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Chapter 351: 351
Meanwhile, the cursed Apelings were already in position, moving with practiced silence. Every member of the cursed clan had this formation drilled into them from a young age, a formation that truly showed why they were called the cursed apeling clan.
Garrock held a shield nearly his own size in one hand and a heavy axe in the other, his posture unwavering and focused as he took the lead. Just behind him, Okon held her whip loosely at her side, coiled but poised like a snake ready to strike. Kuro, constantly shifting his weight from side to side, handled his twin daggers with dexterity, each one flashing as he sized up the Apeling students.
As the announcer’s voice faded, a tense silence blanketed the arena. Both teams stood ready, like predators eyeing their prey.
Across from them, the Apeling students gathered their energy, forming a united front. Torrent stood in the center, flanked by Ndidi, whose fingers crackled with wind energy, and Aduke, her eyes glowing as nature magic surged through her, roots and vines already coiling around her fingers. Torrent nodded to his teammates, an unspoken agreement passing between them: they would make this fight count. They would not go down easy.
With a yell, Torrent slammed his hands together, sending a wave of water surging toward the cursed Apelings, aiming to break their formation early. The cursed Terra Apeling barely shifted, raising his massive shield in a fluid, almost relaxed motion. The wave split around him, his earthen armor deflecting the impact as if the water was nothing more than a gentle breeze. His steady, piercing gaze met Torrent’s, sending a chill down the younger Apeling’s spine.
"Kuro, now!" Garrock barked, his voice like thunder.
Kuro moved without hesitation, darting forward with a speed that left barely a blur. He closed the gap between himself and Ndidi in seconds, daggers flashing in a deadly arc. Ndidi twisted to avoid the strikes, but Kuro’s movements were erratic and unpredictable, each lunge and feint keeping him on his toes. Ndidi barely had time to block before Kuro’s dagger slashed a shallow cut across his arm, blood staining his sleeve.
Torrent’s eyes flashed as he saw his teammate struggling. He flicked his fingers, and water rose from the arena floor, spiraling toward Kuro with a snap. Kuro dodged to the side, but Torrent anticipated his movement, redirecting the water in midair and forcing Kuro to leap back. The cursed Apeling let out a low growl, his smile gone as he adjusted, now watching Torrent’s every move with a predator’s intensity.
Okon’s eyes glinted as she watched Aduke’s vines fail against Garrock. She seized her opening, her whip snapping forward in a perfect arc to catch Aduke’s ankle. She jerked back with practiced ease, sending Aduke crashing to the ground, roots and dirt scattering around her. Before Aduke could react, Okon was on her, her whip’s sharp tip slicing through Aduke’s thigh, leaving a bloody trail in its wake.
"Aduke!" Torrent shouted, directing a torrent of water toward Okon, but Okon merely stepped back with a cruel smile, letting Garrock’s hulking form take the brunt of the attack. The water barely fazed him, glancing off his earthen armor as he advanced on Torrent with grim inevitability.
In response, Aduke gritted her teeth and called up a forest of thorned roots that exploded from the ground beneath Garrock. They wrapped around his ankles, the thorns biting into his skin, drawing fresh blood. Garrock’s face twisted in pain, but he twisted his body, using the momentum to snap the roots, ignoring the blood dripping from his legs. He lifted his axe, now with a wild, frenzied look, and swung it toward Aduke in a sweeping arc that nearly took her head off as she ducked just in time.
This drew his attention away from Torrent, who, with a green flash, transformed into a wyvern and swung his tail at Garrock. Garrock tried to merge with the earth, but the tail moved too quickly.
At the last moment, he was saved by Okon, whose whip wrapped around Torrent’s tail. Okon dug her feet into the ground as she pulled hard.
Aduke heard Ndidi’s voice shouting, "Cover me!" She saw Ndidi being held back by Kuro. Transforming into a flaming lion, Aduke unleashed a breath of fire at Kuro, who swiftly retreated.
Ndidi turned his focus to Okon, who was locked in a struggle of strength with Torrent. He conjured a wind blade spell to throw at Torrent, but the ground beneath him erupted as Garrock, who had merged with the earth, emerged below and launched him into the sky.
