576 Chapter 576: Victory and Defea

Unlike Lilith, who was now sprawled across the ground, I was still standing. My right arm trembling from the effort, I raised my black sword, Hei Yue, to the air.

"The match is over," Zhang announced almost lazily, breaking the silence. "The summoning students have won this one."

At that, the spectators erupted into a furor. While they shouted, screamed, argued and protested, I turned to Lilith's fallen body.

"It's my win," I whispered. "But you were a formidable opponent."

"How…?" On the ground, Lilith raised her head, her expression filled with despair. "Even though you were so exhausted…how were you able to pull that technique off? Are you some sort of monster?"

"Nope, I'm human. Still, I'm grateful to you. You took on my blow head-on instead of avoiding it. You could have chosen to…"

"No." Lilith forced herself to sit up, clutching her chest. "This is your win. I have no complaints or regrets. I wanted to beat you at your strongest, and you delivered what seemed to be your trump card. I am honored to have faced it directly and with everything I had. You won because you were stronger than me. That's all there is to it."

"Even so, thank you." I lowered my head slightly. Lilith smiled and shook her head.

"I never expected you to have polished your swordsmanship further. I thought you would have focused on your summoning magic."

"Well, I learned long ago that I needed to survive somehow before I can summon my big guys. This battle was a bit of an aberration, but even so, I'm glad I learned those combat skills. Also…I have my dad to thank. He was the one who forced me to learn sworsmanship and drilled all those Miyamoto sword techniques into me."

"That's right. I did recognize your sword techniques as belonging to the Miyamoto School." Lilith frowned as she studied me. "Just who is your dad?"

"The Mage Killer who summons the Angel of Fire."

"Oh, right. Huang Shun Yin." Lilith sighed as she slumped, still seated on the floor. "I really should visit your father's dojo someday."

"You're welcome anytime," I told her with a grin. "Your dad has been visiting it for years now. Next time he visits, pester him to bring you along."

"I will." Lilith closed her eyes and smiled. "In any event, I admit defeat. This is my loss."

Above, and right at the place where my summoning classmates were seated, everyone was chattering.

"Holy shit!" Hai Da Pang exclaimed. "That's two hundred people! GG! Richard does it! The maniac! The suicidal maniac! After being dominated by 75% of the match, he finally pulled a win by forcing it down to one single decisive moment, and Lilith crumbles."

"Class rep! Richard actually did it!"

"Two hundred people! We get the resources of all the departments! Ha ha ha!"

Both Kanon Fodder and Hai Da Pang were embracing poor Zheng Ying Shou, crying and laughing at the same time. The class representative was patting their backs, looking a little embarrassed at their antics, but understanding their overflowing of emotions all the same. Further back, Wang Chui Niu was stroking his chin and nodding in approval…despite the fact that he was one of those who insulted me and dimissed me as useless. Bastard.

Above, all the students from the other departments were staring at the holographic screen, their jaws hanging open in disbelief, almost to the point where their chins were touching the ground.

"How…how is this possible?!" Theodore Hammond's girlfriend demanded, clutching his shoulder. "How the hell did he do it?!"

"Ha ha ha ha!" Theodore guffawed in reply. "This reminds me of the first time I saw him fight! I told you, he all-killed the entire team of Crowley's Grand Arcane Academy two years ago! All by himself!"

"But that's just five people…here, he took out over 150 opponents by himself! Including Lilith!"

"Shit!" Xing Er Song screamed, smashing his fists against a railing. A vein popped in his temple as he almost frothed in rage at what he had just witnessed. Regret swelled up in his heart.

"..."

Meanwhile, the other spectators were so stunned that they were literally speechless. Their faces pale and cold sweat dripping down their faces, they watched in disbelief, not wanting to accept the reality that had unfolded before them.

"Damn it!" Hei Cang Feng howled, a vein popping in his cheek. Beside him, his lackey was watching in utter disbelief.

"…how did this happen?!"

Not all the spectators were horrified or furious, though. A single person had burst out laughing. Zhao Zi Jun was bellowing in laughter, clutching his stomach as he struggled not to roll on the floor laughing. All around him, puzzled classmates looked on.

"Zi Jun, why are you laughing?"

In the VIP box, a flustered professor Li turned to the bald dean.

"Dean Xiao, what…what should we do?" He was trying not to panic. Swallowing, he glanced at me, and then turned back desperately to the dean and the director, who were both watching the event unfold in an almost indifferent manner. "How about we ask Richard to willingly surrender the reward? Otherwise, the impact of this on the other students and departments will be…disastrous."

"Are you kidding?" Henry Porter chuckled. "Rules are rules!"

"I agree," Dean Xiao said.

"Eh?! But…Dean Xiao! Director Porter! This…"

Dean Xiao ignored him. At a nod from Henry Porter, he rose to his feet and exited the VIP box to climb the podium. Li frantically chased after him, to no avail. Atop the podium, Dean Xiao swung his hand dramatically.

