Chapter 88: Never Give Up

“What?! Forfeit?!” The word spoken by the referee not only shocked every spectator watching the match but also left Zax and his companions in the center of the arena nearly popping their eyes out in disbelief.

Almost immediately, thunderous applause erupted from within the training hall.

This was actually a tradition observed by the Empire during inter-academy visits. The winning side would offer applause to the defeated, as a sign of respect for their “past” valorous efforts.

Although the Thaemis Academy held the Almirs Academy in utter contempt, once the outcome was decided, they naturally wouldn’t withhold a little consolation for the losers. Moreover, from the perspective of Thaemis, Almirs’ martial arts division had performed slightly below Thaemis’ standard today, but still deserved a round of applause and encouragement.

However, as the applause rang out, the three standing in the center of the arena—Zax and his companions—turned red with embarrassment. Perhaps only the defeated could truly understand how piercing that enthusiastic applause actually was.

“Wait… wait! Who said we’d forfeit?!” Almost the moment the applause erupted, Zax snapped back to his senses. Enduring the pain from his wounds, he ran toward the referee and shouted furiously through gritted teeth.

“It was your academy’s Ms. Kajelena.”

“What?!” Zax was momentarily stunned.

“Ms. Kajelena is a spellcraft instructor. How can she decide matters for our martial arts division without authorization?” Cloud quickly stepped forward to the referee’s side.

“Didn’t we announce earlier? Your martial arts division’s sole representative instructor, Zhang Wen, was expelled, so the match would proceed under the supervision of the spellcraft division,” the referee replied expressionlessly.

“Nonsense! Nonsense!! Nonsense!!! That was all decided by you bastards on your own!” Zax was nearly exploding with rage.

“Even if we accept that the spellcraft division has temporary supervisory rights, they’re only authorized to ‘supervise,’ not to fully replace the martial arts instructor’s responsibilities! I don’t recognize their authority to demand we forfeit!”

“Hmm…” The referee finally sensed the complexity of the situation. He turned his head and looked toward Kajelena.

“Zax, Cloud, Amyris! I can guarantee that Ms. Kajelena absolutely had no selfish intentions! She did it for your sake and for Mr. Zhang’s!” Carlet, knowing Zax’s feelings toward Kajelena, hastily explained on Kajelena’s behalf.

“Eh?” Zax and the others hadn’t expected Carlet to be the one stepping forward to defend Kajelena. The three of them froze simultaneously.

“Hehe…” After a moment of silence, Amyris suddenly laughed.

“Carlet! I understand what you’re saying!” Amyris shouted with a smile. “I believe Ms. Kajelena had our best interests at heart. But Mr. Zhang once said that sometimes good intentions can lead to bad results. Ms. Kajelena, we appreciate your good intentions. However, we’ve fought our way here already. This is our match! The responsibilities we’ve taken on, we will see through to the end ourselves!”

“Ameyris…” In her best friend’s eyes, Carlet saw a determination and courage she had never witnessed before. It left her unable to continue persuading her dear friend any further.

“Hey! You spellcraft folks over there!” The tense standoff finally pushed Zax to erupt again. Snatching the microphone from the referee’s hand, he raised his crystal blade and shouted, “I don’t care if you claim to have our best interests at heart. Either way, you’re meddling in things that don’t concern you! Whether it’s Thaemis’ geniuses or fools, I’m not afraid of any of them! You cowards lost so badly you’re shaking in your boots. I’ll show you just how badly I can win!”

Arrogant and reckless—Zax’s audacious declaration immediately caused an uproar in Training Hall No. 7. Thaemis’ supporters were furious, and even Link’s eyes now carried a trace of anger.

Surveying the agitated crowd, Kajelena knew that no one could stop this match from continuing now.

“Let’s go,” she calmly uttered the two words and returned to the rest room without looking back.

Most of Almirs’ spellcraft instructors followed her out, but the on-site referee still hesitated. He had already announced Almirs’ forfeiture, so whether to restart the match was beyond his authority to decide.

“Hmph! If they insist on fighting to the end, then let them. Otherwise, people might really think we Thaemis folks are afraid!” Governor Karajan narrowed his eyes and coldly made the final decision.

