107~ A Big Contribution
The sky began to brighten, morning dew nourished the earth, birds climbed to the branches, and the wilderness welcomed the sunlit second day.
A精灵 girl with moon-sheen silver hair stood quietly atop the mountain peak, her silvery lashes like butterfly wings, her beautiful eyes half-closed, seemingly meditating.
“Has Miss Tillysha arrived yet?” Little Litte, looking towards the mountain pass while fidgeting with her twin tails, appeared a tad impatient.
“Her Highness has almost fallen asleep waiting, and she still hasn’t arrived. She isn’t planning to wait until we’re all asleep so she can take us down one by one, is she?”
“Litte, patience,” Sea Elf Hanyuan’s voice was like a calm, unrippled wave, ethereal and serene, calming Litte’s agitation.
Today was the third day of the Crown Cup, the final showdown, naturally drawing many spectators, including quite a few older students.
Of course, among the crowd, one dazzling figure stood out.
Unlike her usual self, Princess Filisia, adorned with amber hair, showed up in formal academy girl’s school uniform.
A belt-style female academy uniform paired with a red-checkered pleated skirt, along with matching knee-high black stockings and student-style Mary Jane shoes, still featuring her signature twin tails.
The uniform was, naturally, an L size—not because Princess Filisia was tall, but rather, she was simply too large for an M size, which made her feel suffocated in the chest and uncomfortable.
Regarding Princess Filisia’s loss to Tillysha, she merely took some time to digest it at the beginning. Afterwards, she showed no negative emotions at all and, instead, was extraordinarily excited. From that moment on, another name was added to her attention notebook.
Today was the finals between the two people she cared most about, naturally necessitating her attendance.
On the projection, Aistride suddenly opened her amethyst eyes and looked towards the mountain pass.
“Princess?” Litte was puzzled.
“She’s arrived,” said Aistride succinctly.
The other three looked toward the mountain pass, and sure enough, just as Aistride had spoken, a radiant golden figure emerged.
The wind atop the mountain was strong, blowing up the blonde-white hair of the girl and fluttering the green haori draped over her clothing.
The instant she stepped atop the mountain, violet eyes met emerald ones along a single line.
Tillysha understood the meaning in Aistride’s gaze—four parts calm, four parts wistful, and two parts anticipation.
Wistful?………..
Tillysha didn’t understand why Aistride’s gaze held this emotional component. The elves were always punctual. Did she let them wait too long today? But they hadn’t set a specific meeting time yesterday… wasn’t it just the duel time?
“Finally, you’re here,” said Wood Elf Litte, picking up her sword and shield, the dazzling nectar-like items wobbling enticingly with her excited motions. “Miss Tillysha, our Lady Aistride has been waiting a long time.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Tillysha, back to her usual elegance, took a step back and respectfully bowed. “Miss Aistride, I thank you for your generous assistance yesterday, and for all your help during this time. I, and our Elf Prince, are indebted to you.”
“It’s nothing,” Aistride’s expression remained as calm as ever, but upon hearing the words ‘our Elf Prince,’ her expression changed slightly.
“Even with the most eliminations, not a single member of Aistride’s team has been lost,” Tillysha approved as she glanced at the three elf girls behind Aistride.
“Protecting allies is the responsibility of a divine maiden,” Aistride’s voice rang clear yet ethereal, though Tillysha could detect a subtle undertone of reproach in it.
Tillysha immediately understood.
Aistride was probably reproaching her for not protecting her teammates well enough, resulting in Dillin being eliminated in the first round.
But could she really blame herself? Besides, that was just a fake Dillin. Keeping him around would’ve been a burden—all the while the real Dillin stood right in front of her.
“I see,” Tillysha nodded, pretending not to catch Aistride’s implication.
“So, let’s do our best, shall we?” Tillysha smiled. “After all, neither of us will hand over victory easily, right?”
