The Golem Mage Chapter 1066: The First Three Final.

Even though Shinsei Academy knew precisely what the Ember Citadel Team intended, they struggled to keep them in check.

This stemmed from the team's willingness to risk everything for their captain, convinced that his presence in the fight boosted their odds of victory.

Regrettably, this choice left two teammates exposed: Shun's Black Iron War Spirit shield had vanished, leaving a spirit mage defenseless during the disconnection from their spirits.

For spirit mages, reconnecting with their Bounded Spirit required a brief delay, similar to a cooldown on a skill. Suijin fared better, managing to mitigate the rebound from his shattered barriers.

Currently, he darted about, desperately dodging assaults from the flaming lion and the flaming woodpecker, though his efforts weren't proving very effective.

Each peck from the woodpecker struck with the precision of a master swordsman's thrust.

Despite his retreats to maintain distance, it launched piercing attacks like sword beams, enveloped in fiery energy this time.

Beyond the woodpecker's threats, the flaming lion posed the biggest challenge; its claws periodically raked his flesh, yet it attacked sparingly, mostly playing around as the woodpecker assaulted.

This tactic not only distracted Suijin and broke his focus but also allowed it to exploit any openings that arose.

As Asha directed and synchronized her flame spirit beasts, Kwame, Olamide, and Obi faced off against Yurei and Kagekiri.

Although the Shinsei team excelled in group combats, they faltered against these three with exceptional coordination, quickly getting pushed out of the battle ring.

Soon, even Suijin couldn't endure; a perfectly timed, enormous paw swipe crashed into his back, flinging him out of the ring.

His removal left only Ren and Shun in the fight.

Right then, Ren finished summoning his spirit, which he'd been preparing for some time; Akagami appeared in a vortex of red light and fused with him immediately.

Next to him, Shun's cooldown finished, so he invoked his spirit again, but rather than the defensive Black Iron War Spirit shield, a massive obsidian spear materialized in his hand, signaling his readiness to battle alongside his captain.

The Ember Citadel team glanced at them and erupted in mocking laughter.

Though Ren had summoned his high-rank spirit successfully, it came at the price of losing three teammates, and the single companion remaining clearly couldn't halt the impending assault.

Babatunde acted first.

He surged ahead, his form bursting into fierce flames that scorched his garments and revealed his fiery totem tattoos, while his aura flared wildly, hovering near a breakthrough to low Tier 7.

In that moment, he embodied fire incarnate, his fiery sword chopping down at Ren.

Ren, now armored in ancient, scarred Japanese plating seemingly forged from pure Qi, countered with his own sword; the blade gleamed as Qi molded it into an elongated, shining katana.

Clang!

A single accurate blow from him parried Babatunde's sword and knocked his arm aside. Ren then flicked his wrist, thrusting the katana ahead until its point buried into the flesh mere inches under Babatunde's shoulder.

With a savage upward slice, he yanked the blade out, sending blood spraying across the ring. Before Babatunde could regain his footing, Ren pivoted gracefully and unleashed a rapid double kick into his torso, hurling him away.

Babatunde fell to one knee after absorbing the kick's force, agony twisting his features, but as he raised his head, his cocky grin remained firmly in place.

Only then did Ren grasp the reality.

He found himself encircled completely, yet fear didn't cross his expression.

He merely swept his katana through the air, casting off the blood in a red curve, then gradually returned it to its sheath and widened his stance into a steady position.

“You might not think too much of me, since a single peak Tier 6 mage would never amount to a Tier 7 mage, after all, the high rank is another stage entirely, but what about when you add four more peak Tier 6 mages into the fray?” Babatunde remarked as he rose again.

Flames erupted from the slash on his shoulder, sealing it closed—not fully mended, but crudely burned shut—and despite the intense pain, he held his smile without a single wince.

“Go!” With a forceful hand gesture ahead, the other four rushed at Hoshino Ren; in that instant, the audience beheld Hoshino's true prowess.

Facing four peak Tier 6 mages, he stood firm, sustaining minor gashes, but for each small injury he took, he ensured the Ember Citadel mages paid with a much graver wound; they aimed to damage him severely, knowing his strikes held Tier 7 power but his body remained at Tier 6.

Kwame suffered a cut so profound it almost detached his right arm at the shoulder, yet before Ren could complete it, Olamide stabbed with his shortsword from the flank, compelling Ren to halt and evade.

While dodging that thrust, it created an opening, and Dakarai Obi charged in, smashing his fist into Ren's face, enhanced by the gauntlet on his hand.

A loud blast echoed, but not from Ren's face—instead, from Obi's gauntlet, as its energy pulsed outward.

Obi continued the pressure, advancing with quick punches: a direct hit to the nose then a hook to the jaw's base, keeping Hoshino Ren defensive and blocking any solid response.

But following roughly ten rapid strikes, Ren regained control, parrying the next with his blade—switched to his left hand—and countering with a right palm thrust to Obi's chest, pushing him back.

Then, in a flash, he delivered two quick cuts in crossing paths, etching an X wound over Obi's chest after flipping the katana to his right hand.

Blood surged from the cuts.

Yet Ren pressed on without pause, sprinting beyond the reeling Obi—who coughed up blood—and swinging his sword at Asha's spirit lion; this fierce clash lasted more than five minutes.

In spite of their growing wounds, the Ember Citadel team attacked without mercy. Ultimately, a largely uninjured Babatunde faced a drained Ren, who had scant mana remaining to uphold his fusion with Akagami after overcoming the four mages.

That's when the true beating started. Babatunde tossed aside his greatsword, choosing to hammer Ren with his fists alone, aiming to thrash him senseless.

His approach echoed his comrades': swap blows for blows. Luckily for Babatunde, Ren was already severely battered from defeating the others, so he fell before his mana ran out completely.

Thus, Ember Citadel claimed victory, and the southern stands exploded in applause, with mages roaring in excitement as their kingdom's lone academy advanced at last.

Though Eastern Kingdom fans cried foul and cheating, Southern Kingdom backers argued they triumphed via smarter strategies and stamina.

And so, the initial three teams progressing to the following round were set:

School of Silent Night

Bloodline Academy

Ember Citadel

The following day brought the loser's bracket clashes to select the team joining the trio for the fourth position; this stood as the final loser's bracket bout permitting advancement, with subsequent losers competing only for third and fourth rankings.