My Demonic Farm: A Progression Fantasy LitRPG

Julian swept his gaze across the anxious faces of the students. "How about we solve this like good buddies instead of going the hard way?" he suggested with a gleeful smile. His tone shifted to something more commanding as he continued, "I invite your beloved leader to submit the Sovereign Emblem to me like a good girl..."

At his remark, Violet couldn’t hold back her contempt. "If a monkey is daring enough, then come and take it.” Her challenge elicited light laughter from her fellow students in 1-A, breaking the tension momentarily.

“Ahh…” Julian’s face twisted with annoyance at the insult, but he soon fixed his composure. “If you wish to decline my polite request, so be it… Let’s wait for the sunset, and then I will gladly give you a lesson or two,” he replied smoothly, his tone still polite yet edged with superiority, as if he were addressing wayward juniors.

Felix's jaw clenched in anger at Julian’s arrogance. His left wrist began to glow as three brown rings materialized, signaling his readiness to confront the threat head-on. However, Violet quickly intervened, raising her hand. “Hold it,” she commanded sharply.

Felix turned to her, his expression one of puzzlement, but he halted as he saw the firm resolve in her eyes. She gestured for him and the others to follow her.

With a wary glance back at Prince Julian, who maintained a soft smile on his face, the students of 1-A followed Violet toward the seaside, putting distance between themselves and their adversaries.

Julian watched them from the edge of the forest, his eyes tracking Violet as she talked with her group. Elara, Garrick, Felix, and Lorian stood at the forefront, each nodding as they engaged in a hushed, intense discussion.

After about ten minutes, the group broke their huddle, their expressions transformed from uncertainty to resolute determination. They seemed unified, ready for whatever challenge lay ahead.

Violet cast a glance toward the horizon where the sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky with hues of orange and red. “It’s about time,” she murmured, signaling that the moment they had been planning for was near.

Lorian, Elara, and Violet positioned themselves towards the rear, alongside the elven healer, prepared to offer support and protection. Garrick, wielding a long spear, took the front line with five other students armed with swords and maces. The mages, including Felix, formed a group in the middle, spaced out to cover different angles of attack.

The tranquility of the evening was abruptly shattered when a fire bolt blazed through the dimming light, marking the onset of the final battle that would decide the victor of the expedition.

With swift reflexes, Garrick dodged the incoming fire by stepping to the side. Almost immediately, the battle escalated as spells crisscrossed the air between the two sides. The frontline combatants sheltered behind magically conjured Glacial Walls and earthen barriers, while the mages unleashed their powers.

Felix, focusing his energy, clasped his hands together and chanted, “Quicksand Pit.” The ground before his opponent shifted abruptly, transforming into a pit of quicksand right beneath them.

Unlike his previous failed attempt against Violet, this time his sandy trap opened wide, and his opponent was swiftly ensnared. Just as the enemy student struggled, Felix quickly cast another spell, “Granite Grasp.” The earth around the trapped student erupted, stone hands reaching up and securing the capture.

However, as he dealt with his opponent, another enemy mage sent a hurling Aero Blade toward Felix, forcing him to shift his focus and confront the new threat.

Despite successfully trapping his opponent, the relentless barrage of spells from the opposing side began to wear him down. It wasn’t just Felix feeling the strain; other students of Class 1-A also started to falter under the intense magical assault. Their formation wavered as some sustained injuries.

"We need to move into the forest!" Garrick shouted firmly over the chaos. "It’s too open here; they're using the trees as cover!" Realizing the tactical disadvantage of their current position on the beach, he began to usher the students toward the dense forest.

As they retreated into the forest, the true scale of their predicament became apparent. Hidden figures from Section B revealed themselves, launching a concentrated barrage of spells, while Prince Julian was nowhere to be seen.

The shift in terrain brought a grim realization for Class 1-A: the real battle had only just begun.

Felix, sensing the heightened danger, activated his Zephyr Speed, a spell that significantly enhanced his agility, allowing him to weave through the forest, dodging the relentless barrage of incoming attacks with ease.

Garrick, standing firm as the frontline defender, utilized his Icicle Bullet spell, firing sharp, ice-cold projectiles to counter the attackers. Between shots, he summoned Glacial Walls, erecting barriers of ice to block more aggressive spells. His spear wasn't just for show; he expertly parried attacks from those who dared to close the distance, their weapons clashing against his with a chilling sound.

