Chapter 418

Chapter 41: Aim for the Bridge of the Nose (Part 2)

“Hey, isn’t hitting the face a bit too much?”

“I didn’t hit your face.”

“Your punch and kick were aimed right at my face. Do you think I’m blind?”

“That was aimed at your nose.”

“Let’s discuss this. Can we not hit my face? I have guests to attend to this afternoon.”

“Oh, I’ll go easy on you.”

A thin gray mist rose from above the training ground within the earthen walls.

In the vast open space, Reckert and I stood facing each other, only a few steps apart.

A gentle breeze blew, lifting the man’s coat and stirring two strands of my hair by the temples. The strands brushed against my earlobes, tickling slightly. I raised my hand, using my little finger to smooth them, then removed the already askew soft hat, tossing it aside.

One second, two seconds, three seconds passed.

It felt as if everyone’s throats had been choked, making the entire training ground suddenly silent. Among the crowd of students watching nearby, the most common expressions were not joy or excitement, but confusion and disbelief, as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

To them, from the moment Teacher Melville shouted “begin,” the girl stepping out with her strange steps, disappearing and reappearing, and then Reckert’s powerful punches, followed by their separation and standing still—everything happened too abruptly and quickly. Within less than two seconds, the students found it hard to react.

“The fact that Payilo and Reckert are fighting head-on and gaining the upper hand” was an unbelievable yet obvious truth that left most people who had come to watch the spectacle or mock the girl speechless, their minds blank.

In their imagination, even if Payilo truly had remarkable talent, she could not surpass the previous few by much, let alone compare to Mr. Reckert, who was one of the strongest warriors in the royal city,乃至伊森贝尔，是女王陛下最信赖的亲卫，强大而宽容的存在，远超大多数学生心目中的巅峰。

相比之下，Payilo…

一个学院的一年级新生，稚气未脱的小丫头，看起来娇小虚弱，打一拳肯定会哭很久。即使再漂亮，再讨人喜欢，又怎能与Reckert先生相提并论？

在他们的印象中，那种看上去柔柔弱弱、可爱讨喜的小女孩，如果真的打起来，大概属于一只手就能抱起来摔到地上的类型。

因此，开战前的欢呼声，大多带着戏谑的味道。学生们兴奋，是因为Payilo打架这件事让他们觉得有趣，他们想更多地了解她，看看她是否符合他们心中的小女神形象。如果Payilo被Reckert先生一拳打倒，抱着头喊痛，他们或许会心疼，但心疼之余，他们会想：果然如此，Payilo真是可爱。

当然，也有可能有人暗自窃喜。

无论如何，这才是他们期待或认定会出现的画面。

至于关于Payilo是Silvija小姐的传言……拜托，这只是大家随便聊聊。教宗骑士大人日理万机，每天都有很多大事要做，怎么可能是一年级新生呢！而且专打别人的鼻子……

只是学院里很多人想接近她，却找不到合适的理由，送花留言也不理，社交圈子仅限于少数人，高冷得像寒冬中独自绽放的花朵，这让男学生们头疼不已，却又无可奈何，于是编造出各种关于Payilo的消息传言，摆出一副煞有介事的样子，以此来建立与她的联系，希望能引起她的注意。

因此，除了莎拉等人，几乎没有人认为Payilo能打得漂亮，无非是被Reckert先生教训一顿，灰溜溜地下场。即使前面有Melville老师的提醒，这也是大家心中的共识。

然而，当事实远远超出他们的预期后，学生们愣住了。

这是什么情况……怎么可能……刚才发生了什么……不会吧……她是如何做到的……为什么会……这么强啊！

几秒钟后，犹如石破天惊的呐喊声骤然响彻云霄。

“噢噢噢噢噢——！！！”

巨大的心理落差造成了头皮发麻的震撼。

那个看起来娇柔的少女，多数人心目中的爱慕对象、小妖精、小女神，本应被细心呵护的存在，就这么诡异地在场中消失，然后以极其强势的姿态，瞬间逼近看似不可战胜的Reckert先生。一番令人眼花缭乱的交手后，Reckert先生被一脚踢到了远处，差点站不稳。

这样的事实清晰起来，学生们几乎喊破了嗓子，声音甚至比Angel到场时还要疯狂。

“卧槽！卧槽！卧槽！”

“神明保佑，我的妹妹呀——！”

“怎么回事！你们看清楚了吗！有人看清楚了吗！”

“Reckert先生被踢飞了！”

“我没瞎！我是问怎么踢的啊！”

“你以为我能看清楚吗！”

“Payilo！我爱你啊——！！”

在这近乎疯狂的咆哮声中，我从容地解开头顶的包头，放下满头黑发，甩了甩，用发圈咬在嘴里，再次将头发束起，在脑后扎紧。

A single ponytail swayed behind her head.

