Chapter 492: Violations and Reports
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 492: Violations and Reports
"Tan Han, you're finally here. I thought you would have arrived sooner."
After Tan Han led her group out of the resource point with their fresh supplies, they found several people blocking their path at the final volcanic crater.
"Who are you?" Tan Han asked, a hint of surprise in her voice. The person blocking her was undoubtedly from the Wizard Academy. He looked somewhat familiar, but she didn't actually know him.
"Apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Ian Garland. You can just call me Ian. For various reasons, I didn't participate in the previous Dream Exchange Competition, so it’s only natural you don’t recognize me. However, we should have crossed paths during the Nightmare Incident in Ninglan New City. We both witnessed the birth of that terrifying individual there... though it seems she didn't come along with you this time?"
"You..."
Tan Han’s eyes narrowed. Her Spirit Eye granted her the ability to see Luck, allowing her to discern that the man before her was also a Child of Destiny.
From his confident tone, it was clear his strength was anything but weak. He even dared to mock the fact that Xiao Han wasn't here; to speak with such bravado suggested he was confident enough to face Xiao Han himself.
But... where did that confidence come from?
"I think if Xiao Han were here, there wouldn't be any need for you to stand here wasting your breath," Tan Han countered.
"You have a lot of faith in her. Where is she now? I heard you're planning to blow up the volcano. She shouldn't miss out on something so exciting, right? Isn't that how you girls from the Witch Academy operate?" Ian asked with a smile. The lackeys following him let out a chorus of soft chuckles.
"I suggest you stop overthinking things. Since you've blocked my path, I'll just have to send you packing myself." Tan Han didn't bother with further pleasantries.
Ian Garland felt the same way. Once he confirmed that the powerful individual wasn't among the newcomers, he felt a wave of relief. He was extremely confident in his ability to intercept this group.
As soon as the words left their lips, the two figures clashed. The radiance of spells and the power of witchcraft collided, triggering a violent explosion. The intense clash of transcendent energy forced everyone else to retreat to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
After the initial probing exchange, Tan Han gained a rough understanding of her opponent's combat level. She reached out a hand and made a summoning gesture. The weathered lava on the ground suddenly erupted with scorching flames. Rocks shattered and coalesced into a Lava Giant, its entire body wreathed in fire, using molten rock as a framework to manifest two massive, arm-like limbs.
"A lava summon? Interesting, but hardly impressive." Ian didn't seem surprised by the tactic. Witchcraft possessed many summoning methods, though that didn't mean he personally specialized in them. If he didn't clear out this combat-assist summon quickly, the situation would drag on to his disadvantage.
However, he didn't even need to move. His subordinates took action immediately. They pulled out doll-like Wizard Tools and activated their witchcraft. As runes flowed and Witch Power was poured into the tools, several metal puppets manifested.
Seeing these reinforcements join the fray, the people behind Tan Han realized they couldn't just stand by and watch. They dove straight into the chaotic melee.
Just as the battle reached its peak, a spear condensed from Holy Light pierced down from above, aimed directly at Tan Han.
Faced with such a swift sneak attack, the protection spell Tan Han cast in an instant could barely withstand the built-up momentum of the strike. Her shield shattered with a roar.
Tan Han used that split second to dodge, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the attack as the Holy Light spear grazed her side.
The resulting shockwave sent a jolt of sharp pain through her side. She knew she had been wounded.
"Since when did the people from the Holy Angel Academy learn how to pull off sneak attacks?" Tan Han spat indignantly.
"You birdman... who gave you permission to interfere in my fight!" Ian roared in anger. Although the Holy Light spear hadn't been aimed at him, the attacker clearly hadn't cared if he was caught in the blast. The terrifying shockwave that knocked Tan Han back had also affected him. If that strike had pinned him, he would have had to sacrifice at least one protective Wizard Tool just to buy time to dodge. Wizards didn't have the luxury of convenient spellbooks like the Witches did.
But as Ian finished his shout, his pupils shrank. He realized that among the Holy Angels who had arrived, several were actually patrol teachers!
His "birdman" comment had likely offended them as well.
Although the Joint Exam rules forbade Teaching Assistants from taking action, rules were meant to be broken.
There was another reason Ian was so wary of them... the Tower Lords from their own Wizard Academy didn't give a damn whether they lived or died.
Not only had they provided zero information, but the resource supplies at each point were pitifully meager. They were content to sit on the sidelines and watch the show with total indifference.
The Wizard Academy had sent two Wizard Tower Lords. This was a small number, not just compared to the Three Top Academies, but among all the academies participating in the Joint Exam.
Furthermore, Ian had only ever seen one of the Tower Lords. The other one... had probably wandered off somewhere to conduct some random experiment. After all, none of the Tower Lords wanted this thankless job, especially since it wasted an entire week of their time.
