Chapter 278: Last Laugh

Italy Team.

Enrica had taken her blindfold for the sake of this battle and stared at the screen in amazement. "Theodore will lose…"

"…" None of Italy Team's Members denied her because they could clearly see how Nella blew away Theo and Sihan together.

"That attack." Ignazio frowned as his expression darkened. "B Rank Skill, isn't it?"

"Yes. It's already hard to even use C Rank Skill and it turns out she has been sealing a power above that this whole time." Enrica scratched the back of her head. "I don't want to admit it, but I can't see any way to win against her."

"Are you telling me Theodore… Theo will lose this battle?" Agata asked. Her tone was filled with disbelief. "Are you sure Theo can't do anything in this competition and his team is bound to lose against the United Kingdom Team?"

"As much as I hate to tell you, you can employ so many strategies on the battlefield, but it will only be effective to someone on a similar level or just a bit higher than yours…" Ignazio shook his head in disappointment. "It's useless in front of absolute power."

"Still, doesn't this feel weird?" Agata asked.

"What's weird? Agata… I am sorry to force you of that role to pull him to our country, but I think it's better for you to remain neutral and observe this situation a bit more clearly, okay?" Enrica pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering how Agata could fight for Theo in an argument like this.

"I know, but he hasn't released all his skills yet. From my point of view, I have only seen eight skills. Two Spear Skills, Magic Bullet, Clone, Teleportation, Shield, and two Illusion Techniques…"

"!!!" Ignazio widened his eyes before adding, "He used nine. When he used his clone to launch himself, I saw something weird. The power didn't match up, so I believed it was another skill."

"…" Enrica let out a long sigh before smiling, "I take back my word then. He may have been hiding this trump card this whole time."

"Yes. To think I am still underestimating him." Ignazio agreed as he explained, "Take a look at his teammates. With Sihan and Ellen accompanying him in this round, his plan must be that."

"That?"

"Yes. He wants to take the second battle with Alea, Phyrill, and Laust. I doubt the injured Clark can do anything against them." Enrica nodded with a serious expression.

"At the same time, with Nella releasing all this attack, he is making her exhaust herself. Even with thirty minutes of rest, Nella won't be able to fight at her full strength in the next battle. Meanwhile, have you seen how the others moved?" Ignazio continued.

"They are conserving their strength? Even Theo never used something big other than his Cannon Blast a few times." Lavinia answered.

"Yes, I can see that the Cannon Blast is not that powerful. With the continuous illusion tricks, he is baiting Nella and the others to exhaust themselves. In other words, the only reason he participated in the first round was for the preparation of the next battle.

"In the past, if one couldn't win against their opponent, they simply aimed for their supplies. They will start getting hungry and can't exert all their strength. Theo is doing the same thing, but he is trying to exhaust the enemy with his illusions. Dammit, I can't help but admit this guy is too sly." Ignazio clicked his tongue and looked at Agata. "How do you even know about this?"

"I don't know. I just feel something weird in his movement, but I can't understand the rest. It's like a woman's intuition, okay?"

"Should I ship you to Thersland to drag him back here?" Enrica shook her head when she looked at her childhood friend.

"Ahaha…"

"Anyway, I'm sure that he is going to annoy the enemy once more and stress the enemies out once again, like how he defeated me." Ignazio sighed and pointed to the screen. "Look."

…

Bam.

"What?!" Ellen turned around and saw her teammates were already gone.

At the same time, Nella waved her hand once again. "Mana Wave."

Ellen widened her eyes and quickly placed her hand on the ground. "Ice Wave."

Ice Crystals emerged from the ground to stop Nella's attack.

Ellen somehow saw the attack between the gap of her ice crystals. 'What is that? It's like Alea's Inch Slash. It has a crescent shape and unlike Alea's Inch Slash, this one doesn't have any sharpness at all. Instead, this one has an almighty power like a swing from a club.'

Nella's Mana Wave destroyed the Ice Wave in succession before hitting Ellen.

Diego stepped in and blocked that attack for Ellen before saying, "Ellen is out."

"Hmph." Nella snorted before widening her eyes, grabbing something that came straight at her neck. The moment she caught it, her eyes were blocked by white cloth as she heard Diego announce. "The United Kingdom wins!"

"Huh?" Nella didn't understand it, but when she pulled back and saw the flag on her hand, she raised her head and saw Theo smiling after throwing it to her.

"What are you doing, Cousin?' Nella widened her eyes while looking at Luka and Zara.

"Seriously?" Luka made a weird smile as she facepalmed.

"What do you mean?" Nella frowned.

"Control may give you the ability to utilize B Rank Skills like your Mana Concentration Bomb and Mana Wave, but it doesn't change the fact that only Supreme Rank Expert can wield it without experiencing any backlash. Meanwhile, you are merely a small Champion Rank Expert, not even Hero Rank. It must put tremendous stress on your Magic Power reserve, right?"

"!!!" Nella instantly understood what Theo planned to do. She came to the same conclusion as Ignazio and Enrica as she looked at Theo in disbelief.

'I have used all my trump cards in this battle and Cousin has faced my Control with his own eyes and body. Doesn't this mean this is just to exhaust me while learning more about my technique so he can beat us later?' Nella thought before drawing a gasp.

Nella looked at Theo with a shocked face. "This is your plan?!"

"Powerful Control and Skills. And I don't believe you can recover to your full strength within twenty minutes." Theo nodded as this was what he always did. Even during the competition in Thersland, he let go of the first laugh or the second laugh. For the last laugh, he didn't hesitate to sacrifice this round to gain all that. He made a smirk as if everything had gone according to his plan while saying, "Thanks… Little girl."