Chapter 205: Witch Academy Takes the Lead
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 205: Witch Academy Takes the Lead
If there was a disturbance in the Ancient Battlefield, the only thing I could imagine it doing was spawning waves of monsters to annex the surrounding territory.
At a time like this, the other academies actually found themselves envying the Sea Clan. Their maritime territories wouldn't be eroded by the Phantoms of the Past from the Ancient Battlefield.
Of course, our Witch Academy wouldn't be affected either, but we were mostly just here for the entertainment.
Why does it have to be now, though…
It looked like I could no longer afford to be stingy with my mana. Currently, there were no extra means of mana recovery; if the consumption became too great, my combat effectiveness would plummet.
But right now, I was facing a coordinated siege. This was their last chance to destroy the Witch Academy’s ritual.
"Is it really necessary to push things this far, everyone?" I spoke up. Though stalling for time was technically pointless, a little bit of haggling never hurt. Who knew? Things might take a turn for the better.
If all else failed, I’d just take them all down with me. The active volcano behind me was no joke.
"Who do you think you are? You think you can take all of us on at once? Since when did the Witch Academy become so arrogant!"
"Now is our last chance! If the Witch Academy gets even one point now, we’ll need at least two to overtake them!"
Faced with my "greeting," they didn't see it as a favor to be returned. Instead, they seemed to think I was afraid.
But I knew how to manipulate a crowd's emotions too. As long as their personal interests were threatened, they wouldn't risk their lives or put in any real effort for someone else's sake.
"Aren't you putting too much weight on this one point? If you besiege me, I’ll detonate the active volcano behind me. Remember the disturbance in the Ancient Battlefield just now? The ancient phantoms inside will come charging out. I can fly, so naturally, I can escape. But what about you? Where will you run?" I rode my broom a bit closer to them, ensuring they could all hear me clearly.
These guys were led by students from the Dragon Blood Academy, heading a group of affiliated academies and other stragglers who had gathered for various reasons.
"Don't forget, the Dragon Blood Academy lot can fly too. If you don't run now and keep listening to them, your deaths won't matter to them—they'll just be laughing their heads off. Do you understand?"
"Don't listen to the Witch! It won't take long to destroy her ritual! Besides, she wants to protect the ritual, so she definitely won't dare to detonate the volcano immediately!" A student from the Dragon Blood Academy reacted quickly, trying to stabilize their fragile alliance.
But the others weren't fools. They knew exactly what the Phantoms of the Past were. They were map-clearing tools. The murderous ancient armies of the Ancient Battlefield were absolute meat grinders. They would annex territory until the entire competition grounds became as terrifying as the Ancient Battlefield itself.
They didn't want to stay here and guard a volcano for the Dragon Blood Academy. They had their own territories to protect.
"Heh—you’ve got that all wrong. We Witches will protect our first ritual if we can, since we held it primarily to regroup; scoring points is secondary. But if I can reduce everyone’s base score by one, how do you think I’ll choose?"
This time, I made the threat crystal clear, specifically targeting the Dragon Blood Academy students.
"And you Dragon Blood lot—I’ve already slaughtered quite a few of you. You wouldn't want to be down to your last life so early in the exchange competition, would you? Let me be blunt: the moment the hunt for me begins, I’m picking off the Dragon Blood students first. Or are you feeling it's unfair and want to drag the other academies down with you? Either way, I don't care."
As I threatened them, I watched the movement below. It seemed a few choice words had indeed shaken the foundations of their alliance.
Honestly, I could have harvested a massive number of kills right then, or I could have run off with Su Ningmu, or done something else entirely. Going solo was no problem for me, but multitasking was difficult—especially with the restrictions of the Witch Tea Party ritual.
As for breaking the deadlock, my greatest hope lay with Tan Han. It wasn't that her arrival would allow us to wipe them all out, but rather that having two of us would provide a much greater deterrent and reduce the limitations imposed by the Witch Tea Party.
I had realized that my own name might not carry enough weight in this competition, but 99% of the opposition recognized Tan Han’s name the moment it was mentioned.
After a brief standoff, some of the students actually turned tail and left, refusing to get involved further. Once that started, the rest was easy.
The Dragon Blood Academy, however, remained stubborn. I had laid out the pros and cons, but they just wouldn't listen.
