Chapter 236: Proud and Arrogant
"Humph. From top to bottom, the Eleventh Branch is full of brats who only know how to talk," Mikhella spat with a cold expression.
Priam ignored her completely, keeping his eyes fixed on Elder Leader Edhella.
"I heard the Fourth Branch specializes in Mystic Mages. Good. My general here is a Mystic Mage. Since we don’t like wasting time on nonsense, let’s see if your little brat really deserves everything your branch has given her."
"Oh?" Edhella’s eyes gleamed with mockery. "And what exactly do you want?"
"If Shione wins, she’ll receive all of your branch’s advanced knowledge on Mystic Mages. I want everything an elite genius from your Fourth Branch would be entitled to," Priam replied calmly.
Shione’s eyes lit up. She looked at Mikhella, then at the thousands of Fourth Branch disciples gathered behind her.
Mystic Mages were the rarest and most complex type of Mage. They weren’t truly exceptional at any one thing another class could do, but they could do a little of everything. Versatility and adaptability were their greatest strengths.
The water element was known as the most versatile of the five natural elements, capable of manifesting as liquid, ice, or mist, completely changing its properties.
Because of that, Mages specializing in the water element usually followed the path of the Mystic Mage. On top of that, among the natural elements, water was the one closest to Yin energy.
Following that logic, nearly eighty percent of the Fourth Branch specialized in water, and ninety-five percent of its members were women. After all, a male humanoid naturally possessed far more Yang in his body.
Among all the disciples gathered there, Shione could barely count a dozen men. And every single one of them gave off an oddly feminine aura.
It was the complete opposite of Priam, whose features were soft and feminine, yet whose aura radiated firm, masculine authority, creating a perfect balance.
"Fine. And if my daughter wins? What does your pathetic branch even have to offer?" Edhella asked with a mocking smile.
Mishnar answered immediately.
"We’ll offer the same. My branch’s specialty will certainly be useful to your daughter. It’s a fair wager, with both sides betting their highest-level knowledge."
Priam hadn’t expected Mishnar to step in directly, but he gave her a slight nod of gratitude.
After all, his Branch Elder Leader wasn’t a fool. Priam had already proven more than once that he knew exactly what he was doing.
"Excellent! I officially accept the terms. Mikhella, crush these clowns!" Edhella ordered loudly.
The atmosphere immediately became heavy and suffocating.
Priam turned to Shione.
"Go. And remember the rules."
"Understood," Shione nodded as she stepped forward.
The spectators looked confused, unable to understand Priam’s hidden meaning. Only the members of his faction understood perfectly.
During that year of training, Priam and Dandara had established strict rules for everyone in the faction.
No accepting childish challenges. If they fought, they were to eliminate their opponent as quickly as possible. However, in front of large crowds, the order was clear: they could only use one-third of their strength.
Anyone who broke that rule would be expelled.
One of the reasons for it was to keep the soldiers’ arrogance in check. After all, they had gone from mediocre Mages who shouldn’t even have been accepted into the sect to becoming elite figures.
At one point, that pride had started going to some of their heads, leading to unnecessary conflicts within the sect.
With that rule in place, if they wanted to pick a fight, they had to be absolutely certain they could win using only one-third of their strength.
On top of that, if they fought, they had to end it as quickly as possible. To do that... there wasn’t much room for fancy tactics. Every strike had to be a direct exchange of blood and damage with the enemy.
That second part was the most important.
To force them to master that fighting style, Dandara regularly sent them on real combat missions outside the sect. By now, every one of them had shed blood in battle multiple times—but always while following the rules.
Shione walked forward with slow, steady steps.
At that moment, her aura underwent a drastic transformation.
An overwhelming spiritual pressure erupted from her body, merging with her original power. It was a new technique, born from her race’s Ancestral Art in symbiosis with her spiritual partner.
The smile on Mikhella’s face vanished instantly.
A brutal, focused killing intent locked onto Mikhella’s throat. It felt as if she were standing before a starving predator.
