ragginovel Chapter 486: City Lord - 2
Chapter 486: City Lord - 2
Chapter 486: City Lord - 2
Right now, Leo was standing along with the Aurelius Academy students in formation. He, Aaron, and Ronan were leading the group, standing at the very front.
Servants and slaves had been escorted to different locations until the City Lord gave his welcoming speech.
They were inside a wide circular enclosure built beside the castle, and at its centre were active arrays and formations. Their specific purpose was unknown, but everyone could see them operating at full efficiency, glowing faintly in the night.
But it clearly seemed important, because all the students were standing around it, separated only by their academies.
Students of the Valencrest Royal Academy in one area, Aurelius Beast Academy students in another, then Drakensoul Academy students, followed by Eldros, Ardent, and Soul Astra Academy--the top 7 academies. There were also many students from smaller academies, but their numbers ranged only from 10 to 50 compared to the nearly hundreds from the major academies.
Only Aurelius and Valencrest Academy had student counts reaching the 200–250 mark.
Leo realised the disparity existed because students with the minimum required strength became fewer as an academy’s ranking fell.
Take Aurelius and Valencrest Academies for example. Even though they had allowed the top 500 students from their rankings to participate, the lowest level of strength among them still did not fall below Mid 2-star. Not to mention, Leo recalled them being Beast Masters, meaning their beasts would naturally be ranked even higher.
As for academies like Drakensoul, Eldros, and the others, they had allowed only the top 200 students to join this realm exploration. Which meant that what those academies had in their top 200s, Aurelius and Valencrest possessed even in their 500s. Thus, their numbers were naturally fewer.
As for even lower-tier academies, only the top 50, or sometimes even just the top 10, were allowed to join.
Leo tried to gauge the strength of the strongest students among them and was surprised to find they were barely reaching Peak 1-star. Which meant the top student in those academies would be no better than a low 2-star. Or worse, those Peak 1-star students could already be the top-ranked ones themselves.
Wow... such disparity.
No wonder Nirvan hesitated the moment he saw I was from Aurelius Beast Academy. Even if I had been the lowest-ranked student, I would still be stronger than most of those present here.
Leo swept his gaze around the area, as the City Lord had yet to make his appearance.
It was then that he spotted a peculiar group of red-haired people. Most had different shades of red hair, while a few had entirely different colours. Their number was close to 50, matching the size of the lower academy groups, and the strongest among them was a robust Low 3-star man with a muscular build and a heavy mace proudly slung over his shoulder.
The mace had a spiked spherical head, and the head was slightly larger than standard maces; it looked absurdly heavy.
Aaron noticed Leo’s gaze and informed him.
"That’s Vulcan, Vulcan Ember. He is from Valencrest Royal Academy, but since this is his hometown, he took permission from his professors to help his cousins and relatives acquire natural treasures and join his family side."
Leo nodded and shifted his attention toward another group of people.
They didn’t belong to any academy or faction. Rather, they were free and unaffiliated individuals who had come to participate in the realm exploration for a chance to obtain a fortuitous encounter or perhaps spot the Wyvern and claim the Count’s reward. Most were mercenaries, hunters, or Beast Masters who either couldn’t join academies or simply didn’t want to. They numbered more than a thousand, making them the largest group present.
But.
"So weak," Leo muttered quietly.
He swore he even spotted some normal humans in the crowd, without even the strength of a Low 1-star. And the strongest among them was merely a High 2-star man with a broad sword strapped across his back.
As for why the participants were so weak, it was because only people aged 30 or younger were allowed to enter the Secret Realm.
"What the hell is he even making us wait for so long? Did something happen?" Ronan suddenly said from the side, sounding annoyed.
Leo also checked the time.
22:47, 5 March
It was indeed late. By now, the process of opening the Realm Gate should have already begun. Leo was also curious about how they managed to close a Realm Gate in the first place. He couldn’t help but suspect the arrays and formations in the centre were responsible for it.
As they waited, some city officials arrived and instructed everyone to bring their slaves and servants back, since there would be no time to retrieve them after the City Lord’s welcome speech. Apparently, he had been delayed by unforeseen circumstances.
While Leo was on his way to retrieve Naelith and Lyswenna, many students attempted to approach him to build connections. Some lost their courage midway and turned back, while those who did manage to speak were politely refused by Leo, who simply told them his slots were already full.
By the time they returned to their designated position, it was already 11 PM, nearing midnight.
But neither the students nor the others seemed particularly bothered, as they used the opportunity to form more concrete teams while all the exploration participants were gathered in one place.
At one point, a fight even broke out between two groups from Aurelius Beast Academy and Valencrest Royal Academy.
"Fuck you, motherfucker! Our academy’s 1st-ranked student is stronger than yours! He can even take on all of your top 10 at once!" one of the Valencrest students shouted angrily.
"Everybody knows our 1st ranker can display 5-star strength. Your 1st ranker can’t even come close to touching his feet!"
"And who decided that? And leave that, it doesn’t even change the fact that I can swat you like a fly! If you have the balls, then meet me in the arena!"
"Arena? What, scared of death?" the Aurelius Academy student laughed mockingly.
Leo could only feel a headache coming on as these no-name mid-2-star students used his name to flaunt superiority.
But suddenly, his pupils contracted as his eyes shot toward the sky.
A very dangerous being was approaching from above.
As he focused on the dark night sky, he finally saw it—a massive wide-winged creature descending rapidly toward the empty centre of the circular enclosure.