93~ Such thoughts are truly pathetic
“Tillysha, I think we don’t need to rush up the mountain. Let’s wait until the other teams encounter and fight each other, then we climb the mountain. This will weaken the other teams while we conserve our strength.”
“Hmm, Wenfu’s suggestion is quite good,” Tillysha’s voice carried a leisurely chuckle. “What’s good about it is that everyone else is thinking the same thing.”
Wenfu’s expression froze for a moment and her two cat ears shot up. “Tillysha, are you mocking me for oversimplifying the situation?”
“Not at all. I said this is what everyone is generally thinking. It’s normal for Wenfu to think this way. Avoiding avoidable battles and weakening other teams is a reasonable and correct approach. That’s why everyone shares this idea.”
“But thinking is one thing, doing it is another, because everyone’s thinking the same thing. Everyone hopes the other will fight first, so in the end, no one ends up fighting.”
“Of course, it’s not entirely like that.” Tillysha gazed toward the top of Desolate Mountain. “Miss Wenfu, have you noticed the previous broadcast?”
“The previous broadcast? Do you mean the broadcast about four teams being eliminated and six teams advancing?”
“No, I mean the broadcast before the Top Ten.” A gentle breeze rustled Tillysha’s willow-like hair, her light and ethereal voice causing a moment of trance.
“Before the Top Ten?” Wenfu shook her head, causing her tail to sway as well.
If she remembered correctly, before the Top Ten, she was either watching her teammates argue or running for her life after the team collapsed. She had no attention left for what the broadcast was saying.
“Last night, Team 45 had already settled on Desolate Mountain. The broadcast has been frequent, nearly half of the messages were about Team 45 killing or eliminating others.”
“Team 45…?” Hearing this number, Wenfu felt a sense of familiarity.
“Team 45 is the team that Aistride is on.”
“I see.” After Tillysha’s reminder, Wenfu also recalled the daughter of the Elf King who had reserved the Crown Cup championship, Aistride Aureneeman.
“She and her teammates have been entrenched at the summit, proudly declaring to all challengers below: We won’t hide, we’ll stand here and wait for your challenges. If you want the Crown Gem, come and try and see if you have what it takes.” Tillysha vividly recounted.
“……That’s awfully arrogant.” Wenfu couldn’t help but comment.
“What’s the harm? No one is a match for those elves. Those who challenged have undoubtedly been defeated, and they still stand firm.”
“Now, the most dangerous place isn’t the summit, but the waist and the mouth of the mountain.” Tillysha continued.
“Because the remaining people all know there’s a fierce tiger blocking the summit, and it likely won’t descend. Without a hundred percent surety, eliminating other teams and improving one’s ranking is the safest choice.”
“That’s true.” Wenfu agreed.
“But isn’t it rather pathetic this way?” Tillysha didn’t turn around, speaking word by word.
“Hmm? Why do you say that?” Wenfu was somewhat confused.
“Those who think this way have already carved into their marrow the thoughts of ‘Aistride is invincible’ and ‘we’ll be content with being second or third.’ Their thinking limits themselves, not believing they themselves can win the championship. They’re just chasing rankings, isn’t that pathetic?” Tillysha’s tone was very calm, with a kind of peace that could flatten the agitation in one’s heart.
“……” A flicker of change passed across Wenfu’s face.
In her view, there was nothing wrong with such thoughts. After all, she herself had somewhat similar thoughts, but what Tillysha said was also right.
The words of the Golden-haired Girl had a kind of infectious quality, the tone smooth and agreeable, like a spring breeze. They silently embedded themselves into others’ views, subtly changing other people’s ideas.
At the same time, it was probably a wrong perception, but Wenfu sensed a kind of intangible arrogance in Tillysha’s words.
This arrogance was entirely natural, not a rebound from excessive inferiority, nor deliberately performed.
Such pride was impossible to fake, perhaps even Tillysha herself hadn’t noticed. At this moment, her words had a rather dignified quality.
“Boom! Boom!” Just then, the mountain body exploded, countless small pebbles falling from the waist of the mountain.
Wenfu’s expression changed slightly while Tillysha calmly stood below watching the stones fall from above.
As Tillysha expected, the battle had started, and the battlefield was not at the summit, but halfway up the mountain.
The cold voice of the elimination announcement ended the dispute.
‘Team 81 eliminated, ranked sixth. Only five teams remain in the competition.’
‘Team 90 eliminated, ranked fifth. Only four teams remain in the competition.’
The strange thing was that this broadcast did not specify who had eliminated whom.
Wenfu immediately understood that because of the fairness at the finals with so few teams, during the Top Five or Six matches, only the eliminated teams would be announced, not who did the eliminating.
“Two teams, eliminated together??” Upon hearing the announcement, Wenfu was both delighted and astonished.
The delight was because she had successfully advanced to the Top Five, but she was also surprised by the information conveyed in the broadcast.
How did two teams get eliminated at once?
“They must have been fighting for a while on the mountain’s waist already, and the winner was just decided a moment ago.” Tillysha analyzed.
“Did they both perish together?”
“Not a mutual destruction. Besides the probability factor, if it were a mutual destruction, the broadcasts would have overlapped like last night.” Tillysha had intentionally paid attention last night; the broadcast voices could overlap, and teams eliminated simultaneously would have overlapping elimination announcements.
“If it’s not mutual destruction, then what?”
“It’s possible that these two teams were caught midway by a third party. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”
“But the possibility is low.” Tillysha added. “In the Top Ten finals, everyone’s thinking is to let the other teams consume each other, then they reap the benefits. It’s foolish… I mean, too impulsive to recklessly fight in the final showdown, the possibility is low.”
“That means it wasn’t reaping the benefits, but three teams collided in the waist of the mountain, and the other two were wiped out by one.”
“Another team then?” Because it wasn’t announced who eliminated whom, they don’t know which team among the survivors remained.
Tillysha didn’t know either, but she judged that the team capable of taking out two teams on its own is likely Princess Filisia’s team.
“Could it be Princess Filisia’s team?”
“Who knows? Maybe she’s already waiting for us halfway up the mountain.” Tillysha walked gracefully, stepping elegantly up the mountain path.
At this point, Tillysha had a rough idea of Filisia’s plan.
The White Princess probably wanted to clear all obstacles before quietly single dueling with Aistride.
