Chapter 525. Roasted Meat Defeats Princess Kaela Aurelius

Chapter 525: 525. Roasted Meat Defeats Princess Kaela Aurelius

Olivia, overhearing the bickering from across the field, let out a sharp, competitive laugh.

"Don’t think I’m just here to watch, William!" she called out, already adjusting her stance with a predatory glint in her eyes. "I’ve already placed several side wagers with a handful of off-duty guards who wandered over to watch."

"I intend to collect every single copper when your precious students inevitably crumble!"

Catherine, meanwhile, had already settled onto a nearby bench with fresh tea in hand, looking for all the world like she was attending a garden party rather than a tactical exercise.

"Oh, let them gamble, Olivia," Catherine announced smoothly, the steam from her cup curling around her serene features. "I find I require no wager."

"The entertainment value alone—the sheer, delicious chaos of watching them collide—is more than sufficient payment."

What followed was, by any reasonable measure, the single most chaotic training exercise William had overseen since arriving in this world.

Lia and Kaela, forced for the very first time onto the same side of a contest rather than opposing rivals, approached teamwork with all the coordinated precision of two feral cats shoved into the same sack.

There was no pregame huddle, no synchronized breathing. Instead, Kaela simply exploded forward with her usual aggressive, bone-crushing momentum before Lia had even finished articulating the first syllable of a plan.

"Kaela, wait, you absolute—!" Lia shouted, but the words were swallowed by the sound of Kaela’s boots tearing up chunks of turf. "Fine! Whatever!"

"Just don’t get yourself killed before I can salvage this mess!"

Visibly exasperated, Lia found herself forced into a state of constant, frantic improvisation, her mind working at triple speed to construct a new strategy on the fly simply to keep pace with whatever reckless catastrophe Kaela had already set into motion.

The clash began not with words, but with the sudden, violent eruption of magic.

Clara moved like a shadow given form. Her heightened senses allowed her to perceive the world in slow motion, tracking the minute shifts in air pressure and the telltale hum of gathering mana.

"Left, Kaela! Three degrees low!" Clara warned, her voice quiet but carrying absolute authority.

Kaela didn’t even look. She simply pivoted mid charge, her fist glowing with a raw, amber energy.

CRACK.

She punched the air where a magical bolt would have been, the force of her impact sending a visible shockwave through the grass.

"Got it!" Kaela yelled, grinning savagely.

The battlefield became a kaleidoscope of violence. Ellie darted in and out of cover with the grace of a dancer, her movements precise and controlled.

She didn’t unleash torrents of flame or lightning; instead, she utilized small, measured pulses of light.

Flash Flicker Strobe.

The bursts were designed to sear the retinas and disrupt concentration. One pulse caught Kaela square in the eyes, causing the warrior to stagger momentarily.

"Now, Clara!" Ellie called out, her voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through her.

Clara didn’t hesitate. As Kaela stumbled, Clara launched herself forward in a blur of motion, her movements economical and lethal.

She didn’t aim to strike but to intercept. She swept her leg in a wide arc, aiming to upend Kaela’s balance.

Kaela grunted, twisting her body midair with inhuman flexibility, but the momentum was broken.

"Nice try, Shadow girl!" Kaela barked, rolling across the dirt and springing back to her feet in one fluid motion.

The air grew heavy with the smell of ionized magic and churned earth. Olivia stood at the center of the opposing perimeter like a seasoned general, her hands weaving intricate patterns in the air.

"Hold the line!" she commanded, her voice cutting through the din of magical discharges. "Ellie, support the left flank!"

"Clara, don’t let Kaela breach the inner circle!"

The two teams began to grind against each other in a deadly dance of tactical superiority versus raw, unbridled force.

Every time Kaela managed to breach a defensive line through sheer physical intimidation, Clara was there to redirect her, using minimal effort to maximize Kaela’s frustration.

When Lia attempted to flank from the rear, Ellie would send a disorienting pulse of light that left Lia grasping at empty air.

Yet, through sheer overwhelming force and an almost accidental sort of battlefield chemistry, the chaos began to work in favor of the ’uncoordinated’ pair.

Lia, realizing she couldn’t outthink Clara, decided to distract her. She unleashed a cascade of smaller, rapid-fire spell fragments not meant to damage but to create a wall of noise and light.

"Kaela! Now! The gap is opening!" Lia screamed, her voice raw.

The distraction worked. Clara’s focus split between Lia’s magical barrage and Kaela’s sudden, terrifying advance. For one precious heartbeat, the defensive perimeter wavered.

