As the Gemini ship descended to Terra City, Emery could fully take in the view of the city. He could clearly see that the place was much more crowded than usual.
A single Magus Alliance battle cruiser usually manned by more than five thousand personnels of various expertises, it was no wonder its arrival quite literally turned the city upside down.
Excited by the notion of seeing his combat magus senior, Emery quickly excused himself from the half-blood group and departed for the majestic Terra palace, leaving Zach and his entrourage to find his own way to the Hyperion planet.
When Emery reached the hall, he was immediately welcomed by a heavy voice that was familiar to his ears.
"Emery, you are here! Finally, all my juniors are gathered!"
At the moment, the master of the Terra castle was seen sitting on the throne at the end of the hall.
Apart from the Eastern Sage and Emery's four friends, there were also a dozen other magus present. Other than Lord Izta's wives, the other magus were part of the forces from the battle cruiser whom Emery had met before.
When Emery approached, Lord Izta turned to the magus present and pointed his finger at him. "You all must know this one don't you?! He is the tournament finalist! I am telling you, he will be big one day, hahaha!" said the combat magus with apparent pride.
Needless to say, Emery was quickly roped into the festivity. Pleasant chats happened throughout the hall, accompanied by drinks and melodious music in the air. The soiree went on for some time and Emery enjoyed it until Lord Izta finally explained the reason for his sudden return.
"The threat level of this sector has increased, that's why my request to return home was finally approved." Lord Izta said in a nonchalant tone. Then, to the others' surprise, the man had also returned with unexpected news.
"Also, You all are looking at the new Battle Commander of the Warship - Dreadnought."
When they heard such a wonderful announcement, everyone in the hall quickly applauded and said their congratulations. Of course, they didn't forget to toast the combat magus for his achievement.
Emery naturally happy with Lord Izta's promotion. He remembered the last time he visited the warship, Lord Izta was only one of the three 1000 man commanders of the legion, but now, the man was in charge of an entire legion consisting over three dozen magus and 5000 men.
After toasting and thanking those who congratulated him, Lord Izta put down his drink and looked at Emery. The latter was surprised when he saw the solemn look on the combat magus' face.
"I have already read the official report from the Magus Alliance telling me the current status of the sector…" Staring at Emery, Lord Izta said in a serious tone, "…but tell me what you learned in the briefings."
As he realized everyone in the hall were his friends and Lord's Izta trusted men, Emery recounted and explained in detail about what happened the last few days and what Supreme Commander Jesper had said at the meeting he attended.
After he was finished with the explanation, he then shared the concerns he had.
"One said the target will be Golden City, while another said it's Zodiac City… My concern is the academy itself."
Lord Izta was one of the five combat magus who were the Guardians of the Academy, hence his opinion had a certain weight.
"The Academy is one of the safest places in the universe. After all, it's located deep inside the sector and surrounded by the 10 planets where the element institutions lie. Each one is the residing place of a few dozen magus, plus as long as the Light Institute's Eskinshire crystal still shone, then nothing can breach its defense."
It was apparent Lord Izta had the same confidence as the people who attended the important briefings, hence Emery should have nothing to worry about.
Soon enough, Lord Izta began his penchant of whispering to himself, before he eventually said something that caught Emery's ears.
"My friend Enkidu thinks the lockdown is a bit too much, but the heated situation between humans and half-bloods has indeed had an impact beyond this sector, Let us keep our heads calm and our belly full tonight"
After that, Lord Izta gave his well wishes hoping nothing bad would come tomorrow, of course the man also didn't forget to express his blessing that Emery would win against the genius of the Arkaland faction.
"Okay! The party is over now, there's still a big day tomorrow!"
By this time, there were only a little over twelve hours until the final day of the Magus Tournament kicked off. Therefore Emery really had to go now and start his preparation.
While the other people left the hall, Lord Izta turned to Emery and said with a smile, "Alright Emery, let me see how much you have improved."
At the same time, Klea grabbed his arm, and with a cheeky smile on her face as she said, "We have prepared something for you!"
Under Klea's eager initiative, Emery was brought to a courtyard where apparently a huge formation about half the size of the tournament arena was already prepared. He could clearly see the faint light shining from the lines of rune formations on the ground.
Noticing Emery's look, Klea beamed a wide smile and spoke in an excited and proud tone, "Me and Senior Fuxi have made this formation specifically for your training, in preparation of your match against Olivier!"
Immediately after, Thrax stepped forward and shouted, "I'll go first!" He entered the courtyard, or rather, the formation and beckoned Emery to walk over. Evidently, the Thracian was challenging him for a fight.
Eager to find out what was in store for him, Emery nodded at the offer and stepped into the formation. With Lord Izta on the side acting as the referee, a fight between the two of them quickly ensued.
As their fight began and they charged at each other, Emery was surprised when he saw that Thrax would suddenly gain speed, while he would occasionally be forced to slow down. Every time those phenomena occurred, the lines of the rune formation seemed to shine brighter.
The formation the group had prepared for Emery followed the path of 8 elements which allowed it to bestow a significant agility boost to one, while agility reduction for the other. It was a replication of Olivier's ability, which hopefully would allow Emery to simulate the latter's fighting style.
"We can't really replicate phenomena of time magic, but this should be close to it.. also, the boost multiplier is based on Oliviers's real strength" Klea explained the objective of this formation.
To be honest, Emery was very impressed by the fact that Olivier's unique time magic couldn't even be replicated. He realized the only way Klea could know how to set the multiplier was through her previous fight against Olivier, meaning she had done all those things for his sake.
During her match against the Sword Saint, Klea had used the same formation to resist his movement, which forced him to show some of the cards he had. All to measure the scope of Olivier's strength.
Once again, Emery was moved by Klea's thoughtfulness and efforts to help him. The girl was clearly not prepared when Emery suddenly rushed at her and hugged her body tightly. Before she could say anything, a soft whisper rang in her ears. "Thank you, Klea."
With time being on the essence, Emery quickly continued his fight with Thrax. Unfortunately, after a few clashes, not only was his Thracian friend still not on his level, Thrax was also a spear expert and Emery ideally needed to practice against sword.
Alas, both Julian and Chumo also couldn't help much with his situation. The closest in their group who is a sword expert was either Klea or the Eastern Sage. The two of them, however, although could be helpful, weren't really a perfect match for Emery, as one was comparatively weaker while the other too strong.
When Lord Izta was about to choose one of his magus subordinates who wielded swords, a group of people came forcing their way into the courtyard, surprising everyone. This was especially so for Emery, as he recognized who those people were.
They were the half-blood group that Emery thought had left for Hyperion planet.
The one who drew the most attention was of course none other than Zach. The Dragon Prince stared at Emery sharply before entering the formation. Before Emery and the others could say anything, he spoke first.
"I will help you show how Olivier fights. In return, you will tell me how that Monk defeated you!"
Everyone was speechless by the unexpected words. On the other hand, Emery contemplated the offer. It was certainly a weird way of asking, but Emery knew Zach was the sparring partner he needed if he wanted to win against the Sword Saint.
"Let's do it!"
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