As Wizard Tower Lords, every one of them had ongoing witchcraft research that they couldn't bear to leave behind.
The arrival of the Holy Angel Academy immediately drew the aggro of both sides. Even though they had come to stop Tan Han from triggering a volcanic eruption, the innate friction between Wizards and Holy Angels turned the encounter into a three-way standoff.
However, the invisible pressure radiating from the Preaching Angels of the Holy Angel Academy still made everyone feel somewhat constrained.
Tan Han instinctively glanced toward the Knowledge Shadow. The figure still looked exactly as she remembered, which meant Xiao Han hadn't taken control of the clone yet. Relying solely on the combat assistance provided by this Knowledge Shadow, Tan Han was forced to rely on her high-consumption spellbook to keep from falling behind against the two opposing factions.
After only a few exchanges, Tan Han saw several of her allies retreat from the main battlefield, heavily injured and in disarray.
There was nothing she could do. They were clashing with elites from two top-tier academies. Her followers lacked the raw strength and combat experience to compete, and even the quality of their spellbooks was a level below their opponents'.
Furthermore, the representative from the Holy Angels wasn't Archie, whom Tan Han had met before, but someone else. Though she didn't know him, she could tell he was also a Child of Destiny.
It seemed the number of Children of Destiny in each academy was far higher than she had imagined.
"Ooh~ it’s quite lively here~ Mind if I stick around and watch the show?"
A sudden voice drew everyone's attention. Because the voice came from the direction of the volcanic crater, everyone instinctively paused their movements—except for the Holy Angel Academy examinees, who were promptly injured by a dishonorable sneak attack from Ian of the Wizard Academy.
"Teaching Assistant of the Witch Academy... you’ve crossed the line! You are interfering with a legitimate battle between examinees!"
A Preaching Angel stepped forward to confront her. Seeing the TAs of the Witch Academy and the Holy Angel Academy clash directly, the pressure on everyone increased, including the Witch Academy students.
Looking at the figure of that Teaching Assistant, many might not have known her name, but they certainly knew of her exploits!
This was the "Review Witch"!
Word was that every patrol teacher was allowed three violations. If they were warned three times, they would be removed from the Joint Exam site and forced to perform a socially-lethal public self-criticism at the subsequent Review Meeting.
However, this Witch didn't play by the rules. She had already written her ten-thousand-word self-criticisms in advance. The moment she pulled those out, she left the TAs of other academies completely stumped on how to handle her.
The fact that she was still here meant she had at least one "free" chance to take action. If other TAs made threats, they might just be blustering, but if this one made a threat, she was actually going to do it.
"Birdman, don't go throwing false accusations around. How am I interfering with them?" Lifaeya snapped back, her tone incredibly arrogant. "On the other hand, I see you birdmen have some dirty hands yourselves. You have the nerve to talk about me?"
As the two sides bickered, the Wizard Academy was likely the most relieved.
Since they were already at a disadvantage regarding Teaching Assistants, it was best if the other two academies tore into each other.
Not long into the standoff, a violent tremor suddenly surged from the volcano behind them. A dull roar made the earth tremble. This widespread anomaly forced everyone to stop. All eyes turned toward the massive crater. A plume of pitch-black smoke billowed out, and menacing volcanic ash swirled upward in waves, like a dark cloud pressing down on everyone's hearts. Upon reaching the sky, it began to descend.
"Damn it... Witch! What did you do!" The Preaching Angel could no longer maintain his composure. His face paled at the sight of such an omen.
"Don't go pinning every little thing on me! What did I do? I didn't do anything. The Bobapus Archipelago is located on a volcanic seismic belt. What does an earthquake have to do with me?"
Lifaeya immediately deflected the blame, her expression making it look as if she truly had nothing to do with it.
"Dammit... don't let me find evidence, or else..." The Holy Angel didn't finish his sentence. He intended to resist this sudden natural disaster. If the volcano truly erupted, the Joint Exam would be ruined!
But just as divine arts began to condense in his hands, he was suddenly struck by a backstab.
He turned his head with great difficulty, unable to believe that someone would dare to backstab him at such a critical moment!
"What do you think you're doing! Preaching Angel of the Holy Angels! I'm asking you, what the f*ck do you think you're doing!" Before the Preaching Angel could curse the other party for being shameless, he was met with a cold, measured interrogation.
This string of sudden changes made him look at Lifaeya in terror. His mind was racing, wondering how she dared...
"You! What is the meaning of this!" he finally hissed through gritted teeth. It was just one backstab—the damage wasn't great, but the insult was immense.
