“Enough fooling around?”
The dark youth gave a sidelong glance at Wenfu, who was trembling like a leaf, and swung the hook in his hand around incessantly, as if he had ADHD and couldn’t stop.
Judging from the loud whooshing sound he was deliberately making with the hook, it was clear he was trying to intimidate Wenfu, and the grin on his face grew wider and wider without restraint.
“Let the one-on-one match between first years and second years begin! The first match is between Wenfu of the first year Crown Team Brilliant Sun and Moon, and Kamo of the second year Crown Team Twilight Blaze.”
“The format is a one-on-one duel. Contestants’ divine women are allowed to use their Realms and Divine Authority. The match ends when either side is no longer able to fight, determining the winner. If a contestant feels they cannot continue, they can surrender in the middle of the match, and the victor must not continue their pursuit or they will face punishment.”
“You two, do you understand the rules?” This question was directed at both of them, but it was especially directed at Kamo. To put it bluntly, everyone had their thoughts regarding the match’s outcome.
You’re the champion of the Crown Cup, and so is the other party, especially since that individual is also a team that’s been promoted to second-year status after completing the ‘Demon World Challenge.’ It’s not an exaggeration to say that Twilight Blaze could take on an entire national army without falling behind.
Though the first-year students hoped for Wenfu’s victory and acknowledged the top-tier configuration and strength of Brilliant Sun and Moon, they had to admit that their chances of winning were slim.
“Of course, we’ve heard the rules, Referee Sir.”
“I-I understand, clearly.” Wenfu clutched her wooden stick with her tail swaying madly behind her, her uneasiness reaching its pinnacle.
“Young miss, don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.” Saying this, Kamo licked the hook in his hand with a grin. “You see, I’m quite the gentle type.”
“P-please go easy on me.” Wenfu replied stiffly, gritting her teeth.
With the referee’s commands and whistles, the match officially commenced.
Kamo wasted no time and charged forward with the hook, hearing the cheers from his teammates urging him on. His eyes were fixed on Wenfu like a starved wolf eyeing a plump prey.
“Little girl, you better be careful, because on my hook…”
“It’s coated with poison!” Without warning, Kamo released the hook he had been swinging. The hook ceased its circular motion and began moving in centrifugal motion.
This didn’t seem promising.
Tillysha used her Divine Analytical Technique on the field to check Kamo’s stats. She discovered that this shaman-class divine woman’s Divine Authority was called [Poison of Sorcery], which allowed her to apply toxins to any weapon. These toxins weren’t lethal but they slowed down reflexes, and attacks with Divine Authority would cause severe injuries.
This was a troublesome Divine Authority.
What’s worse, there was no limit to it. In other words, she could simultaneously enchant five, ten, or even more weapons with the Poison of Sorcery.
Based on this individual’s Divine Authority characteristics, even without teammates, she could still demonstrate considerable combat ability.
Comparing it to Wenfu’s Divine Authority that could amplify damage significantly, Wenfu herself lacked combat skills. Without teammates, she couldn’t even harness her strength to help others.
As the hook approached swiftly, Wenfu lost her composure. She closed her eyes and instinctively raised her wooden stick to block it.
There was a ‘click’ sound as the hook’s chain wrapped around the wooden stick.
Kamo grinned triumphantly and gave a strong tug. Wenfu’s wooden stick flew out of her hands and fell to the side.
Though the last-minute techniques she had learned could help with some situations, Wenfu’s opponent this time was not a regular opponent. Kamo was essentially like half a knight divine woman.
Without her weapon, Wenfu’s legs turned to jelly in fright. To her, whether she had a weapon or not made little difference, but having one in her hand gave her some semblance of security.
Now, even that basic sense of security was lost.
“Oops, oops.” Kamo wagged his head back and forth, striding toward Wenfu with a taunting demeanor and an utterly annoying face.
The Twilight Blaze team didn’t find it surprising when they saw their teammate easily secure the first victory. In their eyes, resolving the battle in under a minute was considered a normal performance. If it exceeded three minutes, it would have been embarrassing.
So before the match began, they had made a bet: whoever couldn’t defeat Brilliant Sun and Moon within five minutes would treat everyone to dinner.
It was clear that Twilight Blaze completely disregarded Brilliant Sun and Moon.
