Chapter 140: Goodbye, Lucia

“Leave Viski to me. You all work together to break through their defense, seize control of their defenses, and take Kenny first. I can only hold out for five minutes—we must succeed within that time!” Rod’s roar echoed across the training ground. Immediately, he charged toward Viski’s location, while the other three rushed toward Kenny, who was under protection in the enemy camp. The female magicians on their side also stayed busy, casting spells after spells to create opportunities for their comrades. Fifteen days had passed since they formed the team. As time went by, their coordination improved significantly, and they made rapid progress in their daily training. By now, their tactics had taken initial shape.
In fact, each of them could seamlessly integrate the several tactics devised by Rod and unleash their full power.
As training continued, the relationship among them grew stronger, and they developed a level of admiration and reverence for Rod as their leader. After half a month of training, Rod’s abilities were fully demonstrated to everyone, completely winning over their hearts and making them willing to follow him wholeheartedly.
As they became more proficient in the tactics, their astonishment grew. Many times, the power they unleashed was beyond even their own belief. It had far surpassed their initial expectations, and increasingly complex problems arose that went far beyond their comprehension.
Today, they conducted their final joint training session in the training ground. In the days that followed, they would focus all their efforts on two specific tactics and fixed team formations. Thus, this battle held decisive significance—it served as a test of everyone’s progress since the beginning of their training.
Just as Rod had anticipated, despite the apparent gap in strength, he was at a severe disadvantage and could only struggle barely. The five-minute endurance time was already his bottom line and limit.

On the other side, John and the others lived up to expectations—during that time they managed to defeat the opponent’s magicians. Thus, the final assault began, and after a fierce battle, they secured victory with a slim advantage. Despite being at a disadvantage, Rod and his team relied on their unity, tactical coordination, and seamless transitions between three different strategies to achieve a decisive win despite their weaker strength.

“Good, you all did well today. Take a break from fighting for now; I have some matters I need to discuss with you carefully!” Looking at the dejected Viski and the others, Rod said with a wry smile. Comfort was clearly unnecessary—he believed these guys would adjust their mindset in no time.

If they couldn’t even handle this, it meant they were too disappointing to join the team in the first place.

……

“Hmm, not bad. In half a month, we lived up to expectations and finally integrated these tactics into our practice! The competition starts in three days. With just two days left, what we need to do is finalize a core team and a reserve team for training matches!” Rod said calmly, then asked, “Do you have any suggestions?”

“No!” they replied in unison. At this point, Rod’s words were already regarded as orders in their subconscious, because they knew their captain would never disappoint them.

“Good. Let’s settle that first. Besides this, there’s one more extremely important task, and I’m sure you’ll do it even better than I can.” Looking at them, Rod took a deep breath. “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll win a hundred battles. You’ve probably heard this saying. Indeed, you can’t build a good car by working in isolation—so we need to refer to external information. You should understand our opponents better. I need you to gather information about them and prepare thoroughly, devising different tactics and assigning different members to compete based on possible scenarios. I’m sure you’ll do this better than I can! Tonight, Kenny, you’ll be in charge. You can choose the team members you want, and ask for any help you need! If I can do it, Rod will definitely do it without hesitation. Even if I can’t, I’ll find a way—at least the dean and the others will be happy to help!”

Immediately afterward, Rod issued his instructions to everyone below in the form of orders; not a single person was left idle, as each was assigned an important task. The relaxed atmosphere vanished instantly, and stress once again appeared on everyone’s faces.

As for Rod himself, of course he wouldn’t stay idle—he had even more important things to do, tasks that had occupied him these past few days: studying in the library. There were many books he needed to read to recharge his knowledge. As the captain, he was the heart and mind of the team, required to make the right decisions at the right time; otherwise, a single mistake could cost his team its victory and the lives of its members.

He went to the library to gather information on various types of combatants and mages, studying their strengths and weaknesses so he could incorporate that knowledge into his own strategy.

After giving all the instructions and engaging in some enjoyable activities, today’s training came to an end. After dispersing the team, he took a deep breath, went to his dormitory to tidy up briefly, and then rushed to the library.

Surprisingly, upon arriving, he encountered all the team members—they were also there, clearly having come to search for information to complete the tasks assigned to them. Without wasting words, he gave a brief greeting, found a quiet spot to sit down, and began studying intently.

Deeply absorbed in the books, Rod was so engrossed that before he knew it, night had fallen. He hadn’t even realized it until a sudden commotion in the library drew his attention. Frowning slightly, he looked in the direction of the noise—wasn’t that the library entrance? He wondered what could cause such a stir.

Almost all the members in the library had gathered at the entrance, and even his own team members had been drawn there. This puzzled Rod even more. He knew his teammates well—what could be so tempting that it could overcome them? Vaguely, he seemed to hear someone whispering about the “four beauties of the academy”! The four beauties—he had heard of them many times since arriving at the academy but had yet to meet them.

Yet before he could dwell on this thought any longer, his eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.

It was her—someone very familiar. Seeing her appear, the students who had been blocking the entrance voluntarily stepped aside, following her with eager eyes as she entered the library.
“Lucia! Yes, it’s really Lucia. How did she end up here? Wait, that thing on her chest—it’s the symbol of the Holy Light Academy. What’s going on?” As he recognized her, Rod wondered to himself, filled with confusion and shock.
Wasn’t it Lucia who appeared now? Still as graceful and enchanting as ever, exuding an air of elegance that drew everyone’s attention to her. The faint smile on her lips, combined with her beautiful lips, seemed to steal the hearts of many innocent youths.
Wait—something felt off. It seemed as if she was walking toward him, her gaze fixed on his location.
Watching the situation, Rod certainly didn’t want another rumor to spread around the academy the next day. Just a few days ago, the rumor involving him and Eiris had taken all his effort to calm down. Now another rumor, at such an important time? He definitely didn’t want that.
Realizing this, he quickly put away the book in his hand and hurriedly headed for the door with his head down. Although he was happy to see Lucia and wanted to greet her, the place and timing were simply not right.
“Knight Rod, where are you going?” But it seemed fate was playing tricks on him—the more he feared something happening, the more it happened. Rod, who still hoped to avoid trouble, was caught red-handed.
Looking up at Lucia standing in front of him, looking at him with grace, he felt like crying. The murderous looks around him made him extremely uncomfortable.
“Ahem… It’s Miss Lucia! Hehe, it’s an honor to meet you, Miss Lucia. Hehehe… Um, right, Kenny, didn’t you have something to ask me? Well, I’ve found the answer now—let me answer you!”
With an awkward smile, Rod saw confirmation in the distance and quickly made his way over, trying to avoid being killed by those stares.

“No, Captain. Did I ask you any questions?” Mocked again, Kenny replied with an innocent expression, which made Rod feel the urge to rush over and beat him up.