Chapter 343: Control

"I hope our next opponents are stronger. There was nobody for me to fight with my full strength. I even had to share my target with Mekhaz. How disgraceful!" Thaor thundered, kicking the ground.

The frozen surface of the combat ring cracked and burst apart as the force of the kick rippled through it. In the next moment, Kaleb used Frozen Nova to destroy the ice spread throughout the combat ring. He freed their opponents' legs and turned over to Michael.

"Looks like everyone is a little bit confused," He said, lightly pointing toward the spectator area. Kaleb was the first to notice the silence that shrouded the Underground Colosseum as their battle ended.

Their team fight didn't even take more than ten seconds before it was already over. Even the representatives of the Tritan Alliance were a little surprised. After all, every single participant was a future powerhouse. All youths participating in the Battle Exchange were prodigies. Defeating them shouldn't be that easy.

Michael had to acknowledge that their victory looked quite easy and simple, but that was actually not the case.

There were multiple factors one had to take into consideration, including the fact that Michael's team went all out the moment the battle started while the other team used a completely different tactic to start the fight. The other team wanted to spread out and get some feelers to test their opponents' strength. Because of that, they didn't unleash their Soultraits immediately with the intention to surprise their opponents once they found out more about them, specifically their weak points.

Keeping your Soultraits hidden while testing your opponents was a common tactic. It allowed Awakened to take advantage of their knowledge to surprise their enemies, under normal circumstances.

However, their tactic failed miserably as the two Berserkers and the Warlock Centaur used their full power to charge ahead. They unleashed their Soultrait without any hesitation and charged ahead with terrific speed.

Combining the sudden charge with Kaleb's Frozen Nova and slowing down their opponents' movements before freezing them to the ground created enough mental pressure to force them into action.

But that was not enough. Just as the first human Awakened used his Soultrait to counter the Berserkers and Warlock Centaur's charge, a mental attack struck him heavily, nearly knocking him out.

Everyone focused on the three huge enemies charging toward them, only to miss the smaller human who shot alongside the edge of the combat ring to stay out of his opponents' line of sight. Michael appeared at the backlines where he pinned down the other Awakened, who were too stunned to use their Soultraits in time.

In fact, they had been able to trigger their Soultraits already, but the terrifying pressure released by the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs restricted them to a certain degree. It was almost as if the Berserkers and Warlock Centaur's entire being was in fury.

The group of humans considered the team discipline of the Battle Exchange as a friendly spar, not as a life-and-death battle. Thus, they weren't mentally prepared to face the Burning Fury of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaur.

That was also why Lokai thought of the entire battle as rather boring, and disappointing. There was no climax. It started...then it ended, just like that.

Of course, the events of the battle looked different from outside. It looked like the team consisting of humans was sluggish and that they weren't professional. Meanwhile, Michael's team was the exact opposite. Their teamwork was not too bad. There were some points that required improvements, but there weren't any glaring mishaps.

The way they played out their tactics by utilizing everyone's strengths was a pleasant surprise. It was a great demonstration to show what future battles against the Tekur race could look like.

Michael and the others left the combat ring after the fight ended. They practiced their energy absorption technique to replenish the energy they'd used up in the battle and discussed the earlier fight while resting up until their team was called up for the next battle.

After their first fight, Michael and his group gained more attention. That was what Michael had expected, but it didn't really change anything. They would continue to give their best until they would encounter an opponent who was too strong to deal with.

Michael saw a few teams full of Peak Tier-3 Lords. He had seen some of their earlier battles during the Solo and Duo disciplines, and knew that their Soultraits and Artifacts were both powerful and extremely valuable.

Despite being powerful enough to fight opponents at the 3rd Tier, Michael, Kaleb, and Thaor were only at the 2nd Tier. If they encountered someone at the 3rd Tier who could also fight people above their rank, Michael and the others would have issues dealing with them. That might be obvious, but it was also no reason to be intimidated. Michael's team would continue to give their utmost, either way.

Their second battle was against six Berserkers. They didn't say anything but the smug smiles on their faces, and the sheen of excitement in their eyes was enough to determine that they would go all out the moment their battle started.

Thaor knew the six Berserkers quite well.

"None of them has a Support-type Soultrait. The huge Berserker on the left has a Soultrait called Herculean Strength. It's a passive Soultrait that is always active. It drains his Stamina faster but enhances his physical strength to a monstrous level. The one next to him has a Soultrait called Titan Arm. He can expand his right arm to inflict devastating damage," Thaor explained loud enough to be heard by their opponents.

