Chapter 319: Winter Festival Competition with Falling Ginkgo Trees At

the end of December, the annual Winter Festival Party began.

The festival inherited from the ancient Third Age has now penetrated into people's lives. In the past, this was a time of year to stop and rest. Families reunited, sitting under windows hung with frozen green branches and leaves, eating roasted food, and recalling and summarizing the changes of the year.

Similar to ordinary people, almost all schools will hold competitions on the eve of winter to test the results of the year and as a time to relax before the holidays, allowing students to participate together.

Orange flames fell from the sky, spraying the ground, burning the weeds and dead branches, and then turning them into charred soil.

Continuous rain and dew fell from the sky, moistening the charred soil, and then seeds were scattered and fell into the moist and black soil.

Soon, tender buds sprouted, and the light green and white branches twitched and grew rapidly.

The venue is full of trees covered with bright yellow leaves and flowers, and the ground is also covered with green grass. Ripples spread in the breeze through the forest, and tiny waves meander to the horizon.

This is the vast site of the Winter Festival Competition. Its appearance is like an enlarged arena. The interior is bustling with people. Tourists and spectators from all over the world gather and cheer excitedly, looking at the beautiful and blooming flower sea in the venue.

The theme of the Winter Festival Competition venue is different every year. Three years ago, it was a hill covered with purple grass. Students fought and killed in the half-human-high deep purple grass sea. The flying sword blades and fluttering purple cotton were frozen into beautiful pictures.

Two years ago, it was a pool full of falling flame flowers. Falling flame flowers are an extraordinary species branch of water lilies. Its leaves are particularly strong when spread on the water surface. People weighing hundreds of pounds can step on them without collapsing. Its flowers are orange-red like fire, emitting heat, and are particularly beautiful when spread on the water surface.

This year, the forest is full of fan ginkgo trees. The light yellow and tender yellow ginkgo leaves are all over the branches, and they are connected under the sunlight. The fan ginkgo is a modified extraordinary species. Its branches and leaves emit a faint fragrance, and its leaves will produce a tiny vortex after burning, which will make the fallen leaves rise spontaneously, and then the fiery red burning leaves will fill the sky.

"It's about to start."

Looking at the passage opened in front, the light gradually illuminated the indoor hall, and Heshia Tilan stood on the high platform and whispered softly.

Then she turned around and looked down at the Edes students in black uniforms in front of her. They stood upright, in neat formation, with fiery eyes and full of fighting spirit, like soldiers about to go to war.

Tilan's dress today is quite bold, which can be said to be very different from her previous style.

She was wearing a witch dress with a black base and purple embellishments. There was a white bustle under the skirt. The light gauze wavy pleated bustle also served as safety pants in a sense, filling the bottom of the skirt so that outsiders could not see deep into her thighs. She was wearing ancient boots with star and moon patterns on them. Her legs were wrapped in plaid lace stockings. The middle part of the plaid was slightly transparent, forming a light and dark change with the stockings as a whole, which was slightly tempting. Her

snow-white shoulders were exposed from the dress that wrapped around her chest, forming a sharp contrast with the black pleated lace fabric on her chest.

Finally, there was the extremely wide witch hat on her head. Its sharp corners were bent and hung with star and moon ornaments. The middle of the ornaments were dotted with blue and purple gems, and the edges were smooth metal, shining and reflecting under the light.

Such clothes were more for role-playing than for fighting, but tonight was the opening ceremony, and she didn't need to play in the only warm-up match.

As for the Edes students in front of her, they were all wearing black long coats, quite mysterious, like an ancient sect that worshipped witches.

Unlike Saint Ingo, which advocates brilliance, nobility, and magnificence, the style of Edes Academy has always been dark, mysterious, charming, and powerful.

Other academies also have their own characteristics. The style of Swarm of Bees Academy is elegant, gorgeous, and ladylike. The style of Crystal Lattice Academy is technology, crystal, and transparent. The style of Lelisa Academy is obviously church style, with angels, wings, and holiness as the main themes, while the style of Thunder Front advocates knights, glory, and discipline.

