Chapter 226: The Broken Eagles
[On The Way To The Tower.]
WHOOSH!!
Mirabella and her newly empowered team shot through the dense forest like a volley of guided arrows. The air whistled against their skin, charged with the residual static of their recent level-ups. Their eyes were fixed on Mirabella, who led the formation with a terrifying, effortless grace, as she carved a path through the undergrowth.
Hitachi glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the team, noticing the visible change in their auras. ’I didn’t know Mirabella was that generous,’ he thought, still processing the distribution of the loot. ’She actually gave us the items and scrolls, and instructed each of us to share it equally.’ He looked down at the silver dagger clutched in his hand, its blade shimmering with a lethal, polished light.
’It is just an epic class weapon, but I also gained five epic class skill scrolls... This isn’t a bad thing at all.’ He tightened his grip, increasing his speed to match her pace. The same thought was echoing through the rest of the group. In a world where high-tier loot was usually hoarded by captains, Mirabella’s pragmatism felt like a new kind of leadership.
Only Carl remained silent, moving like a shadow just one foot behind Mirabella, his presence almost completely erased by his high Agility stats.
Mirabella stared ahead, the dense canopy finally beginning to thin as the forest exit approached. She glanced over her shoulder at Carl, her eyes narrowing slightly before she turned her gaze back to the horizon.
’Now that I think of it... Carl is an Assassin, so how can he gain skills from skill scrolls? Class restrictions usually lock those out.’ She tucked the observation away for later. ’After the competition, I will check this again. If he can bypass the system’s class-lock to gain another skill, then there must be something seriously wrong with his spirit core.’ With a final burst of speed, she flew out of the tree line, landing softly on an expansive, open green field.
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The team of nine landed in a perfect formation behind her, their breath steady thanks to their boosted Stamina. Before them stood a 20-meter tall tower, a geometric anomaly in the middle of the wilderness. It was built in the sharp shape of a triangle, its polished stone tip pointing toward the sky like a needle aimed at the gods.
"Seems we’re here," Rose said, stepping forward. Her gaze fixed on the group standing in the shadow of the tower.
"The Eagle Academy’s Team... But why do they look so battered?" Casey asked in confusion, her hand hovering near her weapon hilt.
"Not only that, they are short of one member," Kent added, his eyes scanning the surrounding grass for a hidden ambush.
"Forget them. Let’s just deliver the flag and get off the southern region," Mirabella said, her voice cold and focused. She began walking toward the tower, her team following close behind like a pride of lions.
"Hey, that’s the Dragon Academy’s Team... Maybe they can help us," Stellar, a student of the Eagle Academy, whispered in a low, pained voice. she was clutching a heavily bandaged arm, her uniform torn and stained with dried ichor.
"What happened to you guys?" Carl asked with a slight frown, his curiosity piqued by the nature of their wounds.
The Dragon Academy team stopped in front of the nine injured students, the atmosphere thick with the smell of blood.
"We encountered a high-level demon," Stellar answered, her voice trembling as she stared at the ground. "It was so powerful... We barely escaped with our lives."
"If we take your flag from you right now and kill everyone here, it won’t be going against the rules, right?" Austin asked with a malicious smirk, stepping forward. He towered over the wounded Stellar, his eyes gleaming with the predatory instinct of a climber seeing a shortcut.
"This?" Stellar was stunned. They hadn’t delivered the flag yet, meaning it was still a ’live’ item.
’In our condition, I don’t even think we can defend the flag. But if we lose it, we will also lose the second round entirely,’ she thought, her face pale. She looked up at Austin, her jaw setting in a line of desperate defiance. "Even if we have to sacrifice ourselves, we won’t let you gain our flag."
’Stealing another academy’s flag and successfully holding on to it until the end of the competition gives the academy fifty thousand points, while the victim loses fifty thousand... We went through hell to get this flag. We won’t just give it up.’
"I like your determination, but can you actually hold onto that flag?" Austin slammed his fists together.
BOOM!!
The Aura of a Lv100 Warrior burst out from him like a physical shockwave, flattening the grass for ten meters. The raw pressure of a God-level breakthrough spread all over the place, stunning the Eagle Academy’s team.
’How did he reach Lv100? I thought he was just Lv68!’ Stellar thought in utter disbelief, her knees buckling under the pressure.
Mirabella simply sighed, the sound cutting through Austin’s aura like a knife. She raised one hand, silently signaling him to stop.
"We aren’t here to fight them."
"Yes! Yes! Our powerful captain is right! We shouldn’t stoop to their level," Austin quickly retracted his aura, replacing his aggression with a flattering, eager smile.
"....?!"
The change was jarring. What they had witnessed on the hill—the absolute annihilation of thousands of monsters—was more than enough to flip their worldviews. To the Dragon Academy’s team, Mirabella was no longer just a talented student; she was a sovereign in the making.
’Is this still the Austin I’ve heard about? Why is he so meek in front of this lady?’ Blade thought. He was sitting on the ground several meters away, his sword broken in half and resting across his lap.
"Where is your captain?" Mirabella asked, staring directly at Stellar.
"She went inside to negotiate," Stellar answered, her gaze flickering fearfully toward the massive, closed doors of the tower.
"Negotiate?"
Mirabella and her team shared a look of pure confusion. In a competition of strength and speed, the idea of a ’negotiation’ inside a tower felt like an omen of something much darker.