At the Manasvir Empire’s capital Macnadix City’s imperial city, Olsylvia Academy’s inter-academy qualifying competition finals had finally begun. A total of a thousand students advanced to the finals, and the students were split into two-man groups to determine the top hundred, around 50 teams. The competition this year was the same as in the previous years. A one for all where the first teams to win ten fights will advance directly to the next stage.
Once 50 teams advance, phase one is considered over. In other words, the earlier you rush to win ten battles and advance early, the better. Many students even brought dry rations. Seems like they were planning to eat on the field during the finals. The first day of the finals was to compete for the top hundred, and it was held in a full open field battle zone. Only the one hundred who advance will attend the indoor competition on the second day of the finals.
The girls from Antoinette Academy, who were in charge of hosting the magical broadcast, were much quieter today and were more decent in the approach. What happened last night left a deep impression on them. They still had no idea whether that nightmarish scene yesterday was real or fake, but they were much more well-behaved today.
The finals did not restrict the use of any equipment or mounts. The only requirement was for no lethal damage to be dealt, which means that no serious harm must be inflicted by the players. Bella was currently in a team with Isaman and the two were currently on a relatively flat, open plains battle zone suitable for a knight. The first group of opponents on the other side was the third prince of the Octavia Empire, Octavio Copperfield, who was in the same team as a beautiful redhead mage.
Octavio Copperfield was the standard handsome blonde-haired blue-eyed western male. Bella had some impression of this guy. Her surrogate body Princess Felia was considered his little sister, and compared to the other princes, this prince was a pretty good guy, save for his playboy nature, and treats girls very well. Bella was a little troubled. She was worried that interacting with Copperfield would lead him to recognize her as the dead Princess Felia.
Copperfield is a dragon knight, and his mount is a Fire Dragon. Wendy, granddaughter of Holy Flame Magic Mentor Wilde and the beautiful long scarlet-haired mage, is also very strong. Before their encounter with Bella, their team had already won three fights in a row. Without the limitation of mounts, this dragon knight plus mage combination was beyond lethal. As long as the mage cast their magic from behind the back of a dragon, most competitors will be powerless against them. With a dragon knight’s advantage, Dragon Knight Copperfield won three complete victories successively prior to this. The opponents couldn’t even physically touch them, and could only surrender.
“I’ve heard of your deeds, Grand Duke Bellina. And you too, Princess Isaman. Your beauty…Ahem, anyway, I look forward to learning from you.”
Copperfield sat atop the back of his Fire Dragon, his handsome face full of tenderness as if he already had this win in the bag. If not for Wendy, the fiery-headed mage eyeing him from behind, this flirtatious prince might end up chatting up Isaman. Bella’s temperament had changed too much. Though Prince Copperfield found many similarities to Princess Felia on her, she changed so fast that he could only take Grand Duke Bellina as someone who looked similar to Princess Felia and did not associate the two together.
“Going for the blitzkrieg, Copperfield? Geez, you’re not planning to accost every beautiful girl you see, are you? Aren’t I enough for you!”
Wendy was a little angry at Copperfield’s philandering. This was one thing about the prince that annoyed her. He always liked flirting with his pretty female opponents. Subconsciously, she transferred her resentment over to Bella and Isaman. When they were at school, she couldn’t touch them due to their status, but this was a competition, so there shouldn’t be any repercussions if she taught them a lesson here.
Copperfield rode his Fire Dragon into the air. It seemed like he was planning to defeat Bella and Isaman by attacking the ground from the air just like they did three times before. As Priest Isaman was the champion of the semifinals, he didn’t dare fight her head-on. According to the data, Bella was also just at the level of a holy knight before the competition. She didn’t have any flying mounts, not even something basic like a griffin. If he went into the sky, the opponent would practically be waiting to be beaten up.
“Isaman, would you like to come up here and see the skies with me?”
Bella looked at the Fire Dragon flying in the sky but she didn’t look panicked at all. She turned around and reached out to Priest Isaman. Isaman could do flying magic, but a flying mount would save a lot of effort. Thinking of this, Isaman took Bella’s hand as an acceptance of her invitation.
