The non-participating graduates sat in stands erected in an oval shape, at the edge of the eastern field, using earth magic.
"What are we about to witness?" Aurelia turned towards Vonreid, eying the hundred graduates.
"You are about to see a Master Rank warrior take on the best hundred graduates of the academy."
King Belreid leaned forward, turning towards Vonreid, and rested his hand on his knee. "Son, pay close attention to this battle."
They then turned forward. In front of the graduates stood Raghav, his hands behind his back, calm and steady, his face carried his signature seriousness.
General Temis and the dean stood at the spot where the podium was. "Raghav Suryanshi, you now face the best hundred that the Military Academy of Istreid produced. You will face off against nine Master Rank Soldiers and ninety-one Knight Rank soldiers."
He then turned towards the graduates. "My students, you will now be facing Raghav Suryanshi, The Hero of Prophecy and a Master Rank warrior. This battle will go on until either side surrenders or is incapacitated. Do not hold back and show your valour and might to the Hero."
With that, the dean stepped back, taking his seat. General Temis raised his hand, ready to snap his fingers. "The moment I snap my fingers, you will begin."
The graduates assumed their positions and held their weapons firmly.
The moment General Temis snapped his fingers, the participants activated their Mana and rushed forward. Raghav narrowed his eyes, leaning his left shoulder back, avoiding an arrow.
The white glow emerged from within, and he stepped back, narrowly avoiding a downward strike from a double-handed Warhammer from above. The hammer sank into the ground.
The soldier then pulled the hammer up, tearing apart the ground and throwing debris in Raghav's face.
Not losing sight of others, he lifted his right foot as a soldier came from the right, swiping his spear at Raghav's right foot. Turning 90 degrees to the left, he came across a bulky soldier who planted a steel shield on the ground and blasted pure white light at Raghav, causing him to close his eyes.
Raghav quickly ducked down as a sword swung where his neck was supposed to be. He then dashed forward and jumped towards the shield.
Landing with his feet on the shield, he darted towards the soldier with a spear. The soldier held the spear to his side, and Raghav took hold of it with his right hand, using it like a pole before letting go, heading straight for the group of soldiers at the back.
He slammed his feet into another bulky student who had raised his arms in front of his face to shield himself from the impact. Nonetheless, he was still launched far away, leaving a groove in the ground.
Standing upright, he twisted his body to the left, letting a spear aimed at his stomach move past his body as well as letting a sword aimed at his lower back move past him.
Without looking, he raised his left hand over his shoulder, grabbing the wrist of a soldier who attempted to strike him down using her axe. Then, in the same breath, he moved his right hand behind his back, grabbing the wrist of the soldier holding the sword.
As he turned forward, he pulled his right hand upwards and his left hand downward, swinging both the female soldiers into the third one who held the spear. He let go of their wrists and blew strong winds from his mouth, blasting them away.
Narrowly avoiding an arrow by tilting his head to the right, letting an arrow fly past his head, and leaning forward to grab it.
Turning around, he threw the arrow towards the archer in the distance, shattering his bow, cutting its string.
Then he moved his head, looking at the students who surrounded him.
His eyes still closed, he leaned back, flipping over a man trying to grab him from behind. Raghav landed behind the man and grabbed him by the waist, lifting him and suplexing him to the ground, burying his torso. He then flipped again over the man and grabbed his feet, pulling him out and swinging him around, striking many soldiers, throwing them dozens of meters away.
As the rest of the soldiers move in closer. Raghav frowns slightly and dashes out from within the soldiers, back at his starting point, knocking some off balance due to the shockwave from his overwhelming speed. Some soldiers wiped their lips with the back of their hands, keeping their eyes locked on Raghav.
He takes a deep breath, opening his narrowed eyes. "Stop holding back. I will not break; show me your true strength. Use spells, this is not a mere demonstration of weapons or martial arts."
To show then that he means his words, he too reaches for his sword with his right hand, pulling it out of the scabbard and holding it to his right.
