Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 329: The Tri-Academy Exchange Arc (Part-21)

Standing there, Ragnor Blackstar’s gaze drifted past Raphael and landed on Zora. Whether Harold’s words were true or not no longer mattered. From the moment this exchange began, a grudge had already formed between him and Zora.

He had originally hoped to personally crush Zora in this round. Unfortunately, Cecily Blackstar had beaten him to it.

Now that his opponent was another student from the academy, he would first take some "interest" back from Raphael.

Feeling the provocative intent in Ragnor Blackstar’s eyes, a trace of worry surfaced in Zora’s gaze.

With Ragnor Blackstar’s narrow-minded nature, this match was unlikely to end cleanly.

"Begin!" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

With the referee’s signal, the battle erupted.

Ragnor Blackstar did not hesitate for even a moment. He charged forward, his aura exploding as the full power of a third-level Red Realm Spirit Warrior burst forth, pressing down on Raphael like a mountain.

The instant Raphael felt that overwhelming pressure, his expression tightened.

The gap between them was far too great. He doubted he could withstand more than a few direct exchanges.

Boom!

Raphael was struck squarely by Ragnor Blackstar’s palm. His face turned pale in an instant, but he gritted his teeth and remained standing.

Even if he was destined to lose, he would still fight with everything he had. At the very least, he wanted to prove that he had tried.

Yet what followed caused anger to surge in the eyes of Zora and the others.

On the martial platform, Ragnor Blackstar was clearly toying with Raphael.

He attacked repeatedly, inflicting pain and pressure with his palm strikes, but deliberately avoided delivering a decisive blow.

It was the posture of a cat tormenting a mouse.

To use Raphael as a plaything like this was nothing short of trampling on his dignity.

No matter how hard Raphael struggled, he could not land a single meaningful blow on Ragnor Blackstar.

His expression grew increasingly ugly. Even though he knew full well that Ragnor Blackstar was deliberately humiliating him, he had no way to stop it.

Because he could not bring himself to speak the words "I concede."

All around the arena, faces darkened. The academy’s students were filled with fury.

"Damn it! Ragnor Blackstar is a complete bastard!" Reesa seethed, her eyes blazing with rage. "This is going too far!"

"I really want to rush up there and tear that trash apart!" Baldwin fumed. This was not just an insult to Raphael’s strength, but a deliberate crushing of his dignity.

Worse still, such humiliation could very well shatter Raphael’s confidence and belief in his own path of cultivation.

Ragnor Blackstar was not merely trying to win. He was trying to break Raphael’s spirit.

Zora’s dark eyes darkened, her fists clenched tightly at her sides.

She had expected this match to be unpleasant from the moment Ragnor Blackstar stepped onto the stage. Even so, she had not imagined he would resort to such despicable methods.

This was no longer a contest. It was pure, shameless cruelty.

Meanwhile, a thick smile spread across Dravenor Blackstar’s face. He had long known that his second brother would never let Zora and the others off lightly, but he truly had not expected Ragnor Blackstar’s methods to be this... exquisite.

So exquisite that even he felt like applauding.

For people who thought they had a bit of talent and yet did not know their place, this was the most effective lesson. Not merely defeat, but humiliation. Only by being crushed in this way would they finally understand how vast the gap between them truly was.

Offending the royal family meant only one thing: a dead end.

Boom!

After playing with Raphael long enough to satisfy his boredom, Ragnor Blackstar finally struck decisively, blasting Raphael straight off the martial platform.

Raphael collapsed heavily onto the ground, clutching his chest. His face was deathly pale, sweat pouring down his forehead as he stared at the tall figure still standing proudly on the stage.

"Ragnor Blackstar... you’ve gone too far!"

Before stepping onto the platform, he had already prepared himself mentally for defeat. But this... this was far beyond anything he had imagined.

He had known the gap between himself and Ragnor Blackstar. Yet what Ragnor Blackstar had done was not a simple victory, but naked humiliation.

A deliberate trampling of his dignity, leaving him no room to retreat, no face to save.

Ragnor Blackstar curled his lips into a sneer. He did not care in the slightest about Raphael’s furious accusation. His gaze swept lazily over Raphael, filled with contempt.

"Trash doesn’t deserve dignity."

With those words, Ragnor Blackstar did not even spare Raphael another glance. He turned around and walked calmly back toward Thunderclap Academy’s side, as though everything that had just happened was beneath his notice.

Raphael’s face drained of all color.

