Chapter 197: Chapter 197 – Iceblood’s Throne

The match siren faded, replaced by a tense silence. However, what followed wasn’t a mad dash towards the thrones or an all-out assault. The eighty contestants, divided into sixteen groups, locked eyes from a distance.

The atmosphere was like two packs of predators sizing each other up before a fight. No one wanted to make the first move, to be the one who exposed a weakness.

Then, from the ranks of an academy positioned closer to the edge, one group stepped forward into the center of the arena. Their uniforms were leaf-green with a creeping vine emblem. Echelon Academy. Their leader, Ivy Silgrace, stepped out ahead. The girl with neatly braided green hair raised her hand, and her clear, determined voice echoed within the dome.

“All of you! Listen to me!” she shouted, her emerald-green eyes sweeping over all the contestants from non-major academies.

“Look at the reality! There are four throne seats here. And who has always dominated? Those four major academies! Nine Stars! Arclight! Drakefield! GOTE! If we fight each other as usual, they’ll easily take over while we exhaust ourselves!”

She paused, taking a breath. “We, the smaller academies, must unite! Take them out first! Only after the four major academies fall should we fight amongst ourselves for the thrones! That’s the only way we have a chance!”

Her words hung in the air. Then, from another group, Atticus Ashborne from Lockfield Academy—a man with short black hair and sharp gray eyes—raised his fist.

“She’s right! This system screws us over if we stay divided! We’ll be picked off one by one by those with more resources and power! Let’s unite for now!”

Agreements began to rumble from the other smaller academy groups. They looked at each other, and one by one, nods of grim determination appeared. A common enemy had been identified: the elitism of the top four academies.

Meanwhile, from our position, I just observed their blatantly obvious plan with a bored look.

Yukie stood calmly, her expression still flat as a frozen lake. Isabel crossed her arms, a small, sarcastic smile playing on her lips. Nerissa and Arianna looked wary but not panicked.

“Pathetic,” Isabel murmured almost inaudibly.

Suddenly, a contestant from another academy roared, pointing towards Seraphina and her Gote Academy team, who stood not far from the center of the gathering.

“ATTACK GOTE FIRST!”

That shout was like pulling the pin on a grenade. With war cries, dozens of contestants from various smaller academies charged simultaneously towards the five GOTE Academy representatives. A wave of bodies, energy, and varied weapons surged towards their position.

“OHOHOHO! IT BEGINS IN AN UNEXPECTED WAY!” yelled the Host, his hoverboard shooting higher for a better view. “THE SMALLER ACADEMIES FORM AN AD-HOC COALITION TO GRIND DOWN THE POWER OF THE BIG FOUR! IT’S A STRATEGY THAT’S… QUITE LOGICAL! BUT WILL THE FOUR MAJOR ACADEMIES ALLOW IT!”

Seraphina Grimgear, the giantess with the war hammer, watched the wave of enemies approach, her expression shifting from wariness to fury.

“HOLD! FORM UP!” she barked at her four teammates. However, five against thirty-plus was an impossible fight, even for a top academy. They were immediately pushed back, forced into a defensive ring around Seraphina. The sounds of impacts, energy explosions, and battle cries instantly filled the arena.

Amidst the chaos, I heard a whisper from behind me. Nerissa, speaking quietly to Isabel. “Looks like they’re targeting GOTE first because you beat Seraphina, Isabel.”

Isabel glanced back, a slight eyebrow raise.

“Oh?” Isabel said, her sardonic smile widening. “So this is my fault?”

I listened. So that’s it, I thought. It made sense.

In the middle of the encirclement, Seraphina, her face now with minor scratches, roared loudly, her voice cutting through the tumult. “LEONHARDT! ISAAC! ARE YOU IDIOTS?! DO YOU SEE THIS?! AFTER US, IT’S YOUR TURN! WE HAVE TO UNITE NOW OR WE’LL BE PICKED OFF ONE BY ONE!”

Leonhardt from Arclight, standing with his team a distance away, glanced briefly at Isaac Moonfall from Drakefield. They had both been thinking the same thing. Without another word, they nodded almost simultaneously.

“Arclight team, advance!” commanded Leonhardt, his sword already drawn.

“Don’t let them isolate us. Attack!” ordered Isaac, his body already vanishing into the shadows.

Just like that, ten contestants from the two major academies plunged into the fray, attacking the flanks of the smaller academies’ coalition from the rear.

The arena transformed into a chaotic mass battlefield, with three major academies struggling to hold against the wave of attacks from the allied medium-tier academies.

“WOW! A DRAMATIC SHIFT!” the Host cheered. “ARCLIGHT AND DRAKEFIELD RECOGNIZE THE DANGER AND DECIDE TO AID GOTE! CAN THE LARGER COALITION MANAGE TO GRIND DOWN ALL THREE?”

While chaos and fierce battle raged before our eyes, one group remained motionless: us, Nine Stars Academy.