“No…As if I wouldn’t. Bella, do you really have a flying mount?”
“Of course…Isaman, you wouldn’t think that I’m only at the level of a Holy Knight would you?”
Seeing no movements from Bella or Isaman, Fire Dragon Knight Copperfield thought he had them scared while riding the Fire Dragon in the sky. Without restrictions, being a Dragon Knight in and of itself was like a cheat, and they had at least an 80% chance of winning against others at the same level when mounted on a dragon.
“Are they scared out of their wits? Copperfield, have your mount breathe…”
Wendy, the beautiful fire mage with Copperfield, hardly had any time to cheer when she felt a very strong magic fluctuation as a deep blue magic formation appeared in the sky in front of her. The magic array was suspended in mid-air, and an existence similar to an interdimensional door appeared at the center. Then, a gigantic Ice Dragon came out of it.
Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth’s entrance was grand. Originally the Sea Dragon God mount of the Poseidon, her strength was among the top amongst Holy Beasts. After falling and becoming a Sea Demonic Dragon, Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth’s divine power from when she was a Holy Beast was not taken from her due to the special bits about Bella’s body, so she could use that part of her Holy Beast power even now.
The temperature of the entire plain plummeted in an instant, and rain began pouring from the sunny skies. Not long after Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth’s appearance, dark clouds converged in the sky and it was soon pouring. The body of the Sea Demonic Dragon was over two hundred meters long like a snake, just like the eastern dragons on Earth. Compared to the western dragon, they appeared larger and more imposing. On the back of the dragon were a pair of blue wings, an indicator of her identity as a member of the Dragon Race.
Dragon Knight Copperfield was already petrified from shock along with the beautiful fire mage Wendy. Dragons that could affect the weather were purely a thing of legends, but when they saw Bella and Priest Isaman standing on the head of the Sea Demonic Dragon, Copperfield turned silent.
Duchess Bellina never seemed to have done any dragon knight certification, and even if she had, you can tell at a glance that a dragon at the level of Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth was not something a normal dragon knight could handle. A few drops of cold sweat dripped down his handsome face, but fortunately, the rain was able to cover up Copperfield’s embarrassing scene.
Copperfield’s mount, the Fire Dragon, was trembling all over. The other dragon’s level was far too high, and the combined scent of a Holy and Demonic Beast on its body made it unable to determine the other’s attributes for a moment. But one thing was for sure, this strange sea dragon could easily dispatch the elders of the Fire Dragon’s race, so it was likely no match for it, much less the ones on its back.
“Grand Duke Bella…You…You’re a dragon knight? I don’t remember seeing any records of your certification…”
“Ahem, Your Excellency Copperfield, I…I just don’t have the money for the certification. This…This is a summoned beast, not a mount, and I have already lent my mount to Grand Duke Baize. She’s my…She’s my most important person.”
Copperfield looked closer and saw that Bella wasn’t holding the special dragon reins. If this terrifyingly strong Sea Demonic Dragon was but a summoned beast, then was this beautiful grand duke not being a little too over the top? A super dragon mount that many dragon knights could only dream of was actually just a summoned beast in her hands. Could her mount be even stronger than her summoned beast?!
The Sea Demonic Dragon did not even need to use magic to attack the Fire Dragon. With a light flap of her wings, a hurricane gushed directly towards the Fire Dragon’s position. Out of the dignity of a Fire Dragon, the Fire Dragon spat out a breath of flames, but this was just the most powerful attack it could launch. The disparity between the two of them was so helplessly large that its flames did not even have the opportunity to travel to the other dragon before it was blown away by the hurricane.
The powerful wind pressure pushed the Fire Dragon down to the ground, immobilizing it. Dragon Knight Copperfield raised his hand in an attempt to stop his companion, Fire Mage Wendy, who was trying to make a last stand. He wasn’t clear on the extent of power the Sea Demonic Dragon had, but they definitely can’t beat it. The wilderness battle did not restrict the use of mounts for dragon knights. He was originally relying on this advantage to bully the other professions who did not have flying mounts or flying magic, but now that he was facing the Sea Demonic Dragon, he could only admit his loss.