Kaela roared, a sound of pure, predatory triumph, as she surged through the opening, her eyes locked on the prize. She was inches from the flag when Clara’s enhanced reflexes kicked in again.

With a desperate, precise lunge, Clara intercepted her, their bodies colliding with the sound of breaking air as they tumbled toward the consecrated ground.

The tension on the field had reached a fever pitch. The air crackled with residual mana, smelling of scorched grass and sweat.

Kaela was a force of nature, a golden blur of muscle and aggression charging toward the flag, while Clara stood like a statue of coiled lightning, waiting for the exact millisecond to strike.

The students held their breath; even William leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the tactical collision about to occur.

Then, the trajectory of the entire battle shifted not through magic or steel, but through sheer, unadulterated audacity.

Olivia, observing the inevitable collision with the detached interest of a grandmaster playing chess with children, reached into her tactical satchel.

With a wicked, predatory grin that suggested she had been planning this since sunrise, she produced a small, glistening cut of roasted meat clearly salvaged from her own breakfast.

With a flick of her wrist, she tossed it casually across the grass. It landed with a soft thud just three feet to the left of Kaela’s charging path, rolling into the sunlight.

Kaela stopped dead.

The effect was instantaneous. The momentum that had been threatening to tear through Clara’s defenses evaporated.

The thunderous sound of Kaela’s boots ceased, leaving behind a silence so sudden it felt deafening. Every head on the field—Lia, Ellie, Clara, and even William—turned in unison to follow Kaela’s gaze.

There it sat: a morsel of seasoned protein, innocently resting in the clover.

"Is that..." Kaela’s voice trailed off.

The ferocious war cry that had been building in her throat died into something distant, hollow, and disturbingly curious. "Is that the honey-glazed pork from this morning?"

Lia, who had been bracing herself to cover Kaela’s flank, froze mid-step. Her eyes widened as she recognized the expression crossing Kaela’s face.

"Kaela, no! Don’t you dare!"

"That is clearly a trap! It’s a magical lure, or a poisoned distraction, or—"

"It might not be," Kaela interrupted.

Her pupils had dilated. Her tactical focus hadn’t just slipped; it had been completely incinerated by the primal promise of breakfast.

She took one slow, deliberate, almost reverent step toward the meat.

"It is absolutely a trap, you idiot!" Lia screamed, her voice cracking with desperation. "Look at Olivia! She’s smiling like a demon!"

But it was too late. Kaela’s nose had already begun to twitch.

Her entire body language had shifted from ’Apex Predator’ to ’Hungry Golden Retriever.’

In that moment of total cognitive collapse, Ellie saw her opening. She didn’t hesitate, and she didn’t announce her approach.

She simply became a streak of white light. Using the distraction as a perfect smoke screen, Ellie darted past Kaela’s abandoned flank, her boots barely whispering against the turf.

She reached the flag post, grabbed the fabric with both hands, and spun away in a triumphant arc.

"GOT IT!" Ellie shrieked, her voice echoing across the academy grounds as she sprinted toward the safety zone.

"NOOOO!" Kaela bellowed, finally snapping out of her trance and lunging toward the flag, but she was too late.

The round was over.

The field exploded. The deadly seriousness of the training session shattered like glass, dissolving into a chaotic symphony of laughter and outrage.

Lia dropped her head into both hands, shoulders shaking as she let out a groan of pure, unmitigated disbelief. "I am surrounded by lunatics."

"I am literally training with apex predators who can be defeated by a snack."

"That was cheating!" Kaela shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Olivia while simultaneously eyeing the meat with unmistakable longing. "That is a violation of the Geneva Convention!"

"Roasted meat should be banned from all future combat exercises! It’s psychological warfare!"

On the sidelines, Catherine was nearly doubled over. The composed, elegant instructor was gone, replaced by someone laughing so hard her tea sloshed dangerously close to the rim of her cup.

"Oh, William," she managed to gasp between peals of laughter, "your students are... they’re magnificent."

Olivia stepped forward, crossing her arms with the smug satisfaction of a conqueror.

"I believe I’ve discovered the critical flaw in the Aurelius bloodline," she announced loudly, making sure every guard and student could hear her. "Take note, everyone."

"Mark it in the official Academy records: Roasted meat defeats Princess Kaela Aurelius in direct combat."

"That is slander!" Kaela protested, though her attempt at anger was undermined by the fact that she was still staring at the pork with visible, heartbreaking longing. "It’s mostly slander."