The Brilliant Sun and Moon team stared anxiously at Wenfu on the field, who was clearly at a disadvantage. Although losing to Twilight Blaze wasn’t out of the question, seeing the other side’s members so carefree and indifferent, showing no concern towards the match, successfully ignited the team’s competitive spirit.
Princess Filisia clenched her fists, ready for action. She had initially regarded this merely as an entertainment event, but now, she felt compelled to restore the team’s honor for Wenfu.
“Ah!” The hook struck close to Wenfu’s feet, causing her to squeal like a scared kitten and dash frantically around the field.
Kamo, of course, intentionally missed Wenfu. He wanted her to surrender, so he teased her—now and then grazing her Realm with his hook, or whipping beneath her foot with it.
Wenfu was utterly terrified. She had accumulated various scratches on her body, yet there was no sign of her giving up.
She had always been taken care of by everyone, lagging behind her entire team, but no one had ever blamed her.
Wenfu might not have said it aloud, but deep inside, she was stubborn.
She couldn’t surrender without a fight.
As the chase dragged on, Kamo grew somewhat impatient. Wenfu took advantage of his distraction, picking up her fallen stick and recalling a technique her professor Tillysha had taught her.
She tightly gripped the wooden stick and charged toward Kamo without retreating.
Kamo was shocked to see the demi-human girl, who had been running around defenselessly, suddenly dare to charge at him.
But he wasn’t worried at all. He pulled back his hook and hurled it toward Wenfu.
With the sound of the heavy hook rushing closer in her ears, Wenfu knew that without Aistride’s quick speed and jumping prowess, she had no choice but to endure this attack.
She hated the pain but feared even more to be seen as useless in her team. She wasn’t sure if being a burden to the group would still make her acceptable to everyone.
So, no matter how much it hurt, she had to endure it.
At the critical moment, Wenfu hurled her wooden stick, which gleamed with a pink glow.
It was Wenfu’s Divine Authority enhancement.
The next instant, Wenfu was struck by the hook and was hurled against the wall of the plaza.
Kamo didn’t fare well either. The chain couldn’t be retrieved, and the wooden stick suddenly hurtled toward him, rapidly enlarging in his vision until it crashed right into his face at close range.
“Ouch!” Kamo staggered back several steps, covering his face. Even with his Realm, the impact had genuinely been painful.
“Victor chosen, Kamo of Twilight Blaze.” The referee declared the result.
Watching Wenfu being carried off by the paramedics, Kamo pouted.
Why go all out when a simple surrender would have worked? Why choose such a lose-lose situation?
After all, the first years were bound to lose to the second years, just like when they were rookies and got their butts handed to them by the second-year teams.
The spectators from Twilight Blaze didn’t cheer much. Winning seemed mundane to them, though they were somewhat surprised by Wenfu’s final burst of resistance.
As Kamo was about to leave the field, he suddenly felt something was amiss. A chill ran down his spine.
Confused, he turned around to find the other side of the spectator stands, where the four members of Brilliant Sun and Moon were staring at him with chilling expressions that exuded a peculiar serenity.
What was going on?
Kamo couldn’t articulate the feeling but it was distinctly uncomfortable. Why would these mere first-years give him such an unsettling sensation?
What he didn’t know was that the person he had fought was Brilliant Sun and Moon’s cherished member.
And now, the Brilliant Sun and Moon could only channel their frustration toward the next opponent since they couldn’t seek vengeance outright.
“The second match is between Filisia, the knight divine of Brilliant Sun and Moon, and Kater, the knight divine of Twilight Blaze.”
“Wenfu’s been taken to the infirmary,” Yimi said. “Nothing serious, thanks to her Realm.”
“Hmm.” Princess Filisia marched confidently onto the field, carrying her massive sword. “I’ll visit her after I’m done.”
The divine Kater was a handsome youth with brown hair. Seeing the lovely dual ponytail knight girl, he greeted her courteously with a bow.
“Long have I heard of the esteemed White Crystal Princess.”
“Hmm, pleasure to meet you.” Filisia’s greeting was curt, implying her reluctance to engage in unnecessary conversation.
Kater momentarily froze at her dismissive response, then realized that she didn’t care to chat, so he didn’t embarrass himself further and summoned his Realm.
