NOVEL NEXT Chapter 76: We don't have to fight
Meanwhile, two bulky Pearl earth mages summoned thick barriers of stone to shield the team, reinforcing the field with layered defense.
"Hold them!" one barked. "Reinforce the ground! Jason's trying to—"
WHAM.
Jason Park slammed his shield down with both hands, and a shockwave rippled through the dirt like a quake.
The barriers cracked.
Felix Crane yawned again.
And a moment later, Zhao Rui's group was surrounded in illusion fog.
Shouts filled the air as friend and foe blurred, barriers shimmered, and lightning cracked through the dust.
And far off to the side, Damien Bloodbane's group stood silently atop a rocky ridge, watching the entire spectacle.
Fatty exhaled. "Sooo… we're definitely not jumping in there, right?"
"Of course not." Mu Qingxue smiled serenely. "We're in a good spot, let's not change anything."
"They'll wear each other out. We wait." Mu Qingling agreed.
"The view is truly good from here. Now I understand how the instructors feel while watching us fight. It's like having first class tickets to a Grand Melee." Mu Qingyu sighed.
Damien Bloodbane narrowed his eyes.
"Athena hasn't moved yet," he muttered.
Sure enough, Athena stood just behind the fight. Arms crossed, smile calm, hair gently fluttering in the wind. Not a scratch on her.
She was watching.
Waiting.
In the field, Zhao Rui's team fought like hell.
The Lin Triplets spun with synchronized precision. Jennifer Aquafrost sliced with icy rage. The earth mages layered their defenses like seasoned tacticians.
But the Americans were a wrecking crew.
Blake Johnson bulldozed through flame and stone alike, hurling shock-fire with the ease of tossing pebbles.
Vanessa Smith slipped through spell formations like a whisper, disrupting cast times and knocking them out mid-cast.
Jason Park smashed his shield into the earth with bone-rattling force, unraveling the terrain beneath Pearl's most stubborn defenders.
The Storm Twins blitzed across the battlefield, elemental chaos wrapped in perfect rhythm. Lightning above, wind below, and enemies everywhere in between.
Felix Crane barely lifted a finger. His illusions swirled all around him, turning allies against each other with quiet precision.
Under their ferocious onslaught, Zhao Rui's team collapsed.
Hard-fought, but outmatched.
The HNU squad regrouped in perfect formation.
And at the back, Athena finally moved.
She raised one hand and pointed directly at Damien Bloodbane.
On the ridge above, Damien's team stood still, watching the battlefield settle. No fear. No panic.
Just calm calculation.
And then the Americans moved straight toward Damien Bloodbane's team like a pack of predators scenting a worthy meal.
But his group didn't flinch.
"Finally." Ji Chen rolled his shoulders, wind mana flaring around his feet.
"Pity. Our good time has to end." Mu Qingxue cracked her neck, completely unregretful in the slightest.
Jiang Xiao Yu stood at Damien's side, serene as a lake before a storm. Her strange energy already swirling around her. Even till that very moment, Damien Bloodbane still could not identify her energy type.
Fatty cracked his knuckles. "I call dibs on the big guy with the shield. I want to bounce off him dramatically."
Damien Bloodbane stepped forward slightly, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable.
No one backed away.
No one wavered.
And then the Americans stopped.
Blake Johnson raised a hand, signaling the others to pause.
"We'd like to propose an alliance." He announced loudly.
There was a full beat of stunned silence.
Fatty blinked. "I'm sorry, what now?"
Even the instructors watching from the sidelines froze. The entire field, filled with battered teams and shell-shocked students, suddenly turned their attention toward the one group nobody expected to team up.
"An… alliance?" Ji Chen asked slowly.
Zara and Zoe nodded in unison.
Jason didn't speak, but he set his shield into the ground and folded his arms like he had no intention of throwing anyone today.
Athena finally stepped forward, arms crossed, still smiling.
"I will battle whoever I want," she said. "Whenever I want. And however I want."
Her eyes sparkled as they locked onto Damien's.
"That's part of being a general."
Damien raised an eyebrow, then smirked slightly. "And this is your grand strategy?"
Athena shrugged. "Chaos is fun. But choosing your chaos? That's power."
Jiang Xiao Yu spoke up, her voice cool. "What's the catch?"
"No catch," Athena said.
Mu Qingxue muttered, "This is more political than our final exams."
Damien Bloodbane, ever calm, stared at Athena.
The tension hung in the air like a pulled arrow.
But before he could give his answer…
Jiang Xiao Yu moved.
In a blur of light-blue mana, she launched forward. A piercing spear of condensed water shot toward Athena with surgical precision.
CRACK.
Jason Park's shield dropped between them just in time, absorbing the blast. Sparks of mist hissed around him.
Athena didn't flinch.
Jiang Xiao Yu landed gracefully, eyes locked on Athena.
"We don't need alliances born from feelings." she said coldly. "And we don't need favors from enemies we haven't beaten yet."
Athena blinked, then gave a low whistle. "Feisty."
Fatty groaned. "Oh no. We're actually fighting over a boy. I knew I'd die as collateral in someone's romantic war."
Mu Qingyu smirked. "You say that like you weren't planning to die dramatically anyway."
But despite the confusion, Jiang Xiao Yu's sudden move lit a spark in the team.
Ji Chen followed, wind twisting around his arms. "Well, we are warmed up. Let's just do it."
The Mu Triplets flared their lightning in sync, flashing in from three directions. Crackles echoed through the air as they descended on the HNU squad.
"HAIYAAA! Take this, Flames of the Angry Pig!" Fatty roared and fired a weak ass fire blast at Jason Park. His unwillingness to fight and unwillingness to desert his team mates clashed much more powerfully than his actual elemental attack.
Only one person hadn't moved.
Damien Bloodbane.
He stayed on the ridge, hands still in his pockets, watching the chaos unfold below like a general observing troops on a chessboard.
Despite the flurry of attacks, the Americans didn't strike back.
Jason Park blocked.
Felix clouded the area in harmless illusions.
Zara and Zoe twisted away with wind-enhanced footwork.
Vanessa parried with precise mana counters, pushing force aside without retaliating.
Athena stood at the center, unmoved. Calm.
Her voice cut through the charge like a bell:
"My offer still stands."
Jiang Xiao Yu stopped mid-dash. The others halted just behind her, surprised by the lack of retaliation.
Athena smiled.
"A full alliance," she said clearly. "You've seen what we can do. We'll clear the field together."
She paused, her voice still light but laced with quiet meaning.
"We don't have to fight battles just because they're placed in front of us."
Then she turned her back on them, utterly unfazed.
"Think about it," she called over her shoulder.
Then she raised a hand.
The HNU team reformed behind her, already moving again.
And they bulldozed straight into the next cluster of teams, annihilating everything in their path with clinical, overwhelming precision.
Back on the ridge, Fatty let out a breath. "So… that happened."
"Very political." Mu Qingxue cracked a smile.
"I'm starting to like her." Mu Qingling smiled as well.
Mu Qingyu glanced at Jiang Xiao Yu to see what her reaction was.
The Mu Triplets knew her secret identity, of course. And as future officers in her army, they wanted to see what her stance was towards "Athena" and her layered words.
Jiang Xiao Yu stared at the carnage, face unreadable.