Chapter 221: Flooding the Land of the Fallen
As time passed, I could still see the ritual light beams in the night sky during this part of the late night.
Every time I saw them light up, I felt an impulse to go and destroy them.
But in the end, I didn’t go, after all, I couldn’t leave them behind, could I?
Moreover, I noticed that even if some academies were secretly preparing rituals at night, there were also academies sneaking in to disrupt them. It was quite interesting, so I compared the map with Shi Huiyu and the others to speculate on which academy was holding the ritual.
After I took over in the later part of the night, I deliberately glanced at the leaderboard. At this moment, the academy leaderboard was no longer just the monotonous scoring of the Witch Academy and the Sea Tribe.
According to the ranking, I could see the order in which they scored in the first half of the night, starting with… Huh? Combined Dwarf Academy?
Seeing this academy left me dumbfounded, after all, dwarves had such a low presence.
At the beginning of the game, we at the Witch Academy had suggested holding a Witch Tea Party at the Forged Ancient City, but it was shelved for various reasons.
The Dwarf Academy was protected within the Forged Ancient City. If they could hold a ritual, it only meant one thing: the ruins of the Forged Ancient City had been breached.
Because of the protective nature of the Forged Ancient City, it provided dwarves with a relatively safe environment, while also limiting the hosting of rituals.
It seemed that the Dwarf Academy had been accumulating energy all day, and during the night, they pulled off something big.
Next was the scoring for the Holy Angel Academy.
Without the interference of the Witch Academy, the three top academies displayed their terrifying power.
Following closely was the Wizard Academy, completing the Truth Ritual, which was a way to redeem themselves. Only the Aphhemia Academy still had zero points at that moment.
In the later part of the night, I also saw the hosting of the Aphhemia Academy’s ritual, which indicated that they had struggled, but ultimately nothing came of it.
I hope their World Tree is still safe.
“Hey… how long are they going to sleep? I’m not saying that Tan Han really looks good while sleeping… Heddy too…”
“Hmm? Let them sleep a bit longer.”
I almost forgot that this person Shi Huiyu is a yuri fan; she probably doesn’t just admire everyone’s sleeping faces in a simple way.
I looked in the distance where the Aphhemia World Tree’s ritual had been lit for a while. If those elves could seize this opportunity, they might just manage to save some face for their three top academies.
However, the Aphhemia Academy had to confront an issue: once they obtained their scoring, apart from the affiliated Elf Academy, other academies might also have ideas for obtaining their own scores.
After all, they had assisted the Aphhemia Academy for so long and sacrificed so much. Didn’t they just want to obtain some scoring? They didn’t necessarily need help, right? Why is that not possible?
This was indeed a matter that the Aphhemia Academy needed to pay attention to.
As the only academy in this exchange competition that brought an affiliated academy, the Aphhemia Academy had presented the most disappointing performance.
I have to say, at this moment, the Aphhemia Academy had truly become a laughing stock.
But the elves couldn’t deny the flaws in their power system either.
Even though their race is extraordinary, their power system also has its strengths and weaknesses, especially in the initial stages.
The elves of the Aphhemia Academy are baptized through the Aphhemia branch World Tree and reborn into this world as Forest Elves.
They naturally generate pure, natural energy within them and, through later awakenings, gain specialization skills such as archery talents before learning elven spells, and so on.
This was a slow process, and generating natural energy couldn’t be rushed either.
This is unlike the Wizard Academy, where they directly awaken mental power to access witchcraft, controlling basic witch power with witch weapons. As long as they understand and learn certain knowledge, mastering the principle of equivalent exchange allows them to implement many strange techniques with their witch weapons.
Though this comparison is somewhat superficial, the initial power acquisition ceiling for wizards is quite high; gifted and quick-minded individuals can drastically improve their strength in a very short time.
The Holy Angels are even more perverse. Just the so-called Angel Ring, while considered the core of their power, essentially acts as a borrowing tool.
The strength of angels is hierarchical and has a source.
This is even more extreme than witches having a magic source; even divine arts can be bestowed.
The price is that they cannot squander their power indiscriminately, and using divine arts requires complex processes like prayer rituals.
But that doesn’t mean you can deny the strength of others.
