87 – Ambushed in the Finals

"Your Divine Child was eliminated to cover your retreat?"

Wenfu raised a delicate finger to her lips and, thinking of her own teammates, felt an unexpected wave of goodwill toward Teresa’s Divine Child.

This Crown Cup had made her realize that the way she evaluated teammates was deeply flawed. For instance, relying solely on stats could never fully capture a person. Combat experience, judgment, and character—these were things Divine Appraisal couldn’t decode.

Someone who appeared gentle might, in fact, be arrogant and self-righteous. The kind of person who lived by, “I don’t care what you think—I only care what I think.” People like that would drag the entire team into a ditch. Even when they made a mistake, they’d only blame others, never reflect on themselves.

Wenfu had learned that the hard way. She’d put all her faith in raw numbers, believing that even without a Knight Divine Princess, her high-stats team could bulldoze through. But the moment the battlefield came into play, her seemingly cooperative teammates’ true colors showed.

Some were obstinate and ignored team input. Others were arrogant and refused to follow orders. Even the Divine Child—who always wore a smile—turned out to be a deeply twisted manipulator. He deliberately fed the team bad intel to get rid of the members he didn’t like.

In short, the whole group was a disaster. Aside from not outright attacking each other, you wouldn’t even know they were teammates.

They argued during combat, argued during strategy meetings, argued over where to go next, and even squabbled over mundane day-to-day things.

They were fine when steamrolling weaker enemies with raw power. But against strong opponents, they fell apart—fighting alone, ignoring one another, even sabotaging each other.

For a support-type like Wenfu, this was a nightmare. She had no authority in that mess. Outside of battle, everyone treated her with reverence, but once the fighting began, they showed their true egos and possessiveness—some even treating her like personal property…

It was a miserable experience. She’d had enough. No matter how “qualified” that group was, she’d never team up with them again.

Teaming with Teresa was born of desperation. Wenfu’s ideal partner had always been a sturdy Knight Divine Princess—someone who could guard her from the front, not a fragile, evasive Ranger like Teresa.

The spectators had guessed right: this was a team-up. But since the two weren’t formally in the same team, it wasn’t official. They were merely walking the same path with shared interests—hardly traditional allies.

And if even official teammates had proven unreliable, how much faith could she place in this loosely formed “alliance”? If danger came, Teresa might abandon her just like her former teammates.

That thought made Wenfu subtly inch away from Teresa. But just as she moved, Teresa pulled her right back.

Wenfu was startled. Her ears and tail stood up like a danger alarm.

What’s going on…?

Before she could ask, she realized Teresa wasn’t even looking at her. The golden-haired girl pulled her behind, drew her bow, and loosed an arrow.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

"Clang! Clang!"

A deafening metallic clash rang out, sparks flying as a cloaked young man in black and gold staggered back from where Wenfu had just been standing.

Though surprised at being discovered, his reflexes were fast. He managed to block the arrow at the last second with a serrated dagger, though the force sent him stumbling backward, crashing into the cliffside.

The pale golden gleam faded from Teresa’s eyes. She had activated Divine Appraisal just moments earlier—and that was how she’d caught the ambush.

Had she not, that strike might have succeeded.

“Well, now… how interesting…”

From beneath the edge of his hood, the young man’s eyes locked onto Teresa. “Blondie… how’d you spot me?”

“Ranger Divine Princess…” Wenfu muttered, now understanding why Teresa had yanked her away.

Teresa said nothing. She pulled Wenfu close and retreated quickly.

A second later—BOOM!

A fireball landed right where they’d stood. The blast roared as smoke billowed out.

It was a mid-tier Fireball spell.

“Tch. Missed.” A mage popped out from above the cliff, visibly displeased with his aim.

Teresa narrowed her eyes through the smoke, looking toward the cloaked youth.

That earlier question had been a distraction—so she wouldn’t notice the fireball falling on her.

These people weren’t ordinary. Their strength and tactics were in another league compared to her earlier opponents.

When lions hunt rabbits, they still go all out. No top-ten team would underestimate any other. Even a single mistake could lead to a swift, ruthless end.

Before the two girls could catch their breath, the rock wall behind them shattered—a hulking man with a long-handled axe charged through like a battering ram, his weapon swinging in a deadly arc toward them.

Too fast.

Teresa snatched a falling stone from the collapse.

First Divine Authority: [Sacred Oblivion]: Forge Blade.

A curved stone blade formed instantly in her hand.

Shielding the defenseless Wenfu behind her, Teresa brought the stone blade up to block.

"BOOM!!"

The impact was brutal. Though she blocked the axe, Teresa was flung away—her one-handed grip couldn’t match the two-handed force of a massive battleaxe. The shockwave and slicing wind cut through regardless.

CRACK!

Her longbow cracked along the middle.

That wasn’t just brute force.

Teresa realized instantly: that slash had been enhanced with Divine Authority.

She quickly activated Divine Appraisal on the armored attacker.

Name: Blake Ironfang

Divine Domain:

Physical Resistance: 5.5

Magic Resistance: 2

Alchemy Resistance: 2.5

Divine Authority Resistance: 1.5

Domain Effect: While active, slightly increases personal strength.

Divine Authority [Blade-shaped Wind]: When swinging a polearm-type weapon, forms a cutting wind around the blade. This wind can bypass enemy weapons to deliver a Divine Authority-infused slash directly to the target.

Teresa closed Divine Appraisal, grip tightening on her bow.

Wenfu was still frozen in place. It had happened in a flash—now, a terrifying, axe-wielding hulk was just steps from her.

His massive form blocked out the sun entirely.

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