The scrimmage between the Valkyries and StormBlitz has begun. The captains of both teams went to the middle of the stage for the handshake.

For the Valkyries, the representative was Fiona. And, Andria accompanied her as the “vice-captain” even though it wasn’t much of a real role in their club.

In any normal team, Andria would’ve been the captain because she was the senior. However, considering this club was practically formed by Fiona, this arrangement made far more sense.

Besides, Her Majesty already has the whole team under her thumb. So, she fits the role like a glove. Andria smiled to herself as she watched the formal greeting from the sideline.

The representative from the enemy team was a senior boy, the one they knew as Aegis. Supposedly, he was the master strategist who made it so difficult to find any weak spots in StormBlitz’s formation.

Fiona shook the boy’s hand. “Thank you again for agreeing to this arrangement on such short notice.”

“The pleasure is mine.” Aegis smiled meaningfully and bowed a little. Even though his team was the top dog here, he still felt compelled to act formally in front of the “Landberht Princess”. There was just something about Fiona’s aura that compelled people to brush up their act in her presence.

With that said, he definitely wasn’t overwhelmed by the queen’s majestic presence as he continued. “We lost against the Leopards, so we’d gladly farm any points that come our way right now. It all counts for the seeding, right? Haha.”

The underlying message was crystal clear: Aegis didn't consider the Valkyries a threat in the slightest. Today's scrim was like a free win as far as he was concerned.

This mentality was further echoed by the boy accompanying Aegis, most likely StormBlitz’s vice-captain. "Kek." The boy brought down his thumb with an amused snicker on his face. Honestly, he looked like a five-year-old who had just learned how to taunt.

Andria simply ignored the taunt whereas Fiona didn't even register it. She was focused on the bold captain in front of her as she responded to him in kind.

"I have to apologize in advance," Fiona said. "I am afraid your team will have to work even harder to improve its seeding after today's match."

"Oh?" Aegis maintained a confident smile but his eyes glinted dangerously. Needless to say, he did not appreciate this remark.

Nice one, Your Majesty! Andria commented from the sideline. Though, I suspect this bold remark will only further fuel their motivation to stomp us. This match is going to be an all-out war, I can already tell.

Aegis looked like a man who valued his pride, so he surely wouldn't let a comment like that slide. If he ever entertained the idea of going easy on the Valkyries, then Fiona just killed any chances of that ever happening.

Well then, I can only pray this game won't turn into a one-sided slaughter. Andria shrugged. I really don't want us to have a rerun of THAT experience...

The Leopards beat them to a pulp in the previous scrim, so much so that Andria could still feel the scars. And, StormBlitz was just as strong of a team, so there was a chance there would be a rerun of that despair.

I'm not convinced I'm mentally prepared to perform such a tragedy on stage a second time in a row. Andria sighed. But, the queen is confident we can handle this, so all we can do is follow her lead.

As the greeting ceremony came to an end, the representatives returned to their teams. Fiona strode confidently across the stage as she always did, unfazed by the fact she was about to do battle with the 2nd strongest team in the region. Likewise, her opponents weren’t fazed at all, either.

"Kek, you sure showed her who's the boss." Gregory snickered.

"But, it didn't make her falter in the slightest," Howard pointed out. "I've had this impression from the first time we’ve met; it's like her confidence knows no bounds."

Back when the "Landberht Princess" came to Riverstock Junior High to arrange this scrim, every word she spoke was filled with unyielding certainty. It's like she came to make a demand, not a request.

"Yep, that tall chick sure looked confident alright." Gregory nodded. "Just so you know, if you ever get bored playing against these fake eat-sports bitches, then me and Tai are always ready to deploy~"

He said that with a vile snicker on his face. Clearly, Gregory saw the Valkyries as easy prey which he'd have a blast bullying. And, honestly, Howard's opinion of that team wasn't that much better. "If it turns out to be that boring, then sure, I might sub in you and Taison."

"You're the best, cap!"

