18~ On the Damage a Big Competition Can Do to Kids
Aistride’s Divine Authority, [Chosen of the Moon], was something Karin had heard rumors about. According to some reports, this Divine Authority was quite peculiar—its power grows stronger the more constellations it contains.
Just now, the invocation of that Silver-moon Weaving Bow cost her three constellations, leaving only four, proving that her strength had already fallen by nearly half.
Maybe the first two rounds were intense, but the victory in this round could only go to her.
Dealing with an entity that drains its full strength for high combat power, you just need to ride out her burst phase, and the victory would naturally belong to you!
However…
This thought didn’t even last a minute. When an enormous shadow engulfed Karin’s tiny figure, she realized just how utterly ridiculous her previous thought had been.
A towering tree crown emerged from the ground, a massive tree demon with a grotesque human face on its trunk breaking through the earth. You could see the dense and enormous crown of this tree demon even outside the arena.
Karin, baffled, looked up at the towering tree demon that leered down at her, then glanced at the spear in her hand—it looked like a tiny toothpick in comparison.
After all, she was still a warrior who had survived ordeals alongside her comrades, having endured battles against Demon Races near the edges of Ruglien. They had faced Orc clusters and still managed to retreat intact.
But not even a full-tribe raid of Green Orcs had been as intimidating as this situation.
A vast shadow fell, enveloping the entire competition ground. Leaves drifted gently, yet an icy chill rose from the soles of Karin’s feet, surging straight to her brain.
Maybe… she should just surrender.
Before Karin could react further, the canopy unleashed a cascade of leaves, like a torrential downpour, instantly swallowing Karin.
In a panic, Karin stretched her spear to try to block the assault by spinning it. But the leaves were far too numerous, far too dense—she had no time to dodge. Always some would breach her defensive net, nicking her Realm.
The damage from one or two leaves might not be lethal, but as her momentum declined, the spinning of her spear slowed down. More and more leaves managed to breach her defenses, the injuries to her Realm mounting, until ultimately affecting her physical form.
Looking over at Aistride who seemed unperturbed, calmly closing her eyes to pray, it was almost incomprehensible that controlling such a monstrous Tree Demon exhausted so little of her abilities, making Karin feel utterly hopeless.
As her stamina drained, Karin felt she couldn’t continue and decided to surrender.
Reasonably, this was the moment when the opponent should show some mercy and give her a chance to concede.
However, Aistride in the middle of her prayer, either deliberately or unintentionally, stood there with closed eyes, hands folded together. She looked like a saintly woman under the crescent moon, completely unfazed by her opponent’s plight or suffering, muttering something under her breath, a prayer to some unknown entity.
Eventually, the referee couldn’t take it anymore and announced the match result.
“The fourth match, won by Aistride of Brilliant Sun and Moon. The match is over!” According to the competition rules, the winner cannot continue to chase after the loser or face penalties.
Upon hearing this statement, Aistride’s calm eyes opened, and simultaneously, the enormous tree demon which had been bombarding with fruit and leaves stopped, emitting a sharp roar before its roots retreated back underground.
The referee’s lips twitched slightly. This elf girl clearly knew when her opponent was reaching their limit, ready to halt at the signal. However, she didn’t stop automatically, waiting until the referee announced the outcome for the attack to cease—Karin’s Realm had been nearly shredded into lingerie at this point. It was hard to believe it wasn’t intentional.
The match ended, and sharp, small leaf shards littered the ground. The monastery’s professional team hurried to carry off the injured. Before their stretcher even reached the spot, Karin trembled as she stood up, shaking her head.
“I’m fine. I’m fine.”
“You were strong, young one,” Karin smiled at Aistride, though Tillysha could detect how she was deliberately portraying herself as a senior giving the younger generation a chance to grow by losing intentionally.
Unfortunately…
Leaving aside how convincing this short-haired gal’s acting skills were, she really treated everyone present as fools and blind.
Stop pretending; everyone already saw how you were utterly trounced, unable to fight back. The Twilight Blaze’s reputation has already faced a beating. Why not just own up to it?
“It was an honor to face you.” Aistride gave a polite smile devoid of much emotion, bowed to Karin, stayed silent, and then turned to leave.
Seeing this, Karin mimicked her actions, turning back to walk to her teammates.
“Are you really okay?” Watching her shaky steps as she ascended the spectator seats, the monastery team doubted her condition.