Across from her, Rekht was flexing his wrists.

“How about it? Finished warming up?”

He asked with a smile.

“Mm-hm.”

She nodded, noticing the sweat on his forehead, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

That kick was quite strong…

Naturally, she was happy about it.

But at the same time, she understood that in that brief moment of engagement, she had taken advantage of him when he wasn’t paying attention, and used brute force to suppress him at a critical moment, which gave her an edge. If Rekht hadn’t been much weaker than her in terms of strength, she would have been the one suffering.

Next, let’s try to match his level…

“I’ll have to be a bit more serious then.”

Rekht’s words were barely audible amidst the roaring cheers around them.

She touched the ponytail at the back of her head and mimicked his gesture, curling her finger.

“Bring it on.”

This small action caused the already loud cheering to rise even higher.

She shook her head, feeling the ponytail brush against her back, and felt a sudden sense of relief. Unable to hold back, she jumped twice in place, her gaze fixed on Rekht. On the third jump, she bent slightly and stepped forward.

At almost the same time, the man in front of her raised his windbreaker, suddenly raising his arm and sweeping downward.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

The wind howled.

Dust rose explosively around the man, soaring five or six meters into the air, instantly obscuring most of the open space before her.

More dust…

How long has it been since this training ground was cleaned!

As the dust spread forward, she stopped and hastily retreated, unable to help but shout, “Rekht, what are you doing! How disgusting!”

“Otherwise? Do you expect me to face you head-on? Don’t make jokes, I’m an assassin…”

The man’s voice echoed in the rising dust, wavering and uncertain.

He’s moving…

But the dust blurred her vision, the sound of the wind and the shouts of the crowd muddling her hearing. She couldn’t see where he was, nor hear any footsteps, and she didn’t want to get close to the swirling smoke.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, dust flew up from the left side as well.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Rekht moved quickly. While running, he created smoke in various places on the field. She kept retreating, covering her mouth and nose, not wanting to be exposed to more dirt. She soon retreated to the corner, her vision almost completely obscured. The dust grew thicker, and she couldn’t even catch a glimpse of anything.

Just use a large-scale ice burst and freeze everything here…

Such thoughts could only be fleeting, and certainly not acted upon. If Rekht managed to survive by sheer luck, there would likely be casualties among the trainees. The few teachers like Melville couldn’t stop the spreading cold. Moreover, if she did that, the battle would lose its meaning.

But his fighting style is so annoying!

“Cough, cough!”

The smoke gradually drifted toward her.

No, it’s too choking…

She covered her nose and mouth with her left hand, frowning, while being wary of him suddenly appearing and launching an attack. At the same time, she held her right hand out in front of her, palm spraying frost mist, trying to blow away the dust with the wind carried by the mist.

Where is Foryoua…

Whoosh—

A sudden gust of wind came from the side.

In her peripheral vision, something flew out of the smoke, heading straight for her.

What is that…

She was startled and quickly jumped to the left. The attack hit the earthen wall behind her with a “bang,” scattering debris.

It seems like… a wind projectile?

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Before she could recover, another three whistles broke through the smoke from different directions, flying straight toward her… This time, she clearly saw that they were similar to air projectiles, lacking physical form and size, and invisible except for a slight disturbance in the air, but incredibly fast.

I can’t dodge… all directions are blocked…

Realizing this instantly, her eyes glowed blue.

Crack crack crack snap!

A tall arc-shaped ice wall sprang up in front of her, encircling her. Immediately after, there were three dull thuds as the incoming attacks were halted by the ice wall. From the sound, it seemed they hadn’t caused much damage.

A bit weak…

Or is he not trying to hurt me?

Hmph…

You won’t hurt me.

Whoosh—

The crowd outside erupted again, the commotion drawing many people’s attention.

“What was that blue light just now!”

“She’s behind the wall! The smoke is too thick, I can’t see anything… Oh, it’s drifting over here!”

“Peyelo, counterattack! Counterattack!”

“Hit his nose!”

“Ahhh! Can’t see, can’t see—”

They’re so annoying, why are they shouting so loudly! I can’t even hear where Rekht is…

But he seems to know exactly where I am.

Probably judging by the wind currents. If this continues, I’ll become an easy target… Whatever, my clothes and hair are already dirty. Better move.

The smoke had already spread to both sides of the ice wall, surging like a wave, and there was no way to retreat further. She couldn’t keep hiding; it was too embarrassing.

So she took a deep breath, held it, turned her steps abruptly, and started moving.

Whoosh—

The wind rushed into her ears as she darted out from the right side of the ice wall, rushing into the swirling dust.

Ah, so dirty!

I’ll definitely break his nose if I catch him…