Nearby, a group of elven girls huddled together, their hands moving in unison as they summoned vines and thorns from the ground. Their nature magic was potent, entangling and incapacitating several opponents who stumbled into the traps, the vines wrapping tightly around their limbs.

From the rear, an Inferno Wheel was hurled, sending waves of fire rolling towards the group of enemies. The sudden inferno created chaos, forcing them to scatter as the intense heat licked at their heels. Surprisingly, the fire didn’t affect the trees, as if they were protected by some hidden spell.

The 1-A team hastily regrouped under the dense canopy, where shadows and every rustle of the leaves seemed like an ambush. Despite their natural cover, the enemy’s spells occasionally found their marks, forcing the students to not take a break.

Dodging an ice shard that whistled past his ear, Felix called out, "They've got us cornered!" He retaliated with a burst of his Stone Bullet spell, sending a spray of jagged stones hurtling towards a dwarf.

Elara, who had remained near the rear with Lorian and Violet, made a shocking revelation. "This isn't just Section B," she announced in a grave voice. "All three sections have combined forces against us. They didn’t disappear from their home territory; they’ve actually joined to take us down!"

Violet conjured another Infernal Wheel around her palm. "Keep close! Protect our King at all costs!" she commanded, her eyes darting around, continuously scanning for the next threat.

Amid the chaos, the elven healer moved gracefully from one injured student to another, her left wrist glowing with three green rings. Each spell she cast knitted wounds and provided brief relief from the pain. Despite the odds, her healing touch offered a glimmer of hope, bolstering their spirits to fight on.

In the midst of the ongoing chaos, Garrick’s spear movements were relentless, parrying a blow one moment and thrusting defensively the next. “Use the trees!” he shouted above the din of battle. “Use the uneven terrain and dense foliage to your advantage!” His words encouraged the students to leverage their environment, transforming the forest into a tactical asset in their desperate bid for winning.

Suddenly, Felix reemerged near Violet, Lorian, and Elara, limping from a fresh gash on his leg. Panting with exertion, he reported, “We couldn’t find their kings. It’s likely they’ve left them back at their territory. We're outflanked and outnumbered!” Felix sighed heavily, leaning against a tree for support.

“Now, we are doomed,” his declaration seemed to resonate ominously through the trees.

However, Violet shook her head fiercely. “No, we regroup and think this through,” she countered sternly. “They expect us to panic. We need a plan, not despair.”

Her words seemed to fortify the group’s resolve. As they tightened their formation, the forest became alive with the symphony of ongoing battle. Spells continued to fly—arcs of Aero blades slicing through the underbrush, shards of ice injuring the enemy group, and the earth shifting underfoot as Felix marshaled his remaining strength.

As night deepened, the forest transformed into a labyrinth of shadows and fleeting light. The battleground was charged with a flurry of spells and counterspells.

From time to time, a dimensional tear appeared, sucking in students from both sides as they were losing their blue ribbons to their competitors.

Section 1-A had successfully taken down seventeen students, losing only six on their side. However, just as Section 1-B began to falter, Prince Julian reappeared. He was standing beside the black-haired elven girl who was casting a healing spell on Felix. With a casual, almost friendly expression, Julian approached and pulled the blue ribbon from the elven girl’s hand.

The students of 1-A were dumbfounded as their only healer was sucked into the portal, instantly disqualified.

“Really unfortunate, isn’t it?” Julian remarked, his tone almost playful as he advanced towards Felix, who was still on the ground with blood seeping from his shoulder.

As Julian drew closer, a sudden glowing intensity of heat surged, and he instinctively dodged to the side. An inferno wheel passed mere inches from him.

Violet appeared beside Felix, already aiming her next spell at Julian, who now wore a deep frown on his forehead.

As Julian cautiously withdrew from Violet's immediate range, the figures that had been lurking in the shadows of the bushes and trees began to reveal themselves more openly. It became clear that Julian's side was bolstered by more than fifty students, a daunting number compared to Violet's group of twelve.

The overwhelming odds became painfully apparent; the enemy had cleverly concealed their numbers to avoid early detection by Class 1-A.

Seeing the demoralizing odds stacked against them, Elara whispered grimly, “Our only option is to escape from this battle, or else we will lose…”