The construct began actively avoiding Bianka, unwilling to be punched into a cloud of silver mist again.
Its silver form carved an arc across the arena, slithering across the metallic floor with a degree of mobility far surpassing its initial state.
The simulated Shu seemed to have fully adapted to its semi-liquefied condition. Its legs constantly shifted shapes as it moved—sometimes flattening into a silver streak across the ground for rapid acceleration, other times solidifying into rigid pillars for immediate deceleration and sharp turns.
But even so, Bianka's speed and agility were leagues above it. The construct barely managed a few semi-liquid maneuvers before Bianka overtook it on a straightaway and casually punched its head off.
Li Sushang, finding the perfect opening, unleashed an invisible sword wave from a distance, carving another deep gouge into the construct's body.
Once again relying on its "break apart and reform" tactic, the construct struggled to its feet and distanced itself. After silently recording Bianka's speed metrics into its database, it suddenly raised a hand.
Bianka, who was just about to give chase, slammed on the brakes, narrowly avoiding a metal wall that violently erected itself from the floor directly in her path.
Her pursuit was slowed.
Ignoring the gaping wound on its chest, the construct immediately darted back toward Bronya and the others.
Eliminate Li Sushang first, then deal with the rest.
Bianka tried to resume the chase, but every time she moved, another metal wall shot up, blocking her path.
Even though Bianka could smash through the walls with a single punch, a kick, or just by bull-rushing them directly, her speed was inevitably hindered.
Besides... wasn't this a bit too much?!
Bianka pulverized another metal wall, looked up, and realized a small labyrinth had formed around her.
Having successfully shaken off Bianka, the construct pushed its speed to the absolute limit.
Theresa alone couldn't hold it. As long as it eliminated Li Sushang and the Xuanyuan Sword, it could maintain its optimal state to pick off the rest of the team, and then slowly grind down Bianka in a war of attrition...
...
There was one more thing to keep in mind.
Hold back. The construct cast a subtle glance toward Shu in the stands before accelerating once more.
However, when it refocused its attention on its target, it saw Azhar already placing her hands back on the Oath of Judah.
In that instant, Azhar's priority level rocketed to absolute maximum. The construct transformed into a silver blur, rushing toward her with everything it had.
But it was fast, Bronya's thoughts were faster.
Bronya could see the construct's objective at a glance.
Its target wasn't Azhar herself; it wanted to interrupt the process of reactivating Judah. Azhar was simply the most effective way to achieve that.
It knew that once the neural link was restored, the squad's coordination would jump by an entire magnitude, rendering its divide-and-conquer strategy completely useless.
Therefore, it had to eliminate the network hub before the link could be established.
Bronya made this judgment the exact moment the construct changed direction.
And her countermeasure was executed in that same fraction of a second.
"Kiana! Three steps straight ahead, full guard!"
Kiana's brain hadn't even processed why she needed to be "three steps straight ahead," but her body had already moved.
Driven by absolute trust and sheer instinct, she lunged forward, crossing her arms in front of her, planting herself like a solid nail directly in front of Azhar.
Almost simultaneously, the silver blur arrived.
It reconsolidated into a humanoid form in mid-air, its right fist carrying the full kinetic energy of its high-speed charge as it slammed into Kiana like a silver meteor.
"Urgh—!" The impact sent a numb shock up Kiana's arms, pushing her backward nearly two meters before she managed to dig in her heels.
But she didn't willingly take a single step back... She couldn't afford to.
Even without her Genesis Key, she was still Kiana Kaslana!
The construct didn't pause; the resistance was within its calculations.
The instant its right fist was blocked, its left arm liquefied and reformed, bypassing Kiana's guard from the side. It transformed into a slender silver spike, thrusting straight toward Azhar behind her.
Kiana's block could only protect the front; she had no time to turn and intercept a flanking attack.
"Sirin!" Bronya shouted her final verbal command.
The silver spike abruptly halted in mid-air, stopping mere inches from Azhar's face.
Not long enough?!
How is this—wait, aren't Sirin and Frélle's Authorities supposed to be spatial phasing?
Even if it was just a minuscule remnant of the Authority of the Dream, powered by a Pseudo-Herrscher's Honkai Energy output, it was still the ultimate trump card against purely technological attacks!
At the same time, that familiar wave of Honkai Energy radiated outward once more. The simulated Shu knew it was completely out of options to stop the neural link!
The title of "Strongest" was etched into the classroom.
In other words—Bronya had won!
The moment the flawless network was established, a relaxed, confident smile spread across Bronya's face.
Countless thoughts were instantly transmitted into everyone's minds—plans, objectives, shared tactical data...
The unparalleled clarity made Bronya feel incredibly liberated.
The construct made its final calculation. Before Li Sushang could swing her sword again, it proactively severed its own silver spike—which was still trapped by the Authority of the Dream—and attempted to flee.
But its escape route had already been live-streamed directly to Bianka.
With a clear bearing, Bianka took a deep breath and clenched her fist. The next second, her small body became a streak of light, violently dismantling the maze around her.
Wall after metal wall shattered like wafer biscuits under her assault. The labyrinth collapsed in a thunderous roar. As Bianka smashed through the final barrier, she met the fleeing construct head-on.
I've been waiting for you!
There were no flashy techniques. Bianka was an unstoppable force of nature that had just crashed the party. The construct couldn't dodge; it couldn't evade. It could only watch helplessly as Bianka's fist rapidly expanded in its vision.
BOOM—!
The punch generated a massive shockwave, landing heavily on the construct's chest. Against this level of force, the construct's hyper-compressed, reinforced physical integrity might as well have been tin foil.
Its torso caved inward at an exaggerated, unnatural angle, before its entire body was violently blasted into pieces once again.
It tried to employ its "break apart and reform" tactic a third time, but Bianka wasn't about to fall for the same trick twice.
Bone-chilling cold surged forward along with the kinetic force of her punch. In an instant, a massive bloom of ice crystals filled half the arena, rising like an ancient glacier, flash-freezing the scattered nanomachine units mid-air.
"Phew..." Bianka exhaled a puff of white breath, pulling her fist free from the glacier and rolling her shoulders to loosen up.
That should be... the end of it, right?
Up in the stands, Joachim took off his glasses, wiped the frost off the lenses, then slowly turned his head to stare fixedly at Shu.
"Why the hell is she a student too?" Joachim asked, his expression practically radiating resentment.