Upon hearing this, the other three elf girls all had differing expressions but, surprisingly, none spoke until Aistride drew her elven curved blade.
“It’s an honor to duel with you, Miss Tillysha,” Aistride gracefully bowed, placing the curved blade behind her and pressing a hand to her chest.
“And it’s an honor for me too, Miss Aistride. Please give it your all and hold nothing back,” Tillysha’s smile remained, though her gaze was locked steadfastly on Aistride.
It wasn’t arrogance but instinct—she knew in combat, she wouldn’t lose to Aistride, nor to anyone else.
As if carved into her very bones, this drive led her to participate in the Coleman Academy’s Crown Cup, advance through the ranks, and face Aistride in this final showdown.
Without a word, she nocked an arrow to her bowstring.
Tillysha raised her great bow, the Wings of Light extended with a grace that was calculated and deadly. Her aim targeted the throats of all four, angles deviously sharp.
“Enemy amassing power, prepare yourselves,” the Elf Prince calmly notified all teammates via soul communication, activating Divine Analysis Technique at a strategic moment.
“…” Upon activating Divine Analysis, the prince’s eyes revealed a flicker of surprise.
Name: TillyshaXXXX
Followed by a series of indecipherable random codes.
Domain: [XX Protector]
Domain Efficacy: Tillysha can only wield XX, and when she holds XX tools, she gains protection from the Domain—XXXXX, completely XXXXX…………
What was this?
For over ten years, the princess path had been smooth sailing. This bizarre code was something she’d never encountered—entirely unprecedented.
While most of her data was patched, this didn’t stop her from piecing together probable interpretations based on what she could see. However, it would take some time.
Her gaze then moved to Tillysha’s Divine Authority section, unsurprisingly still filled with random codes.
What was this??
[XXXXXXXXX]
[XX Heavenly Fragrance]
[Many x*x*x]
How could there be three?
Is this Divine Authority too special, or does she have three Divine Authorities?!
Compared to the excessive latter, the elf princess leaned towards the former, attributing this to the peculiarity of Tillysha’s domain.
The light arrows left the string, cutting through the air like piercing whispers, speeding toward the throats of the four.
“Here it comes!” Litte took the front position among them, and the arrows were magically re-directed toward her, colliding and being absorbed by her large shield.
Tillysha activated Divine Analysis on Litte, understanding the nature of her opponent’s ability.
Forcing all divine attacks within the vicinity to redirect towards herself was her Divine Authority effect, while absorbing smaller divine powers was the effect of her domain.
When her domain absorbed enough powers, she could release Divine Authority [Revival of Ten Thousand Trees].
A ‘taunt’ skill, huh? If small Divine powers were ineffective…
Tillysha gripped her arrow feathers, her golden wings closed for momentum. Accompanied by a resonating phoenix cry, an arrow trailing golden flames broke free.
Behind Litte, Aistride lightly swung her curved blade, and a crescent-shaped silver flame burst outward, colliding with Tillysha’s arrow. The shockwave splashed, but Tillysha managed a precarious escape up the rocky wall.
So, their strategy was like this? Litte absorbed all the divine powers coming her way, and Aistride, standing behind her, used silver fire for offense. It was like an impenetrable fortress.
If that’s the case, Tillysha would have no chance to counterattack—already at a significant disadvantage, being outnumbered four-to-one.
But…
Glancing at the effect of Litte’s [Revival of Ten Thousand Trees], Tillysha had a plan.
Perhaps she could gamble with it.
Tillysha shot another volley of arrows. Predictably, Litte absorbed them all with her shield.
“Hmph~” Litte rested her head on the shield and cutely stuck out her tongue at Tillysha, indicating that the opposing actions were entirely meaningless.
The prince had said this Tillysha was no simple human and shouldn’t be underestimated, but it seemed that human limits topped out at this level.
Despite knowing her attacks were ineffective, she still kept using divine power repeatedly, indicating incompetence.
