Chapter 305: The Battle Reaches the Mid-B-Rank Level!

"Yeah."

Nolan, Kira, Estelle, and the others nodded in agreement.

Their attention soon returned to Arwen.

The earlier confidence in his expression had faded.

He looked pale, and his breathing had become noticeably heavier.

The reason was simple.

Maintaining Orphelios required a constant amount of energy from his body, and after using the spirit repeatedly, Arwen’s Essence reserves had dropped considerably.

Even his physical stamina was starting to reach its limit.

Peiro noticed it as well. "Do you want to continue?"

Arwen slowly raised his head, his shoulders still rising and falling from his heavy breathing.

Sweat ran down the side of his face, and he remained silent for a brief moment as he caught his breath. His fingers tightened slightly before he finally shook his head.

"No."

Peiro nodded.

The next instant, Orphelios vanished in a flicker of golden light, and Arwen was transported back to his seat.

Since he hadn’t surrendered the round, he could still return later if he recovered enough strength.

"Well, you’ve done enough."

Karon looked toward him.

She clearly understood what Arwen had been doing.

He had been burning through his Essence to maintain Orphelios and repeatedly use highly concentrated attacks, so continuing would have left him with little strength for anything else.

She didn’t say that part aloud.

There was no need.

Everyone could already see it.

"Hmm." Arwen nodded.

He also noticed that a few of his teammates didn’t look particularly pleased with his decision, but he didn’t care.

He wasn’t foolish enough to throw his life away simply to prove that he was patriotic.

From the beginning, Peiro had made surrender one of the available options.

There was no shame in using it.

If everyone eventually lost, perhaps another route back would open.

’Life is more important.’ With that thought, Arwen looked toward Larael.

She was already preparing herself.

Then Peiro’s voice rang out again.

"Start."

Another round began.

This time, Larael raised her hand.

"Elvar, lend me your strength."

Her voice was gentle.

A moment later, a wide silver-white portal opened behind her.

WHOOSH!

A figure emerged from it.

It was roughly thirty feet tall and humanoid, with a broad and muscular build.

Its arms were covered by silver-white roots that formed something resembling armored gauntlets, while silver-white bark spread across its torso and limbs, creating a layer of natural armor.

More bark rose from its back and curved upward, eventually forming a crown around its head.

Green energy flowed through its body like veins.

Along the outer edges of its form, several long silver leaves had appeared. They eventually detached, drifting through the air before breaking apart into silver particles that were absorbed back into the spirit.

The sight left many of the spectators surprised.

Orphelios had been impressive, but Elvar’s presence had a different kind of majesty to it.

"Sadly, her spirit isn’t a full combat type."

Zeyr sighed from the side.

"Otherwise, her strength would be even greater."

The other representatives from Empyrean Academy nodded in agreement.

Arwen, however, remained seated with a normal expression.

He wasn’t bothered by the fact that Larael’s spirit looked stronger in some aspects.

Its specialty was simply different.

A spirit didn’t need to be overwhelmingly destructive to be valuable.

Soon, the next battle began.

Larael’s spirit, Elvar, faced another demonic warrior.

Its combat method was straightforward.

Roots emerged from the ground and wrapped around its opponent’s limbs before the spirit followed up with sharp silver branches.

SNAP!

Roots burst from the arena floor.

The demonic warrior tried to move, but several thick roots wrapped around his legs and tightened.

He swung his weapon, cutting through the first layer.

CRACK!

But more roots immediately emerged beneath him.

Before he could break free, silver-white branches shot forward like spears.

THRUST!

They pierced through his defense, making the warrior stumbled.

More roots climbed around his body, restricting his movement until another silver branch struck through his torso.

The battle ended soon afterward.

Luke watched the process carefully.

"Hmm. Its crowd-control capability is pretty good."

"If used properly, her spirit could have a major role on a large battlefield."

By then, Larael had already defeated five demonic warriors.

Yet unlike Arwen, her energy reserves remained relatively high.

Elvar was also consuming much less energy during combat, allowing it to maintain its abilities without draining Larael nearly as quickly.

Some of the demonic warriors were able to break the silver branches, but every time one was destroyed, another quickly took its place.

The continuous pressure made it difficult for them to escape.

Selene nodded at Luke’s observation.

"In the academy, Larael has always played an important role whenever we participate in large-scale battlefield missions."

She paused before adding,

"Her silver-white roots aren’t only useful for restraining enemies. They can also provide a strong defensive barrier when enough of them are gathered together. They’re resistant to fire as well because of their unique variation, which makes her spirit useful in a lot of different situations."

Luke nodded, somewhat impressed by the versatility.

At that moment, Larael looked toward Peiro.

"Lord Peiro, I can’t continue the next battle."

Several people immediately raised their eyebrows.

Brynessa and the members of her group, however, remained calm.

Larael’s stamina still appeared good enough for a few more fights.

But Peiro simply nodded.

