Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 321: The Tri-Academy Exchange Arc (Part-13)

For a moment, Caius stood there, completely at a loss, unsure of how he could possibly get out of this alive.

Interest flickered across Reesa’s and the others’ faces.

"Caius," Reesa drawled lazily, lips curling upward, "weren’t you the one who said you’d abolish your weapon?"

They had long since grown used to Caius’s petty villainy. Now that a chance had finally arrived to add insult to injury, there was no reason to let him slip away.

Marcus’s gaze was even sharper. Losing to Caius because of an inscription had already left a knot in his chest, and the man’s constant sneers afterward had pushed his patience to the limit.

"Didn’t you look pretty impressive earlier?" Marcus said coldly. "What’s wrong now? Struck dumb?"

Caius was drowning in regret.

That weapon was one of his prized possessions. If he really abolished it, his combat strength would drop sharply. Thinking back on his earlier bravado, he wished he could slap himself for speaking so recklessly.

Ophelia’s expression was no better. Had she stopped him earlier, things might not have spiraled into this mess.

Now, staring at the scene before her, she could not think of any way out for him.

From beginning to end, only Ignar remained indifferent. To him, Caius’s predicament was irrelevant, as though they were not even on the same team.

Suddenly, Caius’s eyes lit up as a thought flashed through his mind, and the ugliness on his face eased into something far more confident.

"How can you prove that the inscriptions you’re holding are the same as mine?" he said quickly. "Maybe they just look similar. The effects could be completely different."

He simply did not believe that Zora could casually take out so many identical inscriptions. Inscriptions were incredibly valuable. Who, aside from the inscription master himself, could possibly possess so many of the same type?

Moreover, many inscriptions shared similar patterns, yet their effects differed vastly. Appearance alone proved nothing.

Earlier, he had been momentarily shaken by the sudden pile of inscriptions. Now, after calming down, he realized he might have overreacted.

As Caius spoke, the atmosphere shifted once more.

His argument was not unreasonable.

Marcus and the others instinctively turned their eyes toward Zora. The precise effect of those inscriptions was still unknown.

Yet not one of them doubted her.

If Zora said they were the same, then they were the same. That trust was absolute.

Caius lifted his chin slightly, a smug glint returning to his eyes as he stared at Zora. He wanted to see how she would wriggle out of this.

Zora’s red lips curved into a faint, unhurried smile.

"And if I prove it?" she asked calmly.

Her own inscriptions were things she understood better than anyone. Structurally, they were identical. In fact, with her improved techniques, the later versions were even better than the ones Caius possessed.

Caius had been expecting panic, hesitation, even embarrassment.

Instead, Zora looked utterly at ease, as though the problem did not exist at all.

A chill crept into his chest.

Ever since he crossed paths with her, nothing had gone as planned. Time and again, the advantages he thought he held slipped from his fingers.

Was this woman truly that skilled at psychological warfare?

Having already suffered once, Caius forced himself to remain cautious and did not continue running his mouth.

"Prove it first," he said stiffly. "Don’t think that pulling out a few similar-looking pieces of paper will fool me."

"At a moment like this, Caius is still acting that way. He really doesn’t know the meaning of life and death!" Black cursed openly, its small face full of indignation. This guy truly deserved to be slapped straight in the face.

"He’s asking for more trouble," White chuckled, eyes curved with delight. "The harder he struggles now, the worse he’ll fall later."

In White’s eyes, this was already a foregone conclusion. When their master decided to strike, she never missed. Caius might be born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but against their master, money had never been a shield.

Zora was not surprised by Caius’s reaction in the slightest. A dead duck always stayed stubborn until the very last moment. Since he refused to give up until he saw the coffin, she did not mind helping him lie down inside it.

She turned to Marcus, nodded once, and smiled faintly. "Marcus, if you don’t mind, use your weapon. Let him see clearly and die completely convinced."

Marcus answered without the slightest hesitation. "No problem."

Caius’s mockery from earlier was still burning in his chest. Now that such an opportunity had presented itself, there was no way he would let it slip by.

Reesa and the others all wore expressions of eager anticipation. Someone like Caius truly needed a harsh lesson.

Tiffany and the rest remained calm. They had absolute confidence in Zora. She had never failed before, and there was no reason to believe she would now. All they needed to do was watch.

The surrounding crowd gradually grew quiet. This scene had already drawn everyone’s attention. Whether Zora was bluffing or speaking the truth would soon be revealed.

On the Lunar Academy side, unease began to spread. What was supposed to be a rest period had turned into a confrontation over inscriptions. Zora’s composure did not look like an act. If Marcus really proved her words true, Caius would have nowhere left to stand.

Caius’s gaze locked onto Marcus. Claiming he was not nervous would be a lie. His palms were already slick with sweat.

Marcus met his eyes with a provocative look, then, without another word, pressed the inscription Zora had handed him onto his weapon.

A crimson glow slowly bloomed.

At once, the pattern on the inscription paper seemed to come alive, flowing like liquid fire as it peeled away and merged into the surface of the weapon. Runes lit up one by one, settling perfectly into place as the light pulsed and stabilized.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

At this moment, no one doubted that the inscriptions Zora had taken out were genuine. They were unquestionably real.

The only remaining question was whether they were truly the same as Caius’s.

"It looks real. And judging from the structure, it really does resemble Caius’s inscription."

"If it weren’t the same, Zora wouldn’t have dared to bring this up so confidently."

"If that’s the case... doesn’t this mean someone from Lunar Academy really went to the Heavenly city?"

As murmurs spread, expressions subtly shifted.

If this were true, then there was far more beneath the surface than anyone had expected.

At that very moment, Caius’s face drained of color.

Because he could see it clearly.

The inscription on Marcus’s weapon was truly identical to his own. The same structure. The same flow of power. The same blazing resonance.

If it wasn’t the same inscription, then the resemblance was terrifyingly perfect.

Only now did Caius finally understand.

Why had Zora found his inscription familiar.

Why had she asked to see it.

From the very beginning, she had already known the answer.

In a short while, as Marcus’s inscription finished branding, he lifted his gaze toward Caius, a clear trace of triumph flashing in his eyes.

"Caius," he said coolly, "let me test whether this inscription is really the same as yours."

As his words fell, Marcus poured his inner force straight into the weapon. In an instant, a scorching heat surged outward. The runes on the blade flared crimson, pulsing like embers fed by the wind.

Whoosh!