95~Tillysha VS Princess Filisia
“Oh! It’s finally about to start?!” The camera pans over to the hillside where Filisia stands, with Tillysha walking toward her, and the atmosphere in the square bursts into an electrifying frenzy.
The audience, who were already eliminated from the competition, watch with more excitement than the participants themselves as they see the two radiant and beautiful girls on the screen.
However, not everyone is focused solely on the event.
“Apparently, you can’t hear any sounds from the images coming from the square.” Blake pats the shoulder of the person next to him. “Don’t worry, Old Bark, your name is only known to us two, besides that blondie.”
“……….Don’t call me Old Bark.” Barkley, cloaked and silent, shrugged off Blake’s hand.
But, as Blake had said, upon realizing his name wasn’t exposed to the public, Barkley breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hehe, I think we’ve worked together pretty well. How about it? Should we remain a team even after entering the academy?” The mage steps forward and smiles.
“Exactly, since we both know Old Bark’s name, it’s our responsibility to keep it to ourselves, right?” Blake laughs heartily and casually.
“Don’t say things that can be easily misunderstood, and stop calling me Old Bark!… And don’t say my name in front of strangers either.”
“Does that mean we aren’t strangers?” The mage chuckles. “Alright, got it. I believe our bond has improved significantly from when we first took part in the Crown Cup. At least we understand each other well now and don’t have any barriers.”
“True, at the beginning when we first teamed up, Old Bark wouldn’t say a word unless it was necessary. It made me think he had something against me.”
“Now we’ve figured out the reason, and our relationships have grown closer. That’s a good thing.”
“Don’t call me Old Bark!!!”
—
“Princess Tillysha, I believe?” Filisia places her hands on her gauntlets and smiles at Tillysha. “It’s quite a rare fate to meet you here.”
“Much obliged that Princess Zhesha remembers me.” Tillysha holds her bow, one foot slightly behind her, bowing courteously while staying vigilant.
“Allow me to avoid long introductions — I am the first princess of the White Glass Kingdom, Filisia Zhesha.” Filisia releases her sword hilt and performs a formal knightly bow.
“Please permit me to say this without any offense intended, but I have dreamt of this Crown Cup final for a long time. I’ve imagined countless battle strategies, tactics, and just how thrilling the fight would be. Of course, I also imagined who my opponents might be.”
“No matter how I thought about it, I never imagined I’d face you, Tillysha, an unexpected dark horse, before I even get to Aistride.”
Wenfu stands nearby enduring the pressure of being one of the top contenders for the crown, her hands tightly entwined as she nervously listens to the conversation.
She never dreamed she would have a chance to compete with Filisia, let alone Aistride.
She glanced up, seeing the Male Divine Child and the Priest-Goddess both watching her intently.
Everyone has found their battlefield.
Wenfu takes a deep breath and calms her nervous spirit.
Tillysha had worked hard to bring her into the top five. It was her turn to repay her.
If the competition ended at the top ten, her advancement to the top five was already a huge gain. Even if she lost this match, her ranking and reputation still made her a winner. She didn’t lose a thing.
After previous battles, Tillysha and Filisia had formed a basic level of trust. They wouldn’t worry about each other suddenly attacking without reason.
“I regret to say this, but as you can see, Tillysha, there’s only one path up this mountain,” Filisia lifts her massive broadsword that was planted in the ground, causing debris to scatter. “And there can be only one team ascending it.”
“The battles before you were utterly uninteresting……… But how much excitement can you bring me, Tillysha? I’m looking forward to it.” The twin amber-colored waterfall pigtails sway gracefully in the whipping wind as Filisia licks her lips, her knightly conduct intact but with hints of excitement in her jewel-like gaze.
Her domain armor, unable to completely cover her curvaceous figure, jiggles with the movement, causing onlookers to lose focus for a moment.
The fight initiates, but instead of charging forward, Filisia steps back several paces.
Tillysha looks into the knight princess’s eyes and understands her intention.
She and Wenfu are still on the sloping hillside, with a steep cliff behind them. Filisia and her team, however, are on the flat mid-mountain.
For Tillysha, this is clearly a disadvantageous position.
Filisia doesn’t want to take advantage of that disadvantage and is offering them a level place to fight. No wonder she’s renowned as the Knight Princess.
Tillysha’s impression of Filisia improves slightly. The rumors, it seemed, were somewhat exaggerated. Seeing was believing.
Once Tillysha steps onto the flat mid-mountain, Wenfu follows closely behind like a child unwilling to leave her mother’s care. The tension in this moment is inevitable.
Although the opposing team has lost one member, their core strength remains intact.
There’s the Male Divine Child, the priestess, and even the dedicated knight guarding them.
On their side, however, there’s a priestess without fighting capability, no knight, only an archer barely filling the knight’s role.
The situation is anything but optimistic…….
Tillysha keeps her focus on the trio across the field. The instant she notices the pale glow in the divine child’s eyes, Tillysha reacts instinctively, raising her longbow swiftly. A beam of light condenses on the string, and in a flash, a luminous arrow is fired.
Just as she predicted, at the moment the divine child used Divine Analysis on her, it was like being hit by a flashbang, forcing the divine child to look away. Unprepared, there was no time to avoid the arrow aimed at her delicate neck.
Tillysha had planned this tactic beforehand, knowing the divine child would try to use her Divine Analysis Technique on her. She cleverly used her inability to be detected as a flashbang, attacking instantly without giving the divine child time to dodge.
However, this team was clearly not one of the earlier mismatched groups in the competition. Tillysha had underestimated their coordination and reflexes.
“Ding!” Before the light arrow could pierce the divine child’s throat, the crown sword acts like a giant shield, deflecting the arrow as if it were a grain of sand hitting a rock.
Simultaneously, the divine child regains herself and hurriedly retreats behind Filisia, staying close to the priestess.
After that, Filisia’s gaze toward Tillysha changes, her initially surprised expression turning more and more intrigued.
Tillysha guesses that the divine child must have used Silent Whispering to inform the priestess and Filisia that her Divine Analysis Technique cannot detect Tillysha.
