In contrast to the enraged Joey, Locke was in a very good mood.
On his way to the academy, Locke had received the 500 Function Points from the System.
While he celebrated, the System’s rang out once again.
“Ding!”
[ Quest issued: solve the crisis plaguing the Federal Academy and receive 500 function points. ]
“Perfect timing…” A smile appeared on Locke’s face.
Locke took a few steps forward and realized that the skill that restrained Hobrick was somewhat special. It was a type of magic glue. As such, Locke had no intention of touching it directly.
He ordered Lil’ White to carefully teleport Hobrick and his three Battle Beasts into the Black Tortoise’s cabin.
In that moment, Locke was alone against Joey and more than a dozen Daemon Fang soldiers.
“Julian is really disappointing…” Joey had finally calmed down, and after tidying up his noble uniform, he thought to himself, ‘Although Julian failed, he has probably depleted Locke’s mana greatly. All I have to do now is to stall for time and wait for Locke to exhaust his remaining mana reserves…’
With this strategy in mind, Joey whispered to one of his subordinates behind him, “Wade, you’re up…”
The second lieutenant named Wade nodded. The spider beast beside him was also ready.
“Go!” Joey gave the order. The twelve Daemon Fang soldiers leaped into the air and summoned their own Battle Beasts.
Locke noticed that the Battle Beasts were all blue elite ranks. As such, even though they were all Stage 9[1] Battle Beasts, Locke did not mind. He asked, “Do you guys have some tricks planned?”
“You’ll know soon enough…” Joey took out a bottle of Booster and gulped it down.
Since his Giant Whale’s attacks covered a wide range, it was only natural that it consumed a lot of mana. Fortunately, he had the Boosters. Otherwise, there was no way that his mana reserve would hold up.
The twelve Battle Beasts consisted of Forest, Ocean, Light, Earth, and Wood Series.
Upon reaching their designated spots, the Daemon Fang soldiers began to chant. Before long, a mana net had surrounded Locke.
“Principal, this seems to be a combined…” Tristan was trying to guess the Daemon Fang soldiers’ intentions.
Hobrick, who was still restrained by the sea glue, was placed in front of the Black Tortoise’s armored window. “The Frank family really has quite a number of talents…”
Seeing that the formation was complete, the second lieutenant named Wade and his spider beast then leaped onto the center of the blue net.
“Sky Spider, absorb…”
The Sky Spider immediately entered its charging state. Following that, it shot a net of silk at Locke!
Naturally, Locke had easily evaded the attack with Gale Wings.
However, Sky Spider and Second Lieutenant Wade were unfazed. The spider continued to spit webs, even though Locke was constantly dodging them.
Locke started to get bored as the fight dragged on. He then put his hands on his waist and asked, “You guys are kinda boring. Did you all surround me with this net all so we can play a game of dodgeball?”
Although those were Locke’s words, Locke realized that the silk webs did not disappear. Instead, they had attached themselves to the net formed by the twelve Battle Beasts. The ground was no longer safe to walk on.
“Are you trying to trap me?” Locke immediately transformed his Infinite Fire Element into a long sword. He slashed continuously and broke several links on the net.
The twelve soldiers did not panic. Instead, they gathered their mana to strengthen the net. New links began to appear, and the trap was becoming sturdier by the second!
It was at this point that Locke finally understood the purpose of the net.
Every time he made contact with the net, he would feel his mana being depleted.
He quickly realized that the net’s purpose was to drain its opponents of their mana.
Realizing that Locke had understood the purpose of the net, Joey then laughed loudly. “Hahahaha… Locke, this is a formation that my family’s combat researchers have purposely come up with to deal with you. How is it? It’s pretty good, right?”
‘So what if you have three gold-rank gods? You would be no different from a commoner once you’re out of mana. As the net grows, you’ll soon realize that you have nowhere to escape. Once they’ve exhausted your mana, I’ll finally take you out!’
This was Joey’s tactic against Locke!
“Oh no! Principal!”
“They’ve planned this in advance!”
“Instructor Jacques! Instructor Jacques! Wake Up! Hurry up and transfer some mana to Locke!”
“Without mana, no matter how strong his Battle Beasts are, he wouldn’t stand a chance against them!”
Everyone in the Black Tortoise’s cabin became nervous.
Even Hobrick had a headache. “Not only does Joey have outstanding strength, but he also places great importance on tactics…”
He quickly urged his three elemental beasts to move, but the glue was too troublesome. The three elements were still unable to break free.
In contrast to the students and instructors in the Black Tortoise’s cabin, Locke’s expression was calm. Moreover, he even dug his ears and said, “Boring…”
“Is that so?” Hearing Locke’s provocation, Second Lieutenant Wade immediately ordered his Sky Spider to fire another barrage of silk webs!
The barrage was quick, and one of its shots had managed to land on Locke’s wrist.
“It hit!” The twelve Daemon Fang soldiers who were reinforcing the net shouted in excitement!
“Sky Spider, suck him dry!” Second Lieutenant Wade shouted loudly. Sky Spider’s eyes immediately began to flicker, and through the sturdy thread of silk, it began to suck Locke’s mana away from him!
“You’ve really gone through a lot of trouble…” Locke looked up at the Sky Spider that was absorbing his mana.
Not only was the Sky Spider absorbing Locke’s mana, it was also transferring his mana to the other twelve soldiers through hidden silk threads!
“Continue to reinforce the net! We mustn’t let him escape!”
“We’ll be able to collect quite a lot of mana this time!”
“Surrender, Locke! The Sky Spider’s storage ability is unparalleled. It will have no problem in sucking you dry…”
The twelve soldiers who had received Locke’s stolen mana began to reinforce the net. One by one, sturdy new links began to form, and the net gradually expanded towards Locke!
“How does it feel to be defeated by your own mana?” Joey, who had already completely recovered his mana, raised his head and laughed boastfully. He continued to look down at Locke and said, “Locke! You’re a rare Beastmaster, and your talent can’t be ignored! How about this, kneel down and pledge your allegiance to me! I guarantee that you’ll become the right-hand man of my family ! This is the promise that the future king of the Holy City has given you!”
Locke continued to pick his ears. He asked Second Lieutenant Wade lazily, “Hey! How much mana can that big spider of yours absorb?”
With eyes filled with hatred, Wade responded, “Don’t try to talk your way out of this, Locke. You’re dead meat this time!”
[1] It seems that Stage 9 is the standard for the Daemon Fang troops. In that case, Joey is Stage 7, and Hobrick is Stage 9.