A blonde soldier who was at the back of the field closed both his eyes, taking a gulp. He then clicked his tongue three times, in the right side of his mouth and once in his left.
Every one of the soldiers had goosebumps, quickly moving their eyes back before bringing them back towards Raghav.
Raghav studied their expression and slightly parted his lips.
Both sides stood at an impasse, waiting for the other side to make the first move.
A short female soldier hidden behind one of the bulky warriors smirks, placing her hand on the ground. She then signalled for other soldiers out of Raghav's sight and motioned towards the ground.
Vonreid, looking at the standoff from the stage, turned his face towards his father while his eyes remained glued to the spectacle before him. "Father, why do they not surround him and attack him at once? They have the numbers, then why do they send a handful at him and take turns?"
King Belreid crossed his arm over his chest. "It is most certainly beneficial when you have a small group of, let's say, seven or eight, but in a group of a hundred, only a handful can approach him the rest will be unable to interact with him, they would only put themselves in risk, if one spear missed Raghav it can strike the soldier behind him, crowding over him would also block the other soldiers in case they need to retreat."
Vonreid's mouth was left open as he turned his head back to the battle.
Raghav narrowed his eyes and raised his sword high as chains made of Mana shot out of the ground, binding all four of his limbs. Finding the perfect opportunity, a portion of the students rushed forward in four units.
One unit charged at him from the front, two smaller units moved to flank Raghav from either side, and a fourth unit of archers emerged from the ground behind Raghav, unleashing countless arrows towards him.
Swiftly thinking Raghav reversed his grip on his sword and brought down his arm, slicing the chain that held his right arm and leg.
He took a big step with his right leg, turning 180 degrees to the right, slashing his sword and unleashing a shockwave, swatting away all the arrows and striking the archers, knocking them unconscious.
Simultaneously pulling the chains with his left arm and leg, only for him to feel a tug as he turned his head and found several tanks helping the female soldier hold onto the chains.
With the oncoming Trident formation, Raghav takes a deep breath and rotates his left arm and leg, tying the chains better around his limbs.
Sending lightning through the chains, striking the tanks, and knocking them out and then the chains change their colour to white, tying around the tanks.
He then shifts both chains on his left hand, pulling the tanks forward as chained balls, striking the central assault team.
As the flanks drew close, he let go of the chains as they disappeared into thin air. He dashed towards his right, only to quickly dash to the left, inserting his forearm between two soldiers.
In a swift move, he pulled his hand back, striking one soldier in the face with his elbow and then moved his hand forward, punching the other in the jaw, before slamming the side of his fist into the shield, blowing them away.
Not forgetting about the other flank, he extended his sword towards them and unleashed a blast of air, blowing away most who were unprepared. Those who shielded themselves or planted their weapon in the ground for support, looked up and found Raghav in their faces.
He struck the leader of this squad in the stomach, making his eyes roll to the back of his head. He quickly moved onto the others, striking their armpits, necks and ribs with controlled chops.
With this move, he had dealt with over thirty soldiers.
Gazing past the group that rushed forward, he noticed traces of mana being used on the unconscious soldiers. Soon enough, bright red flames shot towards him from all directions.
Some soldiers carried back the unconscious soldiers in a few seconds, briefly disturbing the fire because of the shockwave of winds due to their incredible speed.
Two Soldiers stepped from within the group. A six-foot-tall black-haired man sighed, "Looks like we have to get our hands dirty after all. What were we expecting, letting Knight Rank warriors take on a Master Rank warrior? A master should fight other masters, no? Isn't that one of the laws of warfare, Amara?"
A five-foot-four-inch-tall female soldier with short brown hair and hazel eyes nodded. "It is, Ken. Let's hope I did not burn him too much."
Five other men and two women joined them, dropping the unconscious soldiers to the mages, who began to heal them.
One of the two women had her hair long, black hair tied in a bun. "Is this not going overboard, Amara?" "Oh, are you feeling empathy for the man, Jen? Do not forget he is our enemy and highly dangerous."
Jen sighed and turned to the third female soldier. "Amy, you agree with me, right?" Amy shook her head and quickly nodded. "There is some truth in both of your words."
