Is This Still a Battle Between Witches?

“Attack! Don't give them a moment to breathe!”

With a grand wave of Alisa's hand, the white-robed homunculi surrounding her charged toward the front line of pink infantry holding greatshields, brandishing various magic weapons.

On Lan Qingyou's side... there was no reaction at all.

After all, the underlying logic of these combat golems was ‘protect’ and ‘counterattack.’

Protection, naturally, meant ensuring Lan Qingyou's personal safety, while counterattack meant striking anyone who dared to attack Lan Qingyou or the golems themselves.

Thus, Lan Qingyou didn't even need to give an order. When the white homunculi rushed forward, using various magic and combat skills to attack the golems, the code was automatically activated.

Wooo—

The moment the chainswords in the hands of the pink infantry were activated, flashing with a cold glint, the front line became a scene of splattering blood and the agonizing screams of the homunculi.

Although these were homunculi, and all of them were modeled after Alisa herself...

Aside from their emotions, these homunculi were no different from ordinary humans.

They could run, jump, shout, and scream in pain.

And, of course, they could bleed and die just the same.

Vroom—

The purple knights, mounted on bronze beasts and wielding spiral lances, continuously galloped along the edges of the battlefield.

They would typically charge into the enemy ranks to wreak havoc before circling back out to prepare for another strike.

Meanwhile, the black mages positioned at the very rear of the formation raised their staves, firing magic projectiles into the white army.

Although this batch of golems looked identical in appearance and color to the ones used against the treants, Lan Qingyou had further optimized their magic instructions over the past few months of dungeon battles.

These golems were now far superior to their predecessors.

While these magic projectiles were all engraved with C-grade and B-grade spells like Burst Shells, Ice Spike Shells, and Hurricane Shells, they still dealt significant area damage to the homunculi, who possessed very little defense.

At first glance, it seemed Lan Qingyou's golem army held the upper hand.

However, that wasn't entirely the case.

The homunculi were indeed creatures of flesh and blood, unable to compare to golems reinforced with Thorium.

But while the homunculi lacked emotions, it didn't mean they lacked thought.

The golems could only attack step-by-step, following their code like a program, whereas the homunculi could independently think through every move.

This meant that if even one homunculus figured out a way to counter the golems, the knowledge could immediately spread to the entire group.

Nevertheless, this development was within Lan Qingyou's expectations.

After all, wasn't this exactly the kind of combat scenario her golem phalanx needed to face?

Though her previous battles had all been against monsters and she lacked experience in this area, this was a perfect opportunity to see if her instructions and unit types could perfectly handle such a fight.

To put it bluntly, by this point in the match, neither Lan Qingyou nor Alisa cared about winning or losing anymore.

In their eyes, their research was far more important than a momentary victory.

If the invisible commentator knew this, he might have broken down in tears.

This was supposed to be a continent-wide tournament, yet from start to finish, hardly anyone was actually treating it as a serious competition.

Between those making debuts, those running advertisements, and those conducting experiments, the whole thing was full of superficial gimmicks.

Regardless, the battle between Lan Qingyou and Alisa still delivered a visual and psychological shock to many.

“Is this still a battle between witches? Where are the flying spells and the curses I was promised?”

Someone typed this string of text into the world channel while watching the two armies clash on the sky-screen.

“I feel like they're more like two generals fighting than witches. No, this is a war... a well-matched positional war.”

“...Talk about a real eye-opener! I didn't know witches could fight like this!”

“Instead of a battle between witches, it's more like a battle between alchemists now.”

“Tsk tsk, one researches machinery and materials, while the other researches biology and cells?”

“Personally, I support the Witch of the Tower. The flesh is weak; the machine is salvation. That’s the hard truth. Plus, that armor looks so good.”

“Nonsense! Aren't homunculi made from the perfect combination of biology and cells better than anything else? If an organ or anything else fails, you can just swap it out. In a place overflowing with mana like this, what can't be done?”

“Well said, but I'll still choose the once-and-for-all solution.”

“True. If every part of my body were replaced, would I even still be me?”

“That's a philosophical question. I suggest you go ask those philosophers who need their own translators.”

“I remember reading about something called the Ship of Theseus paradox. It asks if a ship is still the same ship after every single piece of wood has been replaced.”

“I think it's a matter of definition. As long as your brain is still yours, the rest doesn't matter.”

“What if even the brain is replaced?”

“Then it probably wouldn't count anymore.”

“What if you just leave home without a brain?”

“Hahaha, what an interesting comment.”

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While many people were initially discussing the battle, as time went on, they realized that these two witches seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of troops. Whenever they suffered losses at the front, they would simply wave their hands and replenish their forces.

This style of fighting was violent and spectacular, but it easily became tedious after a while.

Of course...

That tedium only applied to the irrelevant onlookers.

Those with actual power and ability were currently watching the match with total concentration.

“Fighting like this makes it entirely a war of attrition.”

“That’s obvious. What war isn't a war of attrition?”

“True, but don't forget this is just a match, not a real war. There's a fundamental difference.”

“Indeed. With the way they're fighting now, as long as it's a one-on-one duel, they could easily take down anyone without even using magic or other skills.”

“Heh, and yet they happened to run into each other.”

“Do you think it's possible that because they're powerful enough to reach the end, they were destined to meet?”

“Hmm... you might be onto something there.”

“By the way, where on earth did these two get this kind of technology? Isn't it a bit overpowered?”

“Overpowered indeed... I thought evolved beings were the limit, but then these two witches pull this stunt in the final match. It's truly a sight to behold.”

“Didn't they say it was all from their personal research?” someone asked doubtfully.