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nAlva did not answer their questions. Instead, he lowered his head to look at his watch. In truth, he wanted the three minutes to end as soon as possible.

nBefore long, the needle on his watch had struck twelve, and it signified the end of his three minute wait.

nHe raised his head to look at the dozens of protestors in front of his gate and revealed a sinister expression.

n“Heaven-disrupting Tank… Engage!”

nThe moment he gave the order, a black tank with an exquisite design appeared in the empty space between Alva and the citizens. It had a murderous atmosphere about it.

nAlva’s Battle Beast was also a mechanical-type just like Tristan’s!

n“Crush them!”

nThe moment Alva finished his sentence, his tank roared. It smashed through the iron gates and ran through the citizens gathered before the gate!

nThe citizens who saw the tank, were instantly scared silly. They had spent their final moments in life being in shock of Alva’s audacity.

nFor a period, screams and blood spatters filled the area before the White family’s castle.

nHowever, Alva was at ease. As a matter of fact, slaughtering the citizens had helped him vent his anger!

nAfter all, he had suppressed his rage for far too long in the past few days!

n“Locke… You’re the next person my tank will pulverize!”

n…

nAlva’s massacre had shocked the Holy City.

nAlthough the protestors had indeed trespassed on the White family’s territory, they should not have resorted to such vile tactics to drive them back. As the saying goes, the law cannot be enforced when everyone is an offender.

nHowever, the Federal Court still followed the law to the letter when they judged the White family. They had declared the White family’s handling of the protestors to be in-line with the law!1

nThe court’s verdict had made the Holy City’s citizens resent the White family even more.

nHowever, as they did not have the strength to fight back. They could only silently endure it.

nTheir only hope was the life-and-death battle between the Federal Academy and the White family that would take place within the next few days.

nFor a time, the citizens of the Holy City were divided into two camps. One camp was mainly constituted of the common citizens who supported the Federal Academy, whereas the other camp supported the White family, and was mainly composed of nobles.

n…

nAt this moment, a few people were sitting on stacks of books in the principal’s office while discussing tactics in handling the White family.

n“The battle will take place in the center of the Holy City, on the largest combat platform of the city! And the time is set at 7.30 in the evening tomorrow.” Diana adjusted her glasses and added, “The White family will send out Alva, Moto, and Secretary Mars.”

n“Old Man White isn’t going to fight?” Tristan asked, puzzled. After all, the White family’s honor was at stake, and thus, Tristan assumed that they would go all out.

n“There’s more than one declaration of war…” With that, Diana then brought out another declaration of war. “Old Man White has issued this declaration to Principal Hobrick alone. Their battle will take place in the Howling Valley.”

nHobrick commented, “I knew that old b*stard had other plans. That b*stard thinks he’s above everyone else, and as such, he doesn’t want anyone to interrupt his match…”

n“Then I’ll represent the academy together with Tristan and Jacques…” The principal’s assistant, John, suggested.

nThe other two did not object. They were in agreement with John’s suggestion.

nHowever, Hobrick did not seem to agree with the decision. Instead, he took a glance at Locke, who was flipping through a book by the bookshelf, and said to John, “No! Jacques doesn’t need to participate. We’ll have Locke participate instead.”

n“Principal, I know that you think highly of him, but you should know better of Alva and Mars’ strength! They’re both stage 3 silver-tier Beastmasters! Although Locke is in the Diamond Class, he’s still in the bronze-tier2!”

nJohn’s worry was not without reason. Although their levels were only a tier away from one another, based on his previous experience, the difference between silver-tier and bronze-tier was like heaven and earth.

nLocke did not insist. Instead, he curiously asked, “Why not let the students from the Divine Class participate?”

n“The Divine Class students have their own matters to attend to. They are still cultivating and we shouldn’t rush them.” Hobrick raised his eyebrows and said, “Kid, don’t you try to escape! This matter has been decided!”

nEveryone knew the old man’s personality and they did not bother to object.

n“Only the Diamond Class students are allowed to watch this battle. Jacques, you’re responsible for protecting their safety! Diana, you will stay and protect the campus!”

nOnce the arrangements have been made, everyone went back to make their preparations.

nLocke went to his parents’ place for lunch.

n“Child, the whole city is talking about the duel between your school and the White family tomorrow. It has nothing to do with you, right?” Locke’s mother asked while holding a bowl of soup in hand.

nLocke nodded slightly. “I will be participating in the duel. I have no choice. It was the principal’s request!”

n“Hah!? Will you be exposed to danger again? These nobles are not to be trifled with! They are all very strong!” His mother’s words became more and more worried.

nBig Beardy chimed in, “Are you for real! Weren’t the previous assailants plenty strong as well? In the end, our son had still taken care of them, no? Moreover, our child is participating under the principal’s request. The principal must be confident in Locke’s ability if he’s asking him to participate, right? In my opinion, you’re just needlessly worrying!”

n“The duel will take place soon. Don’t burden our son anymore than he currently is!”

nAlthough what Big Beardy said was very reasonable, the worry on his mother’s face did not diminish in the slightest.

nDuring lunch, Big Beardy constantly encouraged his son. He believed that Locke was not an ordinary person. He was a child that was blessed by the gods!

n“Son! Your mother and I have decided that we won’t go anywhere tomorrow, nor will we watch the battle live. With Instructor Diana’s Battle Beast around, our safety is ensured! So, feel free to go all out tomorrow! You have to bring glory to our family! Hahahaha… “…”

nLocke knew that while his father had always seemed careless on the surface, in truth, he was a very meticulous individual.

nEver since the kidnapping incident last time, they brought Instructor Diana’s owls with them everywhere, even when they were out to buy groceries. They had done so to prevent Locke from worrying.

nLocke looked at the adorable owl standing on the dining table. After feeding it a small piece of meat, he said, “Sorry for troubling you!”

nThe owl cooed twice in response.

n“Don’t worry, mom and dad. Those people are nothing in my eyes. In fact, I’d like them to be stronger. Otherwise, the fight would probably be pretty boring.”

nLocke was not speaking from arrogance. Although he was only a Beastmaster in the bronze-tier, he had the heaven-defying system assisting him.

nAs such, he had considered all Beastmasters that were below Stage 5 of the Silver-tier to be below him.

n“Good! You really have the temperament of the ancient heroes! As expected of my son!” With that, Big Beardy downed another cup of beer.

nAfter bidding farewell to his parents, Locke returned to his dorm. However, upon arrival, he noticed that his Diamond Class classmates were gathered around the entrance to his dorm.

n“Boss! You have to win tomorrow’s Battle!”

n“Unfortunately, we are too weak and can’t be of much help…”

n“We brought you a lot of support consumables. Replace your meals tomorrow with them. Trust me! They will be beneficial for you!”

n1 This is related to the final sentence of the previous paragraph. The author meant to say that “when everyone is a criminal, no one is a criminal”, and thus, the court should have sided with the citizens instead, as the citizens were “innocent” in that situation.

n2 I think the author retconned Locke’s levels.

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