The tension in the duel arena had risen even higher than before. This was because, just like in the second round, Scarlett was the first to be eliminated.
And even in the third round that followed, Frostheart and Everblaze had continued to cooperate, and now, the flag was just about to fall.
“Damn it…”
Otor was in a foul mood.
The Scarlett side had insisted that Frostheart, which was sticking to Everblaze, should be targeted first. They acted on this plan, but with their fortress left defenseless, they could not withstand Everblaze’s offensive.
With no viable options left, Otor’s frustration was directed at Arkandric.
“This is utterly disgraceful, Arkandric! Are you really resorting to such underhanded tactics just to secure fourth place?!”
Arkandric merely shrugged as if it was no big deal.
“I’d prefer to call it strategy. Besides, this is all happening among students. You shouldn’t be getting so worked up over it. Tsk, tsk.”
As he spoke, the flag finally hit the ground.Otor slumped his shoulders in despair.
The outcome of the fourth round would likely be the same.
In the past, even if Frostheart had sided with Everblaze, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. They had always been seen as weak, nothing more than ants scraping the bottom of the ranks.
‘…Is this really the same Frostheart I knew?’
Thinking back to how they were just last year, Otor felt a little dazed.
Back then, even with three of them together, they would have been easily taken down by just one Scarlett knight.
But today, they had managed to eliminate one opponent for every two of their own, and their understanding of siege warfare had deepened significantly. They had efficiently fended off Scarlett’s invasion.
How had such a thing become possible?
When Otor searched for an explanation, only Arkandric’s old words—ones he had dismissed as mere boasting—came to mind.
“…Did they really fight a war against spirits?”
“You mocked me when you first heard it.”
“It’s hard to take such a claim at face value.”
“I haven’t exaggerated a single word. I only speak of what I saw and heard with my own eyes.”
“But this is ridiculous. No matter how great a trial they endured, it was just a one-time event. How could something like this happen?”
At Otor’s question, Arkandric averted his gaze from the crystal ball and looked down at the blond head sitting beside him.
“Well, it must be because they have a focal point now. Unlike before.”
“Hersel Ben Tenest… Are you saying it’s him?”
“The team battle strategies were all devised by the student council. And he is the student council president.”
As if to say Otor should judge for himself, Arkandric smirked.
***
The audience seats grew noisy.
“Those sly bastards. Isn’t it too obvious that they’re ganging up on Scarlett?”
“But credit where it’s due. Frostheart has improved immensely this year. Before Everblaze even had a chance to take down the flag, they successfully fended off Scarlett’s invasion. In the past, the match would have ended immediately.”
There were still some who booed, but overall, the mood leaned toward recognition.
“Honestly, I find this a bit boring. It was refreshing the first couple of times, but now it’s predictable. They’re probably just going to keep working with Everblaze to secure fourth place.”
“Yeah, at this rate, a straightforward battle would be much more entertaining.”
Of course, the repeated strategy soon had the crowd yawning.
No matter how unprecedented this turnaround was, Frostheart—a team that had always finished last—was still only aiming for fourth place.
From a broader perspective, their progress was remarkable.
But on a smaller scale, they were merely a group of realists with no ambition.
That is, assuming they continued down the same path.
“Huh? Why are they sending those guys in already?”
Limberton spoke as he saw the students entering for the fourth round.
His surprise was understandable.
The next participants, aside from the Ten Elites, were among the most outstanding.
They were just below the main cast—members of the Ricks Corps who would have been major players if Frostheart’s narrative hadn’t collapsed.
And Dorosian…
She had signed up but, as expected, was nowhere to be seen.
Most likely, she was somewhere chatting with his sister.
Either way, this lineup was an all-star team battle composition.
“We need to take the lead here.”
My answer seemed confusing, as Limberton blinked in a daze.
“Then what about the fifth round?”
“Why should we prioritize the fifth round?”
“Well, because the points accumulate as the rounds progress, right? If we defeat Valient, who has already taken first place twice, we’ll earn higher points.”
As Limberton said, the tournament’s scoring system rewarded teams with higher accumulated points in later rounds.
The points from previous rounds carried over, benefiting the factions that had performed well earlier.
That’s why in the fifth round, each faction carefully selected only their very best fighters.
Since it was the round where the biggest point gaps emerged, Valient would focus entirely on defending their position, while the teams ranked below them would desperately fight to take the top spot.
But there was something they needed to understand.
“Think realistically, Limberton. Maybe Wisdom has a chance, but for us to defeat Valient and claim first place in the fifth round? Impossible. Not just for us, but for Scarlett and Everblaze too.”
Silla and Leana suddenly reacted with outrage.
Judging by the stares now directed at me, the others had been listening as well.
