Bluffing

That slash, of course, was not something that could be unleashed relying on a max-level Vertical Slash alone.

Ever since the siege began, Erich had been silently taking a beating. More than half the power of the spells pelted at him had been swallowed by Shell, accumulating bit by bit inside his body before finally erupting as that sword light. The sky-rending momentum of that strike had startled even Erich himself.

So, he naturally thought that single strike would end it all.

When Erich watched the barrier stubbornly hold back the sword light until they both shattered together, he could not control his shocked expression at all. How could the second-years have cast a defensive spell of this caliber by working together?

But there was no time to think. As the dust cleared, everyone was staring at him, and he absolutely could not show any weakness right now.

Surrendering was out of the question, so he drew his sword once more.

The sword light flared up again, even brighter than before. The brilliance ripped through the night sky, turning everyone's faces pale. Stirred by the mana, Erich's long hair fluttered wildly, making him look as if he could easily unleash seven or eight more of those slashes.

Several teachers acted once more, unfurling an even thicker transparent barrier over the crowd. They were truly terrified. The previous slash had nearly killed the students below, and this one looked even more frightening. If it actually landed, tonight's Hunting Festival would have to be renamed the Hunting Funeral.

But the sword light did not cleave toward the crowd.

At the very last moment, Erich forced his sword to change direction. The sword light slashed toward the wooden cabin behind him. There was no one inside; the aftershock of the first strike had already forced everyone out, leaving it an empty house.

With a single slash, the Hunting Festival stronghold, which had been passed down for who knew how many generations, was reduced to a pile of firewood.

The teachers maintained the barrier, their expressions incredibly colorful.

Erich remained standing, his sword already sheathed. His silver hair fell, obscuring half of his face, making him still appear utterly invincible.

But only he knew that he didn't even have the strength to lift a single finger now.

That second slash had been a complete bluff. He had merely squeezed out the last drops of residual mana in Shell to coat it with a frightening layer of light. Though the sword light looked massive, if it had actually struck anything, it probably wouldn't have even split a rock. Fortunately, that house hadn't been very sturdy to begin with.

Standing beside Erich, Balin and the others realized he was pushing himself to the limit. They silently moved in front of him, blocking the prying eyes of the second-years.

“Charge!!!”

Lorraine's voice pierced the night, carrying an instigating tone that made everyone's blood boil. “Show them the spirit of the freshmen!”

A massive crowd of freshmen surged in from the perimeter, forming a dense black sea. They outnumbered the second-years present by at least twofold.

The second-years panicked. Someone instinctively cast a spell into the crowd, knocking down the front few freshmen, and then the scene spiraled completely out of control.

No one cared who was an ally or an enemy anymore. In the dark of the night, no one could see anyone else's face clearly. They could only strike out blindly at whoever came close. A second-year had just knocked down a freshman when they turned around only to get a fireball blasted directly into their face. Two freshmen who had teamed up to fight ended up punching each other in the face as they got swept up in the chaos.

It was a true free-for-all.

The teachers tried to stop it, but their shouts went unheard, completely drowned out by the shouting and explosions.

“Enough!”

The gray-robed teacher finally had enough. He raised his hand and released a shockwave, instantly knocking out a circle of students around him. The other teachers quickly followed suit, starting to knock out the brawling students one by one.

Meanwhile, Irene slipped through the chaos to Erich's side. Looking at the four motionless figures, she felt that something was amiss.

“Are... are you okay?” Irene asked weakly.

Erich's eyes shifted, seeming to take a great deal of effort just to focus on Irene's face. In an exhausted voice, he said:

“Give me a hand.”

Irene uttered an “oh” and quickly stepped forward to support Erich by the arm.

After that, Irene acted as the transporter for the four injured boys, slowly moving them toward the edge of the woods under the cover of the chaos. The free-for-all was still ongoing, and no one noticed the few of them quietly slipping away from the battlefield.

They finally sat down behind a large tree on the outskirts of the woods. From this position, they had a perfect view of the entire battlefield. The students were still fighting, but their numbers had visibly thinned, as the teachers were highly efficient at knocking them unconscious.

As the last student on the battlefield was knocked out, the gray-robed teacher stood straight and looked around. The ground was littered with bodies—some were knocked unconscious, while others had simply laid down, unwilling to fight any longer.

“The Hunting Festival is suspended,” the gray-robed teacher shouted. “All school badges will be collected and tallied by the teachers. The injured will be sent to the campus hospital, and those uninjured are to return to their dormitories and await further instructions. Dismissed!”

Hearing the word “suspended,” Erich finally breathed a sigh of relief. His vision gradually blurred, and he ultimately collapsed weakly into Irene's arms.