Fly naturally had no mercy for someone like Gareth.

  The sound of the sickle scraping against the ground gradually approached; to Gareth's ears, it sounded just like the death knell.

  Referee Carlos saw Fly's actions and instantly understood Fly's intentions.

  "Fly..."

  After a slight hesitation, Carlos couldn't help but speak up.

  He could understand Fly's feelings at this moment, but if a life were really lost on the stage, Fly's career as a Beast Warrior would likely suffer a huge blow.

  As the strongest freshman of Star City High, with an incomparably glorious martial path ahead of him, Carlos really couldn't bear to see Fly fall into prison because of a moment of anger. But as a referee, under the current circumstances, he couldn't actively stop the match. Until Gareth lost the ability to fight or surrendered voluntarily, he could only dissuade, not intervene.

  However, Fly paid no attention to Referee Carlos's dissuasion.

  The distance between him and Gareth shortened step by step.

  "No, don't come over..."

  Seeing Fly approaching step by step, Gareth's pupils trembled frantically. The Doppelg?nger clone possessed about eighty percent of the main body's strength. If Fly could instantly kill the clone, it proved that he could also instantly kill him.

  "F-Fly, do you know what you are doing?"

  "This is intentional homicide! This is intentional homicide!"

  Gareth yelled hysterically at Fly, hoping he would stop.

  But neither Carlos's persuasion nor Gareth's warnings and begging could change Fly's mind in the slightest.

  In an instant, Fly had arrived in front of Gareth and raised the sickle high.

  Gareth was so scared that he collapsed to the ground with a thump, instinctively raising his arms to protect his head, his mouth continuing to beg Fly for mercy.

  "Stop, Fly, stop quickly!"

  "I know I was wrong, Fly, I apologize to you, don't, ahhhh!"

  "I, I surren—"

  Gareth, whose spirit was close to collapse, suddenly realized that this was a competition arena. As long as he surrendered voluntarily, the match would end, and Referee Carlos would come over to protect him immediately.

  However, everything was too late. How could Fly give him the time to shout out the full surrender sentence?

  The black sickle slashed down abruptly.

  Gareth's screams echoed throughout the stadium. Some spectators even turned their heads away instinctively, unable to watch such a cruel scene.

  The sharp black sickle accurately sliced through Gareth's shoulder.

  In the next second...

  Crimson blood gushed out from the severed stump, like an unstoppable faucet.

  "Ahhhhh..."

  Gareth's face was ashen. Clutching his arm with his other hand, he writhed frantically on the ground like an earthworm under the scorching sun. He never dreamed that Fly, who looked so refined on the outside, could be so ruthless!

  When the black sickle slashed down, Gareth still held a sliver of fantasy in his heart. He fantasized that Fly was just scaring him, and as long as he admitted his mistake afterwards, Fly would magnanimously forgive him.

  Shouldn't a "righteous" person like Fly be like that? Despicable behavior should be the style of a "villain," while the righteous should have noble codes of conduct.

  But unexpectedly, this guy Fly actually had the heart to do it!

  Bean-sized beads of sweat mixed with tears rolled down Gareth's face continuously. He clutched the stump of his shoulder tightly, rolling around on the stage. Sweat, tears, and blood blended together on the floor; for a moment, it was hard to tell whether there was more sweat or more blood.

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  Soon, Gareth's body reached the limit of its endurance. His vision went black, and he passed out.

  "Medic, Medic!"

  Referee Carlos shouted hurriedly. He came to Fly's side, tightly grasped Fly's right wrist holding the sickle, and said, "Enough, Fly, that's it!"

  If it stopped here, it could still be said to be an act within the match. Even if someone wanted to pursue it later, with Star City High's background and influence, they could find a way to protect him. But if Fly continued to strike, it could no longer be explained simply as "match behavior," which would be very unfavorable for Fly's future.

  In fact, Fly wasn't blinded by anger.

  His initial purpose was to cripple Gareth, not to kill him.

  Hands could be said to be one of the most important body parts for a Beast Warrior. Once severed, even if reattached by medical means later, it was very likely that he wouldn't even be able to lift heavy objects. In this way, let alone martial cultivation, even his daily life would be affected.

  Most importantly...

  Faced with such a disgraceful defeat, Ironpeak Academy would certainly not provide resources to Gareth or nurture him carefully in the future.

  Although he didn't know Gideon King well, judging from his previous performance and Gareth's actions, Fly judged that Gideon King wouldn't be a good person. As the saying goes: Observing the behavior of those around a person can often deduce that person's character.

