The seconds ticked away, and with every passing moment, the end of the Group B preliminary round drew closer.
Most of the weaker contestants had already been culled, leaving behind only the determined and the desperate.
Especially among those from lower-ranked academies, whose teams hadn't yet secured a qualifying spot— desperation had fully set in now, driving them to fight recklessly for every last point and somehow attempt qualification.
"Incoming group of four opponents... One of them is a Grandmaster," Leo said calmly, as his eyes tracked an approaching squad through [Absolute Vision].
"They're stronger than what you can handle. Hide behind that tree, and only step in if I call for backup." Leo instructed, as Enzo did not hesitate.
Nodding quickly, he slipped behind a nearby tree, leaving Leo to face the enemies alone.
"All halt," the enemy team leader commanded, raising a hand when they approached Leo, as he prevented the team members behind him from recklessly engaging.
It was at this moment that Leo recognized the familiar insignia on their armor— the green-etched emblem of Nature Military Academy— and the man leading them as the Elf swordsman he had seen briefly during their friendly spar against Rodova a few months ago.
"Leave him," the elf captain ordered, "That's a Rodova warrior."
Without further question, the squad paused briefly to assess Leo, but upon confirming his affiliation, they simply moved around him, unwilling to waste time on an ally when there were less than five minutes on the clock.
They left without drawing their weapons.
However, as their backs turned, Leo instinctively felt the urge to strike.
With their guards down and their formation open, they were perfect targets, as somehow Leo found his fingers subconsciously coiling around the hilt of his dagger, as he carefully adjusted his aim.
'Should I do it?' Leo thought, as the temptation gnawed at him.
But before he could throw, the Nature Academy captain subtly turned his head and locked eyes with him, as he dared Leo to follow through with that throw.
'Bring it—' His gaze dared, as Leo froze.
Under the elves' unspoken challenge, Leo's dagger stayed at his side, muscles tensing as he instinctively backed down.
Yet his mind buzzed with excitement.
"That's... interesting, so very very interesting" Leo muttered under his breath, sheathing his dagger as he signaled Enzo to step out of hiding.
The prey had walked away — but it wasn't fear that stopped Leo from making that strike.
It was instinct.
It was his primal instincts whispering I'm his head that this wasn't the time to hunt if the enemy had already spotted his intent—
As Leo felt pretty sure that if the Elf Captain did not catch him at the right moment, he would have most likely gone for a squad-wipe, despite their alliance, as there was no way in hell that he passed up on four easy kills otherwise.
—--------
Seconds ticked by, and Leo barely found three more targets to eliminate in the last 5 minutes, as a loud horn signalled the end of round two.
*BLARE—*
Following the horn, all contestants still alive within the forest, were immediately teleported outside, as the final top16 spots were locked in.
"And that's it, ladies and gentlemen—Rodova has done it!" Derek Ray's voice boomed across the stadium, cutting through the cheers.
"Rodova surpasses Geneva's record with a staggering 475 eliminations! Is this the year they finally take back the crown after more than two decades of heartbreak?"
"Truly incredible, Derek," Lee chimed in, voice brimming with excitement.
"They came out swinging from the very first second and never took their foot off the gas.
We've seen aggressive plays in preliminaries before, but Rodova's five-squad split this time was absolutely fearless.
They executed their game plan with the discipline and sharpness you only expect from championship-caliber teams, as the Rodova team this year seems ready to challenge for the crown." Lee said, as the crowd responded with thunderous applause.
"Not to mention," Lee continued, "with performances like 88 eliminations by Captain Yu Shen alone today, you can't help but feel like this Rodova team has more to show us in the later rounds. Their adaptability on the forest map was textbook perfect."
"Absolutely," Derek agreed. "And while Rodova steals the headlines, let's not forget about our runners-up—Nature Military Academy, who came in second place with 301 eliminations, securing their spot in the main rounds comfortably."
"And in third place," Lee added, "we have the Ironblood Academy with 288 eliminations, which is still a very respectable showing given how chaotic this preliminary turned out to be."
"But perhaps the most pleasant surprise," Derek pointed out, "was the qualification of Ironfrost Academy, seeded all the way down at 380th coming into this year's Circuits, yet managing to clutch their spot with 61 eliminations, scraping into the top sixteen."
"And it wasn't just luck either, Derek," Lee said. "Their swordsman—Hikari, I believe—was absolutely electric in the closing stages, pulling off a last-minute triple elimination to get them over the line."
"A young prodigy, it seems. We'll definitely be watching him closely when Group B advances to the main bracket," Derek commented.
As the crowd buzzed with mixed reactions, some cheered for the underdogs while others discussed Rodova's dominating performance.
—---------
Back in the teleportation area, cheers and celebrations for Rodova's strong preliminary round showing already began, as the team members quickly found each other before jumping onto Captain Yu Shen, who looked very proud of his gang.
"I know I asked for 500…. But I guess I'll make do with 475—" Yu Shen said with an approving grin, as everyone burst into cheers.
Before the preliminary round started, none of them thought that 500 was an achievable score, however, somehow they came very close to hitting it.
Yu Shen alone eliminated 88 opponents, while Leo was close behind in second with 84.
Su Yang got 72 and Minerva 66, as all four of their teams completed the 100 eliminations target and then some, however, it was the fifth duo with no Grandmaster warrior amidst them that could only manage 47 eliminations total, dragging the teams overall score down to 475.
Nonetheless, with them surpassing Geneva, Yu Shen was still content, as he gave everyone praises and pats on the shoulder along with a few encouraging words to keep up the good work.