They bumped into their first enemy just a few steps away from their starting point.

It was a boy with a golden snake who was shocked at being surrounded by them. He held up his hands and immediately offered to parley, but Alan suddenly shoved his hands before the other person’s face to show him what he is hiding.

He opened up his hands that were clasped together and revealed the small black turtle, resting on his palm, hissing while bobbing its tiny head side to side.

“What? Haha, that’s cute!” The boy said sincerely with a laugh, instead of being surprised by the move.

“What? You’re laughing at my beast’s warcry! That’s it! Lynch him!” Alan said like a thug.

The boy looked in horror as the four and their pets pounced on him. Warcry? Y…you call that a warcry?

All I wanted was to team up, why am I getting beaten up for this…? I’m so wronged!

The words Alan said barely faded from his ears as he lost consciousness. He didn’t remember that a year ago, he had done something like this to Alan.

At that time, the five boys were still without fame, and just a look at their tattered robes was enough to attract ridicule. It was all fun and games for the nobles, and even Second and Third-year students had joined in before, but it left a shadow in their hearts.

“Now the tables have turned, Mwahahahahaha!!!” Alan cried out triumphantly.

Afterwards, they searched for their next target and repeated their attack. Even in a class with less than a hundred students, they could still find a few that had jointly bullied them in the past, and they valiantly returned the favour. Of course, even those innocents were not spared in their rampage.

Sometimes, the victim will see a small black shadow flitting towards the face. By that time, it would be too late for the other party. A single bite from the turtle was enough to shoot burning pain down a person’s spine even if the damage was negligible, while all the Ki in one’s Dantian will be forcefully pulled out. The contract beasts that tried to protect their masters couldn’t even remove it. There was no damage done no matter how hard they bit the turtle; instead, their masters would cry out in agony each time.

Kairos shook his head wistfully. Their never-ending quest for survival had built up quite a bit of stress. This is indeed a good way to release the pent-up emotions since they have a chance to do so within the rules, they might as well go all out!

Although, he did promise himself to have a chat with the others later. Just in case.

A while later, only the crafty, the quick, and the strong ones are left standing in the arena.

As the fight advanced, most groups have been broken up by now. Either destroyed by other teams or their members had split up for their own battles.

Any teams that are still intact will become a target for the others, for no one wants the situation to turn into one where only a team is left to split the victory.

One of those groups under siege was, of course, the Snowdrifts. Alan had taken command with the absence of Kairos, and the four of them had fought alongside the entire time. They quickly noticed how difficult it is to coordinate their movements because of the addition of the four Contract Beasts.

Recalling how Kairos had solved this using his battle arrays, they adopted the same method. Teaching their beasts through their contract bond, the eight of them got into the positions needed to complete the formation.

It might be a little late to start practising, but the Northern Sword formation is expertly potent, and after a few fights they managed to deter most attackers.

Likewise, Alucard, George and Luciette was another team that had their backs against the arena wall.

There were also those like Von and Lux who were hoping to wait out the more brutal battles while reserving their strength.

Calculus, on the other hand, had been actively attacking others with reckless abandon while his Kirin was scampering and scuttling after him. The little thing had docilely followed, after noticing that he was the only one not hostile towards it.

However, the two cannot be called a pair, as only Calculus was fighting. Even so, his Sealing Arts was a terror to those who dared face him alone; no matter if it is Ki, Physical techniques, Soul Arts, Talismans, Artefacts or even Magic, none could escape being chained.

Because of this, in the Saint Empire, the Devilheart family holds the title for creating the strongest duellists.

At the edge of the arena, those that were attacking Alan’s group had found themselves inadequate and mostly retreated. But, the strongest ones that were left surrounded them.

A tall and lean teen with a sharp chin, small eyes, and tied up hair looked at them with a predatory smile on his face.

He is from the senior class, and his student badge showed his rank at B.

One of the elites.

Behind him was the Blue Wolf, a gigantic beast over four meters long. It was a famously savage species with its lineage tracing back all the way to the celestial realm. Its fierce glowing white eyes had no irises, while a crescent moon on its forehead indicates that it is descended of the immortal Moon Wolves - a distant relative of Hati.

“Well now, you guys are already a bunch of trapped rats. Why don’t you hang up your armour and we will let you walk out of the arena unharmed?”

Standing in their second variation of the Northern Star Formation, Alan and the guys held their weapons lightly in the hands without responding to what anyone is saying. The others couldn’t tell, but each of them was busy running through the sequence for the battle array.

