"Lastly, at any moment of the match, a substitute can enter the battle and save their team members but within five seconds of time, a main member of the team should voluntarily exit or else, the highest-ranking team member recorded at the time of registrations will be out.
However, this rule can only be implemented when there are equal numbers on each side.
Okay, that's the rule everyone should keep in mind.
Now, without further ado, let's proceed to the first Quarterfinals of the world league Jr, 1994.
Both of your teams have 100 seconds to prepare. However, you cannot summon your Arcana until the final 30 seconds. Your time starts now."
As the countdown timer started, both of the teams went into a staring contest for a few seconds before Tiara tried to provoke them as she glanced at Azzy who was standing outside the barrier. "You are either a risk-taker or a foolish girl, Princess Lefeuvre. Without Azrael and that lightning guy, your team doesn't have a chance against us."
Team Rebirth has two platinum-grade users and others with higher soul power as well as more battle experience. So, she was correct in her own way to think like that.
But, Claire doesn't want others to insult her teammates either. She let out a smirk and replied, "You should have convinced Luci to join the team. Then, maybe, your team might barely stand a chance against us. But now, with just you five, letting Azzy participate is like bullying you."
Tiara wanted to provoke Claire but she got provoked instead. Pointing her finger at Claire, she challenged, "Let's see if you still have the same expression after being defeated by my twin swords."
"I planned to battle you, anyway," replied Claire as she crossed her arms to the chest. She added, "after all, you are the only sword user in your team."
Then, a girl with dreadlocks stepped forward and challenged Mia, "You are my prey, Leveret. Let's see if your wood can resist my poison." Her name is Lilie and she has a rare poison attribute.
Mia stayed silent and didn't respond to her provocation.
As two members of Team Rebirth issued a challenge, the others didn't stand still either. They too expressed their wish to battle a certain opponent. For example, Iphi wanted to battle Estella. Vice-captain Savannah wanted an archery battle against Louis.
And lastly, Evelina Crow, who looked like a bodybuilder and had more muscles than any other male in Team Twilight, stepped forward, "I planned to take on Azrael but since he isn't here, I will crush you, weakling." Her gaze was on Calder.
He took a deep breath and responded with determination clearly written on his face, "I will give my best."
Calder is at low-rank-5 and possessed a shield Arcana, which is useful for nothing but defense. He was prepared for offense in other ways but everyone knew that he wasn't as talented as his teammates.
It's highly possible that he might not ever reach the top 8 with other teams in the future. That means this is his last battle. As for why Azzy had sacrificed instead of Mia, it's because he felt a tiny debt to him.
Back then, when Team Twilight was selected for the Champions League, Calder had given up his position for Azzy so that Aclein Academy can shine. Azzy now decided to repay him through this important match, giving him the opportunity to battle in the Quarterfinals of the World League. Of course, if the team is in trouble, Azzy would surely step in and rescue them but he will replace Mia or someone else. It is what everyone had decided behind Calder's back.
But then again, he isn't a fool either. Calder knew that he won't be able to participate in the upcoming two battles. For Semis and Finals, the team's strongest lineup would have to go to the stage. As a result, he was determined to go all out and contribute to the team's victory.
The time continued to tick and the participants finished their preparation with skill cards. Mia pulled out her dual handguns.
On the other side, Vice-captain Savannah had taken out an exquisite composite bow of rank-7 quality, which means she can atleast store her soul energy up to 10 million and launch it as energy arrows, covering as far as 250 meters distance.
While she is only at peak rank 5 and only has about 932k SP (soul power), she can just pour everything and recover with Soul energy recovery cards again and again as long as she gets enough time. As a representative of Phoenix Academy, there was no question about her mastery too. The additional range is a bonus.
There's a similar ranking armor Claire possessed. She got it from Leah back when she participated in hunting the Draco-Galarian King. However, she has yet to use it until now because of her high self-regeneration. And because of Azzy-Leah's date incident, she let it rot in her storage card away.
Soon, the timer reached 30 seconds on the screen and everyone summoned their respective Arcana.