When the referee announced the match would resume, the hall erupted in cheers. Having watched the earlier rounds, the Thaemis supporters had no doubt that Link’s ultimate victory was only a matter of time. They eagerly anticipated seeing these arrogant Almirs students kneeling in defeat at Link’s feet, regretting their foolishness.

We even applauded your brave fight in defeat earlier. This time, you won’t even have that! Every Thaemis student thought exactly that.

“Heh! I didn’t realize I’d be making such a bold claim. Now we’re really backed into a corner,” Zax muttered quietly to his two teammates on the field.

“That was all your claim, wasn’t it? Do you have any idea how to beat him?”

“Well…”

“You made such a bold claim without any plan?”

“I don’t have a plan yet, but I believe there must be a way! Don’t you remember? When Mr. Zhang trained us, he always set the final test as defeating him. In other words, Mr. Zhang always trained us to fight against a ninth-stage expert as a trio and win. Therefore, I believe his training must have included methods to defeat someone like him. We just haven’t figured it out yet.”

“If Mr. Zhang had a method, why didn’t he tell us beforehand?”

“Obviously! If he told us everything upfront, how could we get any training? The method must be hidden within the training, for us to discover ourselves! If we find it, doesn’t that prove our skills have improved?”

“Alright. You do have a point. Method… sigh, can’t think of anything!” Amyris frowned.

“If you’re talking about a way to deal with him, I might have one. But it might be a bad idea.”

“What? Hurry up and tell us!” Both Amyris and Zax exclaimed simultaneously.

“Umm… throughout this match, I’ve only noticed one weakness in Link. I thought it was useless to us before. But now I think this might be the very key to defeating him.”

“What weakness?”

“Hesitation! Don’t know if you noticed, but every time Link successfully lands an attack—when he’s definitely going to hit us—his movements always hesitate slightly.”

“Hmm… That does seem familiar.” Zax, who bore the most wounds, nodded. “It must be because of insufficient real combat experience. He’s scared of seeing blood when he injures someone, so he hesitates subconsciously.”

“Maybe that’s the reason, or maybe something else. Regardless of the cause, this is the only weakness I’ve found in him.”

“Cloud, how can we use this weakness?” Amyris frowned. “He only hesitates when he’s about to land a hit, and even then only for a split second!”

“Hmm! I’ve been thinking about this too. Until just now when Zax mentioned it, I realized that Mr. Zhang might have indeed included a method in his training to exploit this weakness.”

“What method?”

“Trading injuries.” Calmly, Cloud said, “You remember, during our training, our pain perception was set to 120%. And later on, we almost always fought while injured. In other words, our experience and ability to fight while injured are something Link cannot match. Like the wounds on Zax’s body—replacing an untrained person, his movements would already be distorted from the pain. But now? Zax is only slightly slower.”

“Nonsense, I’m not slower!”

“In short, my plan is that we engage Link in close combat. We deliberately give him opportunities to land hits. Then, during that split second of hesitation when Link attacks, we counterattack. It’s certain that even if we land a hit, the wound we leave on Link won’t be as severe as the ones he leaves on us. However, our advantage is that the impact of injuries on our combat effectiveness is relatively minor. Therefore, the outcome of this battle will ultimately depend on luck and perseverance.”

Cloud calmly laid out his plan.

“Phew!” Zax sucked in a breath sharply, as if he had a toothache. “Cloud, I always thought I was ruthless enough. But you’re a hundred times worse than me! Talking about trading injuries like it’s nothing!”

“I told you, it might be a bad idea. Mr. Zhang didn’t tell us directly, probably leaving the choice to us. If you don’t want to do it, I won’t force you. At this point, no one expects us to win anymore. However, even if I’m the only one, I won’t surrender here! I can handle the baiting task alone. You just need to prepare for the attack. If I fall…”

“Nonsense! Don’t act like you’re the only one who wants to win! I haven’t fought this hard just to surrender! Even if I take a few more hits, so what? I’m in!” Zax clenched his teeth, determined. “Opportunities to beat a ninth-stage expert don’t come often!”

“Hehe! I still remember clearly what those Thaemis guys said in the training hall that day! Today, let them see our true strength!” Amyris’ eyes burned with fire.

