The students returned to camp under the cover of night.

  The injured were rushed into a medical tent, groaning and bloodied, while the rest were immediately assigned guard duty.

  Only one was brought along with the reinforcing group, escorted straight into Jason’s tent.

  The moment they stepped inside, Jason looked up from the makeshift map spread across his table and smiled.

  “So,” he said casually, “judging by your faces, our opponents managed to take out some important pieces on our side.”

  His gaze flicked to the trembling student.

  “And this happened after your group split off, thinking it would be an easy win. Am I wrong?”

  The student swallowed hard.

  “N-no, sir… We underestimated them.

  Two of my teammates were taken out instantly in an ambush. We didn’t even have time to reinforce them.”

  His voice wavered as he continued.

  “When panic spread, the enemy retreated immediately.

  We couldn’t pursue them. We believed the forest might hold another ambush, so we chose to hold our ground and wait for reinforcements.”

  Jason sighed and rubbed his temple, clearly unimpressed.

  “I warned you not to be arrogant,” he said flatly. “And now you’re standing in my camp after being humiliated.”

  He straightened and looked the student dead in the eyes.

  “So tell me why shouldn’t I punish you and your people? Why shouldn’t I remove all of you from this tournament?”

  His smile sharpened.

  “We don’t need liabilities. We need useful tools.”

  The student froze.

  “I- I don’t know, Jason. B-but I swear, we won’t abandon our posts again!”

  Jason stepped forward and grabbed the student by the shoulder, forcing him upright.

  Their eyes met.

  Jason was smiling but there was no warmth in it.

  “those are just words,” he said softly. “I don’t believe words.”

  His grip tightened.

  “Prove it with your actions. This is the only chance I’m giving you.”

  His voice dropped, cold and absolute.

  “Next time, I’ll personally remove you and everyone under you from this tournament.”

  He released the student and stepped back.

  The man collapsed to his knees as two others dragged him out of the tent without a word.

  Jason turned back to the table, his expression already calm again, eyes scanning the crude map of the forest his forces had pieced together so far.

  Mei skipped into the tent, a mischievous grin lighting up her face.

  “Well, well, well… look at you. Big boy now, aren’t you?”

  Jason sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m assuming you have a plan.”

  she tilted her head, still grinning. “Yep. Why not send out a scout team with a few of our remaining Rank 5 Apprentices?

  We hide in the shadows and ambush the other team if they take the bait.”

  Jason paused, thinking it through.

  “Hmm… and if they go after this camp instead of the scout team? Wouldn’t that just weaken us unnecessarily?”

  Mei rolled her eyes, unimpressed.

  “And you’re supposed to be the strategist. We leave a large portion of our mana in the tents and only split our forces in half.

  Even if there’s a sensor, they won’t know we’re not here. The scout team, by elimination, becomes the easier target.”

  Jason nodded slowly.

  “You’re right. But we have to ensure we aren’t noticed. Even a glimpse of our energy and they’ll run.

  But prepare the scout team and send them out best we take the risk then.

  If this tactic fails, it means they’re not taking a chance to attack but I doubt it.

  We outnumber them easily.”

  “Okay~!” Mei chirped, skipping out of the tent.

  She immediately began barking orders, coordinating the scout team.

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  Once they were ready, she retreated to her own tent to oversee the plan.

  It had been a few hours since the scouting team was sent out.

  Jason and Mei lay in ambush, the mana emitters left in their tents tricking any scouts into thinking the camp was fully manned.

  So far… nothing. No attacks. At this rate, the scout team would be returning to base.

  “Hmm,” Jason muttered, “they should be back soon.”

  Before he could finish, an explosion erupted in the distance.

  A massive fireball cut through the scouting formation, and two brutes appeared.

  one had a lean frame with disproportionately long arms and legs; the other had a single eye and a bulky body a perfect target.

  The scout leader dispatched two Rank 5s to reinforce the team, but the brutes advanced, clad in elemental armor that visibly boosted their defenses.

  They bulldozed through the Rank 3 members with terrifying ease.

  One Rank 5 stepped forward, deploying a machine-generated barrier between the brutes and the scouts.

  But then a human appeared, spinning a staff that ignited like fire before slamming it into the barrier. Cracks spiderwebbed across it, though he was immediately repelled back.

  Before the Ogre could capitalize, Jason appeared, faster than the eye could follow, delivering a lightning-infused kick that sent the Ogre flying.

  The Wendigo leapt in, grabbing Jason to restrain him, only to recoil as Jason electrocuted him with his own lightning-infused body.

  The wounds healed instantly, but the pain forced release.

  The human shouted, “We MUST retreat! They anticipated our attack! This was a bait!”

  Jason moved to strike, but a Kitsune suddenly blocked his path.

  Lightning Judgment clashed with her Overload skill, resulting in an explosion that threw them both back.

  As the dust settled, the Kitsune straightened, cheerful as ever.

  “Seems one of the Rank 6s has arrived,” she said. “But you’re right.

  We must retreat… I’ll hold him ba-”

  She dodged, and Mei appeared beside her. “Aww, missed~ Anyway, I’ve called the rest of the camp. Time to move.”

  Jason nodded. “Let’s work together and take care of the Kitsune. She’s the strongest.”

  He dodged left and retaliated with a brutal punch. The Tengu's sneak attack failed, sending her tumbling into her own group, triggering the full battle.

  Jason and Mei coordinated, stalling the Kitsune while the rest of their camp clashed with her team. Despite their combined effort, seconds stretched into minutes.

  Jason couldn’t land any significant hits, and Mei’s Beast Factor, though active, failed to subdue the Kitsune.

