On the surface, Silver Wolf seemed to hold the advantage, but Neuvillette's attack and defense stats were clearly far superior to hers.
"Miss Silver Wolf, the outcome is already decided," Neuvillette said calmly.
"Even if I've lost three Titans, you still can't beat me. Now that only our final troops remain, whether it's melee or trading lightning strikes, you're not my match."
"Heh."
Silver Wolf let out a disdainful chuckle.
"You wouldn't happen to be judging my mana based on your mana pool, would you?"
Neuvillette frowned deeply.
"You mean… you still have mana left?"
"Obviously."
Silver Wolf found it amusing.
You're a balanced hero. I'm a mana-specialized hero. You seriously think I wouldn't have more mana than you?
She raised her hand without hesitation.
"Chain Lightning Bomb."
A terrifying sphere of energy appeared amid the Titan formation and detonated instantly. Shockwaves rippled outward like water, and seven or eight Titans collapsed on the spot.
"Again."
Another Chain Lightning Bomb detonated.
Several more Titans fell.
"…What a shame."
Neuvillette let out a disappointed sigh.
He had hoped to rely on his superior stats to soften the battlefield for Jean, or at least force out Feixiao's troops—but instead, Silver Wolf turned out to be a full mana build. Her spell damage was absurd, and her mana pool even more so.
The battlefield was instantly overturned.
After losing more than thirty Titans to Silver Wolf's spells, Neuvillette was eliminated.
Back with his team, he leaned close to Jean and whispered:
"Be careful. Silver Wolf doesn't have many troops left… she'll probably use Armageddon."
"I know."
Jean gave a bitter smile.
How could she not know?
Silver Wolf was heavily wounded, while she herself was still at full strength. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was coming next.
Silver Wolf wouldn't care if her remaining troops were wiped out—but Jean absolutely would.
"…I'll treat this as scouting for Hu Tao."
Watching the previous battles, Jean had actually wanted to fight properly. Who would've thought that the moment it was her turn, she'd be walking straight into a disaster?
Suppressing a sigh, she stepped into the arena and faced Silver Wolf.
"Miss Jean, you know what I'm about to do."
Silver Wolf grinned.
No explanation needed.
"…Let's begin."
Jean was speechless.
Can you at least pretend to be civilized for once?
She deployed her troops. Silver Wolf took one look and her grin widened.
Archangels ×100
Behemoths ×40
Titans ×50
Ultimate Hydras ×100
Black Dragons ×90
Gold Dragons ×110
Phoenixes ×200
"Oh? All Tier-7 units."
Jean's lips twitched.
With Leadership, she had to bring every Tier-7 unit she couldn't otherwise field.
And now, half of them were about to become targets.
Battle Start
Silver Wolf raised her hand—
"Fire Resistance."
Before Silver Wolf could act, Jean hurriedly cast a spell on her army.
Silver Wolf was clearly preparing to use Armageddon. While Fire Resistance was a low-tier spell, it could still significantly reduce fire damage.
"Heh."
Silver Wolf snickered.
"Chain Lightning Bomb."
The same terrifying Tier-5 spell detonated again—this time inside the Archangel formation.
"You—you're not using Armageddon?!"
"Of course I am. But I can warm up first, can't I?"
Jean was utterly speechless.
So having more mana really lets you act this arrogantly…
"Titans, volley fire! All flying units—charge!"
She couldn't let Silver Wolf keep casting spells freely. The remaining dozen or so Titans had to be eliminated immediately.
"Slow. Chain Lightning Bomb."
Silver Wolf was fully prepared.
Charge if you want. I'll play my game my way.
Fortunately, most of Jean's army consisted of flying units. Even slowed, they were still fast.
Just as they were about to reach the Titans, Silver Wolf finally moved.
"Fire Resistance. Armageddon."
Jean nearly snapped.
You're seriously stacking Fire Resistance before Armageddon?!
Who was this petty?!
Armageddon Descends
Fire rained from the heavens.
This time, it wasn't the earlier "all thunder, no damage" spectacle.
Terrifying flames engulfed the battlefield. Archangels were blasted out of the sky one after another.
"…What?"
Jean's eyes widened.
She could accept Angels falling—but why were Black Dragons and Phoenixes also crashing down?!
Aren't those supposed to be immune to Armageddon?!
"What's going on?!"
She couldn't understand it.
When Herta and Xianyun had gone all out earlier, Black Dragons and Phoenixes hadn't taken any damage.
So why was it different now?
"Oh—there's the opening."
Silver Wolf seized the moment.
Another Armageddon slammed down.
At the same time, her own Titans were completely annihilated by the double casting.
[Jean wins.]
The system announcement rang out.
But Jean didn't care about victory at all.
She had too many questions.
She walked straight up to Silver Wolf.
"Miss Silver Wolf… may I ask why your Armageddon can damage Black Dragons and Phoenixes?"
"…Uh."
Silver Wolf had been bracing for an argument.
Instead, Jean's calm and polite tone completely disarmed her.
She swallowed the sarcastic remarks she'd prepared.
"Orb of Oblivion. As long as I have this, all resistances of enemy troops are nullified."
She took out the artifact and explained.
"I see."
Jean finally understood.
It wasn't that her Black Dragons were weaker than Xianyun's—it was Silver Wolf's artifact canceling their immunity entirely.
Silver Wolf, despite being eliminated, didn't seem annoyed at all. Instead, she gave Jean a mysterious smile.
"Be careful later."
"…What do you mean?"
Jean frowned.
Why was Silver Wolf warning her side?
"Heh. You'll understand soon enough."
With that, Silver Wolf turned and left the arena.
She already knew Jean's army composition—and in her eyes, it had absolutely no chance against Feixiao.
They weren't even in the same league.
"Next."
Valerius's voice echoed.
The Astral Express side's final trump card—Feixiao—was about to take the field.
The audience leaned forward in anticipation.
This was the final combatant. There was no way her army would be ordinary.
Even Valerius himself was curious.
After all, he'd been watching the streams—Bronya's army was clearly just a decoy.
Now, it was finally time to see Feixiao's true force.
"I wonder… can she really stand up to Hu Tao?"
Valerius glanced at Hu Tao, who stood off to the side completely relaxed.
She looked utterly unconcerned—no matter what kind of army awaited her.
And that calm…
Was honestly terrifying.
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