The boy’s eyebrows trembled slightly at being ignored, but just as he was about to speak, the other party said few words and left him frenzied.

“Shh… We’re discussing where to stand.”

“Stand? You’re still undecided on where to stand? Are you kidding me?”

His face twitched violently as he turned to the others with spite dripping from his voice, “Looks like they are asking for a beating. Why don’t we initiate the attack?”

The one beside him is a girl, no younger than him in age, wearing her hair in a plait. Her partner is nowhere to be seen, but nevertheless, the group seemed to defer to her because of her strength.

“Hmph, if you want to attack, then take the lead,” she said simply, wiping off the smug smile from the one who spoke to her.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Not yet in the correct position? Who are you kidding when you already have beaten back so many?

Despite the clumsy way the Northern Swords Array were set up, it was still far too high-level and complicated for the students to decipher. Charging in blindly wasn’t brave, but foolish.

However, not everyone felt this way. There will always be those that are more confident in their own abilities than others.

A third person, a small and thin boy, cut into their conversation with disdain in his eyes, “If you guys don’t dare to attack, then follow me.”

His hair, though short, is wild and untamed and he wore the clothes of a commoner.

The boy charged forward without waiting for their reply. His partner, a small golden monkey that was running behind him, suddenly grew in a matter of seconds into a three-meters-tall great ape.

It picked him up and set him upon its shoulder, then with a great howl it attacked Alan and the gang.

The group scattered as a gigantic fist landed in the middle of them.

The great ape went into a battle-induced rage, flinging its arms about and pounding the ground before them.

The shockwaves from its powerful strikes unbalanced those that are around.

“Idiot, you’re making us stumble as well,” the girl chided as she caught up from behind.

The ape tamer ignored her and from the back of his beast, he lashed out with his leg.

It was a beautiful crescent kick from above, but at his height, his foot should be impossible to connect with anyone.

Yet, the resulting wind from his strike became a blade that could split rocks apart.

Then, with beautiful twists and complicated movements, the boy struck a few more times using elegant kicks that sent several more razor-sharp gales at them.

The ranged attacks were obviously enhanced by the Wind Element, turning them viciously dangerous while complementing the powerful ape that entangled his target at the forefront.

In response, Alan rushed forward to stop their combo. He threw what looked like a small pebble straight towards the deadly wind blades.

Their foes already knew about the turtle and laughed at this ridiculous attempt, but soon they realise that when the razors touched the shell, the attack disappeared without a speck left.

The missile landed squarely on attacker’s face, who began screaming in fright, “What the hell, it’s wriggling! Get it off me!”

They quickly noticed that the black turtle, winner of the previous brawl, is now crawling on his face.

The great ape felt its owner’s distress, and with a large hand, it swatted the turtle.

The tiny Contract Beast was struck directly and sent flying, but after landing, it shook its body and immediately started crawling back.

Its tamer, on the other hand, bounced off into the air and knocked unconscious by its own beast.

There was a silent moment when the ape turned its head confusedly by what happened, then noticing its shoulder is now empty, it started going berserk.

Edward immediately sent an arrow with incredible stoppage power at the ape. A single shot that knocked the tall and bulky beast backwards.

Then, at the same time, his Royal Wind Wyvern swooped from the sky, attacking its face.

The girl ran forward, stepping past the ape as a pair of katars appeared in her hands.

Jim’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the rare weapons. He mouthed, “Wow…,” then he ran forward to meet her in battle.

“That’s an assassin’s weapon, isn’t it? Are you from the assassins’ clan?”

The girl, in return, gave Jim a strange smile, as though her face is not meant to portray such an expression.

Kairos immediately noticed the peculiarity, and he sent a tendril of Soul Perception to the girl.

“As I thought, she is using a skin-mask.”

There are several prominent assassins’ clans in Saint Empire, and their descendants are trained to become Executioners of the State. The one before them held the prestigious assassin family’s emblem of the Hidden Blades Clan, one of the three Hundred Nobles family under the Dark Gods family.

When members of the assassin families are attending any public activity, they will be given an Ice Cicada Wing Mask to don on. With it, they would appear with a different face, keeping their original appearance hidden.

The mask was an artefact made from a special material that could protect the wearer from most detection techniques. At the most, others could only tell that the assassin does not look like what they appear as.

However, the Origin Energy users are not like other practitioners. With their Soul Perception, they easily saw through her disguise and were surprised to behold a terrible visage, one without eyebrows, eyelashes, or any form of hair.

Jim, almost burst out laughing when he saw her true appearance, “a baldy…,” he began to say, but before finishing his sentence, he was struck on the head by an unseen force.