On the side of the Team Rebirth, Captain Tiara of the Cycad noble family summoned dual swords, of which one is bathing in flames and the other blade was being covered by lightning sparks. It is a set gold grade Arcana, belonging to one soul card but having two attributes that made her very special.
Vice-Captain Savannah summoned a lightning squirrel. It is also a gold grade.
Number 3, Evelina Crow, the strongest of the team summoned a Brown Bear, which is atleast 15 meters (49ft) in height even if it is on its four legs. The bear was a platinum-grade Arcana of Earth Attribute. So, one should really worry about its defense.
Number 4, Lilie summoned a man-eating plant, which uses its roots as legs to move. It is also nimble too. She then took out a bow and quiver full of special arrows from her storage card.
Finally, Number 5, Iphi Magnolis, the youngest of the tournament had displayed her mighty Arcana. Everyone's attention was on her
<strong>"Burn my enemies to Ash, Pyro."</strong> Iphi summoned the flaming eagle, which looked like it was bigger compared to the one from the Champions League.
After Iphi broke through to rank 5, somehow, her eagle also grew in size. It was now about 9m-10m big (30ft) and has a wingspan of about 25m (82 ft). At one glance, it is indeed a giant eagle.
She immediately mounted on her Arcana and flew into the sky, taking the position.
For a moment, Team Rebirth grabbed the attention of the spectators who were watching for the first time. As Claire was quite far away from the stands, her holy sword just gave the impression of a light attribute sword to most of the spectators who couldn't sense its power. Perhaps, only rank-7 and above experts had their attention on the holy sword.
But, soon, everything changed once Estella summoned her Arcana. <strong>"Come out and have fun, Oh the lord of the seas, Levi."</strong>
The moment Leviathan was summoned, every giant beast of Team Rebirth appeared like an ant compared to this behemoth that was as long as 240meters long (790ft).
Its giant cyan-colored dragon head had slowly lowered to the floor and let her mount on top of it and then, rose high. Both of them almost reached the ceiling of the barrier. As Estella lowered her gaze and looked at her opponents, she really appeared very arrogant, which only increased Tiara's anger.
However, Estella wasn't done yet. She raised her hand, <strong>"Come out, oh the mighty ruler of the sky, Garuda."</strong>
Just like the Leviathan, the sky eagle is also like a behemoth of birds with a size of 122m (400ft) and has a wingspan of 304m (1000ft). Fortunately, it has the ability to shrink its size, unlike Leviathan. To have enough mobility within the barrier, Estella never summoned in its original size until now.
But, the change in rules for the knockouts made her take this decision. As a result, every time it was flapping its wings, they were going outside the barrier for a second and then enter. At the same time, she also wanted to intimidate her opponents with its gigantic size.
Just like she had expected, the opponents were spooked enough even if it is for a couple of moments.
Meanwhile, the members of Team Twilight were in extraordinary spirit. It's not just because they have reached the top 8 but it is also because the prideful Estella had apologized to them for the first time. After apologizing to Claire for leaving them at a crucial match, Estella told that she would make it up with her sincerity.
"Twilight" "Twilight" "Twilight" "Rebirth" "Rebirth" "Rebirth "Rebirth"
Even before the match started, the cheering was at its peak as the audience got wilder.
"Wow" "Dad, look at that snake and eagle" "So big" "The eagle is bigger than in previous battles, right?" "That instructor looks pretty" "Isn't that Camelot princess' partner?" "Team Twilight looked so mighty" "What school they are from, again?" "Where is that four-eyed fellow?" "Who is that little girl from Team Phoenix? She's so young." "Wow, so many platinum grade Arcana at one spot" "This battle is going to be epic"
Some spectators murmured among themselves, some are on the Twilight side and some are on the side of the all-girl team.
As the timer reached 10, the audience collectively shouted
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…"
*Whistle*
Proctor Neal blew the whistle and at the same time, everyone screamed, "Go"
As soon as the countdown touched zero, except for Iphi, the remaining four of Team Rebirth launched an attack using identical skill cards.
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