Sure enough, she toppled backward upon the third step.
The Twilight Blaze team now reduced by one.
Displaying professionalism, a handsome deity from the monastery team instantly appeared and caught Karin before her head hit the step.
The medical team quickly carried Karin onto the stretcher and rushed her back to the monastery, where a nun accompanied her, hands folded in prayer as they ran.
The scene was truly a tad comical.
“Meow…I lost. I held everyone back again; the teacher is going to scold me!” Wenfu, with a big bow tied on her head, sat there sniffling pathetically on the seats.
By this time, Wenfu had already returned from the monastery. With the bandage shaped like a butterfly on her head, it turned out to merely be some scratches, not serious injuries.
“It was okay, you faced a non-spiritual Divine Authority,” Princess Filisia teased Wenfu by poking her on the nose.
“But… but…” She was the only one in this team who lost. Not just the judgment of her teammates, but how would others outside see her? Wenfu felt like sitting on pins and needles, as if every eye in the arena was upon her, whispering, muttering. She didn’t need to guess to know that most of the contents were likely criticizing her for being undeserving.
Thinking this, Wenfu clutched her head; she couldn’t tolerate such pressure due to her thin skin.
“Alright, don’t feel so upset. Here, have a piece of candy.” Tillysha petted Wenfu like a cat, extracting a delicately wrapped piece of candy from her bosom, her voice filled with the gentleness often reserved for children.
Yimi might not have been swayed by this, but Wenfu was. Tillysha’s cat-petting technique made her emit ‘purr purr’ sounds as she swallowed the peeled candy.
“Tillysha sister, isn’t your match next?” Wenfu’s improved mood allowed her to softly ask.
“Yeah, seems like it.” Glancing at the number 6 on her name tag, Tillysha didn’t seem overly concerned; at the moment, petting the cat seemed more important than the next opponent.
“Won’t you prepare a little?”
“Not a rush.”
“The next match, the last match of the morning, will be between Tillysha, the Ranger-class spirit of Brilliant Sun and Moon, and Lagger Bolton, the Knight-class spirit of the Twilight Blaze.” With the referee’s announcement, it was evident that many eyes had turned to Tillysha, focusing on this miraculous elf maiden.
“Ah, already starting?” Tillysha shook her hand regretfully before standing up.
“Are you really okay?” Wenfu asked weakly. “I hear that Lagel is the strongest spirit of the Twilight Blaze.”
At this moment, Aistride also stepped onto the spectator seats and looked at Tillysha.
“Don’t worry, little Wenfu. Tillysha won’t lose,” Filisia said with confidence, as if she believed Tillysha’s strength more than Tillysha herself did.
“Please, both contestants get ready, the match is about to begin!”
Looking down, Tillysha noticed her opponent was already in position.
The towering man, over two meters tall, had a chiseled face and a stern expression. Sensing Tillysha’s gaze, he briefly glanced at her, then returned to leaning on a spear as tall as himself, waiting quietly.
“That’s the strongest spirit of the Twilight Blaze, Lagel Boltn,” Filisia said. “Tillysha, don’t get careless. He is the eldest son of the current Grand Duke of the Empire, the future head of the Boltn family, and the key to the Twilight Blaze’s victory in the last Crown Cup.”
“Uh-huh, I know.”
“Did you notice, that man hasn’t shown any expression throughout the competition, not even a flicker of sadness or joy. As if all this is nothing to him.” Filisia remarked, glaring slightly at Lagel. This was the kingdom’s natural irritation with the empire.
“Did he?”
“Are you not even paying attention to who your opponent is?” Filisia was somewhat exasperated.
“Uh-huh, didn’t really pay attention.” Not only was she not paying attention, since entering the arena, Tillysha hadn’t even noticed where Twilight Blaze’s seats were. Not even a single glance.
Yes, she had noticed Twilight Blaze and Lagel from the start, but just after Lagel settled into his seat, he immediately fixed his eyes on her.
Is this the champion of Kerman this year? On a quick scan, she appeared to be nothing more than a beautiful elf.
Lagel was intrigued by what sort of reaction his opponent would give him, so he was quite taken aback when the opponent didn’t even glance at him.
This made him feel both shocked and belittled.
They say elves are aloof and arrogant—today proved that there’s no bias in that.
Not only did the silver-haired elf earlier defeat his teammate with her eyes closed all the way, this golden-haired wood elf was even more arrogant, not even glancing around to see who her teammates were or what her opponent looked like upon entering.
