Chapter 77: Chaos in the Forest.
Aiden stood there as blood dripped down his whole body. Everyone in the crowd saw Aiden floating in front of the now-defeated wyvern. All of them had surprised expressions as suddenly cheering sounds came from the Water Department's seating area.
The cheering snapped everyone out of their surprise. Suddenly, most of the people in the crowd began to clap and cheer loudly in appreciation of what Aiden had done. Almost the whole crowd began to shout his name.
"Julian! Julian! Julian! Julian! Julian! Julian! Julian!"
While some shouted, "Wow, kid, that was one hell of a fight!" "I always believed you would be able to defeat that monster." "Well done, kid. You really are strong."
As the crowd shouted Aiden's name, he floated back to the ground. His breathing was ragged and heavy from the severe injuries he had suffered. Ashley and Bryan suddenly arrived in front of him.
Ashley looked at him and said, "You… you really did it. You defeated this monster all alone."
Bryan also spoke for the first time since he had appeared, "You really are something else. You defeated that monster all alone." Both of them were clearly astonished by what Aiden had achieved.
Aiden looked at them but did not say anything. Then he sat back and tore his already worn-out shirt, and began to wrap it around his injuries.
He could have easily healed all these injuries using healing mana, but he could not do it in front of all these people.
Aiden completely wrapped his arm in his shirt when suddenly Bryan said to him, "By defeating this monster, we have already won this contest, but you have completely exhausted yourself. What if another team comes and attacks us?"
Aiden and Ashley heard this and thought about it. What Bryan said was correct. If another team arrived, they would be at a disadvantage. But just as Ashley was about to say something, a lightning blast suddenly came straight toward Aiden.
It reached in front of him in a second. It was just about to hit Aiden's chest when he suddenly moved to the side and dodged. The lightning landed on the ground, and a small explosion occurred. BOOM!
Dust flew everywhere. When it settled, Aiden stood there, his injured body ready as he looked in front of him. Floating in the air was a silver-haired, silver-eyed boy— It was Joshua Draconia.
He had launched the attack to defeat Aiden while he was injured. He looked at Aiden's battered body and mocked, "So the great Julian Cross is now in such a pathetic situation, huh? Who told you to fight that filthy beast behind you?"
As he said this, two more figures arrived beside him: They were Christian and Liam. Bryan and Ashley saw them and frowned. The thing they had feared most had happened.
If it had been anyone else, they could have talked them out of it. But it was Joshua's team. He and Aiden were on bad terms with each other since the first day of the academy, and they knew Joshua would not waste this opportunity.
Ashley and Bryan moved in front of Aiden as if protecting him.
"If you want to fight him, you will have to go through us first," Ashley said firmly to Joshua.
Joshua heard this as he scoffed. "Why would we need to defeat you to reach him? There are three of us and only two of you protecting him. Can both of you fight us three?"
"Even if you fight with your best, you will only be able to fight a single opponent while one of us will be free to fight him."
Then he looked at Liam, who was standing beside him, and said, "You wanted revenge, didn't you? So why don't you go ahead and beat the hell out of him while we stop these two?"
A sinister smile appeared on Liam's face as he said. "Yes! I do want revenge, and look at him. He's now a walking corpse. His body is completely shattered, and his mana should also be mostly drained. Defeating him will be a piece of cake."
Joshua then said, "So let's begin." He suddenly appeared in front of Ashley, a lightning sword in his hand, as he slashed it downward. Ashley reacted instantly, moving to the side to dodge the attack.
She conjured a water whip in her hand and swung it toward Joshua. Joshua vanished and reappeared far away, completely avoiding the attack. He charged again, swinging his sword at Ashley while she dodged once more.
Both of them began to fight each other, moving back and forth while attacking and dodging. They looked equally matched.
Meanwhile, Christian arrived in front of Bryan. "Forgive me," he said as he conjured a lightning sword in his hand.
He attacked Bryan, who quickly raised a water wall to block the strike. Bryan then moved back, saying, "Wow… I never thought I would see a Draconia apologise for doing something wrong."
Christian ignored him and moved forward to continue fighting.
At this moment, Liam appeared in front of Aiden with a smile on his face. He looked at Aiden, who remained unfazed and still wore the same emotionless expression.
Liam saw his expression and felt irritated. He then said to Aiden, "What's with that expression, huh? Trying to act tough? Everyone can see that your mana is drained and your left arm is destroyed. Don't try to put up a strong front."
Aiden didn't reply. He looked straight into Liam's eyes, showing no sign of fear or danger. Liam felt anger surge within him.
"You bastard! I will show you when to give up!" Liam shouted as he vanished.
