17~ The Advantage is Mine!!
Where’s Kater?
I put such a big Kater right here?? How could he just vanish??
Upon seeing the competition results, the members of Twilight Blaze, who were lounging so lazily in their seats they were ready to play Gwent, lost all their earlier composure. Confusion and shock flashed across their faces.
Kater’s strength—having fought alongside him for years, they knew it better than anyone.
Back during the Demon Race trials, he served as the main vanguard, going toe-to-toe with a seasoned orc warrior. The moment Kater drew his blade, the orc was paralyzed and unable to move, his body trembling uncontrollably. With a barrage of slashes as fierce as a storm, the orc, renowned for his thick skin and resilience, was left unable to retaliate and was eventually slashed to d*ath.
Was this Princess Filisia stronger than an orc?? Just standing there while Kater hacked away at her for minutes, she didn’t take a single scratch??
The Twilight Blaze crew watched as Princess Filisia, chest held high, confidently walked off the arena floor. They scrutinized her every move, but found nary a sign of injury. She walked off just like she walked on—as if completely unscathed except for the gentle bounce of her bosom with each step…
The amber-haired knight maid’s twin tails swayed gracefully in the breeze as she calmly returned to her seat among the spectators, sitting down as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
Once the audience’s initial murmurs subsided, loud cheers erupted, calling out Princess Filisia’s name.
The gloomy cloud hanging over the freshmen dissipated almost entirely.
The sophomores, on the other hand, were all shell-shocked. In their estimation, even without the Crown Team stepping in, a random sophomore team could easily wipe out the freshmen’s Crown Team.
Had Twilight Blaze really crashed and burned?? And to be utterly flattened at that—it was downright embarrassing. No matter if it was due to Filisia’s absurd strength or some other reason, from here on out, that Kater fellow would probably be walking on eggshells.
Did they underestimate the quality of the freshmen Crown Team?
But this must be a fluke, right? Sophomores and freshmen—there’s such a wide gap between the two. There’s no way a team could bridge that gap.
As the students in attendance processed this, the third match began.
Compared to the first two matches, the third had a bit of a different flavor. The faculty, taking into account that Twilight Blaze had only one godchild, whereas Brilliant Sun and Moon had two—albeit one was a bit of a deadweight and the other a rookie with less-than-stellar entrance scores—proposed that Brilliant Sun and Moon could field both of their godchildren.
So that’s rookie godchild Yimi and deadweight godchild Dillin.
“Third match, the two godchildren from Brilliant Sun and Moon, Yimi and Dillin, versus Twilight Blaze’s godchild, Erian.”
After the referee announced the competitors, the spectator students blinked in confusion.
What? Two of them? Are these two joined at the hip or something, needing to work together?
And of course, there were those who recognized these names and joked that it was about to be a husband-wife duo going in, perhaps planning an early retirement together.
The hat-carrying member of Twilight Blaze adjusted his brim and strutted down with an air of superiority.
What looked to others like a surefire win was, on the inside, pure panic.
Before leaving, the team’s top knight goddess reassured him not to worry too much. Kater just lost due to carelessness, she said.
Carelessness my foot! He was demolished—don’t insult me like that!!
Erian was exasperated. His teammates still hadn’t figured things out, steadfastly believing Twilight Blaze’s overall strength far surpassed Brilliant Sun and Moon’s.
And there was one thing he hadn’t even mustered the courage to tell them—both of the godchildren opposing him…he couldn’t read them at all.
“Godchild of Twilight Blaze is in position. Brilliant Sun and Moon godchildren, please hurry up and take your positions. The match is about to start.” Seeing that Yimi and Erian were both present, but one was still absent, the referee frowned and urged them.
“No need to trouble yourself.” Yimi responded succinctly. “I alone will suffice.”
“Are you sure?” The referee looked taken aback upon hearing this. This was a privilege granted by the institution, and they were declining it?
Do they really think a freshman could easily defeat a sophomore??
“No.” Yimi shook her head. “This is not just my decision—it’s the decision of the entire team.”
With that simple statement, it wasn’t hard for the Twilight Blaze crew to pick up the air of defiance.
