"We are live at the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain Winter Festival competition. Currently, in the pre-match rankings, Edith Academy is leading with 39 points, significantly ahead of the rest, with other academies hovering around 32 points, a very close margin," the event host announced passionately, signaling the approach of the final stages of tonight's competition.
"It seems Saint Ingo is making a big move, as a student takes President Suochensi's sword and steps onto the field to accept the challenge."
As the host spoke, countless tiny butterflies flitted through the woods, magnifying the live scene in a three-dimensional holographic image above the venue for everyone to see directly.
"It looks like Saint Ingo Academy is ready to show its strength."
"Ahahaha, that's what you expect from Saint Ingo."
The atmosphere on the scene grew more animated, as most believed that Saint Ingo, just needing to get serious, would have no difficulty in reclaiming the first spot tonight.
Despite such impressions and expectations from the audience, the other academies on the field were not willing to give in so easily or relax. After a short period of quiet contemplation, a student from Lelysia Academy stepped onto the stage.
"Lelysia, sophomore, Giraldo."
A student taking measured, heavy steps came up to the stage, then removed the cloak that covered him, revealing a thick white armor trimmed with gold underneath.
The shoulders of the armor were made particularly large and sturdy, with the high collar encasing the neck like a city wall, while the shoulder guards resembled forts, and at the center, the head was covered by a helmet with only a T-shaped visor.
"This kind of excessively heavy style is our first sighting tonight," many spectators both in front of and behind the stage commented curiously.
"These days are not like the past; simply piling on armor and defense often just turns one into a punching bag," someone said, shaking their head in disapproval of the Lelysia Academy's choice.
"It's so heavy that he must be very slow, probably hard to even run, likely to just become a sitting duck."
While the spectators were discussing, the two on the stage had already begun their battle.
Though Yan Hu was not a speed-type competitor, faced with such a heavily armored opponent, his speed seemed much faster by comparison.
Holding his sword, Yan Hu flexed his neck and thighs, then swiftly moved to Giraldo's side, easily avoiding the front and attacking from the blind spot of his side with a ferocious slash.
"Clang—" A long and sonorous sound of impact rang from the armor.
Yan Hu's confident strike did not achieve the expected great result; other than leaving a scratch on the armor, there were no other signs of damage, after which Giraldo turned around, swinging a large square hammer towards Yan Hu.
One strike failing, Yan Hu dodged the heavy hammer, circled back around in direction and angle, this time attacking from directly behind. Instead of slashing, he used a direct stab, optimal for armor-breaking.
Thick magic power was abundantly channeled into the greatsword, complex patterns of magic power lit up, and the sword edge glowed incandescent as it pierced Giraldo's armor, emitting a hissing sound of searing heat.
Such an attack, bolstered by the greatsword's own enchantments and a copious burning of magic power, finally breached the defense of the heavy white armor. However, the sword did not penetrate without resistance, but rather slowly, like sinking into thick pitch.
This caused Yan Hu's attack to be incomplete when Giraldo had already turned around, with the heavy hammer coming down fiercely, slamming onto Yan Hu's shoulder.
A dull thud resounded; even though there was no spray of blood, Yan Hu's face momentarily paled, nearly losing his balance, having to free his arm and dodge the second hammer blow.
Extracting the burning hot greatsword from his body, Giraldo seemed to feel no pain at all as he placed the sword on the ground and stepped on it, once again facing the fleeing Yan Hu.
He did not pursue; knowing he couldn't catch up, he kept his eyes fixed on Yan Hu.
Lelysia Academy, previously ranked fifth, wasn't under much pressure to score, but the situation was different for Saint Ingo. Yan Hu was well aware of the determination and ideas expressed by the president before the match; he had to win this fight, or else it would not be so easy for Saint Ingo to turn the score around later.
Taking a deep breath, one hand on his shoulder, Yan Hu mended the internal injury from the blow he had just received, only reopening his eyes after half a minute.
'This is as much recovery as one can hope for on the field,' he thought to himself, then his gaze locked onto Giraldo again.
Logically, Giraldo's injuries should be far worse than his, but the opponent stood there, imposing as a mountain, showing no sign of weakness, leaving Yan Hu uncertain of the situation.
Perhaps that was the tenacity of the Radiant Feather Sequence, after all, it was a Transcendent Sequence known for guarding and healing.
Once he had limbered up again, Yan Hu charged forward, still making initial feints to avoid direct conflict with Giraldo. Then, he swung his palm and struck heavily on Giraldo's armor, taking advantage of the moment before the opponent could defend. He leapt back, avoiding an attack, then struck with his palm again.
This process repeated, and with each strike, louder quivering vibrations emanated from the armor, like a sequence of church bells tolling one after another.
Finally, on the thirty-seventh strike, Giraldo staggered, and shortly thereafter, dark red blood seeped from the gaps of his facial armor, before he collapsed.
"Phew, it's finally over," Yan Hu stated, relieved that it was done.
"Victory to Saint Ingo!" the referee declared, and Saint Ingo scored a point.
In the subsequent three matches, Yan Hu defeated the students from Crystal Lattice Academy, Swarm's Reign, and Thunder Edge in turn, and it came the time for Edith Academy.