Chapter 236 : Chapter 236

Chapter 236: Witch Academy's Map Clearing Plan

“How could you do something like this?”

Tan Han asked in confusion.

“Hmm… It looked quite pretty, so I kept it as a souvenir.”

I answered casually, but this was my true thought.

“Pretty… Souvenir?”

Tan Han repeated my words, somewhat in disbelief.

“A mermaid's heartscale is the most special scale on their body. Even when not in mermaid form, this scale will appear on their chest… and… this scale is different from the others, it won't grow back…”

“Doesn't that make it even more meaningful as a souvenir? But Tan Han, how do you know so much?”

I asked.

“Um… well… I deliberately looked into it, saw it when researching the characteristics of each academy in this exchange competition… Uh, Little Han, if possible, maybe don't do this kind of thing next time. To a mermaid, this scale is like a normal girl's first time…”

Tan Han looked at the two identical scales in my hand, momentarily unsure what expression to show.

“Huh? How can those two things be connected?”

“Of course. After all, giving it to the one they love for the first and only time is the romance mermaids seek. What you did…”

“It's fine. This is the Dream State, so I just need to restrain myself in reality in the future.”

I said with a shrug.

Anyway, that's just their way of thinking, and they were human not long ago, so this mermaid mindset probably isn't that firm for them.

It's like, have I changed at all after becoming a witch?

Is that called change?

That was releasing my true nature, a long-suppressed nature, even from my past life, being satisfied at this very moment.

At this moment, Tan Han began to comfort Yvette.

Although the Witch Academy was already an enemy to the world, it was clear that Tan Han didn't see her as just a score.

As for me, I went over to the three wizard apprentices we had tied up.

After some questioning, I roughly understood the situation.

These three guys were the ones controlling the Wizard Tower, the operators of the sorcery turrets and that strange lightning grand sorcery.

Because they were “technical personnel,” they weren't very skilled in actual combat.

After all, they never expected to face combat.

When that time truly came, no matter how many spells they knew, it would be useless, because the Wizard Tower had already been breached.

They had hidden while Aqier was performing the prayer ritual, and now only these three were left.

After spending some time thoroughly scavenging the ruins of the Wizard Tower, I looked at these three and couldn't help but turn to Tan Han.

“Tan Han, how should we divide these? Three is a bit hard to split.”

I asked, pointing at the three wizard apprentices.

“I'll kill one, you take two. You did the most work, after all.”

“By the way, isn't there another one next to you?”

I asked, pointing to Yvette beside her.

“That makes four, two for each of us.”

“You!”

At this moment, Yvette Law looked at me, wanting to retort, but then remembered her situation.

Death didn't seem so bad anymore.

“She was tied up here by the wizards…”

“Tan Han, we're in the exchange competition, don't get your priorities mixed up. Do you know what this Yvette did before?”

I emphasized.

“Her? What did she do?”

Tan Han's suggestion was merely symbolic.

After all, the other party didn't have much hostility towards witches.

If Little Han disagreed, killing her was also fine; she wouldn't have any objections.

And she was also curious about what this mermaid, whom Little Han had met before, had done.

“She's the one who brokered the alliance between the Sea Race and Aphrodite Forest back then. If it weren't for me, they would have joined forces by now, and that would have been even bigger trouble.”

“If it weren't for you, witch, meddling, we and the Aphrodite elves would have already formed an alliance, and you wouldn't have the chance to be here in front of me…”

“But the fact is, there's no such thing as a pill for regret in this world. Alright, taking a mascot along isn't bad either. We should be heading back, right, Tan Han? Did you agree on a meeting place with them when you left?”

I walked over and patted her face again.

I just love this look of helpless rage, wanting to kill me but being unable to.

Everyone should like this kind of thing, right?

“I'm not a mascot! Get that straight!”

“Don't be stubborn. Learning to recognize the current situation is a very important thing. Learn from it.”

I said, my gaze turning to Tan Han.

“Yes, at the original place. They said they'd wait for us there. Hopefully, nothing unexpected happens.”

Tan Han said.

“Don't worry, what accident could happen to them? We've already sent away several of the more combat-focused academies in this exchange competition. Don't underestimate their combat power either.”

I said, waving my hand.

Although I was a little worried, I wouldn't underestimate their strength, as long as they weren't compared to me and Tan Han.

The exchange competition has progressed to this point, and it all feels like a game.

But at the same time, I've also learned many things, about combat, spellbooks, and even matters of gender perception.

It feels like a long time has passed, but looking at it now, the second day of the exchange competition isn't even over yet.

After coming out from the space beneath the Wizard Tower along the corridor, Yvette was shocked by the scene before her.

A huge blade was plunged straight into the foundation of the Wizard Tower.

The tower, split in two, had collapsed with a roar.

