Chapter 239: Internal Troubles and External Threats
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 239: Internal Troubles and External Threats
"Sister Xiao Han, you should just head to sleep for now. Get some rest and build up your energy. If anything happens, I'll wake you."
"Is that so..."
"Exactly! Sister Xiao Han, you're our strongest combatant right now, so you have to be well-rested. As for keeping watch, we're inside the War Fortress—it's perfectly safe!"
"Alright then. Sorry to leave the hard work to you all."
I didn't hesitate much. After all, I had quite a bit of faith in the War Fortress's defensive capabilities. Even if it was damaged, it was still a behemoth that most couldn't even scratch.
Besides, I was used to sleeping early. I’d only caught half a night's sleep yesterday, so I was indeed feeling drowsy. Minian and the others, on the other hand, seemed to be in high spirits.
Hopefully, tonight would be a peaceful one.
I didn't know if the other academies were sleeping tonight, but I did know that today had been slightly easier than yesterday.
The fortress still swayed a bit as it moved, but after the repairs were finished, we continued our journey. Our goal was to cross the Ancient Battlefield and reach the edge of the forest surrounding the Afuhemi World Tree.
Since we hadn't expected the journey to take this long, we could only wait at the final destination. Tan Han and her group were bound to be moving quickly; at worst, we would wait at the end, and if they still hadn't arrived, we would head back the way we came to find them.
"Sister Xiao Han fell asleep so fast again..."
"Don't disturb her. You saw what she did today; it's better if she gets some early rest."
"Speaking of which, back during the confrontation match, there were emoji packs of Sister Xiao Han's sleeping face circulating around the academy. It's a shame we can't take photos in the dream."
"What a pity. I'll ask around after this exchange competition to see if anyone saved them."
Inside the War Fortress, there was an area specifically designated for resting.
Carving out such a space for relaxation inside a massive war machine was a luxury, but at this moment, it was proving its worth.
While everything was going relatively smoothly for the Witch Academy, things weren't looking so bright for the Elves. After synthesizing their intelligence, they were now certain that their previous reports hadn't been far off.
Those Witches were actually guiding the Phantoms of the Past to erode the entire map! And the one leading them was Tan Han!
They hadn't had much contact with Tan Han—they knew more about Yang Yuehan—but they still understood Tan Han well, albeit mostly in theory.
She was the top student of this year's Witch Academy class; even that Yang Yuehan had to take a back seat to her. This didn't stop them from imagining Tan Han's power—she was likely a troublesome individual on the same level as Yang Yuehan.
In fact, she even had a record of defeating Yang Yuehan.
Now that Tan Han was starting to exert herself, the Witch Academy was truly beginning to show its fangs.
Similarly, the Elves knew the predicament they were in. If they let the situation develop, they would truly be attacked from both sides.
On one hand, the fire was spreading; on the other, the erosion of the Ancient Battlefield was closing in. They weren't even sure if their previous cooperation with the Sea Clan would succeed.
They had heard that the sea was heavily polluted. Now, it remained to be seen whether the Sea Clan would choose to stand or fall with the Elves to resist the Witches, or if they would retreat to their maritime stronghold, abandon the Elves, and wait for a final showdown with the Witches in the ocean.
However, as one of the leaders of the Afuhemi Forest Elves, Mona understood that they had to join forces to oppose the Witches. Even the Witch Academy had teamed up with the Dwarf Academy, hadn't they?
From her previous conversation with Enara, she knew that the Sea Clan could fight the Witches to a standstill in the ocean. But what if all the Witches moved at once?
If they didn't unite, their only end would be waiting for death. This was an exchange competition; the organizers wouldn't allow a stalemate to drag on forever.
While the Elves were worrying, the Sea Clan was also overwhelmed by the so-called "pollution."
The original sea territory was being eroded, the water turning murky. Even the seaweed, fish, and coral that once thrived on the seabed had turned into weathered sand, devoid of any life. If they didn't know they were underwater, they would have thought they were in a parched desert.
Furthermore, undead from the Fallen Land were charging out from the seabed. They fought their way through the depths, and though the seawater slowed their pace, their sheer numbers were enough to send chills down one's spine.
They also discovered many mutated sea beasts in the polluted waters. Normally, these creatures were very friendly toward the Sea Clan, who were blessed by the ocean, but now they would charge out and bite them without hesitation.
Sea beasts in the water were far more terrifying than ferocious beasts on land.
"These monsters... they look like Phantoms of the Past..."
"But aren't the Phantoms of the Past things from the Central Ancient Battlefield?"
"I don't know. It's just... weird..."
Enara had personally gone to the polluted waters to investigate as soon as night fell. Though she didn't want to believe it, the way these monsters looked and how they acted when killed was exactly like the descriptions of the Phantoms of the Past in the rules. Whether it was the undersea undead or the mutated sea beasts, they were all Phantoms of the Past!
She realized this by combining her findings with the intelligence gathered from the Elves: those Witches were guiding the Phantoms of the Past to erode the map!
But... she never expected that the erosion from the Ancient Battlefield would affect the sea like this!
This was the ocean!
