They split.

Noah wheeled back into the fight with his spear working fast and short, keeping his engagement moving and not letting any single opponent pin him down. He needed to be able to see the whole field.

He watched Damien go.

The older student pushed forward, not backward, doing the thing that every instinct in a battered fighter screamed against. He drove toward the densest part of the B-1 line, drawing opponents to him, using the golden light on his blade in tight controlled bursts to keep himself from being overwhelmed as he pushed deeper in.

Three students turned onto him.

Then four.

He was handling it. Barely, but handling it.

Soon his body started to glow in golden light. His presence became stronger.

One of the uses of his ability was to boost his stats, which helped Damien push through the enemies more easily.

Noah scanned left.

Lyria was holding the left edge, her spear working in tight defensive movements, golden light flaring in short controlled pulses from the tip.

She was keeping her feet despite the injury, but her movements were smaller than they should have been. She was protecting her damaged side without letting it show.

Right side.

Arisha had changed her angle on the elevated slab, tracking something new, her arrows going shorter and faster. Ophelia was cutting through the thinned right flank with clean and deliberate precision, lightning discharging on contact in sharp white flashes.

A tanker student was helping Ophelia.

He looked for Kaelan.

There.

A shadow moving at the far edge of the debris field. Low and silent and completely undetected. Brian was still standing in his preserved position, watching the middle of the fight, both swords loose and ready.

He had no idea Kaelan existed right now.

’Good.’

Noah turned back to the center.

Damien was deep enough. Surrounded on three sides, golden sword burning bright in the press of bodies, holding on through pure stubbornness and the advantage of reach.

’Now.’

Noah planted his feet.

He drove his spear straight up above his head.

A burst of ice blue light erupted from the tip as he dashed toward the enemies.

He started to fight the enemies closer to him.

’Edward and Richard..hehe~’

Closer to him were those two idiots. Testu was not present. He was in the group where Damien was going.

"Hey! Come and fight me!"

Those two looked at him with confused expressions. But knowing they were enemies in front of everyone, they dashed toward him.

Ice spread from his spear with each strike he exchanged with those two.

Meanwhile, Kaelan was able to reach Brian.

The enemies’ number was thirty.

While their number was seven.

While Travis and Michael were still out of sight.

---

Two black daggers met against Brian’s twin swords.

Clang!

Their eyes locked onto each other.

Gray eyes stared into dark violet ones.

"Kaelan Nightfall. Pleasure to meet you," Brian said, his lips curling slightly as he tightened his grip.

They pushed against each other, steel grinding as force met force.

In the next instant, Kaelan twisted his body and slipped to the side, his daggers sliding off Brian’s blades before snapping back in a sharp counter.

Clang! Clang!

Brian parried both strikes cleanly, his movements precise, his stance grounded.

Kaelan’s expression remained cold.

Brian stepped in, his swords flashing in a rapid cross slash aimed at Kaelan’s upper body.

Kaelan leaned back just enough, the blades missing him by inches, his cloak brushing with the wind of the strike.

Then he moved.

Kaplan pointed one dagger forward, and a black sphere began to form at the tip of the blade.

It was a compressed sphere of darkness.

The sphere shot toward Brian with tremendous speed.

Brian didn’t hesitate. His swords gleamed with dense blue mana as he swung them in a cross.

Two dense arcs of mana shot forward, colliding with the incoming sphere.

BOOM!

The attacks clashed, erupting into a violent explosion.

Smoke burst outward, swallowing the battlefield around them.

Both of them moved at the same time.

They kicked off the ground and dashed straight through the explosion.

Clang!

Their weapons met again inside the smoke.

Sparks burst in the darkness, amber flashes lighting their silhouettes.

Clang!

Clang!

Fast, relentless and precise in everything.

Brian pressed forward, his strikes growing heavier, each swing carrying more force as he tried to overwhelm Kaelan.

Kaelan responded with minimal movement, deflecting, redirecting, never meeting power with power.

Instead, he flowed around it.

Brian frowned.

Something felt off.

As if something was being pulled away.

Clang!

Their weapons locked again.

"You... is that your ability?" Brian said, his voice tightening. "You are pulling mana from the surroundings into your body. I can sense it."

Kaelan smirked faintly. "It seems like you have some brain, Brian."

Suddenly, Brian felt a pull on his body toward Kaelan.

It wasn’t strong, but it was enough.

Enough to shift his balance.

"Shit!"

His footing slipped for a fraction of a second.

That was all Kaelan needed. A magic circle formed beneath Brian’s feet instantly.

A black hand shot out from it and grabbed him.

Brian’s body jerked as he was held in place. His eyes widened.

Kaelan stepped in.

His dagger, coated in dense darkness, moved in a clean diagonal arc. Brian tried to react, but he was too late.

Slash!

A clean cut opened across his neck.

Blood splattered. Brian’s body froze for a second before collapsing.

Kaelan looked down at him coldly. "You should focus on fighting rather than talking."

Brian’s body glitched and vanished.

---

Noah saw it from afar as Brian was taken down by Kaelan.

So he took that chance and decided to eliminate those two.

Noah was holding back against those two.

While Richard and Edward, who were fighting with a spear and greatsword respectively, were also not fighting seriously.

Since Noah and they were working together.

And Noah was supposed to remain till the end.

Those two had swung their weapons at Noah without any killing intent.

So Noah took that chance and formed ice beneath Richard and Edward’s feet.

"What the?"

"Hey!!"

Noah didn’t waste any time. He ducked down, then swung his spear in a horizontal arc.

A cut appeared across both of their bellies.

"Bastard!!"

"Why?!!"

They yelled as they got eliminated.

Noah turned around and saw Damien.

His boosted body, glowing with a golden core, moved through more than fifteen students.

His speed was lightning fast. No one could touch him. He had already eliminated five students on his way.

Noah yelled with all his might.

"DAMIEN!!! NOW!!!"

---

[A/N: Guy’s help me by giving this novel power stones. Need to raise my rank in power stones ranking. So hope you would help me.]