Chapter 911: Unshakeable.
Brandon twisted his neck, glancing at Alec, who remained surprisingly casual through it all, after a couple of seconds of silence and realizing Alec wasn’t going to explain why he had asked him to withdraw, Brandon just sighed.
As his spirit equipment set began to recede smoothly back into his body.
At first, it returned to its tattoo form, briefly visible on his skin beneath his academy uniform, however within a second, even that faint mark vanished entirely, leaving no trace.
The elders from the Royal Mage Academy took note, clearly impressed by Brandon’s refined control of his gear, it took most mages considerable training to retrieve their spirit equipment so seamlessly like that.
He then approached his great sword, kicking the base where it was embedded in the ground, as the blade twisted free, and he grabbed the hilt with his right hand.
With his left, he slapped the flat of the blade, activating a soft pulse of light. In a flash, as the great sword split back into its two component weapons, the slaughter saber and the tranquillity sword.
Brandon then proceeds to rotate his wrists, as the cloth wraps that had covered his forearms unravelled and coiled around the weapons, the wraps continued until both blades were fully secured, allowing him to slide them into the back compartments of his custom academy uniform, where they locked in place like they belonged there.
Watching Brandon stand down at Alec’s command stirred something unpleasant in Liam, it felt like a blow, though it was the War God Mage Academy taking a loss here however Liam just felt it was some kinda blow to him too.
What really bothered Liam was that Alec had orchestrated it.
There was something about Alec that rubbed him the wrong way, a kind of unreadable, calculated air.
Every single Royal Mage Academy participant had fallen so far, and the one calling the matchups behind the scenes was always Alec.
It was a chilling reminder of how deeply Alec understood them all.
At the War God Mage Academy seating area, Pale was already on his feet, stretching his arms in anticipation as Brandon made his way back, he could hardly believe it, he was finally getting the chance to face the captain of the Royal Mage Academy.
Excitement buzzed through him, and like many mages that comes from ancient clans, Pale had regained his confidence over the holidays and was convinced he could win this battle.
Just as he was about to step forward, he turned toward Alec, waiting for the signal.
After all, this was supposed to be his turn, just as Alec had promised. But Alec didn’t even glance in his direction.
“Lucas, don’t you think it’s time to stretch those stiff muscles?” Alec called, his voice calm, and Pale froze on the spot.
“I... I... I...” Pale struggled to form words, but nothing came out, no matter how many times he opened his mouth.
“I can’t let you fight right now, Pale, you and a few others are our aces. If I let you all show your cards now, we’d be revealing our full hand before the real competition begins, that’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid.” Alec said with a composed, almost humble tone.
Pale could only nod silently and sit back down, his expression dark, though he acted like he accepted Alec’s reasoning on the surface, however deep down he was frustrated.
He hadn’t expected to be selected in the first place, but when his name was called—fourth—something stirred inside him.
As each battle passed, his blood boiled with anticipation, waiting for the moment Alec promised would come.
But now, that moment had been snatched away with carefully chosen words, and in that instant, Pale couldn’t help but view Alec as a hypocrite, punishing him for a crime he didn’t even know he’d committed.
“War God Mage Academy, send the next representative of your team up,” the judge announced.
Lucas, who had been seated with his arms crossed, finally rose to his feet, towering over Brandon as he passed him, they bumped fists in quiet camaraderie before Lucas made his way toward the battle ring.
Two distinct weapons were strapped to his back, drawing curious glances from the crowd, but the odd arrangement didn’t shake his confidence, he just walked with his head held high, a calm smile playing on his lips.
As he stepped onto the stage, Lucas once again crossed his arms and locked eyes with Liam, who stood opposite him.
“If you know what’s good for you, step down now and let Alec take the stage, otherwise, you’ll regret wasting my time.” Liam threatened, trying to instill fear into Brandon.
Lucas laughed heartily at the warning, his voice echoing through the arena.
“Unfortunately for you, Alec isn’t fighting. In fact, he’s not even part of the line-up,” Lucas replied the moment his laughter subsided.
Liam’s expression twisted in shock, as though he’d been struck by a speeding magical vehicle, seeing Lucas emerge as the second-to-last fighter, he had naturally assumed Alec would be the final match, just like in traditional academy competitions, where captains would be the last in a face off to protect their teams.
“What!?” Liam blurted out, stunned.
Lucas remained unfazed, calm as ever.
“This is probably the last fight of the match. And even if for some unforeseen reason I do lose, it won’t change a thing, as the War God Mage Academy’s victory is already sealed,” he said with the air of a ruler issuing commands rather than a mage about to duel.
“You’ll pay for underestimating me. Draw your blade,” Liam snapped.
“There’s no need for that,” Lucas said coolly as he extended his right hand. Clenching his fist, a light blue Qi surged from his elbow down to his palm, crackling with restrained power.
The Qi energy wrapped around Lucas’s hand resembled a shimmering bubble of water, yet it radiated the intensity like it was a blue flames, it gave off a surreal, ethereal heat.
Seeing Lucas make no move to draw his weapons despite standing face-to-face with him ignited something in Liam. His jaw tightened, teeth clenched as he fought to suppress the fury rising within him.
“Good... Good!” Liam hissed through gritted teeth, repeating the word like a promise as he visualized all the ways he’d dismantle Lucas.
“Begin,” the judge finally declared.
As if summoned by divine timing, the moment the word was spoken, Liam vanished from sight in a burst of speed.
Gasps echoed through the arena as he reappeared behind Lucas in a split second, his right hand engulfed in blazing flames, and shaped like claws.
With deadly precision, he struck at Lucas’s back.
A thunderous boom rang out as the attack connected, yet what shocked the spectators was Lucas’s complete lack of response, he didn’t flinch, didn’t attempt to dodge, and showed no sign of pain.
It was as if he had allowed Liam to strike him on purpose.