Chapter 73 A One-Move Checkmate!

"How stupid are they? They're creating an alliance to deal with you, so why can't they do the same to win that so-called tournament?" Irethiel commented telepathically.

Irethiel's words surprised me, and I mainly concur with them, however, according to academy rules, only one person may represent the Academy in the competition, and the others must follow their instructions.

I'm not sure why they came up with such a messed-up rule.

And for the conceited students, such as Claude and Diana, it will tarnish their reputations if they follow someone else's lead, as they may be the future King and Empress of their kingdoms.

And what will become of them when their kingdom's populace sees their future king or empress obeying orders from someone else?

Of certainly, they will lose the favor of their kingdom's people.

And it was for the same reason that in the novel, they competed in the tournament separately and eventually lost, further tarnishing their reputation.

It had little effect on Diana, but Claude was forced out of the crown race.

"Even if I want to be the representative, I will respect their dignity as princes and princesses. As I just want them to work with me, I don't want to order them around as well;" I stated to Irethiel telepathically.

As in the novel, they didn't work together because Claude and Kevin wanted to bring Lucas down, and Diana, of course, preferred to play alone and not with anybody else.

And, to be honest, I don't see how we can win the tournament with Claude and Diana in charge, given their personalities and the way they operate their subordinates.

In my previous world, there was a popular saying that went, "I am not scared of an army of lions led by a sheep, but I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."

And I believe the same of Claude and Diana, as they are still too immature to lead anyone, at least for the time being.

It will be a different story if it is Ayla and Lucas, since Ayla will serve as a brain and Lucas would use his might.

While I was thinking to myself, I was startled awake by iretheils words.

"Huh, Who are you kidding? I know you will compel them to follow you if they don't already," Irethiel remarked.

"...."

"What do you take me for? Do you think of me as some sort of bad villain?" I inquired Irethiel.

"I think you are a cunning womanizer who plays dumb and takes advantage of everyone around him while appearing innocent," Irethiel declared.

"...."

***

Ares was stunned to hear Irethiel's evaluation of him before Livia questioned him which brought him out of his daze.

"What do you plan on doing about their alliance, Ares?" Livia inquired.

"Of course, we're going to crash their alliance meeting," Ares said with a big grin.

"Hmm? Do you know when and where the alliance meeting is going to be held?" Livia asked curiously.

"Yeah, it will be held after Academy hours in one of the abandoned training grounds near the Dorm buildings," Ares explained.

"I'm genuinely intrigued by how you acquired that information so easily," Livia added.

"You'll find out about that soon," Ares said and chuckled.

"Do you know how many students will be attending this alliance meeting?" Livia questioned.

"Hmm, of course, there may be many students from Claude, Diana, and Lucas's faction, but I also heard many students had already quit their factions so as not to go against us as well," I explained.

Livia nodded in agreement before speaking.

"So the plan hasn't changed much, correct? We just need to beat them all together," Expressed Livia.

"Yup, let's just get this over with," Ares remarked, shrugging.

***

Meanwhile, The faction leaders already informed their members of the meeting's location and the time they needed to gather after the Academy hours.

...

The bell soon sounded, signaling the end of today's final class.

Lucas, Claude, Kevin, Ayla, and Diana stayed in the classroom after the Academy hours as everyone else left to discuss the alliance.

When Ares noticed them, he merely smiled and walked away, leaving them all staring at him.

"...."

After briefly deliberating, they all finally officially agreed on the establishment of an alliance and strategized their next move.

However, they didn't appear to let their guard down when it came to one another as well, and each of them appeared to have their own intentions.

And After a few more minutes of discussion, they all proceeded together toward the meeting location, where their faction members had already gathered.

***

But as soon as they stepped into the expansive training area where the meeting was intended to take place, they were flabbergasted by what they saw.

"...."

"What...in the seven hells," Diana exclaimed, stunned by what she was witnessing in front of her.

Everyone around her experienced the same reaction as Diana had, and they were all left speechless by what they are seeing.

They witnessed all of their faction members being beaten to a pulp and thrown into various sections of the training ground.

And in the midst of the training area sat a black-haired, black-eyed guy with a handsome face that was now stained with blood drops, sitting on a pile of battered students.

And on his right side was a blue-haired girl seated on an ice throne nonchalantly, while on his left stood a beast woman with a blood-splattered wooden sword.

They were, of course, Ares, Livia, and Ziona.

"...."

The moment Ares caught sight of them and their reactions, a large malicious grin broke out on his face.

"Wow, I'm so glad you guys are finally here, I was growing bored as I waited for you guys," Declared Ares.

"Oh, Are there other opponents to contend with?" Ziona said as she directed her gaze toward the entrance to the training field.

"Potatoes are here, at last, let's get this over with and have something to eat Ares," Livia sprang from her ice throne and stated.

"...."

"H-How did he know about this meeting and where it was going to be held?" Kevin stammered while sweating from his forehead.

They all abruptly realized what Kevin had said after coming out of their daze and began to glance at one another suspiciously.

As there was only one possibility in this circumstance,... that someone doubled cross them and leaked the information to Ares.

As there was no other explanation, as it appears that Ares already knew about this place and their alliance all along.

They got shivers, wondering if that was his goal all along, with all the faction leaders and people opposing him gathered in one place.

And the one who betrayed them delivered everything to him on a silver platter.

...He was consistently one step ahead of them.

*Gulp

They all gasped loudly and hurriedly pulled out their weapons, aiming them not at Ares... but rather at one another as the unidentified betrayer now posed a greater threat than Ares.

Of course, they were the academy-supplied sparring weapons, as carrying real weapons was prohibited in the Academy.

The weapons will eventually give a shock or only some minor injuries to anyone who is hit by it.

It was utilized to prevent any deadly injuries among students during their conflicts.

Ares laughed out loud as he saw the sudden change of events, and his laughter rang around the training ground.

"Hahahaha..."

Ziona and Livia had huge grins on their faces as well, as they were also amused by the spectacle in front of them.

"I never thought it would be this easy to not only destroy their alliance but also make them mistrust their own faction members," Irethiel commented telepathically, as she observed the current situation.

"I knew we could never trust this silly alliance all along," Diana said, awkwardly chuckling, as her two bodyguards stepped forward to protect her.

"It must be you, you might have leaked it to Ziona and it eventually got to Ares," Claude snarled as he gazed aggressively at Kevin.

"Huh? I can say the same thing for you; you may have shared the information with Livia in order to impress her," Kevin lashed back.

Everyone's gaze was drawn to Kevin and Claude, who were pointing fingers at each other.

Ayla remained silent as she examined them and moved her gaze to Diana.

Diana furrowed and spoke up after sensing Ayla's attention.

"What! I could deal with you people myself if I wanted to; I don't need to play these games," Diana exclaimed.

"You should determine if you want to come at me or fight each other first," Ares said, smiling.

"Ares, I'm hungry; should I mash these potatoes fast so we can go somewhere and eat something together?" Livia suggested.

"If you keep her waiting any longer, she'll beat these students like mashed potatoes," Irethiel joked.

"...That's not amusing at all; It will be a problem if she goes overboard," Ares conveyed to Irethiel telepathically.

"Oh, I can have some mashed potatoes too," Ziona abruptly stated.

"...."

'Yeah, I should wrap this up fast and get them something to eat,' Ares thought to himself, turning his attention back to the individuals in front of him.

***