Chapter 284: Consecutive Surrenders

But even before the betting could open, Uraan raised his hand.

"I concede," Uraan declared, his voice calm yet firm.

The host studied him for a moment before nodding.

"Uraan has conceded his match! So, there will be no betting or any further bout between Leon and him. Leon automatically wins!"

A wave of boos erupted from the crowd, sharp and relentless, but Uraan remained unmoved. He had already lost to Leon once and knew the outcome wouldn’t change. Better to keep his ultimate move hidden so Lily wouldn’t be able to prepare in advance and secure the 3rd position.

"BOOOO!!!"

"Damn it! I was sure to make some money after betting on Leon this time."

"Tsk, top-10 students conceding? Pathetic."

"Yeah, at least give it a try."

Even though they knew Uraan was bound to lose, all they cared about was the money. And even then, Leon’s odds would have been abysmally low—any gain from betting would have been negligible.

Still, the crowd quickly forgot about Uraan the moment the next contestants appeared.

"I concede," Lily said calmly, her tone indifferent.

"Whoooaaa! We have another surrender today! Leo wins the match by default!"

Leo stared at Lily, momentarily dumbfounded.

"You won’t even try fighting me?" he asked, raising a brow.

Then a smirk tugged at his lips.

"You’ve gotten stronger than last time..."

"Hmph!" Lily turned away sharply as she was teleported away, her cheeks flushing red as she recalled the spanking session back in the city.

"Ladies and gentlemen! To compensate for the betting losses, we will allow betting in the losers’ bracket this time!" the host announced, his amplified voice echoing through the arena.

The crowd immediately burst into excited chatter.

With Leo and Leon automatically rising to the finals, the match between Uraan and Lily would now decide the 3rd and 4th ranked students.

For now, the rest of the ranking stood as follows:

1. Aaron Stone

2. Ronan Virex

3. Tavian Gridfall

4. Dhalia Renner

5. Lyra Noctis

6. Marco

Even though some had the capability to climb higher, none challenged each other. Preserving their hidden cards mattered more—there was no real benefit in risking exposure just to increase ranking.

Soon, the odds for Lily and Uraan appeared on the massive projection screens.

Lily: 1.5

Uraan: 1.6

Maximum bet per individual: 1,000,000 AC

This time, Lily’s odds clearly reflected that she was favored over Uraan. The basis of comparison was Aaron’s match—Uraan had struggled a bit, while Lily had handled him with relative ease.

Not to mention, Lily had yet to reveal her second beast. And Uraan had an exploitable weakness—her Treant could create dense walls of vines, obstructing the falcon’s charge path.

The betting numbers began climbing rapidly, digits flickering non-stop.

Leon leaned back slightly and instructed, "Miho, wait until the last minute. There might be a second phase."

But—

Lily: 3,657,284,681 AC

Uraan: 2,439,659,910 AC

A massive disparity formed between the pools, even with Lily’s lower odds.

Leon’s eyes narrowed.

Leon: Now. Place it.

Miho nodded immediately after seeing the message.

This time, there were 6 people betting together, including Veronica and Virat. Brok was seated elsewhere, ready to leave at any moment if he received a call to pick someone up.

And just like that, 6,000,000 credits were placed directly on Lily.

The 3 girls remained calm—they were used to seeing such numbers.

But Veronica and Virat froze, their expressions stiff.

"M-miss Miho... 6 million credits... What if...?" Veronica asked hesitantly, her voice trembling.

"Hmph!" Miho puffed her chest confidently. "Big sister will obviously win. Don’t worry. And at worst, it’s my money we’ll lose—so relax."

"My... your money...?" Veronica whispered, even more stunned.

Just as Leon anticipated, the odds shifted.

Betting Odds:

Lily: 1.5 → 1.25

Uraan: 1.6 → 2.0

The sudden change attracted a surge of bets on Uraan, as the potential returns doubled.

The numbers updated again, climbing rapidly.

Lily: 4,000,009,769 AC

Uraan: 3,867,781,222 AC

Lily’s pool crossed 4 billion AC.

The frenzy of the finals was evident. Similar matches were taking place across all academies, distributing viewers and bets—yet the sheer volume of money flowing was staggering.

Ding—!

The bell rang, clear and sharp, signaling the start of the match.

Uraan didn’t waste a single moment.

He raised his hand and summoned his falcon and Raven in a flash of light.

"Hurricane—use Meteor Strike!"

He finally revealed his ultimate move.

The falcon, already ascending high into the sky, let out a piercing cry as its red eye glowed. And the crimson streak running from its eye down its body lit up in response.

Its speed exploded.

Within 3 seconds, it reached its peak velocity.

Lily’s eyes widened.

A thunderous series of sonic booms cracked through the air behind the falcon, each one shaking the arena as flames began to form around its beak.

No, the beast wasn’t fire-type.

The sheer intensity of friction ignited the surrounding mana particles, setting the air itself ablaze, leaving a trail of crimson fire.

And this was while it was still ascending.

Lily reacted instantly.

"Treant! Create blockades!"

Countless vines and roots erupted from the ground, twisting and layering into thick, reinforced walls that stretched across the falcon’s path. She even infused them further, strengthening the structure.

But at the same moment—

Uraan moved.

He drew his sword in one swift motion and charged straight at Lily, wind mana surging violently around his body, whipping his clothes and hair.

Throowsshh!

"Go away!" Lily shouted, thrusting her hand forward.

A burst of compressed wind exploded outward with a sharp crack.

The impact struck Uraan mid-charge, sending him flying backward through the air.

Leo, watching from the room, leaned forward slightly, interest flickering in his eyes.

"She actually learned a skill..."

Previously, Lily could only use this particulat in her spirit integration form, when she had full control over the wind element.

But now—

She had used it without entering that form.

That meant Lunaria had learned from Lily’s technique, converted it into a skill, and then transferred it back to her.

But at that very moment—

The Raven appeared beside Lily in a blur of shadow, its beak gleaming with a sharp silver light.