"Girl, this is not how you win a war," the raven-haired woman said. "You're only making it harder for yourself."
"This is the only way I know," Jenni said, her defiant attitude turning into a look of helplessness—sothing Cassandra was very familiar with, be it in herself or the woman in her retinue.
"Let's not talk about that now. Hey, do you want so ice cream?" Before Jenni could answer, she brought out a runic box from her storage device. "I stowed this away at the very beginning."
Jenni's expression split into childish glee as she embraced the woman. "I love you so much, Captain Agnes."
The captain smiled and looked at the tall man in the corner of his eyes, who shrugged warily.
"Well, now that's out of the way," another man said, bringing out his spear. "Let's continue this ga…"
"Do we really have to play too?" a roguish figure among the group said, sounding reluctant.
"You're saying that because you have no chance of making it."
"True," the rogue agreed and pointed at the tall figure. "But we also can get him to repair our tools for free. Why bother with this play?"
"Where's your spirit and competitiveness, Kevin? Captain, how about you command us all to participate, and whoever performs the worst has to clean the toilet for a week?"
"I approve this," the tall figure said, nodding sagely.
Kevin scowled. "Fine, let's do it, old man." Saying that, he moved to the barrier even though soldiers were participating on another side. He didn't bother with them, brought out his dagger, and attacked. After getting a feel of the barrier, he plunged his dagger into it.
The formation of the barrier stirred, but that was all. Kevin scowled. He tried again and managed a little better, but in the end, he failed. He returned with an ugly expression.
"Don't take it to heart, Kevin," said a man of sergeant rank. "Your power lies in camouflage, misdirection, and stealth, not in raw power."
Kevin nodded and stood at the back, his expression only getting a little better.
"Oh, this little competition has brought so many people," the tall man said, turning to their group. "You guys didn't seem to be a part of the camp…"
"We're not," Marcus answered casually. "But I do hold a position of Lieutenant."
"Non-commissioned," Captain Agnes muttered; she didn't seem to like such possessions.
Cassandra could understand why. After all, while they served on the frontline all year without rest, these non-commissioned ranked officers ca from ti to ti, either for so army drill or to make a na for themselves. Although they were called up this ti, Cassandra knew what kind of deals were involved under the table for them to be called up here.
"Well, you're all open to try," the tall man said with a shrug. He turned to Marcus's healer again. "Can you throw a rejuvenation spell? I can pay for it…"
May quirked her brows and prepared to cast the spell. "No need…"
The white light of the spell plunged into the chest of the tall man, and his eyes brightened for a mont. Other than that, he didn't look rejuvenated at all. Only then did Cassandra notice, she received no feel for the man. Absolutely none at all. She couldn't even see his aura.
Well, that didn't happen often... Hell, it only happened a couple of tis when she ca across so high-rankers who dwarfed her in power. She could even glimpse a feel about the elderly gold ranker master runesmith who left a mont ago. But not this man.
Cassandra deed him to be a part of them as well, perhaps another adept of higher standing with how the other adepts were treating him. Jenni didn't even acknowledge his presence, but that was to be expected with her blatant disregard for everything. But Aki seed to hold a deep respect and revere for this man.
A man who's a rank below him. Certainly an enigmatic figure.
"Thanks, I needed that," said the tall man. "I'd have offered you all food and beverages, but all we have left are so drinks. Help yourself if you like." They did not, but the guy didn't seem to mind. He turned to the adept. "How many winners do we have, Aki?"
"Eight of us managed to force our way through the barrier," Adept Aki answered. "And twenty-three managed to make damage it enough to make the alarm blare."
"Hmm, not bad, but I expected more. What are their ranks?"
"Well, among the first eight, four were captains. After Jenni and I succeeded, two other adepts from the departnt got the news and joined. They were older adepts, so it didn't take them long to succeed."
"What about Dawg and Darren?"
"They managed the lower prize, along with most of the adepts that ca after getting the next," Aki answered. "Among the 23, I think eight of them are runesmiths."
"Many of the captains not available in the camp," Agnes added.
"Well, that's unfortunate, I'd have liked to get the taste of the power," he said, scratching his head. Only then did he give so form of exhaustion that required a rejuvenation spell.
Perhaps he was good at concealnt, Cassandra mused. Like my power revolves around divination, perhaps his was exactly the opposite?
"So among all the winners, only one of them is an Iron ranker?"
"Well, Jenni was the only Iron ranked in the first group," Aki said, while everyone else's eyes moved to the woman who was eating dessert nonchalantly. "However, there were two other Iron rankers who managed to damage the barrier."
"I guess the common soldiers are sowhat lacking in this respect," the tall man said and turned to Agnes. "So captain, is it fair to assu you'll give us a surprise?"
Captain Agnes smiled. "Why are you asking , only? After all, we have a batch of elite Iron rankers here; let's see how they fare. Not to ntion, you haven't tried it yourself."
"Nah, it'll be an easy win for ," the tall adept said. "Besides, I have no incentive to participate."
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