Travel: Qiongzhou Arc (11): Pool Party (Part 2)

It's exactly 4 PM.

The pool party was drawing to a close, and what followed was the BBQ buffet that the girls had been eagerly anticipating.

"Hmm... it feels like we've tried almost every water activity imaginable..." Xiao Ling mused.

"A-Yu, what are you thinking about?" Little Ai skipped over and patted Xiao Ling on the shoulder as he was deep in thought.

Xiao Ling snapped out of her reverie and turned to look. She saw that Aemeath's swimsuit straps had slipped down her shoulders to her arms, her hair was wet, and she was wrapped in a towel.

"Hmm? Ah, Little Ai." He pulled Aemeath's swimsuit straps back into place and then casually dried her wet hair with the towel on his hand. "I was thinking of some other water games that we could all participate in."

"That's a good question indeed..." Aemeath tapped her chin, starting to think along with Hajiling. "After all, it seems like we've tried everything we could..."

Just then, Lupa and Mia, who were in the pool, quickly pushed the floating platform past them.

!

"I've got a fun idea that everyone can participate in!" A brilliant idea popped into Xiao Ling's head.

"What? Tell me about it!" Aemeath looked excited and curious.

My thoughts are like this...

"I always feel like this game isn't very friendly to me. Is it just my imagination?" Carlotta stood at one end of the floating bridge, looking at the floating platform in the middle of the pool with a dark expression.

"According to the rules that the Righteous One just mentioned, height and strength are indeed factors that can influence the outcome of the game," Cartethyia indirectly confirmed Carlotta's statement.

This game is a replica of a variety show game segment that Xiao Ling had seen before. Four floating bridges connect to a central floating platform. Players start from the shore, cross the floating bridges, and then arrive at the floating platform to compete for the platform. The team that is left on the platform at the end wins the round.

As for how the four teams should arrange their attack order, that's up to the players involved to figure out themselves.

There were thirty party members present. After deducting Xiao Ling, who was the referee, and Encore, whose height and build were not suitable for participating in the games, there were twenty-eight people left, which made up seven people in each group.

"Let's devise a strategy!" Aemeath clapped her hands twice, full of fighting spirit.

It's no wonder she takes this game so seriously; after all, the winner can use the most unpalatable food they remember to prank the others.

"Tactics?" Crimson Snow pondered, "It doesn't seem like something very necessary."

The game also prohibited the use of Resonance Ability, but Crimson Snow, having learned the rules, knew that this arena match would ultimately come down to strength, and coincidentally, there were two pure strength players in their team.

"I'm not good at fighting, you know?" Dania shrugged helplessly. "If an opponent specifically targets me, I'll just be pitifully pushed into the water, won't I?"

"It's alright, Yaya, I'll protect you!" Sigrika's expression was very serious.

After discussing it for a long time, the Lahai-Roi Squad finally decided to let Little Ai go first to take over the territory.

"Everyone, are you ready? The competition is about to begin!" Xiao Ling shouted to the women in the competition area.

After receiving affirmative answers from the women, Xiao Ling counted down from three with her hand, then blew the whistle, officially starting the competition.

"Sure enough, watching pretty girls fight is the most enjoyable~" Xiao Ling couldn't help but sigh as he watched the "battle" on the floating platform.

As the saying goes, when girls get into a fight, boys really have no chance. After all, they don't have any gentleman's agreements with each other; they'll use any dirty trick they can think of on their opponent.

The four who set off first to the floating platform —Aemeath, Augusta, Tsubaki, and Heartfox— engaged in their first round of combat on the arena. Although Heartfox was a Sentinel, she hadn't focused her skill points on strength, so she was still a step behind Aemeath and Augusta, who had both A-rank strength and speed. However, she was agile enough and had good balance. Since she couldn't win, she could simply hide along the arena and wait for reinforcements.

Little Ai's main target was the Governor. The two exchanged blows, neither giving an inch, while Miss Chun kept moving around, looking for an opportunity to kill them both in one fell swoop. After several attempts, she was thwarted by Augusta and Aemeath, so she had to give up for the time being. Thus, the first round of the confrontation could not be decided.

With the second whistle, Crimson Snow, Qingxiao, Zani, and Shorekeeper entered the arena. These four beauties each had their own strengths. Crimson Snow and Qingxiao were already top-tier experts, so their strength was beyond question. Zani was able to lift such a heavy shield with her bare hands, so her strength was not to be underestimated. Although Shorekeeper was not known for her strength, her deductive reasoning ability far surpassed everyone else present, and she was perfectly capable of taking Chun with her to safety.

With the addition of this group of participants, the situation on the field became even more chaotic. The floating platform had limited space and could not accommodate eight people at once, thus creating the first round of eliminations.

Aemeath and Augusta didn't gain much of an advantage in the first round of combat. As the number of players on the floating platform suddenly increased, their last bit of survival became precarious, and they ultimately fell into the water and suffered a regrettable defeat.

The third whistle blew, and Lynae, Phoebe, Liang Yu, and Zhezhi rushed to the battlefield. Their arrival did not affect the overall situation, and they were caught up in the melee shortly after landing on the floating platform, eventually falling into the water one after another.

Meanwhile, the chaotic battle on the field also determined the winner. In order to protect Qingxiao, who had the greater advantage on the field, Xin took the initiative to pull Chun into the water. However, Zani, who was preparing to take the Shorekeeper down with her, was detected by Xin in advance. At the critical moment when the opponent was about to succeed, she turned around and dodged the attack.

Then, the floating platform will soon welcome the fourth batch of new players.

thump.

As the sound of someone falling into the water reached the ears of everyone present, they all looked in the direction from which the sound came and almost simultaneously burst into laughter.

"Why did Sister Carlotta fall into the water before she even got on stage?" Encore asked innocently, uttering the most hurtful words as she watched the comical scene unfold.

Carlotta: I'm so damn naive, really.

She was full of confidence and ready to prove herself on stage, but she died before she could even get started. She slipped and fell off the floating bridge into the water. Her feet didn't even touch the bottom of the pool, and she floated on the surface of the water with the current.

"Goo..." Carlotta was so embarrassed that she buried half her face in the pool and started blowing bubbles.

As this went on, the number of people on the floating platform increased and decreased repeatedly until finally only two players remained standing on it.

"Um, Sister Jinhsi, how about you let me win?" Sigrika tried to soften Lord Lingyin's competitive spirit by acting cute.

"That won't do." Jinhsi shook her head. "Since it's a competition, it should be based on strength. Sigrika, go all out on offense."

"Hmm... alright then, Xixi, I'm sorry to offend you!"

Looking at the girl in front of her, who was clenching her fists and looking very serious, Xixi also focused her attention and prepared to deal with her attack.

Then...

"Hey!"

thump.

Jinhsi was completely dazed when she crashed into the water. What happened? Wasn't she in the center of the platform? How did she suddenly fly out?

"Oh..." Heartfox rarely showed such a surprised expression, "Flying so far..."

"Didn't expect that, Heartfox?" Aemeath looked over with a smile. "Our Sigrika, aside from anything else, is quite the expert when it comes to strength."

"This girl must be quite talented in cultivation. I wonder if I could have the opportunity to teach her a move or two..." Qingxiao said thoughtfully.

"Sigrika- senpai is pursuing the path of physical cultivation, so Sister Qingxiao probably won't be able to achieve her wish~" Lynae leaned closer and smiled brightly.

In conclusion, the victory in this floating platform competition belonged to Lahai-Roi Squad, and their private pool party came to a close amidst laughter and joy.