Chapter 184

(2) 3.

The second match of the finals, the defense battle.

The representative of class 3, Irist Senior, built a total of three defensive lines based on the area of the circle drawn on the ground.

“I’ll take charge of the first defense line.”

Five cadets, including Irist.

They all had one thing in common: they used military weapons. So, needing a wide space, they chose the largest circle.

“Additionally, I’d like to ask you, including Ivella, to handle the second defense line.”

The next line had four people assigned to it.

These were cadets primarily using swords. Thus, they were placed in a medium-sized circle and tasked with tying up the feet of class 2 students.

“Lastly, for the final defense line….”

“I can take care of that.”

Ulan mumbled quietly.

The line he was assigned was the smallest circle, only five steps in diameter.

Being outside the circle meant disqualification, which made it a very unfavorable spot. However, Irist had reasons for her judgment.

“The third defense line is the closest to the enemy’s target point. Just in case, I’d like to ask Ulan to handle it.”

Eyes filled with expectation.

Ulan silently nodded, indicating he would follow Irist’s instructions.

“Thank you for your cooperation!”

With that, all preparations were complete.

Once the placements were decided, the group moved to their assigned areas. Meanwhile, cheers echoed from outside the arena.

“Make sure to win, Irist!”

“Ivella, do your best!”

Kamila Tanesia and Noa Darshen.

Since physical ability was crucial in this match, the two were naturally excluded from the competition. Just as they finished preparing to start the match…

“Let the match begin!”

At the judge’s shout, the second match began.

Irist carefully constructed the defensive formation and awaited the arrival of her opponent. Soon, the awaited report came.

“The opposing team is approaching!”

“Everyone, maintain formation!”

“We’ll tie them up here as much as possible!”

The distance from the starting point to the target is about 1 km.

The time limit is 20 minutes.

Thus, the cadets responsible for the first defense line had one goal: to waste as much time as possible on the enemy.

“Confirm the flag holder!”

“Vice Representative of class 2, Tisha Lapidis!”

Wait, it’s not even the representative holding the flag?

Irist tilted her head.

It made sense because the class 2 vice representative had never stood out in any of the matches in this sports festival.

‘But it doesn’t matter.’

Whoever holds the flag doesn’t affect Irist; she just needed to focus on her own mission.

“Everyone, raise your spears!”

Spears that are just sticks without tips.

This was the training spear given for the defense. The blunt tip made it more fitting to call it a stick rather than a spear.

“Don’t be intimidated by their numbers.”

“We’re much stronger!”

The claim of being strong was not empty boast.

In fact, the five cadets in the first defense line, including Irist, were considered top-tier within the Military Department.

The enemy was a step below them.

So, if they calmly faced the foe, they could buy time and potentially steal the flag.

As the enemy approached, Irist’s eyes sharpened.

The moment they stepped inside the circle, she was ready to thrust the spear without hesitation.

But in that moment—

WHOOSH! SWISH!

A sudden gust of wind slammed into them.

This fierce wind whisked away the flag of class 2 in the blink of an eye.

“……?!”

The flag shot up into the sky in an instant.

All eyes, including Irist’s, reflexively darted to the sky chasing after the flag. Then their expressions twisted in shock.

“Ugh!”

“M-my eyes…!”

Cadets winced, squinting their eyes.

The problem was that the sun happened to be in the direction they turned. But what was odd was that it was way too blinding for just looking at the sun.

It was almost causing tears to well up.

But there was no time to notice the oddity.

As everyone staggered in shock from the glare, the students from class 2 charged, kicking off from the ground.

‘I have to stop them first!’

Realizing an attack was imminent, she hurriedly adjusted her grip on the spear. But they skipped right past Irist and charged straight through the defense line.

“What the…!”

A stunned expression painted her face.

It was understandable. The students of class 2 were utterly ignoring the flag and solely focused on breaching the defense line.

‘What’s going on? Why aren’t they retrieving the flag?’

