Chapter 93: Griffin’s Fury

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Griffin’s Fury

As the final syllable of the defeated dropped onto the marble floor, the referee spirit beast flapped its wings, hovering in mid-air, and instantly channeled sound-amplifying magic, its clear voice bursting across the entire arena:

"I officially declare! The overwhelming victor of this opening match is... the Lunar Eclipse Team! Total combat time: Three minutes and five seconds!"

The lips of the Dawn Light Team members twitched, their faces ashen like cold embers. Losing miserably was one thing, but did this beast really have to scream that record-breaking time to rub salt in their wounds?

Lucius D’Arsy smirked slightly, with a subtle flip of his slender wrist. The razor-sharp Soul Eater Chain, carrying a cold silver glint, obediently retracted, turning into a streak of light and dissolving into the void. In a hidden corner at the back, Phoenix Noir also quietly lowered his death aura staff, concealing himself within his familiar black cloak. Led by Jeremy, the team gave a slight nod, performing a cold, formal bow to the defeated, then simultaneously turned around, taking long, arrogant strides off the arena.

Their departure officially ignited an unprecedented earthquake in the history of the Star Realm Arena. Tens of thousands of students in the stands erupted in exclamations, doubts, and utter astonishment. The contempt previously directed at the Lunar Eclipse Team was utterly crushed, replaced by wariness and apprehension.

"So their submitting blank papers and skipping the practical combat part of the midterm exam... was actually a calculated concealment of their strength, waiting for this explosive moment? What a cunning trick... but damn it, this clearing speed truly sends chills down one’s spine!"

"Someone explain this to me! What kind of hellish cultivation did that bunch of trash undergo for their magic power boundaries to skyrocket so terrifyingly?!"

"I sincerely advise the disciplinary committee to drag them by the neck to rescan their Inscription system! Calling this sweeping power bottom-tier Spirit Covenants? That’s ridiculously absurd!"

"Finishing off a lineup with high-tier Holy Covenants in a mere three minutes... When was the last time this brutal record appeared on the arena? Wait, check the archived honor board, I think it was a whole hundred years ago! And at that time, the record-breaking lineup was composed entirely of monsters with top-tier Holy Covenants!"

"Damn it, if I had known, I would have bet my entire fortune on the Lunar Eclipse Team earlier! This hurts so much, my merit points for this month are completely wiped out! Damn it!"

"What the hell are you crying about, the game has just begun, there are still three death matches ahead. I don’t believe there isn’t anyone capable of snapping their necks."

"Haha, but the one capable of snapping their necks definitely isn’t a losing piece of trash like you."

"He lost his cool, just ignore it. But is anyone here a friend or acquaintance of the Lunar Eclipse Team members? Leak some information! What kind of bizarre training method do they usually follow? Is there some forbidden secret technique?"

The moment the question was thrown out, the entire stand area fell into a muted silence. The obvious truth was... that team named Lunar Eclipse had always kept a secretive profile, locking themselves in isolated secret realms. The rate of their appearance at the academy’s social areas was pretty much a big fat zero.

Want to dig up information from them? Keep dreaming.

Not just the impulsive students, even the elite tier of instructors seated in the second-floor VIP stands couldn’t hide the shock rippling through the depths of their eyes.

Even though they understood perfectly well in their hearts that the academy’s Covenant Inscription measurement system was established using ancient matrices and absolutely could not produce errors, the moment they witnessed the slaughter just now, the thought of forcing those five youths to rescan their abilities truly flashed through their minds.

The gazes of dozens of professors simultaneously shifted, pinning onto the figure of a man sitting leisurely with his legs crossed on a red velvet-upholstered sofa, casually taking sips of black tea. This was none other than Griffin Heillman - the youngest, most arrogant instructor with the most mysterious background in history, specially dispatched by the Magic Tower.

A veteran professor was just about to open his mouth to inquire what kind of brutal cramming method Griffin had applied to foster those monsters. However, before the first word could even escape his throat, the image of Griffin holding the teacup slightly distorted and then completely evaporated from the space. His laziness and disdain for communication were displayed thoroughly.

