When Kairos scanned through the battlegrounds, he instantly noticed something was off.

“There are three missing persons?”

He did a mental calculation and immediately became wary that Luciette had far deeper plans. Of course, he would not know that two were killed because of Calculus, and only one still unaccounted for.

However, with the attacks coming, he did not have much time to think about this. They would have a hard time even with the scouts’ initial estimation of fifty-five raiders, especially since they are still recovering from their wounds. Now that twenty-seven more enemies appeared, they are barely able to protect all three fronts.

By George’s instructions, their initial arrangement had split his units into three groups. Each ready assist another side if needed.

However, they are now pinned down on the north wall by fifty-two enemies, with only thirteen defenders, including Long, John, Edward and Kairos.

The probing at their west walls had ensured their attention was focused elsewhere, allowing Luciette to bring her main unit dangerously close. And even now, Alan and nine defenders are occupied by the thirty blue team members still lingering near.

Their only hope of reinforcements is from the south. By Kairos’ command, they raised several flags. When Silvers, Sasha or Tommy sees it, those at the south should arrive soon.

A loud horn blasted that overpowered every other noise, and the students from the blue team charged at the north ramparts on the signal. To cross the moat, they carried multiple tree trunks to use as floating platforms, and since they are martial practitioners, the weight did not slow them down by much.

With these practitioners' footwork, it will only take them mere seconds to jump across, unhindered even when the moat is filled with moving waters.

The defenders stared nervously, but at this moment, several volleys of arrows flew out from the edge of the forest towards the blue team.

"Reinforcements? A group of archers are flanking them. We’re saved!" Edward said with open relief.

“It must be the commander! George had prepared another group to defend the camp. Haha, he did not even let us know.”

“Of course! The White Snow clan are famous for intel gathering. It’d be terrible for us if Luciette found out early.”

Everyone had thought that George might have overlooked the possibility that Luciette would attack with her full might, but he had reserved some troops in secret to reveal themselves when needed.

When Kairos calculated those taking part in this operation, forty people were missing from the list. He had long suspected they were given a separate mission.

“Perhaps, both commanders intended to make this their final battle.”

The men had felt something akin to despair when they realised just how outnumbered and outmatched they are by Luciette, even with the Bagua formation and Kairos by their side. So when they saw friendly troops lying in wait to assist them, everyone found new hope.

The ambush worked with perfect timing. The arrows struck many of the blue team causing them to fall into the moat and be washed away by the river. Even though the gel-coated arrows cannot easily incapacitate anyone, it effectively scattered the blue team.

Among them, except for the first few that were caught unaware and lost consciousness, most had time to put up some form of defences quickly. They quickly recovered and tried getting out of the moat, but soon realised they are in range to be attacked by the defenders on top of the ramparts.

Except for specialised bow users like Edward, there is hardly anyone that could snipe as far as where Luciette had gathered her group at the other side of the banks. Kairos had wondered why George would set up the base with such a distance, and let the blue team safely take their time to build a bridge.

“As expected of George. This setup let weak arrows completely overwhelm them!” someone admired. As practitioners, it is easy for them to dodge an arrow, and if somehow they are overwhelmed they have all kinds of methods to protect themselves. After all, their opponents are either wealthy young nobles or geniuses from prominent clans.

However, immersed in the waters, those practitioners can hardly dodge, though it still took more than ten arrows to break past their shields and take out a single of them.

“Arrows aren’t weak… it’s the users’ fault…” Edward mumbled a complaint.

In truth, specialised archers were never a favourite, as their attacks are easily dodged if their opponents have time to prepare, and all fighters have exceptional reflexes. In fact, Edward is the only student from George’s side that primarily uses a bow as a weapon.

As if to prove his word, he took out a powerful meter-long giant bow and started sniping those that fell in the moat, one after another. Without fail, all his targets were knocked out with a single shot and washed away by the stream. None was able to withstand the power behind his Soul-Infused arrows, making the difference between Edward and the other archers apparent.

When Luciette saw the devastating attacks on her team, she frowned.

“As I thought, I can’t underestimate anyone from Kairos’ team. Calculus, follow me with your team to save those that had fallen in the river. The rest of you, regroup with me downstream,” she thundered above the sound of the arrows and the cries of her men, her voice sounding like crystals.

Her men hearing that immediately started running towards their meeting point, unconcerned with the ambushers that are still in the forest behind them. On the battlefield, commanders do not have time to explain every order they issue, and as soldiers, they can only obey instantly.

With a quarter of her team in the waters, she cannot turn her group around and attack those in the forest. But ignoring those archers behind her and attacking the walls is just as dangerous. George had truly created chaos and disorder in her ranks.

Those that were knocked unconscious had already been swept away, but there are still many struggling in the waters. If they do not take action, she will lose them all.

They ran down the moat and threw the trunks in the waters near where their teammates. Then Luciette led her men like a spear tip and was the first to run into the range of the archers. However, every arrow was cut down before they touched her, even Edward had tried a few Soul-infused shots to no avail.

From far, it looked as though an invisible shield was protecting her, but when she came closer, they noticed that it was a long, thin, rapier that shattered the arrows in a flurry of thrusts. It was so quick that it became nearly invisible to their eyes.

However, the rest of her team were easier targets. Edward aimed a focused shot at Calculus next, but a shimmering green bubble immediately appeared, and his arrow suddenly lost momentum and fell downwards harmlessly.

“Tch.”

The archers started aiming those that they can pick off. Trying to stop them from saving their friends. But even if there are few places for the opponents to dodge, their arrows failed to strike down anyone.

As the only one that could incapacitate his target, Edward begun sniping the strongest opponents he could take out, aiming for the Mid E rankers at their Dantian.