Those words struck his heart like a hammer, leaving behind a hollow ache that was far more painful than his physical injuries.

Sebastian and Miel rushed forward at once, helping Raphael up from the ground.

Sebastian’s eyes burned with fury. Raphael had always been one of his proudest students. Given another two years, Raphael would undoubtedly grow into a formidable Spirit Warrior.

Yet this battle had nearly shattered his confidence.

As a tutor, how could he possibly endure that?

Gerrad’s eyes darkened as well, fury surging beneath his calm exterior. Hidden beneath his sleeves, his hands clenched tightly into fists.

This was no longer a competition.

It was an insult to one’s very character.

On the high platform, Cindral was also taken aback by what he had witnessed. But beneath his composed expression, a faint smile flickered in his eyes.

With this match, Ragnor Blackstar had clearly demonstrated the immense gap between Thunderclap Academy’s elite and the Spirit Warriors of the academy.

Malrick’s expression softened as well, a trace of satisfaction appearing on his face. After the embarrassment caused by Caius and Ophelia earlier, he had lost quite a bit of face. Now, seeing the academy suffer an even greater blow, his mood improved considerably.

A moment later, Cindral slowly turned around. The smile in his eyes faded, replaced by an expression of feigned apology.

"I truly apologize, Vice Principal Gerrad," he said calmly. "Ragnor Blackstar has always been like this. I hope you can be understanding."

Gerrad’s face remained expressionless, but everyone present could feel the chill in his mood.

"Principal Cindral," he replied coolly, "this is supposed to be an exchange between academies. Conduct like this goes far beyond what is appropriate."

The academy did not value results above all else, like Thunderclap Academy or Lunar Academy.

What they valued most were the Spirit Warriors themselves.

If Raphael were to lose faith in himself because of this match, then as vice principal, Gerrad would feel nothing but deep shame.

"Is that really so?" Cindral smiled faintly, a trace of regret appearing in his eyes. "This was merely an accident during a match. There was nothing wrong with Ragnor Blackstar’s methods. Besides, your student didn’t suffer any serious injuries."

As Cindral’s words fell, a chill flashed through Gerrad’s eyes.

He knew Cindral’s temperament all too well. This so-called apology was nothing more than a carefully wrapped pretense. Beneath the polite words was blatant indifference, even mockery.

Precisely because of this, Gerrad felt an even deeper disgust toward Cindral’s hypocritical smile.

"If Principal Cindral truly sees it that way," Gerrad said coldly, "then I have nothing more to say."

His tone was unmistakably hostile. Anyone in his position would feel the same. It was his student who had been humiliated, and he would never simply let the matter slide.

Seeing Gerrad’s sharp reaction, a trace of disdain surfaced in Cindral’s eyes, though his expression remained calm.

"Ragnor Blackstar has always been like this," Cindral replied lightly. "Geniuses tend to have a bit of personality. That’s understandable. If someone were capable of kicking Ragnor Blackstar off the stage, I wouldn’t have any objections either."

These words only further fueled Gerrad’s anger.

Cindral was not apologizing at all. He was openly flaunting Thunderclap Academy’s strength, making it clear that no one could defeat Ragnor Blackstar.

"Principal Cindral," Gerrad said slowly as he stood up, "There is no absolute talent in the world. And if a mere strength gives one arrogance and gives them the right to humiliate a weaker opponent, then they shouldn’t cry when they were at the receiving end. I hope you remember your own words now and not show hypocrisy later."

With that, Gerrad no longer spared Cindral another glance. He had no intention of sitting here any longer. Staying would only make him feel sick. He turned and walked straight toward the academy’s team.

Watching Gerrad leave, a strange light flickered in Cindral’s eyes before turning into a cold sneer.

"The Imperial academy’s temper has certainly grown," Cindral said mockingly. "I’m afraid they already know they’re bound to lose, so they can only use nonsense quotes to save their faces."

In his eyes, the Imperial Academy had been declining for years. Forget about its overbearing name of Imperial, its complete removal from the Holy Mystic Continent was only a matter of time. Yet even now, they still did not know their place.

"The Imperial academy might be dreaming of turning things around in this exchange," Malrick chuckled along. "But without real ability, dreams are all they have."

Cindral and Malrick exchanged a glance, both of them laughing softly. What they wanted was exactly this outcome, the academy being utterly crushed.

On the other side, Raphael was being supported by Sebastian and Miel. Yet his entire figure seemed drained of life. The once bright and spirited gaze in his eyes was now dull and hollow, filled with pain and desolation.