"You're using your own power to help the examinees, aren't you? Do you not understand what a violation is? Even if the volcano erupts, that's part of the Joint Exam. If the volcanic ash buries them and they die, they're just eliminated. But don't you dare think about helping them one bit."
"What kind of logic is that! You triggered the volcano, and I... I am correcting the impact you caused!" he argued desperately.
"I have evidence that you just took action, but you have no evidence that I had anything to do with the volcanic anomaly! Do you not understand such a simple concept?"
"You! You... you're just being completely unreasonable!"
"Your impression of Witches... is so stereotypical~" Lifaeya taunted him, completely unbothered.
Just as Lifaeya finished speaking, another voice completely crushed the Holy Angel's last shred of hope.
"Preaching Angel of the Holy Angel Academy, one violation recorded." An authoritative voice echoed in his ears. A figure appeared—it was the Freshman Department Head of the Witch Academy, the Transcendent Witch Lina.
"Isn't your Witch Academy being a bit too shameless? It was clearly your—"
Another voice cut in. It was a Transcendent Angel from the Holy Angel Academy. He appeared and immediately spoke in a protective tone.
"Stop right there. Your Holy Angel fellow took action right in front of the live stream. Who else would we record a violation for if not him? Are you trying to point fingers at our Witch Academy's Teaching Assistant? She is an outstanding Joint Exam patrol teacher who has never had a single violation on her record. Don't go making up stories without evidence, understand?" Lina interrupted him bluntly.
While her claim that Lifaeya was an "outstanding patrol teacher" was a bit of a stretch, the facts spoke for themselves. Results mattered more than intent, and since evidence was required, she placed heavy emphasis on that point.
"Teacher Lina! Thank you for speaking up for me. If you hadn't backed me up, they would have slandered me as a villain," Lifaeya said, immediately rushing over for a warm hug the moment her mentor appeared.
"Lifaeya, put your self-criticism away. How do you have the face to say that?" Lina quickly stepped aside to dodge the hug, then whispered into Lifaeya's ear so only she could hear.
"Hehe~" Lifaeya stuck out her tongue in a cute, feigned attempt to brush the matter aside.
At that moment, the volcano seemed to settle down again. The black smoke from before was merely accumulated ash from the volcano's dormant period.
The restrictions were still locking the volcano down, preventing a full eruption. Thus, that burst of ash was the maximum "help" this living volcano could provide.
Unless... the restriction was broken. Only then would the long-suppressed volcano truly erupt.
Anyone in the know understood this was a premeditated act, but they couldn't step in to expose it. This was a Joint Exam between examinees and TAs.
If the mentors from other Transcendent Academies stepped in to testify, the mentors from the Witch Academy could flip the entire Joint Exam on its head.
This wasn't an exaggeration. Given the access to Ley Line Data, there weren't many secrets in this Joint Exam. Everyone was just playing dumb.
Meanwhile, the examinees were quickly fleeing the area. Even though Transcendent Mentors had appeared, they showed no intention of intervening. The volcanic ash was about to descend, and rocks were tumbling from the crater. If they didn't run now, when would they?
Right then, a figure appeared abruptly.
"It’s so lively here. Teacher Lina is here too?"
The sudden voice was immediately recognized by Lina. Another headache had arrived...
"Xiao Han, why are you here?" Lina asked, feeling a migraine coming on.
"I marked a teleportation point here. But never mind that. Since Teacher Lina is here, I’d like to make a report. I’m reporting the Holy Angel Academy..."
"What are you doing joining the chaos? Who are you reporting?" Lina asked, frowning. The other Transcendent Mentors nearby felt a bad premonition, especially the one from the Holy Angel Academy.
"The Holy Angel Academy, of course~ I suddenly received an anonymous report. I wasn't going to take it seriously at first, but then I realized it was a ciphered coordinate reference table and a positioning map for the Bobapus Archipelago. Combined with some information I gathered personally, I’ve found that the Preaching Angels of the Holy Angel Academy seem very suspicious of rules violations." I spoke with a smile, pulling out several sheets of parchment.
I had borrowed the parchment from Lifaeya, and the content was written using my Information Identification skill. It didn't matter who had "anonymously" sent the material; the information on it was what counted.
The evidence wasn't the parchment itself, but the fact that the information on it, when combined with the Holy Angels' abnormal behavior, could be decoded into a precise, systematic set of data. If that data proved a violation, that was enough.
Even if they didn't admit it, Teacher Lina was right there. And even if Lina couldn't seal the deal, it would still be enough to disgust the Holy Angel Academy.
Did they really think I picked the Holy Angel Academy at random?
When the evidence is plain for all to see, if they refuse to admit it, it’s enough to destroy the "holy" image the Angels have always cultivated.
After all, this was being live-streamed. How could the Witch Academy possibly pass up the chance to broadcast such a scandalous event?