When Diana began speaking, I focused my attention on her since I was curious about what games Ayla had been playing while I was away.
"After Zerix's attack on Erina's stronghold, many students were severely injured from both factions and were unable to participate in any further fights for the time being," Diana explained.
"This left Erina outnumbered and vulnerable to another attack from Zerix. Despite the fact that many of Zerix's faction members were also injured during his raid, but as the leader of the largest faction in the academy, he still had more non-injured members than Erina.
Feeling stressed and unsure of what to do, Erina decided to reach out to you for assistance, but she saw the news that you had entered some mysterious gate and worried it would be too late if she waited for you.
So the following day, she went to the person she had fought alongside in the battle against Zerix's faction the day before to seek his assistance.
...Do you know what that person is?" Diana inquired.
"Of course, it's Lucas. Who else could it be?" I made a remark.
"Exactly, I'm not sure why she didn't go to his brother, Claude, for help, but instead went to Lucas," Diana replied, pausing her explanation for a moment before shaking her head and continuing.
"Anyways, When Erina went to Lucas and shared her worries, he immediately agreed to help her.
However, Zerix was already prepared for this and instead went to recruit the first-year students from Alpha and Beta classes.
Although he was aware that these students were weaker than those in special classes, but his main goal was to expand his faction and fight in greater numbers.
At first, nobody joined him and remained neutral, without supporting either group.
However, Zerix devised a strategy in which he offered 50 gold coins to each student who joined his faction.
As he knew that many students in the Alpha and Beta classes needed more money for their training and were underpaid in comparison to those in the special classes.
As a result, Zerix's faction began to rapidly expand. This meant that, even with the assistance of Lucas and our other classmates, Erina's faction would have to fight against such a large number of opponents, with no certainty of victory.
In the worst-case scenario, if they were seriously injured, they would be unable to compete in the tournament.
Faced with this misery, many of our classmates opted not to participate in any future battles, leaving Erina with only a few people in her faction.
However, ...that's when that sly bitch Ayla devised a plot to raid Zerix's faction strongholds before he could attack Erina again.
As she knew that, being the biggest faction in the academy, Zerix possessed three bases that split his faction.
One was led by Zerix himself and comprised his most powerful and loyal followers.
The remaining two were managed by the appointed members who he deem trustworthy.
One of these bases was made up of recently recruited individuals, while the other was made up of students of average strength.
The issue was that Zerix was frequently relocating these bases to thwart attacks, so they were impossible to pinpoint.
However, Ayla solved this issue by already having one of the students infiltrate the base of newly joined members while Zerix was recruiting them with money.
This provided them with the location of that base, but they still didn't know where the other two bases were.
Zerix was wise enough not to share this information with the new members or to reveal when he planned his next attack.
However, Ayla approached me; I'm not sure how she learned that the member in charge of the base with students of average strength was an elf, but she asked me to retrieve the location of that base from that elf," Diana came to a halt in her explanation while looking at me.
"...Is that so? Did you give her the location then?" I asked Diana, curious about what her response was.
"No, I merely told her that, I have no idea about any base managed by an elf, and I don't know if it is located on the outskirts of the academy besides the abandoned factory," Diana stated, shaking her head.
"As I didn't want that sly bitch to get any more credit, I wanted to share that information with you instead," she added.
"...."
Irethiel muttered to herself in disbelief when she heard what Diana just said, "Didn't she realize what she just said? She just gave away the location by saying that,"
"But I still don't know from where she received the information about the location of that base though," Diana added tilting her head sideways, seemingly confused.
"...Oh, I wonder where she got that information from," I remarked sarcastically, staring blankly at Diana, knowing that she herself have foolishly given away the location of that base.
"I know right? In any case, they now knew where two of the three bases were.
This was enough, as this allows them to significantly weaken Zerix's faction.
So, the following day, when Zerix was not expecting it, they decided to attack both bases at the same time by forming two separate teams.
One team, comprised of Claude, Kevin, Ziona, and me, as well as a few others.
we were in charge of destroying the base with newly joined members.
The next team, consisting of Livia, Lucas, Erina, and others, was in charge of destroying the base with average-strength students,"
Diana stated and paused in her explanation, pulling two crystal balls from her storage ring and placing them on the table.
"...."
"...Don't tell me you also filmed the incidents when they raided Zerix's bases?" With a straight face, I inquired.
"Yeah, but the camera was set to automatic this time because I had to engage in the fighting as well," Diana stated as she launched the recordings from one of the crystal balls.
***
Camera Footage [1]!~
The screen opens on a group of students, led by Claude, as they march towards a heavily guarded base.
The camera follows closely behind them.
As they approach the base, Claude signals to everyone to be ready for battle, and the sound of weapons being drawn fills the air.
When the guards saw them, they immediately stood ready with swords and shields, but they were no match for Claude and the others.
The camera cuts to a close-up of Claude as he charges forward with quick speed, his dagger in hand. We see a montage of swift and precise strikes as Claude takes down the guards one by one.
The camera then cuts to Kevin, Ziona, and Diana who are also taking down the guards with ease.
As they enter the base, they find more of Zerix's followers inside, caught off guard by the sudden attack.
The camera cuts back and forth between the team members as they fight their way through the base, taking down the members of Zerix's faction.
Diana uses her bow and arrows to attack the guards from a distance, Kevin strike at them from behind, while Ziona uses her agility and speed to dodge the students' attacks and strike them brutally upfront.
As they reach the center of the base, they find themselves face-to-face with the leader of the base, a human student with a huge physique who is one of the loyal members of Zerix's faction.
The student was armed with a huge two-handed sword and is seen ready to defend the base at all costs.
Ziona, with a huge grin on her face, steps forward.
"Leave him to me," she says confidently.
The camera focuses on Ziona and the leader as they clash swords in an intense fight, the sound of metal colliding filling the air.
Clash!
Clang! (swords collide)
We see Ziona's agility and speed as she dodges the student warrior's strikes, always one step ahead.
Finally, Ziona sees her opportunity. She fakes a dodge to the left and then quickly darts to the right, catching the leader off guard.
And with a swift strike, she knocks the sword out of his hand.
The camera cuts to a close-up of the leader's horrified face as he realizes he's been defeated.
Ziona suddenly kicked him in the gut, sending the student flying and collapsing against the wall.
Thud!—
"...."
Before the clip ends, the camera sweeps in to show the knocked-down leader with his eyes turning white and mouth gaping.
Screech!— (Footage End)
***