104~ Designated S Material
How in the world…?
Perceiving the vibrations resonating through her arm, Princess Filisia stared in astonishment at the golden-haired girl who was lifting her gaze and staring back with unblinking eyes.
Her emerald gem-like eyes were sharp and piercing, as if in the blink of an eye, the girl’s demeanor had undergone a drastic transformation.
What in the world is going on??
A flicker of confusion passed through Princess Filisia’s eyes. In the previous skirmish, Tillysha had exhibited no exceptional close combat skills; her handling of force and counter-force appeared extremely amateurish. She was rigidly adhering to prescribed moves without even fully memorizing them, and her understanding of swords was rather average.
Though not a complete novice, her techniques were indeed lacking sophistication.
This practiced technique of force dissipation and her mastery of swordsmanship were worlds apart from before.
Her greatsword had easily been counterbalanced, sliding off the Knight’s sword as if its surface were impossibly slippery, without any friction whatsoever.
Unable to control the force of her swing combined with the weight of her greatsword, Filisia lost her balance.
Once Yalin had discerned Tillysha’s realm, she erroneously presumed the bow to be Tillysha’s weak point. With the bow broken, Tillysha would presumably be rendered combat ineffective.
However, little did they know that the bow was actually Tillysha’s ‘seal.’
Upon the bow’s destruction, the “Sacred Tree Shelter’s” secondary effect was triggered.
All her archery expertise was completely transferred into unparalleled swordsmanship.
In evenly matched battles, even the smallest oversight is magnified infinitely.
Seeing Filisia stumble, Tillysha naturally didn’t hesitate to seize the opportunity. Her heavy knight’s sword thrust like a beam piercing the heavens, directly aiming at Filisia’s delicate neck.
In her panic, Filisia, unable to stabilize her footing, a sharp ringing sound reverberated as her weapon clashed.
The light sword did not only carry divine authority but also physical harm.
Nine-star divine resistance coupled with positional immunity to physical damage — it indeed seemed almost invincible.
However, Filisia’s weak physical resistance was undeniable. When an opening was presented and a retaliatory strike was landed, she was still injured. Moreover, Filisia’s frailty wasn’t limited to physical resistance alone.
With her neck pierced, Filisia’s token cracked with fine fractures, and the choking pain effectively informed her that her throat felt like fire.
Nevertheless, this still didn’t severely impede her movements.
In fact, after being wounded and tasting physical pain for the first time, Filisia grew more excited.
Her metal-heeled knight boots left a shallow crack on the ground as Filisia firmly grounded herself. Her greatsword was swung vigorously, its roaring winds kicking up dirt and gravel.
Although uncertain of the exact effect triggered by Tillysha, the prospect of facing a stronger adversary made Filisia only more thrilled.
A lost skirmish only made her attack fiercer.
But she overlooked one detail: combat is never just about direct blade exchanges.
Tillysha silently retrieved a bottle filled with pure white liquid from her waist, uncapped its needle, then tossed it backward.
“Click!”
“Ack!” Bathed in the blinding light, Filisia’s vision was entirely white-out. With her sight gone, one hand shielding her eyes, the other swinging the greatsword wildly, she missed everything.
Yet, Tillysha, with her back to the light, was affected far less.
Finally, these daily ‘junk’ from sign-ins and lottery draws proved to be useful.
Under the cover of the flashbang, Filisia was blind as a bat, even losing her sense of direction, unsure which side she was attacking.
“Click Click!” Suddenly, she felt like she struck something, but it wasn’t Tillysha…..
A crisp cracking sound was heard, not the sound of a token breaking but rather like glass shattering…..
“BOOM BOOM BOOM!!” The force of the alchemical flasks’ explosion threw Filisia off her feet.
“Ugh!” Filisia writhed on the ground like a beached fish for a moment before recovering her vision. Just as she managed to lift her greatsword, another flashbang struck her face.
Filisia’s combat discipline was indeed commendable. Knowing that flailing around while blinded was futile, she remained motionless, preserving herself from physical harm.
After the bow’s destruction, Tillysha, now skilled with blades, had no fear of Filisia even though it was partly due to Filisia’s underestimation.
Filisia no longer underestimated her. Close-quarters combat might no longer be advantageous to Tillysha. The risks weren’t equal either.
Tillysha’s strike might barely register on Filisia, but if Filisia’s greatsword landed on Tillysha… she’d probably be toast.
For now, the safest strategy was…
“Sorry, Filisia.” Tillysha clasped her hands together in prayer before throwing yet another flashbang towards Filisia, quickly turning away.
“Click!”
Filisia, who had just restored her sight, was blinded once again by white light.
“Ugh…..” Filisia was starting to feel like her retinas were on fire. Another glass-based explosive landed on her face, launching her into the air.
With one hand gripping a flashbang and the other holding an alchemical flask, Tillysha, removing the safety, tossed them all towards Filisia.
Alchemical reagents are costly, and among them, those that provided alchemical attacks were particularly expensive.
Tillysha’s second trump card consisted of these sign-in rewards, alchemical reagents she could squander as she pleased.
Filisia was utterly frustrated. She wanted to counterattack, but the blinding light made it impossible to open her eyes, and rushing forward would surely miss. Every time she tried to get up, another bombardment of alchemical reagents would fling her back down.
Frosted over, then blown back, and upon recovery, hit with another flashbang—this entirely despicable tactic of harassment even made Tillysha herself feel somewhat guilty.
But guilt aside, her hands didn’t stop for a moment.
Among the four types of resistances, Filisia’s only weakness was alchemical attacks. Magic could be countered by displacement, physical by stillness, but alchemical attacks were something she had to endure no matter what.
Being tossed around by alchemical bombs and constantly blinded, it would be safe to say that even Tillysha felt this method was a bit too dirty.
Miss Filisia was probably fuming right about now.
At this thought, Tillysha’s actions sped up; she was almost transforming into a thousand-armed Guanyin, throwing everything off her person.
“Hah, fascinating…” Filisia exhaled heavily, filled with excitement, saying, “I’m increasingly eager to see you suffer a pitiable and lonely defeat.”
“???”
Alright, she had underestimated her. Even though she wasn’t sure what Filisia was feeling now, it was evident that the princess wasn’t annoyed.
Initially, Tillysha thought Filisia was a somewhat unruly female knight, but it seemed now…
Princess Filisia’s impression had altered subtly in Tillysha’s eyes. Perhaps she didn’t have ulterior motives for Aistride, but she was undoubtedly a sadist.
