Warin didn’t even give him the liberty to do that, and kicked him back toward the retreating 6 fighters that included even Arthur and Preston.

“So, what did you guys learn from that altercation?” Cael asked, with a smug smile on his face.

“Shut up, weakling. Don’t think that you’re smart now just because you were too scared to actually fight. The fact that you’re even here is a hoax!” Arthur berated back, giving him a glance of disdain before turning back to Warin.

“Keep having that mindset and you will lose. Do you not want to use every asset that you can to have the highest chance of winning this?” Cael pondered, still surprised by this boy’s unfaltering ignorance.

“I don’t care about your gimmicks. I don’t need every asset that you have, so I don’t care about what minimal help you can offer here!” Arthur roared, getting angrier with every word that he was forced to say.

“Fine then. Let’s see how you can win without tactics.” Cael replied, standing back with his hands held up.

Without even giving him another glance, Arthur advanced only to receive two yellow energy blasts straight to his chest. Crashing into the ground, he grunted from the force and heat behind these blasts, and muscled back up to his feet being far too scared to show weakness.

The other fighters tried to continue in a similar fashion to how they had done, just being slightly more vigilant. Just like Cael had anticipated, they got beat down in the same way.

As the group retreated once again, this time even more injured than before, he hoped that these talents would be more willing to listen to him.

“Look! If you keep fighting him like mindless bloodthirsty Vikings, he could actually kill you! Do you think this is how the soldiers of Soburg fight in battle?!” Cael asked, getting scoffs from many of the fighters.

“What do you know about the soldiers that protect us?” A semi-finalist, Avery, asked him as he lifted.

He had silver hair, like Silas, and sky-blue eyes.

“What do I not know that you do? Is it preposterous to say that soldiers of our time use tactics and don’t fight like brazen beasts. How do you think you could defeat anybody greater than yourself if you don’t fight in a calculated manner?!” Cael asked.

This time, he received no retort. Progress was being made.

“Now, after analysing this fighter, I think I have an idea of how we can beat him.” Cael replied.

This bold statement caught the attention of some of the others from the crowd. Many were quick to just write him off, but the weaker family members started to see him in a different light.

Why should they follow the masses and scorn Cael when he’s done something that they could only dream of? He’s grown past the limits previously placed on himself.

“Warin’s currently stood in a corner of the arena and hasn’t pulled off the arena wall at all. His barrels look to be fixed and can only be shot forward right now. The power demand from all those rifles means that he most likely has no other noteworthy weapons at hand.”

“So? I could’ve told you that by just looking at him!” Preston retorted.

“Well, that means he has poor protection from behind him. Attack him from angles, mainly the side and his back, and there’s nothing that he can properly do. If we break through the armour in those areas, we can use our own energy rifles to destroy him.” Cael furthered.

Silence befell the group of soldiers, and none of them were quick to shut down Cael’s proposition. It seemed rather well thought out.

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Of course, these fighters were not blind to tactics but wanted to win with flair and style. Warin, even if he was a soldier in the army, was not a talent within the Breckenridge family of their same calibre. Therefore, they felt it was necessary to defeat him through showing off pure power, talent and flair.

The fighters charged ahead, with Preston taking on the warrior straight on. Challenging him with his very own energy rifles, this only made Warin laugh.

“Don’t think those rifles of mine compare to my own!” Warin shouted, lifting his arms, making his energy rifles glow simultaneously.

Even if he wanted to make himself seem valiant and fearless, Preston shot a few glances to his surroundings to see if any other people remained by his side. Much to his surprise, Arthur stood there with his own automatic energy rifles aimed right at Warin.

To his left was also Kegan, who stood there with his shoulder-mounted energy rifle whirring up into action. He didn’t activate his wrist-mounted rifles, and Cael surmised that this was because he didn’t want to abuse his mana.

The three warriors fired off with their energy blasts, taking on some themselves. After firing their own, they were free to try their best to evade the numerous blasts that were shot in their direction.

Cael rushed in from his side, activating his power surge and gauntlet overdrive once he was close to Warin. His extreme-heated dagger caught a light once again, giving it the appearance of a weapon straight from the depths of hell.

Swinging it forward, there was a large flow of fire in the process of him hurling his dagger forward, and he slashed it straight through the side and back area of Warin’s suit.

Slicing through the outer layers of the armour, he didn’t hurt Warin but certainly alerted him to what he was doing. Turning his attention to Cael, he shot out a kick in the form of a picture perfect side kick that was so forceful that he threw the boy into the arena wall.

Upon impact, it shuddered and looked like it was about to crack. With his eyes on Cael, this stopped him from being able to see the silver-haired Avery approaching him from behind. He possessed powered gauntlets, just like Cael did, and struck the back of his armour with numerous punches.

He rattled off with as many as he could, using up his mana resources as if they were endless.

Warin wasn’t totally unbothered by these strikes, as the force behind them was throwing him forward. Annoyed by the lack of stability he possessed from this, he swung his left leg back and he forced his heel into Avery’s helmet.

The force behind his sweeping kick dropped the boy to the ground, even if it landed on his helmet. The rattling force of his head in his helmet was enough to leave him disoriented, with blood running down the left side of his face.

Warin, even when being attacked from these various angles, was vigilant and skilled enough to handle the different fighters that were simultaneously attacking him.

His exosuit was of greater quality to their own, and he was far more skilled, fighting like a true soldier. He beat every fighter in practically every quality, far outshining the boys when it came to raw strength and speed.

Preston leaped forward with his heated blade aimed straight for his chest. They had infrequently landed a few energy blasts onto his armour, slowly shaving off the outer layers of such plating in certain places.

This made him think that this was the best chance to employ a stabbing technique to win. However, Warin stepped back and grabbed his wrist, throwing him right over his head to slam him into the ground.

With such a powerful drop, Preston’s head slammed into the ground and he was knocked out by this attack for a few seconds.

In this time, Warin was able to take down some of the other lesser fighters that attempted to fight him. Using energy blasts to incapacitate them or strong blows to leave them discombobulated, they were slowly dropping like flies.

Soon, it was only Cael, Avery, Arthur and Kegan that remained standing. Avery had already received a powerful hit to his head and was no longer at his best. The others were also well on their way to defeat.

Cael had only managed to land a few slashes every now and again with his blade, but his energy reserves were depleting quickly. From constantly resorting to power surge and this power inefficient weapon, there wasn’t much left that he could do.

Running forward, he managed to anticipate an attack from Warin and slipped past it with the use of his cyberjutsu. Dropping incredibly low, he managed to evade two more attacks that came his way in a spectacular fashion. He moved as if he was an annoying insect, stepping away from attacks just at the right moment to remain untouched.

Springing up with as much force as he could, he threw forward his heated blade with some of the last bits of mana that he had, slicing and nearly reaching the man’s skin. The heat behind the ablaze dagger was enough for him to draw blood, making it run down his abdomen behind the thin layer of silver metal that protected him.

Warin grunted in pain, annoyed by this fighter’s unique fighting style and intelligence. Seeking to outdo him with raw power, he managed to grab Cael before he could react and slammed him into the ground with just the power of his arms, throwing down a single punch to stop him.