I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 339: A Surprise Visit

XXXX Continent, Seraph Kingdom, inside the Ninth Prince’s pavilion.

“Alright, then. Since everyone has agreed that the name of our team will be the Vanadir Coalition, let’s now move onto a topic that’s crucial for us to have higher chances of winning in the war for the throne,” Vanadir looked at the other four as he said this statement.

Hearing the last part of his statement, the other four perked up their ears as solemn expressions could be seen on their faces. Of course, Vanadir knew that cracking a joke at this point would drastically backfire, so he truly got serious as he said, “I’m sure that all of you know that the war for the throne is a sort of test for the princes that not only tests our abilities in terms of strategy and combat, but also our abilities in adapting and formulating new ideas of our own.”

“Unsurprisingly, this idea came from our current king, Zeldrion Seraph. As to why he did the test in this format, he wanted to check if our abilities were more or less comparable to him, even on a smaller scale,” he soon added.

“And so, we shall now be tackling what I consider as the most important part of this event, which are the group attacks.”

In response, all four nodded. Although they felt that group attacks were not as important unlike formulating various strategies for various situations, they knew that group attacks were quite a vital part in such an event like the war for the throne, which highly relied on the strength of the members of the team.

“I believe that all of you have undergone combat before, so you know how effective group attacks are when the people involved in it are truly in sync,” Vanadir said soon after their non-verbal responses. Taking in a deep breath, he then told them, “With that in mind, we shall now head to the royal training grounds in order to formulate some group attacks.”

Just as he was about to be the first to head out of the pavilion, Erea went ahead and spoke her mind regarding Vanadir’s words, asking him, “Your Highness, might I ask why we’re formulating group attacks right now? Surely it would be more productive for us if all 10 members of the team are present, right?”

After Erea was finished asking her question, the other three then looked at Vanadir. As for Vanadir, he pondered over the question for a bit before nodding as he answered, “Indeed, it would be more productive for us to do that. It would also allow us to create group attacks that involve 10 people, which would result in a drastic increase in combat power. Of course, there’s a reason why I’ve decided to formulate group attacks with us 5 for now.”

“Since us 5 shall act as the core of the team, we must have as many possible group attack combinations as possible,” Vanadir soon added. “We must think of the remaining 5 as cannon fodder, how harsh it may be. I believe that as long as us 5 are still standing, then we have a high chance of succeeding in the fight.”

“Of course, I’ll also ask the people that will fill the 5 remaining slots to formulate group attacks of their own, allowing us to operate as two separate teams, with us 5 being the main team. There’s a high chance that the other princes will definitely prioritize their own safety, which means that they’ll always focus on moving as a whole. Naturally, all of this is still speculation, so we can’t say what will actually happen on the day of the fight itself.”

“Now, shall we head to the royal training grounds?” Vanadir asked the four of them, prompting the four to look at each other for a bit before lightly nodding as they soon followed the Ninth Prince, making their way to the royal training grounds.

…

While making their way to the palace’s royal training grounds, Dane made his way to the front, arriving beside Vanadir before sending a strand of energy to communicate with him in secret.

“Your Highness, my master has replied to your request,” Dane said through the strand of energy connecting them.

In response, Vanadir raised his eyebrows as he replied, “What did your master say?”

With a light sigh, Dane replied, “He told me that he would be fine with you recruiting some of his students for the war for the throne, though you’ll have to wait six more months until you can do so.”

Calculating the amount of time remaining until the war for the throne, he could not help but ask Dane, “That only gives us around three more months until the beginning of the event. Is there a reason as to why your master chose that date?”

Scratching his head in slight guilt, Dane responded, “Well, my master told me that it’s because the other princes had already asked him if they could recruit his students. Of course, as I’m his disciple, he made sure to give you the best time frame to recruit students. Six months from now is also the time when the academy opens its doors to new students, allowing you to recruit new faces.”

Knowing very well that he could not bargain his way around this, and given the fact that he was still being given preferential treatment even though his other brothers had asked the same thing, Vanadir instead let out a long sigh as he cut off the connection between him and Dane before continuing to lead the others as they made their way to the royal training grounds.

…

With the palace spanning a large area, as well as the fact that they could not fly inside, it took around 20 minutes for the five of them to arrive.

“What a large area…” Erea could not help but mutter as she stepped forward to get a better look of the royal training ground. Soon after, Valentia appeared beside her as she added, “A pretty empty one at that.”

Although it was quite peculiar to see that almost no person was at the royal training grounds, it was quite understandable if one considered the current situation. With each prince training their members in preparation for the war for the throne, they knew very well to not train at the royal training grounds, lest they wanted the other teams to know of their moves.

Of course, with that same line of thought, that made the royal training grounds a great place to train since that meant that no one would spy on them…as long as they bribed those who do, naturally.

Heading towards the center of the training ground, Vanadir then looked at the four that came along with him and said, “Before we start formulating our group attacks, let’s talk about our classes and specialties first.”

“Dane, how about you go first?” he said not long after, his vision focused on Dane, who was on his leftmost side.

“As you wish, Your Highness.” Dane lightly nodded in response. He then looked at the other three and said, “As you may know, I’m a mage. To be more exact, I’m a Rank 4 High Mage. Due to my class, I’m well-versed in all types of magic, though I specialize in Space-type magic. In terms of offensive magic…yeah. Also Space-based magic.”