If even one of the cadets from class 3 grabbed the flag, it would be declared a loss, wouldn’t it? Could it be that they didn’t understand the rules of the defense battle?

As a flurry of questions whirled in her mind,

the flag that had shot up slowly drifted down.

At that moment.

The second twist occurred.

“……Huh?”

Winds suddenly howled in the air again.

The flag caught in the strong gust rode the wind and flew, passing right above the first defense line.

Gradually, the wind subsided, and the flag slowly descended. Where the flag landed stood a silver-haired girl.

“Hehe, excuse me.”

Tisha Lapidis, the vice representative of class 2.

She naturally retrieved the flag, turned around with a big smile, and left everyone speechless.

“……”

It made sense why they were all so stunned.

What occurred was far too magical to be called a coincidence. Meanwhile, the magic response device remained intact. Meaning, it was not magic.

“Wow, what are the odds of that happening?”

Kamila, who was watching the match, expressed her disbelief. Most of the students and professors in the spectator seats felt the same way.

On the other hand, Noa remained calm.

She could clearly see what kind of spirit art Fertisha was using.

[Notification]

*The power of the spirit has been detected.

―Spirit Art of Wind: [Gust]

―Spirit Art of Light: [Flash]

The wind spirit art had sent the flag soaring into the sky. The dazzling effect that blindsided Irist and the cadets was the result of the light spirit art.

‘This is definitely not going to be easy.’

The defense line crumbled within a mere 2 minutes.

The attacking side, having swiftly breached the defense line, was now at the next objective.

The second defense line, where Ivella stood.

“Secure your battle zones!”

“Don’t give them an inch!”

The area of the circle was smaller than the first defense line, but the path to the target was also narrower.

This allowed Ivella and the cadets to form a tight formation without any gaps.

Realizing their disadvantage, the students of class 2 paused in their tracks and were cautious about entering the circle.

“Alright, let’s buy as much time as we can here.”

Just then, someone stepped forward.

A girl with white hair like snow. It was none other than the vice representative of class 2, Fertisha.

She clasped her hands together respectfully and closed her eyes.

“What is she planning?”

No one knew. But they were warned to remain vigilant.

“She might look weak on the outside, but she is definitely a member of the Lapidis House.”

The prominent swordsmanship family of the East, the Lapidis Marquess family.

As the students recalled this, their faces hardened with tension. Just when they were nervously swallowing their saliva, Fertisha opened her mouth.

“───.”

Her voice slipped out between her lips.

Her slow, melodious tone took shape and transformed into a delightful song. Just as they unknowingly began to listen closely to the tune, class 2’s students started to move.

“Let’s move! Charge!”

“Break through the defense line!”

Pelion’s shout resonated, and nine students rushed forward in unison. They seemed to be attempting a surprise attack while the others were distracted by the song.

“Hmph! Those foolish idiots.”

“Do they think we’d fall for such a shallow trick?”

The students of class 3 chuckled.

As they were about to draw their swords to confront the approaching students, they all suddenly felt something was off.

“Huh! Wh-what’s going on?”

“Suddenly, my body….”

They felt an immense heaviness.

Initially dismissed as mere imagination, the weight only increased with time. The swords in their hands felt heavier as well.

But that wasn’t all.

Suddenly, fatigue washed over them, leaving them with an overwhelming urge to just lay down and sleep. As they grappled with this sudden turn of events…

The onslaught from class 2 crashed down.

“Gah!”

“Wait, no! Aaaah!”

The cadets couldn’t even muster decent resistance.

The second defense line fell just as easily.

Students and professors watching this scene were left baffled.

“Huh? Isn’t that magic?”

“Yeah, it definitely looks like magic.”

“But the device didn’t respond, did it?”

“That’s strange. What on earth is happening?”

The spectators scratched their heads in confusion.

Meanwhile, Noa remained unfazed. She knew the reason behind the collapse of the defense line.

‘The Song of the Dreamer.’

One of Fertisha’s skills.

A song powered by the Dream Spirit that induces instant drowsiness upon hearing it. In the original work, it was used as a lullaby for heroes who couldn’t fall asleep.