Ken cracked his knuckles. "Stop this bickering. Time to show the Hero…"
"…what the Nine Masters of the academy can do."
"Jelr, Gilbe, Marten, you will be with me. Benjen, Ethaniel, you will be with Amara, Jen and Amy. Activate formation 2Be"
Amara then turned off the flames with a simple snap and was greeted with scorched grass.
Jen turned around and saw Raghav standing behind the entire group, unscathed, looking down at a healer, who had stopped casting a healing spell.
Raghav spoke nothing, instead turning towards his right and coming face to face with Jen. He avoided looking at her, closing his eyes.
"Why did he not take out the healer? If he takes them out, then they can no longer heal the injured, and their numbers will dwindle."
General Temis shook his head. "Your Highness, you seem to misunderstand the type of man Raghav is."
Aurelia nodded, a gentle smile blooming on her face. "General Temis is right, Brother. Raghav is not the type of man to attack an unarmed person who is not attacking him, even if it means victory. He stands by his word of dying before overstepping his maryada."
Vonreid let the words of wisdom from his elder sister and General Temis fuel his admiration for Raghav. "I would suggest, Your Highness, to realise that if he wishes to be like Raghav, he will have to accept defeat and death as realistic outcomes. For the path of righteousness is like a rose, it is beautiful and fragrant, yet the stem leading to it is full of thorns."
Vonreid once again looked at General Temis, who folded his hands, focusing on the battle. Vonreid, too, turned towards the battle as he felt something was about to happen.
On cue, Ken jumped back, spinning in the air, swinging his sword towards Raghav.
Raghav parried the sword with his own, running electricity through his sword, magnetising it, joining their swords, swinging Ken into Jelr, flinging them away before rushing at the group.
Reaching out with his left hand, the soil broke apart, rising in the air, forming a giant boulder under the influence of Raghav's telekinesis, before plummeting upon the group.
As they emerged from within the soil, Raghav kneed Gilbe and knocked him out. He ducked to avoid a bolt of lightning thrown at him by Jen, followed by a barrage of water whips sent out by Amara.
Raghav closed his eyes harder and slowed down by a minuscule amount, letting the water whip catch him and trap him in a sphere of water.
Jen took advantage of this and fired multiple bolts of lightning in the sphere, electrocuting the drowning Raghav.
The rest of the group all banded together and charged up a gigantic Mana Blast in their weapons, ready to fire upon Raghav.
Ken grinned. "It's ready atta…"
His words were cut short as Raghav threw his sword at the charging Mana blast, absorbing it and embedding it in the ground behind them.
Their eyes were left wide open, their trump card neutralised. Raghav collected the water and jumped from it, emerging from the water sphere and flipping in the air, dropkicking Ken in the stomach and extended further to Jelr, who stood behind him, with his right foot and kicking Marten, who was kneeling in front of Ken, in the face with his left foot.
He also grabbed Benjen and Ethaniel's faces, standing at Ken's side, slamming both to the ground. After taking out all five men, he landed beside his sword and lifted it and swinging at the shocked women, striking all three of them in the stomach with the flat side of the sword.
Standing tall among the carnage, he turned to look towards the Knight Rank soldiers. "Do you want to continue?"
The soldiers stood up, grabbed their weapons and pointed them at Raghav. The blonde-haired man clicked his tongue again. Two times in the centre of this mouth and once at the top of his mouth.
The soldiers looked at Raghav and hummed and rushed at him. They attacked him one after another, a sword, an arrow, a spear, an axe and a hammer. Attempting to overwhelm him.
Another clicking of the tongue filled Raghav's ear.
Yet they were failing; Raghav was simply too quick for them, so much so that he had stopped using abilities other than basic enhancement. One tank rushed at him, and Raghav flipped him over himself and began blocking attacks with his sword, until his sword clashed with another sword and stuck to it. Raghav looked at the wielder, and there was Ken, who pulled Raghav's sword away from his hand, leaving him weaponless.
