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"Ah, have both sides thought of the same tactic? Sister Maria, this situation doesn't look too good."

In the outside world, the three members of the Angel Witch trio watched the movements on the chessboard. Miss Michelle, known for her impulsive nature, looked anxiously at their leader, slightly worried.

With the outside audience's perspective unobstructed by fog, they could clearly see the arrangements of both sides.

Apparently, both sides seemed keen on a surprise attack, opting to send troops directly to the enemy's side right from the start. However, the witches only dispatched eight people, while the angels sent out nine.

The key issue was that the quality of each individual angel was inherently higher than that of the witches. In a one-on-one fight, the witches weren't necessarily guaranteed to win, let alone now that they were outnumbered.

For a moment, Michelle even felt afraid to keep watching.

"Don't panic. We can't jump to conclusions too easily. Anything can happen on the battlefield in an instant," Maria spoke up to comfort her sister. Even though she said this, she too felt a bit uncertain inside.

She felt a headache coming on as the Clown Inquisitor represented the face of all witches. Should she lose, it would be the face of the entire Witch World that was disgraced.

Still, considering the confident demeanor the Clown Grand Inquisitor had displayed earlier, Maria hoped she truly had something to rely on. Otherwise, if the witches lost miserably after making such bold threats, all the witches would be made to look like clowns alongside her.

This is what the red-haired Angel Witch Big Sister thought to herself.

Meanwhile, unlike the tense and somber atmosphere among the witches, the Angel Delegation was filled with high spirits, all except Archangel Sariel, who showed little change in expression, remaining calm and collected.

However, this calmness was soon to be disrupted,

"Ah, this isn't right."

"Impossible. It shouldn't be like this. Why are we, with the advantage in numbers and strength, actually being pressured?".

"What exactly has happened?"

...

When the two Centaurs finally met on a river in the very center of the map and immediately started fighting without a word, the angels of the Angel Delegation saw their previous smiles disappear, replaced by confusion and shock.

On the witches' side, however, the exact opposite occurred; they suddenly became even more excited, as if invigorated.

"Good gracious, did we actually win that easily?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, nine against eight, and they still ended up with a humiliating 0:4 loss. These so-called angels aren't all that great after all."

"Okay, don't get too cocky now. Those angels do have some tricks up their sleeves. You'd be down in minutes if it were you. Our victory seems a little strange; it feels like there might be a catch."

"No, it's not that the angels are faking or that they're too weak; it's that our side is working together too well. Every single attack is precisely aimed at their weaknesses; all effective critical hits. That's why it looks so easy. It's unbelievable; how did they manage to do it?"

"Indeed, were the few of them secretly practicing coordination without us knowing? But that can't be right. Such a level of teamwork, even veterans who have fought side by side for hundreds of years on the battlefield hardly possess it."

...

The other Witch Inquisitors who held back, along with the Angel Witch trio, were ecstatic yet puzzled.

But turning our attention back to the chessboard, one minute prior.

A river, not particularly wide, ran straight across the entire chessboard, splitting it into two halves. At that moment, the two Centaurs appeared side by side by the riverbank, both sides sizing each other up from across the water, witnessing surprise and astonishment on their opponents' faces.

The witches were mixed with worry in their surprise, while the angels, on the other hand, had a sinister smirk amidst their astonishment as they bravely flew towards the witches on the opposite bank.

"Paladin Captain, what should we do? The enemy outnumbers us; should we retreat first?" Miss Ghost Mask, standing by the Succubus Witch's side, whispered quietly.

Since Paladin Madeline had come in first in the last assessment, she was the captain for this mission, and the others more or less agreed with this since the strength she demonstrated during the assessment was indeed terrifying, making her a deserving captain.

When Miss Ghost Mask asked her question, the other six all turned their gazes to the captain.

"We shouldn't..."

Madeline was just about to say they should not engage the enemy and should retreat for now, but before she could finish, she was interrupted when she felt a surge of power flowing into her, courtesy of the small flag Dorothy had provided earlier.

It wasn't just her; Madeline looked at the others and saw that the tiny flags that had been integrated into their bodies were re-emerging and glowing.

"What are you waiting for? You've been enhanced; get in there."

A familiar voice rang in everyone's ears, and then suddenly, the eight of them started moving involuntarily.

Madeline, carrying the Heaven Curse, symbolizing Heaven and positioned in the northwest, charged directly towards the northwestern direction of the nine angels.

Miss Ghost Mask bore the Earth Curse, symbolizing Earth, located in the southwest.

The Elemental Queen carried the Wind Curse, representing Wind, situated in the southeast.

Phantom Girl was infused with the Cloud Curse, Gen symbolizing mountains from which clouds arise, positioned in the northeast.

These were the Four Main Formations, positioned around which then were the Four Odd Formations.

Little Bun Alice wielded the Dragon Curse, the left Azure Dragon, positioned in the east.