The surrounding environment looked like the aftermath of a great battle.

It was the first time she had seen such a terrifying battle; forgive her for being disconnected from the outside world of the exchange competition from the very beginning.

She really couldn't imagine things would turn out like this, and now, the first people she saw were witches, so all of this must have been done by witches.

Just what kind of disaster witches are these…

If not for the sea separating them, would her Sea Race have suffered the same fate?

Thinking of this, Yvette subconsciously swallowed.

When Tan Han and I both took out our brooms to leave, our gazes simultaneously fell on Yvette.

In the end, it was Tan Han who spoke up.

“I'll take her.”

After all, she was the one who mentioned keeping her, so she couldn't trouble the other person with this.

“Then I'll trouble you.”

I nodded and said nothing.

When we returned to the original Land of Eternal Darkness, the first thing I noticed was that most conspicuous War Fortress.

But right now, those dwarves were openly repairing the damaged parts on it.

“Looks like Minian and the others persuaded that group of dwarves.”

Tan Han came to my side and said to me.

“Persuaded? We've allied with the dwarves?”

My eyes widened in disbelief.

If the dwarves allied with our Witch Academy, what kind of scene would that be!

Even Yvette, who was behind, widened her eyes in disbelief.

She looked at the massive War Fortress, and connecting it with keywords like 'dwarves,' she could imagine many things.

Moreover, on the way, Tan Han had explained the current situation of the exchange competition to Yvette.

If you were to ask Yvette what she felt at this moment, it would definitely be despair.

She was just captured by the Wizard Academy.

How did everything change so drastically after she saw the light of day again?

Is this exchange competition about to end… Why not just declare the Witch Academy the winner?

“Huh? Isn't that Big Sis Tan Han?”

“Of course it is, she's riding a broom! And Big Sis Xiao Han is back too! Over here!”

“Who's that behind Big Sis Tan Han?”

Upon seeing the figures in the sky, the crowd of witches waved excitedly.

“Big Sis Tan Han Welcome back, you guys really made a huge move.”

“Exactly, the commotion was so big we could feel the ground shaking even from here.”

“Big Sis Xiao Han, you must be thirsty, let me get you a glass of water.”

Seeing their enthusiasm, I was a bit too embarrassed to refuse.

After taking the cup of water, I began to ask about the Dwarf Academy.

At this moment, the Dwarf Academy had already signed a contract with our Witch Academy, and it was signed in the name of the academy.

If I were to violate it, the one who signed as the representative would have to pay an equivalent price.

So they quickly explained the general situation to me.

The Witch Academy and the Dwarf Academy reached a contract to face enemies together, not harm each other, and so on.

Right now, the dwarves were repairing their War Fortress, and I could already envision the dwarves carrying us across the exchange competition map.

But before that, we still needed to face a very important problem, and that was the issue of the Central Ancient Battlefield.

We had been ignoring this problem before, but now looking back, it has become a major challenge that cannot be overlooked.

Of course, this is also an opportunity.

The strength of the Phantoms of the Past in the Ancient Battlefield will grow stronger with each wave, but the spawn interval of these phantoms is not specified within the rules.

This is clearly a hidden rule we need to figure out for ourselves.

And the exchange competition has progressed to this point, besides a fool like me who doesn't pay much attention to this aspect, the others more or less have some guesses.

The spawning of the Phantoms of the Past must have a built-in progress bar.

Even if everyone does nothing, it will definitely refresh periodically.

Furthermore, a successful ritual will definitely trigger a spawn.

Our Witch Academy has already scored three points, and all three times corresponded with a monster spawn.

I really never paid attention to this point.

As for other factors like the number of deaths, clearing bosses on the main map, etc., they might all advance the so-called progress bar.

When Tan Han left, the Land of Eternal Darkness was met with a wave of Phantoms of the Past from the Ancient Battlefield, but they were dealt with.

And when Tan Han and I arrived, we also saw the disturbance in the distant Ancient Battlefield and the slow advance of the Phantoms of the Past.

Of course, the strength of the Phantoms of the Past had now become tricky.

Even the power of a basic consumption spellbook couldn't kill them in one hit anymore.

Once their numbers formed, they would become an extremely terrifying existence.

It would be something even more terrifying than the sea of undead we encountered in the Fallen Land.

Moreover, the Phantoms of the Past will not return to the Earth Vein until they are killed, which means the phantoms will charge over wave after wave.

And the dwarves, with their War Fortress, a natural mobile fortress, could be said to greatly reduce the trouble when facing this situation.

This was also one of the reasons and considerations for the alliance between the witches and the dwarves.

At this moment, the Witch Academy gathered once again.

Although a few members were still missing, it wasn't a big deal.

After all, the map was so large, it was easy to get lost, and the locations of our rituals were also quite erratic.

