Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

"We can't stay here any longer! We must hurry to support the president, or the situation will become dire," shouted a student engaged in combat. Seeing that their opponent was still able to be distracted during the fight, a sense of contemptuous anger arose, prompting them to accelerate their attack frequency once more.

"Su Lai and I will cover you; break through quickly," a young man with hedgehog-like short hair joined the battle, holding a sword. The trajectory of his sword's edge was peculiar, always striking from unexpected angles, quickly throwing the rhythm of the opponents in blue windbreakers into disarray as they were forced to consecutively retreat and evade.

"Alright!" another female student rushed forward, her orange hair streaming behind her. The edge of her sword radiated waves of heat, its sweeping motions akin to dancing flames, preventing the foes at her side from daring to come closer.

Seeing their two companions hold off surrounding adversaries, the remaining three exchanged glances and then simultaneously rose to their feet. Their figures leapt up, short-lived wings woven from white electric light took shape, then they charged fiercely toward the far-off hundred meters where Wulai was struggling to hold on. Despite assistance from other comrades nearby, they were consistently blocked by students wielding Thunder Edge.

At that moment, Zhang Han was handling his great lance, flying horizontally and thrusting vertically, forcing an injured Wulai to retreat step by step. Wulai was about to be driven into a bridge below, when suddenly three figures enveloped in white light swiftly arrived, and under a series of exchanges and impacts, they managed to momentarily drive Zhang Han back.

He frowned at the three who had suddenly disrupted his fight, scoffing coldly before waving his hand, signaling four students from Thunder Edge to join the battle from the surroundings.

The three formed a triangle, protecting Wulai behind them as they held their longswords tightly. Their expressions were tense, and wisps of white vapor rose from both the swords and their bodies, while a slight visual distortion appeared on the edges of their blades.

The 'White Orchid Cross Sword' was created at the beginning of the Third Era by the hero 'Saintess of White Flowers' Dulan, to fight against chaos; its ultimate form being the War Sequence 7・White Orchid Sword. Nowadays, with changes in warfare from large troop battles to small-scale elite combat, the War Sequence has evolved into the Slashing Blade Sequence.

Though times have changed and many techniques of the 'White Orchid Cross Sword' faction became outdated, not everything was without merit. What the trio wielded now was the revised version 4.2 of the 'White Orchid Swordsmanship' by Hexia Tilan. An effect of slight spatial distortion, normally requiring Sequence 6 to add into swordsmanship, was optimized to be available earlier. Now even those at Sequence 5 could utilize some of its effects.

Zhang Han fixed his gaze on the trio, gesturing with his hand, and four students rapidly advanced, their blue electric light sparkling in the night, dazzling and simultaneously delivering lance jabs from amidst the brightness.

"Stop them!" the leading person commanded harshly before stepping forward with his sword. His longsword, emitting white smoke, swept forcefully through the night, tracing a vibrant path that cut two incoming lances in half. Though the broken lance shafts impaled him, causing his blood to roil, he endured the pain. His two companions then arrived, wielding the same swordsmanship to repel the incoming foes.

As blades clashed, the disarmed opponents became fearful upon seeing the mildly distorted, smoke-emanating sword edges, retreating en masse. This coordinated strike also significantly boosted the morale on the side of Edith Academy.

Zhang Han's brows furrowed even deeper, but with a lack of suitable members to assist, he had to take action himself.

His lance moved as swiftly as lightning, launching a fierce attack on the trio. Although their swords were tremendously lethal, due to their lack of experience and strength, they weren't able to accurately strike Zhang Han's lance tip. While evading their blades, he continuously attacked the trio, progressively forcing them back.

Unfortunately, even as he drove them back, Zhang Han was also struggling because the three opponents were rapidly improving. As they grew more accustomed to the fight, Zhang Han found it increasingly difficult to find openings among them, and his lance started to show minor scratches and chips at its tip.

Just as Zhang Han prepared to make a last-ditch effort, unwilling to draw out the battle, a fiery red figure flashed in the corner of his eye.

"Bang, crack." In a hasty defense, his lance was broken by the new fiery red challenger.

