The Great Melee (Part Two)

"Wang Liting, that idiot — how could he lose his patience so fast? Does he actually think his Bone-Eating Demon is invincible? Doesn't he know that this assessment combines students from four different years? New students might have limited talent, but among the older years, people hiding their true strength are a dime a dozen!" said Hai Dafu, himself a Summoning Element mage.

Zheng Bingxiao nodded. "Mo Fan voluntarily gave up the Shadow Demon-Beast — I don't know what he's planning, but our chances of claiming it are very good now. Since Wang Liting has thrown in with someone else's group, there's no reason to show him any courtesy."

"We move now?" Hai Dafu mused.

"Not yet. Our Summoning Element has a massive advantage in lower-tier fights, but at the intermediate level, that's harder to say." Zheng Bingxiao replied.

"Mm."

In the end, Wang Liting and his team paid the price for their recklessness.

Formidable as the Bone-Eating Demon was, when a barrage of intermediate spells detonated simultaneously in the air around it, even the creature couldn't dodge everything.

And there was certainly no shortage of people willing to kick a man when he was down.

Nobody intended to take lives — but someone like Wang Liting, who commanded such a powerful summoned creature, had to be cut down root and branch.

While the Bone-Eating Demon was locked in place by an Ice Element senior from the intermediate tier, a Thunderbolt came screaming out of the sky from nowhere and slammed directly into the creature.

Thunderbolt was the single most terrifying intermediate-level skill against a lone target — and once the Bone-Eating Demon lost its nimble ability to dodge, its body proved embarrassingly fragile. That brilliant, horrifying bolt of lightning struck it dead-on and blew it apart entirely.

Chunks of flesh and feathers rained down together. Wang Liting stood there, face drained of color, as if the Thunderbolt had struck him between the eyes.

His four teammates clearly lacked the depth to weather multiple waves of attacks. After absorbing a few hits, every last trace of their earlier arrogance had evaporated. They grabbed the dazed Wang Liting and bolted.

"Hmph. Overestimating yourselves. That pathetic display and you thought you could stand against our Lightning Crown Squad... I imagine everyone here knows who Guan Yi is. Anyone who doesn't want a miserable end should clear the way right now. Later, if any of you gets pushed around out there, I'll stand up for you out of school camaraderie!"

Guan Yi had seized control of the situation, and together with his four teammates he had the Shadow Demon-Beast firmly locked down.

The Thunderbolt that had obliterated the Bone-Eating Demon moments ago had been his.

Guan Yi's Thunderbolt truly was overwhelming. For a moment, nobody dared make a move — and several figures who had been posturing hurried to clear the way.

Guan Yi's name carried real weight. He was a standout student within the Lightning Element — one of the great elemental disciplines — and his name appeared among the campus's most prominent figures.

Word was that he had long possessed the strength to enter the Main Campus, but had held back deliberately to claim this prize. He understood better than anyone what the Three-Step Tower was worth.

"What a poser. I've had my eye on you for a long time, you piece of work. Everyone, let's all go at once — let's take down this guy who couldn't hack it in the Main Campus and came crawling to the Blue District to throw his weight around!" A voice drifted up from the crowd — pitched high and pinched, clearly a man disguising his voice to avoid being recognized.

"Tidal Surge: Expulsion!!"

Before the last syllable had died out, another commanding voice rang through the air. While everyone was still guessing who had the nerve to strike, all the water from the fountain pool was suddenly ripped entirely into the air!!

It hung there like an enormous curtain hoisted to the heavens, suspended in mid-air, mist spiraling in every direction.

"It's Tidal Surge — run!!"

"Which heartless bastard is that?! Are they going after Guan Yi or after all of us?!"

A torrent of curses erupted through the crowd. But no amount of shouting could drown out the roar of that oncoming surge.

Tidal Surge swept a broader area than Blazing Fist — it was a flat-out deluge crashing down from above, surging forward without distinguishing friend from foe.

Everyone had gathered at the center of the plaza because of the Shadow Demon-Beast, and now they paid for it. Wave after wave of the surge came crashing down like a rampaging beast, sweeping great swaths of people off their feet and dragging them under.

"Water Element students — start clearing house! Fewer competitors means a better shot at winning!" the pinched voice called out again.

The Intermediate-Level Mages of the Water Element naturally had the ability to walk on water. They surfed the waves and retreated swiftly to safety — but when they saw the sheer number of people being swept away, a light came into their eyes.

Right — why not make the chaos worse? Use Tidal Surge, which covered the widest area of any skill, to drive away every last person standing in their way.

"Tidal Surge!!"

From behind a maple tree, a girl's sharp voice rang out.

"Tidal Surge!!" From a nearby building, another Water Element Star Chart blazed to life.

"Tidal Surge: Raging Waves!"

A Water Element mage of even greater power joined the fray — the Tidal Surge they Released was terrifying on another level entirely. The center of the plaza erupted into layer after crashing layer of violent swells; this was no longer a mere flood driving people back. It was something that meant to swallow them whole and grind their bones to powder.

The Water Element mages had gone completely berserk — each one more savage than the last, each one more eager to pile on. Riding the thundering momentum of Tidal Surge, they eliminated no fewer than a hundred students in a single sweep.

Fortunately, none of them had come here to kill — because if they had, no one could have said how many people would have drowned alive in this terrifying cascade of Water Element magic.

Among the students, there were still quite a few kind-hearted girls doing their best to pull those trapped in the whirlpools back to safety.

Tidal Surge was merciless. The number swept away was beyond counting. The entire plaza had become a lake — like floodwater on a typhoon day swallowing roads and trees alike, leaving ruin as far as the eye could see.

Mo Fan had ridden his Gloom Wolf Beast to higher ground. Watching the churning floodwaters below, a lingering chill ran through him.

When this many mages gathered and started Releasing the same spell in concert, the destructive power was staggering. Plenty of Intermediate-Level Mages who thought themselves impressive must have taken stray hits and found themselves eliminated through no fault of their own.

Most mages wielded immense destructive force — but their own defenses were decidedly average.

Wave after wave of Tidal Surge had come and gone, and the effect was nothing short of a purge. Those directly hit numbered around a hundred, and those who had simply lost all will to compete were an even larger crowd — they retreated as far as they could and stayed there, quiet and still.

Reaching the intermediate tier was one thing. Being able to inscribe a Star Chart smoothly in the heat of battle was another. Before they could draw their Star Chart without hesitation, they had no fighting power whatsoever — and even those who had mastered intermediate magic knew that a single lapse could still get them crushed. The situation had grown too chaotic for anyone to honestly claim they could hold their ground against a massed assault.