That arrogant action instantly ignited extreme dissatisfaction. Instructor Canis slammed his hand heavily onto the table, his voice low with fury:

"Look at his arrogant attitude! Truly treating the heavens like a lid! Being constantly absent from all regular briefing meetings is one thing, but facing seniors, he is always so insolent and disrespectful. I truly don’t understand where a guy like him gets the right to be so arrogant; just looking at that face makes one sick!"

Recalling the unconditional indulgence, bordering on blatant shielding, that the academy’s leadership had bestowed upon Griffin over the past few months, the flames of jealousy in Canis’s chest burned out of control. He couldn’t swallow the fact that a wet-behind-the-ears brat with a shady background received countless privileges, and even the supreme Principal openly favored him. What right did a piece of trash have?

The psychological imbalance caused the words spewing from Canis’s mouth to become increasingly venomous and spiteful: "In my opinion, his bunch of bratty students must have definitely been infected, secretly making contact with some evil forbidden arts! Otherwise, with just those bottom-tier trash Spirit Covenants, how could they forcefully level up at a speed that violates the laws of nature?!"

Hearing those baseless and destructive accusations, the other instructors immediately changed their expressions, hastily speaking up to intervene.

"Canis, shut your mouth!"

"Don’t make such thoughtless, reckless statements!"

"We are all colleagues under the same school roof, please save some face for each other."

"Indeed."

Canis jutted his chin, his resentful, disdainful gaze sweeping over his colleagues:

"What? Just because you fear his reputation of stepping out of the Magic Tower, you all gang up wanting to flatter and lick his boots, right? I’ll be blunt, this kind of rotten character is fundamentally unworthy of standing on the department’s lecture podium. It would be best if he packed up and took that bunch of brats he corrupted with him, and scrammed out of the academy to clean up our eyes!"

However, just as his final, fury-laced syllable dropped, an invisible, explosive magic pressure tore through space like a storm, delivering a heaven-shaking slap straight to Canis’s face.

The impact force was so horrifying that his jawbone let out a cracking sound. His entire body was whipped to the side, smashing heavily into the solid marble wall.

"Pfft!" His internal organs convulsed violently; Canis coughed, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood that splattered onto the luxurious carpet.

Before the surrounding crowd could recover their wits, a warm, languid voice, yet carrying a bone-chilling murderous intent, echoed from the void: "If your mouth barks foulness like a gutter, then drag your own carcass to get your brain checked. Hiding in a dark corner barking wildly behind someone’s back, does your old geezer self think that displays the nobility of the upper class?"

He... hadn’t he teleported away?!

Canis covered his swollen half-face, panicked and so enraged that his entire body trembled. His bloodshot eyes were filled with ultimate resentment, but facing that absolute oppressive pressure, he absolutely dared not open his mouth to curse another word.

He cast his eyes begging for help from the surrounding professors, hoping they would step forward to condemn Griffin’s tyrannical, violent behavior. But sadly, the only response he received was a deathly silence. Everyone simultaneously took a half-step back, choosing to stand with their arms crossed, watching with cold eyes, having absolutely no intention of dipping their hands into this muddy water.

Right at that moment, a sharp demonic aura, exactly like an invisible spear, pierced through space and plunged straight into Canis’s abdomen. The destructive force was controlled with exquisite precision - not taking his life, but the humiliation and the flesh-tearing agony did not diminish by a single fraction.

Canis clutched his bleeding abdomen tightly, collapsing onto the floor exactly like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs; even the meager strength to force himself to stand up was drained dry.

"Filthy ants."

Griffin’s disdainful sneer brushed past in the wind, and then the magical fluctuation fell completely silent. He had truly left, not bothering to save face or waste another half-second of garbage time here.

---

Returning to the competitor’s area.

Initially, Jeremy had been firmly convinced that the random draw matrix system had accidentally granted the Lunar Eclipse Team a favor, graciously arranging a weak opponent so they could easily crush them and claim such a lightning-fast victory.

But as they sequentially stepped through the second and third matches, actual combat experience poured a bucket of cold water onto his thinking. He smirked, realizing... it turned out it wasn’t that the opponents were too weak, but that in this world, there truly weren’t that many individuals possessing high-tier Holy Covenants.

The opening match consumed three minutes, the second match took five minutes, and the third match concluded at the sixth minute. All of them were one-sided slaughters, showcasing absolute dominance, a perfect victory leaving absolutely no opening for suspense or a comeback.