“I understand. Thus, godchild Dillin voluntarily forfeits. Third match: godchild Yimi against godchild Erian.”
“Match begins!”
Erian drew out the handle of his cane, which was really a disguised sharp rapier, used to deceive and stab at critical moments.
The match between these two godchildren was a battle of brains—an information war. Both godchildren used their Divine Analysis Techniques to analyze each other’s stats, trying to predict their opponent’s tactics and moves next.
This was a highly skilled task; it was the godchildren’s regular job—providing info, devising strategies, and feeding them back to teammates, serving as the brains of the team.
When brains clashed with brains, it became impossible for them to exchange blows like the godgoddesses, so the battle appeared dull from an outsider’s perspective—just after a period of standoff, a quick verdict was reached. Godchildren have no realms, after all.
Before the battle even began, Erian had come up with at least a dozen viable strategies, flexible enough to be swapped out between them. He figured this was a proper respect for his opponent—but reality quickly proved otherwise.
As Erian raised his eyes to meet Yimi’s, for an instant, he felt as if his brain had been pierced by a thousand needles. A fiery, stinging sensation burned through his nerves, nearly cutting him off right before he could activate his Divine Analysis Technique.
It was as if sharp needles had shot out of Yimi’s eyes, following her gaze straight into Erian’s.
When the pain lessened, Erian faintly heard someone calling his name.
“Erian, be careful!”
Realizing this was a warning after a second, Erian lifted his gaze to see that Yimi was already within five meters of him.
Hair standing on end, that’s when the term “sorcery” came to mind.
No way! Godchildren typically don’t get to select their main profession until sophomore year. How did this little golden-haired one evolve straight into a sorceress, skipping levels entirely??
Caught up in astonishment and panic, he made another error—looking directly into Yimi’s eyes again.
The excruciating pain came a second time, making even the act of lifting his eyelids feel hopeless.
Internally cursing, Erian realized he must distance himself from Yimi fast or he’d be cut down. Yet his nerves were numb from the pain, leaving his body unable to respond to his commands.
When he opened his eyes again, he found that he was unharmed, and there was nothing in his line of sight—he couldn’t see Yimi.
Just as he was perplexed, a frigid yet irritable voice chimed in, “Surrender soon, or you’ll get a nasty surprise.”
Huh??
As Erian’s gaze slowly descended, he saw the golden-haired girl before him now, dagger in hand.
That wasn’t even the worst part—the worst part was that her blade was within inches of his precious areas!
Cold sweat poured from his body. Seeing Yimi’s impatient look, it seemed she was ready to strike at his most critical part at any moment.
This couldn’t be happening! He wasn’t a godgoddess—no realm to protect himself with, for heaven’s sake! This was no laughing matter!
Not just Erian, but several male spectators in the field felt uneasy watching this.
Erian, with no other choice, tossed his cane and raised both hands.
“Third match, winner: Yimi of Brilliant Sun and Moon!” The referee had no choice but to announce the verdict.
The brevity of the game shocked not only the referee but also the entire audience.
With Erian’s defeat, the initially arrogant Twilight Blaze finally realized the severity of the problem.
Three matches in, they’d only won one, with two left to go.
“This……” Erian trudged back to the stands, the tall, short-haired knight goddess glanced at her teammates. Apart from Kater, who was sent to recover, the other three looked somewhat bewildered, including Kamo, who had just won.
“Fourth match—Knight-stage godgoddess Aistride of Brilliant Sun and Moon versus Knight goddess Karin of Twilight Blaze.”
“Relax, everyone, I’ll rectify this situation.” Karin reassured her teammates as usual. On the field, Yimi casually left with her book in hand. Upon observing her departure, the silver-haired elf maiden also arose and walked down the stage.
Aistride, huh.
Being a celebrity within the school, Karin had heard many tales about Aistride.
Not to mention her illustrious lineage, even the title of Millennium Silver Moon Princess alone was enough for Karin to recognize Aistride’s name.
Stepping down to the field, Aistride had already changed from her school attire to her realm ensemble: black stockings paired with crystal-silver toe-exposing heels, and a moonlight-woven, breezy, chic style dress that complemented her porcelain skin, making the pure white dress appear almost faded under her glow.