“Grand Duke Bellina, I…I concede.”
“Already? Then I shall take this first win with pleasure, Your Excellency Copperfield.”
The hosts of the magic broadcasting room all fell into silence. With the broadcasted image of Dragon Knight Copperfield conceding before even fighting, those who bet their money on him all lost their bets. The faces of the gamblers outside of the scene all turned ashen with regret, but there was nothing they could do about it. The female grand duke on the other side was also a Dragon Knight, and from the looks of the dragon’s level, just its momentum alone was enough to toss Copperfield’s Fire Dragon a few streets over. Admitting defeat was instead, a wise move. He was already immobilized to the ground, so if he still did not admit defeat and took a beating, then his reputation as a dragon knight would be ruined.
“Bella, is it really fine for you to be so high profile? This dragon…it seems like one of those fallen holy beasts. Really, I still wanted to keep a low profile!”
“Isaman, I’m already very low profile. This child isn’t too over the top. I’ll leave the following battle to you. I need to swap over to Kriss’s side. There seems to be a bit of trouble there.”
“Alright…I can’t lag behind either! Me and her will take care of the rest at the back, but they may have to put restrictions on Dragon Knights for this year’s finals. The level of your dragon is seriously perverse!”
After Bella temporarily disappeared, Priest Isaman cast a very powerful divine energy that enveloped Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth’s body, and Amy Beth, whose entire body was illuminated by the holy light looked even more like a holy beast. That was one of the forbidden divine magics, the “Seal of God”. It can temporarily advance an ordinary magical beast into holy beast level for a short period of time.
Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth was from a holy beast bloodline to begin with. Now, under the control of Priest Isaman, her battle strength continued to soar and her body length almost doubled. Now, there was practically not even any need for the other competitors to even try fighting them. After Bella left a puppet doll behind wearing some armor to play her role, Priest Isaman sat on the back of Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth, directly winning ten consecutive fights just by laying there, becoming the first team to advance to the finals.
The battle power of the Sea Demonic Dragon was incomprehensible. Now, with the addition of Priest Isaman’s heaven-defying support, even if they could hit the Sea Demonic Dragon, it would have been a waste of time. The absurd power of the barrier was practically unbreakable. With that, it seemed more practical to quickly admit defeat and get paired with a different opponent instead. The next nine battles basically passed with the opponent conceding as soon as they saw them, including the other two dragon knights from the Octavia Empire’s royal family.
The imperial city’s casino had already closed the bets early on. Many of the gamblers who regretted not betting on Bella were overcome with anger. Normally they would still be able to bet at this shop, but now they closed early, aren’t they just cheating them!
“Sorry everyone, but we have been informed from management above that the betting reception will stop early. We will be reopening for the Top 100 League.”
“Boss, you’re too cruel, I’m not even done betting yet! I want to change my bet…”
“Just try me boss, if you don’t believe that I’ll…Uh, guards, wait! I’m not here to start trouble, don’t arrest me…”
The imperial city’s casino had descended into chaos. Due to the bets closing early, the red-eyed maniacs who lost the most were all bringing their gangs to cause trouble and ending up in confrontations with the imperial city guards, who had rushed over to maintain order at the casino No one knew that Bella, the one who started this ruckus, had already quietly left and swapped out to a separate arena.
In the northern region of the human continent, in the great hall of the Nation of the Knight, Octavia Empire’s capital Archibald City’s imperial palace, the Imperial Emperor was watching the magic broadcast with a somewhat immeasurable face. With the Emperor looking like that, the ministers around him didn’t even dare to make a sound.
Just a moment ago, several dragon knight princes of the Octavia Empire lost to Bella one after the other, though it would be more accurate to say that they conceded before even trying. But they couldn’t help it. You could tell with one glance that the opposing party’s mount was an exceptional existence. Even the elder dragons and dragon kings from the Dragon Race that the Emperor had seen with his own eyes were no match for the domineering aura presented by Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth.
