SHATTERED.

It shattered!

Their sanctuary collapsed.

But the backlash.

Energy exploded outward from the breaking ward, it churned the earth and sent rippling shockwave bellowing out and hit both teams.

The Brightwing took it hard. They'd been relying on the ward for protection and the sudden collapse knocked three of them down. My team took it too, the Resonance Breaker drained our mana massively.

Everyone staggered as multiple people fell to their knees.

The arena went silent instantly as they watched the sudden turn of events, even the announcer was speechless. Both teams were hurt.

But Brightwing's formation was broken, their careful setup destroyed.

"Now!" I gasped, forcing myself upright. "While they're disorganized!"

Seraphina charged despite her exhaustion and crashed into Runekeeper before he could reestablish defenses. Her holy blade at his throat.

He yielded immediately.

"FIRST ELIMINATION! BRIGHTWING'S WARD MASTER DOWN!"

Without wards, they were vulnerable.

Lucille flickered to Elara's side and the illusion specialist tried to flee when she saw who it was but Lucille was faster than she expected. Dagger pommel landed in her temple and Elara dropped.

"SECOND ELIMINATION!"

Ravenna dueled Sarah, the fight was intense. Stars and void clashed, one devouring while the other tried at explod..

Ravenna on won through sheer stubbornness she her void Consumption to the maximum output and drank Sarah's celestial magic directly from the air.

Sarah collapsed from mana depleted soon after.

"THIRD ELIMINATION!"

Marcus Goldscribe tried to enhance Aldric with emergency runes, giving him damage boost and speed increase. But our Marcus counter the enchantment and dispelled the enemy buffs as fast as they were applied.

The only reason our Marcus won was because the other was already wounded from the damage from the earlier attack.

Marcus Goldscribe fell unconscious from overexertion.

"FOURTH ELIMINATION!"

Only captain Aldric stood alone, surrounded by my five.

He looked at us and calculated, although we all knew he couldn't win, he still tried anyway.

"Prismatic Storm!"

He poured everything remaining into one final attack. Light and arcane exploding from him in all directions.

But our Seraphina was there to push us with the last of her Holy barrier.

When the light faded....

Aldric collapsed from mana exhaustion, unconscious.

"MATCH CONCLUDED! VICTORY: THORNHEART TEAM!"

The crowd erupted. That had been the most technically complex match of the tournament so far.

And we'd won through a risky gambit that could have killed us.

Medical teams swarmed again. Both sides needed serious treatment.

The mana exhaustion was across the board from the Resonance Breaker that had nearly killed us. We'd each used 95% of our mana in one moment.

But it was worth it.

As healers worked on me, Aldric approached, he was still pale from mana drain.

"That enchantment," he said. "The Resonance Breaker. That's...dangerous."

"Desperate times," I said.

"You gambled your entire team on that? It could have blew up on your face. The formation to create it might have destroyed the initial formation!"

"And yet won."

He laughed weakly. "Insane, you're insane." He extended a hand. "Congratulations. You earned it."

I shook his hand. "Your spell matrices were beautiful. If we hadn't broken the ward, we'd have lost."

"That's what makes it a good match." He walked away to rejoin his team.

I dragged myself to the competitor viewing area since I needed to see the other matches to the end.

Match Two: Celestius vs. Lightseeker.

Adrian's match was... concerning.

Lightseeker was Stormwatch's backup team and not as strong as Lyra's primary team, it should have been an easy win for him and his team. But Adrian seemed distracted and his coordination with his team was off.

He still won though, his SSS-rank power was overwhelming but it took longer than it should have. And he took unnecessary hits because he wasn't focused.

Match ended! Celestius victory in 12 minutes!

Match Three! Nightwhisper vs. Ironside!

Kaeel's team versus Ironheart's backup squad.

Both sides fought intelligently, and near the end both teams reduced to two members each.

The final clash was basically Kaeel versus Ironside's captain. Kaeel won by forfeit. The enemy captain had a hidden injury from earlier and collapsed mid-fight.

Match ended! Nightwhisper victory by medical forfeit!

Match Four! Steelheart vs. Ashford!

Victoria versus our academy's backup team.

I felt bad for our team. But Victoria was SS-rank, she was far more than she was showing. It was like putting a lioness with kittens.

It was educational at least, Victoria used the match to demonstrate proper combat technique. Showed them where their formations were weak. Where their tactics could improve.

Then systematically dismantled them.

Match ended! Steelheart Victory!

☆☆▪︎☆☆

Later the SEMIFINAL BRACKET WAS POSTED.

As evening fell, the new bracket appeared..

SEMIFINALS.

1. RAVANA Vs. Nightwhisper (Astral Haven vs. Shadowgrove)

2. Steelheart vs. Celestius (Ironheart vs. Astral Haven)

My team versus Kaeel's team.

Victoria versus Adrian.

The crowd's reaction was immediate as these were the matches everyone wanted to see.

Ravana vs. Nightwhisper. The tactical genius versus the stealth master.

Steelheart vs. Celestius.

In two days, we'd find out which matches lived up to expectations.

☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆

There was nothing much to do for the rest of the day and I spent it relaxing with my team. I retired for the night when it was very late.

But then.

At 2 AM, alarms blared through the hotel.

I jolted awake, my sword in hand instantly, already getting coated by shadows.

Damian burst through my door. "Young Master! There's been an attack!"

"Where?"

"Fourth floor. Cipher's room!"

My blood ran cold.

Again?

We ran. Others were already gathering. Victoria, Kaeel, Lyra, Adrian, anyone staying in the competitor hotel were moving.

Cipher's door was blown off its hinges when we got there with scorch marks on the walls.

Inside, the room was almost totally destroyed with furniture shattered and windows broken.

And on the wall, written in blood:l.

"We see all."

But Cipher himself was missing. He had been forcibly taken.

Victoria examined the scene, her face grim. "This must be the league, it's a professional extraction. They took him alive, to think they would pull this off here."

Kael demanded. "That's...why him though?"

"Because they're probably starting from the small scale." She turned to face us all. "They didn't kill him here because they want information first, they'll interrogate him. Then kill him."

"Can we track them?" I asked with a chill voice.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.