Chapter 700: Attack Or Attack

"If they were that strong, then how come they haven't yet eliminated some academy?" Kaelion countered Aaron's words.

"Maybe they couldn't find any?" Ronan suggested.

"Or they had been targeted, and most of their people were eliminated—leaving just a handful of people to roam around after escaping with the territory beacon." Tavian offered another possibility, making the others nod.

"True, they could be so busy hiding that they couldn't establish their stronghold," Saying that, Uraan continued.

"Why don't Leon and I search through the remaining 13 locations and try eliminating them to get more points?" Uraan suggested, lighting up the expressions of the other students, especially Leo's.

Because he could fly at a very high speed, though slower than Uraan's falcon and Kaelion's Skyreaver, he could use stealth to remain undetected by other strong parties, unlike Uraan and Kaelion's flying beasts, who could be spotted and targeted.

But Uraan and Kaelion's beasts were also fast—capable of outrunning almost everybody in the realm. That was evident from the fact that even after a whole week's worth of scouting, nobody had been able to attack them.

And so, Leo simply turned towards the two of them.

"You both will search the southern direction, and I will search the north. Remember not to target any stronghold, even if the build is lacklustre. Just the ones that have no defence, meaning—the last three. Understood?"

According to the map, Aurelius Beast Academy was situated in the west, so Leo would travel towards the left, while Kaelion's group would head to the right.

"Also, completely avoid the central mountain region. We don't want a target on our backs this early."

Kaelion and the others nodded as they prepared to depart.

This time, only 3 would be in Kaelion's team—Sylrael, Uraan, and Kaelion himself. That's because the two of them were capable of running away in case they found themselves in trouble, while Sylrael could shoot down any enemies tailing them.

As for Leo's side...

He was alone.

"Remember to use the communication and location-reveal talisman immediately in case you both find yourselves in trouble. Help will come quickly."

Leo immediately turned off the private screen through his connection with the stronghold beacon, making the square formation of the screen become triangular.

With that, Leo took off, and Kaelion's group closely followed. Uraan and Kaelion had their spatial rings filled with explosives to drop on any beings that attacked them. As for healing and enhancement... Kaelion's level was too high for Veronica to produce anything for him, while Uraan had a couple of them.

Though for healing, Sylrael would be enough.

"Be careful, Leo!" Lily called out before turning around.

She immediately formed the 5-layered [Mountain Aura Dome] while telling Aeila to climb the central tower as a watchguard to warn against any incoming threats. She herself flew higher into the clouds, where Lunaria had made herself invisible within the stormy clouds.

Veronica and the other two alchemists were already working on making potions, while Team Ice and Fire patrolled the top of the walls for any danger.

The only special person was Thalvyr, who was allowed to ride on Agnivar and patrol further into the distance, beyond the 1-kilometre acidic water moat.

Miho was seen busy planting more mana-enriching plants inside the stronghold grounds that had been collected in bulk by the scouts and Ice Team.

Leo's path coincided with Evergrove Sovereign Academy's stronghold, and as he neared the location, the elven audience sucked in a breath of cold air back in the stadium.

They waited with bated breath, already thinking that 1 of the 2 surviving hopeful academies was done for.

Yes, only 2 academies, because their 3rd academy only had around 2 members left alive. There was no hope for them.

13. Elyndor Academy of Spirit Arts — 0 Points

It was the 13th-ranked academy, and those last two students had barely escaped from the dragon's attack with their exceptionally high-level concealment spirit art.

Since the leaderboard was completely accessible to the audience and through the livestream, they knew everything.

In the Emperor's chamber, Aurex was laughing his ass off, while Cyrandel could only hold her head as if she were in pain.

"Cyrandel, you should really do something about this pathetic level of your people. How are you all even falling behind humans, even though you have positive vitality and intelligence traits?" Aurex said, already having many extremely high-tier-looking treasures stacked behind his seat. He had won multiple bets against Louis and Cyrandel.

Even Louis seemed to have a few, though not many. Cyrandel, however, was sitting empty-handed.

At that, Louis addressed Cyrandel.

"You do know you need to be stricter with your people, right?" he said. He didn't have that mocking edge like Aurex, sounding more like someone giving advice.

"I know..." She rubbed her forehead in frustration.

Louis was talking about how Aeloria, the Empire of elves, wasn't actually under Cyrandel's complete authority. Lately, due to the rise of a particular family and individual, the Empire had begun to see disturbances in the flow of its rule.

The problem stemmed from how Cyrandel, the 'capable' Empress, had allowed their prospective goddess to die.

And due to that, along with the fact that despite almost touching the 9-star realm, she couldn't defeat Louis or the Demon Emperor, who possessed High 8-star strength, further proving her weakness, some unrest had begun to spread among the masses.

As for how this related to the competition, 2 of the 7 academies were not under Cyrandel's jurisdiction, and she couldn't distribute benefits appropriately to capable students as a result, which made them weaker overall.

And even though those 2 outlier academies had already been eliminated, this didn't change the fact that Cyrandel was not in full control.

A stark contrast to the Human Emperor—a true hegemon in all senses. Even though known for a reputation for ruthlessness and tyrannical rule, Louis had total control over the Empire spanning more than 5 million kilometres. Not to mention, almost every city had been established independently in a random location, and he had control over every single one of them.

"Hmm..." Louis thought about something for a second before looking at Cyrandel.

"Should I send a secret message to Velerath, Valencrest, and Aurelius Academies not to target the Elarion Royal Academy?" he suggested.

Because if every elven academy were eliminated, this would drastically plummet the already collapsing reputation of Cyrandel in the Elven Empire. Not to mention that one family would completely use this excuse to overpower her further through political pressure by taking advantage of her softness toward her people.

Cyrandel chuckled helplessly at him.

"Don't forget we are enemies."

Louis shrugged.

"In the eyes of the common folk, we both know it's just a matter of time until we reveal our willingness to cooperate."

"Huh? Don't count me in. I would very well see both of your Empires' academies crushed completely, even before coming out of the realm," Aurex said while lazily leaning back.

But Cyrandel denied it.

"No, no need. I know at least Elarion is capable on their own. If not, I can only curse my bad luck."

"Suit yourself," Louis said as their eyes shifted back towards Leo's form midflight, gazing towards Evergrove Sovereign Academy's stronghold.