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Thank You, 'Michael Covington', 'Joshua Potter', and 'Dunkmasterjohn', for Becoming A Member On My Pa'treon. The Emperor Protect.
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After a half-hour break, the next matches would soon begin. Those who reached the top sixteen were not weak, except for Hope's Peak Academy. Originally, all the contestants were divided into an upper group of schools, and there were several matches that were extremely close. Most people went to see the spotlight match, the one between Hope's Peak Academy and Sea King Academy, but the attention was not particularly high.
Of course, many spectators watched, especially Leonard's group. In the last game, they defeated Behemoth Academy, which exceeded everyone's expectations.
"Their tactical arrangement is quite good. The Maze Puppet and the Goblin Chief are holding the front, and the Blastoise is in the middle. The Demonized People and the Musketeer can attack without worry," a teacher analyzed. "Behemoth Academy is stronger than this, but they suffered due to their long-range output."
"This time, there's no such chance," another teacher said with a smile. "The opponents are all underwater races; Sebastian's side doesn't have an advantage."
"The Sea King Academy has three Mythical Level and two Legendary Level fighters, so their strength surpasses theirs," Neville continued. "In this match, there probably won't be a fight! They should stop here."
On the projection screen, the game had started. Since the Sea King Academy players built their team around underwater races, the terrain was different. Sebastian's group found themselves on a small island, surrounded by a vast lake. Beneath the lake, they saw a huge, unknown creature swimming around, ceaselessly observing the group on the island.
"How are we supposed to fight this?" Yuuki and Yamamoto both raised their eyebrows.
After observing for a while, a scout suddenly had a stony expression and said, "Sir, it seems to be empty down here."
"What?" Yuuki was startled, and immediately, he had someone check the ground beneath his feet.
Not long after, the inspection results came back. To their surprise, the bottom of the island was hollow. There was a canal inside, connected to the lake outside. At the same time, they noticed that the surrounding lake was shrinking at a visible rate, and the size of the island was also decreasing.
Sebastian and his team weren't surprised. This was a special map designed for land-based versus water-based species. Normally, one side would stay on land while the other remained in the water. If neither side was willing to risk going into the water, how long could the fight last? This setup forced the issue: the lake and the island would gradually become smaller over time. Even if no action was taken, they would inevitably have to confront each other. Therefore, the key was to take out the opponent first.
The Astra Militarum was strategizing when suddenly, they heard the sound of digging from below.
"The Giant Otter created by Sea King Academy is digging a hole down there," Clifford said.
"What should we do? Send the Blastoise to stop it?" Otwin asked.
Terrell immediately shook his head. "The Blastoise are not as fast as the Giant Otter in water, so they can't stop it from digging."
"If we don't stop it, we'll lose once these giant otters clear the area," Otwin said anxiously.
"Do we have to go into the water and fight them?" Clifford asked with a grimace.
At that moment, another movement occurred in the lake. A gigantic shark burst out of the water! These sharks resembled great white sharks, but their teeth were sharper and smaller.
"Megalodon!" Sebastian recalled the information he had read about the Sea King Academy's creatures.
The Megalodons were supernatural species created by a Great Mythical Level individual from Sea King Academy. They served as their main attackers, as their sharp teeth could bite through steel plates. It was unknown how many Megalodons were beneath the water, but they appeared to be watching the island, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"Wait, when they surface, we might get a chance to finish them off," Clifford said.
"That's all we can do," Otwin said, feeling a bit depressed. Facing the underwater race, they felt helpless.
"This battle should be easy, right?" In another sparring room, the people from Sea King Academy watched the match with some boredom. This was typical of sea versus land matchups, the species in the water took the initiative, but it always took a lot of time.
"The most formidable opponent was Sebastian's Musketeer, with high damage and long range, but it's not very effective underwater," a handsome boy remarked with a light laugh. They had also studied Hope's Peak Academy, especially Sebastian, the team captain.
"Hurry up, we still need to analyze our opponents for the next round," another girl said, leaning back in her chair.
Above the small island, only the Astra Militarum moved at a leisurely pace through the planet's passage. A large truck brought in the Udav-1 Land Variant launcher.
"Huh? What is this?" a team member asked, eyes immediately drawn to it. Sebastian always seemed to appear with something new and strange.
"Torpedoes," Sebastian explained. "Specifically designed against underwater creatures."
The launcher was accompanied by small torpedoes. Against the Megalodon, these small torpedoes would suffice. They were laced with toxic gas, earning the name "Gas Torpedoes." Their lethality was significant underwater.
Torpedoes were currently the Astra Militarum's most powerful conventional weapon for combating underwater creatures. Since seawater is over 800 times denser than air, the destructive power of a torpedo, given the same explosive yield, far exceeded that of shells. For example, 180 kg of shells could disable about 3,000 tons of warships, while torpedoes of the same level could sink a 50,000-ton ship. Super-large torpedoes could even tear apart an aircraft carrier. Though smaller torpedoes were less powerful, they were effective against Megalodons. The Astra Militarum had prepared many, especially gas torpedoes.
Clifford and the others watched intently as the Astra Militarum launched a gas torpedo into the water. It accelerated rapidly.
A group of Megalodons, preparing to attack the island, soon spotted these unidentified objects. Unable to dodge the speeding torpedoes, they had no choice.
A Megalodon was pursued by a gas torpedo, which eventually struck it.
"WHUUMMMPH!!"
A deep, muffled detonation rips through the water, followed by a thunderous, echoing pulse:
"WOOOMPH... krmmmmbblle..."
Bubbles roar upward as the shockwave rolls out like a thudding underwater drumbeat.
"Fwhoooosh... blub-blub-blub..."
Immediately after, a gush of blood stained the water red.
