Olgis charged forward aggressively—but Kula's movements weren't any slower. In fact, from an observer's perspective, Kula's movement looked outright uncanny—she seemed to glide across the ground like a ghost, racing toward her target with a light, graceful motion.
"Eh? Eh—? How is Miss Kula doing that?"
Lorena widened her eyes in surprise. Duanmu Huai only shrugged.
Although during the time he'd kept Kula, she behaved no differently than a stray kitten he had just picked up, her sudden movements confirmed she was indeed an exceptional martial artist—similar to Feilin, Kula could manipulate ice, and her combat style reflected that.
In truth, the reason Kula could sprint so quickly was simple: with each movement, she secretly formed an "ice track" beneath her feet, while also shaping thin blades of ice under her shoes. What looked like ordinary pavement to others became a smooth skating rink for her.
"...…"
Seeing Kula rushing in, Olgis paused for a moment—but quickly twitched her fingers. At once, several lance-wielding knight dolls assembled before her, forming a cavalry-like formation, thrusting their long spears toward Kula.
Kula, however, bent low, and the "ice track" beneath her abruptly rose like a ramp. Using it, she leapt high, avoiding the charge. At the same time she lifted her right leg, swinging it straight toward Olgis's head.
This kid looks cute and dumb, but she really doesn't hold back, huh…
Duanmu Huai twitched the corner of his eye. His understanding of Kula was limited—after all, she was too weak to survive long in player-filled tournaments, always dying early.
But seeing her fight with his own eyes now, Duanmu Huai finally saw a very different side of her.
It looked like just a normal kick—but he knew those ice blades under her shoes were sharp enough to slice a throat open.
This strike was essentially a full-force "mountain-splitting slash," a giant blade aimed straight at Olgis's skull.
In the real world, it would've split someone's head clean in two.
But Olgis wasn't helpless either. Several sword-and-shield dolls raised their shields, blocking Kula's kick. In the next instant, they leveled their swords—and spun rapidly like high-speed chainsaws, aiming to slice off Kula's leg.
Kula reacted quickly. Missing her strike, she immediately formed a thin layer of ice beneath her foot, leaping again—performing something akin to a double-jump in action games—dodging Olgis's counterattack. She flipped midair and swung her right hand, summoning several ice spikes that shot directly into the spinning dolls.
"Bang!"
Their opening exchange ended. Kula landed behind Olgis while Olgis turned, her dolls already regrouping into formation around her like a squad of loyal knights.
"Miss Olgis's fighting style looks different now."
Lorena observed aloud. Duanmu Huai nodded.
"Yeah. Honestly, if it's just like this… well, hard to say…"
From his perspective, Olgis's old fighting style—pure thread manipulation—was already great. Losing to Ayane was purely due to world mechanics. This new doll-army style looked a bit redundant.
And yet, Olgis had beaten Ayane in the qualifiers. If she passed, then this was what she used.
How the hell did she manage that…?
"No, Sir Knight, I mean Miss Olgis doesn't seem calm."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yes. Her attacks are very intense—like she wants to crush Kula right away."
"Yeah… I guess she does."
He hadn't really considered it deeply—he just assumed Olgis changed styles after training.
But hearing Lorena say that…
I still don't get it.
Frankly, he'd never witnessed women fighting each other seriously in real life.
But Lorena seemed to see something he didn't.
"As expected, both of them are really excited! You can tell—they're ready to fight to the bitter end!"
Excited??
Duanmu Huai looked at both girls again.
Expressionless.
Expressionless.
Where the hell was the excitement?
And why were they excited in the first place?
As he pondered in confusion, the two resumed their battle.
"Swish swish swish—!!"
Olgis raised her right hand. At her command, the archer dolls behind her fired a rain of arrows at Kula.
Kula dodged—
But the next moment, her right arm snapped still as if caught by an invisible force, freezing her in place.
"Oh… so that's how!"
Duanmu Huai understood instantly. Olgis had used her puppet strings to bind Kula's arm.
And now he understood exactly how she beat Ayane.
Olgis's biggest weakness was that she herself had no physical combat ability. Even if she restrained Ayane, she had no way to deal damage. But now—with dolls providing offense and defense—she could immobilize her opponent and let the dolls attack.
Guess they aren't that useless after all.
He felt relieved—but then something unexpected happened on Kula's side.
Unable to break Olgis's threads, Kula struggled. But realizing she couldn't escape, her eyes flashed. She raised both hands high—
And swung them down.
"————!!!"
A massive blizzard descended instantly, engulfing the entire street. Ice chunks the size of hailstones rained down violently onto Olgis.
Not even Duanmu Huai expected Kula to activate her ultimate directly.
"Bang bang bang bang bang!!"
Under the intense storm, Olgis's puppet threads shattered, and the dolls protecting her were smashed apart. As the restraints broke, Kula flashed forward through the icy storm, lunging toward Olgis with frightening speed.
She thrust her right arm forward—an icy blade forming along her palm—aimed directly at Olgis's chest.
This is the critical moment.
With Olgis's dolls shattered, she had no protection. And she had no martial arts ability to guard herself.
So what will she do?
Olgis immediately gave her answer—
She ascended into the air.
No—she wasn't flying.
At first Duanmu Huai thought she'd shot upward with power, until he noticed the dolls positioned above her.
"Ahh… so that's it. Well done, Olgis."
He applauded.
Her dolls weren't burdens at all—they became her mobility anchors. Using threads connected to dolls positioned at fixed points, Olgis could pull, swing, and launch herself through the air—almost like wire-work in movies, but smoother and faster.
She maneuvered like a ghost, dodging the ice spike that Kula launched afterward.
In the next instant, Olgis lifted her right hand—light flashing.
"————!!!"
All the dolls around Kula suddenly spun wildly, transforming into a storm of rotating circular saws that surrounded her in a deadly ring.
Kula tried to defend, but the full 360-degree assault overwhelmed her. Her guard broke, and her small body was blasted away, landing hard on the ground.
"KO!"
Seeing this, Duanmu Huai nodded.
The outcome was clear.
(End of Chapter)
I'm gonna post some novels that are only on my Patreon, and i will delete them in a short time, because that novel, if you know why, you know. advance chapter on patreon too, ordinaryptl