"This is ridiculous," a student said a day later, as Godfrey gained fifty thousand points, far outranking those below him. Others rose by five thousand or seven thousand at maximum, but without even fighting a single challenger, Godfrey now had a hundred and fifty thousand points!

Seeing Snow, Dale waved at him. "Other top ten rankers have all gone after Godfrey. Defeating him is more lucrative than maintaining their zones. Won't you go?"

"Why would I go to a bloodbath?" Snow replied coolly.

Dale raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying Godfrey would win?"

"That's not possible," Snow replied. "But it won't be easy to defeat someone who killed the final boss."

***

Rick's orange hair danced in the wind as he rode his 8.5 Lord-tier Horned Tiger Horse toward Dracula's zone. When he got close, his eyes narrowed, and Rick stopped his summon.

It wasn't the dark expanse filled with stakes and corpses upon them that caught his attention, but the translucent shield dome that protected the entire castle and its surroundings.

Within the dome stood heavily armoured knights in an elite array, as though expecting a great battle.

Floating above the castle was Tempest, his long tendrils lighting up the place with a bright golden glow, his massive Double-Bladed Greatsword gripped firmly in one gauntleted hand.

Seeing those powerful tendrils coursing with such immense lightning made Rick squint.

'Is this the summon of one teenager?! It feels like I'm looking at the army of the actual final boss.'

Rick heard loud sounds that prompted him to turn. His eyes first landed on Tyla, who stood on the head of an eleven-foot-tall Black Widow Spider.

Not too far to its left came Vin, riding a ten-foot-tall Malevolent Dragon Lion, a chimeric creature with the forelimbs of a dragon, a lion's head, fox's ears, and a crimson mane.

And to her right was another ten-foot-tall summon, the Yin-Yang Gorilla, a black-and-white beast with four arms and imposing muscle mass.

It walked like a king and stood by Tyla's right, its huge, muscular arms crossed beneath its chest.

Tyla's cat-shaped eyes narrowed, and she gasped at the sight of the knights. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think there was a powerful dungeon boss in there."

The awe in her tone displeased Damien and Vin, who exchanged glances from the corners of their eyes.

"I'll test the waters," Rick said. He knew that if he defeated Godfrey, he would gain half of the 150,000 points, a good amount of which would still belong to him even if the others interfered.

A twelve-foot-tall projection of his summon appeared and galloped toward the shield dome, its spiral-lined horn aimed forward like a spear.

As it pierced the translucent dome, the barrier cracked and blew outward, launching the projection back. Rick galloped on his summon as the projection faded.

Hundreds of arrows came at him, but all froze mid-air. Even the knights couldn't move, suspended mid-motion.

This was the deadliest ability Rick's summon possessed, the power to freeze any kinetic force. Once activated, no one could move, as movement itself wasn't allowed. All that kinetic energy would then be absorbed by the Horned Tiger Horse, making it even faster!

It was this talent that made Rick one of the top ten elites in Manhattan, for it had the potential to make him an Invincible.

Rick smirked as he rode past the great number of knights. Once he came within range of anything moving, their movement would stop, even arrows would pause mid-air and fall to the ground after he was long gone.

'I knew my ability countered his, but this was easier than expected. What's the use of an army when they can't harm a single foe?' Rick snickered inwardly, his heart pounding with exhilaration.

Just then, the knight with tendril wings, Tempest, suddenly lifted his Double-Bladed Greatsword and moved like a blur, appearing beside Rick in the next instant and swinging his massive weapon at him.

Rick's eyes widened. Rows of trees burst from the earth on both sides as the Horned Tiger Horse galloped even faster toward the castle, through a path paved by these rows of trees, an adaptive skill Rick called Tiger's Path.

'Prepare to use Speed Burst when we get to the castle doo—!' Rick's eyes widened as Tempest landed before the castle, striking the earth with his sword. Lightning burst outward, blasting Rick and his summon several meters backward.

He tumbled several times before collapsing. His eyes widened when he felt something behind him. Turning, he saw fifty Heavy Infantry Knights aiming their spears at him, forming a semicircle with some spears pointed slightly upward.

That way, even when he paused motion, he would still be caged in!

'What are these things?! How did they form such a tactic so quickly? Did their summoner give the order? I thought he was inside the castle!'

As if that wasn't enough, all around him were arrows, all perfectly aimed to drop down even if he were to move. Such unreal skill and teamwork made Rick's heart shake.

What was this absurdity?!

He had never felt this helpless against anyone, except when he faced Damien.

"He failed. Let's move," Damien said, removing his glasses as he saw Godfrey walk out of the castle, his eyes fixed on them.

"I knew you'd all come after my points."

"This tournament isn't just about defeating a strong opponent," Tyla said with a faint smile. "It's also about protecting the spoils."

"We're here for you. What are you going to do about it?" Vin's eyes hardened. "You have an army, but I'll melt them in an instant."

When Tyla saw Godfrey's still-defiant expression, she raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any surprises for us?"

"You'd be foolish to think we're going to attack individually against you, who have the advantage of an army. And since we're not doing that, it's unfortunate for someone of your strength, but you'll undoubtedly lose," Damien stated with a placid look.

....

A/N: Today's chapters are coming out much earlier because I'm about to leave home. I need to take my mother for a spa day.

See ya!

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