As soon as the match started, 24 teams from 8 classes began to move simultaneously.
In a battle royale like this, the first target is usually the strongest team.
The weaker teams believe they can be taken down anyti, but if the strongest aren’t eliminated early through alliances, it complicates the tournant’s progression later.
In that sense, Sasha and I were like Lü Bu on his Red Hare horse—a formidable combination.1
In the world of cavalry, I was the steed, and Sasha was the warrior.
Just like the coalition against Dong Zhuo in troubled tis, every other class was our enemy.
“Let’s go!”
Sasha, who had experience in horseback riding from childhood, guided with her thighs as if I were a real horse whenever she wanted to change direction.
Following her lead, Satoru on the left, Ryuji on the right, and I as the base moved as one under her command.
In a cavalry battle, the role of the base is as important as the skill of the rider.
While the girls fight above, the boys clash below, and the cavalry world runs on brute strength.
As one of the strongest in the school, I was naturally the pri target.
“Let’s focus on Class 2-B first!”
Who shouted that?
But the other classes, swayed by that voice, charged at all at once.
“Сука!”
Sasha’s rough voice ca from above.
I didn’t know exactly what it ant, but the tone suggested it was a curse word in Russian.
Imdiately after, the cavalries clashed.
“Ugh! Hold on!”
“Damn it! What strength! Is 2-B’s cavalry a monster?”
“Use every ounce of strength you have!”
Normally, in a 1-on-3 power struggle, the solo side would lose.
But since none of them were even close to my size, their combined strength couldn’t move —facing them only made yawn.
And the skills of the Slavic rider on my shoulders were anything but ordinary.
“Charge!!!”
“Kyah! Tap! Tap!”
With a powerful shout, Sasha instantly subdued a girl from another class.
Her muscles and techniques, honed by the Russian martial art of Systema, were fully displayed even in the limited space on my shoulders.
In reality, if not professionally trained, girls’ fights usually start with grabbing each other’s hair.
This was similar even for athletes, but Sasha, with her Western build and superior physicality, schooled the girls from sports clubs like track and tennis.
In no ti, the fight was over, and Sasha, having taken three headbands, confidently raised her right arm.
“The enemy leader! Defeated!”
It was Sasha’s attempt at humor, probably influenced by her otaku tendencies, but for those on the receiving end, it was practically a mass provocation.
“Damn it! Those 2-B brats! They’re getting too cocky!”
“Boss! Should we take them down?”
“Overwhelm them with numbers!”
As expected, the others, even more enraged, charged at us.
“This is driving crazy.”
I fully agreed with the Class President’s comnt as she watched the situation from behind.
Five minutes had passed since the cavalry battle began.
A short yet long ti in which all the weaker teams were weeded out.
The remaining number of teams was 13.
Originally, there were 24 teams, so nearly half had been eliminated.
And, of course, our team survived.
Of course, there wasn’t zero loss; the cavalry carrying Nagasawa from the volleyball team was the first in our group to be toppled due to concentrated attacks from other classes.
“Kim Yu-seong! I’m counting on you to cover the rear!”
Those were Nagasawa’s last words as she went down, taking a girl from another class with her.
Anyway, the 13 remaining teams no longer charged blindly but began to carefully observe each other.
It was because, from this point on, it would be difficult to survive with just brawling.
This situation required organic teamwork.
Yet, even in this situation, our class wasn’t considered a potential ally.
Alliances are typically ford between equals.
But with in our class, no one was confident they could win, even if they survived until the end.
We were completely isolated.
How we would navigate this tricky situation would be the key to victory.
It was at that mont.
“Sasha!”
A familiar voice echoed in my ear.
I turned my head to see Karen, confidently standing with her arms crossed atop an unfamiliar group of boys.
“Today, we finally put an end to our long-standing grudge!”
“Hah, interesting.”
Co to think of it, Karen is in Class 2-A.
It was entirely possible we’d et as enemies, but I’d overlooked that.
“I didn’t even notice you were participating, you little shrimp.”
“Who are you calling a shrimp?! You better wipe that smirk off your face while you still can!”