Many of them had already lost one life to me. If we went down together, I’d kill them until they were on their last one. Though I didn't know where they were teleported after being killed—and they might not have made it back yet—this was a negotiation, so a bit of alarmism was necessary.
If the majority of them died, their hold on the volcano area would likely be lost, which would severely limit their ability to hold rituals.
Yet, some of them were hell-bent on revenge. Their IQs had been fine when they were inciting the crowd earlier, but now it seemed their brains were clogged with muscle.
The situation had reached a stalemate. Su Ningmu wasn't just standing idly by, either. I had retreated to the site of the Witch Tea Party. The battle had essentially begun. It was a base-swap: you touch my tea party, I touch your volcano. Nobody gets to have a good time.
The main issue was their numbers; I couldn't keep track of everyone. However, the ones actually attacking were mostly from the Dragon Blood Academy. The other academies were largely staying put, watching how things developed, while some chose to flee outright.
The reason those remaining didn't move was, of course, my threat: I had promised that whoever helped the Dragon Blood Academy first would be the first person I’d pay a "visit" to after the ritual ended.
I couldn't threaten all of them, but I could certainly make life miserable for one or two.
"Oh my~ it looks like the Goddess of Luck is on my side again."
I immediately shifted my combat objectives, layering on an Energy Shield, Shield Blessing, and even the rarely used Solidify Shield spell.
I had spotted a figure flying toward us at high speed on a broom. I was betting it was Tan Han. Even if it wasn't, I could make the opposition think it was.
That was the beauty of an Illusion Clone. Tan Han’s name and image were excellent deterrents.
"Tan Han! I’ve kept the tea party safe for you! I’ll leave the rest of the kills to you!"
With my loud shout, everyone was stunned.
Specifically, the name "Tan Han" made them immediately search their mental keywords and instinctively look into the distance.
There really was a Witch coming!
"If we had gone down together before, some of you might have escaped. But if you push me now, not a single one of you is getting away. Got it?"
My words made the Dragon Blood Academy students instinctively back away from me.
They had all heard of Tan Han. Even if her title as the previous number one Academic God was a thing of the past, the resources the Witch Academy poured into her were terrifying. Even without seeing her in action, they had already assumed Tan Han was the top combatant of the Witch Academy.
After all, they had only lived at the Witch Academy for a few days and had no real way to access the internal academy network to get more information.
As the figure drew closer, I realized it really was Tan Han. Looks like my gamble paid off.
Even if I’d lost the bet, it wouldn't have mattered. I had my Illusion Clone as a backup to stall for a bit longer.
Once Tan Han saw that the Witch Academy’s ritual preparations were complete, she would definitely rush back immediately.
Tan Han’s return and subsequent display of power saved me a lot of effort.
However, her habit of using high-consumption spellbooks without a second thought for her mana was truly something. But that was exactly why her combat power was so terrifying, reaching a level where she could utterly crush the opposition.
The Dragon Blood Academy students could only retreat in frustration. The active volcano was their territory, yet they were being forced to give it a wide berth because of the Witch Tea Party. They were indignant.
But after losing combatants one after another and not knowing where they would respawn, they didn't dare to keep wasting lives. For the sake of the Witch Academy, they had learned the meaning of "not worth it."
If the Dragon Blood Academy became the first to be eliminated, they wouldn't return to a hero's welcome, but to scorn. They might even face punishment from the academy, despite being the chosen representatives for the competition.
Currently, I was looking after a Witch named Hettie. She was also a contestant, though she didn't have many injuries. She had arrived with Tan Han.
She was one of the few prospective Witches who hadn't brought a flying broom. Her sense of direction was poor, and her balance wasn't great, so she hadn't chosen a broom. Instead, she had "rented" an alchemy item on her counselor's recommendation.
Tan Han had found her near the edge of the Ancient Battlefield and brought her along.
"By the way, Hettie, do you have a tea party invitation?" I asked, suddenly remembering something.
"Invitation? What invitation?" Hettie didn't react immediately. "No, I just received the notification that the Witch Academy ritual was being prepared. Can I not join the tea party without an invitation?"
"Oh, no, that's not it. I was just asking. Were you quite close to this place at the time?"