We simply stood in our starting position, observing. I glanced at Yukie. Her expression remained the same: cold, indifferent, as if the massive brawl before her was just a boring TV show. No interest, no urgency. She seemed to be waiting for something more worthy of her attention.

Isabel, Nerissa, and Arianna didn’t move either. They seemed to be waiting. In this team formation, though unspoken, Yukie’s position as the strongest naturally made her the decision-maker. They were waiting for a cue or a move from her.

In the midst of the battle, Seraphina, who had just fended off three attackers with a swing of her massive hammer, managed to glance our way. “YUKIE! HELP! WE NEED YOU! DON’T JUST STAND THERE!”

Her cry was full of hope and frustration. But Yukie didn’t even turn her head. Her gaze was empty, or perhaps focused on something far beyond the commotion. As if Seraphina’s voice was just passing wind.

“OHOHO! AND LOOK AT THAT! NINE STARS, THE TOP OF THE RANKINGS, AREN’T MOVING AT ALL!” the Host didn’t miss the chance. “ARE THEY TOO ARROGANT? OR DO THEY HAVE ANOTHER STRATEGY? YUKIE ICEBLOOD SEEMS COMPLETELY UNINTERESTED IN THE PLEA FOR HELP!”

Several moments passed in the ongoing turmoil. The tug-of-war between the three defending major academies and the wave of the smaller coalition raged on fiercely, though casualties had begun to fall on the medium-tier side. But our attention was no longer there.

Yukie Iceblood, who had been standing like an ice statue, finally moved. But she didn’t move towards the battlefield. Instead, she turned, her steps calm and deliberate as she headed towards one of the four thrones—the one located at the northern end of the arena, closest to where we stood.

She didn’t say a word.

Arianna, Nerissa, and Isabel immediately moved to follow her, forming a protective formation around her with wary stances. I, after glancing for a moment at the chaos in the center of the arena, finally also turned and followed behind.

“OH! NINE STARS FINALLY MOVE! BUT NOT TOWARDS THE BATTLE!” shouted the Host, his hoverboard zipping to follow our movement. “THEY MARCH CALMLY TOWARDS THE NORTHERN THRONE! IS THIS WHAT THEY CALL MAJESTY? OR STRATEGIC RUTHLESSNESS? THEY SEEM TO BE SAYING, LET THEM BICKER, WE’LL JUST TAKE WHAT WE WANT!”

Cameras and spotlights immediately shifted, leaving the chaotic battleground to focus on our calmly advancing line. The contrast was stark.

Yukie reached the foot of the northern throne. She wasn’t in a hurry. Her pale white eyes looked up at the crown of light rotating above the chair’s backrest. Then she reached for it. Without wasting a moment, she placed it on her head, and then casually took her seat upon the throne.

She leaned back, rested an elbow on the arm of the chair, and placed her chin on her clenched fist. Her pose was that of a bored queen watching entertainment presented before her. Her cold, indifferent gaze was fixed on the mass battle in the distance, as if it were a rather uninteresting stage drama.

BIIIIP!

A loud system sound resonated throughout the arena. Above Yukie’s head, right on the ceiling of the energy dome, a giant digital timer appeared in bright blue light:

[00:14:59]

And below that timer, a giant holographic screen displayed a close-up of Yukie Iceblood’s cold, perfect face. Every detail—her ice-white eyes, her smooth silver-white hair, her lips pale to the point of being almost colorless—was displayed large for the three hundred thousand spectators in the colosseum and millions more on screens to see.

Roaring cheers and awestruck gasps erupted instantly. A blitz of camera flashes from the arena’s edge lit up like lightning in a storm.

Many of them had cut away from the battle footage and were now frantically adjusting lenses, scrambling for the best angle of the ’Ice Queen’ who had just taken her throne so casually.

Whispers and shouts could be heard among the photographers and journalists.

“Get that cold expression!”

“Angle from the side, with the battle as the background!”

“This will be the perfect front page!”

The atmosphere shifted. The tournament’s focus suddenly split. On one side, a chaotic life-or-death melee. On the other, a girl simply sitting and watching, with a countdown to victory already ticking down.

While Yukie was already hard at work sitting pretty, I, along with Arianna, Nerissa, and Isabel, stood around the throne, on guard. Our task was clear: protect Yukie for the next fifteen minutes. But, seeing the allied academies still busy fighting the other three major academies, and seeing Yukie’s absolute calm, boredom began to creep in.

My gaze shifted from Yukie’s upright back to Isabel.

I looked at her. Isabel Mercedes. The arrogant princess who used to take such pleasure in mocking me. Who saw me as a stain on the prestigious academy. Now she was standing beside me, as a teammate.

’What should I do to pass these fifteen minutes?’ I thought to myself.

[Revenge Quest Generated]

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[REVENGE QUEST]

TARGET: Isabel Mercedes

OBJECTIVE: Fuck her in front of all those spectators.

REWARD: 3000 EXP and 1 Random Item.

[Accept: y / n]

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