Chapter 443

Chapter 443: The Eve of the Winter Festival

The grand Winter Festival ceremony began.

After the turmoil within the academy this year, this year’s Winter Festival gala seemed particularly attractive. It conveyed a signal of the end of the year, marking the conclusion of the semester. All the dark history that occurred this year would become the past, and the students would welcome the next academic year and a new beginning.

This year’s venue was chosen to be at the central school building. With the joint spellcasting of the Mage Sequence students from the High Tower Academy, a fan-shaped super-large viewing platform rose up. The layered steps formed natural seating with over 30 rows.

Then, on the west side, patches of floating orange wind lanterns ascended. These wind lanterns hovered above the venue under the control of the on-site personnel, creating a strong festive atmosphere.

Wreaths woven from frozen green branches were hung all around the venue, along with orange or slightly red berries, symbolizing abundance and blessings. This was the traditional decoration for the Winter Festival gala every year.

After the battles between outstanding members of each grade and faculty during the day, as night fell, the competition gradually approached its conclusion.

Thousands of students, teachers, and visiting guests sat in the audience seats, watching the full moon stage bathed in central lighting. At this moment, the academy’s grand competition before the Winter Festival gala was ongoing, and the tournament would decide the sole champion of this session.

“Congratulations to student Elro for advancing. With this, the tournament will enter the final stage. The current top eight competitors are Lingxin, Elro, Darsi, Atati, Ling, Red Sail, Bumansa, and Ingrid.”

“Truly an astonishing session. This time, half of the top eight belong to the Fortress Academy, while the Central School Building, as the home ground, has not a single representative.” The students in the audience started discussing.

“And last year’s champion, Darsi, also had a tough fight, unlike last year when it was almost a complete domination.”

“It’s all because of that Chaos Incident. Many students were infected, and we still don’t know how the perpetrator managed to hide it from those wise ones.”

“After the chaos, the council of sages spent a lot of effort investigating. It’s said to involve some past secrets, and the information is sealed off. We only know that the infection was voluntarily spread by some students, and some of them are still unconscious.”

“It’s hard to imagine that Emanas, where high-level Extraordinary Beings are most densely concentrated in the world, could experience such a situation.”

“Well, let’s stop talking about that and focus on the match. It’s about to start, and this is truly worth looking forward to. Looking at the finalists’ list, I increasingly believe that the legend is true.”

“What legend?”

“The Sleeping Black Rose Queen. Look at these students from the Fortress Academy; they’re all exceptionally powerful and come from the same club. You can imagine who the president of this club is.”

“Unfortunately, the president didn’t participate in the competition, so we couldn’t witness their appearance.” This student shook his head as the finals inside the field commenced.

—

On the field,

Elro looked at the golden-haired twin-tailed Elf girl in front of him and inwardly sighed. These students from the Fortress Academy were indeed all difficult opponents. He wondered who had trained them, since the teachers in the school hadn’t changed much, yet after just one year, there was such a significant difference.

He originally thought that with his talent and the special training from that ghostly old man, even if he couldn’t secure first place, second place should have been manageable. Who would have thought that even making it to the semi-finals was problematic.

“The match begins!” As the referee gave the command, the two participants on the field began to move.

Atati wielded two light blue swords, leaping into the air like a streak of light, cutting toward the youth clad in a silver-edged black robe before her.

Elro knew his speed would definitely not catch up to this Elf girl renowned for her speed and agility. Thus, he employed a long-hidden secret art, his form dissolving into ashes and disappearing into the air. Then, a dense fog began to spread across the field.

“Black Crow Ash Secret Art?” The Elf girl recognized this lost evasive technique and exclaimed in surprise.

As former adversaries of the Mercury Dynasty, the Forest Elves naturally had detailed records of their enemies’ various secret techniques and moves. Even now, with the Necromancer Sequence being weakened, few people knew this secret art.

In the distant past, to counter the sudden attacks of swift elf assassins, necromancers developed this evasive self-defense technique, temporarily transforming their bodies into phantoms to traverse a small distance before reappearing. This secret art required the practitioner to temper their body; otherwise, the temporary transformation into a phantom form would bring severe side effects.

Above the field, Elro reappeared, his complexion somewhat pale. Using this secret art was quite challenging for him now, especially since his busy studies left little time for practice, making its execution extremely taxing.

He lamented his miscalculation and then swung his staff, enveloping the venue in more dense black mist. This mist carried chaotic soul and magical fluctuations, confusing and blocking perceptions, specifically targeting the sharp senses of elves.

Standing amidst the black mist, Atati recalled the teachings of the black-haired red-eyed president. A flash of green light passed through, and beautiful emerald butterfly wings unfolded behind her back as she soared skyward.

The fierce wind roared in her ears. Watching the moon grow closer and larger, a sense of freedom flowed through her heart.

Unlike Maggie from last year, she wasn’t proficient in the Butterfly Seven Division Technique but had her own unique skills in the domain of wind.

She threw the green wooden sword she held high into the air and extended her left hand. The woven bracelet on her wrist grew continuously, vines and branches spreading out to form a long bow-like arm. The hollow parts seemed to form the patterns of a certain magical array, emitting a whistling sound as the airflow passed through.

A current of air penetrated downward, dispersing the black mist under layers of airflow, revealing Elro under the moonlight.

Meanwhile, the green wooden longsword she had thrown earlier descended back into her grasp. The two wooden swords in her hands twisted and elongated, forming spirally entwined peculiar arrows. Countless streams of green energy infused with the power of the Nature Sequence poured into them, causing the spiral arrows to shine brilliantly.

“Pierce through, Arrow of Whirlwind Web!”

The emerald light flashed in the air, and before Elro could employ the Black Crow Ash Secret Art again, six thin wooden branches pierced through him. These branches penetrated his flesh and bones, piercing his wrists, thighs, and calves, driving him from the sky and nailing him to the earth. Subsequently, leaves and vines grew, tightly wrapping around him, continuously absorbing his magic and blood, leaving him increasingly weak.

And beside his neck, a fine branch inserted itself into the soil, pressing closely against his skin, making him realize that if the Elf girl hadn’t shown mercy, he might have been killed instantly.

“I concede,” despite some lingering dissatisfaction, he wasn’t someone who clung to saving face.

“Thank you for your tolerance~”

Atati gently descended from the air and waved her hand, causing the vines binding Elro to wither and loosen.

Supporting himself on the ground and trying to stand up, Elro immediately felt intense pain. Finally, with the help of medical personnel, he managed to sit up from the ground.

“You are the strongest in the Fortress Academy, indeed impressive.”

“Strongest? No no no, I probably can’t even rank in the top five.” Atati placed her finger under her chin, pondering the rankings within the ‘Black Water Lily.’ There were still many ahead of her.

(End of Chapter)