Collapse, Cross-Dressing Strategy Kiana

"I understand. It's normal for her to be wary given her experiences.

"It must be that a super righteous, super cool girl like Kiana can easily gain her trust.

"Unlike me, I'm too weak."

Bai Yan feigned a sigh, but his peripheral vision was observing Kiana's reaction.

"It's okay, I'll talk to her properly. Mei isn't a bad person, she'll understand eventually."

"Kiana is the best."

"That's right!"

After a brief chat, Bai Yan hurried back to the spectator seats before the match began.

"What did Little Yan-jie go to do?" Bronya asked curiously upon seeing him return.

"I'm giving Kiana a little boost, we'll see how she does later."

Bronya blinked, a strange sense of anticipation welling up within her.

It wasn't exactly positive anticipation, of course.

Today, she had uncharacteristically abandoned her Mr. Ho-Ho-Ho plushie and was instead holding Bai Yan's arm.

Raiden Mei regretted not seeking out Kiana like Bai Yan had. Now, she could only secretly listen to the information Bai Yan had brought back.

A moment later, as the host Rita restored order, the match officially began.

Anna was the first to take the stage. Her opponent was a Valkyrie from the Far East Branch whom Bai Yan didn't recognize. Her overall strength was estimated to be around the median.

The outcome was never in doubt. Even though Anna was only mediocre among the examiners, she was like a descending god against the ordinary standards of the Far East Branch.

After all, she was a young member of the Saniate family.

The subsequent matches were arguably Theresa's most agonizing time.

They were seated in the VIP box. One fidgeted restlessly, while the other was at ease, as if they weren't watching the same event.

The Valkyries from the Far East Branch were defeated one after another. It wasn't until Fu Hua appeared that they managed to win a single match.

And Fu Hua's opponent was the unremarkable Anna.

"The Valkyries from St. Freya Academy are quite impressive," Otto commented, his expression unchanged. However, even Theresa couldn't convince herself that he meant it.

Theresa simply slumped in her seat, gazing at the sky, blocking out all the action on the stage.

"Let's see who's next... Ah, Kiana Kaslana is finally up," Otto muttered to himself.

Hearing this, she suddenly stood up.

Kiana had a chance. For some reason, her niece had suddenly become more diligent recently.

She had Bai Yan for cultural lessons and Fu Hua for combat training. While the improvement was limited, she was generally stronger than most people in the academy.

She's going to win this!

"Her opponent is... Oh, what a pity. It's Durandal."

Otto looked at the screen and voiced his regret.

"..."

Theresa slumped back down.

On the stage.

One in gold and one in white ascended the stage from opposite sides.

However, the moment they met each other's gaze, Durandal froze.

Kiana carried her lance onto the stage, a peculiar smile on her face, as if to say, "Surprised?"

Durandal turned her head towards Bai Yan's direction and saw him holding a tub of popcorn, sharing it with Bronya, both of them watching the stage with great interest.

"Are you Schicksal's strongest?"

Hearing Kiana speak, Durandal replied unhappily, "Call me whatever you want."

"Do you know Liu Ying Qi Wo Ba Shi Ba Xiao Yan?"

"Not very well."

"Hmph..."

Kiana tightened her grip, an inexplicable pressure rising within her.

As the referee announced the start of the match, this pressure reached its peak.

She was clearly full of openings, but why couldn't she bring herself to attack?

No matter, let's fight!

Kiana brandished her lance and executed a Salted Fish Lunge, combining a charge with a thrust.

Durandal tilted her head, as if witnessing a strange phenomenon, and casually parried with her weapon.

The white-haired girl was instantly knocked aside, but the momentum of her charge was difficult to stop, and she simply kept charging past.

However, just as Durandal turned around in confusion, a practice lance whistled through the air.

She instinctively dodged to the side, naturally evading the attack.

But the next moment, she realized what had happened.

"Is this the Turning Spear that Bai Yan taught me?"

Durandal's expression turned somewhat cold; Bai Yan had also taught her.