As Karen clenched her fist like a hot-blooded protagonist, Sasha shrugged and said.
“That’s why kids are so…”
“We’re the sa age!”
But the other students’ gazes said it all.
It didn’t look that way at all.
The contrast between Karen, who looked younger than her age, and Sasha, who seed more mature, was the epito of imbalance.
Anyway, as the rivalry between the riders was being established, so others began moving stealthily.
“A weak spot!”
The assassins from Class 2-C had suddenly closed in.
But what they overlooked was that no matter how stealthy they were, a cavalry team of four moving together was still a noticeable ‘mass.’
In other words, they were very noticeable.
“This isn’t a comic book! Who makes noise during an ambush?!”
“Kyaaa!”
Class 2-C’s cavalry crumbled under Sasha’s piercing comnt.
And with this ambush as the signal, the remaining 11 cavalry teams began to move.
“We can’t get Kim Yu-seong, so focus on the Russian exchange student!”
Usually, even if they’re exchange students, people rember their nas, but Sasha’s full na—Alexandra Ivanovna sothing—was too long, so they just shortened it.
But who was Sasha?
She was the daughter of Ivan Romanov, the God of Destruction who had conquered the brutal world of the Russian Red Mafia.
And like any beautiful rose, she had thorns.
“Kyaaa! My arm!”
“Ouch! Wait, wait!”
She was practically a one-woman army.
With strength that instantly subdued girls her age and seasoned techniques that dislocated joints in a flash.
The Systema that Sasha mastered is a mixed martial art created by combining various techniques from different martial arts, with Sambo as its base. However, because of its uniqueness, it was actually specialized for chaotic battle situations.
Including the three she took out earlier, Sasha had already racked up more than five kills by herself, and now the others had stopped attacking altogether.
“Hey, hey, you go take her on.”
“Are you crazy? We can’t even touch her right now.”
As they pushed each other forward, trying to avoid making a move, that’s when it happened.
“Sasha! Let’s settle this fairly, one-on-one!”
The one who threw down the challenge with a determined look was Karen.
Sasha and Karen.
Co to think of it, they never got along from the start.
Like oil and water.
Like fire and ice.
Even their hair colors, red and blue, were contrasting. I suspect they were set up as rivals in the original work, but I can’t be sure since I didn’t read it.
Judging by the popularity rankings, it seed like the fire-and-ice battle ultimately ended with Sasha’s victory.
Anyway, I always thought of them as rivals.
That’s why this fight was so intriguing.
Though they always clashed in small ways, they had never gone all out against each other before.
“Chestooooo!!!”
“Uraaaaaaaa!!!”
With their shouts, the two began fighting fiercely.
In the limited space they could move, their hands clashed mid-air, intertwining in a complex exchange.
It was a battle of reading each other’s moves between a karate expert and a Systema practitioner.
In the face of such a heated duel, my heart couldn’t help but race.
Being a guy, how could I not be excited by this?
And it wasn’t just ; others were also watching the fight, completely srized.
“Ugh!”
Karen’s small body lurched forward as Sasha suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Losing your headband wasn’t the only way to be disqualified; if the rider fell from the cavalry, it was also grounds for elimination.
It seed Sasha was aiming for that.
But Karen wasn’t an easy opponent.
She quickly wrapped her legs around the boy supporting her and thrust her fist forward.
Sasha hastily let go of Karen’s wrist and backed off, while Karen, regaining her stance, said regretfully.
“You’re annoyingly quick.”
“Karen, I don’t think you’re in a position to say that.”
Their sharp gazes crossed in mid-air.
Both of them were panting, likely having expended a lot of energy in their intense clash.
Finally, Karen spat on the ground and said.
“This won’t end at this rate, so I’ll finish it with the next move.”
“That’s actually a good idea for you.”
The tension was slowly building.
It was as if the shadows of a dragon and a tiger were looming behind them.
‘Is this the kind of fight between high school girls that could be compared to the power of two tanks?’
Watching the fight from the pri spot beneath Sasha’s hips, I felt my heart swell with excitent.
ED/N: Lü Bu is a famous warrior from Chinese history and legend, riding his legendary horse, Red Hare. ️
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