"Match—begin!"
The referee's voice was like a spark igniting a powder keg, instantly detonating the battle intent and killing aura that the seven members of War Academy had accumulated to its peak!
"Roar—!"
Almost the moment the sound fell, the seven from War Academy roared in unison, their Soul Power erupting without reservation! The glow of seven optimally configured Soul Rings illuminated one corner of the arena with dazzling colors, while seven formidable Martial Soul phantoms simultaneously materialized, exuding an iron-blooded, solemn aura of slaughter. They coalesced into an invisible wave of energy that crashed toward the calm figure standing opposite on the arena!
Captain Luo Zhan stood at the forefront of the formation. At his feet, two yellow and two purple Soul Rings shone brightly. In his hands, he tightly gripped a massive hammer—its body dark gold, its head the size of a millstone, covered with ferocious spikes—the Adamantine Giant Hammer! A power-attack type War Spirit Ancestor, level 48! His eyes were blood-red, muscles bulging, radiating a savage sense of power around him like a humanoid beast.
Flanking him on either side were two teammates clad in light armor, each wielding a blood-red great halberd. Both were level 45, their Soul Rings gleaming at their feet. The halberd blades glinted coldly, carrying a thick aura of bloody slaughter—clearly a combination of Agile Attack and power-attack types.
Behind them stood a tall, slender youth holding a black-and-red war banner embroidered with a ferocious beast's head—level 45, Martial Soul: War Banner! The banner fluttered and snapped without wind, emitting a strange Soul Power fluctuation that boosted morale and steadied hearts—a rare banner-type Support Type Soul Ancestor! He did not keep his distance but instead followed closely within the formation.
On either side of the banner were two exceptionally burly, iron-tower-like brutes. Both possessed the Adamantine Bear Martial Soul, level 38, Defense Type Battle Soul Venerables. With low growls, their skin took on a metallic sheen, like two moving, heavy shields protecting the formation's flanks.
At the very rear of the formation was a faint, flickering figure with an extremely elusive presence. In his hands, he toyed with a broken dagger only about a foot long, its body dark red as if soaked in blood countless times—level 39, clearly an Assassin Type Soul Master skilled in stealth and one-strike kills.
War Academy—seven individuals as one, with diverse Martial Souls, clear divisions of labor, encompassing attack, defense, support, and assassination—instantly formed a near-perfect combat formation! What was even more heart-pounding was the fearless, battle-hardened, murderous aura emanating from each of them, utterly different from the temperament of typical academy-trained Soul Masters. They were clearly true iron-blooded elites tempered by the battlefield!
"War Formation—Strangulation!" Luo Zhan bellowed, his Adamantine Giant Hammer pointing forward!
"Kill—!"
The seven moved in perfect unison, like a precisely operating killing machine, charging toward Marco dozens of meters away! Their speed wasn't extreme, but their steps were heavy, their momentum continuous. With each step, the entire arena seemed to tremble slightly. Their consolidated murderous aura was like a tangible weapon's Edge, stabbing straight at the heart!
Facing this seven-as-one, menacing iron-blooded war formation, a trace of... extremely faint surprise finally flickered through Marco's golden eyes, then transformed into a deeper calm, and a hint of almost imperceptible... amusement.
Interesting. This was indeed different from the "academy-style" fighters he had encountered before. The ferocity, synergy, and desperate will to kill honed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood piqued his interest more than those flashy Spirit Abilities.
Fine. Consider this... a warm-up.
Just as the seven from War Academy charged halfway, about to enter their optimal attack range, a sharp glint flashed in Luo Zhan's eyes, and his first Soul Ring lit up: "First Spirit Skill, Gravity Strike!"
The Adamantine Giant Hammer in his hand suddenly erupted with a dark golden light. The hammerhead seemed to instantly become several times heavier, howling through the air as he swung it viciously toward Marco from a distance! An invisible gravity field instantly enveloped the area around Marco, attempting to restrict his movement.
Simultaneously, the two Blood Halberd Soul Ancestors behind Luo Zhan had their first and second Soul Rings light up almost at the same time!
"Blood Halberd Thrust!"
"Wind Split Slash!"