  But the delay worked.

  The rest of the camp arrived, making escape far more difficult.

  Then, suddenly, the Ogre doubled in size. His mana plummeted, but the pressure he emanated matched a Rank 6.

  Jason and Mei were forced to focus on him, giving the Kitsune the opening to disengage.

  She nodded toward the Ogre. “Let’s get out of here. We cannot afford to be held any longer.” With that, she and her team began retreating.

  Jason shouted, “GET THEM! DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!”

  It was useless. The Ogre ignored Jason and Mei, attacking their team members and forcing them to defend.

  Morale dropped as it became clear: any pursuit meant facing the Ogre’s overwhelming strength.

  Jason’s group focused their attacks on the Ogre, and after a tense minute, his regeneration couldn’t keep up.

  He weakened rapidly, giving them a chance to eliminate him.

  Cheers erupted as the enemy’s major player fell.

  Jason, however, couldn’t shake this bad feeling.

  Mei clapped his shoulders. “She’s out of her Beast Factor. Heh, the reverse ambush worked~”

  “Yea,” Jason admitted. “We even forced one of their members to use a trump card. Lowered our chances of failing.

  Now everyone, head back to camp! Carry the injured and start healing. Today is a major win!”

  Morale soared. The team cheered loudly as they made their way back to camp, victorious for now.

  Back with Aiko and the others.

  “Damn it… it was a bait,” Bennett muttered. “I thought they were still at the camp, according to your intel, Ayaka.”

  Ayaka clenched her fists. “This is on me. I should have verified our information. If we had, we’d have known the camp was unprotected… and we wouldn’t have lost Ironfang.”

  Bennett nodded. “We lost the chance to escape the moment we took the bait. Still… I didn’t know Ironfang had such a strong trump card.

  But we had to choose to lose Aiko or lose Ironfang. Even if we could have taken out one of the major players, we wouldn’t have stood a chance.

  But that trump card… it probably comes with a massive cost and a very short duration."

  Ayaka nodded solemnly. “We had no choice. We couldn’t risk losing Aiko, she's the strongest among us.”

  Morale was low after losing Ironfang.

  Aiko looked at the group.

  “Ayaka, Bennett, would the cliff plan be usable tonight?”

  Kaeris froze, wide-eyed. “Didn’t they say it could be a bait?”

  Nearby, Kivolak sat casually, gnawing on some meat he’d procured from who-knows-where.

  “I think it’s possible,” Bennett said, analyzing the situation. “Ironfang would have caused major injuries on their side.

  Losing him lowered our morale.

  They won’t expect a rapid counterattack; they'll assume we’re hiding.”

  Ayaka shook her head. “I don’t think so, Bennett.

  What if they are expecting this?

  It’s a huge risk. We agreed it wasn’t worth it.”

  “I know,” Bennett replied. “But think about it, Ayaka. Would you expect an attack immediately after forcing your opponents to retreat and losing a member?

  Especially when the enemy only has a few members left?”

  She considered it. “You make a fair point. Non tacticians would likely slack off, even if warned.”

  Bennett stood. “I’m willing to take the cliff risk.”

  Ayaka hesitated, then nodded. “Alright… if we let them rest and heal, with their numbers, we’ll likely lose badly.

  Let’s do it.”

  Aiko grinned. “Good. Kaeris, any mobility support skills?”

  Kaeris thought briefly. “I have Shift. I can mark two targets and swap their locations… but it has to be an equivalent exchange.”

  “That’s perfect,” Aiko said. She scanned their surroundings.

  “Would a large boulder work? Its mass will help, and our mana will be low after the effort, lowering the swap requirement.”

  Kaeris created an icicle to encase it. “As long as your mana is low enough, I can swap you all. But the range is limited to 100 meters.”

  “More than enough,” as aiko grinned

  Kaeris then handed out talismans.

  “Each of you take one. When your ready, ill use the talisman to locate and activate shift and Make sure each person picks a different item.”

  Everyone nodded, taking a talisman.

  Aiko clapped her hands. “Alright. Let’s move.

  Once we’re close, we’ll find suitable items for the swap.”

  They made their way toward the enemy camp, hiding their mana as they climbed the mountain.

  At the cliff’s edge, Kaeris helped locate objects, infusing them with mana and waiting for the signal.

  Aiko looked at him. “Once the cliff starts breaking, use the skill.

  We move immediately.”

  They returned to the cliff.

  Kivolak used his razor-sharp nails to carve a wide line along it, marking where to strike.

  Ayaka, with everyone as the target, activated Absolute Illusion. The moment it triggered, Aiko used Inari Rage, Bennett activated Revolving Cinder, and Kivolak unleashed Devouring Ice, infusing the cliff with brittle cold energy.

  Bennett struck with Cinder Fall, spiderweb cracks appearing across the rock.

  As Absolute Illusion ended, Aiko’s Inari Rage caused rapid heating, dispersing the cold instantly.

  Flames surged into the cracks, triggering an explosion.

  The cliff collapsed in an avalanche. Ayaka used her remaining mana with Dark Wind Slash, fanning the fox fire that coated the rocks.

  The avalanche became a torrent of flaming boulders.

  Chaos erupted in the enemy camp. They scrambled, hastily raising a barrier but the fox-fire-infused avalanche shattered it mid-formation, crushing tents and injuring numerous members, taking out a few instantly.

  Kaeris teleported the group back as soon as the barrier fell, using the talismans to swap them with the prepared items, which burned the talismans to ashes.

  “Let’s go!” Aiko shouted, dragging Kaeris along. Under the cover of night, they slipped away, leaving the enemy camp in ruin.

  Chapter 21 End