Taking Aistride’s visual impact in up close, Karin momentarily lost herself before quickly turning away, cheeks flushed.
Even Aistride’s charm wasn’t limited to men.
Aistride drew her exquisite silver elven crescent blade, briefly introduced herself out of courtesy, then closed her eyes, waiting calmly for the judge to announce the start of the match.
For some reason, merely looking at Aistride gave Karin immense psychological pressure.
This is cross-year combat, yet she seemed so relaxed, like she hadn’t even taken Karin seriously, even as the battle was about to start, she was still praying with her hands clasped.
Stay calm—I am a seasoned sophomore warrior; there’s no reason to fear a junior.
Karin retrieved the massive cross spear from her back.
That spear wasn’t her weapon but her divine artifact.
With a series of incantations, a custom-made red scarf armor enveloped Karin’s figure.
“The match begins!”
Karin’s eyes flickered, and her spear lunged forth. This cruciform spear extended indefinitely, reaching out in a straight line toward Aistride.
Tillysha used the Divine Analysis Technique to observe Karin’s divine artifact. The latter’s divine artifact allowed her to generate a cruciform spear that could extend infinitely, and this spear, no matter how long or heavy, felt weightless in Karin’s hands.
Most importantly, all damage caused by this spear was divine artifact damage.
A pretty flexible and potent divine artifact.
Karin wielded this cruciform spear with great vigor, moving it like a pillar holding up the sky, aiming straight toward Aistride’s chest.
Aistride remained calm as the mountain, deftly swinging her blade, the silver flames fueled by moonlight clashed with the spear tip, causing a tremendous surge of power that deflected the strike.
Karin didn’t panic. After the first miss, she gripped the spear tightly and swung it horizontally, the silver flames on the spear shaft swinging toward Aistride.
This would clear out an entire army in front of her, like a vast pillar sweeping through.
The sweeping slash affected the entire field, making it hard to dodge.
Aistride’s expression didn’t change; she softly chanted some incantation. Her heels rose slightly off the ground, enveloped in moonlight, becoming translucent.
The spear swept through empty air, leaving a deep groove in the walls of the field.
What is this??
Karin paused, staring at Aistride, who now held a silver moon-woven giant bow, having pulled the string like a harp string, producing a melodious sound.
Behind her, three constellations gathered into the bow’s sightline, and a silver comet-like arrow shot out, racing straight for Karin’s forehead.
Karin adjusted her position, trying to evade.
She didn’t expect Aistride to have an invincible skill, but this arrow’s speed seemed too slow to hit her!
However, things quickly turned complicated. No matter which way Karin dodged, the silver comet-like arrow with three star symbols was locked on her forehead, as if it had eyes.
What sorcery is this??
In a critical moment, Karin abandoned any further offensive moves and recalled her spear, aiming it at the silver comet in the sky.
As soon as it touched the comet, the spearhead and the shaft started to rot quickly—Karin’s spear broke into two pieces, and the comet arrow pierced straight into her forehead.
A burst of silver light illuminated the field. The ground’s sandy dirt was tinged with a layer of moonlight, its power stunning the spectators.
Some viewers were already worried about any accidental injuries from this match, and even the referee was getting uneasy.
The smoke slowly cleared, and Karin exemplified what it meant to be from a previous year’s Crown Team.
At the last second, she decisively used her arm to block the arrow heading for her vital spot, shattering the corresponding part of her divinity realm.
Karin remained calm, although she appeared battered now. The cost she paid was merely an arm, and for her divine artifact, that didn’t make a difference—it had little effect on her combat capabilities.
But it was different for Aistride.
Karin clearly saw the three stars coalescing into that bow in Aistride’s divine artifact form, and they hadn’t recovered since.
The constellations on her divine artifact had a limit and couldn’t regenerate in the short term.
Having clearly understood this, Karin became more confident.
What she didn’t know, however, was that with the decrease in the stars in Aistride’s possession, her powers would only grow more bizarre.
Realizing that the arrow couldn’t eliminate Karin, Aistride unleashed the accompanying effects of her remaining stars.
The field trembled, shaking violently, and a towering tree erupted from the ground.