“Then shouldn’t we focus even more on the fifth round? We need to at least defend our fourth-place position.”
“He’s right, Hersel! Scarlett will definitely select their strongest lineup for the fifth round. If we don’t thoroughly prepare, we could lose our fortress before Everblaze even takes down their flag.”
I glanced at Bellman just in case, but he didn’t seem to grasp my point either.
Maybe I should explain a little in advance.
“We’re aiming for third place. That level of risk is to be expected.”
“Third place?”
“No, actually, I wouldn’t even call it a risk. It’s practically guaranteed.”
At that moment, Bellman finally reacted.
“To reach third place, that would mean… betrayal.”
Everyone looked confused, but only for a moment.
As soon as all the participants for the fourth round entered, Frostheart was the first to act.
The only difference this time was that their messengers were not only sent to Everblaze but also to Scarlett’s camp.
From the crystal ball, the voices of the student council officers, selected as messengers, could be heard.
“Everyone remembers what the president said, right?”
“That Everblaze would be expecting our messenger and waiting for them. So, it’s fine if we take our time.”
“Right. In short, we just need to stall for time.”
Instead of rushing, they moved at a slow, deliberate pace, hiding their presence as they approached both camps.
When the messengers reached Everblaze’s fortress, the gates opened as if welcoming an ally.
The only difference was that the gatekeepers looked at them with a puzzled expression.
“You’re a bit late this time.”
“We had to take a longer route. The Scarlett guys seemed wary.”
If the messengers were caught along the way, it could jeopardize the alliance.
The excuse made sense, so the gatekeepers led them to the commanders, and just like before, they planned their joint attack on Scarlett without much questioning.
Meanwhile, the messengers who arrived at Scarlett’s camp were met with swords and staffs pointed directly at them.
“C-Calm down. We came unarmed.”
“It’s understandable that you’d hold a grudge against us. We get it. But at least hear us out before you kill us for some easy points.”
The Scarlett soldiers only glared at them more intensely, as if they weren’t buying a single word.
However, what the messengers said next made them click their tongues in reluctant frustration.
“Don’t you want to take down Everblaze?”
At the mention of their sworn enemy, murmurs spread within Scarlett’s camp. After some deliberation, the squad captains finally stepped forward.
“If you so much as say one useless word, we’ll beat you half to death. And we’ll make sure you don’t pass out from the pain.”
The messengers exchanged glances.
“You do it.”
“No way, I’m terrible at talking compared to you. Besides, there’s a better way.”
“What is it?”
“Just hand over the letter.”
“That’s a great idea. We don’t have to play fools like Elciz and Ente did.”
The messengers handed over a letter that I had personally written to the squad captains.
Some time later, Frostheart regrouped with Everblaze in front of Scarlett’s fortress.
“Let’s end this quickly.”
Just as Everblaze’s squad leader was about to signal the attack, the camp suddenly erupted in confusion.
“Huh? What are you doing? Why are you pointing your staff at me—ugh!”
“B-Betrayal! Frostheart has betrayed us!”
Frostheart launched a surprise attack from behind, while Scarlett pressed Everblaze from the front.
After the battle, one of the Scarlett soldiers spoke.
“But your numbers seem a little short.”
“That’s probably because of Everblaze.”
“No, I mean, it looked like you were missing people from the very start. Were you down an entire squad? Well, it doesn’t matter. Our business with you is finished.”
Suddenly, the Scarlett troops turned their weapons on Frostheart.
A student council officer broke into a cold sweat.
“Wait, is this an order from your commanders?”
“We weren’t given explicit instructions on what to do next, but isn’t it obvious? We take you out and make up for it in the fifth round.”
The battle between the two sides was about to reignite.
“Hold your positions!”
A commanding voice rang out—it was Scarlett’s squad leader.
“Eden, what’s the meaning of this?”
“Why are we stopping all of a sudden?”
The man called Eden let out a sigh before answering.
“If it were possible, I would’ve followed through with your plan. But we can’t anymore, thanks to that letter.”
“Huh? What do you mean by ‘that letter’?”
“Look over there.”
Following Eden’s gesture, they saw a group of warriors in white armor riding in on horseback.
They were covered in dirt, as if they had just come from a fierce battle.
It was Valient.
“The alliance will continue for a little longer. We all know what needs to be done first, right?”
The reason for the earlier stalling was simple.
They needed to buy time for Valient to defeat Wisdom and arrive.
Now, the situation had shifted dramatically—Scarlett could no longer afford to turn against Frostheart.
Valient was a faction that didn’t just aim for the flag; they would eliminate every soldier in their path to maximize their score.
And right now, nearly all of Scarlett’s remaining forces were gathered in front of their fortress.
To Valient, this battlefield was nothing short of a feast laid out before them.