Essentially, it was a sycophantic strategist giving bad advice, but childhood habits carried over, and the logic of the move was sound, so it became her signature technique.

Kiana used twin pistols, but now she was fighting Durandal with a lance...

Durandal got serious.

She wielded her lance, easily blocking the continuous barrage of attacks.

Extreme speed and perfect coordination, no need for flashy moves, just pure, violent aesthetics.

The attack, a fusion of person and lance, was like a meteor—

Da da da...

The meteor came to an abrupt halt, and two unidentified flying objects, one on each side, spun while spewing ammunition.

Although the audience was protected by an energy barrier, they instinctively ducked to avoid it.

Durandal was dumbfounded.

What made her even more dumbfounded was that a third unidentified flying object followed closely behind.

The white-haired girl, crouched low, slid into position beside Durandal and threw a punch.

"I won!"

Kiana smiled.

On the rostrum, Theresa had suddenly become excited when Kiana threw her twin pistols.

She clenched her small fists, cheering Kiana on desperately in her heart.

At this moment, Kiana was only one punch away from victory!

One punch!

Even Otto's mouth was slightly agape, extremely surprised by this scene.

All the Valkyries watching the match held their breath.

Could it be that Lord Durandal was going to lose?!

Raiden Mei stood up directly, her anticipation evident.

Bronya's small mouth gaped, and the popcorn in her hand slipped from her fingertips.

Only Bai Yan, eating snacks as if nothing had happened, shook his head while eating.

"Showboating."

The golden phantom blurred for just an instant, its trajectory impossible to discern.

The two pistols flew through the air, not touching any enemies, gradually losing momentum, and silently falling.

Kiana's punch stopped in mid-air, victory snatched away at the last moment.

Her face was smashed by a fist, and she was sent flying instantly.

"Puk-ugh—"

Kiana flew backward, drawing a beautiful arc across the sky.

The crowd quickly made way, and the girl passed through the energy barrier, finally crashing onto the ground below, face-first.

Book 1: Chapter 33: Anti-Entropy Invasion? Are You Kidding Me!

Durandal looked at her fist, then at Kiana, who was getting up and rubbing her face with a grimace, and shook her head.

That was it?

Then her gaze shifted to the audience seats.

Bai Yan was no longer in his seat; he had gone to Kiana's side, carrying spray, ointment, and bandages.

Durandal frowned.

"Kiana, are you hurt?"

"I-I'm fine!"

Her face was swollen, and there was a mark on her forehead from her intimate encounter with the floor, bleeding slightly.

"Ooh, it hurts!"

"It's just a scrape. Let me disinfect it before applying the medicine."

Kiana flinched instinctively but soon quietly accepted the wound treatment.

Durandal shifted her gaze, strode off the stage, discarded her lance, and chugged a large bottle of sports drink.

After finishing one, she started another.

One bottle after another.

The Valkyries beside her whispered, "Does Durandal really like Super Sour Lemon Soda?"

"It replenishes excess Vitamin C, and the taste is slightly bitter..."

"This must be the strongest scientific nutrition! Quickly take notes!"

Durandal heard them, her face growing darker and darker, until she finally huffed and ran back to the lounge alone.

After Rita explained the battle situation, she announced the victor.

Theresa completely collapsed, staring blankly at the sky.

She could only pray that the other branches wouldn't perform too spectacularly.

Just as the competition was about to enter the latter half, the sky darkened slightly, as if the sunlight had been obscured by something.

Everyone looked up, only to find it was just a dark cloud.

However, the next moment.

Around the arena, outside everyone's line of sight, spatial distortions formed, encircling everyone from Schicksal.

Then, the areas of spatial distortion began to change.

Heavy mechs one after another were released from their quantum state, their dark muzzles coldly pointing into the arena.

Looking up, the mechs seemed like an ocean of metal, ready to engulf everyone in the next moment.

The crowd found their breath catching as they realized this sudden turn of events.

Everyone's eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the mechs surrounding them, unable to comprehend.