The rest of them also acted quickly and followed the issued command, almost as if instinctively submitting to the young wolf's will.
Their actions were understandable, of course. All of the cadets present in the field have been participants in the Mock War, Massacre of the Silveserine City, and the Flag Game.
All of them knew better than most what Lucas was capable of achieving with people under his command.
He was, without a sliver of doubt, a brilliant commander, natural war general, and a terrifying planner along with being proficient in deceit and manipulation.
Although, they didn't have to know the last part.
So without wasting a single breath, all the cadets rushed and gathered around in a circle with Amelia, Anastasia, and Aster at the center of it.
Aster could provide invaluable defense with her barrier spells, so Lucas asked her to take a safe position in the center next to the two archeresses.
He also wanted Elijah to be in the center but doing that would mean thinning their offense way too much for Lucas' comfort.
So despite the defensive earthen spells that the half-dwarf could provide, Lucas kept him in the front lines.
Aiding him were Chase and Nero while William, Kent, and Lucas supported them with their spears and scythes.
As soon as they gathered, the vampires lunged at them with all their might. Aster cast a barrier spell whenever it was needed and the rest of the cadets launched their attacks one by one.
They did not aim to strike down the vampires. No, instead, they only intended to stall for time.
Deflecting one of the incoming slashes, Nero turned to Lucas and asked, "What about that high-vampire?"
Now that they were in a circle and surrounded by vampires from all sides, Nero feared that the high-vampire would jump on them unseen any moment now.
All his worries were for naught as Lucas merely dismissed them with a shake of his head.
"That thing will not attack us," Lucas said, thrusting his spear at one of the incoming bloodsuckers, only for it to get deflected in the next instance. "Not yet, at least."
"Are you sure?!" Kent asked, swinging his scythe at a vampire that was about to dig its fangs into Elijah's unprotected neck.
The usual aloofness in Kent's voice was nowhere to be found. His face also didn't look stupid, instead, as his shiny blue hair swayed with the rough movement of his arms and complemented his sharp face, he looked almost entrapping.
If not for this dire situation, Lucas would've made a narcissistic joke about still looking better than him.
But instead of that, he merely nodded and let out a single word, "Yes."
Unbeknownst to them, Lucas knew what the high-vampire was waiting for. Because of that, he was certain that the creature of the night would not attack them yet.
Not at least Liz steps into the field…
While all that was happening in the concrete field below, the VIP stand looked just as chaotic if not more.
Many of the VIPs present here today were mundane with formal military training or connection to mana.
They were what this world considers duds.
But since they were people of high status, no one would ever dare to utter that word to their face let alone refer to them as one.
The instructors present in the VIP stand divided two tasks amongst themselves and formed two groups.
One group was tasked with assisting the cadets to hold off or possibly kill all the vampires while the other group would escort the mundane VIPs to safety.
Liz was one such person tasked with fighting the vampire.
While Leo Kurogami was not here, almost all of them were certain that the Witch of Soul Harvest alone was more than capable of laying waste to the vile bloodsuckers who dared to attack this city.
Yet, she was among the last ones to jump down into the concrete field and assist in the fight.
As her gaze swept across the entirety of the King's Arena, a cold shiver ran along the length of Liz's spine.
"Miss Snyder," a voice called out to her from the front.
She turned her gaze up and looked at a pale-skinned man with auburn hair and light, hazel eyes that stared back at her with a slight tinge of concern.
It was Ella's father and one of the most important figures present at the VIP stand, Damain Bright.
Aside from being the head of the Bright family, this redhead man was also one of the most renowned war heroes of the current generation.
A man of his status would've had no problem shielding behind his title and letting the other soldiers escort him out.
Yet, Damian had no qualms about staying and fighting, in fact, he even insisted on helping out.
Liz had no idea whether it was his sense of duty, honor, and other whimsical stuff like that, or the fact that his own daughter, Ella Bright, was stuck somewhere inside that mess that kept him here.
However, the very fact that he had the guts to back up his bravado and reputation spoke volumes about the man.
"Are you all right, Miss Snyder?" Damian asked, shaking Liz out of her thoughts.
"I'm fine," Liz shook her head and let out a shaky breath before repeating her words as if she was telling it to herself rather than answering a question. "Yeah, I'm fine."
In reality, she was far from fine. She could not remember how long it had been since she had felt like this.
It was definitely not fear that she was feeling, but something very closely resembling it.
She tried to move but as if her feet were anchored to the ground, she kept standing petrified in place.
No, she was not under a mind hex. A party trick spell like that won't even affect her, after all.
This was something else… This was her very own intuition. Yes, her own instincts were screaming at her, holding her glued in place.
Liz had known for a long, long time that her intuition was much more than just a mere manifestation of her subconscious.
Although she knew it wasn't possible, she believed her intuition to be a Gift of sorts.
Every time she faced something far more dangerous than what she could handle, she would feel a heart-wrenching terror calling out to her, telling her to run.
At some point, however, she stopped running. She started choosing her battles and winning.
In no time at all, she ascended to a realm that only a handful of people in the world could ever hope to climb.
After she became strong, far stronger than she had ever imagined herself becoming, she forgot the sense of dread.
But now, after all these years, it was back.
Liz gnashed her teeth and shook her head before muttering in a low, almost inaudible voice, "I'm strong now, damn it!"
Letting out a stiff breath, she scanned the Arena on the lookout for anything that could be triggering her instincts.
She didn't find anything, but she did see something of interest. One of the four high-vampires in the vicinity was closing in on Nero.
A frown appeared on Liz's face. Were they targeting her disciple? Was this attack meant for him?
But why? Was it because of the rumors about his Gift? Were all these vampires here to kill him, a future threat?
But, once again, why?! There had been powerful, promising talents enrolled in the Global Academy in the past too! Liz and Leo themselves were two such examples!
Why would they send such an elite platoon to assassinate a single target? Nero wasn't even a threat to them right now.
Yes, he was strong, but not to the level where high-vampires would be wary of him.
It would at least take Nero two more years of military education and a decent amount of experience in real wars to become an actual threat to the vampires.
Then why were they acting now and why were they acting so rashly?
Liz didn't know, but she had a bad… A very, very bad feeling about all this.
"Miss Snyder, we should go!" Damain's voice jolted her out of the dazed state once again.
Liz gazed at the redhead briefly, then nodded, taking out her rectangular communicator resembling a hybrid of smartphones and modern smart bracelets used in their academy.
On the device, she typed a text and sent it to someone, hoping he would read it and arrive before any mishap occurred.
With a sigh, Liz affirmed, "Let's go."
Her words barely left her lips when an intricate metal armor materialized around her slender yet plump figure, enveloping her in a cold embrace.
The tips of her hair radiated a dark violet hue, while her eyes emitted a crushing murderous aura.
Fear? What nonsense. A witch's heart had no room for something as nonexistent as that.
Tensing her calves, she shot forward, leaping out of the massive glass window of the VIP stand and descending onto the concrete field like a meteor.
As Lucas witnessed that, his lips curled into a sinister smile.
His plan was finally set into motion.