The more critical the situation became, the calmer Enara grew. The source of all this was the Fallen Land, but the Fallen Land was quite far from where the Witches had been active—the Dragon Blood Nest and that general direction. Were they acting on multiple fronts?
Regardless, she had to solve the immediate problem first.
"Clear out these Phantoms of the Past! If the sea continues to be eroded like this, we're finished!" Enara commanded.
"But... if these are all Phantoms of the Past... there are so many of them. We can't beat them all, and they never stop coming..."
This was a serious problem they had to face. Because they had missed the optimal window for intervention, the pollution had already spread from a single point into a fan-shaped area. The longer it spread, the longer the front line of pollution became. It was no longer something they could stop on their own.
Enara realized she had no time to hesitate. Such a predicament... even she hadn't expected to face such a difficult problem. Plans really couldn't keep up with changes.
"Leave some people behind to clear the Phantoms of the Past and slow the erosion. The rest of you, come with me to perform the Sea's Wonder Crown Ceremony!"
As Enara finished speaking, the Sea Clan members understood her plan. They still had their ritual!
Thinking about it, this was likely their only remaining option.
Whether it was the tsunami triggered by the Sea's Wonder Crown to counter-erode the Ancient Battlefield's influence, or using it for the final battle, it was a decisive power.
"Let's go see the Elves again and see if they can support our plan. Our ritual takes too long to set up." Enara looked up, gazing through the surface of the water at the moon and the starry sky. Tonight would be another sleepless night!
If they couldn't get a peaceful night's sleep tonight, would they even have a tomorrow?
But desperate times called for desperate measures. Enara surfaced, downed a refreshing potion, and resolutely continued toward the Elves' territory.
She knew very well that the Elves were also anxiously awaiting her return.
* * *
Meanwhile.
The Dwarves took turns resting while driving the War Fortress toward the Afuhemi World Tree.
They had once fantasized about using their War Fortress to crush the World Tree, topple the Wizard Towers, and bombard the floating islands. It seemed the Witches had already beaten them to those ambitions.
As a Witch who got along well with the Dwarves, Minian basically never stopped talking. Especially when she was with Aiko, they would gossip about everything, particularly during the lonely night journey.
The Dwarves listened to the Witches' glorious achievements in the exchange competition—burning the forest, flooding the Fallen Land, forcing the Holy Angel Academy to retreat, and cleaving a Wizard Tower with a sword. Each story made their blood boil, as if they had participated themselves.
Of course, some Dwarves complained about applying to the wrong academy. The Dwarf Academy focused mostly on forging; even those not in the forging department couldn't do much without the help of Holy Artifacts.
"Thank goodness there's still a safe spot in the Ancient Battlefield without any calamities. I can see a dark shadow in the distance in that direction. Is that the Afuhemi World Tree?"
"Not sure, it's too dark. But if the direction is right, we're probably almost there. Not bad! This big guy of yours moves pretty fast." Minian was also in the cockpit. Being here allowed her to detect danger immediately; if something happened, she would go deal with it, and if she couldn't, she'd go wake Sister Xiao Han.
It was already late into the night. As the distance closed, everyone finally confirmed it was a forest. Under the moonlight, they saw the so-called Afuhemi World Tree. It was currently bathed in lunar radiance, stretching its branches and protecting the surrounding forest.
"Looks like we've reached the boundary. Should we keep going? If we do, we might run straight into those Elves."
"Let's stop for now," Minian said.
After all, it wasn't time for the final battle with the Elves yet, and Sister Tan Han hadn't returned. It wasn't that she doubted Sister Xiao Han's strength; she just didn't want any accidents.
Besides, in these final moments, it felt like something was missing if the whole team wasn't together.
Moreover, Sister Xiao Han was sleeping soundly. It was better to save the grand finale for tomorrow.
Their War Fortress was so massive that stopping here would be noticed quickly. This distance was clever—it wouldn't force the enemy to mobilize their entire force from so far away, but they couldn't ignore it either.
The news of their arrival would soon reach the Elves, giving them a sense of crisis and ruining their sleep. Then, tomorrow, the Witches could use their well-rested spirits to crush them!
Before long, as expected, they were discovered. However, it wasn't the Elves; unfortunately, the scout ran too fast to be identified.
But a short while later, representatives from the Elves arrived.
Since Sister Tan Han was away and Sister Xiao Han was asleep, Minian stepped up as the acting leader of the Witch Academy. She walked out of the War Fortress with a group of Dwarves, standing atop it to confront the Elves.
The night was late, but the atmosphere was incredibly tense, feeling as though a spark could ignite a war.
This was Minian's first time handling such a situation. She had only seen Sister Tan Han and Sister Xiao Han take charge. Following their habits... this should be the part where they trade insults and trash talk, right?
"What are you Dwarves and Witches doing here together?"
"None of your business! The map wasn't made by your Afuhemi Academy. You don't get to tell us where we can be!" Minian retorted without hesitation. Her job was to make sure the Elves couldn't sleep peacefully; the rest was just winging it!
She bet the Elves wouldn't dare to strike first.
"You! You're going too far! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have this big thing!"