The wind blade Ndidi had prepared missed its target as he had no time to aim properly. Now airborne, Ndidi found himself falling, with Garrock waiting below, axe and shield ready.
Midair, Ndidi transformed into a bird, flapping his wings to rise higher, hoping to avoid Garrock’s trap. Suddenly, he noticed a wet drop on his feathers.
Looking to see if it was somehow raining, Ndidi realized that Okon, who was supposed to be held by Torrent, was now free—and her target was him.
The whip in Okon’s hand shimmered blue as it gathered water elementals around her, which soon turned into a mist. Ndidi’s vision clouded, and he narrowly dodged a sudden lash of the whip aimed directly at him.
Aduke had charged at Okon earlier, her paws leaving scorched marks on the ground as she sprinted toward him. Kuro’s eyes locked onto her, and for a moment, the world seemed to slow as he assessed her speed. He darted to the side just as Aduke unleashed another fiery breath, the flames licking the air where he had been only moments before. But Kuro’s focus remained unbroken as he darted in and out of her reach, his daggers flashing.
The next thing Aduke knew, she was collapsing to the ground, her limbs numb and unresponsive. She couldn’t stand—Kuro had severed her hamstring, immobilizing her and leaving her unable to get Torrent off Okon. This gave Okon the opportunity to conjure the mist.
Torrent’s wyvern form faltered as he watched Aduke fall, her legs limp from Kuro’s swift, ruthless attack. Realization struck him, and a surge of anger flared in his chest. His eyes narrowed, and with a guttural roar, he twisted midair, releasing a powerful, spiraling torrent of water aimed directly at Kuro, who now stood smirking over Aduke’s fallen form.
Kuro dodged with a swift roll, but Torrent anticipated the movement, redirecting the water in a serpentine motion. The torrent crashed into Kuro’s side, sending him skidding across the arena floor. For a brief moment, Torrent thought he had gained the upper hand. But Okon’s mist was thickening, swirling around the battlefield and shrouding the cursed Apelings in an opaque haze that distorted shapes and sounds. The mist grew denser, making it nearly impossible for Torrent to distinguish friend from foe.
High above, Ndidi struggled. In his bird form, he flapped frantically to escape the mist’s reach, but the thick fog clung to him, dampening his feathers and weighing him down. The air grew colder, heavier, as Okon manipulated the water element, her eerie silhouette visible through the mist. Ndidi felt a chill as her whip cracked through the fog, narrowly missing him as he twisted and dodged.
"Torrent!" Ndidi called out, desperation in his voice. He couldn’t maintain his flight much longer, not with Okon targeting him from below.
But Torrent was already moving, his focus shifting to the source of the mist. He narrowed his gaze, trying to make out Okon’s silhouette through the haze. He knew that if he didn’t disable her, she would keep them disoriented, picking them off one by one.
Drawing on the increased water element, Torrent gathered a massive spell of hardened water. The spell drained his mana heavily as he dove down, cutting through the mist toward her.
Okon sensed the attack and turned just in time to dodge, but Torrent’s spear struck close enough to disrupt her concentration. The mist began to thin as her hold on the water element weakened, and Torrent seized his chance. With a powerful snap of his wings, he dispersed the remaining mist, finally clearing the battlefield.
The arena came back into focus. Garrock, waiting below, saw Torrent’s opening and lunged, swinging his massive axe upward to intercept him. Torrent couldn’t dodge in time, and one of his wings was severed, sending him spiraling toward the ground.
As he fell, he shifted back into his Apeling form, clutching his shoulder. Horror struck him as he watched Garrock, like a charging bull, positioning his shield to slam into him once he came within range.
Torrent braced himself, closing his eyes in anticipation of the impact as he tumbled toward the ground. But then, looking up, he saw Ndidi swoop down, diving low and fast, his talons glowing with swirling wind energy. With a swift strike, Ndidi slashed at Garrock’s face, creating a brief but vital distraction that allowed Torrent to regain his footing. Garrock swung wildly, trying to catch Ndidi, but the bird was too quick, darting in and out with precise strikes.