Their figures abruptly accelerated like two crimson bolts of lightning, shooting out from Luo Zhan's left and right flanks. Their great halberds transformed into a sky full of bloody halberd shadows, accompanied by piercing shrieks, sealing off Marco's space for dodging left or right. The halberd blades aimed directly for his vital points—his ribs and neck! The angles were tricky, exceptionally vicious and ruthless!
The War Banner Martial Soul Soul Ancestor waved his banner, his second Soul Ring glowing: "Second Spirit Skill, Iron-Blooded Battle Song!"
A circle of dark red light expanded from him as the center, instantly enveloping his six teammates. Under the halo's effect, the bloodlust in Luo Zhan and the others' eyes intensified, their momentum surged again, and the speed and power of their attacks noticeably increased by a notch. Even the metallic sheen on the skin of the two Defense Type Adamantine Bear Soul Honours became more solid!
Meanwhile, the two Adamantine Bear Soul Honours roared lowly as they held the front line. Their first and second Soul Rings flashed in succession, their bodies swelling once more like two moving metal walls. With an aura that seemed to crush everything, they pressed toward Marco head-on, restricting his frontal movement space and creating opportunities for the attacks from behind.
Finally, the Soul Honour holding the Bloodstained Dagger flickered like a ghost, silently merging into the shadows of the charging formation. His presence almost completely vanished, like a venomous snake lurking in the darkness, awaiting the moment for a fatal strike.
The coordination of the seven was seamless! Control, heavy assault, agile attack, support, defense, assassination... each fulfilling their role, instantly forming a three-dimensional, lethal Strangulation net that accounted for all Marco's possible evasion routes and methods of response! This was no impromptu teamwork, but a war-killing formation tempered through countless trials and honed between life and death!
In the VIP seats, many generals and powerhouses from the Star Luo Empire couldn't help but nod slightly, approval gleaming in their eyes. War Academy truly lived up to being the sharp blade cultivated with the full force of the Empire's military. Their combat prowess far surpassed that of ordinary academies.
On the Heaven Dou Empire's side, many academy leaders and students watched with pale faces. Asking themselves, if they were caught in such an assault, they would likely be dead or severely injured in the first exchange! War Academy's fighting style was too brutal, too practical combat!
Yet, facing these lethal assaults coming from all directions, Marco, at the center of the storm's eye, still had not released his Martial Soul, nor had he lit up any Soul Rings.
He simply... moved.
At the instant the gravity field of the Adamantine Giant Hammer was about to descend upon him, his body seemed weightless, shifting half a step to the left with an almost imperceptible, natural grace. This seemingly simple step perfectly avoided the core oppressive zone of the gravity field, while also allowing the "Wind Split Slash" from the blood-red halberd attacking from the right to brush past the hem of his clothes. The sharp halberd wind lifted the stray hairs on his forehead.
The "Thrust" from the blood-red halberd on the left had already reached him, its sharp tip carrying the force to pierce metal and stone, aimed directly at his left chest. Marco didn't even turn his head; his left hand, as if it had eyes on his back, casually swept backward, fingers spread, and struck the shaft of the blood-red halberd with pinpoint accuracy.
Slap!
A crisp sound of impact echoed. The halberd, carrying the full-force strike of a Soul Ancestor—powerful enough to pierce iron armor—was knocked askew by his seemingly effortless palm strike, missing his ribs and carving a shallow trench into the arena floor. The Soul Ancestor wielding the blood-red halberd felt a strange, immense force transmitted through the shaft, numbing his arm and churning his blood and qi. He nearly lost his grip on his weapon, his heart filled with shock!
At that very moment, the two Adamantine Bear Soul Honours charged forward like war chariots from the front. Their massive, fan-like bear palms, accompanied by howling winds, struck toward Marco's head and chest from left and right—powerful enough to shatter stone and break monuments!
Marco's footsteps never paused. His body leaned back slightly like a ghost, while his feet moved like butterflies weaving through flowers, executing a series of intricate steps within a confined space. His upper body narrowly avoided the bear palm aimed at his head, the gust of wind stinging his cheeks. As for the palm aimed at his chest, he neither dodged nor evaded. Instead, his right hand clenched into a fist, striking later but arriving first, and slammed directly into the center of the massive bear palm!
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