Chapter 227: The Negotiation Ends
"What do you mean?" Mirabella asked, her brow furrowing with genuine irritation.
"When we arrived at the tower, we encountered two members of the Sword Academy team," Stellar quickly explained, her voice lowered as if the walls themselves had ears.
"The two said we would have to pay before we could enter... They... They told us that if we refuse, we’ll lose our flag and... Kill us right here."
"Hahaha! They could actually bully you guys?" Precious laughed out loud, the sound echoing across the open field. "And your group is supposed to be the best of the best in the Eagle Empire. This is pathetic."
Mirabella didn’t laugh. She stared at Stellar, her eyes cold. "Only two people held the nine of you here? And your captain, Eve, had to go inside alone to negotiate? Are you guys truly so weak?"
"....?!"
’This girl was ready to fight us to the death for their flag just moments ago,’ Mirabella thought, her mind deconstructing the situation. ’Why couldn’t they stand against the Sword Academy? And against only two people?’
"You don’t seem to know them," Nicolas answered, wincing as he adjusted the bloody bandage wrapped around his head. "One is Young Master Zach, and the second is Young Master Ethan."
’Eh? When did Ethan become a ’Young Master’?’ Mirabella thought in confusion. She remembered him as a bastard and foolish student, he might be a young master on Earth, but that doesn’t apply on Galaxy Fall. The sudden elevation in social status suggested a rapid shift in the Sword Empire’s internal hierarchy. She lightly shook her head, dismissing the political clutter.
"Forget it. We are here for the second round, and it took us two hours to locate this place. I don’t want to waste any more time." Mirabella turned her gaze toward the massive triangular door.
"Break it—"
BOOOOM!!!
Before Mirabella could finish her command, the tower’s door exploded outward in a hail of stone and splintered reinforcement. A figure flew out from the wreckage, skipping across the grass like a stone on water before smashing into the dirt. He rolled for several seconds, finally digging his hand into the earth to stop his momentum.
"Wow, you were hiding this much power?" Zach stood up, casually dusting his expensive academy uniform as if he hadn’t just been blasted through a wall. "I just offered you a legendary opportunity: become my mistress and live the rest of your life in wealth. But you actually refused."
The Dragon Academy team stared at him, then turned their collective gaze to the shattered doorway. Eve walked out through the dust, her eyes glowing with an intense, piercing silver light.
"You are just a kid," she snapped, her voice trembling with rage.
"Please, I am seventeen years old. You, on the other hand, are twenty-five... there isn’t much difference in age when it comes to power," Zach said. With a flick of his wrist, a long, elegant Legendary Class Sword appeared in his hand, humming with a sharp, metallic frequency.
"How... how do you know my age?" Eve asked, her silver eyes widening in surprise.
"Hehehe. We already know the information of all the other contestants. Information is the first weapon of the Sword Empire." He pointed his blade at her, a predatory grin on his face.
"Let me introduce myself again. I am Zach Sword, of a side-branch family of the Great Sword Family—one of the three strongest pillars of our Empire. I will ask you again: will you be my mistress, or will you die today?"
"You!!" Eve’s energy flared, the silver light in her eyes brightening until it was blinding, her body tensing to charge.
Mirabella watched the exchange and exhaled a long, bored breath. "I don’t have time for child’s play," she said, her voice cutting through the tension as she started walking toward the tower entrance.
"Stop her, Young Master Ethan!! No one is allowed to pass without paying!!!" Zach yelled, his arrogance flaring.
WHOOSH!!!
Two violent waves of energy erupted from the shadows within the tower, hurtling toward Mirabella with clear killing intent.
SWOOSH!
SWOOSH!!
Hitachi and Carl moved in a synchronized blur, their weapons flashing as they easily dismantled the energy waves before they could even reach Mirabella’s personal space.
"A Level 200... He is one of the ’Invincible Five’ of the Sword Academy," Hitachi announced, his sword held in a defensive stance, his brow furrowed with a slight frown.
"Oh? These trash actually blocked my attack."
Everyone blinked as Ethan stepped out from the darkness of the tower. He was unarmed, his arms folded confidently behind his back, but his presence was heavy—unnatural.
’Something isn’t right here,’ Mirabella thought, her eyes narrowed as she appraised Ethan. He didn’t feel like a person; he felt like a pressurized tank of energy.
"Ethan, do you know me?" she asked, testing his cognitive functions.
"You are Mirabella. What else is there to know?" Ethan asked, his voice flat and devoid of any personal recognition or emotion.
’This... this is the same vacant stare Jessica had,’ Mirabella realized. ’What is the Sword Empire planning? Are they experimenting on their own students to force these God-level breakthroughs?’ She shook her head lightly.
’No... this isn’t the time to solve the sword Empire’s dark secrets.’
"Get out of the way or die," she said coldly, her gaze locking onto his.
"Me... die? Hahaha!! If you have the strength, why don’t you try it?" Ethan yelled, a wide, distorted smile stretching across his face.
"Get him out of my way."
"Yes!!"
WHOOSH!
Carl vanished from sight. Ethan narrowed his eyes, his instincts sharpened by whatever procedure he had undergone. At the last microsecond, he threw a heavy punch to his right.
BAM!!
His bare fist collided with Carl’s dagger. The sheer force of the physical impact sent Carl skidding backward, his boots carving ruts into the field.
"A Warrior and Knight bloodline? With that combination, his physical defense is absolute," Hitachi said, recognizing the synergy of the classes Ethan displayed.
"Senior Sister, I don’t think that is the Ethan we know," Carl whispered, blurring back to his spot beside Mirabella.
’Even Carl detected it. Only those who knew him in the past would see the change... but seriously, I am done waiting.’
Mirabella didn’t reach for a weapon. She simply raised one finger. With a sharp flick of her wrist to the side, she commanded one of her invisible guardians.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
The impact sounded like a cannon firing. The invisible blow smashed into Ethan’s face with such velocity that his feet left the ground instantly. He was sent flying like a discarded toy, covering tens of meters in a heartbeat before smashing into the earth two hundred meters away, leaving a long trench in the green field.
".....?!!!!"
Zach, the Eagle Academy students, and even the rest of the onlookers stood dumbfounded. They stared at the distant cloud of dust where the "Invincible" Ethan had landed, their minds unable to process the casual violence of the act.