In truth, Howard was only thinking about what was best for the first-string when he said that. He didn't care in the slightest about giving Gregory and Taison a chance to gain experience on the competitive stage.

As far as Howard was concerned, everybody outside the first-string didn't matter. The only reason he even considered handing over the stage to Gregory and Taison was to conceal information from other teams. The less public game footage there was of StormBlitz, the better.

All the eyes here today will be on us. Howard thought as he glanced at the audience that gathered for this scrim. Some of the people here might’ve been curious about Fiona’s performance, but the majority were likely here to extract additional information on StormBlitz.

They lost very convincingly against the Leopards, so I doubt they have any fans right now. Howard reasoned. They're pretty much nobodies. Their presence isn't going to shake the competition in any meaningful way.

And, that was good. The last thing Howard needed was more competition for this year. He already had his hands full with Leo’s Korean prodigy. And, there was also Yuel’s dark horse team to consider.

That’s more than enough challenges for one year, right? Howard thought. I have a candidacy on the line here.

His chances of getting into Utopia, the strongest high school team in the country, were at stake here. Howard absolutely had to crush this year's regionals, or else he'd be stuck with this region's lackluster level of competition.

Venom is decent and all, but it’s at best a runner-up in the nationals. Utopia is the real top dog, that's where I have to play.

It was the shortest path to the pro scene, as pro teams often scouted Utopia players right away. This was the optimized route Howard was determined to follow.

I'll catch up to you real soon, sis. Just you watch. With this determination in his heart, he returned to his team’s side. He intended to thoroughly utilize each and every one of these players to realize his dream.

"Julia, think of this as another test," Howard said. "You underperformed against Leo, but this time we're playing against a weaker team. So, I'm expecting you to run all over them."

"Hmph, easily!" Julia lifted her chin. "I'll crush these scrubs!"

"I sure how so, or else you’ll make me lose what little trust I still had you in."

“Nah,” Julia replied boldly. “After this scrim, you’ll be begging me to play in all future matches.”

“That’d sure be impressive.” Howard nodded in satisfaction at this confident response, as it proved Julia was in peak condition. She was ready to wreak havoc, which was exactly what Howard wanted her to do in matches when he subbed her in.

It wasn’t always the case that Julia was this gung-ho to do battle, which was why Howard went out of his way to confirm her condition. Fortunately, unlike in previous scrims, everything was fine this time around. It seemed like the girl was getting used to the pressure of the competitive stage. That’s good.

Now, it was just a question of how she’d actually perform. After all, the memories of her mess-ups against the Leopards were probably still fresh in her mind, for better and worse.

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Her overall performance in that scrim was wildly inconsistent. Though it was common for her to struggle with switching from defense to offense and vice versa, in that scrim, it was particularly bad.

The girl started off on the defensive, as she usually did against new opponents. She always preferred to tread safely at first to study her opponents, which was good.

However, she soon realized what it meant to play defense against an opponent who made defense into their lifestyle. In short, she couldn’t get anything going. Zero opportunities to show off her skills. Nada.

And, considering Julia’s uncertain status as Gilbert’s backup, she must’ve felt antsy about that. It probably didn’t help that Howard piled some extra pressure on her before the game, telling her something along the lines of “I expect your offense to be useful against their defensive playstyle.”

At the time, Howard thought it was crucial to establish this fact in advance. He wanted to make it clear that the reason Julia was considered for the first-string in the first place was because of her potential to pressure defensive opponents like the Leopards.

In hindsight, that wasn’t the best time to test the girl’s mental fortitude. It was an important scrim that gave StormBlitz an idea of what to expect in the finals, so it was critical for everybody on the team to play their best.

Alas, Howard’s little “motivational speech” clearly put Julia on the edge throughout the scrim. She forced herself to switch to offense more frequently just so she could “live up to the expectations”. Needless to say, that resulted in many overextensions that got punished.

However, there were also a few moments of brilliance where Julia’s explosive offense overwhelmed Theorist’s wall of defense. So, the potential was definitely there. Julia just had to brush up on her act before the regionals.

