“They really came? How dare they!”
Liam Brooks and Noah Reed of the Havoc Strikeforce glared at the advancing Edge team with fury.
“Boom! Boom!”
Two waves of violent energy erupted, unleashing an oppressive force.
Following Talon Emberhart’s command, Havoc Strikeforce was determined to claim victory as quickly as possible. The Edge team, however, dared to stand in their way. For that, there would be no mercy.
“Crush them-take down The Edge as fast as possible!” Liam Brooks roared, charging toward Clayton Robinson.
To him, Clayton was nothing more than a weakling who could be flattened with a single punch.
“Get out of my way!” Liam’s fist, encased in swirling energy, resembled a raging storm.
The aura of a Great Grandmaster surged to its peak, blanketing Clayton in a suffocating wave of power that scattered the surrounding dust.
Meanwhile, Ethan Langley squared off against Noah Reed, while Faith faced a towering man over two meters tall.
The rest of Havoc Strikeforce assumed battle stances, unleashing their full strength. They had no intention of dragging out the fight. Their strategy was simple: one decisive blow to incapacitate every member of The Edge.
“Strong! Havoc Strikeforce is unmatched this year!”
“With so many Grandmasters at their peak and two Great Grandmasters, even Flame Dragon and Black Phoenix combined wouldn’t stand a chance!”
“For four consecutive years, Flame Dragon has been unbeatable. This year, the record might finally break! The Edge? They’re just a bunch of fools. All Havoc Strikeforce did was mock them, and now they’re throwing their lives away?”
The leaders observing from the stands were visibly shaken, their faces reflecting disbelief. Havoc Strikeforce was overwhelmingly powerful this year-no one could challenge them.
“Ha! Havoc Strikeforce will take first place. The rest can do as they please!” Raven Stormbringer declared with smug satisfaction.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Just as the two teams were about to clash, explosions of energy erupted from The Edge. Torrential waves of power surged skyward like hurricanes, scattering the sand in a massive storm.
The most terrifying energy came from Clayton Robinson and Ethan Langley, whose combined aura was overwhelming, vast, and relentless, like a tempest.
“What? How are they so strong?” Liam Brooks’ pupils contracted as he sensed the sheer force emanating from his opponents.
“Bang!”
Two immense forces collided.
“Boom!”
“Crack!”
The sound of shattering bones echoed as Liam Brooks was sent hurtling through the air. He crashed into the ground over ten meters away, leaving a massive crater in the sand.
His body convulsed, blood pouring from his mouth, his right fist reduced to a mangled mess. He was finished.
The stands fell into stunned silence.
Gasps echoed throughout the audience.
How could someone from The Edge-a team widely dismissed as weak-turn out to be a Great Grandmaster?
Judging by the purity of his energy, Clayton Robinson wasn’t just any Great Grandmaster; his mastery far surpassed that of Liam Brooks, whose advancement had relied heavily on external supplements.
Was Clayton an Adept? He didn’t seem like one…
Before the crowd could digest this revelation-
“Boom!”
Noah Reed was also sent flying, this time over thirty meters. The impact created a massive shockwave in the sandstorm, leaving him buried in a dune with only his head visible.
Blood gushed from his mouth as he slipped into unconsciousness. He, too, was finished.
Noah’s earlier mockery of Ethan Langley’s instructor had come at a heavy price. Ethan made sure he paid in full.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
As Noah collapsed, the most astonishing scene yet unfolded.
Amidst the swirling sandstorm, the remaining members of Havoc Strikeforce were hurled into the air one by one, crashing to the ground like hailstones.
Each of them was gravely injured, unable to stand.
Even the hulking man over 200 pounds was sent flying by Faith, whose single punch left him wide-eyed with shock.
How could someone so small-a girl whose legs were thinner than his arms and who barely reached his chest-possess such monstrous strength?
The entire arena was in uproar.
Eyes widened in disbelief.
Impossible! Unthinkable!
Wasn’t The Edge supposed to be a team of rejects? They had finished at the bottom last year!
Yet now, not a single member of The Edge had fallen, while the once-dominant Havoc Strikeforce had been completely annihilated.
Even with a year of improvement, such a transformation seemed unimaginable. Last year, only Clayton Robinson and Ethan Langley had shown any promise, both barely qualifying as Grandmasters.
And now? In just one year, they had become Great Grandmasters?
The energy radiating from them contained something sinister and unexplainable.
Even the ten Greater Sovereigns observing nearby were dumbfounded. They had kept close tabs on The Edge for three years and had a clear impression of their capabilities.
But now, everything had changed.
Based on Clayton’s earlier display, he might even be capable of taking on three Great Grandmasters at once.
What had happened?
The answer had to lie with their instructor.
Who was he?
To elevate a mere Grandmaster-in-training to a Great Grandmaster within a single year was no ordinary feat. None of them could have achieved it.
“Mr. Clark, Mr. Clark…”
Lyra furrowed her brow, her eyes filled with doubt as she murmured softly.
The special forces from other divisions were frozen in shock.
In the blink of an eye, Havoc Strikeforce had been completely destroyed.
It was like a dream. A nightmare, even.
Flame Dragon and Black Phoenix were equally stunned.
They hadn’t even reached the battlefield, and the fight was already over in less than a minute?
And the losers were Havoc Strikeforce?
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
It was as if they had witnessed a ghost.
Even Kirin’s members were taken aback.
They had seen The Edge’s potential ten days ago, but their strength hadn’t been anywhere near this level.
How had they grown so explosively in such a short time?
Terrifying. Unbelievable.
Who was The Edge’s instructor?
Before anyone could piece together an answer, a chilling sensation swept over them.
It felt as though they were being surrounded by wolves, their predators circling.
The Edge members were smiling at them, their expressions akin to those of hungry tigers.
“Forget it! The flag is what matters-charge!”
Someone shouted, and the eight other teams raced into the depths of the sandstorm, desperate to claim the flag.
Even if they couldn’t secure it, getting closer to the flag would improve their rankings.
But The Edge wasn’t about to let that happen.
One by one, they pursued, sticking to their pre-planned tactics. Clayton Robinson and Ethan Langley targeted the strongest opponents, while the rest followed suit.
“Logan Hayes is mine!”
After defeating Havoc Strikeforce, Clayton turned his focus to Flame Dragon’s top fighter, Logan Hayes.
“I’ll take Black Phoenix’s captain!”
Faith locked onto Clara Whitfield of Black Phoenix.
Ethan Langley grinned. “Then I’ll handle ten Grandmasters at once. I’m in the mood for a challenge!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
As The Edge’s war cries echoed, bodies began flying from the sandstorm, crashing helplessly into the dunes.
Even Logan Hayes of Flame Dragon was sent hurtling backward.
Madness.
The leaders in the stands were slack-jawed.
Logan Hayes couldn’t hold his ground?
He was an Adept Great Grandmaster, far stronger than the Great Grandmasters of Havoc Strikeforce-a rising star of Flame Dragon.
He had just reached the rank of Great Grandmaster this year, hoping to make his mark.
What was The Edge doing?
How could they be so unstoppable?
Even an Adept Great Grandmaster couldn’t match them.
Gradually, the cries from within the sandstorm faded.
The ten Greater Sovereigns raised their hands, and the storm began to subside.
As the dust settled, injured fighters lay scattered from the base of the hill to within ten meters of the summit.
At the very top stood The Edge.
Ethan Langley waved the dragon flag triumphantly.
“Mr. Clark! Mr. Davies! Mr. Pearce! We’re number one! We’re number one!”
The entire audience stood, unable to remain seated any longer.
Even Talon Emberhart was stunned into silence.
Raven Stormbringer’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Who could have predicted that the most important competition of the year would end with Havoc Strikeforce eliminated first?
Who could have imagined it would be The Edge-a team mocked for three years-who had brought them down?
They had risen. They had truly slain the dragon.
Talon Emberhart’s forces had taken first place again.
But it wasn’t Flame Dragon.
It was The Edge.