It was indeed difficult to wait for everyone to gather, as not all witches could ride brooms.

“The situation of the exchange competition is actually quite clear now. The Holy Angel Academy has been entirely disqualified and has withdrawn. After losing the Wizard Tower's supplies, the Wizard Academy's combat power will plummet. Their methods rely heavily on casting materials or other supplies. Damaged sorcery tools also require a large amount of corresponding supplies for repairs. Therefore, the Wizard Academy has now become the academy that needs to avoid battle the most.”

“It can be said that the Wizard Academy is no longer a threat. Then, among the Three Great Top-tier Academies, only Aphrodite Academy remains…”

As Tan Han concluded, many people's gazes shifted to a particular direction.

Even though it was far away, the thick smoke rising from the blazing fire could be seen from here.

It was even more conspicuous than the volcanic ash from the intermittently erupting active volcano at the Dragon Blood Nest.

And this was also the battle record of a certain someone from the Witch Academy…

“Logically, we should press our advantage and eliminate all Three Great Top-tier Academies. Then the rest of the battle would be settled.”

“Why don't you let me go set the fire? I haven't tried what it feels like to set a fire yet. If I miss this chance, I won't get another one in reality.”

Minian spoke up, eager for chaos.

“There's no rush for that. The forest fire is spreading quickly. Besides cutting down trees to create a firebreak to prevent the fire from spreading, the elves don't have any other fast and effective methods. Our main priority right now is actually to clear the map.”

“Clear the map?”

“Big Sis Tan Han, are we starting to clear the map this soon?”

“Yes. There are many academies participating in this exchange competition, and they are very spread out. Clearing the map is a necessary action, and it's also a very fast way to farm points. It can force a large number of contestants from other academies to die an unnatural death, or be swept away by us.”

To settle the score, we either need to encircle and annihilate them on a large scale, or force them to die in accidents.

Lowering the upper limit of their score acquisition would, in turn, be a disguised way of increasing our score, and also prevent the opponents from farming points.

“Then how are we going to clear the map? This kind of thing must be very time-consuming. We might as well hold a Witch Tea Party.”

“Guide the Phantoms of the Past from the Central Ancient Battlefield to engulf the entire map. Everyone knows the situation in the Central Ancient Battlefield. The later it gets, the harsher the environment inside becomes, enough to cause their unnatural deaths.”

“That's… such a ruthless method…”

“Now that the exchange competition has reached this point, it's true… with various academies' members dying and reviving, the so-called territories have lost their meaning. The students from academies in various regions are all mixed up.”

“But even so, wouldn't that just benefit the Sea Race in the end?”

Someone questioned.

“Who says the erosion of the Ancient Battlefield won't erode the sea? We have to try to find out. You should all know about Sea Erosion, right? You weren't there at the time, but I saw it with my own eyes. The sea eroded the land. What was clearly ground on land became the sea surface, and high mountains became islands with their peaks sticking out of the water. This is a false Dream State, filled with hidden rules that need to be explored.”

I also spoke up to explain to them at this moment.

“That makes sense. It's a reasonable guess and worth a try. Otherwise, the final stage of the exchange competition will just turn into a guerrilla war with the Sea Race, which is not the original intention of the competition.”

Tan Han also chimed in.

Although I understood Tan Han was supporting me, I knew very well that the original intention of the exchange competition wasn't about so-called fairness, but about distributing Destiny.

But what Tan Han said wasn't far off either.

“Perfect. For the research on the Ancient Battlefield, let's start from the Land of Eternal Darkness. The flooded Fallen Land is right next door. We can then test if the Ancient Battlefield will erode the sea.”

“Regardless of whether it works after trying in the Fallen Land, we'll start the map clearing plan from the other side. The final area we'll leave is that stretch of forest where the elves and the Beast Academies are connected. It's convenient for arson over there, and it's right next to the sea.”

“The erosion of the Ancient Battlefield, the erosion of the sea, and the spreading forest fire will be our final grand gift to them.”

I finally spoke, laying out the general plan for our Witch Academy's next actions.

As for the details, I'll leave them to Tan Han to coordinate.

After all, this plan was gradually formed during my discussion with Tan Han before the gathering.

I've said before that I'm not good with things like planning.

I'll leave the brain work to Tan Han; I'll be in charge of the combat power aspect.

At this moment, Yvette stood by the side, not daring to move.

What had she just heard?

Clearing the map?

Guiding the Ancient Battlefield to erode the map… what sea erosion… burning the forest, all said right in front of her… They completely disregarded her presence.

Is this what they talk about at witch gatherings… Just a few sentences to completely end this exchange competition.

She realized she had still greatly underestimated the witches of the Witch Academy.

This group of people were all complete lunatics!