Sam looked at the rest of the Gambler Academy Team.

They are a bit nervous. It is actually impressive that they are not completely scared. Sam could see that they were communicating within themselves to get out of this situation.

"You are Likhma, I suppose. You are the one who warned me about Noah.

" Sam spoke as he stood on the water on the lake.

A man from the Hel academy who hid in the shadows snickered when he saw this. He assumed that Sam didn't know about the state of this lake.

"I am Likhma. You should have listened to me when I warned you. Now your team also has to suffer because of your arrogance.

"

"Before we talk about suffering, I want to ask. Did you personally convince these select groups of people to come and fight against me or did your teams reach an alliance to kick the Gambler Academy out first?

"

"Why do you want to know? Are you curious about the reason for your demise?

"

"Think whatever you want. Just answer me.

"

*SWOOSH*

The answer came in the form of an arrow from far away.

Sam stepped to the side and caught it before it could go past him.

"It is rude to attack when we are still talking. I would appreciate some answers before this fight starts. After all, it wouldn't be possible to communicate after the fight is over.

" His voice is calm. Almost dejected.

"I will fulfil your wish.

" Likhma seemed to have gained some confidence.

"I wanted to kill you the moment we met, so this is obviously my gathered these forces.

I had to offer some sweet deals out to these teams to get all of them onboard. But I am sure it is worth it. Making you bite the dust will be more than satisfactory.

Now, enough talking. Let's fight. I want to see you struggle.

"

The next moment, vines shot out of the ground underneath his foot and turned into massive flowers that started shooting wooden pikes at Sam.

Sam dodged them easily, but to his surprise, the pikes exploded when they went past him with poisonous smoke coming out of them. Sam raised an eyebrow at this.

*SWOOSH* *SWOOSH*

The next moment, the arrows whistled towards him, which he had to block with a dagger. Fireballs, Icicles, long-range attacks rained down on Sam. The worst problem is not even the attacks, it is the gambler academy team.

Sam created an energy barrier around one of the teammates and closed the distance between them.

"You are the supposed leader for the rest of the team. So, just do exactly what I tell you from now on.

"

Both of them moved together as they blocked the attacks. Luckily, no one was approaching to capture the flag, so Sam managed to explain his plan without any hiccups.

The teammate was shocked.

"Are you sure? Are you confident in doing this?

"

"Yeah. I wouldn't have suggested to you otherwise.

"

Sam looked at into the horizon, the roars of the beasts died down.

"It seems like they all killed the beast. They might still not decide on the spoils distribution and in a minute the second beast would be released. Just do as I say.

plan. I also know that in my current state, it is not easy to kill you in a battle and you even have the quit option to use. That is why I I am sure, you can carry your own weight.

I assure you that the flag is secure right here.

"

The next moment, the teammates all acted in sync. Sam caught a hold of a spear that was thrown at him. The energy in it was negated instantly before he filled the spear with his own golden flames.

*BOOM*

The spear flew with a trail of blazing golden flames that destroyed everything in its path.

The nine teammates followed the spear closely and took the path to get out of the encirclement. The surrounding people were stunned. The attack that Sam gave off is not beyond their imagination, but they didn't expect him to use it at this early stage of the fight.

It is a killer move and it would take a lot of energy.

On top of it all, it wasn't used in a proper way. The gambler's team however thought differently, all nine of them left and are now out in the open field, they ran to the new beast that appeared in the area. The other teams sent a few of their people and they all ran to the beasts.

But when they saw the Gambler Academy students coming and they were nine of them, all of them had bells ringing in their heads. The news immediately traveled to the bases of the academies. Nine of these people are here means, the flag only has Sam there.

If they capture the flag, they would set up a new record in the flag capture.

Every team started plotting. Including the teams of Thor and Hel Academy. Except for one. Noah looked at her teammates discussing and she only had one thing to say.

"Don't be stupid. I am not going to lead the attack team to Gambler Academy Base.

" That is what she said. Even though she kept a low profile, it doesn't mean her abilities were completely overlooked. She is still one of the primary candidates in the team.

So when their acting leader asked her to make a move, that is the answer she gave.

"But this is a great opportunity. If you and Likhma joined forces, the area control you have will easily get us the flag. Even getting back to the base is an easy task.

"

Noah looked at him like he was an idiot.

"And what do you think Sam will be doing while we try to pull that off? I am telling you, the more people you send, the more likely we are facing trouble. I am already against Likhma going there. I am not about to make the same mistake.

"

The leader grumbled. He thought Noah is letting her personal affection to Sam impact the decision, but he didn't override her and kept the team to himself.

Meanwhile, the other teams are still making plans, and back at the Lake, Sam stayed on the small landmass as he blocked and deflected all the attacks coming from different directions.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Explosive sounds overwhelmed the surroundings, the landmass is collapsing bit by bit and he only had a small footing left there. Sam noticed something in the middle of all of this, the attacks are aiming at him, but the secondary goal seemed to have been drenching him in that water full of death energy.

Too bad, they didn't know much about Sam.

After a few minutes, Likhma made a few hand signs which is weird for a Divine Plane cultivator, but the next second, vines rapidly grew out of the banks of the lake and flew towards Sam. They are spreading from all directions.

They even created a boundary.

Likhma held his position and channeled the surrounding forest's energy into these vines and created a formation. An enclosed formation that surrounded the whole lake.

The rest of the candidates jumped over and stood on top of the vines that created several bridges and platforms toward Sam. In that translucent green barrier, the vines, and the bright lake, it looked like a scene out of a fantasy movie.

Sam activated his energy vision to check out the situation.

He understood the plan. The vines created by Likhma are acting as nodes for the formation and he is acting as the energy transformer. He is gathering energy from the vegetation to create the formation. Apart from that, the vines extended into the lake and the island are serving another purpose.

They act as filters. They are absorbing the death energy directed at the contestants and neutralized it so that the students wouldn't be effected by it.

Sam smiled as he looked at the twenty odd people that are staring at him with menace in their eyes.

He cracked his knuckles and said.

"Now, the fun begins.

"

He took his staff and spun it for a moment. The water rippled and a slight breeze all the contestants. Sam's body started changing a bit. His hair gained a blood red hue, his eyes turned blood red and his canines grew a bit like fangs.

He breathed in the death energy and took in the death energy. The next moment from within his shadow grew out the shadow undead. Six humanoid figures. They all stood on top of the water. They also held metal staves in their hands and took a stance similar to that of Sam.

The contestants already had a bad feeling. But they gritted their teeth and decided to hold on.

"Since you are the elite among elite, I think its fair if I go a step further. Don't call it unfair, you are the one with number advantage.

"

The next moment, partial fusion activated. Water elemental fusion, the blue and blood red hue combined and Sam looked like a completely different person, but that is not all. The blue turned into purple.

Hydra's poison shouldn't be left out when there is such a grand audience waiting for him to perform.

Sam kicked on the ground and flew high into the air. He didn't aim at anyone and just swung the staff at the lake.

*BOOM*

With a single hit, the lake was cleaved into two and made a straight line creating two massive waves that hit either side. The shockwave went straight and hit Likhma who shook and the formation started shaking along with him.