After finishing his piece, he then looked at his student, prompting Erea to attract their attention before saying, “Just like my teacher, I’m also a mage. Unfortunately, I’m only a Rank 3 Dual Cortex Mage for now, though I think I could reach the Rank 4 level before the start of the war. Due to my class, I am only well-versed in two types of elemental magic for now, which is Fire-type and Water-type magic. Of course, I’ll make sure to expand my repertoire before the war begins.”

“How about I go next?” With Erea done, Valentia opted to speak, prompting Griselle to shrug her shoulders in response. With a light grin, she then said, “I’m a Rank 4 Sanguine Sword Witch. Thanks to this class, I’m great at sword fighting, as well as Blood-type magic. Through this Blood-type magic, I can heal any type of wound in a short amount of time, except death, of course.”

She then took in a deep breath before adding, “I can also fuse my two specialties together, allowing me to use the blood of my enemies to enter a state of extreme offense…at the cost of my rationality.”

“If you consider Valentia to be a berserker, then you can consider me as a guardian,” Griselle said after Valentia was done. “I’m a Rank 4 Prime Defender. I’m great at blocking and deflecting attacks, while my ultimate move allows me to reflect attacks thrown at me at 200% of its original power. Other than that, I also train in swordsmanship, though my ability with it is not as great as Valentia’s.”

“Since all four of you have explained your classes and specialties, it’s time for me to do the same,” Vanadir said before explaining, “I’m a Rank 3 Adept Windwalker. From the name of my class, it’s quite obvious that I should be well-versed in Wind-type magic…but I’m not. I’ll make sure to learn as much Wind-type magic as possible before the start of the event. Nevertheless, I’m well-versed in sword fighting, and I have a weapon that allows me to cast Wind-type offensive magic.”

After that, Vanadir took in a deep breath before looking at the four once more and asking, “So, are we all clear on our specialties?”

In response, all four lightly nodded, to which Vanadir let out a light smile before saying, “Alright. Let’s formulate some group attacks!”

…

And just like that, the five of them started to formulate group attacks that would allow their specialties to become more prominent. Of course, at first, it was quite hard for them to formulate decent group attacks since they were still getting used to the limits of the other members in the team. But naturally, as time passed, they became more and more comfortable as they got to know what worked and what didn’t.

By the time around three hours had passed, the five of them had decided that they had created all of the possible group attacks they could make that involved two people. Naturally, they knew that there was a still long way to go until their moves would be considered powerful, though they knew they already had a good start.

After another hour had passed, all group attacks involving three people had been created by them, with group attacks involving four people being made within the span of a half hour after that.

With all of that done, that only left the group attacks that involved all 5 of them. Since these types of attacks needed the full coordination and cooperation of the members making up the attack, it took over an hour for everything to finally fall into place.

“Let’s try this one more time!” Vanadir shouted, soon dashing at the fastest speed he could muster.

“Hup!” While Vanadir was running towards a certain direction, Dane soon conjured a pillar of earth in front of Vanadir, which the latter used as a platform to jump off of as he started to fall down from a decently high height.

“Ignition Mode!”

“[Magnus Tempestria: Dragon’s Fang]!”

In an instant, the length of the blade Vanadir was wielding had expanded by a meter, being made up of a tangible dark green energy. Not wanting to fail one more time, he hastily shouted as he continued to fall down, “Everyone! Buff me up!”

“3rd Circle! Void’s Embrace!” Dane hastily shouted, instantly covering Vanadir’s blade in a thin layer of dark energy.

“1st Circle! Flame Imbuement! Aqua Imbuement!” Soon after, Erea followed up with her own spells, covering the blade in a thin layer of red and blue energy.

“2nd Circle! Boiling Blood!”

“3rd Circle! Reaper of Life!” Valentia then cast her own spells towards Vanadir, with the former increasing the capabilities of Vanadir’s body, while the latter allowed the blade to siphon life from the enemy, restoring Vanadir’s health in the process.

“[Unyielding Barrier]!” Being the only one left, Griselle went ahead and activated a skill that conjured a barrier around Vanadir, removing the problem of being interrupted mid-attack.

“[Wind Dragon’s Four Forms: Wind Severing the Earth!]”

Whoosh!

After activating the strongest skill he could activate on his blade, the speed of descent then greatly increased by a few times. Just as he was about to land on the ground with great force, he then twisted the blade he held, giving it a bit of piercing force as he felt that this attack would finally come to fruition.

Feeling great excitement, he then shouted, “[Vanadir Coalition Supreme Art]!”

“[Four Supreme Dragons Ravaging the Heavens]!”

Bang!

Without encountering any obstacles, the blade Vanadir was holding had cleanly pierced through the ground, with only the hilt and the handle being seen on the surface. Soon after, a large shockwave could be felt throughout the training grounds before the earth started to crack into large chunks as a loud muffled explosion resounded throughout the area.

Seeing the effects of the attack, Vanadir could not help but feel ecstatic as he looked at the others, who were looking at him with smiles on their faces as well. But just as he was about to tell the others what they were going to do next, all five of them heard the sound of faint clapping from a distance, which proceeded to gradually get louder.

Not long after, the sight of a man wearing black clothes had entered their vision as he said, “Well, well, well. Looks like my younger brother is actually interested in the throne. Who knew that brother of mine who seemed to be disinterested back then would have an interest in it right now?”

In an instant, Vanadir took in a deep breath as he knew that resolving things through violence was not the best solution here, especially when one considered the man in front of him. Taking on a cold yet serious tone, he then asked the black-clothed man with a light yet mocking chuckle, “To think that you would be out here for a walk. Shouldn’t you be preparing for the war for the throne with your team members…

Big Brother Arshe?”