14: Chapter 14 The Magical World

A low murmur of discussion broke out in the stands.

"Li Hao? From that Magic World? He was also rated A-rank in yesterday's evaluation, with a one-star Mage Hero and eighty Magic Apprentices."

"Magic World versus Yin Qi World? This is getting interesting. Do magic attacks work on Yin Soldiers?"

"Who knows? Are Yin Soldiers physical or ethereal? If they're ethereal, physical attacks are useless, but magic attacks should be effective, right?"

Su Bai stood up and walked toward the arena.

From the opposite side, a tall, thin boy wearing glasses approached, his face somewhat pale.

Li Hao, Class 10 of Grade 12, Magic World, A-rank evaluation yesterday.

His strength wasn't weak; in fact, it could be said he was quite strong. However, after seeing Su Bai's crushing victory in the first match, his confidence had already half-collapsed.

The two stood still in the center of the arena.

Li Hao swallowed hard, his voice tight. "Su Bai, I know I might not be able to beat you, but I won't admit defeat."

Su Bai glanced at him and nodded.

"Very well."

The presiding teacher raised his hand.

"Begin!"

Li Hao's reaction was very fast, completing his summoning almost the instant the teacher's hand dropped.

Above the arena, eighty Magic Apprentices appeared out of thin air, wearing gray robes and holding wooden staves, scattered in a standard ranged formation.

In front of them, a Mage Hero wearing a blue robe floated in mid-air, the blue crystal embedded at the top of his staff shimmering with light.

[Mage Hero (Tier 1, One-Star)]

[Skills: Fireball, Frost Nova, Magic Shield]

Li Hao took a deep breath, his voice becoming steady. "Mage Hero, Fireball cover fire! Magic Apprentices, prepare Frost Nova!"

Eighty Magic Apprentices raised their staves simultaneously.

Eighty fist-sized Fireballs condensed at the tips of the staves, emitting a scorching light.

The temperature of the entire arena instantly rose by over ten degrees.

Exclamations of awe rang out from the stands.

"Eighty Fireballs firing at once? This firepower coverage is too intense!"

"Can the Yin Soldiers tank it? Fireball is magic damage, not a physical attack!"

Su Bai's expression remained unchanged as he raised his hand.

"Sadako. Slit-Mouthed Woman."

Two figures appeared before him simultaneously.

Sadako's figure vanished from her spot and reappeared behind the Mage Hero.

[Curse Brand]!

The Mage Hero's body suddenly stiffened, and he clutched his head, letting out a muffled groan of pain.

But he didn't fall.

The mental strength of a one-star Hero far exceeded that of ordinary units. Although the Curse Brand dealt a massive mental shock, it wasn't enough for a one-hit kill.

Li Hao's reaction was extremely fast. "Mage Hero, Magic Shield!"

A blue light barrier expanded around the Mage Hero, knocking Sadako back.

But in that brief exchange, the Slit-Mouthed Woman had already moved.

She stepped toward the Magic Apprentice formation, her pace unhurried, as if she were taking a stroll.

The eighty Magic Apprentices had just finished charging their Fireballs and hadn't even had time to fire when they saw the woman in the white dress wearing a white mask.

She walked to the front of the formation and stopped.

Raising her hand, she slowly removed her mask.

It was a mouth split wide open.

From the root of the left ear to the root of the right ear. Bright red gums and forest-white teeth looked shocking on her pale face.

She split her mouth open and smiled.

"Am I pretty?"

Her voice was hoarse and eerie, carrying an indescribable pressure that clearly reached the ears of every Magic Apprentice.

Over a dozen Magic Apprentices in the front row froze simultaneously.

Their pupils suddenly constricted to pinpoints, and their mouths opened as wide as possible, yet they couldn't make a sound.

In the next second, they fell one by one.

Bleeding from their seven orifices, their hearts stopped, and they died instantly.

[Slit-Mouthed Woman's Eerie Gaze]!

Li Hao's face turned as white as paper.

"Scatter! Don't look at her face! Everyone, close your eyes and fire!"

The remaining Magic Apprentices scattered in a panic, closing their eyes and firing the Fireballs in their hands haphazardly.

The Fireballs lost their aim; some shot into the sky, some hit the ground, and some even hit their own allies.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out one after another, and dust filled the arena.

But very few Fireballs actually hit the Yin Soldier formation.

And the Fireballs that did hit only caused the Yin Soldiers' forms to flicker slightly; they didn't even take a step back.

[Yin Energy Affinity: Can slowly recover from injuries in a Yin Qi environment.]

The Yin Soldiers were practically immortal within the Yin Qi.

Su Bai raised his hand and waved it forward.

One hundred and eighty-eight Yin Soldiers stepped forward in unison, like a moving city wall, crushing toward the Magic Apprentice formation.

Li Hao's final line of defense collapsed.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

His voice was hoarse, tinged with a sob.

The presiding teacher raised a flag.

“Round two, first match: Su Bai, winner!”

In the stands, over three thousand students no longer knew what expression to use to face this result.

Shock? Numbness? Or awe?

"Another crushing victory."

"Li Hao's Magic World, with eighty Magic Apprentices and a Mage Hero, lost without even touching a hair of the Yin Soldiers."

"That Slit-Mouthed Woman is too terrifying, isn't she? She can kill just by taking off her mask?"

"Mental attacks are impossible to guard against. Li Hao's Magic Apprentices had mental strength that was too low; they couldn't hold out at all."

"The key is that Su Bai has three Heroes: one for decapitation strikes, one for crowd control, and one for a frontal push. This tactical system is too perfect."

At the judges' table, the teacher with glasses didn't speak this time, merely silently writing a line on the scoring sheet:

"Mature tactical system, seamless Hero coordination, precise command and deployment. Comprehensive Evaluation: S."

...

Su Bai returned to the stands and sat down quietly once more.

His consciousness sank into the Underworld to check the status of his three Hero units.

The Ghost Bride was still floating above the Yin Soldier line, her aura heavier than before. After two consecutive battles, although she hadn't directly acted, she had passively absorbed a large amount of resentment from the battlefield, and her aura was already approaching the middle of Tier 2.

The Slit-Mouthed Woman's aura was also climbing. She had directly killed over a dozen Magic Apprentices in the second battle, absorbing even more fear and resentment than the Ghost Bride. She was only a hair's breadth away from Tier 2.

The biggest change was in Sadako.

She had killed twenty-three Orc Warriors in the first battle and applied the Curse Brand to the Mage Hero in the second. Although the Mage Hero didn't die, the fear and pain caused by the Curse Brand were likewise absorbed by her.

Sadako's aura had already infinitely approached Tier 2.

Su Bai nodded in satisfaction.

According to this progress, after two more battles, all three Hero units would be able to advance.

He withdrew his consciousness, opened his eyes, and continued watching the matches.

The next few duels were equally exciting, but in Su Bai's eyes, they were just data.

He was calculating the unit compositions, tactical styles, and Hero skills of every potential opponent.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.

This was a truth he had learned in his previous life.