But before he could finish, Aiden vanished and appeared right in front of him. His right hand pulled back, and he launched a punch with full force, amplified with mana.
Liam didn't even see it coming. The punch landed square on his face. He was sent crashing into the ground, creating a huge crater. Dust and smoke rose around him.
Ashley, Joshua, Christian, and Bryan stopped fighting as they heard the sound. When the dust settled, Aiden stood beside the crater, calmly looking at Liam, who was lying in it.
He was completely unconscious, with a few teeth broken, and unaware of what had hit him.
Joshua saw this as he muttered to himself in surprise, "How can he still have mana after fighting that monster?"
The same question passed through Ashley, Christian, and Bryan's minds. They didn't know that Aiden had fully mastered the breathing technique to absorb mana from his surroundings while fighting.
He could continuously absorb mana for three hours and never run out of strength. Only a stage 3 mana cultivator could do this—but Aiden had mastered it.
The crowd erupted into cheers. Most people disliked Joshua and his team's behaviour and wanted Aiden to win. When he defeated Liam, the shouts grew even louder:
"Yes! That's it! Beat the hell out of them!" "Julian, you are the best! Now take on the other two!" "Well done, kid! Teach them a lesson!" "Wow, kid, you're incredible! I'll bet all my money on you in the singles competition!"
Aiden stood there calmly, turning to look straight into Joshua's eyes. Joshua panicked slightly. But then his pride kicked in as he said.
"What are you looking at? Do you think I am as weak as him? Come at me if you want to die!"
Aiden didn't reply. He slowly moved toward Joshua. Suddenly, a tree branch shot straight for his neck. It was a puppet attack. Aiden's senses flared, and he dodged to the side.
He detected the mana around him and traced the strings attached to the branch. Following them, he saw a boy with black hair—Kyle Hawthorne, the best student of the Puppeteer Department, along with his team.
They had come after hearing the wyvern's roar and wanted to help Joshua defeat an injured Aiden.
At that moment, a fireball was launched straight at Kyle, but a stone barrier blocked it. A figure appeared in front of him with a fire blade in hand—it was Olivia. Her two teammates stood beside her, protecting the group from Kyle's team.
Kyle looked at Olivia with hollow eyes and said. "So you've decided to side with them." Olivia looked at Kyle and said coldly, " I was always on their side"
A light beam shot toward Olivia's back, but an earth wall was conjured between them, blocking the attack. Victoria had cast it. Beside her was Henry, who was standing there.
Aaron and Noah stood further away. Aaron looked at Noah with surprise, confused as to why he had sided with Joshua, despite being Aiden's friend. Noah was the one who had launched the light beam.
He then shouted, " Noah, what are you doing. Why did you attack Julian?" Noah heard this as he looked at Aaron and said, " Aaron, forgive me, but it's my duty to bring the people of this world onto the right path, and your friend over there is consumed by evil."
Aaron dashed forward as he arrived in front of Aiden to protect him. At that moment, Jack appeared on a tree branch as he looked around and then said. "Wow, so… all the top students are fighting each other?" He paused, then continued, "Please continue. I won't interfere. Ignore my team and me."
Logan appeared as well. He scanned the area as he analysed the situation. Then, looking at Aiden's injuries, he said to him, "I had come here to defeat you, but seeing you at your lowest, I won't fight you. I'll wait until you are at full strength." He said that and then vanished.
Suddenly, everything around the students seemed to warp and change. The forest twisted unnaturally as everything began to change shape violently. An illusion had been cast.
Joshua saw this as he frowned and shouted, "I know it's you, Jeremy! Come out!"
Suddenly, a boy with purple hair appeared right in front of Joshua, his facial expression constantly changing— He was Jeremy Jaegar.
Suddenly, he laughed crazily and said, "I wanted to help you defeat this commoner who has been acting out of place,".
Joshua heard this as he was disgusted by his words because he knew that Jeremy was a maniac. But currently, he needed his help, so he hid his disgust and nodded in agreement, knowing that Jeremy was strong.
At this moment, a gentle hand was placed on Aiden's broken arm. Light particles began to come out of the hand as they began to heal it. Aiden didn't look back. He knew who it was—Angela Fray, she had sided with him and was healing his injuries.
Four teams were now on each side as they faced each other. The strongest students in the academy were going to fight, while Aiden, who was bloodied but calm, stood at the centre, ready for what would come next.
Author's Note: Aiden has defeated the wyvern, but now he faces the academy's top students. Eight teams are on the battlefield, each with its own goal. The forest is filled with magic, chaos, and danger. Who will come out alive?