Especially when the Holy Angels have their own floating islands, it is even more so.
However, precisely because their power is so closely tied to their source, if the Aphhemia Academy loses its World Tree, they would only lose the opportunity to hold a ritual.
But if the Holy Angels lose their source of power—the floating islands—they might as well give up.
Without their source of power, their Angel Rings would gradually dissipate their holy light until shattered, their wings unable to perform divine arts to float and fly; they would turn into mere flightless bird-people.
“Um… Sister Xiao Han, that ritual you’ve been watching is from the Aphhemia Academy, right?”
“Mm.” I nodded. Tan Han previously said that the ritual light beams would change based on the progress of preparations. I hadn’t paid attention before, but now recalling my observations, there really were differences. This was even more evident from the perspective of Spirit Vision.
“Um… what time is it…”
“You’re awake? I thought I would wake you after that ritual ended.” I turned around, smiling at Tan Han.
With Tan Han’s movement, the others stirred a bit too; maybe they hadn’t slept well. For example, Minian changed her position and went back to sleep.
“What’s the situation now? No academy should be tied with us last night, right?” Tan Han asked with concern.
“No ties; it’s just a matter of how the Aphhemia Academy fared.” I turned to look again at the most conspicuous ritual.
“I thought with your personality, you’d rush over to disturb them.”
“But I can’t just leave you all alone, can I? Even if you’re awake now, it would be a bit late for me to go over.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t stop them, right?”
“True, but I’m too lazy to go. By the way, when do we act?” I shifted the topic.
“We can go now. Do you want to go now?”
“Now… it could catch them off guard, but just flooding the Land of the Fallen might be too straightforward. Why not attract some other academies over?”
“It seems you’re eager for chaos, but this matter is difficult. The Land of the Fallen here is quite special, and we don’t have the means to draw them in.”
Whether it’s kidnapping anyone to hold a ritual here or using specified resources to lure people in, it wouldn’t attract a large number of students from other academies.
Although many academies were involved in the exchange competition, they ultimately split into several groups.
The Beast Academy likely wouldn’t get involved over here in the Land of the Fallen; the elves needed to guard the World Tree.
Wizards, Angels, and Dragon bl**d might come, but they can fly, which wouldn’t hold much meaning.
With the ritual at the Aphhemia Academy advancing, the other rituals fell apart. This was also the closest the Aphhemia Academy had come to success.
And unsurprisingly, they scored this point.
“Looks like another one has scored. After working hard during the night, they are about to fall into a state of mental fatigue.”
“Mm.” I nodded in agreement. Even with invigorating potions, they probably wouldn’t last long, and the effect of the potions wouldn’t be as good as the energizing pills sold by the academies.
“But we also need to pay attention to the hidden rules triggered once they complete the ritual. The hidden rules don’t only provide rewards; the Sea Tribe has already confirmed this.”
“Indeed, we should act now.”
I reminded Tan Han, and the remaining few actually seemed to wake up. Only Minian continued to laze in bed, despite having such an uncomfortable sleeping situation.
Last night, she even said she could keep watch because she stayed up late, but was she unable to get up in the morning?
In the end, Tan Han called her up using some tricks, directly startling her awake; that shock would likely keep her alert for a long time.
“It’s time to get moving; you’d better leave here first.”
“Then where do we assemble?”
“How about the bl**d Clan’s Land of Eternal Darkness? At least there’s a bl**d pool as a backup, and we can hold the tea party there.” I suggested.
“Going to the bl**d Clan’s place? Their strength should not be underestimated, but the Land of Eternal Darkness is near the Land of the Fallen, so it might get hit by a tsunami.”
“Then shall we set the plan here?”
“I think that works. I wonder if after flooding, the Land of the Fallen could still hold a tea party. After all, to a certain extent, this counts as a map refresh, right?”
“That shouldn’t be too lucky, and a flooded Land of the Fallen has nowhere to hold a tea party anyway.”
After some discussion, we decided to split into three groups of seven.
First, I would go alone, using the Sea Crown to carry out the plan to flood the Land of the Fallen. After all, this was something only I, as the bearer of the crown, could do; the others could only retreat to the Land of Eternal Darkness to assess the situation.
