FPD Chapter 168 – Machine Sliced Bread

Katherine vs Christine

*Christine is the crown prince’s fiancée…

…

“The winner is Katherine!” Evelyn announced.

Instantly, the arena erupted in cheers, mainly from the first-year and second-year students.

The fact that Katherine faced and defeated a fifth-year student was something worth to brag about. You must know that Arami had stayed in the institute three years longer than Katherine and had slightly higher cultivation.

However, Katherine kept the advantage during almost the entire fight. Even during the first few minutes when Arami attacked fiercely, he was unable to touch her.

Once the cheers calmed down, headmistress Evelyn carried Arami to a stretcher where he was treated by a healing mage.

Evelyn confirmed that Arami was alright and then she looked at Katherine.

“Do you wish to continue fighting or will you leave the arena?”

“Continue.” Katherine said unhesitantly.

Evelyn nodded. She looked in direction of Alan’s team and asked them to send the next contestant.

Beside me, Dina frowned. “Katherine was injured by Arami’s last attack, right?”

I shook my head. “I think she is alright, the wind barrier she created at the last instant managed to shield her of the blow. But I fear her mana is almost depleted.”

“Do you think she can win the next fight?”

I shook my head. “Let’s see how it goes.”

Dina nodded and fixed her gaze in the stage.

The next person from Alan’s team was a woman, moreover, one I recognized. Dina instantly frowned when she saw her.

“Christine…”

I also frowned. “It looks like this fight will be hard.”

Christine Hera was Alan’s fiancée. She had a long auburn air with brown eyes, and her figure was almost perfect. Same as Katherine, she was a sixth-layer practitioner.

Christine was once considered one of the young geniuses of the empire, but her glory was quickly overshadowed by Katherine, Dina, and Louise. Despite it, her talent was nothing to scoff off. She advanced to the sixth layer almost as quickly as Alan.

Moreover, she is probably on the verge of breaking through to the seventh layer.

When Christine reached the stage, headmistress Evelyn signaled the start of the match.

“Start!”

And the battle started.

However, it was fought completely different than the last one.

This time, Katherine advanced and Christine retreated.

Katherine’s body was wrapped in fierce winds that impulsed her towards Christine. Around her, two wind dragons took shape and flew towards her enemy.

Sixth-layer Wind Magic, [Wind Dragon’s Fury]!

Christine did not panic and extended her hand. A mana barrier formed in front of her, holding on for an instant before breaking down. Using that instant of time, a magic circle formed behind Christine and unleashed a storm of light.

Seventh-Layer Earth and Fire combined spell, [Meteor Rain]!

The powerful spell astonished Katherine. Christine not only managed to cast a seventh-layer spell, but it was almost insta-casted. Even for her, such a thing was impossible.

The rain of meteors fell towards the arena fiercely. The number of meteors was so great that it did not leave Katherine space to evade.

Katherine was forced to improvise. She knew that even if she used a barrier to resist the current spell, she would be too tired to continue fighting. So instead, she tried to use the wind to change the trajectory of the meteors.

And she succeeded.

*Boom!!!*

The multiple meteors hit the arena, creating powerful explosions that blinded the spectators. But in the instant when the meteors impacted, Katherine charged out of the explosions with her body enveloped in winds.

Her eyes narrowed. She did not care for the burns caused by the meteors and created a hurricane around Christine.

The cutting winds attacked Christine mercilessly, but a mana barrier and a fire explosion destroyed the hurricane. She then countered with a shockwave that pushed Katherine away.

When the shockwave finished, Katherine and Christine were in their original positions.

Katherine’s expression was grave. Although their exchange just now seemed like a tie, the truth was that she was disadvantaged, and the difference was not little.

Katherine’s combat style was called close-combat magic. It consisted of using spells at close range to overwhelm the opponent while using long-range spells as support. Plus, Katherine was very adept to wind manipulation, so she added it to her close-combat magic.

Christine, on the other hand, was a purely traditional mage, but her control over the battlefield was impeccable. She controlled the tempo of the battle since the start, keeping Katherine away and dealing with her spells calmly.

Plus, her spells were not limited to an element. Due to it, her attacks were more versatile and diverse.

All the spells used by Christine caused AoE damage, countering Katherine’s [Wind Waltz]. Facing that kind of attack, reading the wind flow was useless.

If things continued like this, Katherine would tire out before she can touch Christine.

Katherine took a deep breath. According to my estimations, she only had enough mana for a last all-out attack.

Katherine also knew it. So she calmed down her emotions and waited for the perfect instant.

As soon as Christine’s eyes blinked, Katherine moved.

A magic circle appeared below her feet, boosting her speed to incredible levels for an instant.

Sixth-Layer Wind Magic, [Sky Dance]!

Simultaneously, tens of magic circles appeared around Christine, blocking all her routes of escape.

First-Layer Wind Magic, [Wind Arrows]!

It was the most basic wind spell, but when used by a sixth-layer mage as Katherine, the results were astonishing.

Hundreds of wind arrows flew towards Christine at the same time, filling the sky with a green glow.

Christine’s expression changed. She layered several mana barriers around her to stop the attacks. At the same time, she countered with her own fire arrows.

But when she was distracted dealing with the arrows, Katherine appeared behind her.

Then, she opened her lips–

“Boom.”

–And all the wind around her exploded.

The impact of the explosion created a fierce wind that blew the fire and wind arrows away.

The students spectating the fight were forced to close their eyes. They covered their eyes with their hands while trying to see what happened.

When the winds finally calmed down, the two girls were standing in the stage.

Katherine looked at Christine and nodded. “Well fought.”

“Same here.” Smiled Christine.

Then, Katherine fell to the ground.

She had fainted due to mana depletion.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter