Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

After the first match between Edith Academy and Swarm's Reign, the second match saw Crystal Lattice Academy facing off against Thunder Edge. Both Academies had their strengths: Thunder Edge Academy, as a military preparatory school, cooperated and combined tactics with extreme efficiency, while Crystal Lattice Academy fully utilized the advantages of positional warfare. They constructed three-dimensional barriers on the spot, followed by the deployment of cannons that fired in unison, bombarding the opposing formation. During the mid to late stages of the battle, it was the artillery position of Crystal Lattice Academy that proved more dominant, eventually overcoming Thunder Edge Academy. The third match was between Saint Ingo Academy and Lelisa Academy. Despite Lelisa Academy's numerous Radiant Feather Sequences and their many healing and recovery methods, real combat is not a game. You cannot simply use a Skill and recover in a second. Without the ability for short-term bursts of damage, Lelisa Academy was easily defeated by Saint Ingo. During that time, Seraphiel also attempted to break through on her own, but with Sevia La present, she still couldn't achieve any effective results. After the first three rounds, the second round pitted Edith Academy against Lelisa Academy. Thanks to Tilan's Songstress Ability's blessing, Edith Academy also easily triumphed. The subsequent rounds didn't cause much of an upheaval, as long as Tilan could tie up the main forces of the opponents, such as Seraphiel and Levito, the Academy's students could defeat their adversaries. If talent from the top Academies isn't taken into account, judging by the Academy students' own ability in team battles, Saint Ingo and Swarm's Reign would be top tier, followed by Edith and Crystal Lattice, and finally Lelisa and Thunder Edge. This ranking generally matched the Academies' standings. Saint Ingo had the best student sources and the most and best educational resources. Swarm's Reign was second to them, and their Academy's distinctive Bee Commanding Secret Technique was also specifically designed for team battles, which allowed it to roughly compete with Saint Ingo in team matches. Edith was showing signs of gradually catching up, but it would still need more time to develop before it could begin to catch up with those exceptionally talented peers at Saint Ingo. Crystal Lattice Academy resembled a sort of scientific research institution. Many of its students' future paths were related to technical research, and combat was secondary. They were not wholly immersed in it, and many respected figures within the Academy did not participate in the Winter Festival Tournament because they were genuinely not good at fighting. Lelisa Academy's strength was not lacking, but their student body was only one-third the average size of the other Academies. The group battle required 72 participants, unlike the other Academies which could choose from a larger pool of outstanding students. Thunder Edge Academy had the lowest entry threshold of the six major Academies and was relatively the least equipped in terms of technology and resources. However, its students were mostly diligent and, under semi-military management, possessed strong discipline and unity, refusing to shrink back or give up in the face of other Academies. In the following two rounds of matches, Edith Academy successively met and defeated both Crystal Lattice Academy and Thunder Edge Academy. By the second match of the fifth round, Edith Academy finally faced Saint Ingo Academy. At this point, both schools were leading by a significant margin in the overall standings, and regardless of the outcome, they would both advance to the finals. This meant that this match was merely a warm-up, with the decisive battle to follow. "I feel like this year's team battle is not as exciting as in previous years," someone in the audience opined. "That's because the individual matches earlier were too dazzling," their companion shook their head in response. "In the past, although there were talents, the difference between them wasn't so great, and the tactics usable in individual matches were limited." "Team battles are different. Academies put a lot of effort into devising tactics and training for them before the match. They coordinate with each other, enabling the use of many unexpected large-scale spells that can change the tide of battle. So, in most cases, team battles are far more exciting and unpredictable." "But this year is different. Tilan, Sevia La, Seraphiel, and Levito, each of these four could easily have won the championship in past years, but this year, they have to brutally eliminate each other." "One person can match twenty ordinary participants, and their presence greatly affects the team battle situation, making strategic applications and changes to the situation less pronounced than before." "It's like past wars where opposing generals wracked their brains over tactics, engaging in a battle of wits. Later, one side advanced technologically, and no matter what schemes you had, I could just drop a nuclear bomb and flatten everything on the surface. There'd be no need for tactics anymore." "Temisia was like that, practically single-handedly overwhelming all the participating students from the opposition. Your planning, effort, struggle, and will were just jokes. The blow from such a situation is tremendous, which is why Edith Academy's morale collapsed that year, and it struggled to recover for several years afterward." As the audience discussed, the students from both sides entered the arena. Tilan looked across at the Saint Ingo Academy formation and noticed Sevia La standing still in the back, just like her, not taking any action. It seemed that Saint Ingo was planning to keep their trump card hidden until the next match. As she pondered this, the battle of the evening began. Perhaps because both sides were holding back a grudge, students from Edith and Saint Ingo both harbored thoughts of thrashing the other to cleanse their shame. Saint Ingo was not content with the loss in the individual match, while Edith was unwilling to remain suppressed by Saint Ingo after all these years. Both sides harbored animosity towards each other. During the match, Tilan strummed her harp again, bestowing a frosty blessing upon her allies to gain an advantage in the battle. But when faced with such a situation, Sevia La still stood in place without acting, calmly watching as her students were defeated and then lost the match.