Chương 187: Chapter : 187

The courtyard was buzzing with fast, nonstop movement. The upcoming Tower Defense match was completely different from anything the 13th Unit had done before. The rules stated they only had exactly five minutes to attack during their offensive turn. Five minutes was not a long time. It meant they could not stand around and wait. They had to be fast, precise, and completely overwhelming. Naomi blew a sharp blast on a silver whistle.

"Time!" she called out, checking a stopwatch in her hand.

"That was four minutes and fifty seconds! We are cutting it way too close!" Laxmi let out a frustrated groan, letting the bright orange fire fade from her hands. She kicked the dirt.

"I can go faster! I just need to throw bigger fireballs! If I just burn the entire area at once, it will take less time!"

"You cannot just burn everything, Laxmi," Sayma said politely, looking up from her neat notebook. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"The arena will have boundaries. If you use too much area damage, you might hit our own side. We need targeted, fast strikes. We need to break their defensive towers without wasting a single second." Zinia wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. The strong earth magic user was punching a thick stone pillar to test her speed.

"Sayma is right. We cannot just run in blind. The 15th Prince is a total perfectionist. He will have his team perfectly arranged to block us. If we just charge forward, we will run right into a trap." Elma was standing a few feet away, practicing her sword swings. The blonde servant from the 16th Unit was spinning her twin silver short-swords in a beautiful, flawless pattern. She wore her pristine white and gold uniform, making sure she looked totally perfect.

Every time she finished a combination of slashes, she would quickly glance over her shoulder to the side of the courtyard. She was trying to see if a certain someone was watching her. Ken Eliot was sitting on a wooden bench, entirely ignoring the intense practice session. He was wearing his dark blue servant uniform, but his shirt was completely untucked, and his tie was loose. He was leaning back, happily drinking a box of apple juice. He didn't look worried about the tournament at all.

In fact, he looked like he was watching a mildly entertaining sports game on television. When Elma looked over at him, hoping he was admiring her amazing sword skills, Ken just blinked his sleepy eyes and gave her a goofy, completely relaxed wave. Elma's face instantly turned a bright, vibrant shade of pink. She quickly snapped her head back around, gripping her swords so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her heart did a sudden, frantic flip in her chest.

"I am not trying to impress him," Elma told herself silently, feeling incredibly flustered.

"He is just a messy slacker. I am just making sure he is staying out of the way." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Luna was leaning against a stone wall, rubbing her tired eyes.

"All this running is making me dizzy. Five minutes of straight attacking sounds exhausting. Can we just zap them once and call it a day?"

"We need a new tactic," Naomi said, ignoring Luna's sleepy complaints. She walked to the center of the courtyard, putting her hands on her hips. Naomi did not yell with her usual strict anger today. She looked at her teammates with genuine, supportive focus. She was acting much more like a caring friend trying to solve a puzzle.

"If Prince Hades expects us to run straight at his towers, we need something that will completely mess up his rhythm. We need a distraction." Ken took a loud, long slurp from his juice box. He finished the drink, tossed the empty box into a nearby trash bin, and stood up from the bench. He casually strolled right into the middle of the courtyard, walking right past Naomi and Laxmi. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and slouched his shoulders forward. Clap! Clap! Clap!

Ken clapped his hands together loudly, calling for everyone's attention. He put on a massive, proud smile, puffing his chest out just a little bit.

"Alright, everyone, gather around!" Ken announced happily.

"You can stop worrying about the five-minute timer right now. You do not need to stress out anymore, because I have completely solved our problem." The girls all stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. Laxmi immediately let out a loud, miserable groan. She covered her face with her hands.

"Oh, please, no. Do not tell me you are bringing that back. Ken, I am begging you. If you tell us to use your three-minute 'Charging Beam' again, I am going to scream. We only have five minutes total! If you stand still for three minutes yelling out percentages, the round will be over before you even fire a single spark!" Ken dropped his arms, putting on a highly exaggerated, deeply offended look. He placed a hand over his heart and gasped.

"Laxmi, you wound me!" Ken complained, acting like his feelings were totally crushed.

"The Charge Beam is an absolute masterpiece of magical art! It just requires patience! But fine, since you guys have zero appreciation for the classics, I decided to invent something brand-new. I was doing a lot of thinking while I was taking a nap earlier." Naomi chuckled softly, shaking her head. She walked over and lightly bumped her shoulder against his arm. It was a friendly, totally casual gesture.

"You cannot invent new magic while you are sleeping, Ken. That makes no sense."

"My brain does its best work when my eyes are closed, Naomi," Ken argued playfully, giving her a goofy wink.

"And I came up with an absolute game-changer. It is a completely new technique. It is fast, it requires almost zero physical effort, and it will totally ruin the bad guys' day. I call it... the Knockback Ability!" Zinia raised an eyebrow, crossing her strong arms.

"The Knockback Ability? That just sounds like you are going to push someone."

"It is way better than a push!" Ken insisted, waving his hands in the air.

"It is a highly tactical shove! It is going to completely break their defensive line. I just need a volunteer to help me demonstrate." He looked around the courtyard. His eyes landed on Luna, who was currently yawning.

"Luna! You are perfect!" Ken cheered, pointing at the sleepy lightning user.

"Come over here for a second." Luna sighed lazily, shuffling over to the center of the yard.

"What do you want me to do? If this involves running, I am going back to my corner."

"No running required," Ken promised cheerfully. He pointed to a sturdy wooden practice dummy sitting about twenty feet away.

"I just want you to stand right here and shoot a lightning bolt at that dummy. Just a normal, standard attack. Do not hold back." Luna shrugged.

"Okay. That is easy enough."