The Aura Ascendant: A Knight's Unbroken Path

Although Hayden wasn't really curious why they were only learning the art of the sword, he still nodded to the Headmaster.

"I can agree to that, Headmaster." He replied.

Then, Hayden focused on the battle once again while his Ocularis Lens tracked every movement. Although he was just watching the duel like everyone else, with his Lens, he could actually learn these new sword techniques, and it might be useful for him someday.

'May's offense is good, but Jean's defense is a lot better than I thought… He's waiting for her to tire.' Hayden mused as he didn't expect that Jean's whip sword, or whatever it was called, was actually a lot better to use in defense instead of offense.

On the other hand, while Hayden had actually noticed Jean's plan to wait out and look for an opening, May had instead sensed that Jean was simply hesitating because of her weapon mastery.

Because of that, she committed to a strong and fast thrust with her full Aura in display…

"Ha!"

Her spear aimed straight for his chest.

However, it was what Jean was waiting for! He easily sidestepped at the last second and his chain-whip sword coiled around her spear's shaft, locking it in place!

Cluck!

May tugged as she wanted to retrieve her spear, but the weapon was stuck!

'This…' She immediately realized that she had made a mistake.

However, she could no longer take it back. Jean smiled as he yanked hard, pulling May off-balance!

Before she could recover, Jean shifted his grip, the whip snapped and became rigid again… Then, in that moment, he drove the pommel into her stomach.

"OOF—!"

May folded as she gasped for air...

Jean didn't waste this opportunity as he knew that he simply surprised May... With her Aura, she should be able to recover in just a few moments.

With that in mind, Jean swept her legs, sending her crashing onto her back, before pressing the tip of his blade to her throat.

"I lost…" May weakly said as she closed her eyes to recover.

Just like that, the announcer's voice rang out.

"Winner by submission—Jean Fraser of Sacred Gate!"

With that announcement, another cheer came from the crowd as many of them won a lot of money.

***

In the meantime, while the crowds were cheering as the blades clashed in the arena, Prince Helcurt of Phyrexia stood atop a hidden observation tower just beyond the arena's bounds.

"Interesting…" He muttered as his eyes gleamed while watching the spectacle below—not with admiration, but with a predatory gaze.

And during all this time, his forces were already moving silently like ghosts.

The Mage Corps he had brought were already finishing up their plans as the people in the town got busy.

Apparently, he had brought 22 First-Circle Mages. It wasn't easy to bring them here but with the help of a local noble, they were able to enter this town disguised as merchants, servants, and even arena staff. They slipped through the crowds unnoticed as they completed their tasks:

Their tasks weren't too difficult, but they had to be careful not to be noticed. They needed to place Formation Cores in certain areas.

They were enhanced crystals set to destabilize the arena's mystical barrier formation. This was a very important step since the destruction of that barrier would give them a smoother escape later.

Finally, they also have the task of dosing the food and drinks.

It was a subtle or undetectable sleep potion to be placed on vendor stalls, ensuring key guards and knights would be sluggish when the ambush began.

Well, they couldn't use a potion with an effect that was too strong since it could be discovered by the dispatched Mage Guards of the Town.

On the other hand, the 8 Second-Circle Mages, cloaked in illusion magic, took up positions at the arena's eight cardinal points. Each held a Soulbrand Needle, a cursed artifact that would pierce the arena's main defensive wards.

They were also the ones tasked to deal with the Mage Guards assigned in the Arena.

Finally, the two Three-Circle Mages, Magister Orhan and Magister Sheena, just stood at Helcurt's side, their hands weaving intricate spell circles in the air.

"The final array is ready, Your Highness," Sheena softly said as she looked at the Formation Circle they had prepared.

"Once activated, the Voidflare Bomb will cripple all teleportation and communication magic within a mile radius."

Helcurt smirked. "And the targets?"

Orphan tapped a scrying orb, zooming in on the competitors below. "Priority and secondary acquisition targets are already marked. One first-circle mage was arranged for each priority target. As for the secondary target, my Magic Hand can just grab them all.

"That's great to hear… I thought it would take us more days to do this." Helcurt commented.

"It was easier than we expected with the help of the local noble whom we paid for extra services." Magister Sheena said.

"Ahhh… That's true. What a corrupt noble… Willing to sell off the future Aura Knights of their Kingdom… I like him." Helcurt said before he chuckled.

***

Soon, the first-circle mages in the arena had already spent hours embedding their Formation Cores into the arena's structure.

To the untrained eye, they looked like ordinary decorative gems. But when activated, they would disrupt Aura and Mana Flow, preventing knights from accessing their full strength and also disrupting the Mage Guards' spell casting for a brief duration. It will only last for three minutes, but that was more than enough to surprise them...

Lastly, this Formation Core could also muffle the sound, ensuring no screams for help would escape the arena!

If it's successful, they would have a lesser number of guards they would have to deal with.

On the other hand, the second-circle mages had already started using their Soulbrand Needles. The needles had already started pressing against the arena's main invisible wards.

Soon, a hairline fracture spread through the barrier.

"Wards at 70% integrity," one mage reported. "They won't notice until it's too late." One of the second-circle Mages said as they couldn't help but look forward to the chaos that was about to follow.

However, as all of them were preparing for the chaos they were about to create, there was one young man who had already been notified about the changes in the surroundings.