Shione smiled. Soul power was something truly terrifying, capable of silently affecting an enemy. Very few young Mages had ever experienced that kind of pressure.
"I’m giving you one chance to kneel and apologize. Otherwise, you might end up half dead today," Shione said coldly.
Her words were arrogant, but completely free of hesitation. She radiated unwavering confidence.
Priam smiled faintly and nodded.
That girl still had the same cocky attitude she’d had when they first met, but now she knew exactly when and how to use that imposing presence.
Arrogant as she was, her talent and dedication were undeniable. Shione trained harder than anyone else, cultivating absolute faith in her own strength. Even in fights where she was much weaker, that mindset made her any enemy’s worst nightmare.
"You arrogant bitch! Die!"
Mikhella flew into a rage.
A strange, unexplainable terror welled up from the depths of her heart, accompanied by the icy premonition of death.
But swallowing her fear, she roared and unleashed all of her power at once.
Water runes filled the air around her as she charged fiercely toward Shione.
Mikhella was a Mystic Mage, specializing in using the water element offensively in its liquid form.
Shione, on the other hand, specialized in the defensive aspect of ice.
A short, gleaming spear appeared in Mikhella’s hands. The runes in the air merged into the spear, and she thrust it forward with lightning speed.
But...
Shione didn’t retreat even a single millimeter.
Charging straight into the attack, she materialized an ice sword and struck head-on, wearing an almost suicidal smile.
*SLASH!*
"What?!"
The surrounding disciples froze in horror.
"Impossible!"
Other than the Elder Leaders, no one had managed to follow what had just happened.
Before the spear could complete its motion, a massive slash tore across Mikhella’s chest, sending blood spraying in every direction.
"Mikhella!"
Edhella roared an instant later, completely stunned.
Priam smiled in satisfaction.
A real battle should be exactly like this: pay the smallest possible price to achieve the most devastating result.
Mikhella had seemed arrogant at first, but inwardly she’d been completely shaken by Shione’s aura.
At its core, Shione’s attack had been a direct trade of life for life.
When the tip of the enemy spear was only inches away from hitting her, Shione didn’t even glance at the weapon. Instead of defending herself, she aimed her ice sword straight at Mikhella’s throat.
It was an openly suicidal tactic. Worse yet, Shione wasn’t bluffing.
In that instant, the battle had turned into a blind test of courage. A contest between the one willing to die and the one afraid of death.
And in that kind of contest, the one who hesitates is forced to retreat.
The moment Shione showed her absolute intention to drag her opponent into the grave with her, Mikhella’s courage completely crumbled.
She tried to switch from offense to defense at the last instant, but it was already too late.
Her mind simply froze.
As a result, her attack lost all its strength and precision.
Shione’s ice blade carved through Mikhella’s body from shoulder to waist, while the weakened spear only fractured Shione’s shoulder without hitting anything vital.
Mikhella might have had extensive experience in training, but she’d never faced someone ruthless enough to bet their own life in the very first second of a fight.
Deep down, she was just another spoiled young prodigy, used to receiving praise from everyone around her and sheltered by her mother’s status.
Shione, however... understood that mindset perfectly.
After all, she herself had once been an arrogant, foolish little brat.
The difference was that Shione had left that foolishness behind, learning that the real world never forgave baseless weakness.
The metallic scent of blood spread through the air.
Desperate, Edhella rushed toward her daughter, activating high-level healing spells and forcing emergency pills down her throat.
Within seconds, the bleeding stopped, but Mikhella remained pale and trembling.
The physical injury was no longer serious, but the psychological blow of being utterly crushed without even getting the chance to fight back was a thousand times worse.
Shione turned around and calmly walked back toward her faction.
As she approached, she couldn’t resist throwing Priam a proud, arrogant look.
Priam merely gave a slight nod.
A deathly silence fell over the area. No one had recovered from the shock.
After all, the battle had ended before most of the disciples had even realized it had begun.