15 Chapter 15: The Captain makes her move (1/2)
The students from Crowley Academy continued to stare in my direction while discussing what they had just witnessed.
”So the issue is still that Vermillion Phoenix, after all. If we can just get rid of the Vermillion Phoenix, then we should be able to win.”
Elena shared her conclusion with her teammates. Nick and Louis listened closely, while Chang Cheng remained aloof as he sat with his arms crossed, having already been eliminated earlier. Doug merely listened with a neutral smile, but he didn't say anything.
The short-haired girl paid no attention to him, and instead proceeded toward the only thing that mattered.
”The question is…who should face him next?”
”I don't think I can defeat that monster,” Nick confessed. ”I don't have the skills or firepower to take done a creature of that strength and size.”
”Neither do I.” Louis stared at Elena. ”You want to give it a shot, Elena?”
Elena made a face. ”Me? Are you kidding? You call yourselves men, but you ask a young girl like me to put herself in danger before you? Where is your pride?”
”So you advocate gender equality whenever you stand to benefit from it, but when you want to avoid something, you resort to using your gender as an excuse.” Nick shook his head in disgust. ”Right. You're not going to convince anyone.”
”But then who's going to fight that guy?” Louis asked nervously.
”Maybe the three of you should draw straws,” Doug suggested with an amused smile. ”Or we could always forfeit the last match.”
”Don't even joke like that!” Elena snapped at him. Doug merely grinned at her, not at all offended.
”Then are you volunteering?”
”I…” Elena trailed off, but it was clear that she was reluctant to face my Vermillion Phoenix. She huffed and shrank back into her seat.
Cecilia, who had been silent this entire time, suddenly stood up, causing her teammates to look at her.
”I will do it.”
”Really? Captain, you're making your move?” Elena gaped at her.
”Do you think this is a good idea?” Nick asked skeptically. ”You're the captain! You shouldn't have to lower yourself to take part in this farce.”
According to the remaining three students of Crowley Academy,
”It's just a friendly match, there's no need to get all serious about this,” Louis added hastily, but shrank back when Cecilia turned toward him.
”We've already embarrassed ourselves enough.” Cecilia's expression remained unchanged as she spoke. ”I will turn this around by myself if I have to. We cannot allow ourselves to shame Crowley any more than we already have.”
Chang Cheng, Elena and the rest, with the exception of Doug, grimaced when they heard her ruthless words.
Doug stared at her, finally turning serious. ”Do you think you'll be able to defeat that summoned beast, Captain Cecilia?”
”I have every confidence that I can,” Cecilia replied simply, as if she was stating nothing more than a fact. ”Admittedly, it will be very difficult, but as I said, that summoned beast is not invincible. It can be defeated.”
”You're probably the only one who can defeat a monster like that, Captain,” Nick muttered. Cecilia fixed her gaze upon him.
”If we can't even defeat an obstacle like this, then how do you think we will fare in the national tournaments for mages this year?” She narrowed her eyes. ”And don't forget…this person is supposedly the last-ranked student of Jing Tian Academy. Do you not feel ashamed to be on the verge of being team-wiped by him?”
None of her teammates could answer her.
”So have you decided who your last member will be?” Teacher Fielding asked rhetorically, but only because he saw that they had come to a decision. Cecilia Stuart nodded and strode onto the stage in a dignified manner.
”I will be the last member,” she declared.
There was a furor in the crowd.
”Oh my goodness…the Invincible Goddess of War herself is taking the stage!”
”Amazing! I never thought I would actually get to watch Cecilia Stuart fight with my very own eyes!”
”You've got to be kidding me!”
”The Invincible Goddess of War is actually participating in a friendly match?!”
”We're really lucky!”
There were cheers and whistles from 360 degrees. Initially, it seemed as if the gender roles had reversed, with the guys cheering for Cecilia Stuart, but when I listened, I overheard the girls gushing over her as well. Cecilia Stuart was clearly a national idol, loved by both guys and girls alike – the former infatuated with her beauty and elegance and the latter admiring her strength and dignity.
Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
I belonged to neither category. I mean, I did watch her matches, but I wasn't that invested in the professional scene. For me, mages were a career choice that would lead me to fighting against the monsters from Emergence. Nothing more than that. I honestly didn't give a fuck about all these rankings and professional mages.