Blinking her sapphire eyes, the girl swept her eyes over all the students present. Those pairs of expectant eyes came into view. The words of encouragement had been said many times before, and now there is no need to emphasize them again.

She opened her mouth slightly, pressed her fingers lightly on her chest, bent slightly, and then raised her head.

"Tonight's battle, swaying the morning star."

In response, everyone present put their hands on their shoulders, bowed and saluted, and responded in unison.

"Tonight's battle, swaying morning stars!"

The voices were so uniform that they echoed throughout the hall for a long time.

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Under the gaze of countless lights and cameras, teams of students walked out of their respective preparation halls and walked to the center of the venue under the leadership of the heads of each school.

Under the tall ginkgo trees, these students in their respective school uniforms were confident and quiet. They stepped on the ground covered with ginkgo fan leaves and calmly faced the light yellow butterflies flying in the forest. These butterflies were bionic self-disciplined unit lenses. They faithfully recorded the various scenes in the venue from all angles, and then transmitted the images to the projection screen above the venue and to the televisions of thousands of households in the Four-Leaf Crystal Star Region.

Students from the six major schools gathered, and they were arranged in the shape of six-petal snowflakes, surrounding the high platform in the middle, where a golden holy grail was placed, with roses entwined on both sides of the holy grail, and clear water in the cup.

Six student representatives walked up to the platform, looked at each other, and then, according to the stone tablet under the base of the Holy Grail, led all the participating students to swear an oath, stating that they would abide by the ancient and fair rules of the competition, not cheat, not murder, respect their opponents, not compete passively, strive to show their own brilliance, and abandon lies and fraud.

After the oath, the six people bowed to the Holy Grail in the center, then shook hands with each other, and then walked down the platform.

After that, the host read out the process of the Winter Festival Competition, the arrangement of each project, and introduced the situation and results of the Winter Festival Competition in previous generations, as well as the expectations and blessings for this Winter Festival Competition.

By the time these were finally read, more than half an hour had passed, and then the students of the six academies dispersed, and the platform decorated with the Holy Grail in the middle fell down and was replaced by a square platform engraved with patterns.

The 'warm-up match' began.

The students who appeared tonight were limited to grades 2-3, and they must be Sequence 4, and could not be higher than this level. This was a stage specially reserved for the rising stars in each academy.

The winning academy will receive 1 victory point, and there is no penalty for failure. This is to encourage each academy to actively arrange personnel to appear on the stage, but the maximum number of people shall not exceed 36.

There is no special order for the warm-up match. It is a defense system, and each person can only go on stage once until they are defeated and leave the stage.

After the start of the match, the six university campus arrays standing around the open space did not send people to the stage immediately. In such a match, it is not advantageous to

go on stage in the early stage. Besides, there is plenty of time tonight, so there is no need to be so anxious. "In this case, let's get started."

Wearing a straight dark blue uniform similar to a military uniform, Sweetway stood in front of a group of Thunder Front students. He raised his right hand, and then a sharp-eyed student walked out of the queue, walked through the shade of the falling ginkgo trees, and stood in the middle of the open space.

"Thunder Front, second year, Xian Zhaonan."

After he stood still, he first introduced his name, and then slowly pulled out a long sword with a shimmering silver light from his side. The blade was dark blue, and the blade was wavy, reflecting bursts of cold light.

"Hmph, interesting."

A girl wearing a golden flowing long skirt and holding a folding fan sat on a gilded porcelain chair. Behind her were students wearing light brown and bright yellow block dresses.

"Then let's play together, the Leader of the Swarm of Bees." She said with a frown, and waved the folding fan with a pendant in her hand. A girl holding a sword stepped out in response.

She had a high ponytail with a light brown tint, and walked into the open space with light brown prosthetic shoes stepping on the fallen leaves.

She threw down the scabbard, pulled out one of the fiery red blades, swung it gently, and then looked at the boy not far away.