‘And…’

It could also be used in battle like this.

A moment of focusing on the song, no matter how brief, would cloud one’s concentration, sapping their energy, and soon, drowsiness would creep in.

‘The second defense line is down to this.’

As Noa’s expression darkened,

the cadets defending the line began to fall one by one. Just as they were about to head to the third defense line,

a sudden scream pierced the air.

“Gah!”

A student just entering the circle was knocked out after being struck in the solar plexus with a wooden sword. It took no time for the identity of the assailant to be revealed.

“I-Ivella?!”

Noa shouted in shock.

No matter how much Ivella stood out, she never expected her to withstand the Song of the Dreamer.

Answers came swiftly.

“Phew!”

She spat out blood-tainted saliva.

She had bit her tongue to drive away the drowsiness. And class 2 students’ eyes went wide, shocked, as if they never expected she would go this far.

“Well, I guess it’s my turn now?”

Ivella grinned fiercely.

Sprinting toward the ground, she targeted those who hadn’t escaped the circle yet. Among them, her top priority was the flag holder, Fertisha.

“Damn it! Protect the Lapidis student!”

Pelion shouted urgently.

The students who had already exited the circle hurriedly turned around, but during that time Ivella’s vicious strikes created victims without fail.

However, unfortunately, she couldn’t attack Fertisha, her true target. The students had thrown their bodies in the way, buying her time.

“Lapidis student, secured!”

“Good. Let’s get out of here!”

In an instant, the students protecting Fertisha moved quickly, exiting the circle while Ivella clicked her tongue like a dog that had been chasing a chicken.

“Tch, what a shame.”

She had wanted to see Lapidis’s sword.

With a disappointed pout, she plopped down on the ground. The fatigue that had temporarily faded surged back like a wave.

‘Only one defense line left.’

But the time was still plenty.

Though the situation was bleak, she didn’t feel particularly desperate or worried.

‘Because Ulan is there.’

Go ahead and try to break through.

Ivella burst into wicked laughter, a mischievous grin like a playful rascal.

4.

Meanwhile, at that moment,

Class 2’s morale soared sky-high.

Of course. They had broken through the defenses of the formidable class 3 in less than five minutes.

All thanks to Fertisha.

‘Who would’ve thought she could bring drowsiness with a song?’

Pelion gazed in awe.

Of course, upon further reflection, several oddities crossed his mind. Starting with the fundamental question: why only class 3 acted like that when they had all heard the same song.

‘But whatever.’

What mattered now was winning the match.

Moreover, scoring as many points as possible to win the festival. Thus, he tossed aside his questions and focused on the current situation.

‘There are 15 minutes left.’

Having already breached two defense lines, they had ample time. Yet, Pelion and class 2 students’ smiles faded as they approached their distant goal.

The hulking sentry guarding the entrance suddenly came into view.

Seeing the muscular man, all the students immediately halted.

“Everyone, stop!”

“The opponent is a crazy barbarian!”

“Take your time and approach calmly!”

Facing the third defense line, the students entered a standoff with Ulan, maintaining a certain distance between them. Among them was Fertisha.

‘I wonder how this’ll play out?’

Her eyes shone with curiosity.

In truth, it didn’t matter how it unfolded. The area of the circle was narrower, so they could just skirt around it.

Also, since there were restrictions placed on mana, aura, and domains, as long as they didn’t enter the circle, Ulan’s existence wouldn’t be a threat.

‘So, for now…’

Let’s sing again and put him to sleep. With her mind made up, she prepared to part her lips.

But that was short-lived.

Fertisha closed her mouth again suddenly.

Ulan, observing her actions, had abruptly blocked his ears. Fertisha’s eyes widened in disbelief, and she shrugged her shoulders.

“Looks like I’ve been discovered.”

With that, the song became useless.

So now what? Should she use wind spirit art to push Ulan out of the circle?

While leisurely pondering her next strategy,

BOOM!

A heavy thunderous sound rang out, and an unexpected change took place.