Chapter 214: Average Strength
The first confrontation faced by Sein and his fellow initiates from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was not against the group led by Gade from the Divine Tower of Land Academy.
Instead, they clashed with the dispersed remnants of the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder’s forces, which had already been routed twice by the Divine Tower of Land Academy.
These remnants, small in number and varied in prowess, were not under the leadership of a top initiate.
The top initiates referred to Quasi Mages who were recognized within the academy and highly regarded by their instructors.
Besides Sein, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had only two such figures—Daniel and Anna.
The Divine Tower of Shadow fared worse. Sein had previously eliminated two of its top initiates, leaving Poppuri as the sole top initiate still standing.
The Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder initially had five top initiates. Cyrus the Boltwave Adept had been eliminated from the trial area by Sein long ago, while another was soundly defeated by Gade the Heart of Land and forced to retreat using the divine tower badge.
The Divine Tower of Land Academy boasted seven top initiates, five of whom, led by Gade, were set to besiege the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.
The other two remained behind to defend the large resource points in the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder’s territory to prevent any counterattacks.
This disparity in the number of top initiates provided insight into the relative strength of the major divine tower academies.
The assault by the remnant forces from the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder on the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s resource points resulted in only minimal damage.
However, once the initiates from the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder were eliminated and exited the trial space, the initiates from the Divine Tower of Land Academy swiftly made their presence known. This arrival served as a wake-up call to the initiates from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, who had been enjoying a streak of consecutive victories until that point.
An imposing force of nearly seven thousand initiates from the Divine Tower of Land Academy, led by Gade and two other top initiates, converged on the resource points held by the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.
The sheer number of attackers from the Divine Tower of Land Academy was double that of the entire group led by Sein and his fellow initiates from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.
Despite the defensive advantages held by Sein and his group, their so-called “momentum” was eclipsed by the sheer strength and numbers of the elite initiates from the Divine Tower of Land Academy.
Meanwhile at the Blackgrave Forest Resource Point...
Daniel and Anna had preemptively withdrawn from other resource points, recognizing the tactical disadvantage of spreading their forces thin.
With Heart of Land Gade personally leading the charge, the initiates from the Divine Tower of Land Academy not only outnumbered but also outclassed those from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.
“I’ve heard that the Divine Tower of Land Academy has mobilized nearly thirty thousand initiates for the regional academy war. That’s nearly triple our number at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring. I didn’t expect them to still have such a formidable force to direct against us, especially after their victory over the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder,” Daniel remarked as he joined Sein.
At the time, Daniel was unaware that the Divine Tower of Land Academy had dispatched at least five thousand initiates to invade the Divine Tower of Cipher.
These initiates needed to traverse the Divine Tower of Cipher’s territory before they could reach and attack the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.
Had he known, his concern would have been even greater.
As an ancient and powerful divine tower with an eighty-thousand-year heritage, the Divine Tower of Land Academy had consistently demonstrated its strength in every aspect.
If not for the emergence of a phenomenal initiate in the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder during the last war, the Divine Tower of Land Academy would have maintained its top position in both the individual and total academy points for millennia.
For the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, producing a top initiate was a rare occurrence, akin to winning a lottery.
In contrast, the venerable Divine Tower of Land Academy could expect such a prodigy every two or three sessions of the regional academy wars.
With its superior teaching quality and broader talent pool, the Divine Tower of Land Academy far surpassed newer divine towers in these regards.
The ability of the Divine Tower of Cipher to withstand an assault from three top initiates of the Divine Tower of Land Academy remained uncertain.
However, Sein recalled encountering a pair of twin female initiates with unusual strength in the Divine Tower of Cipher. Those two might offer formidable resistance.
As Gade the Heart of Land took his position among the initiates, elemental ripples converged toward him from the ground, signifying his balanced abilities in all aspects.
His talent and potential in the path of the elements had led more than one instructor at the Divine Tower of Land Academy to predict that Gade’s journey would not end at Rank One.
Gade seemed destined for greater heights, even on the path to Rank Two.
Gade firmly gripped his heavy, gray hammer rod and thrust it into the ground with force.
A layer of deep yellow, geo elemental armor materialized on his body, providing a level of protection surpassing most elemental shields.
His gaze was intently fixed on the Blackgrave Forest Resource Point, where an unmistakable golden pillar of light revealed the presence of the current leader on the individual ranking for this year’s regional academy war.
“CHARGE!” Gade commanded, pointing his massive hammer rod forward.
Under his command, thousands of initiates from the Divine Tower of Land Academy began casting spells in unison.
The initiates from the Divine Tower of Land Academy, unlike those from the Divine Tower of Shadow who predominantly practiced necromancy and umbra elemental magic, displayed a more balanced and extensive mastery of elemental magic.
Many had delved deeply into various elemental magic spells, allowing for a broader range of skills.
In contrast to the Divine Tower of Shadow’s reliance on undead and dark summoned creatures, the initiates from the Divine Tower of Land Academy excelled in strategic command and coordinated combat.
They could strategically focus fire on vulnerable areas of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s defenses, orchestrating their attacks in rhythmic and wave-like patterns.
Beyond that, they had honed a range of specialized sequences for unleashing elemental magic spells, placing a strict emphasis on achieving extensive coverage.
Their approach aimed to optimize the impact of their magic spells, deploying them in a manner that efficiently blanketed the entire resource point while minimizing the waste of mana.
This type of initiates, honed for warfare, exemplified the Magus Civilization’s approach to combat. They leveraged the power of long-range magic spells to obliterate less advanced beings from other planes, turning them into mere energy particles.
The Divine Tower of Land Academy offered specialized courses in tactics and magical Synergy, which were made mandatory for all initiates.
Although the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had similar programs, they were less frequented by its initiates.
Sein, for instance, showed no interest in such courses.
The relatively recent establishment of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring meant that many of its systems were still evolving, contributing to a certain immaturity in various aspects.
While the academy could develop top initiates like Daniel and Anna through specialized training, elevating the overall average strength of its initiates was a longer-term challenge.
The growth and maturation of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring would undoubtedly require considerable time.