The Berserker team stared at Thaor in anger, but they didn't say anything as he continued to reveal their Soultraits to his team, "The one in the middle has a Soultrait called Double Impact. He can only use it on his feet, but that is more than enough since he trained in martial arts that focuses on kicks. Upon using Double Impact, the first impact of his kick will be doubled, and a shockwave - a mix of energy and force- will be sent through the enemy. I can tell from experience that it's quite painful to be hit by that. Other than that, there is a young Berserker with a Silver Aura that amplifies the destructive power of his attacks, and the one on the right has a Soultrait called Sword of Doom. it's sharp and can cut through most stuff rather easily, so...don't get cut in half."

Thaor had a lot more to say about the Berserkers' Soultraits, but the fight was just about to start. Thus after listening to him intently, they went into position, summoned their Artifacts and waited for the referee's signal.

The signal that started the battle rang out mere moments later alongside the referee's shout.

"Begin!"

Just like before, Lokai used the full power of Burning Fury to enhance the Agility, Strength and Perception of the entire team. The presence they exuded after Burning Fury was applied to each of them was intense and ominous. However, it didn't affect the five Berserkers, who kicked the ground to charge forward without any hesitation.

They unleashed their Soultrait and burst forth. Meanwhile, Lokai, Thaor, and Mekhaz did the same. With their Soultraits fully unleashed, they charged ahead as well. Meanwhile, Kaleb unleashed Frozen Nova once again.

However, this time, Kaleb's tactic changed a little. He manifested his Staff, an inheritance he had obtained from his sister a few weeks ago - a Legendary Tier-2 Artifact. The Staff had three purposes. First, it decreased the energy consumption of Ice-type Soultrait. Second, it increased the control of Ice-type Soultraits. Last but not least, the Ice Staff reinforced the sturdiness of Ice manifested with an Ice-type Soultrait.

Unleashing the power of the Legendary Ice Staff alongside the effect his Inheritance Technique had on Frozen Nova, Kaleb's 7-Star Soultrait grew even stronger.

A simple wave with the Legendary Ice Staff was enough to manifest two large glaciers in front of the Berserker with the Titan Arm Soultrait, and the Berserker with the Sword of Doom. The Berserkers charged into the glaciers at full speed. The glaciers trembled alongwith the combat ring as the heavy Berserkers crashed into it, but it didn't break. The glacier remained standing, blocking the advance of the two Berserkers.

Meanwhile, the remaining three Berserkers collided with Lokai, Thaor, and Mekhaz. Mekhaz collided with the Silver Aura Berserker, Thaor faced the Herculean Strength Berserker, while Lokai ended up clashing with the Double Impact Berserker.

However, Kaleb was not done supporting his team. He waved the Legendary Ice Staff through the air once again, releasing large ice walls in between the five Berserkers and the Warlock Centaurs less than a second before their weapons would have clashed.

Thaor, Lokai, and Mekhaz were prepared for this. They knew that Kaleb would erupt several ice walls to block their sight - and the sight of their enemies - mere moments before they would collide. Fully aware of the abrupt appearance of the ice walls, the three changed their trajectory all of a sudden. Lokai charged at the Silver Aura Berserker from the side while Mekhaz's target changed to the Double Impact Berserker.

Meanwhile, Thaor moved to the left side of the ice wall to attack the Berserker with Herculean Strength. But he was not alone. While Thaor appeared on the left side of the ice wall, Michael emerged on the right side, his body shrouded with six enhanced Qi Swords and dozens of Glacicles.

The Silver Aura Berserker and the Double Impact Berserker smashed into the ice wall without hesitation. They believed that their enemy was waiting behind the wall and smashed the ice wall with brute force. The two Berserkers didn't expect to face a different opponent all of a sudden, let alone that their previous target would charge from the side.

They were also taken by surprise as the fragments of the ice shards shot toward their heads instead of falling to the ground.

Kaleb was breathing heavily after using Frozen Nova with such great precision several times in succession. His Soultrait was more of a large-scale power that erupted with tremendous force rather than a Soultrait that required great precision to do minor things such as controlling ice shards. Yet, to use everything on the battlefield, Kaleb had to adjust himself, and the Power he possessed.

That was extremely difficult, but both the Legendary Ice Staff and the results of his daily practice with the Zenovia family's Inheritance technique allowed him to achieve this feat. His mind was screaming at him to stop tormenting himself and to use Frozen Nova the way it was supposed to be used. But Kaleb didn't listen to the voice in his mind.

Instead, he smiled vibrantly as he watched Michael's tactic unfold right in front of him just like it was supposed to be.

'I'm in control of everything!'