Chapter 723: But I... Firmly Believe She Is Still Alive
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 723: But I... Firmly Believe She Is Still Alive
The clash between the top academies was a powder keg waiting to ignite.
Terrifying transcendent techniques traded blows, their impact triggering violent tremors throughout the area. Fortunately, this was the outskirts; no one was foolish enough to start a large-scale battle in the city center, where the collateral damage costs would be astronomical. But here... here was a different story.
In the blink of an eye, the spot where Yang Yunhan stood was layered with protective measures from every academy: the Elves' Shared Spirit of Protection magic, the Wizards' Bipolar Catalytic Energy Shield witchcraft, and the Witches' Two-way Binding Sealing Art.
In short, no one was allowed to lay a finger on the target until a final victor was decided. They were specifically guarding against the Holy Angels' despicable tactic of snatching a person and vanishing.
Of course, this was also for Yang Yunhan’s safety. He was still an ordinary person without a single transcendent bone in his body; even the slightest aftershock from the battle could claim his life.
And, naturally, it ensured he wouldn't take advantage of the chaos to slip away on his own.
Yang Yunhan stared blankly, pressed against the barrier of the "safe space" constructed by these transcendent powers. The sheer intensity of the battle outside had completely jolted him out of his earlier daze.
This was the first time he had witnessed the terrifying reality of transcendent power with his own eyes. Such majesty, right in front of him... The thought that he might one day wield such power made everything else seem insignificant.
The Witches cast spells with a casual wave of their hands, meeting every incoming attack with calm composure. In an instant, they could transform into terrifying flame monsters, becoming the absolute focal point of the battlefield.
The Elves unleashed gorgeous magic—dazzling yet deadly. Their figures moved with fluid grace through the air, and the arrows fired from their longbows behaved like elusive phantoms.
Yet, all of that paled in comparison to the massive mechanical construct deployed by the Wizard Academy’s Mechanical Wizard!
He stared at the dense, illogical array of mechanical components, moving with rigorous, repetitive precision. Despite being a machine, it possessed a rhythmic pulse that felt like the breathing of a living creature.
The unique sound of metal clashing and grinding, combined with the sheer weight of its massive frame, sent a surge of adrenaline through anyone who looked at it.
Yang Yunhan subconsciously ignored the abilities of the other Wizard schools. In this moment, he felt he had found the power he truly desired!
Real men were meant to pilot mechs!
To hell with his old toys and those scrap-metal computers!
"A Witch-Hunter-35 Type Multi-functional Witch Armor?"
The Witch student who had been swatted away by the behemoth spoke with a grimace.
"Your strength may be pathetic, but at least you have some vision," the Mechanical Wizard replied.
He was hidden within the massive mechanical tool. More than half of his body had undergone mechanical modification to allow him to control and adapt to various models of mechanical wizard tools.
This giant was a "Wizard Tool," meaning no race other than Wizards could use it. Furthermore, these specific models were restricted even further—Wizards who didn't follow the Mechanical Faction couldn't operate them either.
Even if captured, it would be nothing more than a pile of scrap metal. Not that it would ever be captured easily; these tools were designed to self-detonate as a final, lethal blow to the enemy.
"You moron. Our Witch Academy has already begun distributing Knowledge Seeds. The fact that we recognize the model means we’ll soon know its weaknesses! What are you acting so smug for?"
The Mechanical Wizard choked on his words. Hearing the Witch's mockery, he felt a pang of unease, but he refused to lose face.
As a Mechanical Wizard, he knew the weaknesses of his gear, but that didn't mean they were sitting ducks just because the enemy knew them. The power of a mechanical wizard tool wouldn't decrease by a single notch just because of that!
They were well aware of the Knowledge Seeds.
It was a specialty of the Witch Academy. He had heard that the Wizard Academy was planning to cooperate with them, but so far, they had only distributed a batch to the lower-year students heading to the Expansion Realm for the League Hunting Exam.
However, word was that the academies had collectively stirred up a massive hornet's nose during that hunt. The cooperation regarding the Knowledge Seeds would likely be heavily affected.
In truth, they were quite envious of the Knowledge Seeds' effects, but they weren't about to back down now.
Still, as they faced reality, they realized the Identification Art provided by the Witch Academy’s Knowledge Seeds was truly terrifying.
The mechanical wizard tool had made a great impact when it first appeared, but as the battle progressed, the Witches identified its weaknesses and began targeting them specifically.