"Pretty much. I was at the edge of the Ancient Battlefield. I could see the active volcano from there, but I knew it was Dragon Blood Academy territory, so I didn't dare go too deep. I was originally heading for the Forging Ancient City ruins, planning to pass through the woods near the Beast Academy."
"Are you talking about this invitation?" Tan Han walked over and handed one to me.
"Eh? Tan Han? You’re supposed to be one of the ritual organizers, right? How did you… wait, how far away were you when you got this?"
I was confused at first, but I quickly realized that these invitations might actually be distributed to Witches who met certain criteria.
"You… oh, I see what you mean. Having an invitation means you’re a Witch qualified to attend the tea party, and your arrival marks the official start of the ritual, right?" Tan Han looked at me, then at Su Ningmu.
"That’s about right."
"So, despite all my effort to get here, I’m not actually qualified to join the tea party?" Hettie grumbled from the side.
"Even if you aren't 'qualified,' there’s still a slice of cake for you." I went to the table, picked up a plate, and handed it to her.
"Well, then I won't be polite!" Hettie stopped overthinking it, took the cake, and stuffed it into her mouth.
With that, the Witch Tea Party grew from two people to four. Now, it actually looked like a proper tea party.
Tan Han naturally stepped aside to brew some black tea for us. She had probably tasted the pot I brewed earlier and decided it wasn't up to par.
"Thanks. Honestly, I don't know much about tea ceremonies. I appreciate the tea." I took the cup from Tan Han with a smile.
The tea party had begun. Although the four of us were still a bit stiff sitting there, we each gave a brief account of what we had experienced.
"So, what’s next? Do we have a plan?"
"Not really. The original plan was completely derailed, so we’ll just have to take it one step at a time." I shrugged and smiled.
We had originally planned to hold the ritual at the Forging Ancient City. Changing the location on the fly spoke volumes about the problems we’d faced.
"An academy has a so-called cooldown period after holding a ritual. We should use this chance to find the next location for a Witch Tea Party and, ideally, prevent other academies from holding their rituals in the next window to maintain our lead."
"Should we move as a group or split up?"
"Split up. But we can try teaming up in pairs for backup. Moving as a large group has a downside: it might make it impossible to meet the ritual's specific conditions. The best way is to separate. One group picks a suitable location to hold the ritual, and the other rushes there as soon as they secure an invitation."
"Mhm. So if we team up, it’s best to split into two groups and head in different directions."
"By the way, what do you think about going after the Wizard Academy once the ritual is over?" I suggested.
"The Wizard Academy? They’re one of the three top academies. Their methods are bizarre and unpredictable. It’s only the beginning of the match; is it really a good idea to point our blades at them?" Su Ningmu spoke up worriedly. She had experienced their terror firsthand.
She had already shared her experience and current situation, which had left a deep impression of the Wizard Academy on everyone.
"But they have wizard tools that allow them to contact each other. That’s a massive advantage. If we give them time to develop, they can use their Wizard Towers to gain even more terrifying powers. You were chased just by running into one of them in the early game; how are we supposed to play against them later?"
"That’s…"
"We can spread the word and make the Wizard Academy a target for everyone. We don't necessarily have to be the primary attackers."
"That is indeed an idea."
"True. That wizard who chased me seemed to have passed on some information. They might have found an opportunity to hold a ritual, but they likely saw the message and deliberately avoided the wave of ritual-breaking just now. Once our ritual ends, theirs might be the first to light up."
"Then maybe one group can head toward the Wizard Academy. If they dare to be the first to light up a ritual, they’ll have to endure interference from all the nearby academies."
"Exactly. When the crowd gathers there, we spread information about how dangerous they are. Even if we can't start a massive trend to break their ritual, we can still cause them plenty of trouble."
"Don't forget, they have to manage both their Wizard Towers and the ritual site. Their focus will be split."
"That makes sense. They use the Wizard Towers to develop stronger power, but the towers also become a burden they have to protect."
As our general exchange concluded, our ritual also came to an end.
The pillar of light shrouding our ritual contracted, looking like a celestial phenomenon or a cheer for our successful completion.
On the academy rankings, the Witch Academy was no longer at 0. We were at 1, sitting right at the top of the leaderboard.
"The ritual is over. By the way, have you figured out the pattern for when the tea party ritual ends?"