His Realm was an animal-hide armor along with dual blades.
Tillysha studied his Divine Authority which she dubbed [Thousand Cuts and Ten Thousand Slashes]. Upon targeting an enemy, he would gain nearly tenfold speed on every action toward the target.
It sounded incredible but had one drawback.
As a knight divine, he had no Divine Authority on his attacks.
Princess Filisia summoned her knightly armor and stood with her crown-heavy sword, her not-so-towering figure giving an imposing, mountain-like impression.
“Second match, Brilliant Sun and Moon vs Twilight Blaze, begins!”
With only Filisia as the foe, Kater’s Divine Authority could only lock on her.
As expected from his Divine Authority, he arrived before Filisia at lightning speed.
Filisia’s physical resilience might be high, but when it comes to one-on-one duels, his Divine Authority granted him the title of single combat champion.
No matter how high one’s physical resistance, relentless attacks like that could reduce it to ruins, much like the strongest fortresses always had a day of breaching.
As soon as the fight began, Kater’s eyes glowed with battle lust. His dual blades moved so fast they were mere afterimages, and within seconds he was hacking Filisia a dozen times.
A symphony of clanging swords and shields erupted. Sparks and golden flashes emanated from Filisia’s armor as they clashed.
Seeing her remain unfazed, Kater was not perturbed.
He knew Filisia was waiting for him to run out of stamina.
Unfortunately for him, his stamina, when powered up, was unlimited!
As soon as the fight began, Kater instantly transformed from a gentlemanly knight into a berserker, unleashing Thousand Cuts and Tens of Thousands of Slashes on Filisia.
In his perspective, Filisia’s calm demeanor was all for show—just psychological warfare to break his spirit.
With extensive battle experience, Kater wouldn’t fall for that. Even if each attack only caused minimal damage, he’d still grind Filisia down to nothing.
“Miss Filisia, don’t be stubborn if you can’t hold out!” Kater shouted boisterously with laughter.
However, the laughter was abruptly cut short.
For before he could finish laughing, Filisia had casually stretched out an elegant wrist, grabbing Kater. With divine strength, she lifted him off the ground like a feather.
“Huh??!” Kater’s legs dangled helplessly, unable to stop his slashing.
He couldn’t understand why, despite his dazzling attacks, Filisia could remain untouched and effortlessly snatch him up.
Not only him, but even the audience, including the members of Twilight Blaze, were perplexed. Tillysha smirked knowingly, while Yimi quietly cursed the fool.
“Still unable to detect?” The divine son of Twilight Blaze, a young man with a hat and gentleman’s cane, looked troubled at Filisia.
All his teammates had approached the match with a ‘fighting kindergarten kids’ mentality, yet only he noticed the severe problem.
Before the start of the match, he had attempted to detect Filisia and others like Tillysha.
To his astonishment, out of Brilliant Sun and Moon’s team, there were high as five individuals whose stats he couldn’t read.
Meaning, everyone except the cat remained inscrutable to him.
What kind of concept was this?
As a divine son, the hat-wearing young man had never witnessed such an unusual event. From that point on, he had realized this match might not be as easy as they had assumed, thus his face had been etched with worry while his teammates remained blissfully ignorant and merry.
And now, the turning point arrived.
In the next moment, Filisia heaved Kater into the ground, and with a crushing blow of her sword, it was as if she were trying to flatten him into the earth. Cracks like spider webs spread from the ground around Kater.
This scene chilled the hearts of the Twilight Blaze members.
“Are you done yet?” Filisia, word by word and from a height, gazed down at the unconscious Kater.
“Second round, the victor is Filisia of Brilliant Sun and Moon!” The unexpected occurrence momentarily stunned the referee before declaring the result.
The whole crowd buzzed with noise.
Second-year students who had imagined Filisia getting trampled by Twilight Blaze had frozen expressions, while the first-year students erupted in cheers.
Instead of Filisia being defeated, Kater, the famous knight divine of Twilight Blaze, was brutally knocked out and carted off in disgrace.
This match single-handedly boosted the morale of the first-year students.
As the professional infirmary team carried away the unconscious Kater from the monastery, the Twilight Blaze members finally realized things weren’t right. They exchanged glances and saw mutual bewilderment.