The Planet Lord, creator of the Megalodon, was the captain of Sea King Academy's team. He was surprised to find the Megalodon was dead.
The Sea King Academy team had yet to react as the Astra Militarum fired twenty more gas torpedoes in succession, targeting the submerged Megalodons. As expected, none of the sharks escaped. Once hit, the explosion's force combined with the toxic gas killed all twenty Megalodons instantly.
His teammates watched in awe. They had expected Sebastian's new weapon to be powerful, but not this powerful. Underwater, the hit rate was 100%; even the fastest Megalodons couldn't dodge.
After a short while, the blood-tainted water turned redder.
The Sea King Academy players were stunned. Their chairs were still warm from waiting for the Giant Otter to breach the island when twenty Megalodons had already been destroyed. Megalodons were extremely difficult to breed; even at Level 2, there were only about a thousand.
"We admit defeat," the Sea King Academy team leader sighed.
"Captain?" the others asked, puzzled.
The captain shook his head. "You want to face this monstrosity? What's the point of continuing the fight and risking more casualties?"
The others fell silent, helpless and reluctant. There was nothing more to do.
"Sea King Academy concedes defeat, and Hope's Peak Academy wins this match," the referee announced.
"A win!?" His teammates blinked, feeling the outcome was illogical. Even Prokopy and others outside looked surprised.
Before this match, few expected victory. Sea King Academy had a strength advantage and built underwater species that countered Sebastian's team. Everyone wondered how long Sebastian and his team could hold out. But no one anticipated they would win so quickly. This was one of the eight matches in the Top 16, and it was the earliest to end, while the other matches had just started.
When Clifford and the others left the match room, they were still a bit stunned. They hadn't really done much, just relied on Sebastian's strange weapon, the torpedo, and still won? Then they processed what had happened.
"Top 8! Top 8, haha!" Clifford and Otwin were both excited, and even Terrell, the most composed, clenched his fists. This was an unexpected victory.
"Good job." The vice principal leading the team approached, patting their shoulders. His eyes were slightly moist.
It hadn't been easy. Several vice presidents of Hope's Peak Academy, including him, the youngest and least powerful, had doubted their prospects. The lineup was so weak that everyone thought they'd be eliminated in the first round. The responsibility had fallen to him.
But no one expected they wouldn't go home early, they'd make it into the top 8. After all, the last time the Prince led the team, they had reached this stage.
"Now, let's see what Leonard and the elders' group have to say," Prokopy said, smiling.
Sebastian had forced Leonard to leave the team, stirring controversy in the school. Though Leonard was at fault, Sebastian's behavior fueled resentment. Many considered him arrogant and overconfident. But today's victory silenced those voices.
"Hahaha, the decision we made at the start was right. He's worthy of being a Great Mythic Level, he can create miracles," an old man in gray said, laughing in the void of Hope's Peak Academy.
Others smiled in agreement. Many had been forced to vote last time, and elders critical of Sebastian inwardly felt they had made the right call. Only the old man in black and a few others remained silent.
Not everyone was happy...
In Leonard's estate, his group looked grim.
"The Musketeers are that strong..." a teacher said in disbelief.
No one answered; the match had ended too quickly, leaving many stunned and unsure of what had happened. All they saw was a long object launched into the water, killing the Megalodons one by one.
Since it was the first team to finish, Sebastian's group even had time to watch other matches. Their biggest concern was that they might face Sirius Academy or Magic Eye Academy in the next round. The strength difference between these schools was not large, making the battles intense.
"Go Magic Eye, go!" Clifford and Otwin cheered for Magic Eye University. Sirius Academy was one of the Six Academies of Starlight, and their strength was formidable.
Magic Eye Academy was also strong, ranked higher than Hope's Peak. After defeating Behemoth Academy and Sea King Academy, they felt more confident. But reality was often different.
In a fierce duel, Magic Eye couldn't stop Sirius's wolf pack. Sirius's superior skills allowed them to win. Sirius Academy advanced to the Top 8, setting up their next opponent: Hope's Peak.
"Sirius Academy is very unique, they don't just have a university but also elementary, middle, and high schools," Prokopy explained. "They adopt many orphans and develop them from a young age. Most of their supernatural species are Blood Wolves, classified from Low to Super. Their most powerful is Sirius, the Heavenly Wolf."
"This time, Sirius Academy has four Mythical Levels and one Legendary Level," Prokopy continued. "As you saw in the last battle, Sirius is a super species, very powerful, and comes with its own talent. Most importantly..." He swept a grave glance across the crowd. "They have over 100,000 cultivated Blood Wolves."
Clifford and others looked grim. That was the largest number of supernatural species they'd encountered so far.
"Can any of them fly?" Clifford asked.
"Can they fly? No," Prokopy replied.
Again, there was a half-hour break before the top 8 officially started. This time, the venue was a vast desert with little terrain advantage. Guided by drones, other species arrived and established basic positions. It wasn't long before the camp was built.
Then, a loud howling echoed in the distance.
"This is the Heavenly Wolf race, Sirius. They are obedient, similar to our army," Yuuki said, watching the horizon.
Soon, the ground trembled as countless Heavenly Wolves ran across it. What did a pack of over 100,000 wolves look like?
A few minutes later, both Astra Militarum and Sebastian observed what appeared to be a thick, blood-red and silver line, these were the Heavenly Wolves. Their number was impossible to see entirely.
Under the command of the Wolf King, they scattered and surprisingly surrounded Astra Militarum, the Daemonized People, the Maze Puppet, and other races, trapping them in the center.
"Are they trying to attack from all directions at once?" Prokopy and the others watching the battle looked concerned. This tactic targeted the core of Hope's Peak Academy's team.