[Vol. 7] Chapter 210: Her Highness the Princess Must Have Her Reasons
Watching the Saintess almost blurt something out, then quickly try to cover it up like nothing happened, Violet couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of déjà vu. She just shook her head with a sigh, about to say something.
But right at that moment, the scene on the live broadcast suddenly changed, and the voice of the commentator outside the arena also grew loud and excited!
“Oh! What’s happening?! A very intense fight has suddenly broken out! Wow! Looks like the collapse direction of the floating island shifted way too far, and it just so happened to push nearly ten teams into the same small area!”
“Although the ground collapse has stopped for now, they’re all way too close to each other! This fight is going to be brutal, looks like a lot of teams will get eliminated! But the stronger teams still have a big advantage, as long as…”
While the commentator continued his energetic analysis of the battle, the special audience area had already fallen into silence.
Unlike the participants, normal audience, and commentators, only the people in this section could see each team’s position on the map, as well as the next predicted collapse zone of the floating island.
And on that live map, over 80% of the teams were already standing on areas marked in blood red. This meant they were in a collapse zone and very far from the next safe area.
Two extreme one-direction collapses in a row had already pushed those teams to the edge of survival. Just moving would be hard enough. But now, with enemies nearby, the teams would have to fight first before moving again, to avoid being attacked from both sides.
The thing is, the participants didn’t know and couldn’t have guessed that the collapse pattern would be this extreme, twice in a row! The odds of that were really low.
So now, most teams were stuck in chaotic fights and couldn’t move. And since they were near the edge of the island... once the next collapse came—
They’d all go down together.
That same phrase, everyone goes down together, appeared in the minds of all the important people in the room.
Even a super strong team like the Holy Academy, which had grown very well and had solid foundations, would still be eliminated if they fell.
And what a twist, it just so happened that on the opposite side of the extreme collapse, Carinvega’s team, a weak and disunited little group, had managed to catch a break. With some time to breathe, they were already starting to gather resources and slowly recover.
People in high positions are never fools. Just based on the current changes in the situation, it already felt like everyone could clearly see the final outcome. And now, that priestess’s earlier comment, which seemed like she could predict the future, sounded especially sharp and suspicious.
“Uh… Don’t look at me. I already said I was just guessing.”
Noticing all the surprised and doubtful looks being thrown her way, Violet quickly tilted her head and whistled, acting completely innocent. Luckily, Felina reacted fast and turned the attention toward a few senior members of Sainz Academy, helping to shift the focus away from Violet.
“Headmaster Lucine, can you explain what’s going on here? Isn’t Sainz known for making sure the competition is fair and just? This situation… isn’t it showing clear favoritism to certain teams?”
“Exactly! Don’t treat us like fools by calling this a ‘coincidence.’ And why is it only the Austre Empire’s team that ended up in the safest spot?”
“If you can’t ensure fairness, then what’s the point of this competition!?”
As expected, her protest immediately triggered responses from other big shots in the room. Even the Saintess couldn’t stay quiet and quickly joined in with a serious tone.
“Headmaster, please give us an explanation.”
“Everyone… please stay calm.”
Although Lucine looked a bit confused and unsure herself, she reacted quickly. She took out a round metal plate with complex magic patterns carved into it from a storage item. After putting some magic energy into it and studying it for a moment, she quietly discussed it with a few professors nearby. Then she stood up with a helpless expression.
“I’ve already double-checked with the professors, there’s been no issue with the illusion field. I can personally guarantee this under the name of Sainz, the collapse direction and range of the arena are randomly generated by the central system of the ‘Tower of Origin.’ There’s absolutely no human interference. As for why the Frederick Royal Academy team just happened to land in the safe zone…”
The sharp gaze of the vampire girl bounced right off the priestess’s thick-skinned expression. Seeing Violet pretending like she had nothing to do with it, the headmaster could only grit her teeth and force herself to explain further.
“Actually, there's a hidden setting in the illusion map that hasn’t been made public. All around the illusion island, there are objects that may look normal at first glance. But they constantly change and, in a subtle way, hint at the general area where the next collapse will happen. It takes very sharp observation skills and great intelligence to spot the pattern.”
“I believe Miss Violet noticed this detail, and when she also saw how Princess Carinvega’s team was moving in strange and unusual paths, she probably guessed that they had also discovered the hidden clue and gained an advantage. That’s why she predicted their victory. After all, the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus] is very well-known, and with the princess’s intelligence…”
“...?”
That might sound nice, but the important people in the room were not so easy to fool. A “hidden setting” being brought up out of nowhere, with no clear explanation of how it works? Of course everyone looked doubtful.
But just then, a man named Shutak suddenly burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! What did I tell you? Her Highness the Princess always plans ahead and has wisdom as deep as the ocean. Ordinary people just can’t understand her! I knew from the start that she wouldn’t do something meaningless. It’s obvious she figured out the hidden setting as soon as she entered the match. Otherwise, why would her team take such weird routes and even lose members along the way? Truly worthy of her title!!!”
After he said that, others seemed to start thinking more deeply too. Some even nodded and muttered in agreement.
“That’s true… Otherwise, with the wisdom of the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus], how could her team suffer so many losses early on? Maybe it really was part of the plan?”
“If that’s true, it’s kind of scary. I heard the princess is only in her teens?”
Whoa?? Are they actually buying this!?
Violet raised a hand to her forehead, and didn't know what to do.
There was no way that so-called “hidden setting” actually existed. It was obviously just an excuse made up on the spot by that vampire girl who couldn’t find a better explanation. Couldn’t they see that even the professors from Sainz looked confused?
Still, if you ruled out Sainz secretly cheating, this was the only reason that could explain what had just happened.
After all, if Princess Carinvega’s team had simply gotten lucky and dodged danger by luck, then Violet’s earlier prediction of their victory wouldn’t make any sense at all.