Chapter 704 - Taming the Fifth Year - Blood Debt - 6

Jin’s allies were already in motion.

From the beginning, from the moment Jin had jumped, the group had dispersed according to plan. Many had argued that Jin entering alone initially was a bad idea, too risky, too exposed, leaving their ’main piece’ vulnerable before the board was even set.

But Jin had insisted with logic that, surprisingly, wasn’t completely stupid...

"This way it’s easier for them to listen to what I wanna say,"

he’d explained during their final planning session.

"And most likely nothing serious will happen to me at first, because if I end up dead that would affect Patinder’s group a lot, exactly how the nobles want. They’d give the prize to our group members just for that."

He hadn’t been so foolish after all. At least not in that specific aspect.

The political calculations had been sound. Ren’s group couldn’t afford to kill a noble heir during an academic exam without massive consequences. The optics would be terrible... everything the opportunistic nobles needed to paint Ren as the villain they wanted him to be.

Jin had understood that much at least. Had weaponized his own life.

However, what they wanted most was to defeat them if possible. Kill Ren, eliminate witnesses, and escape before consequences could catch up to them.

That was the real plan.

The one Jin hadn’t said out loud during planning sessions but everyone understood anyway. The unspoken goal that made this ambush into something far more serious than exam sabotage.

Assassination...

The adults began emerging from their hidden positions, fused with Gold-rank beasts that glowed with lethal power as they converged toward Ren’s group.

Veterans. Experienced fighters who’d survived real wars and knew how to coordinate, how to exploit numerical advantage, how to kill efficiently when the situation required it.

But much sooner than they expected, Zhao’s feathers were already flying in all directions.

The feathers from his Mist Owl of intermediate maturity had already achieved the thousand-day method. They were basically those of a Gold 2-rank beast, and much more if you counted the bonuses from the raptor that was also nearing Gold rank.

The synergy between his two beasts had created something that transcended simple addition of power levels. That, guided by Zhao’s combat experience and tactical genius, was more than enough to deal with any supposed ’veteran’.

They were already projectiles capable of surpassing the defenses of beasts in low Platinum rank.

Those same feathers cut through the air like guided missiles, burying deep into the flesh and bones of adults who dared approach.

A man confident in his stone armor fell with three feathers penetrating his shoulder, knee, and thigh. The armor parted like butter before a hot knife, offering no more resistance than paper. He hit the ground screaming, his limbs then got pinned by feathers that had buried themselves into the tunnel floor through his body.

A woman with wings the ’same’ as Zhao shrieked when she thought she could deflect the attack with her elemental control. The wind she summoned was impressive, strong enough to bend trees.

But Zhao’s feathers punched through it like it didn’t exist.

One feather pierced her wing, severing the connection to the arm and the construct. She fell in a spiral, her screams doppler-shifting as she plummeted still rolling in the air.

"Adults attacking students in an academic exam," Zhao’s voice was dangerously quiet while more feathers materialized around his fingers like a deadly fan. Each one gleaming with concentrated mana energy. "This truly is a serious problem."

The words carried weight beyond their surface meaning. This wasn’t just rule-breaking. This was the kind of violation that could end careers, destroy families, trigger investigations that would uncover everything these veterans thought they’d hidden.

And Zhao’s tone suggested he was very much looking forward to those consequences.

Strahlfangs were most likely done after this...

But quickly another problem became apparent.

Fifteen youngsters, students like those in Ren’s group, emerged from the lateral tunnels. Their beasts fused, their expressions varying between false determination and pure greed.

These were the ones who’d been bought with promises of gold, who’d signed up for sabotage but were rapidly realizing they’d actually joined an attempted murder.

Others looked eager. Excited even....

These were the true believers in house loyalty, the ones who’d drunk the Strahlfang main family propaganda deeply enough to think this was justice rather than crime.

Zhao couldn’t attack them.

Their confrontation with Ren’s group was, in theory, permitted under exam rules. Opportunistic theft, battles for resources, these things happened. Professors couldn’t intervene in student fights unless it was absolutely necessary to prevent deaths.

The rules were clear. The academy encouraged competition, even physical competition, as training for the harsh realities students would face after graduation. A professor who interfered too readily would be accused of favoritism.

And with these kids he couldn’t yet claim they were going all-out to kill. They could argue only wanting to incapacitate, or that the adults were "another group" not affiliated with them despite the obvious coordination.

Plausible deniability wrapped in bureaucracy.

But Zhao trusted he didn’t need to interfere much more. Controlling the idiot adults was enough because...

♢♢♢♢

Ren continued punishing Jin with light but precise blows.

Each impact calculated to maximize pain without causing too much damage. A strike to the ribs that would make breathing hurt for days. Another to the thigh that guaranteed temporary limping, muscle deep bruising.

’I still want to play a little more, like your brother played with my parents,’

Ren thought while dodging another pathetic attempt by Jin to counterattack. The corrupted student’s movements were sluggish now, coordination failing as pain and exhaustion accumulated.

’This idiot doesn’t learn. He deserves every second of this...’

The thought wasn’t kind, wasn’t merciful...

But Ren had stopped pretending to be either of those things where the Strahlfangs were concerned. Jean had tortured his parents before dying. Had made them suffer for his own amusement.

Turnabout, as they said, was fair play.

But then nine kids burst from the frontal tunnel, their different beasts fused and roaring and shrieking as they launched into attack.

They thought ten against one had to be more than sufficient to finish this quickly. Overwhelming numerical advantage against a single student, no matter how talented. Simple mathematics of combat where numbers usually won against skill when the disparity was large enough.

They were about to learn why "usually" was such an important qualifier.

Ren sighed.

The poor fool Jin wasn’t going anywhere soon, not with the beating he’d already taken. If he stayed conscious it was barely and only because Ren had been careful not to exceed limits.

"Perfect..."

His mood was ruined, but maybe ’playing’ a bit more would help.