Last night, the Land of Eternal Darkness was very active, with multiple rituals lighting up more than once. They probably believe that the night is their domain, but sadly, despite being active all night, they didn’t succeed in holding a single ritual.
I still don’t know which kind-hearted academy prevented that; they did an excellent job.
Since the night was so vibrant, the morning would be their most exhausted time, so another team led by Tan Han would go over to take a look. If the opponents were weak, they would eliminate them directly and seize the opportunity to hold the tea party.
The other team would consist only of Minian. Other than me and Tan Han, she could be said to be the best broom rider, so she was responsible for creating distance to obtain the tea party invitations while avoiding combat.
Since she had the Teleportation Summoning Spell’s mark on her, as the only one who had experienced teleportation, she boldly volunteered to take on the responsibility of ensuring the ritual would be successfully held.
I would also rush to support Tan Han as soon as I completed the tsunami.
After all, the Land of Eternal Darkness was the bl**d Clan’s nest, with a whole area of bl**d slave farms. Don’t think of bl**d slaves as mere providers of bl**d for the bl**d Clan; they also possess combat strength.
If they only raised bl**d slaves without any combat strength, there would be no need for a bl**d Slave Academy; they could just become the bl**d Clan’s farm.
With the plans set, there were no roundabouts; everything was straightforward and clear.
I even deliberately instructed Minian to find a safe place to hide after a certain distance, or even dig a pit to bury herself if necessary.
After all, a living person riding a broomstick in the sky is too eye-catching, especially near the forest—who knows if some miscreant will try to ambush her.
After explaining everything, I headed straight toward the sea. Here, the distance to the ocean wasn’t far. Upon arrival, I took out the Sea Crown and put it on my head.
Once I donned this crown, I felt a wonderful sensation wash over me, as if I had received the blessing of the ocean.
A stream of information also drilled into my mind along with this surge of power.
It was an introduction and explanation on how to use the powers of the Sea Crown, far more insightful than the formality of a Witch Tea Party.
I stowed away my flying broom and plunged directly into the sea. At that moment, as I entered the seawater, I felt as if each wave was cheering for me, and a single thought could propel me to any place beneath the water.
This feeling was akin to receiving the protection of the Elemental Sprite. It seems the protection should allow me to traverse through seawater seamlessly; even my clothes wouldn’t get wet beneath the waves.
“This is the place, right…”
As my body was cradled by the seawater, it felt gentle, like being a child of the sea. Facing the sea surface while being underwater, I had not a trace of pressure.
At this moment, I released the power of the crown.
Instantly, the pearls intertwined with golden branches atop the crown began to unleash their power.
I could feel this energy bubbling up clearly.
And I didn’t know if it was an illusion; it felt like… a spellbook!
It felt like using a one-time consumption spellbook, and I didn’t even need to provide energy to start accumulating power.
Yet, my connection with the crown was similar to the relationship I had with the fire domain spellbook yesterday.
The power to trigger the tsunami was accumulating; it felt as if I controlled the tsunami like I once controlled the rain of fire.
I could command the tsunami, but precise manipulation was impossible.
“I see… so this is how it is…”
Watching the power erupting from the crown, the tides transformed into blue ribbons that surrounded me like the most loyal guardians.
At this moment, even the previously calm sea surface turned oppressive.
The great waves seemed to be building up; if anyone were on the coast, they would visibly see the seawater receding.
That was the harbinger of a tsunami.
The retreating water would stir up massive waves in the deeper ocean, layering them in a frenzy of addition.
And I stood atop the pinnacle of the tsunami, embraced by the sea’s waves, the crown floating above me, the water elements coalescing into ribbons decorating my attire, and the turbulent sea forming a skirt that stacked up with my every step.
At this moment, this extraordinary phenomenon obscured even the sky with clouds and rain from the sea, interspersed with lightning and rain, avoiding my form to accentuate the great waves.
This was more terrifying than the elemental sprite’s protection with all special effects turned on. If I had to compare, this could be considered a power on par with a one-time consumption spellbook.
At this moment, the Sea Tribe chose to flee upon sensing the extraordinary phenomenon. Even though they were blessed by the sea, they had to shy away from its might.
Moreover, many students from the Sea Tribe understood the implications and were aware of the situation.