Consequently, the pressure on the Mechanical Wizard increased exponentially over time. Visible damage and functional glitches began to mar the mechanical construct.
"It’s useless. We will be the final winners," the Mechanical Wizard snorted, though he didn't explain why.
"With just you lot?"
"Is that not enough?" The Mechanical Wizard looked at the communication window projected inside his cockpit. He had just made contact with fellow students from the Wizard Academy nearby. Reinforcements would arrive shortly.
Currently, everyone’s techniques were canceling each other out. The final result would likely come down to numbers. Since they hadn't been pushed back yet, his mechanical tool could easily hold out until help arrived.
And indeed, a group of Wizards passing through the area with their newly received freshmen were already on their way. Although today was the first day of the application system, not every student was being "recruited" on the fly; for those the academy valued, senior students were sent to escort them personally.
They didn't mind taking a detour to help. As fellow Wizards, they couldn't just stand by and watch other academies bully their own.
"The Wizard Academy has more people coming?" The crowd looked toward the approaching group of Wizards with frustration.
Just as everyone thought the tide was about to turn, another group arrived, shocking many of those present.
The students from the Witch Academy and Afuhemi Academy instinctively looked at each other, each assuming the newcomers were the other's reinforcements.
It seemed neither was correct.
However, it was a fact that the incoming Wizard reinforcements had been intercepted.
"Damn it, it's the Witch Academy!"
As they drew closer, the figures were still somewhat blurry, but since those intercepting the Wizards were all girls, everyone instinctively assumed they were from the Witch Academy.
"Do we have reinforcements?"
"How should I know?"
The brief exchange caused a moment of hesitation among the Witches.
"Wait, that figure looks familiar! Is that... Millian?" A member of the Xiao Han Fan Club recognized one of the figures and shouted.
"Millian? Why is she here?"
"Shouldn't the question be where she found the energy to get involved in this?"
There were many members of the Xiao Han Fan Club present, so they knew Millian well. She had once been a core figure of the club!
Back in the Expansion Realm, she had been the one to build the fan club from the ground up. Moreover, Millian was the only one who could maintain stable communication with Sister Xiao Han, making her status undisputed at the time.
Xiao Han’s death had affected Millian more than anyone.
Millian hadn't originally been a supporter of the plan to recruit Yang Yunhan to the Witch Academy.
Had she changed her mind?
Word was that Millian had been running everywhere lately, trying to prove that Xiao Han wasn't actually dead.
Had she finally accepted reality and come to take Yang Yunhan back?
Many present sighed. After their brief interaction earlier, they didn't think Yang Yunhan was fit to lead the Xiao Han Fan Club—he wasn't even qualified to be a mascot.
The only reason they were still competing with the other academies was that the situation had evolved beyond Yang Yunhan’s personal value. This was now a matter of academy prestige!
No one wanted to lose!
Though Millian hadn't seemed exceptionally powerful back in the Expansion Realm, as a mid-tier talent of the Witch Academy, her combat strength was beyond doubt. Combined with the students willing to follow her and the members of the Intelligence Group who remained loyal to Xiao Han, she represented a force that could not be ignored.
The reason these intelligence officers were willing to help Millian was, naturally, because she held information about Xiao Han—and because she firmly believed Xiao Han was not dead.
"Stop... Stop! This pointless attrition is meaningless. Why don't we... eliminate those who aren't qualified to compete first, and then we can settle this among ourselves?"
Facing the sudden surge of pressure from the Witches, the Wizards made a proposal. The "unqualified" party they referred to was, of course, Afuhemi Academy.
The Elves had the fewest people and no reinforcements. Their combat style—the survival skills of Rangers—was top-tier, and they had been using that advantage to balance the fight between the Wizards and Witches. In a three-way brawl, the weakest side always preferred to play both ends against the middle. To prevent the Elves from swooping in and stealing the prize, the other two needed to remove them first.
"My thoughts exactly."
The Witch Academy agreed without a second thought. They weren't afraid of the Wizards stabbing them in the back during the alliance; perhaps this was simply the unspoken understanding of combat.
Of course... the main reason was that the Witches were also planning to stab the Wizards in the back the moment the opportunity arose.
But that plan was unlikely to succeed.
No one was stupid enough to leave their back wide open, but a temporary alliance to expel irrelevant parties was necessary.
The Elves of Afuhemi Academy were stunned. In an instant, they became the ones being hunted.