Then another strange flash of sword light struck from behind. Even though he twisted his body desperately, he still received a wound, with trickles of fresh blood sliding down from his back.

When he stood firm again, the five were grasping their swords, encircling him with sharp eyes, their longswords and bodies releasing wisps of white smoke and their blades showing slight distortions.

Although individually they were no match for Zhang Han, their combined force meant the battle was decisively in their favor.

Silently hovering drones were observing this confrontation above the bridge and nearby. As Zhang Han was encircled, the situation was clearly turning in favor of Edith Academy. Wulai, having recovered some strength, raised his greatsword once more, leading club members to crush or cast off the remaining opponents from the bridge.

Seeing this, Zhang Han had no choice but to accept defeat, holding the broken gun as he retreated in silence.

"Bang——"

Rows of fireworks sprayed out from beneath the unmanned drones, while audiences in every corner of the city listened to the host's passionate commentary.

"This is totally unexpected! Although Edith Academy's President Wulai was once at a disadvantage, cornered by Zhang Han of Thunder Edge, at the critical moment, three brave companions arrived. With their superior combat power, they contained Zhang Han's assault, and then, in cooperation with their comrades, they trapped the opposing team's commander, ultimately tipping the scale of victory to their side!"

"This victory has wiped away the shame of the 'Hat and Short Sword' club, and it seems they have regrouped and have not forgotten their vow to challenge Saint Yingo. They continue to tread their old paths, and we shall see who will emerge victorious at this year's Winter Festival!"

Afterward, a hand pressed the projection button beside, the screen froze, and the lights inside the room came on. The gaze of about ten girls, either seated or standing, shifted away from the screen. All dressed in beige uniforms with the queen bee emblem on their chests, they were clearly students from Swarm's Reign Academy.

One girl with deep purple hair sat sprawled on the sofa with one leg propped up, the high-quality and smooth fabric of her trousers reflecting the screen's afterglow, and her deep red eyes appeared especially wild in the dim light.

"What do you think?" Her voice was a bit rough, with an inexplicable magnetism.

"President, this time, the 'Hat and Short Sword' club has made substantial progress, especially the last five who came out to surround Thunder Fighting Dragon Zhang Han. The swordsmanship they used is something we've never seen before—probably some kind of obscure secret technique," said a girl with glasses, who had an air of scholarship, leaning forward to speak.

"I've noticed it too. Although I don't know where they learned it from, it's clear they will pose a significant threat to us this year."

"Have you noticed? None of those five are seniors, which means they won't graduate and leave this year, while our school's strongest members are about to graduate," analyzed the student council president of Swarm's Reign Academy calmly.

"That's true," others nearby also lowered their heads. They were all seniors and would be leaving soon. It wasn't reasonable to deliberately repeat a year just for this.

"Send a message to the school board, and have the Academy's External Relations Department investigate where those five learned their swordsmanship. Knowing who taught them might not change anything, but it's important to understand where this threat is coming from."

"Yes, President."

Then, the room quieted down for a while. Unless their president spoke, they wouldn't easily say anything or leave.

"Edith's Amors is also a senior; he will leave this year. That old fox wouldn't have no contingency plan. Get them to check who's going to take over the student council at Edith Academy this year."

"Understood."

"That's it for today. Oh, how is the preparation for Prin Coco's birthday banquet coming along?" she asked, tilting her head towards a member behind her.

"It is 80% complete. We currently have 46 large corporations sponsoring. Moreover, the Chief Executive Officer of South First District will also attend. We've arranged to rent the entire Red Shell Bay module for the dinner on the water. The invitations have been prepared, and I will send the list to you later to see if there need to be any modifications or additions."

"OK, you always make things so easy for me."

She took the tablet that was passed to her, picked up the coffee in front of her, and started reviewing the list one by one. This guest list included prominent figures not just from South First District but from the entire Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain. Although Prin Coco was currently only a Starshine Level Songstress, who could say she wouldn't advance to Moon Class in the future? Building a relationship early on is a worthy matter for these dignitaries. Consequently, this 18th birthday coming-of-age celebration would be extraordinarily grand.