Rivers of the Night-Chapter 303 - 20 Seconds

Chapter 303: 20 Seconds

The next day came swiftly and soon, the matters of last night seemed fleeting and unreachable. Almost as though the world had stepped across a barrier together and was now facing off against a fork in the road, even the crowd itself was more silent than usual.

The arena was swirling with Mana, strong fluctuations keeping a fluttering portal open. As the groups came together, facing off against the portal, they grew more solemn.

The final round had always been the same throughout the years. It brought the two streams together for a true collision.

The eight participants of each Empire would form a collective group and each would be given a fortress and 1,000 puppets. At that point, the goal was obvious. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Use the puppets to fight a bloody five-directional war and come out on top.

This would be the longest of the rounds, and it would also test the most things. But the variables were so many that often, it would be difficult to point out the real winners in the end, especially when it was a pyrrhic victory.

Often, those that came out on top wouldn’t necessarily win outright due to a series of mistakes they had made leading up to the moment. But the bonus one received for being the final group standing was substantial enough that it still worked out that way most times.

In previous years, this would always be the round the participants looked the most forward to, the round they could really let their hair down and show off their talents without all the strict rules. Many felt that the rules of the judges were often too ridiculous and wouldn’t play out that way in real life.

This time, though… the atmosphere felt too heavy.

One of them had already died. So many of them had been maimed and nearly crippled.

The Gold Clan that once stood on top of everything seemed one more pillar away from collapsing entirely. The alliance of the Nightingales and Firewings seemed shaky after Inanm challenged Theron, and then Theron so thoroughly humiliated him. And now, the Sangun and the Auran seemed awfully close…

The Black Clan, that should have been in control of this situation, was passive in ways many had never seen before…

And yet, Theron stood there with a silent confidence. Whether by coincidence or not, he seemed to have become the center of the Nightingale group.

It was a subtle atmosphere, but one the other teams noticed nonetheless.

The military stream geniuses knew they weren’t nearly as strong as Theron and deferred.

The academic stream geniuses took their cues from their Fourth Year, Aliza. And Aliza deferred to Theron without hesitation, for obvious reasons.

All of a sudden, the Nightingale group, which should have had the most internal strife, almost seemed to be the most cohesive… all of them rallying around a First Year who had just lost them the second round.

When Elder Black saw this, she almost couldn’t hide her smile.

She had received reports of what happened last night—and that was to say nothing at all. Theron didn’t prepare, he hardly talked to his teammates, and he seemed to make no effort to make things right with them.

She had been worried initially, but now it seemed that this little boy had outwitted her again.

He made no effort because it was unnecessary.

At that moment, Elder Kelyne Black stood to her feet.

“I will be taking over the proceedings this time,” her words echoed, cutting off Mello before he could say a word. “There is no need for a long preamble. You all know what is at stake, you all know the rules. Go and take what is yours.”

She waved a hand, and the portal seemed to destabilize, swallowing all five groups at once.

…

When Theron’s vision cleared, he found himself on the wall of a castle. To his front, there was a battlefield, and to his back, there were the inner walls and various puppets spread out in their posts.

By his side, the six other participants of the Nightingale Empire were right there.

“What do you think, Theron?” Aliza asked.

It had only been three seconds, but the questions were already coming. Theron also didn’t waste much time in answering, having already seen through the challenge.

“The puppets are spread out, dotted through the castle. They look organized, but that doesn’t mean that they’re in their optimized positions. In addition, with them spread out like this, there’s no easy way to gather them quickly for a battle if we need them. The first order of business is to categorize them by Mancy, then arrange them accordingly.”

Aliza nodded. “How?”

“I will do it alone. It will take me three minutes. In the meantime, Ray and Supra, I will be sending the two of you out on a scouting mission. According to the patterns of the previous final rounds, all five fortresses could be in relatively equal defensive positions, and no more than three or so kilometers from the next enemy.

“Ray will go southeast, Supra will go northeast. Those are the two most likely locations for two fortresses to be. Depending on where they are and how they’re positioned, I’ll make a decision about where the remaining two could be.

“Aliza, Gengh, Shah, I will need the three of you to focus on mapping the fortress itself. I want a detailed map, including rough estimations of what formations we have to work with and their locations. You have 15 minutes.

“Finally, Sigil, you’re our Wood Mancer. I need quick information about the forests surrounding us. I want to know about everything within 500 meters of us. You also have 15 minutes. Make sure to factor in travel time. So long as it’s 70% accurate, it’s enough.”

After saying this, Theron’s figure flashed and he disappeared, his Third Eye sweeping through one puppet after another.

The others looked to one another for only a moment before they jetted off to complete their tasks. There was no time to waste.

In a brief 20-second period, it was already clear that the Nightingale Empire was leaving everyone far behind.