"All right, everybody! The competition has now ended! For this semester, all the resources from all the other elemental departments will be allocated to the summoning department."

"That's bullshit!"

"No way!"

"You can't do that!"

"Yeah! We won't accept this!" one of the students stood up and pointed an accusing finger at the dean. "This is unfair!"

"Then…when you learned that this competition was every students from all the elemental departments in the university going up against seven students from the summoning department, why didn't you consider that unfair?"

"But…" the guy protested. Clenching his fists, he trembled in rage and frustration. "I come from a poor family! So have many of the other students here! Without the resources that the university provides, what are we supposed to do?"

He then jabbed a finger at me.

"It's clear that they already came from much better backgrounds than us! And now we're supposed to hand over our resources?! We can't accept that! It's totally unfair!"

Better background? Me? What the fuck was this guy talking about?

"Are you implying that Richard Huang is from a rich family?" Dean Xiao asked.

"Yes!"

"HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Everyone turned to look at Henry Porter. The old director was strolling up to the podium as well, laughing heartily. He cleared his throat and then swept his gaze across the spectators.

"Do you even know who Richard is?"

"Of course!"

"Then which city did he come from? Who is his father? Can you tell me?"

The guy fell silent. Henry Porter sighed.

"Honestly, I didn't intend to tell everybody about this, but it's clear that you hold some sort of misunderstanding regarding Richard. He's not from a rich family. His father is a freelance mercenary, not some clan patriarch or chairman of a corporation or a politician. In fact, it's likely that the vast majority of you have better family backgrounds than him."

"What..?"

"No way…"

"How is that possible?!"

"Also, this student here who has taken away all your resources…he comes from Jing Tian City."

"Hey! This is a violation of my privacy!" I yelled, embarrassed and annoyed. "Don't go exposing my family background to everyone!"

My shout echoed across a silent stadium. Apparently, everyone had been stunned by the revelation for some reason.

"Jing Tian City? That Jing Tian City?"

"The one that got invaded by monsters about two years ago?!"

"He's actually from Jing Tian City?"

"Not only that, he was on an exchange program to Saint Teresa Academy last year, when it was assaulted by the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan."

"That infamous vampire clan?"

"The academy whose students got massacred?"

"He was there when the slaughter happened?"

"..."

The student who was yelling and mistakenly believing that I was from a rich family had fallen silent. His eyes had lost their color. One of his friends poked his shoulder.

"Hey, are you all right?"

He didn't answer.

Henry Porter chuckled. I could almost read his mind. He seemed like he had finally found a prime example with which he could teach students with. I hated being used like this. In any event, I had something more important to say.

"Do you mind if I say something?"

Everyone turned to stare at me. I tried not to wilt under their gaze (there were literally thousands of eyes upon me) and cleared my throat.

"I do not need the resources. The other departments can keep them."

For a moment, everyone fell silent. Then there was an excited buzz and outbursts as spectators began cheering and celebrating. I could see people whooping and hugging each other. Behind me, my summoning classmates were dismayed, but they didn't object. They didn't have the right to. After all, I carried them by myself, and in any event, the resources would have mostly gone to me instead of being distributed evenly amog us seven.

"However, I have a condition."

There was a silence again as everyone stared at me, their mouths half-open in surprise and dread. I ignored them and raised a hand, ploughing forward.

"The people who insulted me. I know who you are. The people who called me trash, spineless wimp, coward, useless, etc." I fixed my eyes upon the idiots who did so, my glasses having recorded their faces and picked them out earlier whent hey mocked me. "They will be excluded from these resources. Everyone else will get their share."

"You've got to be kidding me…" one of them yelled, only to be smacked by angry and half-crazed classmates.

"Shut up!"

"It's your fault this happened in the first place!"

"What will you do if he changes his mind and takes the resources back?!"

Sacrifice the few for the many. I had effectively turned them into my scapegoat. Now everyone's rage and hatred would be directed at them, while they would be grateful to me for showing what they believed was mercy.

Honestly, I didn't need the resources in the first place. I had gotten this far through my own efforts. What were elixirs, money and equipment going to do for me? Nothing. I already had a pair of amazing swords, given to me from the Patriarch of the Stuart clan himself. Former patriarch, given that Lionel Stuart had gone missing, but even so…

Also, what was I supposed to do with the money? Buy medicine and elixirs? Like hell I would. Unlike all these Chinese stereotypes, I was not an advocate of doping and steroids. These so-called medicine and pills were suspicious to me. I bet they would have nasty side-effects later in life, stuff that didn't show up until it was too late. I did not trust steroids. And I never believed in doping. If I was going to get stronger, it would be through my own efforts.

"Are you sure about this, Richard?" Henry Porter asked.

"Don't feel guilty about taking the resources," Lilith told me, still somewhat on the ground. Yi Ya had rushed over to treat her injuries. She smiled. "You've earned it. Don't let the other students tell you any different."

"Frankly, I don't need them. Rather…" I grinned. "I need friends a lot more than resources."