Raghav leaned forward, kicking Ken again and started blocking attacks using his forearms. He had enhanced his body and clothes, allowing them to remain unscathed, even after taking axe strikes to them.
Another click.
Soon, there were nearly a dozen soldiers in front of him, and he was handling them all, until the tank that he flipped over himself stood up and tied a rope around his throat from behind and pulled back.
One last click was heard as Raghav grabbed the rope, while Amy and Jen placed their hands on the ground, erecting two pillars connected by a rod in the middle.
As the pillars grew taller, they grabbed the rope and lifted it, and soon Raghav was hanged. He tried to summon his sword using telekinesis. But his hands were chained up, as were his feet, to prevent him from moving.
Amara once again trapped Raghav in a water sphere, trying to drown the hanged man. Raghav struggled pulling on the chains, the water slowing his movement, and the rope around his neck keeping him away from a proper footing.
The soldiers were getting tired, their grips slipping, holding Raghav in place was demanding everything, and it was still falling short.
The first to fall was Amara, and with her fell her water sphere. The moment the sphere fell, Raghav spun his arms, tightening the chains around his hands until he could snap them.
Before another water sphere could be pulled up. Raghav grabbed the rope over his head with both hands. He used the left hand to keep the rope stationary and pulled the upper part with his right hand, pulling the entire group holding the rope over the pole and slamming them in the group in the front.
He fell and slammed his fist into the ground, unleashing a shockwave that blasted all the soldiers down save for one.
Raghav walked forward towards the Blonde Soldier at the back, summoning his sword as it flew in his hand. There he was, towering over the man sitting on the ground. He finally opened his eyes and gazed at the man below him.
"You did well, commanding them; it was you who asked them to study my moves, then it was you who warned them when I first drew my sword, and it was you who devised this plan to hang me. I see in you the potential to lead the army. What is your name?"
He stood up, coming only a few inches shorter than Raghav. "Freyd Leothra!"
The edges of Raghav's lips curled upwards slightly as he sheathed his sword. "Freyd Leothra, you have earned my appreciation. Remember to be discreet the next time, do not let the enemy sense that you are communicating. I was able to pick up from your messages and knew they would swarm me, so I began absorbing their Mana when they came in contact with me, through Mana rope or Mana chain."
Raghav then extended his hand. "Consider this lesson a parting gift, and I bid you great fortune in the war to come."
Freyd stared at his hands for a few moments, shifting between Raghav's face and hands. Until he finally shook Raghav's hand.
Raghav gave him a knowing nod and turned around, walking away, helping the other graduates pick their fellow graduates.
As he walked towards the stage, Aurelia ran at him and hugged him, jumping into his arms. "I knew you'd win."
Raghav smiled ear to ear, nodding. "Thank you for believing in me."
General Temis placed a hand on Raghav's shoulder. "Are you hurt?"
Shaking his head, Raghav turned towards Aurelia. "I might lose consciousness, do not worry, it is a drawback of my powers."
Aurelia tilted her head. "What kind of drawback?" Raghav returned to his usual expression. "Whenever I use my power, I have to spend an equal amount of time unable to move. I can handle a few seconds without any concern, but whenever the use of my power exceeds ten seconds, I get dizzy, and this battle took nearly three minutes. I believe I might pass out."
Raghav raised his finger. "I wanted to test something,"
"Did it work?" Raghav turned towards King Belreid, nodding. "It did, your grace, it was one of the key requirements I needed for my journey."
King Belreid nodded, understandably, then looked around, pointing at a great tree at the edge of the field. "Perhaps Princess Aurelia can take you there under the shade while you stop the usage of your powers. We will handle the rest of the graduation ceremony."
Raghav nodded, looking at the tree before turning to the King. "Thank you, your grace."
He then turned to Aurelia, smiling. "Shall we?" Aurelia nodded. "Yes, we shall!" She grabbed hold of his hand as the two walked towards the tree.
Once they were under it, they sat under the tree as Raghav closed his eyes, and the white glow disappeared within him, and his head fell on her shoulder.