Before the
Battle for Dominance
began, Hayes had anticipated the challenges ahead.
With Nora’s strength, achieving ultimate victory wasn’t out of reach. After all, she had wiped out all the geniuses of the
A-level academy
in Karea Academy, proving her unparalleled power. Explore hidden tales at empire
In this competition, Hayes believed Nora was undoubtedly among the top three contenders.
Yet, the reason he couldn’t guarantee her victory lay in the
Dragonscale Bank’s
chosen one.
Of all the major factions, only Dragonscale Bank had the resources and secrecy to pour everything into cultivating a single, formidable fighter specifically for this battle.
The other factions—
Dawnlight Empire
,
Dark Empire
,
Cult of Calamity
, and
Sanctuary of Extension
—had no such need or capability for such covert specialization.
For instance, the
Sanctuary of Extension’s
participants were often their saints, figures well-known to the world.
The same was true for other superpowers, whose chosen were prominent figures.
Even Karea Academy, though somewhat more secretive, couldn’t entirely hide its participants since the
A-level academy
‘s geniuses were involved in various endeavors, making their existence widely known.
Nora, however, was a complete exception.
No one had anticipated how quickly her strength would grow or that she would annihilate the entire
A-level academy
.
Originally, Hayes had his eyes on other candidates, but Nora’s actions left him no choice but to select her.
As the
Battle for Dominance
began, Karea Academy’s participants remained a mystery to other factions.
This secrecy gave Nora an edge—though it was nothing compared to the enigma that was Dragonscale Bank’s Imora.
Dragonscale Bank maintained an absolute veil of secrecy over their chosen. Hayes had no way of discovering her capabilities or methods.
After witnessing Imora’s battle with Yesar, his concerns deepened.
Imora’s mastery of the water rule was so refined that even Yesar, who wielded light and fire rules and had the home-field advantage in the
Fire Field
, was no match.
Hayes was certain: Imora would be Nora’s greatest opponent in this battle.
…
Meanwhile, Nora had arrived at the treasure location within the
Water Field
.
After swiftly dispatching the
spell beast
guarding the treasure, she ascended an icy platform. Floating above the platform was a crystalline ice orb—the
Water Field’s
treasure.
Nora approached it, gazing closely at the ice crystal.
For some reason, it felt strangely familiar, as though she had encountered something similar before. But where?
From the spectator stands, the audience could only see Nora’s back, unable to discern what she was doing.
“She’s just standing there, headmaster! Why isn’t Sister Nora taking the treasure and moving on to steal from others? The two in the
Wood Field
are still trying to grasp the rules. If she hurries, she could easily take their treasures first!” Nina exclaimed.
“Be patient,” Daniel replied. “Nora has her own considerations. Besides, the two in the
Wood Field
are hardly worth worrying about.”
The
Wood Field
participants had yet to grasp their rules, putting them at a clear disadvantage.
As for the participant in the
Metal Field
—someone who had clashed with Rose before—Daniel dismissed him entirely.
…
Nora stood motionless before the ice crystal, lost in thought.
What no one else could see was that she now held another ice crystal in her hand—one identical to the treasure before her.
At that moment, she realized why this crystal felt so familiar.
The ice crystal in her hand was created using liquid refined through the
forge
Daniel had gifted her and her peers years ago before she left
Crossbridge Academy
.
The highest-tier
colorless forge
could produce a liquid imbued with extraordinary power.
The resonance between this liquid and the
Water Field’s
ice crystal was unmistakable.
Infusing the
Water Field’s
rule into the liquid had formed an identical crystal.
With a flick of her wrist, the crystal in her hand vanished. Then she retrieved the floating treasure from the platform and departed.
Nora made her way to the edge of the
Water Field
, preparing to invade another field.
…
In the
Metal Field
, the
Sanctuary of Extension’s
saint, Garr, had just defeated numerous constructs.
These constructs, made from discarded battlefield weapons, were designed for defense. Yet for someone like Garr, they posed no challenge.
The constructs lacked intelligence, making them trivial opponents for a saint of the
Sanctuary of Extension
.
After effortlessly destroying them, Garr approached the treasure—a small sword embryo—hovering on a platform.
As Garr reached out to claim the sword embryo, a surge of destructive energy erupted from it.
Unlike the other fields, the
Metal Field
was an ancient battlefield. The sword embryo, forged over countless years, had absorbed the battlefield’s lingering power. As such, it was highly aggressive.
To claim it, Garr had to subdue it in battle.
Without hesitation, Garr unleashed a barrage of spells, each aimed at depleting the sword embryo’s energy and intelligence.
Around him, runes began to appear.
The
Sanctuary of Extension’s
strength lay in its ability to derive new techniques.
The sword embryo’s every move and trajectory unfolded clearly in Garr’s mind. It seemed a straightforward task: intercept the sword’s path with overwhelming magic.
But just as he believed victory was assured, Garr noticed something unusual.
Though he had predicted the sword embryo’s movements and deployed his spells perfectly, none of them connected.
Every spell dissipated just before striking the sword.
This scene felt hauntingly familiar to Garr.
A few days earlier, in the
Fire Abyss
, he had encountered a similar situation. A girl wielding a massive sword had charged at him, utterly unaffected by his magic.
Despite calculating her every move, his spells had been useless.
Panicked, Garr switched strategies, ceasing his attempts at interception. Instead, he concentrated all his magic on fortifying himself.
Unlike that girl, this was just a sword embryo. It couldn’t possibly—
As the sword embryo hurtled toward him, Garr’s mind involuntarily replayed that moment from the
Fire Abyss
:
The girl’s massive sword bearing down on him, stopping just at his neck.
At that moment, Garr could feel a chilling sensation around his neck.
The sword embryo’s blade was so close that blood began to trickle down.
Everyone watching was utterly baffled.
