This is the second time that Aya has stepped into the palace arena within two days.

Speaking of which, I have only been here for two days! Why does this kind of thing happen?! Aya inserted his sword into the floor in front of him, feeling hopeless and puzzled, holding his head in his hands.

On the opposite side, Tiran, also dressed in a knight's uniform, was tying up her silver hair into a ponytail, with black leather boots on her feet and a knight's long sword hanging from her waist, looking heroic.

"I say, uh, don't you have homework to do? Shouldn't we stop fighting and quickly go back to finish the homework and rest?" Aya had a woeful face, unwilling to pick up the sword in front of him.

"Homework is not a big deal if you don't turn it in... Stop babbling, draw your sword!" Tiran's expression was conflicted for a moment, but she quickly suppressed her conflicting emotions.

"How can you not turn in homework? Mimi, what do you say?" Aya turned his hopeful gaze towards Mimi in the stands. You are the ace tutor of the princess, I'm sure you won't allow such a thing as not turning in homework!

"I think proper exercise is beneficial for Her Highness's learning." Mimi seemed expressionless but actually felt secretly delighted. Because in the past, when Tiran wanted to fight someone, she would either find her or Justice, but if this dumb dragon was here... that would save her a lot of trouble. How could she possibly help Aya attract firepower at a time like this?

"Why do I feel like you're thinking some really devious thoughts?" As if infected by the keen sixth sense of the people in the castle, Aya frowned and realized that Mimi's gaze towards him was a bit off.

"No, you're mistaken." Mimi shook her head. "Your Highness Tiran, please finish the battle quickly, otherwise the coffee will get cold."

Mimi steadied a tray in her hand, with a freshly brewed cup of coffee and a small piece of fruit cake on it, prepared for Tiran's supper. After all, studying at night can be quite draining.

"Aya, good luck!" Suddenly, a male voice sounded from the entrance to the arena stands.

What the hell! Why did this guy, Goth, also come over?!

As if understanding Aya's expression, Goth smiled and waved his hand. "Because I saw lights in the arena, so I thought it was Her Highness the Princess. I didn't expect to actually run into you."

"Wait, I have something to say--" Aya stared with wide eyes, wanting to speak, but a gust of sword wind blew past him, barely grazing his foot and leaving a mark on the ground, almost cutting his cheek.

"The battle has started, don't blame me if you're the one getting slashed next time." Tiran, who had been impatient with the boring lessons before, finally lost her patience completely. She drew her sword and rushed forward with a swift blade.

"Don't underestimate me!"

Either way, there's no escaping it today. Aya gritted his teeth, scales flaring out, and instinctively pulled out the sword from the ground and dashed towards Tiran.

"Not bad, let me see what you can do now." After swinging her sword, Tiran pointed the tip of her sword downward, calmly watching Aya charging towards her. She smiled with satisfaction, "But charging straight ahead like this is a bit reckless."

The tip of the sword touched the ground, and the smooth ice spread out from the point of contact towards Aya's feet, quickly covering half of the arena.

Tiran's Chi was of the ice attribute, and the most suitable battlefield for her was, of course, an icy landscape. Although it was nearing winter now, the first snow had not yet arrived, so there was no hope for an icy landscape. However, it was not a problem to create a small environment in this arena.

The effect of the ice surface immediately became evident. Aya, who had been charging forward, suddenly couldn't adapt to the sudden decrease in friction and almost slipped and fell. Although he managed to stabilize himself after a frantic moment, his momentum was halted.

"Now it's my turn!"

Compared to Aya, Tiran's movements on the ice surface were almost unrestricted, if not more agile. She leaped forward, closing the distance between herself and Aya within a breath, swinging her sword—

Within sight, there was only a phantom of a cold light. This speed exceeded expectations!

...

"Is the round over already?" Seeing Tiran creating the ice surface, Goth appeared somewhat worried. This move of Tiran's was especially effective in arena duels. He had suffered quite a bit when he sparred with Tiran in the past.

"Don't worry, apart from other things, Aya should be able to take a beating." The maid chief expressed her calmness. It was no big deal."Speaking of Miss Aya..." Gothit's expression was strange. "Why did she come to the arena so late?"

"Because His Highness was in a bad mood and wanted to find someone to fight." Mimi explained briefly, then gave Gothit a subtle look. "But why did Captain Gothit come to the palace late at night? There shouldn't be anything worth the chief of the Cross Kingdom commandos coming to the palace for tonight, right?"

"Uh..." Gothit opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. Of course, there was no official business. He came to the palace just to find Miss Aya! Ever since the challenge from Iomar yesterday, Gothit couldn't forget Tiran's promise. He couldn't sleep at night, so he impulsively came here.

Mimi's gaze became increasingly oppressive, making Gothit a little panicked. Just as he didn't know how to answer, Tiran's attack on the field caught Mimi's attention, saving the knight commander from his dilemma.