Unfortunately, he could only pick off a few, and the blue team's overall combat power has not fallen by much. Instead, the blue team managed to regroup at the opposite bank with only a few losses.

The reinforcements they were expecting from the south ramparts had not arrived, and those sent by George did not come out of the forest.

Kairos raised an eyebrow and sent his Soul Perception towards George’s detachment. For a while now, the volleys of arrows from them have stopped, and he had a bad feeling.

What he saw gave him a shock.

“They are all unconscious?”

They are all students that are proficient in covert operations and had hidden rather well. When they noticed Luciette taking action, they quickly followed after her, but just as they reached the edge of the forest, each of them started falling over soundlessly.

In a few moments, there are forty bodies scattered around on the forest grounds, their bows fallen from their hands and their faces pale.

Their ambush had failed hard.

Few anticipated that Luciette would dare to leave the West hill base unguarded and bring the guards over for this raid. When she did, the defenders had believed George had made a terrible mistake and cost them dearly.

However, Luciette is the only one that had faith in George’s abilities. As the saying goes, know oneself but know one’s enemy better, a hundred battles and a hundred victories.

She had studied his defensive patterns feverously before the final exam, and she suspected that he still has a hidden force.

Of course, even if the West base is left unguarded, George would not think of attacking them, because it is pointless when the victory flag is in the opponent’s hands, and their own base is on fire.

If George had sent some of her men to secure the West base, they would need at least thirty high rankers to secure it properly. Splitting up and weakening their forces in this situation is no different from suicide.

Hence, she had lined the edge of the forest with powerful tranquillising powder beforehand.

The poison is called the ‘Body Weakening Powder and is famous within adventurer ranks. It seals up one’s cultivation and drains the person’s energy. But, even though it is potent, it can easily be prevented by taking the antidote within a second of detection. For many veterans, they would easily be able to identify it from the symptoms and cure themselves.

Unfortunately, these students are too inexperienced. Only a few of them had noticed it, but they did not eat the antidote in time.

Of course, even if they did, they would need time to recover. Therefore, she could charge forward without reserve when the enemy appeared at her rear with bows and arrows.

Even George did not expect that Luciette’s counteractions to be this swift and once again Kairos’ defenders are outnumbered by Luciette.

This exchange is Luciette’s complete win.

But, there is a reason why Kairos is selected to be the defence captain. George believes there is no other person to look for when fighting against a superior force.

.....

Right at this moment, on the other side of George's camp, a lone figure stealthily enters the waters of the moat undetected. His movement was quick and fluid, as he swam across.

No one but Tommy, with his Soul Perception, and the instructors, who are looking at the screen, noticed him.

He surfaced after a moment, near the wooden ramparts, south of George's camp. While the rest of them are focused at the west and the north walls, he is free to carry out Luciette’s objective. Initially, he wasn’t interested, but hearing her proposition caused his fighting spirit to rise.

His long black hair, in the colour of the darkest night, damp and covering his face. His robes are now completely drenched, but the bundle he preciously held above the waters is left dry. When he unwrapped it, instead of any device that could help him on his mission, there were a new set of clothes for him to change into.

The robes, except for being good-looking, they couldn’t see anything special about it. It is quite odd to see this because both sides are supplied with specially-made wetsuits that allow the students to complete covert operations without dripping water all around and getting found.

Yet, to enter the waters with his normal robes, and have a bundle of clothes prepared, he threw everyone off. Those that saw him are dumbfounded and do not know what to think. Just what did he want to do with this pointless action then?

The instructors looked confusedly at the screen as they tried to rate the boy somehow. They felt that few can understand the difficulties of their job. How should they grade such incomprehensible action?

The reason is so exceedingly simple that if the instructors knew, they might be coughing up blood out. The boy simply wanted to look good. No, perhaps, it is better to say that he believes he needs to look his best at all times.

Once he had changed into the new clothes, he took some time to comb his hair back and tied it nicely. Then after making everything is in place, he pulled a single strand of hair down his fringe and took a look at his reflection in the waters. Giving himself a nod, as if he had all the time in the world, he turns back towards the walls.

“What should we do?” Sasha asked Tommy after the latter had informed them of this strange individual.

“Prepare to fight of course. Gather everyone! Against this person, I only hope we can survive.”

Tommy knew how strong this person is, but they cannot abandon their post.

It is not that easy to approach their walls, but easier for a single individual. Even so, George as the designer, was not particularly concerned because the main criteria of a defensive structure are its ability to protect against a large group of hostiles.

While George's calculations tend to be quite accurate, he did not account for a single person whose strength could defy understanding.

But the boy thinks otherwise. He stood tall and confident. With a single upward flick of his wrist, ten large swords made of Ki materialised in mid-air and floated around him.

Then he raised his arm towards the direction of the large timber wall.

The ten large swords suddenly became one that is larger than all put together, and with a whistle in the air, it sliced downwards in the same motion as his hand.

*Sciiiiiiing*

The sharpness of his sword aura is unstoppable, and the giant sword easily broke apart the walls, slicing through them like they are made of paper.

Tommy’s expression darkened the moment the swords of Ki appeared, “Jump!” he yelled urgently, the moment before the attack.

*Boom*

The wall fell easily at the south side camp, only a short, evenly sliced piece is left standing. The students standing on top of the rampart fell off the raised platforms and landed hard on the ground.

Before anyone could react, large amounts of silvery blades flew about, striking the defenders accurately at their Dantian, sending them into a state of unconsciousness immediately. Even with Tommy’s Soul Perception, there was barely time to react.

With a single smooth motion, the boy leapt across the fallen logs and landed lightly into George's camp.

All their calculations and strategies are going south, and only because of one person.

.....