With this in mind, Litte felt much more relaxed.
Once her powers were nearly absorbed, it would be her turn to shine!
“Bang! Bang!” Seizing Tillysha’s moment of stiffness, Aistride launched a sliver of flame.
Tillysha dodged to the side, only to still get grazed by silver flames on the arm.
Looking at her bow, it now bore distinct signs of scorch and decay.
“I roughly understand her domain,” the elf prince suddenly spoke, having deciphered some of the random codes, sharing her observations via soul connection.
Information relayed, defenses still intact.
Tillysha was somewhat surprised. She had expected her domain secrets to remain intact for longer but didn’t expect her opponent’s prince to figure it out so soon.
Moreover, crucially, the elf prince’s Divine Analysis had not been counteracted, confirming Tillysha’s suspicions—when Divine Analysis was of a high enough tier, even her own secrets might be revealed.
How much they’d deciphered remained uncertain from Tillysha’s perspective.
She realized her domain had been compromised from the glee of this indiscreet wood elf Litte.
Tillysha rose to her feet after being knocked down and continued to fire light arrows toward Litte. As expected, all attempts were easily deflected by Litte’s shield.
What was she doing?
Even the elf prince was puzzled. Tillysha’s behavior, as one of the top three students, was baffling. What could she be aiming for? What purpose did squandering divine power serve?
A wave of silver flames erupted, Tillysha barely evaded but was tossed to the ground by a shockwave.
“Great! Finally, it’s my turn!” Litte shouted, tired of playing second fiddle during the last match, slamming her sword into the ground.
[Revival of Ten Thousand Trees]
Energy coursed from Litte into the earth, a faint wave of green brushing over the desolate wilderness. Sprouts pierced through the dry ground, giving way to a sea of green.
As she moved, verdant growth spread beneath their feet, home-like winds brushing past their faces. The four elf girls brimmed with energy, almost reborn.
But…
It wasn’t just them who benefited.
Tillysha’s lips curled into a slight smile, her expectations proven right.
Litte, eager for attention, couldn’t help but unleash her Divine Ability as soon as she absorbed enough Divine Powers, fearing she’d lose her role in the spotlight.
From her perspective, there was nothing wrong with her actions. Even the prince in her team agreed since they were the only elves around.
Unfortunately…
A lush energy was infusing Tillysha, even more potent and concentrated on her than on the four others.
“Hah, I’ve done a great job!” Litte boasted, brandishing her sword with a glowing smile. To Tillysha, the smile was rather dim-witted.
Indeed, she had accomplished much, and Tillysha would give her due credit after the match.
Squatted on the ground, Tillysha’s fingertips flickered, silently cultivating a sprout.
“Useless!” Litte activated her Divine Ability, absorbing Tillysha’s attack. The next moment, her shield turned into fertile soil. Wild vines sprouted violently, instantly entangling Litte in her triumphant state.
“Ugh, what, what is this?!” Litte’s eyes widened, trying in vain to break free.
The principle of [Viridian Heavenly Fragrance] was extracting ‘nutrition’ from the host body, serving as fuel for its unbridled growth. This nutrition could be any form of energy, even bl**d or vitality.
Just as Tillysha suspected, the energy was the priority. And when the host body was rich in energy, the effect became terrifying.
The energy contained within Litte’s shield was drained completely by the sapling Tillysha shot out. Instead of absorbing, her shield had become the victim of the Viridian Heavenly Fragrance technique.
The sudden change stunned the other three.
“Pure water element, at my command!” Sea Elf Hanyuan waved her staff, a gentle water spell aimed at the vines encircling Litte. Instead of breaking, the vines grew wilder, wrapping Litte up several times tighter.
Seeing the situation, Aistride swung her silver blade to come to Litte’s aid, only to have three more saplings sh**t at her, the prince, and Hanyuan, forcing her to defend and slash them apart.
By now, Tillysha had already vanished from her initial position………
