The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

The left hand, pierced by the force, gushed blood.

Even the ever-elegant Rivers couldn't avoid getting splattered with blood.

However, Baal seemed to have no need to catch his breath, continuing to strike with his axe, relentlessly forcing River to abandon his short spear.

Even as his face grew paler and paler, the force with which he swung the axe did not diminish in the slightest.

Anyone in the audience could see that such an offensive could not last. It was a matter of whether Bal would break through River's defense first or collapse from exhaustion due to blood loss.

In this brute-force fighting style, all techniques like spear fighting, axe fighting, footwork, and movement have become meaningless.

River, of course, wouldn't let himself remain passive forever. He seized the opportunity and, using the force of Barr's takedown of the gun, suddenly thrust his left arm forward.

The yellow pistol thus passed completely through Baal's palm.

Baal tilted his head to dodge the flying short spear, then wielded his axe with both hands and delivered a fierce chop to River.

River, having abandoned his pistol, was finally freed from the entanglement. He stepped back, thrusting his pistol forward, and deflected Baal's battle axe with a single blow.

He then moved forward again, grabbed the spearhead with both hands, and instantly transformed the spearhead that was facing the enemy into the spear tail, thrusting it heavily into Baal's abdomen.

Although Baal tried to defend himself, he was ultimately a step too late.

"Pong!"

Baal's tall body was knocked back several meters by River, and even the flames in his eyes had completely disappeared.

"The victory is decided!"

Jessica reappeared on the ring at some point, and with a simple touch, teleported Baal, who was still flying in the air, to the medical team's stretcher that was ready to enter the ring at any time.

"The winner is River Adlet!"

With only one contestant remaining on the stage, the outcome was immediately clear.

Jessica's cool voice drifted from the ring, instantly spreading throughout the entire venue.

Another wave of cheers erupted from the audience.

-----------------

"Wow, this Bal is actually this fierce?"

Wiener, watching from the stands, was deeply impressed.

Perhaps it was Baal's usual rational demeanor that gave him a false impression.

He now felt that what was happening now was the true face of Barr.

Calmness in ordinary times is to reduce unnecessary mistakes; frenzy in wartime is to fight for that sliver of hope.

So even though River had warned him about the danger of the magic gun, he still dared to test it on himself.

If the opponent had even a hint of malice, or deliberately delayed to play it safe, then Bal would not only face losing the match, but also losing his entire arm and half his life.

The Curse of the Destroying Yellow Rose is a permanent effect; the curse can only be broken by destroying the weapon or the person dying.

As soon as River finished his on-field greetings, he rushed towards the medical team, presumably to explain the matter.

After all, he still has the semifinals and finals to play, and he can't afford to destroy his own weapon now.

With St. Freya's medical resources, saving Baal's life and arm wouldn't be difficult, but he would certainly suffer a lot.

Wiener could already picture Dr. Ada going crazy.

-----------------

Jury seat.

"Excellent martial arts skills," Tilissa praised.

Anyone with eyes could see that River's weapon was superior, yet she praised his martial arts skills, not his weapon.

Baal's defeat was certainly related to the injury caused by that demonic spear.

But the fundamental reason lies in the fact that River was able to withstand Baal's most ferocious attack with one hand while holding the gun at such an unfavorable distance.

Otherwise, it would at least result in a lose-lose situation.

Chapter 297 Eun's Trump Card

“Haha... This is F. Adlet, His Highness’s appointed Blue Lion Chief. This level of performance is to be expected.” Rogurd said, feigning composure.

However, his expression did not reflect the ease in his words.

Baal's final burst of madness really gave Rogurd a real scare.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he and River had some kind of life-or-death feud, and wondered if it was worth risking his life like that.

"They only managed to take it down easily because of the curse on their weapons."

Alandri's words carried a hint of bitterness.

Sigurd is already the most outstanding among the new generation of the Empire, but compared to Fu here, he is still far inferior.

Furthermore, his unauthorized use of cursed equipment, even if he escaped unscathed today, has completely disqualified him from competing for the next Black Eagles Chief position.

"Stop twisting the truth. A weapon being cursed is a completely different concept from the weapon itself being cursed. Even if these magic spears are cursed weapons, they are still cursed weapons certified by Lord Arios." Rogurd's words were sharp.

The two were at loggerheads, like oil and water, and it seemed they were about to get into another fierce verbal battle.

"Quiet down, quiet down, my precious daughter is on the field. If you want to make noise, get out and don't disturb me and Lady Tilissa watching the game."

Fadevi's words forcefully intervened between the two, finally calming the dispute down.

It's unclear whether this is meant to smooth things over or simply to show off one's precious daughter.

-----------------

If we're talking about the quarterfinals match that viewers are most looking forward to, it has to be this internal battle within the Magic Academy.

"Listy! Lisette! Lisette!"

"Ewan! Ewan! Ewan!"

Amid cheers from the audience, the two stepped onto the ring.

It was noticeable that Lisette received more support.

"It's nice to see you again, Eun," Lisette greeted him first.

"Yes, I've prepared a lot of surprises for you this time."

Professor Hannemann's assessment of Ewan can be summed up in one word: "lazy".

She's clearly not much less talented than Lisette, but she's just afraid of trouble.