"The Leader of the Swarm of Bees, second year, Ishilia."

Seeing the two standing still and ready, the referee's voice came from above.

"The competition begins!"

After the voice fell, the two stepped forward almost at the same time, and the swords in their hands collided violently, a few sparks popped out, followed by a harsh friction sound.

After the first fight, both of them stepped away cautiously without fighting, and then adjusted their positions and states again, keeping a close eye on their opponents.

At the beginning, neither of them knew the other's situation. Close combat is very dangerous. If the opponent suddenly uses an unprepared move, they may be defeated before they have time to show their strength.

In this way, the two fought back and forth several times. During this period, both sides also tried long-range attacks, but they were easily avoided by each other, and only a few ginkgo trees in the distance were cut down.

Perhaps it felt that they had understood it well enough, and dragging it on would only consume more magic power, which would not be conducive to a long-term defense. After another stagger, Xian Zhaonan did not retreat, but turned back quickly. The blade in his hand was like white lightning, rushing straight to Ishilia who was not yet ready.

She used her sword to block the long sword, but the lightning still made Ishilia numb. Then the blade was pulled back, and several more slashes were made. Ishilia, who lost the initiative, could only retreat step by step. Then a blade passed by, and a long streak of blood flew out of her shoulder. The flying blade turned again in the air and stabbed straight into her chest.

Whether it was dodging or blocking, Ishilia was too late at this time, and she also held the hilt tightly, slashing diagonally downward and upward, and at the moment when the opponent stabbed her, she went straight to Xian Zhaonan's right arm. As a last resort,

Xian Zhaonan could only let go, and then Ishilia retreated, pulled out the blade that had penetrated her chest, and threw it on the ground.

Seeing that she still refused to admit defeat, Xian Zhaonan shook his head, but did not say anything. Instead, he stretched his hand into the air, and then a lightning bolt struck down and hit Ishilia's position.

Covering her wound, Ishilia stepped forward again, the flaming sword in her hand glowing with flames, and then rushed towards Xian Zhaonan like a living thing.

After several more battles, Xian Zhaonan, who had lost his straight sword, was at a disadvantage in the battle, and finally had to admit defeat and leave the stage. At this time, Ishilia also fell unconscious due to excessive blood loss.

"The first game, the leader of the bees won!"

Although they won, it was not worth it. They had to leave the stage after only one game.

The students of the leader of the bees carried the injured Ishilia off the stage and received treatment, and then the open space was vacated again.

"It's our turn for the second game."

Ed snapped his finger ring, and then a girl wearing glasses walked out of the formation behind him. She had a rather flamboyant dark pink braid and wore the white-bottomed and blue-edged uniform of Crystal Grid Academy.

When she came to the open space, she lifted up her white coat, revealing the various devices hanging around her waist and back. Some of these metal-structured objects were similar to storage boxes, some were like jet nozzles, and some seemed to be radar scanners.

Raising the thick gun in her hand, the girl standing here kissed the silver barrel and then spoke.

"Crystal Grid Academy, second year, Xisha."

After introducing herself, she turned her eyes and looked in the direction of Saint Ingo Academy, shaking the barrel of the gun, "I want to challenge the geniuses of Saint Ingo, can you help me?"

In this regard, the students of other academies looked at her, but there was no one to interrupt her thoughts. After all, it was against Saint Ingo, the first place, and the others also wanted to see how Saint Ingo would deal with it.

Soqins, the current student council president of Saint Ingo Academy, was standing in front of the formation with his eyes closed and his sword on his body. He was wearing a white cloak with gold edges, and there were large golden round buckles and thin ropes on the corners, like a lion's mane.

Hearing such words, the president opened his dark golden eyes and looked directly at the girl in the open space, then lightly hit the ground with his sword, and a halo rose under the feet of a girl in a white uniform.

"Yes, president." She walked out of the formation, and her steps became faster and faster, and she drew out an emerald metal straight sword.