He didn’t know that above him, Kairos’ astral body is hovering with a large Swallow in full armour. The War God’s Epithet is ready to give his friend another smack if necessary.

The assassin did not understand this sudden distraction in her opponent, but she swiftly took the opportunity to attack.

If she had known he was laughing at her appearance, she would have struck much harder. Those that know what a descendant of an assassins’ clan had to sacrifice would not have thought it funny.

Jim quickly snapped out of his confusion and received her strikes. The moment he entered battle, it was like he had changed gears.

His twin daggers flashed with blurring speed and quickly overwhelmed the girl’s twin katars. However, when his weapons slide down the edge of the katars, a protrusion at the handle trapped the blades.

She twisted her weapons, neutralising Jim’s attack, then stabbed forward, causing Jim to let go of his daggers and hastily dodge to the side.

But, as though she anticipated his escape route, the ground rumbled, causing him to lose his footing.

Then a worm-like serpent with beady black eyes and a huge gaping maw shot out of the ground towards Jim at high speed.

“A Wurm!” Tommy exclaimed, watching the horrifying fangs and dripping drool up close.

But even in his panic, he did not forget to help. It was a hilarious scene, as he sent out a powerful punch that resulted in a blast of shockwave while his face was distorted with astonishment.

“Metal Art, Shrapnel Cannon Fist!”

Nevertheless, the attack was not lacking in power. Metallic shards pierced the Wurm, breaking apart scales and twisted horns and caused the draconic creature to rear back in pain.

Slops of drool splashed across the arena accompanied by a screeching roar caused everyone, even those observing from the outside, to clasp their ears in pain.

The assassin, seemingly the only one unaffected by the loudness, threw several darts at Jim.

“Wind Art, Cyclone Body.” Jim, gritting his teeth in pain, whispered at the very last moment.

Even though he recovered quickly, there wasn’t enough time for him to dodge, but a sudden windstorm scattered her attacks.

It was not as easy for Jim, as it looked. He had gone through enough battles to know the consequence of letting down his guard. Thus, when he found himself paralysed and his senses in disarray by the screeching roar, he immediately used his Soul Perception to keep track of his opponent.

Thankfully, in a pinch, he can depend on Zephyr, his Greater Wind Spirit, to cast the Elemental Arts.

But half a second later, the others had also recovered, and the boy with the giant wolf suddenly leapt into the melee. He summoned a twohanded great sword in mid-jump then aiming at Jim he slashed downwards.

It was a terrible strike. One that savagely cleaved the air apart on its way down.

He is confident that with his strength, the tiny whirlwind surrounding his target like a shield would split in two. But before he could reach, a small spark of fire flitted towards his blade and caused his complexion to pale. He had noticed with one glance that it was Jim’s Zhu Que that was streaking forward to protect its tamer.

By now, it is too late to withdraw, so he increased the strength in his arms, creating an even greater force than before.

The phoenix that smashed into the edge of his weapon scattered into pieces, but there wasn’t a shower of blood that he expected.

Instead, the beast with beak and talons, became fire itself. It was pulled into the wind and combined into a swirling whirlwind of flames and ashes.

Deviated by the Zhu Que, his attack never reached his target. The swordsman found himself suddenly engulfed by a searing sea of fire.

He immediately threw himself on the floor and frantically rolled away from the embers. At the same time, his mangy Blue Wolf dashed forward, then gently scooped him onto its back.

Despite the ground burning down to cinders, it did not choose to flee. With its owner now safely hidden in its steel-like fur, its eyes glowed brightly with bloodlust.

Those that wound the wolf’s master must pay.

It took a menacing step forward with an oversized paw, but then it discovered a threatening presence before it.

A tiny figure of white. A kitten that was no bigger than its feet.

It snarled indignantly at the wolf as if it was offended by the latter’s impudence, and without hesitation, pounced on its back.

The eternal rivalry of cats and dogs started in the divine realm when the celestial canine packs were establishing their kingdom, and they attacked their feline neighbours. Taken by surprise, only a few stronger one survived, while the rest scattered.

In the aftermath of their savage massacre, the wolf gods were feared for their brutality and might. The names of the five great gods, Skoll, Hati, Fenrir, Garm and their leader Kerberos, were respected throughout the three realms, while their defeated foes disappeared into hiding.

When the white kitten that met a descendant of Hati, it felt an unholy rage coarse through its veins, demanding it to shred blood and flesh.

At the same time, Tommy that was in combat with the Wurm, roared inhumanly with thick bloodlust.