Serra met up with Lilia and Aies at the cafe where Serra had tea with Lilia.
"Did you find any?"
Serra asked them.
"I found 3..."
Aies started.
"Only 4 for me..."
Lilia said.
"I only found 2. What are the ingredients you found?"
They listed them.
"Good. We each got separate ingredients. However... We still lack 2 more..."
Serra frowned.
"It's good that this is the capital of the world. We have a higher chance of finding them here than anywhere else."
Lilia said.
"We haven't searched everywhere yet. There are still some hidden shops in alleys or streets not often visited by people. There might be a few there. I'll go check."
Serra said.
"Got it. We haven't checked the entire market either. We'll go too. Let's meet back at the base afterwards."
Lilia decided.
The rest nodded and set off.
........................
They ran around the entire city searching for the last two ingredients... However, they only found one.
"Urk... We need to find that last one fast!"
Lilia spoke gravely.
"But where...? We already searched everywhere?"
Aies said frantically.
"What do we do...?"
Even Serra was at a dilemma.
He had plenty of such ingredients at his storage space.
As a doctor, he kept large amounts of rare ingredients at his storage space. But that would violate the rules he kept himself.
As he was hesitating, a knocking could be heard at the door.
"Who is it now?"
Aies spoke irritated.
They were having a crisis. They don't appreciate any disturbances.
Especially not at this critical moment where they were at their wits end.
"I'll go check."
Serra said as he headed there.
When he opened the door, he found a young man with golden hair standing in front of him.
He looked mild and composed.
"You are from the Sky Blossom Sect right?"
He asked in a kind tone.
"Yes... But who are you?"
He replied warily.
"I'm from the 17 team. I heard from my resources that you were lacking this ingredient, correct?"
He showed a herb with his hand.
"That's!"
Serra spoke surprised.
It was the final ingredient that they were looking for.
"What do you want in exchange for it?"
Serra asked in a business like tone.
The man smiled and laughed.
"I'm giving this herb to you for free. I have enmity with the 14th and 15th group from the same organization. Suffice to say, our sect is enemies with them. Our sect has given us a mission. That it doesn't matter what rank we get even if it's the 50th rank so long as they are ranked below us."
He said eloquently.
He was quite a handsome man.
"Are you certain? This herb is quite rare."
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
He still needed to ascertain his intentions.
"Yes. You see, we know their methods quite well and prepared counter-measures for them. We prepared the ingredients for this poison in case we face them. However, our preparations were for naught. You see, we were unfortunately forced to face top contenders in the early rounds forcing us to our current rank. We intend to surpass them and become the 13th ranked team ourselves."
He was surprised again.
"In that case, wouldn't that make us your targets? Why help us?"
The man laughed.
"No. We have someone who possess the ability to see the future. Your team... would definitely not be staying at the 13th rank for long. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Would you help us achieve our goal?"
He proposed.
Serra thought for a moment and nodded.
"Very well. However... I suggest we don't formally meet at present. We intend to deal a surprise tomorrow towards our foe."
He said.
The man laughed.
"Excellent. Take this herb. I hope you win tomorrow."
With that, he turned and left.
Serra gazed at the herb then closed the door.
He relayed the events to his companions.
They looked quite relieved.
"This is good news."
Aies said.
"But can we trust them?"
Lilia said warily.
Serra assured her.
"There's no issue here. I inspected the ingredients. They're safe."
That assured Lilia.
"But the 18th team... Do we have any intel on them?"
Lilia asked.
"We do. Luisa had them..."
Aies said quickly.
"Let's consult Luisa and Seileen first before we decide on anything."
Lilia said.
The two agreed and headed towards where Seileen and Luisa were resting.
.......................................
"I see..."
Luisa said in understanding.
"Yes... Their sects are indeed enemies. Their founders were bitter enemies who had a feud with each other. The founder of the 14th and 15th team had killed the other's brother. Ever since, they've been enemies. The feud was passed down to their disciples in the future. Each generation has fiercely competed with the other. They've fought numerous times in the Chaotic Areas leading to serious casualties including deaths. Sabotage, espionage, theft and other plots were used against each other to the point where the feud between them has become beyond reconciliation."
She shared.
"In that case, can we trust them?"
Seileen asked.
"Yes. We can. In this generation, the most prominent members of the 18th ranked team's sect were injured during an expedition in one of the Chaotic Areas. You can easily guess who were the culprits. Thus, they've combat ability is lower than the 18th ranked teams."
