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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Chrom quickly assessed the opposing team.
Three Combat students, including Alphonse, clad in heavy armor, kite shields, and one-handed swords.
They looked slow and defensive, but that meant they could move aggressively without sacrificing defense, making their attacks potentially devastating.
The rest were a lightly-equipped Magic student and a Support student.
A standard party composition, but Chrom frowned.
‘Where’s the other one?’
He didn’t see the muscular giant who had been with Alphonse during the first stage.
But before he could dwell on it, Alphonse’s team made their move.
Two knights charged forward, one towards Regret, the other towards Lotto.
Clang!
The knight attacking Regret was shocked when his powerful downward strike was easily blocked, and Regret’s sword effortlessly pushed his aside, aiming for his throat.
Despite the difference between a two-handed and one-handed sword, the small girl’s strength was monstrous.
Realizing he was outmatched in a contest of strength, he tried to bash her with his shield, but Regret was faster, lunging forward to stab his face.
A strange sensation, like tearing fabric, stopped Regret’s sword.
She recognized the Low-Rank Magic Shield just in time to adjust her attack, but the knight was quicker this time, shoving her back with his shield.
Regret was unharmed, but those few seconds were enough to create an opening for the others.
“Uh oh!”
Lotto was the first to fall.
Their shields clashed, and Lotto’s stance crumbled.
Even with identical equipment, Lotto, a former farm boy, was no match for Nikolaus, a knight trained since childhood.
The difference in physical ability, combat skills, and especially the presence of mana reinforcement, was decisive.
Nikolaus knocked Lotto’s shield aside and thrust his sword into his exposed torso.
Fiore’s Low-Rank Magic Shield blocked the attack, but unlike the other knight, Lotto couldn’t exploit the opening.
Before Fiore could cast another shield, Nikolaus’s sword grazed Lotto’s neck.
The bracelet activated, absorbing the fatal blow and teleporting Lotto away.
A new mark appeared on Nikolaus’s bracelet.
Meanwhile, Chrom had targeted the enemy mage and priest, but his attack didn’t go as planned.
Alphonse intercepted and detonated Chrom’s arrow, momentarily stopping him, but then the muscular giant emerged from the bushes and charged towards Pino and Lavaul, who were supposed to follow up Chrom’s attack.
“Oof!”
“Eek!”
Like a charging boar, the giant sent Lavaul flying.
Pino, unable to fire her arrow, tumbled to the ground.
The giant reached for Fiore, but Chrom’s Low-Rank Magic Arrow struck the side of his head.
Normally, that would be a fatal blow, but the giant only stumbled.
A faint red aura around him indicated he was using mana reinforcement.
Realizing she couldn’t dodge or counterattack, Fiore cast healing spells on her fallen teammates.
As the healing light enveloped them, the giant recovered and snapped Fiore’s neck.
Her bracelet activated, teleporting her away.
Four against six.
An outsider might think Alphonse’s team had the advantage, but a tactician would disagree.
Despite their numerical superiority in Combat and a successful surprise attack, they had only eliminated two opponents.
A clear blunder.
And as if to prove it, Regret’s sword sliced through the arms of the knight in front of her.
Reducing her opponent to a helpless mannequin, Regret used his body as a shield against the mage’s Low-Rank Magic Arrow.
While Alphonse was distracted by Chrom’s Fire Shard arrow, Regret’s dagger, summoned from Feldhaus’s Summoning Gauntlet, pierced the Support student’s chest as he tried to cast a healing spell.
Ignoring the new mark on her bracelet, Regret kicked the armless knight towards Nikolaus.
Instead of dodging or throwing his comrade aside, Nikolaus tried to catch him.
At that moment, Pino’s arrow pierced Nikolaus’s back, and they were both engulfed in an explosion.
The muscular giant tried to attack Chrom, who was facing Alphonse, but Lavaul, despite his injuries, grabbed his waist and stopped him in his tracks.
The giant’s scarred face was a mixture of confusion and annoyance.
Alphonse tried to advance, but Chrom relentlessly peppered him and the mage with normal and Fire Shard arrows, pinning them down.
Regret closed in on Alphonse.
Regret’s fluid, ruthless swordsmanship, honed by natural talent and experience, clashed with Alphonse’s solid, textbook style.
His defense was like a rock, but even he couldn’t defend against Regret while protecting his teammates.
Without Alphonse’s protection, the mage was struck by Chrom’s arrow and teleported away.
By the time the giant shook off Lavaul, the situation was dire.
Leaving Alphonse to Regret, Chrom drew his sword and faced the giant.
Pino, her eyes burning with vengeance, aimed her bow.
Even Lavaul, who had been repeatedly knocked down, was getting back up.
Just as the giant gritted his teeth—
“Oh my, it seems everyone’s gathered here without us.”
A gentle voice, out of place on the battlefield, announced the arrival of Lyla Everblaze Barhardt and her team.
Her dress was both elegant and practical, showcasing her stunning figure despite its modest design.
Her skin glowed, and her fiery red hair shone, as if she hadn’t spent days in the forest.
She looked like a princess from a fairy tale, her beauty and presence captivating everyone, even those who had been fighting moments before.
But not everyone was mesmerized.
‘Three Combat, three Magic including the princess! All six intact! Damn it, Crow, you should have taken out at least one or two!’
Cursing inwardly, Chrom yelled,
“Regret! Don’t kill him! Everyone, cease fire!”
Regret’s Ancient Guardian’s Longsword, poised at Alphonse’s throat, stopped.
With calm precision, she sheathed her sword—her earlier ferocity vanished.
Alphonse’s eyes widened, then he yelled,
“Grendel! Stand down!”
The muscular giant, Grendel, lowered his guard.
An awkward silence followed.
A flurry of silent communication passed between Chrom, Alphonse, and their teammates.
Then, both teams fled in opposite directions.
One of the princess’s knights said with disapproval.
“…Even during an exercise, it’s unbelievable that they didn’t even greet Her Highness.”
Other teammates chimed in,
“Allow me to set things right! Your orders, please!”
“Your orders!”
“Leave it to me, Your Highness!”
With a single gesture, Lyla quelled their eagerness.
“They seem to want to play hide-and-seek. Let’s indulge them.”
The second half had begun.
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