The distance between the two sides was five squares.

She didn't speak, merely commanded her pieces to advance further.

This time, she no longer restrained her pieces' speed, nor did she make the Walker or the Fearless One assume a defensive posture, but instead went for a full attack.

As for whether the pieces would fall out of formation due to different movement abilities, that no longer mattered. Because once the Annihilator fired again, Fang Hong had only five Clockwork Fairies left.

Her Walkers and Fearless Ones closed to within three squares of Fang Hong's Clockwork Fairies, and two Clockwork Fairies were only two squares away from Fang Hong. Only the Annihilator and the Shield Bearer, each with a movement of one, remained four squares away.

Then she put down the Crystal.

At the moment before her move, Vikki had already calculated that even if the opponent could attack five times in the first round, the total attack would be five. She would, at most, lose two Clockwork Fairies, one Walker, or one Fearless One.

The Walkers had a chain attack feature, which allowed them to move again after a kill. The Fearless One had a Whirlwind Slash, which could AOE all surrounding enemies. So, regardless of whether the opponent attacked the Fearless One or the Walker, the remaining Walker, Shield Bearer, and Annihilator could end the match in the next round.

The certainty of victory was unchangeable.

Yet Vikki felt no joy, even a bit bored.

The hall's noises gradually diminished, as the calculation wasn't complex, and others figured out the result roughly as fast as Vikki did. After all, on the open plains of the blank map, the opponent couldn't devise anything to change the result.

The long-haired youth of the Silver Forest Spear, after calculating the result, shook his head and prepared to leave.

And from the Crystal, the referee's voice remained as calm as ever:

"Ande Ulriel, it's your turn," the referee prompted.

Fang Hong got the right to move for the third time.

His eyes had already returned from the other end of the board. Unlike others, Fang Hong's gaze was now dark and calm. In Vikki's previous first round of actions, he had already determined something.

Next, he would experiment with his hypothesis.

If feasible, victory or defeat was still undetermined for both sides—

He raised the Crystal in his hand.

Ande Ulriel was contemplating how to wrangle the bet from Old Copper Nose, as the Crystal Ball was something he won back with much effort and couldn't just hand it back.

Besides, they were Albert Family's people, not truly his students. What did it matter to him? He wouldn't take the blame, and Hilveld never told him that her lover was so bad, right?

The old man rubbed his temples, his gaze already wandering outside the arena.

For an Alchemist like him, his heart had been clear long before Vikki calculated the result—how to win? Win with his head? But this legendary Alchemist's gaze just unintentionally swept over the board.

Then, the next moment.

He widened his eyes as if seeing the most incredible scene, and stopped at that place. The Astrolabe he just picked up unknowingly slipped to the ground and rolled a few times on the thick carpet.

The long-haired youth patted Liuli Yue and Little Luo's shoulders: "Let's go, there's nothing more to see here, you must have figured it out too."

"Tsk," Little Luo snorted with her nose in the air, "Again, that woman gets her way."

Only Liuli Yue remained unmoving.

The long-haired youth looked at him with some surprise: "Liuli, what's up?"

But this question seemed to awaken Liuli Yue from a dream. Suddenly, he snapped back, seemingly remembering where he'd heard this voice before. "It's the guy who stood me up!"

He shouted, "He said he would come to the base to duel with me —!"

But despite his shout, not many people heard.

Because at that moment, another wave of astonishment suddenly swept through the hall.

A thunderous clamor drowned out all sounds, and even the long-haired youth close by didn't hear what Liuli Yue said. He just paused for a moment before looking in the direction of the astonishment.

It was right at the center of the hall—

That was what happened a few seconds ago.

Vikki watched in shock as Fang Hong divided the Clockwork Fairy into five, the five Clockwork Fairies each targeting her two Clockwork Fairies, her two Walkers, and her Fearless One construct.

"He knows the Margin Technique?"

"But what's he doing?" The thought barely flashed through her mind.

Clockwork Fairy had an attack of one, and though advancing three squares would barely allow one attack, the Walker had a life of 2, defense of 1, and the Fearless One had a life of 3. Her opponent's splitting move appeared utterly foolish.

To wound five fingers is worse than breaking one; didn't he understand such a simple concept?

Fang Hong's first round of attacks first reached Vikki's two Clockwork Fairies nearest to him; with only 1 life each, they flickered on the board a moment.

Then disappeared.

This was not beyond Vikki's expectations; those two Clockwork Fairies were meant for positioning and fire drawing anyway.

The next moment, the remaining three Clockwork Fairies reached their targets one after another. The two Walkers and one Fearless One simultaneously suffered an attack, showing on the board that the Walker lost one defense and the Fearless One lost one life.

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