"Things aren't looking good..."
Watching Leonie being forced back step after step on the stage, the competition squad members of Sword Flower University looked grim.
They had never expected that Leonie, who was supposed to handle the Chief Bout, would already show signs of defeat in the Vice-Chief Bout.
Although the roster positions—Vanguard, Forward, Center, Vice-Chief, and Chief—could theoretically be arranged at will, conventional wisdom held that the stronger a combatant was, the later they were placed, with the strongest serving as the Chief.
If anyone tried to pull dirty tricks—such as playing the old game of matching their worst horse against the opponent's best and their best against the mediocre just to grind out an overall victory in an exhibition match—it might strictly follow the rules and avoid formal censure, but they could kiss any future intercollegiate exchanges goodbye. Friendly exhibitions were originally meant for universities to test the waters with each other's standout students; winning or losing had zero bearing on the official league standings. If a school insisted on pulling stunts in a match like this, no one would bother playing with them next time.
Anyone could play tricks, but nobody liked dealing with them all the time. Play petty mind games in a friendly exhibition, and don't blame the others when there is no friendship left.
This meant that Locus University's Vice-Chief could actually go toe-to-toe with Leonie—and even held the upper hand!
One had to remember: before recommending Sonia, Leonie had been Sword Flower's Chief for this class!
Locus's number two was on the verge of defeating Sword Flower's former number one!
What made it worse was that they had already lost the Vanguard Bout. Their Forward had been an eleventh-hour substitute and had also gone down. Only the Center Bout had brought them a single win. If the Vice-Chief Bout ended in defeat, the score would become 3–1; even if they won the Chief Bout, they would still lose the overall match.
Not to mention that the one handling the Chief Bout was Sonia. The thought of that plunged everyone into deeper despair.
True, the Red-Haired Sword Princess had risen to fame lately, becoming a household name across the campus, and she had even managed to duel Leonie to a draw. But the competition squad members had no faith in her actual capabilities. With both Leonie and Professor Trozan backing Sonia for Chief, the other members had no choice but to swallow their objections, rationalizing it to themselves as a tactic of "sending an inferior horse to challenge the superior horse."
Their skepticism was entirely warranted. Sonia had been a sorcerer for far too short a time and had fought far too few battles. Even if the Red-Haired Sword Princess had fought the Orange Dancer to a standstill, that was only because they were both sword sorcerers who knew each other inside out, giving her the advantage of familiarity.
In an away match, however, they had to face sorcerers from completely different factions with all manner of bizarre arts. In those situations, combat experience was vital. Leonie had competed in last year's Intercollegiate League and spent the past six months grinding monsters at high intensity in the Abyss; her battle instincts and adaptability were as sharp as could be.
By contrast, Sonia had only ever sparred with fellow sword sorcerers on campus. She had never competed in a league, nor had she ever stepped into the Abyss. Compared to the battle-hardened Leonie, she was practically an innocent schoolgirl who had never even seen an erotic novel.
Even if she ran into fights in the Void Realm, how much experience could that possibly give her?
Did she know how to clash with a spear sorcerer?
Was she familiar with the four tactical counters against fire sorcerers?
Did she know how to react when a wind sorcerer blew up her skirt?
Had she ever weathered a storm of trash talk in the arena?
Consequently, the squad was thoroughly pessimistic about Sonia's Chief Bout. They figured she was just here to soak up the atmosphere, and as for winning or losing—well, participating was what mattered.
If they had secured victories in the first four bouts, letting Sonia have her fun would have been fine. But now they were on the brink of going 3–1, and if the Chief Bout pushed it to a 4–1 thrashing, they could expect to be roasted alive on the university forums the second they got back.
"Phew."
The high-speed slash of 'Rhythm Melody''s Third Note was violently cut off. Leonie was blown back three meters, but she twirled gracefully in midair and tapped her toes lightly on the floor, coming to a steady halt.
"You've gotten quite a bit stronger, Skoll."
Standing before the orange-haired dancer was a dark-skinned man dual-wielding tonfas.
Clad in a combat outfit coated in sequins that accentuated his dark complexion, he was tall and lean. Gripping ebony tonfas carved with bird heads, he shifted his feet in tight, nimble steps that carried a fierce chill.
Skoll, Locus's Vice-Chief, majored in one of Locus University's primary disciplines: the tonfa faction. Born from the fist and claw faction while absorbing the essence of the sword and spear arts factions, this sorcery faction had only developed over the past two centuries. Its hallmarks were high speed, agility, and burst power.
Leonie had drawn some bad luck. Against a standard spear sorcerer, her high-speed movement with 'Rhythm Melody' would have been more than enough to seize the offensive initiative. Unfortunately, Skoll was also a high-agility combatant, capable of keeping up with her rhythm stride for stride.
"Likewise," Skoll replied with a faint smile. "I didn't expect that in just one year, you'd make such a name for yourself as the Orange Dancer. I didn't get the chance to face you in the arena back then, but now I finally do."
Both of them had participated in last year's Intercollegiate League, though they had only been supporting players at the time, sharing nothing more than a passing glance. Now, it was their turn to step into the limelight as the stars.
"Still, I assumed you'd be Sword Flower's Chief this year. I never expected to find you at Vice-Chief." Skoll glanced down at Sonia offstage. "Could your junior really be stronger than you?"
"Heh heh. She's a genuine monster."
"Then she's my next target. I hope she won't disappoint me."
"Don't be in such a rush."
Leonie drew a shortsword from her waist. "Checking out another pretty girl while on a date with a lady is strictly forbidden, you know."