But, in the end, it didn’t take long for Gilbert to take the stage again. Letting a ticking bomb like Julia run wild in such an important game was a no-go.

Still, though the circumstances weren’t perfect, Howard learned an important lesson that day. Namely, that the passable stability Julia showed in Ranked was a world apart from how all over the place she was in actual competitive games.

So, Howard made sure to pile pressure on her again here today. After all, practice makes perfect, right? Haha.

This time, it was a low-stake scrim so it won’t be an issue even if Julia implodes. There was no way in hell StormBlitz would ever lose to a greenhorn team, even with that kind of handicap.

Still, I hope she doesn’t drag down the entire team with her since it won’t look good. Howard sighed. This girl is sure difficult to handle. But, once she finally stabilizes, she'll be a great asset to the team.

Julia's explosive aggression was something the current StormBlitz severely lacked. The second most aggressive player on the team was Roi, but even he was more of a balanced player than anything. Case in point, he was best known for his impressive parrying ability which was a defensive play.

So, the team benefitted greatly from having a berserker like Julia as an option. At least, so long as the girl didn’t get carried away. Really, she was such a headache sometimes. Sigh.

"Waaaardy~" Ellen poked his cheek. "Stop staring at other girls and look at me instead~"

"I wasn't staring at anybody."

"Lies. You're always checking July out."

"Because she always makes me ask myself whether she's worth the trouble," Howard said in a low voice. "She's the very definition of an unstable player."

"True, true. July do be like that~" Ellen nodded. "But, she still occupies your mind a lot, doesn't she? That's a tiny bitty bit dangerous, you know?"

"Dangerous how, exactly?"

"Well, at first you only think about her as a player,” Ellen said. “But, then you keep thinking and thinking about her. Before you realize it, your head is totally filled with her! Then, it turns into an obsession!"

"What...?"

“And then!” Ellen dramatically covered her eyes. “You realize you can blackmail her through your position as the captain! You start forcing yourself on her in exchange for giving her a role on the first string!”

“... you should seriously cut down on the soap operas you watch,” Howard said. “Real life isn’t that melodramatic.”

“For some, it isn’t, but for others it is!” Ellen insisted. “Like, take the Valkyries’ captain for example.”

“What about her?”

“As a man, what’s your opinion of her? Be honest now.”

“Hmm.” Howard pondered the arbitrary question. “She’s pretty, no question about it.”

“Ah!” Ellen gasped. “T-The darn witch! She dares to mesmerize even my dear Wardy…!?”

“You asked for my honest opinion, so there you have it,” Howard said. “She looks good and she’s tall, so she has this imposing noble aura about her. For a moment there, I felt like I was really in the presence of royalty.”

“And, she’s rich, too.” Ellen hissed. “Seriously, rivals like her are always such a cheat! They just waltz in, show off their looks and money in front of the protagonist, and the poor guy just can’t help but fall into their clutches!”

“I don’t know what kind of wild fantasies you’re having right now, but for me, she’s just an opponent.”

“Sometimes, that kind of setup is even worse!” Ellen exclaimed. “You start off as mortal enemies, only for an unexpected love to blossom during the fights…!”

“Arkham called. They want their patient back.”

“Hmph. Rude.” Ellen pouted. “But, you have a point. I mean, you’re not a casanova like that, right, Wardy? You won’t be swayed by looks and money.” She crept on her lover with a creepy smile on her face. “I’m the only one you care about, right~?”

Howard made a face. "Yeah, sure. Let's roll with that if it’s what's going to kill this topic already."

"Yay~" Ellen rubbed her face against Howard's shoulder like a kitten. Somehow, she wasn't embarrassed in the slightest to show such affection in public, in front of an audience no less.

I know we're at the far end of the stage, but still. Howard thought. People can see us, you know? Sigh. Whatever.

From experience, the best way to phase out Ellen’s nonsense was to act indifferent. So, Howard did just that.