"A tea party ends when the gathering is over and the problems we raised are solved, I guess. It seems our ritual ending is quite a hassle."
"Time to split into groups then. Speaking of which, are the Phantoms of the Past from the Ancient Battlefield coming this way? The Dragon Blood Academy should be helping us hold them back, right? Otherwise, their Dragon Blood Nest volcano cluster will be swallowed by the Ancient Battlefield."
"They sure have it rough."
Everyone looked like they were enjoying the chaos. This was something the Witch Academy didn't need to worry about. Witches were arguably the most "free" academy in the exchange competition, but also one of the hardest, as their ritual locations were basically "borrowed."
"Wait, what’s this?"
Just as we were about to leave, Hettie found something on the tea party table.
"This is… the qualification to designate a resource drop location."
"Wait? Designate? Aren't resource drops in the exchange competition random?"
"Maybe it’s a hidden rule? A hidden rule triggered after a successful ritual."
"I almost forgot. The rules did mention hidden rules. It makes sense that completing a ritual would trigger one."
"Then we can take the initiative. Should we summon it directly? We can split the resources… uh… okay, okay, I was just saying."
"This is also an opportunity. Maybe an opportunity to focus fire on the Wizard Academy."
"Exactly. We wait for the Wizard Academy to prepare their ritual. Once they’ve finished preparations and sabotaged other academies' rituals, we summon this. It’ll maximize the chances of the Wizard Academy being swarmed by all the surrounding academies."
As we were planning, a figure appeared in our line of sight in the distance.
"Hey! I’m here! Over here~!"
At that shout, all of us looked over.
"It’s Minian. Looks like she made it too."
"But she’s late."
With Minian’s arrival, half of the Witch Academy students had gathered. The other five were still nowhere to be found.
"Eh? Um… am I late?"
"Don't doubt it. You are definitely late. There’s no cake or black tea left for you."
I had thought about making more, but there simply wasn't time, and we had consumed quite a bit during the tea party. I had planned to make extra to have ready for the next ritual, but that was just wishful thinking now.
"Sigh… alright. Guess I’m just not that lucky. But why are you holding a Witch Tea Party here? And… including me, why are there only five of us?"
"The situation is more complicated than you think… Hm? Another ritual already? That direction…"
"That’s the Wizard Academy’s side," I said, looking at the pillar of light that had shot into the sky shortly after.
"We need to move fast."
"Alright then, let’s group up quickly. You four can go in pairs, and I’ll go solo," I suggested.
"Eh? Wait, Xiao Han, that’s not a good idea, is it? This…"
"Do you think the combat power distribution is bad? Then how about Tan Han and I go solo, and you three form a group?" I asked again.
"Huh? These groups are getting weirder and weirder. I mean, isn't it too dangerous for you to be alone?"
"What are you worried about? I’m worried about the three of you being in a group, and you’re worried about me being in danger?"
"Well… even if I admit you’re strong…"
"Enough, Minian. If Xiao Han insists, I won't object. I acknowledge her strength," Tan Han spoke up.
"Eh? Sister Tan, you…"
"Let’s just hurry. Time waits for no one. And… Su Ningmu, last chance. Do you want to deal with those things? You’ve already lost one life." I sighed and asked again.
I didn't want the Witch Academy to lose members so early.
"I’ll handle Su Ningmu’s issue. I have many types of spells, so I don't need to use your method," Tan Han offered.
"Fine, I’ll leave it to the professional," I said with a shrug and a smile, glad to save my mana.
"See you later, then. I’m going to look around and see if there are any other potential locations. I look forward to receiving an invitation from you guys at the Wizard Academy."
"Mhm. Be careful."
After saying goodbye, I hopped on my broom and left them behind.
Looking down from high above, the crowd gathered at the active volcano reminded me of a single phrase: "a motley crew."
"Filling the numbers" was the most generous description I could think of for them.
I also saw the Phantoms of the Past charging out from the Ancient Battlefield—staggering and terrifying.
However, the individual strength of the phantoms was still weak. The Dragon Blood Academy students could basically hold them off. But I remembered that the Phantoms of the Past would grow stronger with each wave until the area was completely transformed into an Ancient Battlefield. In a way, this really was a battle royale.