"We are doing whatever we want, so what are you going to do about it? From your vibe, you're clearly not the leader of the Elves. Where is your leader? We spent so much time getting here, and they didn't even come to welcome us!"
"We only welcome guests, and Witches are not our guests. As for you, you're a nobody. Where are Tan Han and that Yang Yuehan?"
"Wow~ your intel-gathering skills are pretty low-tier, aren't they? You think we'd tell you? If you must know, they're both resting below. I'm just here to make sure you don't get any sleep!"
"You! You're shameless! Witches really are as disgusting as the rumors say!"
"Whatever. I'll take that as a compliment."
Minian and the other Witches and Dwarves calmly accepted the insults. This opportunity was one in a million. They couldn't sleep anyway; even if they got tired, they could just drink some refreshing potions. What was one night without sleep?
They could afford to stay up, and the chance to annoy another academy was right in front of them.
Witches were creatures with rich night lives. Who knew how many senior sisters back at the academy were currently watching them dish it out?
Just as they suspected, the senior sisters who were wide awake were indeed watching the broadcast. Everyone knew the exchange competition was nearing its end, and there weren't as many highlights as before.
Some academies, like the Holy Angel Academy, had already been completely eliminated.
However, some people had the wrong focus. While watching the Witches trade insults, they also had a live stream of Xiao Han's sleeping face open, acting like total fanatics.
The Witch Academy was huge, and with so many senior sisters, there were bound to be some with... unique interests.
* * *
At that moment, Enara arrived at the Elves' side again.
This was also why Mona hadn't gone to bicker with the Witches; she didn't have a clone technique and couldn't be in two places at once.
Enara brought what could be considered good news for the Elves, but she was equally surprised to learn that the sea could be eroded by the Ancient Battlefield.
Those Witches really were lunatics; they would do anything.
"So, I hope you Elves can spare some people to help our Sea Clan complete the ritual. You understand that the exchange competition is reaching its end. The Sea's Wonder Crown will be our greatest trump card."
"I know. I'm very grateful that your Sea Clan is willing to ally with us. But as you saw just now, those Witches are right at the boundary between our forest and the Ancient Battlefield. Although it's still a fair distance from here, it means we don't have many people to spare..."
"I'm aware of that. But the fact that they haven't launched a full-scale attack yet proves they're just trying to drain your energy during the night!"
"But we can't afford to gamble. If we reduce the number of people confronting them, they might actually join forces with the Dwarves and attack us!"
"You Elves aren't being very sincere..."
"I'm sorry... but that's the reality of the situation. I'll go discuss it with the Elemental Elf Academy and the others."
Mona was also incredibly anxious. If the Elves couldn't secure a connection with the Sea Clan, the latter might abandon them and turn to the Beast Academy!
Mona knew the Sea Clan had been in communication with the Beast Academy as well. Currently, the Beast Academy had formed a "Beast Academy Alliance," with almost all beast-kin academies joining.
This was a force not inferior to the Elves. Even if individual beast-kin weren't generally that strong, their numbers far exceeded the Elves.
However, there would likely be significant obstacles there too. No academy in the Beast Academy Alliance had successfully performed a ritual yet. If they watched the Sea Clan gain two points and take second place in the rankings, how could they just let it happen?
Therefore, the chance of the Beast Academy supporting the Sea Clan's ritual was low; they'd be lucky if the beast-kin didn't interfere.
But such was the maneuvering between academies. Any hesitation or rashness could lead to total defeat.
Especially since the exchange competition had reached this critical stage.
"A ritual is rising over there. Looks like it's the Sea Clan's."
The pillar of light from the ritual rising from the sea was particularly conspicuous in the night sky, representing the Sea Clan's intent.
"Looks like the Sea Clan is making their final gamble. We haven't seen the Elves' leader yet; they're likely involved in some shady dealings with the Sea Clan. Should we try firing a few shots at their forest?"
"It's a possibility... but what if we accidentally trigger the final battle? And Sister Tan Han isn't back yet..."
"Could something have happened to Sister Tan Han... sorry, I'm just worried."
"No way. Sister Tan Han hasn't lost a single life yet. How could anything happen? She's probably sleeping somewhere."
As the Witches were discussing, a figure approached the War Fortress unnoticed.
"It really is you guys! You actually made it here!" a voice called out.
"Eek! You scared me! I thought it was an enemy sneak attack. Su Ningmu, you're back? Where's Sister Tan Han?"
"We split up to look for you. Since you're here, help me send out a signal... wait... where's Sister Xiao Han?"
"Sister Xiao Han is asleep. I'll go wake her up right now!"
"Um, it's just a signal. There's no need to wake her for that, right?"
"But none of us have Sister Xiao Han's skill with spells."
"Sorry, the time we agreed on was based on Sister Xiao Han's fireball signal to regroup... I didn't expect her to fall asleep so soon."
"She was like this last night too... I'm sure she won't blame you."
"Anyway, you should rest first. Oh, tell us about your progress. Do you need us to go support you?"
"No need... Sister Tan Han estimated that even without our interference, the erosion from the Ancient Battlefield will completely surround the forest by tomorrow morning, or noon at the latest. That's why we came back early."