"Now entering the arena is Sweitevi from Thunder Edge Academy!"
In the hall within the Ring Bird Wind Tower, the large projection screen displayed intense combat scenes. This was a match between Thunder Edge Academy's 'Swift Dragon Lance Cavalry' and Saint Ingo Academy's 'Caged Fairies' club.
The Winter Festival Tournament was not far off, and this was the last match between the top six academies, held on the dazzlingly lit racetrack.
"Who do you think will win, Hexia?" Mel asked, holding a kitten and sitting next to a table that had a heater underneath, emanating warmth.
"I don't know, I'm not very familiar with either side." Hexia sat at the table as well, in front of her was a small nest made of down where five chicks that had just grown their fluff were sleeping, nestled in the down. Meanwhile, an Indigo Snake coiled around the small nest, protecting these five little ones that had yet to open their eyes.
Beyond these two, the hall was filled with similarly rustic, thick wooden tables. Many students hadn't slept that night, gathering here to watch the match. Some tables were loaded with snacks, unfinished late-night meals, and resting animal companions by their owners' sides, presenting a harmonious scene.
The Ring Bird Wind Tower had a heat circulation system, so it wasn't very cold in winter. Still, some students preferred extra comfort and brought their own portable heaters, reportedly adding more atmosphere.
The screen at the front narrated the pre-match scene. Some listened intently, others glanced at their books when they could, and a few leaned on their fluffy animal friends, half asleep.
Due to time zone differences, it was still early night where the match in the South First District was taking place, but it was approaching 11 p.m. in the Northern First District.
Everyone spoke softly until the referee on the screen projection announced the start, and then the crowd quieted down a bit.
Clad in battle armor, three Thunder Edge Academy students charged towards the Saint Ingo Academy's position, leaving faint burnt marks on the ground, while Saint Ingo students took to the air in pairs, before jointly unleashing golden sword edges.
Such golden sword edges split gloriously like golden scissors cut in half, one for each person, its blade as sharp as a pointer, with alternating gold and silver hues.
When used in coordination, these Dual Swords could exhibit extreme sharpness and high-speed potential, possessing significant destructive power, capable of easily penetrating the shells of some mechas.
This magnificent and dangerous technique came from the famous 'Trimming Dual Sword Academy' in the Twin Trees Star Domain, a well-known university established by a human Sage at the end of the Third Era, who had deep ties with Elves. As a result, admissions have always been split evenly between humans and Elves.
In the past, only students of this school could learn such techniques. However, because 'Trimming Dual Sword Academy' maintained good relations with various Elven factions, some schools with close ties were granted some elementary inheritance. Saint Ingo's main campus in the Central Star Domain was also authorized to teach this skill to its students.
Sure enough, not long into the engagement, even though Thunder Edge students operated in groups of three, they were nearly defenseless against the Dual Swords' cutting, their weapons easily sheared off, defenses breached, and wounds inflicted.
In just one minute, a third of the Thunder Edge students were eliminated, and those remaining were in dire straits.
"Summon the thunder!"
Facing such a disadvantage, the leading young man roared, and a stout golden lightning bolt struck the center of the arena, charring the ground and producing white ash in some areas.
Standing in the center of the arena, the young man, once with black hair, was now entwined in electric light, his pupils glowing like incandescent plasma, and his short hair, turned snow-white, resembling the filament of a fully charged fluorescent bulb.
With this attack, many Saint Ingo students who were surrounding him were struck unconscious by the lightning, their bodies charred. The remaining were conscious but drained of much of their Magic Power from resisting the lightning, unable to continue fighting.
Clutching a thick incandescent spark, the 'Electric Eye' student surveyed around, flinging the incandescent light in his hand into a handy long spear before swinging it effortlessly and stunning two nearby Saint Ingo students into unconsciousness.
However, he faced more than just these two opponents; there were many more from Saint Ingo Academy.
After defeating most of Thunder Edge Academy's members, the remaining Saint Ingo students teamed up. They closely grouped in pairs, wings like firefly wings unfolding from their backs, then ascending into the air.
In flight, they continuously adjusted to the frequencies and rhythms of each other's Transcendent Cores, and when they reached a highly synchronized state, they were able to summon a pair of golden Dual Swords, each holding one.
With hilt connected and the circular Branding etched into the hilts aligned, Magic Power flowed. The two blades virtually merged into one before the pair split apart again, tracing beautiful intersecting arcs through the sky and diving towards the youth like a thunder deity on the ground.
Golden Sword, Silver Blade, the Dual Swords in the sky seemed magnetically linked, drawing each other and allowing the pair to change their flight paths in midair, making them harder to track. Despite Sweitevi's repeated throws of Lightning Thunderbolts, the hit rate was clearly not the same as before, with many dodged by the nimble flight maneuvers.
Another crossover, the sharp-edged silver Sword Edge tearing through the electrified body, drawing pale blue blood. This lightly electrically charged blood fell from the sky, staining the ground below. Gradually, the blue hue faded, and the blood returned to its normal blackish-red color.