After a few minutes, the second-year cadets who attempted to fight us lay sprawled on the ground, groaning and grunting in pain as medics rushed to their aid.
Thankfully, none of them were injured… at least, not very seriously.
The remains of their broken badges were scattered on the ground indicating that all of them had been eliminated.
Twenty minutes! Not even twenty minutes! It was surprising that they couldn't endure Quinn's shadows for even twenty full minutes!
To add insult to injury, Quinn had held back during the fight, refraining from using Shiya – not that he had any intention of doing so anyway.
To be fair, Quinn had summoned around seventy of his Shadow Slaves, outnumbering his opponents by seven to one.
But still, I had expected the second-years to put up a stronger resistance and display more power.
As it turned out, apart from having a higher level of mana core and a bit more battle experience, they had nothing on us.
From the perspective of an ordinary first-year cadet, they were undeniably impressive.
Unfortunately for them, they were not facing an ordinary cadet but Quinn, the Calamity Bringer.
Even I barely survived against him when I first fought him. And I used not only one near-indestructible armor but also several traps. These poor souls had neither at their disposal.
In the end, they were like lambs to the slaughter.
After completing his tasks, Quinn casually waved his hand to dismiss his spell.
The shadow creatures surrounding us dissipated back into his shadow in the blink of an eye.
"You've grown stronger," I remarked.
By now, if my suspicions were correct, Quinn could not only use Shiya but also his other shadows to augment himself.
Yup, if not true to his name before, he was actually a Calamity Bringer now.
Quinn turned around to look at me. He lingered for a moment and then said, "And it still wasn't enough. I'm surprised to see that you defeated him."
I instantly knew who Quinn was referring to – Kai Wiseman.
At this point, Quinn should've been on par with, if not stronger than, Kai in terms of raw strength and battle prowess. Yet, he was still defeated.
Naturally, it was astonishing for Quinn to discover that I had defeated Kai. But deep down I was certain that he knew that my victory over Kai was inevitable.
Well, he wasn't wrong. Besides having a mythical rank potential and a legendary rank spear, I even had a semi-divine rank armor.
If Kai had managed to defeat me despite all the cheats I possessed, I would've killed myself out of sheer embarrassment!
But instead of dwelling on such thoughts, I returned Quinn's look with a serious gaze and questioned, "Do you remember your promise?"
I had subdued Kai before the King's Tournament. I held true to my end of the bargain. Now it was his turn.
Quinn hesitated for a few moments before nodding, "I remember."
His next words were barely above a whisper, inaudible to the several camera drones hovering around us.
"If you truly have the intention of ending the war and banishing this hell we call the world, then I will help you. I will be your shadow."
After getting the answer I've been wanting to hear, I nodded and said, "Then let me eliminate you. Save your strength because we will need you soon."
Quinn frowned, then tilted his head. But when I brought the tip of my spear to his chest, he didn't resist.
With a swift yet precise strike, I broke the small, circular black badge on his collarbone and eliminated him.
There were three reasons why the Vampires were able to kill so many of the cadets so easily.
First, the cadets weren't ready. How could they have been? No one believed until then that the Global Academy could be attacked and breached so easily.
Second, not many Instructors were present in the Arena. After all, they had no interest in whoever won the Tournament and became the next King since it wouldn't affect them in any way.
So aside from those who had taken in disciples participating in the Tournament, not many Instructors were present on the spot.
Third, Quinn and Nero, arguably two of the most powerful characters in the whole series, were in no shape to fight at their full extent when the Vampires attacked.
Why? Well, because they fought each other.
And even though Nero wasn't pushed to his absolute limits in that outright brutal fight, he was still exhausted.
Well, now I've at least changed one thing about this arc. I've prevented Quinn from moving on to the finals and fighting Nero by eliminating him in the very first round.
As if waiting for that moment, the announcer quickly made a declaration and shook awake the shocked crowd at the cue of the match bell that rang to mark the end of the match.
Ding, Ding, Ding—!!
"[Lucas Morningstar! Lucas Morningstar has done it! He has won the first round of the King's Tournament and has moved to the second bracket!]"
The crowd, however, didn't share the announcer's enthusiasm. For the lack of better words, they felt like they'd been teased and then blue-balled.
Well, I couldn't blame them. By the end of the match, it appeared that after defeating all the other cadets, Quinn and I were going to face off.
Knowing my recent reputation and his past, they were excited to say the least.
Unfortunately for them, Quinn wasn't the only one who needed to conserve his strength. If I wanted to stand a chance against Nero, I had to do the same.
Besides, if there is any chance to avoid facing the absolute battlefield menace that Quinn is, I shall gladly take it.
Don't get me wrong, I could defeat him if we clashed, but I didn't want to go down that road.
"Good… Thank you," I nodded to Quinn and headed out to exit the stadium grounds.
As I walked past him, I spoke in a low whispering tone, "We will talk again soon."
Quinn knew that our next conversation would revolve around my future plans for him or just my future plans in general.
Also, during our next talk, I wanted to make it clear that he wasn't bound to work with me in any way.
Yes, I wasn't going to force his cooperation now. I would let him know that I wouldn't reveal his secret even if he decided to walk away and not work with me.
Why? Because I understood how difficult it could be to keep an ally who was unwilling to obey you. You couldn't force loyalty into someone.
So yeah, I would give him a way out. I would give him a chance at freedom. But… I was a hundred percent certain that he would not take it.
I just knew it.
With that, after winning the Battle Royale, I exited the Arena.
Quinn hesitated for a few moments before leaving the grounds himself through the other side of the exit.
