Chapter 373: John and His Friends Are the Formal Backup Team for the International Competition

"I can tell, to some degree, that part of what you told me earlier was indeed true!"

After sending Ricky onto the stage, the general expectation among the audience was that the opposing team would surrender.

They had witnessed four consecutive, brutal defeats, and the psychological weight of those losses was visible on the faces of the backup team, leading to one forfeit.

It was clear now who was going to secure the Backup Team spot. And yet, out of everyone’s expectations, the five students appeared on the stage together for the team match.

Three of them were in a sorrowful state, wrapped in bandages or limping, having been hastily treated by the academy’s medical equipment and drugs.

The fifth student, who had withdrawn earlier to allow Ben to compete in his place, had returned as well. He claimed loudly that he hadn’t forfeited his spot but had merely gone to check on his wounded teammates in the infirmary.

He demanded to fight in his rightful position as part of the Backup Team. Ricky, standing alone in the centre of the arena with his black-and-red mask, had simply offered a casual shrug and agreed.

What followed next was a one-sided massacre.

Ricky was in a foul mood after his earlier opponent had denied him a fight. He decided to pay back the favour triple. The moment the match began, he unleashed his tentacles, opening the fight by using his second ability from the get-go.

He turned the arena into a playground of terror, leaving behind five devastated students. Not a single one of them was able to touch a single hair of his or even come within a meter of his body.

The fight was a spectacle that drove the audience to the very edge of their seats. Even though it was clearly brutal, as Ricky took his sweet time tormenting the five of them, not many sounded displeased by any of this.

He focused particularly on his two old friends, ensuring they felt every ounce of the gap that had grown between them over the past two years. In the end, the judging teacher had to intervene and stop the match when it turned from a one-sided battle into a display of torture.

It was an undisputed victory for John’s team. Amidst the stunned silence and cheers of the crowd, the Headmaster himself took the stage.

He announced with a booming, authoritative voice that John’s team would officially become the academy’s Backup Team for the upcoming international competition.

He summoned them to the stage to bow to the audience, a public coronation of sorts. They had to wait for half an hour for all the scattered members to gather and ascend the stage. The Headmaster then ordered the bald teacher to accompany them to his private administration building.

For the second time since their return, the five of them stood in the same hall, surrounded by the scent of old parchment and expensive incense.

The Headmaster sat in his high-backed chair, watching them intently. Yet this time, things were markedly different. It was a strictly private meeting; not a single teacher or assistant was permitted to attend.

Seeing this level of secrecy made John realise that the pleasantries were over. The Headmaster seemed tired of playing the cat-and-mouse game they had been engaged in all week. He had decided to confront them head-on and get to the bottom of the mystery.

"And yet," the Headmaster said, moving his eyes slowly among the five students and stopping over John for an uncomfortably long time, "I can tell you didn’t say the entire truth during our first meeting. So... How about we start on a clean slate? Why don’t you tell me everything in detail?"

John’s friends tried their best to control their emotions, but the subtle trembling of their hands and the tension in their shoulders were easily spotted by the veteran old man.

John cleared his throat, a gesture that served as a silent message for his friends to calm down. He stepped forward and met the Headmaster’s gaze.

"I know the Headmaster is a sharp person," John began, his voice steady. "And yet, we cannot tell you the entire truth at this moment. It is simply not possible..."

"Reason?" The Headmaster didn’t even wait for John to finish. His face remained a poker face.

"I have to tell you this: a common friend of ours highly recommended that I not push you over the edge today. Honestly, I had planned to put you under the limelight and force you to explain your story to everyone.

And yet, that common friend advised me to do the opposite, to give you a cover story instead. And thanks to him, we are sitting here right now chatting in private instead of you facing great trouble out there from the Paragon representatives."

John’s earlier assumptions were confirmed. Nikolas had indeed intervened, pulling strings behind the scenes to protect his students. It was one of the undeniable perks of having Nikolas to their side.

The Headmaster clearly held Nikolas in high regard, trusting him enough to accept vague advice and suppress his own stubborn curiosity for the time being.

"I’m not saying we won’t tell the Headmaster about everything eventually," John replied. He wasn’t fazed by the Headmaster’s implied threat.

He knew that even if things headed in the most undesirable direction, he and his friends possessed the power and the Plan B to handle any situation. "It’s all about the right timing."

"Isn’t now the right timing?" The Headmaster raised one eyebrow, sounding genuinely surprised by John’s unflinching attitude. He felt that by extending a bridge of peace and protection toward the kids, they should have cherished it and responded with full transparency.

"Right now? No, not at all," John replied, firmly nodding. He even allowed a look of genuine surprise to cross his own face, mirroring the old man.

"I need the Headmaster to believe that we are doing something that will eventually bring great glory to the academy and the Military Department. However, one single mistake, one wrong person hearing about the true nature of what we are doing, and all the gates of hell will open upon this entire institution. I am protecting you as much as I am protecting us."