His inability to sit still or concentrate caused Professor Hannemann considerable headaches.

Fortunately, being defeated by Lisette last time finally gave him something to be interested in.

"Then I'll wait and see."

After each of them checked their puppets, they stood ten meters apart and signaled to the referee that they were ready.

"Game start!"

As soon as Jessica made the announcement, Rikka rushed out impatiently.

The qualifying rounds showcase strength, while the elimination rounds reveal depth.

Aside from the initial force field spell, Risti advanced to the top eight without using a single high-level spell, all thanks to Rikka, who was clad in a micro-sword and hairpin.

Swords and blades cannot harm it in the slightest, and even an axe cannot leave a mark. Even if all kinds of spells are used to bombard it, they are all in vain, like tickling an itch.

On the contrary, Rikka's weapons always seem to appear in the most unexpected places, catching her opponents off guard.

It's no exaggeration to say that even if Rikka were to compete alone, she would have a chance to reach the quarterfinals.

But this time, they fell into a carefully laid trap.

Despite significant differences in various attributes, Eun's puppet resolutely blocked Rikka's fierce attacks with its resilient body.

The sword in Rikka's hand easily pierced through the puppet's chest.

However, as long as the core remains intact, the puppet's actions will not be affected in the slightest. Instead, it takes this opportunity to rise up and tightly embrace Rikka.

A sense of foreboding welled up in Rikka's heart. Although she knew that even if the other party's doll self-destructed, it might not be able to hurt Rikka, she still told Rikka not to hold back.

Rikka responded immediately, and sharp daggers instantly extended from the joints of the Micro-Sword Hairpin. With a twist and spin, like a whirlwind, she severed the arms of the Eun Puppet.

Then, using the momentum of its turn, it kicked the puppet in the chest, sending it flying towards Eun.

However, Ewan displayed a calm and confident expression.

"Shh!"

A dazzling white light burst forth from the puppet's body, enveloping both Rikka and the puppet as Rikka struck it.

As the light faded, the two puppets landed one after the other in the audience, causing a stir.

After releasing the incomplete "Exile" spell, Eun's puppet finally succumbed to the strain. Coupled with the tearing effect caused by an invisible force during the teleportation, it shattered into pieces as soon as it landed.

Rikka, who is also a katana, seems to have been largely unaffected.

Rikka looked around, her gaze finally settling on Risti on the ring, preparing to jump back onto it. But just as she leaped, she was stopped by an invisible force field.

"Once you fall out of the arena, you're not allowed to go back in." Jessica's voice rang out at the right moment. She had somehow appeared next to Rikka and was reminding her with one hand on Rikka's shoulder.

Although the rules allow students of the Magic Academy to bring magic puppets, they must bring them into the arena before the competition begins.

Whether damaged or knocked out of the ring, no one may re-enter the ring.

Ewan clearly had a thorough understanding of the rules of the game in order to devise this one-for-one tactic in advance.

"It is indeed a surprise, but I'm afraid this move wasn't aimed at me, was it?"

Risty wasn't worried about losing Rikka's protection.

Even though the other side used such a small trick to exchange the puppet, the two of them were just back to the same starting line.

“That’s right. Even if my puppet can withstand the strain of exile, this move can only be used once. The other contestants should be glad you stepped into this trap for them.”

According to Ewan's original plan, this "Degraded Exile" move would be used as a trump card, saved until the semi-finals or even the finals to steal a crucial victory, instead of going to great lengths to only exchange for an insignificant puppet.

Well, it's not exactly insignificant.

After all, Lisette's puppet was so outrageous that it didn't seem like something a student could create.

With maximum physical resistance, it can completely ignore low-level spells, and while being agile, it is also highly threatening.

If it weren't for the restrictions imposed by the competition rules, Ewan couldn't even think of any way to deal with it.

But it didn't matter. Ever since he saw that he and Lisette were in the same half of the zone, Eun had decided to treat this internal battle of the Magic Academy as his final.

He had no intention of saving his trump card for the next Griffin War; instead, he wanted to use this battle to prove who the true chief of the Demon Academy was.

"That's it-"

To be honest, Lisette hadn't prepared much for this battle with the griffins; she was mostly just going with the flow.

Therefore, she admires players like Ewan who prepare tactics specifically for particular opponents and rules.

"So what are your trump cards for me?" Lisette asked curiously.

"Hehe, don't be afraid when I use it later." Eun looked very confident.

While the two were talking, he had already cast three spells on himself: "Lightness Spell," "Stone Skin Spell," and "Minor Spell Nullification Barrier," all as a prelude to this final trump card.

With everything ready, Eun summoned a spirit staff from the void with a chant that Lisette knew all too well.

"Look closely, this is the fourth-circle magic spirit weapon that I specifically learned to deal with you."

"In terms of conventional spells, I am no match for you. But even you have never encountered such unorthodox spells, have you?"

Flying kites with warriors and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with mages—this is Eun's way of winning.

Seeing that Lisette's face was getting increasingly gloomy, he naively thought that his tactics had worked.

It can only be said that it does have an effect, but it does so in the completely opposite direction.

"You'd better give me back my expectations."

Lisette, feeling utterly fooled, turned grim.