"Saint Ingo, second year, Julian."

After the two sides stood still, a voice sounded above their heads, and the competition began.

With her finger on the trigger under the barrel, she turned it, and then gently held it in her palm. After announcing the start, Xisha aimed directly at Julian who was attacking from the opposite side and fired five shots in succession. Three of the bullets were blocked by the opponent's sword blade, one missed, and one landed on the opponent's shoulder, leaving a blood spot.

At this time, Xisha still had a bullet in her gun, and Julian had already attacked close. She moved the box on her waist with her left hand, revealing a small honeycomb-like ball with two blue and gray modules distributed on the sphere. At this time, a high-frequency light lit up on the blue module, and then the spherical shield spread out. When Julian's emerald straight sword chopped on the shield, it drew a violent debris light spot.

In response, Julian frowned and put away the sword, then changed the attack formula, a bright red brand pattern coated on the sword body, and then swung the sword again, breaking the defensive shield like cutting butter.

Although the shield only blocked Julian for a few seconds, this time was enough for Cesar.

She pointed the gun at Julian and then fired a specially engraved enchanted bullet.

Unlike the previous five bullets, this bullet had an extremely high exit speed. It almost instantly passed through Julian's defense and shot into her body, causing her to groan and step back half a step. The

enchanted bullet that shot into her body emitted interference and blocking engravings, causing Julian's magic power to stagnate. Taking advantage of this gap, Cesar threw away the silver pistol in her hand and pulled out two long-barreled guns from her back again, shooting in succession.

Although Julian also tried her best to dodge and block, due to the effect of the bullet in her body, her agility and reaction ability declined seriously. In the end, she could only declare defeat due to her serious injuries.

Cesar blew on the gun barrel and breathed a sigh of relief, with a bit of satisfaction in her eyes.

It seems that Saint Ingo is just like this. She stomped her feet, picked up the gun and props thrown on the ground, and then reloaded and recharged, waiting for the next challenger.

Just when the other members of the academy were eager to try, a member of Saint Ingo jumped on first.

He almost jumped over the grass covered with fallen leaves, half-knelt in the open space, and then stood up, revealing his handsome face under his short light blond hair.

"Saint Ingo, second year, Shelley."

"Oh, he looks pretty handsome. It seems that I will be ruthless today." Xisha rubbed her nose, and the silver pistol held by her fingertips turned in her hand, holding it from time to time.

"The competition begins!"

After the referee announced, Shelley stood up and rushed to the side, which caught Xisha off guard. She thought the opponent would come directly to her, but it seemed that he was not.

It was difficult for Xisha to shoot Shelley at high speed, and the distance between them also gave Shelley a certain reaction time, enough to block and dodge the sparse bullets flying.

Faced with this situation, Xisha became a little nervous, and then threw away the pistol that had run out of bullets. Just as she reached out to touch the double guns behind her, Shelley suddenly turned around and attacked. The crimson blade in her hand directly broke through the opened shield, and then slashed it sharply, leaving a narrow wound. Xisha also flew out in the subsequent kick and hit the ginkgo tree trunk not far behind her.

"Xisha lost, Saint Ingo got one point!"

After the referee's verdict, several medical staff picked up Xisha, put her in the rescue cabin, and lifted her up to leave.

After dealing with the opponent, Shelley shook off the blood on the blade, stood in the open space, and waited for the challenge of others.

At this time, Tilan turned his head to look at the members behind him, swept his eyes, and then raised the thin snow finger in the black sleeve and pointed at a boy with gray-blue hair.

"This time you go."

"Yes, President Tilan." After saying that, he took off his black hood, walked out of the crowd, and slowly drew out the big sword on his back.

Although he was a student, his appearance gave people a sense of vicissitudes of life. The sword in his hand was like an ancient tombstone, engraved with words corroded by wind and snow.

"Edes, third grade, Tumu."

The voice was slightly hoarse, like snow dust blowing from the cold winter.

(End of this chapter)