  Fly concluded that faced with the already crippled Gareth, Gideon King wouldn't provide him with any help. Gareth's career in Martial Studies could be said to end here. And his attack could also end here.

  Fly had been paying attention to every word of Gareth's before. He approached gradually just to make Gareth fall into endless fear. Fly wanted to toy with him, to make him suffer both physically and mentally.

  Death is not the most terrible thing; the process of waiting for death is. Just like riding a roller coaster, the most terrifying part is often not the moment of falling, but the slow ascent.

  But as soon as Gareth said any words related to surrender, Fly would act in advance, slashing off Gareth's arm before the sentence was finished. He indeed wanted to take revenge on Gareth, but he wouldn't sacrifice himself to do it.

  Thinking of this, Fly put away the sickle. The black sickle slowly drilled into Fly's forearm like wriggling bones.

  "The winner of this match is... Contestant Fly!" Referee Carlos grabbed Fly's wrist, raised his arm high, and announced loudly to the audience.

  Instantly, the whole arena boiled over. Thunderous applause rang out from the audience seats, and cheers rose one wave after another.

  The medical staff came to the stage, lifted the unconscious Gareth onto a stretcher, picked up Gareth's severed hand, and left in a hurry.

  "That was so satisfying!"

  Seeing Gareth end up like this, commentator Jude felt a burst of joy in his heart.

  "Yeah, as expected of Contestant Fly." Leah also fully agreed with Fly's behavior.

  In her opinion, a guy with such corrupt morals like Gareth was not qualified to be a Beast Warrior at all.

  If she were a teacher at Ironpeak Academy, she would definitely expel this guy!

  "Yeah, to be so unscrupulous just for victory, it's really too much! This is the Freshman Invitational, not an underground arena where we decide life and death."

  "I just hope students Genevieve and Jett can be safe and sound."

  Jude said.

  Meanwhile...

  Gideon King stood in the preparation tunnel, watching Gareth being carried past in a hurry by the medical staff.

  Looking at the unconscious Gareth, Gideon King frowned in disgust.

  Although this guy was indeed loyal enough and had cleared out Jett, 'Emperor' Valerius, and Genevieve for him, but...

  "Truly the disgrace of our Ironpeak Academy!" Gideon King said in a deep voice, his eyes full of contempt for Gareth.

  This scene made Skaar's expression on the side become a bit subtle.

  In his impression, Gideon King and Gareth had a very good relationship, always calling each other brothers.

  Even for daily cultivation resources, Gideon King always took first pick, and Gareth got the second turn.

  But the result...

  That look of contempt and disgust was as if Gareth were some kind of rat in the sewer.

  "Skaar, you have to compete well. Don't be like Gareth and lose face for our Ironpeak Academy!"

  Gideon King turned around, put on a smiling face, patted Skaar on the shoulder and said.

  "Uh... Y-Yes." Skaar sucked in a breath of cold air. He couldn't smile at all at this moment; his heart was filled with mixed flavors, feeling only that the pressure was as huge as a mountain. He subconsciously looked at Ironpeak Academy's team-leading teacher, Ms. Liana, hoping she could say something.

  "Sigh..." Ms. Liana sighed.

  This Freshman Invitational was a very critical competition for Ironpeak Academy, even related to the development of Ironpeak Academy in the next ten years.

  But now that things had turned out like this, she feared it wouldn't be easy to wrap up.

  "About Gareth..." Ms. Liana hesitated and asked Gideon King.

  Although she was the team-leading teacher of Ironpeak Academy, she was young after all, not much older than Gideon King. And since Gideon King was Vice-Principal King's precious son, it was inevitable that she had to discuss everything with Gideon King and be constrained by him in everything.

  "Expel him!" Gideon King said firmly. "The reputation of Ironpeak Academy is of utmost importance. I don't want people gossiping behind our backs."

  "After this Freshman Invitational, hold a press conference and announce in a high-profile manner that Gareth is expelled. Gareth's actions are his personal affairs and have nothing to do with Ironpeak Academy."

  After speaking, Gideon King walked slowly into the contestant rest area with his hands behind his back.

  Looking at Gideon King's back, Skaar's heart couldn't help but give a "thump."

  Not only because of the decision to expel Gareth, but also because he heard—he heard Gideon King's last words.

  "Just a pawn, after all. Once it falls off the board, it loses its value."

  This was what Gideon King said in an extremely low voice on the way back to the rest area. But Skaar was a Beast Warrior after all, with keen perception; at such a distance, he could still hear a bit of it.

  Skaar shook his head, daring not to think further.

  In the distance, Gareth was still lying on the stretcher, not waking up.