters glared at Kaelen, displeasure obvious. The match's ending lacked the humiliating spectacle of the previous ones. The Dark Assassin had not even attempted to gloat, on top of stopping his blade at the end.
The Oracle Snake hissed from the sideline. Its purple eyes locked on the youngster and glowed; an instant later, its aether voice once again reverberated through the arena.
"Hsssss… Why would I waste time humiliating her? This entire war is absurd. We will slaughter them in the Warfare Rifts… I pity them… having such a stupid king. A king that wastes the majority of his own citizens' potential…"
Seth's head instinctively snapped toward the royal platform.
King Theron was leaning forward in his massive chair, his knuckles white where he gripped the armrests of stone. The air around him seemed to vibrate with suppressed waves of aether.
Gritting his teeth, the man glanced at the Empress Fredyis, then at the two silent representatives of the NEVAK. After several seconds, he leaned back into his chair.
Seth thought.
Even as a Platinum Wielder, the man was still too weak to defy either the empress or the two officers in plate armor. He was bound by the same rules as everyone.
Seth could see Director Cranner exhaled loudly as he moved closer to the arena's center. "The Rank-60 fights have concluded," he said, gesturing dismissively toward Marine as she left the ring. "We will now proceed with the Rank-40 bracket."
At the director's prompting, Brandon Surani stepped forward, his jaw set and his grip tight on the shield bearing his family's crest. In his other hand, a spear had replaced his usual one-handed hammer.
One of the commoners advanced from the Bridan Empire's side: a hulking young man wielding a massive, double-bladed axe.
Just as Elena's brother took position, the Oracle Snake stirred and lifted its head to look his way. "Hssss, I don't want to be humiliated… to bring shame to my House…"
Brandon flinched as if struck by something, then a flush crept up his neck. Before the snake could continue, a shimmering barrier formed around the two combatants and Captain Michaelson thrust down his arm. "Fight!"
The Bridan Warrior roared and charged, aether flaring around both his legs and large axe. Brandon planted his feet shoulder-width apart while raising his shield to meet the onslaught. The axe slammed against the Surani crest with a deafening that shook the compacted sand and drove the Guardian a full step back. With a loud grunt, Brandon immediately retaliated and thrust his spear to force the Warrior to disengage.
Over the subsequent clashes, Elena's brother held his ground quite well. The Bridan Warrior's strikes were merciless—every sweep of his axe looked powerful enough to cleave boulders in two—yet each one met the Guardian's stalwart defense. Behind his raised shield, Brandon weathered the attacks while his spear constantly jabbed his opponent to prevent himself from being overwhelmed completely.
The difference in Rank—35 to 40—wasn't insurmountable on its own, but paired with whatever strange boost the Bridan fighters seemed to be benefiting from, Seth had a feeling it would be enough to tip the balance.
'' Seth asked Nightmare. ''
' the direwolf replied. ''
After another few exchanges, Brandon finally saw his chance—his opponent had taken a few steps back. The Guardian slammed the base of his shield into the sand and raised his spear into the air. Before the Warrior ahead could react, air crackled above the ring and a web of lightning tore down from the sky. The bolts of Lightning Tribulation rained down on the Warrior, who was forced to dodge left and right, his barrier flickering under the hit from the Two-Tiered spell.
Brandon tried to strike the other combatant with his electrified spear, but the young man twisted his upper body with surprising agility and dodged the attack. As the storm subsided, a crimson aura started spiraling around him, morphing into the head of a wild ram.
, Seth thought as he watched the empire's fighter charging at Brandon.
The impact sent a shockwave through the arena and threw Elena's brother off balance. Before the Guardian could recover his footing, his opponent's axe came around in a wide, horizontal arc and slammed into his side.
The barrier covering Brandon flared, absorbing the worst of the blow, but the sheer force of the attack still sent him stumbling. His face contorted in pain. The Warrior immediately pressed his advantage, and his axe turned into a whirlwind of powerful strikes. Brandon fought back, but quickly he started losing ground, his defense crumbling under the relentless assault. A heavy overhead chop from the Warrior forced the Guardian's shield down, and with a quick spin, the combatant of the empire rammed his large axe into Brandon's shoulder. The blow sent him sprawling onto the sand and caused the barrier around him to vanish entirely.
The Warrior stood over Brandon for a moment, breathing heavily while his own barrier was still shimmering. From the dullness of its glow, Seth guessed it had about a third of its aether left.
Director Ryehill helped Brandon to leave the field while Seth reached into his Endless Pouch and pulled out a pair of combat gauntlets—not the dark ones made from the Desert Snake's beaststone, but a weaker version crafted from an Ironhide Warthog's.
Yline had created them specifically for this occasion. Professor Reat and Orwen had been adamant: wearing gauntlets made from a recipe likely from Draeria in front of this many people who had traveled the world would be an unnecessary risk.
Seth slid his hands inside them and cinched the leather straps as he watched Kastal's next combatant, a student from Oskon, step forward to face the Bridan Warrior. Seth's gaze moved to Director Cranner on the sideline.
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