Luisa confirmed.
"Thus, they're willing to use any means to ensure that they fall. However, I'm afraid they might fail in their wish to defeat this time. But at the very least, they wish to sabotage their plans to reach the top."
Lilia concluded.
"I see... Then, there is nothing to fear. I will begin preparations to concoct the medicine at once. By tomorrow, you two should be able to initiate combat."
Serra said.
The rest cheered.
They were relieved at this result.
Speaking of which, they wouldn't be this troubled if they had reserve members to fight with them. Unfortunately, they were unable to arrive. This is the reason why they were cornered this time around.
The Morning of the Next Day.
It was the match against Violet Ghosts.
Seileen and Luisa were present however they were making grim expressions just like the rest.
They were obviously faking it. But they intend to continue doing so to take the enemy by surprise.
Inside, they were mocking them.
The opponents were similar to the Green Ghosts. Except their robes were of a different color.
Violet.
Furthermore, they're weapons were diverse.
Spear, sword, scimitar, hammer, axe and dual blades.
Serra went up first against a foe with a hammer.
He faced his foe with his robes fluttering in the wind.
"Hm... I'm up first? Let's see how things go then..."
Serra thought as he went up stage.
The man was wearing heavy violet armor.
He lifted his heavy sword as he stared at him.
He was sneering coldly as he stared at the dainty young man in front of him.
As soon as the referee gave the call, he charged forward.
Seeing this, Serra readied his food and stepped forward.
Upon his foot reaching the ground, the ground suddenly began to freeze turning into ice.
His foe merely laughed as he continued to charge forward with momentum.
"Got you."
Serra spoke as he smiled.
His foe looked at him as he smiled thinking something isn't right and attempted to stop but he couldn’t.
His momentum carried him away as he slide through the ice.
The ice was meant for him to lose his footing.
Serra launched several ice balls filled with water high above.
As the enemy attempted to stand up, the ice balls bombarded him from above.
He was thoroughly drenched.
"Now... You fall."
The man attempted to struggle free as the ice began to freeze but to no avail.
He lost just like that.
"Victory to the 13th team!"
The referee called out as he headed to his fallen foe and used his flames to unfreeze his foe.
"You're up next, Aies and Seileen..."
He called out.
The next match was Aies up against a man with dual blades.
The four fought with equal skill for a time but Aies emerged victorious.
In a surprising twist of fate, Aies made a feint and delivered a strong blow to his chest. The man hurriedly blocked with his two blades but that was a mistake. Both blades were smashed as he was sent flying.
Seileen didn't fight with all her might but she managed to hold down the other one.
The next match was Lilia against a man with a spear.
Lilia attempted to decisively claim victory but in the end, she lost.
The two were equally matched but the opponent had a technique that gave him a slight edge. In the end, Lilia lost.
She looked bitter at her defeat.
But she left the stage.
The opposing team wore smug looks and looks assured of victory.
The Green Ghosts team were watching from the stadium also looked confident.
The poison they used would definitely secure victory this round.
Unfortunately, their hopes were dashed.
Luisa fought in this round.
She feigned weakness and allowed the opponent to play around with her for a bit.
Then, when he attempted to deal the final blow when Luisa acted as if the poison was acting up, she suddenly delivered a strong blow against him.
Taking advantage of his shock, she dealt out a severe blow.
Securing a decisive victory against him.
The two allied teams were shocked and livid with rage as Luisa looked down coldly upon them.
"How...?"
The man, seemingly their captain spoke.
"Your team made far too many enemies. One of them, despite being a lower rank than you, was unwilling to see you have your way. Thus, they gave us the final ingredient we needed."
Luisa answered.
The man's face turned to hatred as that answer.
"Damm it! Who? Who gave you the last ingredient and helped you out!? That recipe was by no means easy to cure and the ingredients are simply too rare!"
He spoke in disbelief.
"Hmph. It would have been difficult to find all the ingredients. But did you forget this is the capital of the world? Such rare ingredients are easier to find here. It was our luck that we only had one final ingredient left to find. Something that your enemies delivered to us yesterday."
Luisa left these final words then left as the man stared hatefully at her back.
The team celebrated as they left the arena.
While their enemies were sorrowful.
In the arena, the 18th ranked team was sneering coldly as they stared at the defeated who hatefully made their way out.