Alright, so after putting all that nonsense aside. He shifted his focus back to the game at hand. What's more important right now is the team’s motivation. I hope nobody is planning to take it too easy. He checked out every member in order.

Ellen was never the type to take her opponents lightly. Her entire playstyle revolved around assuming the role of the "underdog", so she will play with that mentality even against inferior opponents like the Valkyries.

Similarly, Julia was bursting with motivation to perform well in this game, especially after Howard made it clear this was a critical test. So, that only left Roi and Dan, the two main troublemakers here.

"Dang, did you see that tall blonde girl?" Dan asked. "How is that even a middle schooler?"

"Yeah, lol." Roi chuckled. "For a moment, I thought they brought in a high school schooler because they didn't have enough players, lol."

"Yeah, haha.” Dan laughed. “She's even taller than you, I think?"

"Yeah, pretty sure. She looks about Lars's height?"

"What a woman." Dan was deeply impressed.

"Bruh,” Roi said. “Are you into taller girls or something?"

"Well, now I think I am, haha."

"Gonna be a weird couple, lol.” Roi shook his head. “I don't think I could go out with a girl who’s taller than me. It'd feel weird."

“Yet, you don’t mind if the girl is older than you, huh.”

Roi squinted. “I feel like you’re implying something there.”

“Who knows~”

The goofs were having a nonchalant, borderline inappropriate, conversation. Instead of thinking about the upcoming game, they were busy ogling the Landberht Princess.

"Focus on the game, you two," Howard scolded. "I know you're feeling lax because our opponents aren't supposed to be strong, but they might surprise you."

"Huh? This team of chicks? C'mon, man." Dan shook his head. "They, like, formed this year, right? Ain’t no way they know any advanced tech about the game. This is gonna be GG EZ in like five minutes."

"Totes, man," Roi agreed. "This is just a chill scrim, right?"

"You two are just asking to get beaten with that mentality," Howard said. "Don't underestimate your opponents before you even had the chance to play them."

"But, we already saw them play against the Leopards," Dan reminded. "They tanked real hard there, haha."

"That tells us nothing," Howard said. "The Leopards make almost every team in the region look bad."

"But, even after everybody from Leo got subbed out, these girls couldn't do shit, right?"

"True, but it's because they've already self-destructed at that point," Howard explained. "I said as much during the review meeting: take everything from that game with a grain of salt. They’re a new team, probably filled with newbies. So, it wasn’t strange to see them fall apart during their first game. Things happen."

"Yep, debut games are the real shit," Roi said. "I remember there was that one pitcher dude in our baseball club, a real beast during practice. Nobody could hit his shit, even I struggled as fuck.”

“Oh!” Dan exclaimed. “Yeah, yeah. I think I know who you mean.”

“Right?” Roi nodded. “Remember what happened when dude had to play on the stage for the first time? He bombed real hard. Doubles and triples all day long, and I think there was even one home run? Anyway, it was a real shitshow."

“That’s a very relevant story,” Howard said. “You should go off the assumption that something similar happened to the Valkyries against Leo. So, we likely haven’t seen their true skill yet."

"Okay, okay." Dan shrugged.

"No problem, cap." Roi nodded. "No matter what their actual skill level is, we gonna run all over them real ez!"

Clearly, they still weren’t taking the match all too seriously even now. But, hopefully, Howard's warning put them on the right track.

I can't have them go around underestimating their opponents, not even the Valkyries. Howard asserted. The moment they let their guard down they invite trouble. This isn't the type of match we're allowed to lose any games in.

Howard's reputation was at stake here. Even after he wins the regionals, Utopia might still reject him if he allows his team to get beaten up by newbies.

On paper, the Valkyries should be easy prey. But, there was no saying for sure until he actually played against them. As such, the team had to remain vigilant. There will not be any careless underestimation allowed under Howard's watch.

And so, the preparations for the first game were complete. Despite the occasional goofing and banter, everybody took the warm-up seriously, just as Howard instructed.

Shortly, the banning phase began...