Everyone thought this streak of glory would continue to be extended smoothly. However, the opponent’s power stats in the final decisive round poured a bucket of cold water, proving they were absolutely not on the same level as the stepping stones in the previous three rounds.

Because only two surviving teams remained in the internal department finals, the matrix system automatically made public all of the opponent’s intelligence data. The opponent that the Lunar Eclipse Team was about to face to fight for the throne was the Begonia Team, originating from Class 651.

[Begonia Team - Class 651.]

① Captain: Aina. Inscription: Holy Covenant No. 15 - Phantom Flute. Realm: Intermediate Stage, Two-Star.

② Sze. Inscription: Holy Covenant No. 20 - Shadow Twin Blades. Realm: Intermediate Stage, One-Star.

③ Davion. Inscription: Holy Covenant No. 79 - Silver Light Sword. Realm: Intermediate Stage, One-Star.

④ Vivian. Inscription: Holy Covenant No. 90 - Floral Spirit Scepter. Realm: Basic Stage, Nine-Star.

⑤ Helyn. Inscription: Holy Covenant No. 99 - Heavenly Spirit Cards. Realm: Basic Stage, Nine-Star.

Jeremy’s amber pupils contracted slightly. The enemy lineup gathered 100% of members carrying high-tier Holy Covenants within the top 100, while the uniformity of their realms tracked each other almost perfectly. The appearance of such a steel wall made even an arrogant person like Jeremy secretly raise his guard somewhat; his previously absolute level of confidence was slightly chipped away.

At the seating row in the waiting area.

Noticing the slight furrow of his brows and the silence enveloping Jeremy, Leon leaned in slightly, his sharp, silver-gray eyes sweeping over, and nonchalantly spoke up to break the silence: "What’s wrong? Is the great Captain starting to feel a lack of confidence?"

The countdown to the moment of the death match was less than a few minutes away. Jeremy nonchalantly swiped his finger, turning off the magic spirit screen displaying the opponent’s data.

He shoved his hands into his tailored trousers pockets, rotating his wrists to loosen his joints, his tone deep yet brimming with masculine decisiveness: "Whether I have confidence or not, once I step onto the arena, I have to lay my life on the line and slaughter. I absolutely have no hobby of wanting to taste being tortured until crippled by that jellyfish-headed instructor just for the crime of losing."

Jeremy’s sharp gaze shifted, locking tightly onto Leon’s face, diving straight into tactical matters: "Leon, your core skill is [Phantom Clone]. Its special ability is that it can establish a temporary contract and instantly swap spatial positions with the linked target. This information is accurate, right?"

"Yeah." Leon replied curtly with a single syllable in his throat, the muscles beneath his clothes tensing slightly as he awaited orders.

Jeremy extended a slender finger, pointing straight at Phoenix - who was still curled up, trying to melt his existence into a dark, hidden corner of the waiting area.

"The moment the starting whistle rings out, you must instantly launch your linking skill on Phoenix. With our formation structure, the enemy’s vanguard assault will definitely aim straight for the weakest position in the backline, which is him. You are the one possessing the most explosive close-combat capability in the team. Use the spatial swap speed to close in and go all out to protect Phoenix. Absolutely do not let anyone touch him. Just stall for time, create the most perfect opening for Phoenix to safely chant and unleash his large-scale crowd control magic."

"Understood." Leon nodded in confirmation, a bloodthirsty glint flashing in his eyes, having absolutely no objections to this logical assignment.

Jeremy’s mind rehearsed the variables. The essence of Leon’s [Phantom Clone] skill functioned like a micro spatial teleportation spell. Right after establishing the magic power link, he would instantly copy a fake afterimage of the target and swap his physical position with that person. Simultaneously, in the moment of spatial intersection, the skill would forcibly summon an additional illusionary phantom of the linked person themselves, creating a perfect camouflage to deceive the opponent’s vision and senses.

Although it possessed a fatal flaw of being unable to link multiple targets simultaneously - only able to choose a single person, and obligated to wait until the afterimage effect ended before having the right to teleport the link to the next target - that much was already more than enough to create a flawless counter-attacking formation.