...

"Scared me to death." Aya inserted her sword into the ice, using it for support to steady herself. She looked at Tiran, still in shock. Fortunately, she managed to dodge the powerful chop from Tiran by backflipping earlier. Otherwise, even if she had her scale armor, it would probably have been pierced.

Come to think of it, her thighs felt a bit chilly when she backflipped just now. She hoped she didn't accidentally expose herself. This modified version of the knight's uniform is really...

"You're quite agile." Tiran swung her sword in the air, not at all discouraged. On the contrary, she became more excited. She lifted her sword again, with a faint blue Chi light attached to the blade, forming several ice-blue energy balls on the edge of the sword. With a sweep of the sword, she started shooting them at Aya, who had just regained her balance.

Aya was taken aback. Oh my god, is this a turret? Weren't knights supposed to be bad at long-range combat? But judging from the shooting speed, the power should still be within an acceptable range. She didn't know if she could try blocking a few shots.

Relying on Dragon's excellent physical abilities, Aya dodged three energy balls, but her sword hit one that came flying towards her face.

"Damn, this is so sneaky!" As the energy ball exploded, cold air spread out, instantly freezing more than half of Aya's sword blade, making it heavy.

Aya looked helplessly at the large chunk of ice in her hand. Meanwhile, Tiran shot more than a dozen ice energy balls towards her.

This thing is probably impossible to withstand head-on.

After dodging another round of shots, Aya forcefully tapped the hilt of her sword on the ground, shattering the ice that had frozen her blade, and gestured towards Tiran, "Stop, stop, stop! I have something to say!"

"Ten seconds." Tiran's mood improved slightly after using Aya as a target to vent her frustration, so she gave her a chance.

"This is too unfair. How about we don't use Chi and just duel with our sword skills?" Aya suggested.

If they continued fighting like before, Tiran wouldn't even need to move. She could just stand still and keep shooting energy balls at Aya until she exhausted herself. Aya still remembered the scene of Tiran using infinite sword slashes and a duel against Senno in the Hes Mansion. Sorry, unlimited blue bar and zero cooldown skills really make one unstoppable.

"Sounds good." Tiran considered for a moment and agreed. It wouldn't be fun to just stand still and shoot, so it's better to have a proper sword fight.

The next moment, the two figures intertwined, and amidst the glimmer of blades, the sound of metal collision continued without interruption.

...

"Phew..."

Gothit let out a long breath. "Miss Aya's swordsmanship is indeed extraordinary. She can actually face Tiran head-on. Her strength and reaction speed are already comparable to a high knight. But although her swordsmanship is skillful, I've never seen it before."

Of course he hadn't seen it before. Dragon's martial skills were quite different from those of humans, considering the differences in physical abilities. Therefore, Dragon's swordsmanship took a simple, unadorned and wild approach from the beginning, with many movements that humans couldn't imitate.

Even the head maid, who usually didn't like Aya, was captivated by her swordsmanship. One had to admit that the focused and trembling dragon dueling with Tiran was a bit impressive.

"If she doesn't use Chi, there might be a chance for Miss Aya to win." Gothit stroked his chin and said, his eyes showing some hope.

But in the next moment, a collision sound was heard, and Aya, who had been dueling with Tiran, was knocked back several meters, barely stopping at the edge of the arena.

Gothit: "..."

Damn it, this jinx, pulling the flag and then getting it raised in an instant....

Aya's heart was in despair. In terms of overall strength, she was far inferior to Chi, and now she couldn't even compete with Dragon's proud power. Was there any chance left in this fight?

"What's wrong? Can't handle it anymore? Aya, you're pretty weak." Tiran tapped her shoulder with the flat side of her sword, raising an eyebrow. "I'll give you another chance, use the move you used against Iomor yesterday."

She felt completely underestimated. Aya felt a tightness in her chest. She had already been provoked to this extent, she couldn't back down anymore, otherwise she would be subjected to even more ridicule in the future.

Dropping her longsword, Aya slowly clenched her right fist. The invisible dragon scales on her body began to surge, stirring up the surrounding air. The technique called "Dragon's Breath Fist" allowed her to create a tremendous difference in air pressure by momentarily releasing the dragon scales, granting her incredible speed and terrifying punching power. It was the strongest attack Aya could use when she couldn't utilize Chi.

Once it landed, even a formidable knight like Tiran couldn't withstand it.

Feeling that immense power, Tiran's face showed not a hint of fear, but rather surprise and anticipation. Gripping her knight sword with both hands, Tiran's attention was already focused on Aya, who was gathering strength, waiting for the moment he made his move.

The power she was accumulating this time, unlike the hastily released dragon scales in the duel with Iomor, was on a completely different level. Although it was still mostly restrained for now, it was foreseeable that when Aya unleashed it, it would be earth-shattering.