“Alright, watch each other’s backs. Let’s go!” Cloud extended his hand. The three stacked their hands together, shouted loudly, and charged at Link with gritted teeth.

“Oh?” Seeing the Almirs trio charging forward unusually aggressively, Link raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. However, Link wasn’t worried about his opponents pulling off any new tricks. After nearly twenty minutes of fighting, Link had already thoroughly assessed the three Almirs students’ abilities. He was confident they were no match for him.

As soon as the trio reached Link, they immediately split into two groups like before. One pair moved to intercept Link’s attack, seemingly trying to divert his sword, while Zax charged forward alone, shouting as he attacked Link.

“Hmph! Fools who never learn!” The unoriginal attack pattern made Link smirk slightly. He swung his sword powerfully, just like before, breaking through Amyris and Cloud’s defenses, then slashing toward Zax’s right arm.

Link was confident in this strike. Even if Zax tried to defend at this moment, he couldn’t escape another wound.

However, what Link never expected was that at the exact moment he attacked Zax, the repelled Amyris and Cloud had also focused all their attention, waiting for Link’s moment of vulnerability.

Link’s crystal blade deflected Zax’s defense, then slashed toward his right arm…

Now!

At the precise moment Link’s blade was about to hit Zax, Amyris and Cloud clearly saw Link’s brief hesitation. The two, already prepared, launched their counterattack simultaneously. Two crystal blades shot out like lightning, directly aiming at Link’s chest.

Under normal circumstances, Link, a ninth-stage warrior, would never worry about such a minor counterattack from Amyris and Cloud. His speed would allow him to dodge or parry their attacks. But at this moment, Link’s slight hesitation prevented him from noticing the two counterattacking blades in time. By the time Link reacted, the two crystal blades were already nearly at his chest!

Slightly startled, Link hastily retreated but couldn’t completely avoid the pincer attack. Amyris’ crystal blade left the first wound on Link’s left arm today.

Buzz! The wound on Link’s arm quickly stirred murmurs in Training Hall No. 7.

“Oh! Another unexpected situation! Almirs’ Link has suffered his first injury in today’s match!” The announcer, Bolt, raised his voice pitch.

“It’s nothing big. Even Link can have minor mishaps. The key is to see that Link’s injury is just a minor arm wound, easily shrugged off. Compared to Almirs’ Zax, who took a much more painful hit, this is nothing!” Lord Wilson wasn’t particularly concerned about Link’s minor setback.

In fact, even Link himself didn’t place special importance on this small “accident.” After all, nobody could guarantee they’d never make a mistake. And this “mistake” caused Link only minor impact on his subsequent fighting.

However, when Link clashed again with the three Almirs students, another surprising accident occurred! This time, it was Zax who struck Link, leaving a small cut on Link’s left leg. Cloud, in turn, took a hit from Link on his back, suffering a wound over twenty centimeters long.

Two consecutive accidents had already aroused Link’s suspicion. Yet even after heightening his vigilance, he still couldn’t prevent a third accident.

Cloud once again exchanged a nearly bone-deep wound on his left arm for a similarly severe injury on Link’s right flank.

“Wow!” This was the third time Link had been wounded by the Almirs trio. A murmur of amazement rippled through Training Hall No. 7.

Anyone with sharp eyes could see that these consecutive “accidents” during the fight were likely more than mere coincidences. While Link had identified the Almirs’ weaknesses, it seemed the Almirs had also seized Link’s tail!

On the stands, General William and Countess Melissa sat side by side, both deeply engrossed in the match, their eyes fixed on the four figures at the center of the arena. However, their facial expressions were completely different. General William’s face bore admiration and approval, while Countess Melissa’s expression was solemn.

“…Today, Almirs has surprised us too many times! This time, they’ve achieved another miracle we couldn’t imagine. Three students below the sixth stage, whom we all believed would easily fall under Link’s powerful blade, have instead used their tenacity to prove they haven’t lost yet!”

The fluctuations of mana not only carried his voice across every corner of Phira but also reached countless people on distant Kasaress, who gathered around radios to listen.