"Sure."

He announced the result.

"Forty-fifth victory goes to the Sunborn Kingdom, while the Infernal Choir remains at twenty-five victories."

With that, Larael was teleported back to her seat.

The moment she returned, several expressions around her changed slightly, but no one said anything.

Because, everyone had already expeced her half-heart, effort in the match.

"Well, Marius, you go now."

Zeyr turned toward the male vampire.

Marius nodded.

Before jumping down, however, he gave one last look toward Selene and Luke, who were still discussing something together.

Then he leaped from the spectator seat.

As before, the space below him shifted, transporting him directly into the center of the arena.

’I will deal with only five.’

That was all he needed to accomplish.

He wasn’t particularly concerned about the others.

His only real reason was Selene and that was also why, he had come here.

But ever since Luke had appeared, Selene’s attention had remained almost entirely on him.

Even if Marius displayed some impressive strength, he already knew his chances of impressing her were practically nonexistent.

And his strength was still inferior to hers.

’Well, she was never impressed by strength.’ Marius sighed inwardly.

He had known Selene since their student days.

That fact alone made him understand her personality better than most.

"Are you ready?" Peiro’s voice came from above.

Marius nodded. "Yeah."

His reply lacked enthusiasm.

But, Peiro didn’t care.

"Start."

The battle began.

As a vampire, Marius immediately relied on his blood manipulation. Whenever one of the demonic warriors approached, he made a sharp movement with his hand, and a thin cut suddenly opened across the opponent’s body.

"Bring it out..."

The blood flowing from the wound lifted into the air under his control.

Marius curled his fingers slightly, manipulating the blood with precise movements. The injury widened as he drew more blood from the wound, making it difficult for the opponent to recover.

One warrior charged at him with a roar.

Marius calmly stepped aside, narrowly avoiding the attack. At the same time, a thin line of blood followed the movement of his fingers.

Slash!

Another wound opened across the warrior’s body.

"ARGH!"

The warrior stumbled, losing his balance for a moment.

Marius took a step back, his eyes remaining fixed on his opponent as he continued manipulating the blood pouring from the wound. The warrior’s movements gradually became weaker until his knees finally gave out and he collapsed onto the arena floor.

Marius fought in much the same way against the next four warriors. Rather than relying on some large-scale or highly destructive technique, he focused on endurance and control, carefully opening wounds, drawing out blood, and using it against his opponents. As a vampire, his stamina was considerable, making the method perfectly suited to him.

One after another, the five demonic warriors fell.

After the fifth opponent collapsed, Marius lowered his hand and took a slow breath, his chest rising slightly as he steadied himself.

"Hah..."

He ran a hand through his silver hair, pushing it back from his forehead before glancing toward the spectator seats.

His gaze immediately searched for one person.

Selene.

"..."

She was still there.

Still talking with Luke.

Still laughing.

She hadn’t even looked toward the arena.

’That bastard, Luke.’

The curse remained unspoken, existing only inside Marius’s mind.

’Why?’

He couldn’t understand how things had ended up like this.

Unfortunately, nobody cared about his thoughts.

Everyone’s attention had already shifted toward Brynessa’s side.

Marrec finally stood up.

He stretched his neck slightly before taking a step forward.

Then he kicked off the ground.

WHOOSH!

His body shot toward the center of the arena.

Of course, he couldn’t physically cross the fifty-kilometer distance in a single jump.

The familiar Void movement activated.

Space twisted around him.

In the next instant, Marrec appeared directly above the arena and dropped toward the ground.

THUD!

His landing was far heavier than Arwen’s Spirit.

The impact cracked a roughly ten-meter section of the arena floor, while a small cloud of dust rose around his feet.

Marius finally came out of his thoughts and looked toward him.

Peiro’s voice followed.

"Do you want to continue?"

Marius wasn’t stupid enough to answer otherwise.

"No."

Peiro gave a small nod.

He had expected that response.

With another spatial shift, Marius was teleported back to the spectator seat.

None of the Empyrean Academy representatives said anything to him.

They knew Marius well enough to understand his personality, and although he was weaker than both Arwen and Larael, Zeyr hadn’t asked him to fight more than necessary.

After all, Marius was a vampire, just like Selene.

The same consideration didn’t extend to Nolan and Kira.

Both were human members of Empyrean Academy, while the fifty previous warriors sent out by the Sunborn Kingdom had also been humans.

That distribution had been intentional.

The other races would need to participate after that.

It was also why Zeyr had chosen Arwen and Larael earlier.

But now the opponent was different.

Zeyr turned toward Nolan and Kira with a serious expression.

"Nolan, Kira, try to defeat him. If you can’t, surrender."

He knew that the situation became much more dangerous once a mid-B-rank entered the battle.

The difference between the earlier opponents and someone like Marrec couldn’t be ignored.

"Sure."

Both nodded.

They exchanged a brief glance and began deciding who would enter the arena first.