Just moments ago, they were thinking of teaming up with the Witches to fight the incoming Wizards...
In the end, the joke was on them.
"You people flip-flop too fast!"
Even with their elven poise, the students under siege by both Witches and Wizards couldn't help but curse.
Then again, Elves who participated in "recruiting" missions probably didn't possess that typical elven arrogance to begin with, though they certainly kept the temper.
Under the combined assault, the Elves began to retreat within a minute. Before they were completely overwhelmed, they chose to withdraw voluntarily.
The current situation meant Afuhemi Academy basically had no chance left. There was no need to throw their lives away for a single mission.
"Afuhemi withdraws! On behalf of Afuhemi Academy, I announce our withdrawal from the recruitment of Yang Yunhan!"
The Elves shouted their declaration while retreating at maximum speed. Their movement was swift, even if their raw offensive power wasn't their strongest suit.
This wasn't to say Elven Magic was weak. As a magical architecture that even Transcendent Witches studied, Elven Magic was a terrifying force. However, for Elves below the Transcendent level, their offensive methods couldn't quite match the versatility of a Witch’s spellbook at the same rank.
"Now... the nuisances are gone..." Seeing the Elves disappear from view, the Witches were the first to move.
"The Witches of your academy are certainly impatient..." The Wizards didn't strike immediately. They were observing the situation, especially since they still had a few trump cards up their sleeves.
The Wizard reinforcements had arrived, whereas the two groups from the Witch Academy didn't seem to be acting in perfect unison.
Thus, even with the Elves gone, a tense three-way standoff remained.
"Millian, what is the meaning of this? Aren't you here to help us?" The first group of Witches, sensing something was off, restrained their urge to attack.
"I didn't come here to participate in your boring recruitment games," Millian said, her gaze fixed on Yang Yunhan.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"Before I came, I made a point to see a certain Mentor. I received an answer from her... and a certain item." As Millian spoke, she reached out and produced an object.
It was a book box, but this specific box bore a name known to all: "The Persuader · Book in the Box."
Even students from other academies had witnessed its terror during the recent League Hunting Exam. The memory of it being used by its owner to repeatedly bash an opponent's head in was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
"I didn't come to recruit Yang Yunhan. But like you, I came to find him." Millian walked toward the protected and sealed Yang Yunhan. She reached out, raising the Book in the Box high, and slammed it against the seal.
The barrier—a triple layer of Elven magic, witchcraft, and spell sealing—shattered instantly!
Countless fragments of Power of Knowledge, manifesting as "Break Annotations," erupted from the Book in the Box. The terrifying force pulverized the shield in a single strike.
"What are you doing!"
The Wizards were the most frantic. This Witch had shattered a triple-layered defense in one hit! If she took Yang Yunhan and ran, they would lose everything!
But Millian didn't run. She stood directly in front of Yang Yunhan.
"You! What do you want!"
Yang Yunhan instinctively raised his hands as the shield shattered. Seeing the perpetrator standing before him, he would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid.
"Yang Yunhan, right? I know someone once told you that when your scores came out, she would come to see you."
"You!" Yang Yunhan reacted instantly to those words. He knew exactly who had said that!
"She never breaks a promise."
"Impossible! She's dead!"
"Is that so?" Millian looked slightly surprised. She hadn't expected the news of Yang Yuehan’s "death" to reach her brother so quickly, nor had she expected this reaction from him.
"How tragic. As her brother, you conclude she is dead without seeing it for yourself. But I... firmly believe she is still alive," Millian declared with conviction.
When she had left Mentor Bai Yu’s villa, she hadn't received a clear answer, but she knew everything was going to be fine.
Xiao Han wouldn't have died that easily.
The "promise" she just mentioned was something she had heard from Mentor Bai Yu. The answer was obvious. She had come here to witness the Book in the Box acting as a medium.
To witness the return of the Xiao Han that everyone believed was dead!
She could only imagine how those who were still gloating over Xiao Han’s death would lose their minds when they saw this development.
"Should we use that?"
The Wizards could no longer tolerate the way things were going. If they didn't use their hidden measures now, the situation would spiral completely out of control.
"Do it."
As the brief exchange ended, the leading Wizard pulled an item from his storage wizard tool.
The moment the item appeared, a vortex formed on the level of Luck, invisible to the naked eye.
It was a Luck Manipulation Wizard Tool!