The Witch Academy had begun to take action.
That person, who controlled the sea and eroded the land like a sea queen, was not from the Sea Tribe but was a witch!
If it were Lady Enara, they could seize this opportunity to stand atop the waves, letting those inland see the terror of the Sea Tribe!
But there were no ‘if’ scenarios.
They could only watch that witch carry the Sea Crown and let the towering waves become her cascading skirt, descending like a queen.
And the Sea Tribe could only endure the aftermath of the tsunami from the sidelines.
“What… what is that? The coastal elves and the Beast Academy also saw this astonishing sight.
The retreating seawater revealed vast stretches of land, but the distant, shadowy colossal figure bore a suffocating sense of oppression as it approached the land.
“Sea… tsunami! It’s a tsunami!”
Finally, someone recognized these signs for what they were and hurried back to inform their academy mates.
Even though the tsunami seemed not to target them, the aftermath would surely affect them.
Once the news broke, the elves quickly realized the Sea Tribe’s ritual from the previous day and the terrifying witch who had come to stop them.
When many pieces of information were combined and viewed together, everything became clear.
The elves climbed the World Tree, gazing out at the distant sea. What was happening with the Sea Tribe and the witch?
Everyone, upon seeing the towering giant waves and the most eye-catching figure glowing above the waves…
“The Sea Tribe’s ritual can actually unleash a tsunami?”
“That’s a bit too terrifying, isn’t it? Given this direction, their target… over there is…”
“It’s the Land of the Fallen! The Land of the Fallen is the lowest point of the entire map, along with that ravine leading to the Abyss. They are working together to flood the Land of the Fallen!”
“Flooding… the Land of the Fallen?!”
Having delved into the essence of these proceedings, they realized they had been too conservative. If such massive waves impacted their World Tree, what would they do?
Moreover, with such a crazy act of flooding the Land of the Fallen, some elves didn’t even notice that their legs were trembling.
“Prepare to meet the impact of the aftermath! The coastline on this side cannot escape from such a tsunami, hurry!”
“The Sea Tribe… it seems their ritual needs several more levels of importance…”
As the elves’ leaders issued commands, the elves began to prepare to face the tsunami’s impact.
At this moment.
I was riding the tsunami, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Similarly, this was when I felt the resonance of water.
It was such a marvelous feeling. I looked ahead at the Land of the Fallen, as if I were overlooking a shrinking map.
I had underestimated the power of the tsunami—or rather, under my resonance, the effect produced by layered waves.
If this were controlled by the Sea Tribe, I might still worry about whether the Land of the Fallen could be completely flooded, but now, under the power of the Sea Crown and the means of resonance, even the coastal areas would be affected.
“Come on! Land of the Fallen… Undead… Infernal demons, little devils, the unalive, the fallen… pay for your actions…”
The tsunami surged toward the shoreline, and I suddenly plunged into the sea, resonating with the water, guiding the direction of the torrents.
The seemingly secure high grounds and rugged mountains of the Land of the Fallen, at this moment, resembled the Maginot Line that would prove ineffective.
The students who had been recuperating and gathering strength in the Land of the Fallen also felt the tremendous commotion. When they looked up, they only saw the terrifying seawater rushing in through the mountains and ravines.
They didn’t even have time to run, as the seawater violently crashed in, sweeping away the stones and solid objects of the Land of the Fallen.
“People of the Land of the Fallen, it’s time to wake up!”
With the aid of seawater, my voice echoed through the valleys of the Land of the Fallen.
“It’s… that witch’s voice!”
“Run!”
“d*mn it… I bless you all to ****!”
At this moment, the Land of the Fallen echoed with the curses of those students, but the seawater would equally respond to each of them.
At the very center of the Land of the Fallen, a gigantic sword stood tall against the surging seawater, cleaving through the waves.
I leaped from the waves, standing atop the hilt of that great sword and watching the sea wash over everything; this had once tied up the gravely injured Lan Baihui, and now, that anger was fading little by little in their wails.
“This great sword… looks pretty good,” I remarked as I stepped on it.
Then I noticed signs of cracking atop the Sea Crown above my head; it seemed that the tsunami’s power was no longer under my control, but my purpose had already been achieved.
