Conquering The Novel

[Your Teammate Penelope Has Been Eliminated!]

[Your Teammate Erina Has Been Eliminated!]

[Your Teammate Mia Has Been Eliminated!]

[Your Teammate Evan Has Been Eliminated!]

Lucas and Ziona, the last remaining members of Soreh academy, heard the notifications. They also heard Erina and others' voices through the voice chat and knew their situation well, but they were too occupied to even respond or help them.

"Lucas, you idiot! I'll kill you myself if you hold back any longer!" Ziona exclaimed in frustration.

Up until now, it seemed manageable, but Ziona was out of mana and was exhausted from fighting so many students by herself.

And the worst part was that Lucas was not being any help. Even though he had the strength to take the students down, he was not attacking with the intent to eliminate them. He was just dodging and blocking their attacks, trying to keep them at bay, the task given to him by Erina.

"Argh, what are you even trying to protect now? Our castle is already breached!" Ziona shouted as she struggled to block the attacks coming from all directions.

Clink— Clink

"Just five minutes. We only need to defend ourselves for five more minutes before the match ends," Lucas informed.

!?

Ziona couldn't believe what she had just heard.

'What is this vegan doing in a butcher shop? What was Ares even thinking sending someone like him to a match like this?' She screamed inwardly.

Though she already knew Lucas's personality well, but when she saw him get the first kill for their team in this match, she thought his attitude might change because this is just a VR world. However, she couldn't be more wrong.

"What's the point of just planning on surviving? We don't get any points for that, you know," Ziona asked, clearly irritated.

"Of course, I know that. But our crown is still safe, as we haven't received any notification of it being stolen yet. If we can survive the next four minutes, we might be able to secure our crown points as well," Lucas replied.

Ziona was taken aback. 'Now that I think about it, he's not wrong. But...' She paused in her thoughts and then spoke, "But it still doesn't make sense why you're not eliminating them?"

Lucas didn't answer immediately, and instead asked a question, "Do you know why our crown is still intact even after our castle was destroyed?"

"...."

Ziona paused, unsure of how to answer.

"W-Why?" she finally asked as she used her skill for the final time, knowing that she would have no mana left after this.

"Atomic Slash!" Ziona shouted, as she sliced through several opponents with her katana.

Swash—Swash

"Consider this: our castle has been reduced to ruins, yet our crown remains untouched. This can only mean that the enemy teams are battling amongst themselves to decide who claims our crown. Although they have temporarily joined forces, they are still rivaling against one another in the tournament," Lucas elaborated.

"...."

Ziona's expression tightened. "...So you're saying we just need to hold out for a few more minutes, and we might actually win this?" she asked.

"Exactly," Lucas said, grinning. "Now let's hold out for just a little while longer."

Swash—

With a swift motion, he unleashed a massive line of fire from his spear, separating himself from his opponents.

Ziona listened to his explanation with a skeptical expression. "Your reasoning makes sense, but Argg, why are you still holding back?" she pressed.

"If I defeat them now, their teammates will immediately come after us again. It will take us time to get used to their attack patterns, which is something we cannot afford," Lucas explained calmly.

Ziona continued to believe his nonsensical reasoning until her worst fear came true.

[Your Crown Has Been Stolen By The Martial Star Academy!]

Ziona was stunned into silence, realizing that their team had lost.

"I ...was an idiot to believe everything he said," she muttered under her breath. But before she could fully process the situation, she was struck by a surprise attack on her guts.

Crack—

A resounding Crack was heard before she was sent flying across the battlefield, rolling around several times before finally coming to a stop.

[Warning: Your HP is Low!]

Ziona heard the warning notification, but she was in no shape to respond. She struggled to breathe, with several broken bones.

"What? I thought she was the strongest in the team?" Hercules said with a huge grin as he smashed his fists against each other. He wore a gauntlet, and the ting-ting sound echoed through the battlefield.

"And you all were struggling just to deal with her?" He chuckled as he advanced towards Ziona.

"Hercules!" Lucas gritted his teeth and muttered as he saw Hercules launch a surprise attack on Ziona.

Before he could go to help Ziona, a barrage of arrows fell toward him. He quickly used his spear to block the arrows, rotating it at a fast pace.

Clink—Clink—Clink

Meanwhile, Hercules just ignored him and moved toward Ziona with a smirk on his face.

Cough—Cough

Ziona struggled to stand up, coughing blood in the process.

"There are still three minutes remaining, so I thought I could have some fun fighting one of the strongest fighters from the Soreh Academy. But what's this? Why is your HP already so low? Don't tell me these useless weak bastards were able to lower your HP by that much?" Hercules chuckled.

Ziona didn't bother to reply. With great struggle, she just managed to stand up with the support of her katana.

"So, you're the infamous Hercules, huh?" Ziona said, grinning despite her bloodied teeth. "How... scared were you to resort to a surprise attack on me?" she added, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"...."

Hearing this, Hercules' smile faded. Sensing an opportunity, Ziona lunged forward with her katana in hand, putting all of her remaining strength into the attack.

"Yahhh!"

But Hercules easily dodged Ziona's slowed attack and grabbed her right arm in which she was holding her katana, disarming her with a single crack. Her sword fell to the ground.

"Arhhh" Ziona screamed in pain.

"Did you really think this weak attack could even scratch me?" Hercules taunted.

And using his other hand, he grabbed Ziona by her neck and lifted it effortlessly into the air.

"H-Hercules! Leave her alone and come at me if you dare!" Lucas screamed, now surrounded by the Martial Star Academy team.

"Oh, my dear brother-in-law, how are you doing? I didn't see you there," Hercules replied with a grin.

Lucas' face distorted at the sound of Hercules' voice.

"Don't worry, I'll end this quickly and painlessly," Hercules said, then turned back toward Ziona. She was hitting his hand, struggling to loosen his grip, but alas, had no strength left.

"Argg!"

Hercules tightened his grip on Ziona's neck, exerting enough pressure to snap it with a loud crack.

Snap—

Ziona's hands stopped struggling and fell lifelessly, indicating she was eliminated.

Squash—

But before she could disintegrate into particles, With brute strength, Hercules tore off Ziona's head and flung it towards Lucas like a ball.

Thud— Thud

Roll— Roll

The head rolled towards Lucas' feet before disappearing into thin air, leaving him stunned and speechless.

The Martial Star Academy team watched in amusement as Lucas stared at the spot where Ziona's head had been.

Lucas's spear suddenly burst into flames, fierce and threatening, capable of scorching everything in its path.

"I ...will kill you --" Lucas began to say, but it was already too late.

Beep--

A sudden beeping sound echoed, signaling the end of Match 3.