It was as if, to her, who the opponent was made no difference.
Too arrogant, extremely arrogant…
Exciting!
A fierce desire to conquer surged in Lagel’s heart. As a member of the noble families of the Empire, be it the present or the past, they harbored an extreme desire to conquer lands, which is why they always tried to get involved in everything, fearing to miss out.
For him, there was nothing more thrilling than conquering a proud elf who wouldn’t give him a second glance.
Even when preparing to go on stage, he was more interested in calming the demi-humans who had joined by clinging to his leg, rather than giving him even a moment of his attention.
Hah…
Whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore.
He will make the proud golden-haired elf pay for this.
Thinking this, Lagel opened his lion-like eyes at the sight of his rival and with a cold expression, carried a hint of hostility in his gaze.
As Tillysha walked onto the field facing Lagel, she was somewhat surprised and did not understand why, with no grudge between them, her opponent’s battle will was so intense.
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Boltn, please guide me.” Tillysha bowed gracefully, with a smile playing on her lips. “I am Tillysha, from the Elf Forest.”
“Son of the Grand Duke of the Empire, eldest son of the Boltn family, Lagel.” Lagel solemnly introduced himself, elbowing the ground powerfully causing his spear to rise dramatically, sending dirt flying everywhere.
“Elf Miss, I will show you no quarter, so please, take this seriously and prepare!”
Lagel emphasized every word.
“?” Tillysha tilted her head slightly, frowning slightly as she tried to comprehend where she wasn’t taking this seriously enough, or appearing disrespectful towards her opponent.
It was likely something Tillysha hadn’t realized herself. Since getting on the field, she hadn’t even summoned her Realm, still wearing her school uniform, standing there motionless, even as the opponent’s Realm and Divine Authority were already activated.
“Tsk tsk, two former Crown Cup champions are facing off.”
“Hard to tell now. Others are fine, but Lagel is the one who could take down a Red Orc one-on-one. With her fragile form, I doubt Tillysha will survive a single swing from him.” Observers compared their respective statures, and standing next to Lagel, the nearly two-meter-tall, bulky man, Tillysha looked incredibly miniature in comparison.
“Ha, that is a Red Orc killer. Not only a first-year, third years capable of single-handedly felling a Red Orc are still countable on one hand.”
“But still an admirable performance. Even if Tillysha doesn’t win against Lagel, at least she has won three matches already. Even losing twice still counts as Brilliant Sun and Moon’s victory.”
“For a first-year to have won against a second-year, regardless of how this last match goes, Twilight Blaze’s face has been thoroughly disgraced.”
At this point, everyone, including the Twilight Blaze members, thought the same thing: it was rock bottom, and there was no lower to go.
“Tillysha, allow me to give a word of advice, don’t be too arrogant; otherwise, I will crush you instantly.” Seeing that Tillysha still wasn’t planning to activate her Realm, Lagel’s face turned completely cold.
In his eyes, Tillysha had now entered the realms of idiocy.
“Thank you for the advice.” Tillysha considered it just part of the pre-match boasting and still did not intend to take any action, with a gentle smile that Lagel found deeply ironic.
Hah, hahaha…
No matter. Once the game starts, he’s not going to pull any punches.
He would beat this look-down-on-me elf until she couldn’t get back up!
“The last match of the morning—begin!”
Lagel, spear blazing with flames, leapt high into the air.
The crowd gasped.
This jump broke all records, leaving a radiant star trace in the air. Immediately after, a fiery meteor, blazing with destruction, descended, barreling directly towards Tillysha!
Even the Twilight Blaze members in the stands were stunned.
They didn’t expect their leader to pull out his big move right from the start.
Clearly, Lagel intended to give Tillysha a thorough lesson, giving no hold back.
This strike alone would turn this arena into molten lava!
The light became increasingly blinding, and many onlookers covered their eyes. A crushing divine force fell from the heavens, as if it was the gods’ judgement descending.
Just as everyone worried for Tillysha’s safety, a sound, not loud but sharp enough for everyone to hear, rang out.
“Slap!”
Tillysha, smiling all the while, nonchalantly delivered a smack—not too light, not too heavy—accurately slapping down Lagel who had been diving towards her.
Struck by the slap, Lagel flew backwards at a speed much faster than before, crashing hard into the wall of the spectator area.
Silence reigned in the arena…