"You'd better keep your eyes on me."
Skoll's expression turned slightly grave. "Dual blades? Could it be the Rhythm Sword Saint's...?"
"That's right, exactly what you're thinking!"
In an instant, Leonie vanished from sight. Skoll brought his tonfas together in a cross before his chest in a defensive guard, yet his shoulders hung loose and his knees bent slightly, his entire body appearing completely relaxed.
Miracle: Arm's-Reach Domain!
In this state, should any attack enter within an arm's reach of Skoll, he would immediately launch an automatic, high-speed counterattack. His agility, strength, reaction time, and perception were boosted across the board. Paired with the tonfa faction's high-burst destructive miracles, it allowed him to completely suppress Leonie's dance!
Even within the Silver tier, 'Arm's-Reach Domain' was a formidable High Radiant Silver miracle. Of course, its shortcoming was just as pronounced: against a sorcerer specializing in ranged attacks, the miracle was practically useless. Then again, if he were facing a ranged sorcerer, Skoll naturally had other counters to crack open their heads with his tonfas just the same.
The defensive capability of 'Arm's-Reach Domain' was beyond question. For instance, Skoll's best reaction record was knocking away five bullets in an instant. Within ten paces, not even a gun sorcerer could halt his advance!
And beyond ten paces, not even a gun sorcerer could halt his retreat.
Yet at this moment, Skoll looked dead serious, as if sensing something massive on the horizon. Leonie had vanished from the stage, leaving only occasional flashes of orange across the eye.
Her voice drifted across the platform: "Do you know what the most beautiful music in this world is?"
"It's silence."
*Clang!*
Suddenly, an ear-splitting screech reverberated through the Shining Locus Church, followed instantly by transient deafness. Like the most venomous, plump stinkbug, the piercing noise drilled frantically deep into everyone's cochlea, cutting off all external vibrations!
Silence descended!
Right then, Skoll whipped around and swung his tonfas, unleashing arcs of purple lightning that crashed down behind him toward Leonie like divine retribution!
Miracle: Purple Lightning Divine Cleave!
Yet when the tonfas swept through, they shattered nothing more than an afterimage lingering in his mind. The real Leonie had appeared at his flank.
Skoll stiffened for a fraction of a second, and in that moment, Leonie's long and short blades had already run through his chest. Still unsatisfied, the Orange Dancer swept his leg out from under him and pinned him to the stage with her swords!
"The winner... is decided!" The announcer, violently nauseated by the screeching noise, forced out the words to fulfill his duty: "Winner: Leonie Victor of Sword Flower University!"
By now, the others were gradually recovering their senses. The medical sorcerers, who had long been eager for hands-on clinical practice, rushed forward to treat Skoll.
In exhibition matches and official leagues, students were permitted to rely only on their own strength, forbidden from receiving protective miracles cast by their institutions.
When Sonia had sparred with Felix, she had worn the protective layer of an 'astral garment'—a campus perk reserved for top students. Such things were completely banned on an official tournament stage, unless the student had personally mastered the 'astral garment' miracle.
After all, if universities could stack armor onto their students, the Intercollegiate League would turn into an armor-stacking contest.
The lack of protective miracles naturally meant injuries and death could occur. Once a bout concluded with casualties, it was time for the medical sorcerers to scrub down the mess. The annual Intercollegiate League season served as a prime grinding period for medical sorcerers from all schools to rapidly level up their experience. They secretly wished the league bouts would be as brutal as possible—the ideal scenario being everyone turned into puddles of minced meat and hauled to the treatment rooms, an enormous bundle of experience points that had everyone drooling.
"Wait..."
Supported by the medical sorcerers, Skoll managed to sit up and raised a hand to call after Leonie. "The Rhythm Sword Saint's signature miracle, 'Silent Rhythm'—if I recall correctly, that's a High Radiant Gold miracle!"
"You're already... a Two-Winged Sorcerer?"
The miracle Leonie had just used to silence the entire venue was Professor Nidala's most terrifying—and most nauseating—technique: Silent Rhythm.
Her second blade, the shortsword, was not meant for dual-wielding combat, but served as a musical instrument. While moving at high speeds, Leonie had continually scraped her longsword against the shortsword, using a miracle to absorb every scrap of noise generated by the friction before releasing it all in a single burst. This created a wide-area sonic blast that temporarily deafened everyone, friend and foe alike!
As Leonie's target, Skoll had naturally borne the brunt of the sonic shockwave. His hearing had been obliterated almost instantly, leaving him able to hear only his own heartbeat.
Furthermore, the violent concussion severely impaired his vision. Although 'Arm's-Reach Domain' triggered an immediate high-speed counter, he could only see the afterimage Leonie had left behind; his dynamic vision failed to track the Orange Dancer striking from his flank!
If 'Rhythm Melody' was Nidala's standard offensive technique, then 'Silent Rhythm' was his lethal trump card. The wide-area sonic concussions, deafness, and visual impairment made Nidala one of the rare sword sorcerers who had no fear of being swarmed, allowing him to stand out among Two-Winged Sorcerers and rocket to prominence!
However, most of the core sorcery spirits required for 'Silent Rhythm' were of the Two Wings tier, with no One Wing substitutes. Thus, the minimum threshold to cast it was being a Two-Winged Sorcerer!
The spectators below were stunned; only the two faculty instructors looked unsurprised.
Leonie glanced back at Skoll and nodded. "A Silver Sorcerer? I stopped being one days ago."
Chapter 262