Chapter 168: Betrayal Of A Teammate?

"So you’re our final opponents, huh?" said Tryon, a boy with short blond hair and brown eyes, as he looked at the two girls in front of him.

He was the top-ranked among the first-years, known as the strongest freshman in the entire city of Sentekis.

"I was expecting to face Kaidron," Airon said indifferently.

He was ranked third among the first-years. While he wasn’t as well-known as Kaidron or Tryon, his strength was on the same level as theirs.

"Hah, Kaidron couldn’t even handle a single hit from me. I hope you two idiots are better than that," Alice said mockingly.

She didn’t like being underestimated by these two. Who even were they to have that kind of confidence?

"One hit? You’re lying," Tryon frowned. While he could defeat Kaidron, taking him down in a single strike was impossible.

So how could this girl do that? There was no way. He was sure Alice was bluffing.

"Believe it or don’t," Alice just shrugged.

Either way, once she beat him up, he’d find out if she was lying or not.

"I’ll handle Tryon. You go for Airon," she said, glancing at Livana.

Livana nodded and got ready for battle. Tryon raised his spear, and Airon clenched his fists.

Without hesitation, both sides charged and started exchanging blows. Livana’s fists collided with Airon’s, and they both got pushed back a few steps.

Airon frowned slightly but wasn’t too surprised. The only one among the first-years whose fists could match his was Livana.

"She’s gonna be a bit of a pain," he grunted and launched another attack.

The two of them kept trading strikes, their punches shaking the air around them.

Without delay, Livana activated her skill, [Tyrant Fist], and managed to push Airon back.

But it wasn’t enough. Airon countered by activating [Steel Fists], unleashing dozens of punches as hard as steel, sending Livana flying several meters back.

Though this was exactly what Livana wanted. Once she was sure she was out of Alice’s attack range, she stopped and didn’t go after Airon.

"What? Realized you can’t beat me? You wanna surrender?" Airon saw her stop and mistakenly thought she was giving up.

"Let’s team up," Livana suddenly said.

"What do you mean? Why would I team up with you?" Airon frowned. Was this girl stupid?

"Look over there," Livana pointed toward the fight between Alice and Tryon.

"Huh? That... how is that possible?" Airon turned his head and looked at their battle.

But what he saw left him shocked and speechless. He had expected Tryon to be dominating Alice—but it was the complete opposite.

Tryon was completely overpowered. Even a pig could tell he was getting beaten down by Alice.

"Now do you get it? As much as I hate to admit it, that girl’s a monster. You guys don’t stand a chance against her. We better work together."

This time, Airon didn’t respond right away. He kept watching their fight. Spear and sword clashed in the air, with both sides exchanging blow after blow.

But Alice’s attacks were clearly dominating—every strike of hers was lethal and made Tryon’s weapon and body tremble.

"Why do you want to team up? She’s your teammate, isn’t she?" Airon asked with a frown.

"You’re strong, sure. But I still have a chance of beating you. But I don’t have even the slightest chance of beating that girl and taking first place. We can wait until Alice beats Tryon, then attack her together. After that, we’ll fight each other," Livana explained.

"Makes sense. I’m in," Airon’s eyes gleamed. With Tryon in the way, he knew he couldn’t take first place.

But if that girl really could beat Tryon, and he could take her down with Livana’s help, then maybe he’d have a shot at the top spot.

"Good. Let’s put on a fake fight for now," Livana smiled, and they resumed their fight.

But now, their attacks were clearly lighter—more for show than actual damage.

"What’s going on? Why are Livana and Airon fighting like that?"

"They were talking for a few minutes. Maybe they planned to work together?"

"But why would they do that?"

"Are you dumb? Whether Alice beats Tryon or Tryon beats Alice, neither of them can take on the winner of that fight alone. So it makes sense to team up, take down whoever wins, and then fight each other to decide who gets first place."

"That’s so unfair."

"Nothing’s fair in a competition."

"Daniel, are they really doing that?" Liana frowned as she listened to the spectators and looked at her son.

"Yeah, their attacks are clearly for show. It’s obvious they made a deal," Daniel nodded.

"So cowardly! They’re just a bunch of chickens. They should be disqualified," Liana growled.

"Well, Mom, they didn’t break any rules. And in a competition, the only thing that matters is winning. Besides, the prize for first place is entry into the Lapis Phoenix Domain," Daniel replied, then turned his attention back to the test.

Even he thought their strategy was cowardly—but from a logical standpoint, they hadn’t done anything wrong.

At that moment, Alice used [Golden Wind Strike] and successfully defeated Tryon.

The blow knocked the sword out of his hand and sent him flying dozens of meters before he crashed into a tree. He could feel several of his ribs were broken, and his whole body was in pain.

"Surrender," Alice stepped forward and held her sword to his neck.

"I surrender," Tryon said in fear. He couldn’t understand how this girl had become so strong. He had no doubt that if he kept fighting, this monster would beat him half to death.

With his surrender, a light appeared and teleported him out of the test. All of his flags were transferred to Alice, and her total went from 22 to 33.

Alice turned around to go after Airon—but noticed that both Livana and Airon were already behind her, ready to strike.

"You really are such a bitch, Livana, but I guess it’s just you being you."