Although due to the distance, Kasaress couldn’t receive the match’s visuals like Phira, countless Kasaress citizens still gathered around street radios.

For these Kasaress citizens, living on the Empire’s most remote planet and often looked down upon by the Empire’s more prosperous worlds as “country bumpkins,” Almirs Academy, renowned in the Empire, was their greatest pride.

Upon hearing of Almirs’ spellcraft division’s defeat, many Kasaress citizens even cried bitterly. Soon, Almirs’ unexpectedly strong performance from the martial arts division reignited their hope. Of course, alongside the hope, Almirs’ martial arts division also caused them much anxiety.

First, when everyone had lost hope, they suddenly exploded, defeating the powerful Thaemis Academy decisively. But then, just as everyone saw the dawn of victory, they suddenly let their strongest ace voluntarily step onto the stands! Then, Almirs’ announcement of forfeiture nearly caused Kasaress citizens to hyperventilate from tension.

The rollercoaster performance of the martial arts division seemed deliberately designed to tease the nerves of Kasaress citizens, leaving them breathless with tension.

Even an elderly gentleman with a weak heart, while listening to Mr. Bolt’s passionate commentary, suffered a heart attack on the spot! Fortunately, among the crowd listening to the radio on the street, many were spellcraft practitioners with some medical knowledge. As soon as they saw the old man clutching his chest and collapsing, several spellcrafters rushed forward to administer first aid before sending him to the hospital, preventing a tragedy.

“…After a brief rest, both sides resumed the fight. The several wounds left by Amyris and Zax on Link seem to have slightly affected Link’s movements. Meanwhile, the three Almirs students are even more bloodied, their uniforms stained with blood.”

By this point in the battle, every change in Mr. Bolt’s tone sent the hearts of Kasaress citizens watching the match racing.

“…Ah! The fourth exchange since the match resumed ends in a tie! Link is wounded in the left shoulder, while Cloud is struck in the abdomen! This blow isn’t light—can Cloud continue?… He’s getting up! Although he looks pained, his fighting spirit remains strong! What incredible resilience!”

“Awesome! Go for it!” Although they knew full well that the fighters on Phira couldn’t hear them, the streets of Kasaress still erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.

“Hmm… The three Almirs students have indeed shown astonishing perseverance and courage. Frankly speaking, their ability to persist until now without falling can only be described as a miracle!” Even Lord Wilson, a staunch opponent of Almirs, couldn’t help but be moved by Zax and his companions’ strength.

Of course, a little appreciation for Zax and his companions didn’t mean Lord Wilson would change his stance.

“…Naturally, I have no doubt that Link will ultimately triumph. You must have noticed that Link’s injuries aren’t serious, at most affecting his mobility. However, every wound inflicted on the three Almirs students by Link has been significantly more severe. From now on, I believe they could collapse at any moment.”

In fact, Lord Wilson wasn’t wrong. By this point in the battle, Zax had already sustained over ten wounds. Although Cloud’s wounds weren’t as numerous as Zax’s, they were all alarmingly severe.

Even after enduring Mr. Zhang’s hellish training, the pain both were enduring had nearly reached their limits. Another unfavorable factor was that massive blood loss severely impacted their physical strength while rapidly depleting their battle energy.

After the match resumed, they had fought Link for less than five minutes before already feeling suffocated in their chests, their crystal blades growing heavier in their hands.

However, the reason Zax and his companions continued fighting Link was because they saw something Lord Wilson hadn’t noticed—that Link’s situation wasn’t good either!

Throughout the battle with the three, Link had been on the offensive almost nonstop. Every time he swung his crystal blade, he used 100% of his strength. This also significantly drained Link’s physical strength and battle energy.

After exchanging four wounds with Zax’s trio, Link finally began breathing heavily. After four exchanges, he finally understood Zax’s strategy.

Using their own bodies as bait to create opportunities to wound the opponent… These guys are truly insane! Even the usually calm Link felt a chill rising from the depths of his heart.

But by the time Link realized this, both sides were already locked in combat. Neither Zax’s trio nor Link had room to retreat. Unless one side willingly dropped their weapon and forfeited the match, they could only give their all, continuing to attack, attack, and attack again!