While eating pumpkin pie and pastries, Tilan and her friend listened to the loud arguments at the table next to them, going from initial surprise to shock and finally to adaptation, they could only marvel at the unique school culture of Tri-Phase Moon Academy.
"Shall we go have a look, Sister Dantalion?" Mel asked quietly at this time, her curiosity apparent.
"If you want to see, let's go have a look. I'm quite curious too." Tilan blinked her eyes, wanting to know how the witches at Tri-Phase Moon Academy fought.
In fact, not just them, but other students dining there were also quite fond of watching the excitement or driven by curiosity. After finishing their lunch, a crowd headed to the small woods not far from the restaurant, and quickly a contest and battle were about to begin.
"Are you ready? It's almost time."
Upon entering the field, the two sides did not start fighting immediately. One side climbed onto a five-meter-tall giant Mechanical Combat Puppet, adjusting its parts and master control system, while the other side held sticks to sketch an Array on the ground with well-practiced motions. After completing the drawing, they took out bottles and jars, sprinkling various powders and lighting candles in five different directions.
"The battles between the 'Puppeteer Faction' and the 'Ritual Faction' are this troublesome. If it were a witch from the 'Shape-Shifting Faction,' they would have attacked several times by now," a spectator commented.
"Haha, that's right. I remember one where a fourth-year witch turned into a dark moon raven at the start of a match, disappearing into the sky in an instant, and when she reappeared, one wing knockout out her opponent, not to mention her piercing special crow caw caused the other witch such a mental breakdown that she couldn't utter a single Cursing Chant and collapsed on the spot," another added.
"There are also those overwhelming matches, like when a fourth-year 'Shape-Shifting Faction' witch fought against a second-year 'Curse Speech Faction' witch. She simply sealed the opponent's mouth and nose, leaving them unable to breathe or speak, forcing them to admit defeat," one mentioned.
As a few spectators discussed, both sides in the arena were also getting ready, and soon both stood shaking, one side backed by a five-meter-tall giant metal Mechanical Combat Puppet resembling a large baby's head with a spider-like base below, its hooked claws edged with Sharp blades gleaming coldly.
Unlike the Autonomous Units outside, these kinds of Mechanical Combat Puppets were generally assembled by the students themselves, although the parts were ordered from the academy's workshop.
On the other side, the 'Ritual Faction' witch also raised her palms, and the Array beneath her shone with white light, revealing glints of Flash dust. Then, one by one, semi-transparent white arms emerged, snaking in between illusion and reality, cocooning the central witch in a protective circle, yet fully obeying her commands.
"Let the match begin!" the temporary referee announced, and both sides sprang into action in an instant.
The giant Mechanical Combat Puppet, seemingly heavy, contracted its limbs and suddenly leaped into the air, its massive frame rising like a dark Ying, then hurtling towards the opposing witch. The blades shimmered like a Chopping Knife falling from the sky, while the opponent's hundreds of pallid arms clenched into fists in a flash, punching out like cannonballs, the sound of breaking the air incessant.
"Has the show started?" While the two fiercely battled, three older witches emerged from the depths of the woods. They wore Robes and hoods that shielded their figures, hiding in the shadows, their gazes piercing through the duelists and settling on the girl with gray hair and black eyes standing amid the crowd.