(Sky-God Arena — Group B Preliminary Round)
Fifteen minutes into the preliminary round, Team Rodova had a commanding lead on the top of the points table, as even the commentators began praising them.
"Fifteen minutes into Group B's fight, and Rodova is showing no signs of slowing down!" Derek Ray's voice boomed across the arena.
"They've already scored 150 eliminations and are on an unstoppable roll. What do you have to say about their performance so far, Lee?"
"Absolutely magnificent, Derek," Lee replied smoothly.
"They've adopted a hyper-offensive strategy, breaking into five smaller groups, each dominating a different section of the forest map, and while it's a very risky play, it's paying off big time for them.
Just look at that 40-point gap over the number two team from the start—" Lee praised, as all the Rodova supporters in the crowd cheered loudly.
This was exactly the sort of dominating performance that they had come here hoping for, and so far their favorite team was delivering as expected.
—---------
Meanwhile, down on the battlefield, Leo moved like a shadow.
Thanks to [Absolute Vision], every opponent within his skill zone stood exposed to him as if under a spotlight, as it was only today that Leo profusely thanked Professor Powell for all his perception classes, as he felt like it was all paying off now.
Back as a student, he often wondered if he needed to practically train his perception skill to such a degree, however, standing within this forest map today, Leo could not be any more grateful for the practice.
He could notice all the enemies in his vicinity, and as he approached a new section of the map, he saw five of them spread in a small area.
Hidden behind a thick oak, twenty meters away, Leo picked up on the location of the Griffin Academy students, who had prepared a textbook ambush.
Two archers were hidden high among the trees, their bows taut and ready and below them, two heavily armored tanks stood seemingly relaxed, posing as bait in a small clearing.
To an unobserving fool, it might look like the two tanks were alone, however, Leo saw the whole set-up and even the fifth variable.
As near a thicket close by, an assassin lurked in the shadows, eyes trained entirely on the clearing where unsuspecting teams might stumble-in trying to take on the tanks.
"Idiots—" Leo mused, as he explained their positions to Enzo, before pointing him in the direction of one of the archers.
"That one archer is yours, take him down without making a commotion and I'll handle the rest." He instructed, as the duo parted ways.
Immediately, Leo activated [Vanish], disappearing from common sight like mist under moonlight, as he soundlessly creeped behind the assassin hiding in the thicket.
The Griffin Academy Assassin, confident in his hiding position, never even noticed Leo silently closing in from behind, as his attention remained stupidly locked on the two tanks ahead.
*THUMP*
By the time he realized something was off, Leo's dagger had already pierced clean through his back, snuffing out his presence instantly as the teleportation seal activated.
Meanwhile, Enzo charged toward one of the archers, however, unlike Leo, he wasn't as precise or clean with his movement and kill.
The archer sensed him coming and began firing desperate shots for protection, forcing Enzo into a hectic scuffle.
*Shua–*
*Shua–*
*SNAP–*
Arrows flew, branches broke, as the two engaged in a noisy scuffle, the commotion drawing the attention of the two tanks and the remaining archer towards their fight.
"Come on! Randall needs our help—" one of the tanks urged, drawing the jumbotron camera with him, as somehow the main camera decided that this was the fight to broadcast at this moment.
However, unaware of the wider attention this altercation was receiving at this moment, Leo moved in for the kill on the two tanks whose backs were turned towards him.
*SLASH!*
With surgical precision, Leo danced past tree trunks and underbrush, his movements a blur, as before the tanks even registered his approach, their teleportation seals flashed, ejecting them one after another as Leo eliminated them both with a single slash.
*GASP—*
The audience gasped collectively at the sudden elimination, as just like the tanks, even the audience never saw Leo's incoming attack, until it was too late.
"What was that?"
"How did they even get eliminated?"
"How many enemies?"
The audience wondered, as the camera angle finally cut to Leo, who was now hunting down the last archer.
*Shua–*
*Shua–*
Leo threw his daggers towards the running archer, who seemed desperate to bail out of this fight and survive by moving to another section of the forest.
However, unfortunately for him, Leo's daggers found their mark in his back, as he too was eliminated from the preliminary round, with Leo lodging yet another kill under his name.
"That's four more—" Leo mused, with the arena screens catching it all, as for the first time, the entire universe saw a live footage of Leo Skyshard in action.
—--------
"That's Leo Skyshard from Rodova!" Derek exclaimed. "A wildcard replacement who wasn't even part of the main roster until recently. But just look at that form on that dagger throw— absolutely flawless!"
"And if you notice," Lee added, "Horizon Dominion's badge on his armor tells you everything you need to know about this young chap. Horizon doesn't sign just anyone. So we would advise our audience to keep your eyes open for this kid, he's a superstar in the making."
Listening to the commentators talk about Leo, the crowd erupted.
"Who is that cool assassin?" gasped a young student in the stands. "He looks like a superhero!"
"Skyshard… isn't a noble name—" an older spectator mused. "Did Horizon really sign a kid with no big family background?"
"I don't care who he is—he's very fast," a seasoned watcher muttered. "Reminds me of the old Rodova team captain Kossova Blaine from twenty-five years ago….That guy had the fastest feet I've ever seen."
One after another, audience members discussed Leo and various aspects of his fighting and fit, as the name 'Leo Skyshard' entered the public consciousness for the first time.
It wasn't a huge impact, however, his performance was enough for people to keep an eye out for him from now on.
———
Across another section of the forest, Yu Shen calmly controlled a dense tree cluster.
His blade flowed like water as he dispatched two enemies from Ironhide Academy, their clunky armor proving worthless against Yu Shen's pinpoint strikes.
"Yu Shen looks as sharp as ever," Lee commented. "His control over the mid-map region is picture-perfect."
—------
Meanwhile on the other side of the map, Su Yang blazed through three opponents of his own. His red and gold armor practically glowed as he spun his sword with unmatched elegance, tripping one and finishing the others with clean thrusts.
"And with another point scored for Rodova by Su Yang, the Rodova Military Academy now sit comfortably at 390 eliminations with fifteen minutes left on the clock," Derek announced.
"They're inching close to Geneva's record of 450. Can they pull it off?"
He asked, as with 15 minutes left on the clock, the only question remaining now was whether or not Rodova could outscore Geneva in the preliminary round.