If Scarlett targeted Frostheart’s fortress instead, their own stronghold would be wiped out by Valient first.
“…Honestly, I don’t see any way we win this.”
“That’s fine,” Valson said. “Depending on what Frostheart does, we might gain an even bigger advantage.”
“Are you serious? Do you really think we can win this by fighting alongside them?”
“That’s not the point. If we hold our ground here, you’ll understand soon enough—whether they succeed or fail.”
His words carried a weight that made the Scarlett troops hesitate.
Eventually, they chose to trust him and reorganized their formation.
As the new battle unfolded, I turned my gaze to the fallen Everblaze crystal.
Nearby, others who were watching the situation muttered to themselves.
“This is getting a little creepy…”
“Can they really pull this off?”
Bellman adjusted his glasses and responded.
“With Valient’s forces now deployed on the battlefield, it’s more than possible. Their defenses are at their weakest right now. Besides, the troops we sent to their fortress were carefully selected.”
A squad advanced silently, avoiding the battle.
Members of the Ricks gang and several high-achievers climbed the walls of Valient’s fortress.
The process wasn’t particularly difficult.
Even if Valient was formidable, this squad was elite—at least on par with them, if not better.
While the geographical nature of siege warfare put Frostheart at a disadvantage, we had one undeniable trump card.
A woman so inconspicuous that even when she was right before their eyes, people often failed to notice her.
Gravel weaved through the chaos on the fortress walls like an eel, slipping between clashing warriors as she closed in on the flag.
Even those defending the flag failed to notice her amidst the battlefield’s carnage.
By the time they realized that death’s blade was at their throats, it was too late.
She used every ounce of her strength to shout.
“I took it!”
Valient’s accumulated points from the previous four rounds—were now in Frostheart’s possession.
***
Valient’s flag had fallen.
Not to Wisdom—but to Frostheart.
The impact of this was beyond comparison to previous rounds; it crashed over the audience like a tidal wave.
“What the hell just happened?”
“The flag just suddenly….”
“What I want to know is how Frostheart and Scarlett formed an alliance. What exactly was in that letter?”
Shock was an understatement.
The host organization, the Mage Tower, was bombarded with demands for answers.
People were desperate to know what had been omitted.
“For a proper evaluation, shouldn’t the letter be made public?”
“That’s a fair point. Strategy is a fundamental part of warfare.”
Spectators shifted their focus away from the match and toward the tournament organizers.
To them, the result was already decided.
With Valient eliminated, the battle between Scarlett and Frostheart was just a formality.
The first-place winner of the fourth round would be Scarlett, the team that had always finished last.
The organizers decided to wait until the match was over before revealing the letter’s contents.
Once the results were finalized, the largest crystal displayed the message.
Watching from above, Koulo blinked in disbelief, his eyes wide as saucers.
[There is a way to bring down Everblaze.]
For Scarlett, who had long despised Everblaze, it was an irresistibly provocative opening line.
The letter went on to outline Frostheart’s planned actions should Scarlett agree to an alliance.
It also detailed the benefits Scarlett would gain.
[The choice is yours. Will you let Everblaze remain above you, just as they have always done? Or will you drag them down beneath us, where they belong?]
Koulo couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Hah… I don’t even need to see their faces to know exactly what they were thinking.”
Faced with two undesirable outcomes—either remaining below perpetual underdogs like Frostheart or dragging Everblaze down with them—it was obvious what Scarlett would choose.
If they had opted for the former out of spite toward Frostheart, the consequences would have been severe.
Their headmaster, Otor, and their professors would have berated them endlessly.
But the real temptation lay in the final sentence.
[Our true target is Valient.]
If Frostheart managed to take down Valient, they could seize first place in the fourth round.
“No matter what happens in the fifth round, third place is already secured. After all, they brought down Valient’s flag.”
Koulo could only marvel.
Frostheart, once an object of ridicule for its opportunistic alliances and backstabbing, had orchestrated a scenario where their former detractors had no choice but to elevate them.
“They exploited the bitter rivalry between two factions… but I never expected them to execute it so flawlessly. There’s no way a student came up with this. This must be Rockefeller’s doing, right?”
At his words, the hostess shook her head.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Hmm? Then who?”
“The handwriting in the letter—it’s unmistakably Hersel’s.”
Koulo’s gaze darted between Hersel and the letter.
The old man looked as if he had just seen a ghost.
“T-There’s no way. That idiot came up with this?”
To read Chapters ahead 👇
CH 221-225 (The Underdog) $3
CH 226-230 (Who am I?) $3
CH 231-235 (Frostheart Vs Wisdom) $3
CH 236-240 (I want to lose) $3
CH 241-245 (Finals) $3
CH 246-250 (Vs Valient) $3
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