But that wasn’t what bothered the Emperor. Unlike those princes who, as brothers, played around with women to the point where they could not even recognize their own sisters, even though Bella had only shown up one time, the Emperor was able to recognize Bella as the ninth princess, Felia, whom he had snubbed at first glance.
Princess Felia was supposed to have died on that expedition, and the fleet had already been wiped out when they went there. Problem was, her corpse had never been found. Right now, Princess Felia was still alive, and she seemed to have made a great encounter and obtained the title of a female Grand Duke of the southern Gabriel Empire, becoming a major power in the south of the continent.
“Your Majesty, mayhaps it was just a coincidence. Though Grand Duke Bellina’s origin is not known even by the southern Nation of the Sword, Gabriel Empire, which granted her the title, Princess Felia is only at the level of a Holy Knight while Grand Duke Bellina must be at least at the level of a dragon knight general based on the strength of her mount. She is much stronger than your average dragon knight. The disparity is too large.”
“Your Majesty, Grand Duke Bellina seems to have deep, private connections with Princess Irene and the others. According to the secret reports we obtained from our spies in Olsylvia Academy, even Tenth Princess Lisha who never liked communicating with others shares a deep friendship with Grand Duke Bellina.”
The trusted ministers by the emperor’s side voiced their opinions. They had been with the Emperor for many years and had also seen Princess Felia’s true appearance. Bella’s appearance was almost certainly the same as Princess Felia, who had been declared dead by the empire. If they were to turn around and proclaim her alive now, then that would be like a big slap in the Emperor’s face. After all, His Majesty was the very one who announced the death of Ninth Princess Felia. If he changed his tune, then the saying “the Emperor never lies” would become a big joke.
Therefore, none of the old ministers dared to say that Bella was Princess Felia. Though the truth was clear to all, they still had to keep the Emperor’s reputation. The only one who can say he has mistaken would be the Emperor himself. They were all looking expectantly at the Emperor. Even if that was Princess Felia, a dragon knight who was able to handle a Sea Demonic Dragon at the level of a holy beast was enough to be recognized by the empire, and the Octavia Empire had not had a knight who could handle a holy beast for millennia.
After a moment of silence, the Emperor walked back to his throne and thought long and hard. In the end, he decided to investigate the matter. If Bella truly was Princess Felia, then by all means, he must bring the ninth princess back. Even if Bella protests, he had to fight for her to admit herself as Princess Felia. The strongest dragon knight had not appeared in the knight’s nation, Octavia Empire, but instead of the swordsman’s Gabriel Empire. This would be a big blow to the empire’s reputation.
“Immediately arrange an investigation on Grand Duke Bellina, but take note not to attract the attention of the Gabriel Empire. They will surely find a way to win her over once they find out that Grand Duke Bellina is a dragon knight with a mount at the level of a Holy Beast.”
“Your Majesty, Princess Felia…Princess Felia seems to be…If Grand Duke Bellina truly was Princess Felia, it is likely that…”
“I know that. That girl Felia…She must hate me to death. If that really is her…I can give her everything the Gabriel empire can offer. Annul all her former marriage contracts. I…Off with you lot and see it done!”
The ministers quickly withdrew. They dared not find out whether the Emperor’s current expression was remorseful or sad. Whatever it was, the Emperor has his plans, and they just have to follow them. It was better for them to stay out of the royal family’s matters.
“Wait. From now on, renounce your support for Prince Ernest, northern warlord of the Manasvir Empire. Have all the dragon knights supporting him withdraw. Fe…Grand Duke Bellina seems to be a supporter of the other warlords, so just take this as her greeting gift!”
Bella, who was in the Manasvir Empire’s imperial capital, was still unaware that her identity had been revealed by her surrogate Princess Felia’s “Unscrupulous Father Emperor”. She was currently rushing over to Kriss’s side to support her.
