Kamiya Academy, Eliminated

“Who did that?!”

Charles’s roar rang out as the blue arcs coiling around his body spiraled completely out of control. The backlash tore through his internal organs, forcing him to vomit a large mouthful of blood on the spot.

“My turn!”

Long Ao fixed his eyes on his opponent, whose formation had fallen into chaos, and an intensely excited expression spread across his face.

He didn’t care in the slightest what kind of change had occurred behind the battlefield. All his attention was focused on the opening in Charles’s defense, exposed across his chest.

Strike while he’s down—and finish him!

“Get down!”

His heavy fist, wreathed in blazing crimson energy, tore through the air with a howl and shot straight toward Charles’s face.

The twisted features distorted by the drug filled every inch of Long Ao’s vision.

“Die!”

Long Ao’s roar and his fist arrived at the same instant.

Just as the fist was about to touch the bridge of Charles’s nose, the two fiercely loyal teammates standing before him exchanged a glance. Without the slightest hesitation, they both stepped forward, using their flesh and blood to forge the final wall.

Thud!

A heavy, muffled impact replaced the expected sound of breaking bones. The fist punched straight through one man’s chest.

Neither of them even had time to grunt. Their chests visibly caved in as though they had been struck head-on by an invisible battering ram. Their bodies were sent flying through the air, and the terminals on their wrists exploded before they even landed, unable to withstand the force.

Two dazzling pillars of blue light shot into the sky, announcing their elimination.

Long Ao’s fist finally stopped less than a centimeter from Charles’s nose. The violent wind from the blow sent Charles’s blond hair whipping wildly, yet Long Ao could advance no farther.

“Bastard!”

Long Ao abruptly withdrew his fist. Seeing the two pillars of light vanish, he let out a furious growl, frustrated by the fact that his punch had missed its mark.

Charles gasped violently. The agony of the spell backlash mixed with his rage at having his teammates forcibly removed from the battlefield, twisting his face into something resembling an evil spirit.

He raised his head, his blood-red eyes locking firmly onto Long Ao.

“Very well. I’ll remember this grudge.”

“Remember it?”

Long Ao took another step forward. The force beneath his feet sent the loose stones jumping off the ground.

“No need to remember it. I’ll make sure you forget it for the rest of your next life!”

“Long Ao, stay calm.”

An Changqing’s voice came from nearby. His longsword still pointed at his opponent, but he was warning his companion.

Long Ao had already ended up behind the enemy lines. In a chaotic battle like this, letting his blood run hot was a surefire way to get himself killed.

At the edge of the spectators’ area in the distance, another mass of violet light flared to life.

Chen Guan, scythe in hand, reappeared beside Shan Heng. Baobao ran over as if seeking praise, circling around his legs and wagging its tail.

Shan Heng stood beside this god of slaughter, mouth hanging open as his upper and lower teeth chattered uncontrollably.

The scene that had unfolded in those few brief seconds had completely overturned his understanding of what a normal battle was. That one-sided crushing assault had practically been a textbook hunt.

“Pay attention. The North City team is about to make its move.”

At that very moment, Bai Huanran, the captain of North City Academy who had been lingering at the edge of the battlefield, finally moved.

He wore that lazy, infuriating smile and quietly issued an order to his teammates.

“It’s our turn. Stop posturing and move.”

The students from North City Academy had a target so clear it was almost blatant.

They were going after the remaining students from Shengu Academy who had followed behind Charles and were now thrown into chaos after their central figure was wounded.

A white blur flashed past. A female student from North City Academy flicked the short dagger in her hand up and down, severing the coordination between two Shengu students with a slash as clean as a throat-cutting strike.

With North City Academy’s merciless entry into the battle, the situation across the plaza was dragged into an even deeper quagmire.

After losing their commander, the students from Shengu Academy were almost completely incapable of mounting any effective resistance against the carefully planned assault. Pillars of elimination light lit up one after another among their ranks.

Charles could only watch helplessly as his nominal allies were slaughtered. The muscles at the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably. He wanted to fall back and defend them, but Long Ao and An Changqing held him firmly in place.

The North City team had transformed into a pack of wasteland wolves. Every attack went straight for the weakest throat, their movements utterly ruthless and efficient.

Ever since the academies began introducing large-scale combat training, these former students had all become qualified soldiers.

The last student from Shengu Academy had his terminal crushed in despair. After a flash of blue light, the shattered remnants of Shengu Academy’s formation across the plaza turned into a sky full of fading teleportation pillars.

“See that, Qin Wu? Much cleaner now.”

Bai Huanran casually flicked the blood from his dagger and grinned provocatively. Then he turned his head toward the battle unfolding on the other side and whistled.

“Your second-years from Huaqing really know how to fight.”

Charles’s combat uniform was already in tatters. Beneath his skin, covered in scorch marks from the crimson flames, flickered dim blue arcs of electricity. The drug’s backlash was rapidly devouring his body.

“Is charging straight at me all you can do?” Charles roared furiously as he threw a punch. The electrical force trailing behind it had already fallen to rock bottom.

Long Ao raised his arm to block the blow. Rather than retreating, he advanced, the fighting spirit in his eyes burning even more fiercely.

“This is all I need to deal with you.”

“You’re courting death!”

Charles abandoned all thought of blocking or dodging. He spread his arms wide, allowing the last remnants of power within him to erupt one final time.

“All of you, get out of my way!”

Blinding blue lightning erupted from Charles’s body, transforming into a gigantic sphere of electricity that expanded wildly in every direction.

“Madman!”

Bai Huanran immediately wiped the smile from his face and shouted as he led his teammates rapidly backward.

He had no intention of being caught in the blast. As far as he was concerned, a few Huaqing students being eliminated was a wonderful outcome. Why should his own people suffer losses?

It wasn’t that he lacked honor. Huaqing was simply too strong. If they didn’t weaken the others, how were they supposed to play?

“An Changqing!”

Qin Wu shouted, signaling the people in the rear to protect the team.

An Changqing swept his longsword in a complete circle before him.

“Star-Shift Reversal!”

An invisible force-field barrier instantly unfolded, firmly protecting Su Yuehe and the rest of their classmates behind her.

At the very center of the blast, Long Ao let out a high-pitched roar. The crimson energy covering his body condensed into solid armor as he forced his way forward, step by step, through the raging lightning storm.

“Come on!”

The enormous roar shattered the plaza’s paving stones and sent countless fragments and clouds of dust sweeping through the air, completely obscuring everyone’s vision.

It took more than ten seconds for the lightning storm to finally subside.

Long Ao was the first to emerge from the dust, kneeling on one knee and gasping heavily. His battered body still smoked, yet his head remained raised as he locked his eyes on the figure ahead.

More than ten meters away, Charles was reduced to nothing more than a swaying, charred shell.

With that desperate strike, he had bought himself a precious moment to catch his breath.

“Heh.”

Charles coughed up bloody mucus and barely lifted his head as he looked around.

His allies from Shengu Academy had been completely wiped out. The surviving members of Zero Academy were staring in this direction with terror in their eyes.