"Clement and Constance, you two will fight alongside me." Klaus ignored Hank's taunts and called out the two names.
"Alright." The two boys stepped forward and silently followed Klaus into the arena. Win or lose, this match wasn't something for them to boast about.
The stands were silent. Everyone watched this scene with a tense atmosphere. The three strongest students from the Magic Academy were now in the arena, but facing the green-haired boy who had been arrogant from beginning to end, they still couldn't feel at ease.
"We must win this match." Klaus said softly, clenching his fist.
The other two boys nodded solemnly, their expressions grave as they looked at Hank.
Hank, however, looked at the three opposite him with a relaxed expression, showing no sign of tension despite being outnumbered three to one.
"Looks like Norvan has to rely on my precious disciple to get him out of this predicament. But has the little one overslept? Why isn't she here yet? I'm starving." From a corner seat, Crassus looked around, a hint of anxiety on his face for the first time.
"Go, seniors!" Daphne encouraged them, clenching her little fist with a nervous expression.
"A wood-type mage with superb control could easily take on three opponents at once." Ignaz murmured to himself, the little bean sprout above his head spinning like a propeller.
"The eighth challenge begins!" Capas shouted.
"Attack!" Klaus shouted, raising his hand and silently chanting a spell. Three foot-long ice spikes flew towards Hank in a straight line.
Clement raised his hand and cast a fireball, which split into three in mid-air, arcing towards Hank.
"Water elementals hidden in the air, heed my call, grant me the power of the water god..." Constance sat cross-legged on the ground, softly chanting a spell. A mist of water began to gather around his body, as if preparing for some large scale magic.
"Is this a game?" Hank laughed as he watched the ice spikes and fireballs flying toward him from different directions. He raised his left hand, and a green light appeared in front of him, quickly condensing into a hollowed-out wooden shield made of vines.
Three ice spikes and three fireballs struck the wooden shield one after another. A green light shone on the seemingly fragile wooden shield. The ice spikes shattered and the fireballs exploded, but they failed to break through the wooden shield even slightly, and didn't even break a single vine.
"He's a mid-level mage, let's go all out!" Klaus's expression was extremely solemn. With a wave of his hand, he easily defended against their attacks with a wooden shield. This strength confirmed the intelligence they had received earlier: the chances of the three of them, as level three mages, defeating him were slim.
"In my name, summon Snowball!" Klaus swung his black magic wand forward, and ice and snow began to condense above Hank, as if something was about to descend.
"Chain Fireball!" Clement shouted softly, pointing his magic wand forcefully at Hank. Five fireballs flew towards him in a straight line.
"Summoned waves, deliver the final blow!" Constance's voice suddenly grew louder, and he pointed his magic wand at Hank. A three meters high and three meters wide blue wave appeared out of thin air, followed by a series of fireballs that slammed towards Hank.
"Snowballs, descend!" Klaus shouted at the same time, and the gathered ice and snow suddenly fell, turning into snowballs the size of basketballs, which crashed down on Hank below like meteorites.
"Two intermediate spells and one peak level beginner spell. This time, we should be able to win, right?" The students of the Magic Academy stared wide-eyed at this scene. The academy's three strongest members working together were enough to fight even a level four mage.
The students below the stage watched with anticipation, that green-haired guy was truly despicable, and defeating him would be a relief.
Even the teachers were a little nervous. This battle would almost determine the outcome of today's challenge. If they couldn't beat him even in a three on one fight, then the four opponents who were clearly a level weaker would be meaningless.
"Now that's more interesting." Hank looked at the three spells sweeping towards him without any fear on his face. Instead, he showed some interest. He muttered a spell and waved his magic wand above his head. The green wooden shield that had been blocking his way instantly turned into a sphere that enveloped him.
The fireball exploded on the wooden sphere, bursting into countless sparks. The large snowball landed on the wooden sphere, creating deep craters, and the raging waves almost flattened the wooden sphere in half.
The flimsy wooden sphere swayed between the three types of magic, seemingly on the verge of falling apart or being flattened at any moment.
But as the fireballs exploded, the snowballs fell, and the waves turned into a puddle of water, the pitted wooden sphere remained standing in the center of the arena. Hank, who had stood inside the wooden sphere without moving an inch from beginning to end, was completely unharmed, not even a drop of water on his body.
As Klaus and his two companions watched this scene, their chests heaving, they deeply felt the despairing gap between themselves and him. If they couldn't even break through his defenses, then the outcome of this duel was no longer in doubt.
"He was... completely unharmed!"
The students below the stage watched this scene with heavy hearts and disappointment. Their anticipated attack had failed to achieve the slightest effect.
"Looks like you're all finished. Now it's my turn." Hank raised his hand, dismantling the tattered wooden sphere shield above his head. Green light flashed from his black magic wand as he pointed at Klaus and the others, coldly sneering, "Entangle them with vines! Get out of here!"
A flash of green light disappeared in an instant, and suddenly, thick black vines appeared from the ground, instantly binding Klaus and his companions who were preparing to cast another spell, before flinging them off the arena.
"Bang bang bang!"
Three muffled thuds followed, and the three were thrown helplessly out of the sphere of light. Although unharmed, but they were dazed and disoriented.
"Eighth match, Mage Tower wins." Capas glanced at Hank. Although the boy's temperament was not very good, but he could instantly cast the intermediate level spell Entangling Vines. His strength was indeed much stronger than the students of this year's Chaos Academy. He could be considered a rare genius.
"We won!"
A cheer erupted from the people on the Mage Tower's side. Although they had expected this result, but they were still quite excited.
A heavy, oppressive silence fell over the audience. Even a three on one match had ended in defeat, while the Mage Tower had only fielded two players. Chaos Academy's loss in this challenge was far too devastating, and many of the children from Green Sprout Garden had even lost their dreams of magic.
"Now only you four are left. Come up and let me finish this challenge." Hank said, beckoning to the remaining four students from the Magic Academy, his contempt undisguised.
Although the Magic Academy students felt some fear, but they exchanged glances and then walked confidently towards the arena. Hesitation was far more humiliating than losing the match.
Two level three mages and two level two mages were entangled in vines and thrown off the arena less than ten seconds after Capas announced the start of the match, instantly killed.
Hank clapped his hands, looking at the deathly silent audience with a mocking expression, and said, "Before I came here, I thought it would be an interesting challenge, but it seems I was wrong. Forgive my bluntness, but everyone here is trash."
The crowd below glared angrily at Hank, their hearts burning with rage. But remembering how easily he had previously defeated the strongest students from the Magic Academy, they lacked the confidence to refute him. So they could only grit their teeth, lower their heads, and silently endure this humiliation.
The oppressive atmosphere was unbearable. Everyone waited for Capas to announce the results of the challenge, hoping to leave this uncomfortable place as soon as possible.
"Heh." Hank shook his head dismissively and turned to walk towards the group from the Mage Tower.
"Huh? Am I late?" Just then, a clear voice came from the direction of the venue entrance.