A makeshift white tent sat on a large open space, surrounded by other smaller tents, serving as the temporary headquarters of the Magic First High School.
Although various universities come to this place every year, the location seems fixed, but in fact, the venue for the Nine Schools Competition is not fixed. This is also the officers' area, so it is impossible to build any facilities for outsiders, not even those directly affiliated with the National Magic University.
Therefore, these temporary tents, which are easy to set up and dismantle and are inexpensive, have become the best choice for various universities.
The furnishings inside the tent were simple: a few tables and chairs pieced together to form a large, temporary work desk. Suzune Ichihara was constantly operating the computer in front of her, performing calculations.
"How's it going?"
Although Mayumi Saegusa spoke casually, as if everything was going according to plan, she was still somewhat uneasy without seeing concrete data.
"The women's team performance was as expected!"
Suzune Ichihara stopped what she was doing and looked at the spreadsheet on her computer. Every row of data told her that everything was going according to plan.
"You're making it sound like the men's team performance was unexpected!"
Chiba Yeyou looked at Suzune Ichihara, thinking that the results for the men's group should be out by now.
"Yes, it is a bit troublesome, but we can manage it."
Mentioning the men's group, not only Suzune Ichihara, but also Mari Watanabe and Mayumi Saegusa frowned.
"Still the same question?"
"That's right."
Upon hearing Chiba Yeyou's question, Mari Watanabe also sighed.
"It seems we have indeed neglected the training of maintenance engineers."
Mayumi Saegusa reflected from the side.
"This isn't a problem that can be solved overnight; let's take it slowly."
Hearing Chiba Yeyou's words of comfort, the others could only sigh.
Icicle Destruction Preliminary Round
The arena for Icicle Destruction is quite unique. The arena is a rectangular recessed area with two sets of square-shaped ice pillar matrices arranged near the two ends of the rectangle. The contestants stand at the two ends of the shorter side of the rectangle, and the ice pillar matrix they need to protect and the opponent needs to break is right in front of them.
The two sides engaged in a fierce magical contest using ice pillars as their medium. Because there were no restrictions on the level of magic, and both sides had to be mindful of the person they were protecting to prevent the other side from attacking their base, the contestants' attention was constantly being pulled apart. The tactical battles intertwined with magic were also quite exciting, making it one of the most exciting events in the entire Nine Schools Competition.
" Icicle Destruction, Girls' Second Match, First High School, Kanon Chiyoda."
As an announcement sounded, Kanon Chiyoda rose from the elevator platform to a height from which she could overlook the entire sunken arena.
" Ninth High School, Matoko Satonaka."
A girl appeared opposite Kanon Chiyoda, and was slowly lifted up by the elevator until she was at the same level as Kanon Chiyoda.
"Whoa!"
Wow, there are so many people!
Chiba Yeyou glanced around the entire venue. It wasn't exactly packed, but it was close enough, with people from various universities in attendance.
"Of course, this is a competition that can really showcase the true strength of college athletes. At least it's closer to their actual abilities. Since the different universities are rivals, and many of them have participated in several competitions, they naturally want to get firsthand information in order to find the athletes' weaknesses and make targeted adjustments."
Do you think everyone participates in just one project like you?
After finishing her Mayumi Saegusa Chiba Yeyou rolled her eyes at Chiba Yoru, clearly resentful that Chiba Yeyou had only participated in one event. After all, if Chiba Yeyou had participated in more events, their chances of winning would have been much higher.
"Ah, hahaha!"
"It's really lively here!"
Chiba Yeyou awkward laugh and promptly changed the subject.
"Here we go!"
As Chiba Yeyou finished Kanon, the two people standing in the arena began to emit a burst of blue light and a burst of yellow light. Then, as if they had agreed beforehand, they simultaneously waved their hands to release magic towards the ice pillar matrix in front of each other.
At this moment, both of them abandoned defense and chose a quick and decisive approach, wanting to crush their opponent swiftly and cleanly.
A cyan magic circle appeared beneath one of the ice pillars, and then, like a viral infection, it rapidly spread to the surrounding ice pillars.
" Minefield?"
"That's right. The long-range vibration magic of the vibration system can be said to be one of the Chiyoda Family's specialties, especially the vibration magic on the ground, which they are among the best."
As Mayumi Saegusa finished Kanon, jagged cracks appeared on each of the ice pillars.
"Boom!"
With a deafening roar, the massive ice pillar shattered and collapsed.
As if in response to the thunderous sound of the blade, the sounds of the massive ice pillar shattering and crashing to the ground continued to echo.
" Kanon Chiyoda- senpai's magic casting speed is clearly much faster than her opponent's. If this continues, that senior from Ninth High School will probably lose."
"It's time for a change."
As if hearing Chiba Yeyou's words, the Satonaka immediately changed his plan, manipulated the CAD software, and tried to switch from offense to defense. A yellow magic circle covered the ice pillar that had not yet shattered, reinforcing it.
Kanon Chiyoda seemed to have expected this, and a smile appeared on her lips.
It wasn't for any other reason, but rather because during their magical duel, he discovered that his opponent was weaker than him.
That makes things much easier!
As Kanon Chiyoda finished her movement, the blue light began to cover the yellow light, and the previously reinforced ice pillars began to show jagged cracks. The unstoppable spread of the cracks could no longer be halted.
"Boom!"
As the sound of icicle fragments hitting the ground rang out, the situation was no longer under control.
The opponent was clearly unwilling to lose the game so easily, and tried to stop the decline by switching tactics from defense to offense.
The idea is simple and feasible: if she destroys all the ice pillars on the other side before her, she can win the match. So all she needs to do is speed up.
"It's over!"
Chiba Yeyou knew the outcome by now.
Although her opponent was also quite fast at destroying ice pillars, Kanon Chiyoda gained an early advantage in the number of ice pillars she destroyed because she lost the initiative. In the subsequent pure speed of destruction, Kanon Chiyoda had an absolute advantage in the actual battle.
"Boom!"