-1542- The rapid progress

Ninth Artificial Sky Island, Above the Forest.

A number of reconnaissance drones were gliding slowly through the sky, capturing scenes from the dense forest and transmitting them to Vebel's location.

Under the surveillance of these reconnaissance drones, the ongoing survival competition on the Ninth Artificial Sky Island was revealed.

These drones not only broadcasted live but also monitored the participants to prevent representatives from various floating academies worldwide from violating the rules. Thus, they constantly roamed every corner.

In this situation, several hours after the survival competition began, a chase was underway in a certain area of the Ninth Artificial Sky Island.

"Fire! Hurry up and fire!"

A soldier, seemingly the squad leader, held a magic sword while shouting at the rear and middle guards behind him. His face was drenched in sweat, and he was panting heavily.

"Bang bang bang bang…!"

The middle and rear guards behind the squad leader immediately pulled their triggers, firing countless magic bullets towards the front.

"Boom boom boom boom…!"

Most of the magic bullets hit the dense forest ahead, blasting trees apart and scattering wood chips in all directions.

However, a small portion of the magic bullets was aimed at the approaching enemy, heading straight toward them.

"Interesting!"

Kanata, who was darting through the forest, flashed a delighted smile. Instead of retreating, he advanced, raising his pitch-black magic cannon sword and charging forward.

"Shing!"

With a flash of light, Kanata activated the magic barrier brought forth by the engraving technique on his protective suit. He flew through the trees like a flash of light, zigzagging between them with incredible agility, dodging the trees as he dashed toward his enemies.

Under Kanata's swift approach, most of the enemies' magic bullets missed their mark. Even the few that struck Kanata were blocked by his sturdy magic barrier, causing no harm at all.

Kanata closed the distance to the squad leader in an instant.

"Take this!"

The pitch-black magic cannon sword slashed downward.

"Clang!"

The squad leader immediately raised his magic sword to block Kanata's strike. The clash of the blades sparked a fierce shower of sparks.

"Urgh…!"

The heavy impact caused the squad leader to groan.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

The middle and rear guards cried out in panic.

Their cries were soon met with another voice.

"Now's not the time to worry about your captain."

"Sorry, but it's time for you to leave."

Mena and Yuri appeared above the two enemy soldiers, descending swiftly and launching an attack.

"Haah!"

Yuri, holding a magic spear, let out a cry and, like a bolt of lightning, thrust the spear forward with tremendous force.

"Boom!"

"Ah!"

A dull thud and a scream echoed almost simultaneously.

The rear guard was sent flying by Yuri's magic spear, slamming into the ground. His body quickly became blurry and disappeared.

This was the effect of the Wizard Field on the Ninth Artificial Sky Island, where anyone unable to fight would be teleported away and disqualified.

"You're next!"

At the same time, Mena's magic battle axe came crashing down like a bolt of lightning, accompanied by a thunderous roar.

Seeing this, the middle guard hastily activated his magic barrier, hoping to withstand Mena's blow.

Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that Mena, known as the Ace of Mistgun, had a battle axe capable of breaking through magic barriers. It was called the Barrier Breaker.

As a result, his fate was sealed.

"Bang!"

The thunderous blow of Mena's battle axe easily shattered the once-impenetrable magic barrier, breaking it like glass.

"What…!?"

The middle guard's face turned pale in an instant.

Before he could react, Mena's axe had already landed on him.

"Boom!"

"Ah!"

The sound of a heavy blow and a scream rang out again, sending the middle guard crashing to the ground and disappearing just like the rear guard.

Seeing this unfold, the remaining squad leader's eyes were filled with fury.

"Damn it!"

The squad leader was enraged.

However…

"Hey, I'm still here."

Kanata spoke casually, shoving the squad leader away. Before the squad leader could react, Kanata spun around and kicked him.

"Bang!"

Kanata's foot struck the squad leader's chest, sending him flying without mercy.

The squad leader felt a sharp pain in his chest, gritted his teeth, and immediately tried to adjust his stance to retreat into the forest, hoping to escape using the terrain.

However, just as the squad leader turned around, a look of terror appeared on his face.

For one reason only.

"Buzz…"

Chloe Sevegny had appeared in the forest without him noticing, right in the path of his retreat. She was holding her magic cannon staff, and the muzzle of the staff was gathering a terrifying amount of magical energy.

In the next moment, a beam of light pierced through the forest.

...

No one knew how much time had passed, but when the dust settled, the battlefield looked entirely different.

A deep trench now stretched across the area, with trees and vegetation destroyed along the way. All that remained was scorched, smoking earth, creating an awe-inspiring scene.

In the middle of this yellow earth, a translucent orb lay, glittering in the sunlight.

A hand reached down and picked it up, holding it up for inspection.

"That makes two. Including our own, that's three orbs. We only need one more for victory."

Rozen looked at the orb in front of him, nodding in satisfaction.

Kanata, Chloe, Yuri, and Mina all landed around Rozen, smiling as they looked at the jewel.

"As expected, even if they're forcibly teleported, the orbs stay behind and aren't taken away."

Kanata rested his magic cannon sword on his shoulder, still wearing a pleased expression.

"I didn't expect we'd collect two orbs so quickly. I thought we might not gain anything today."

Yuri also looked quite pleased.

"Well, we did foolishly reveal our landing point and got spotted by another squad, so naturally, they came to ambush us."

Mena remarked.

"Unfortunately, our strength was superior, and our opponents struggled with ground and forest combat, putting them at a disadvantage and allowing us to claim victory."

Chloe analyzed the situation calmly.

The group was in high spirits after gathering two jewels in such a short time.

"By the way," Mena turned to Rozen and asked, "those two wizards from the enemy squad that escaped in the other direction, did you manage to catch them?"

Wasn't that an unnecessary question?

"Don't worry. They've been dealt with."

Rozen replied nonchalantly.

With Rozen's space manipulation abilities, escaping was not an easy task.

In just a few hours, Rozen's Special Task Force S128 had defeated two squads, collected their orbs, and was now only one step away from victory.