Chapter 48: The Limitations of Mortal Bones
Divine Authority Resistance: 6 stars. Some might think this value is low, but it’s already the ceiling for Divine Authority resistance.
Tilitha had read in both “Guide to Divine Analysis” and “Research and Discoveries on the Four Resistances of Divine Maidens” that when it comes to Divine Authority resistance, one to one-and-a-half stars is mediocre, two stars is normal, two-and-a-half stars is already excellent, and three stars or above shows exceptional talent.
The Moon Elf clan’s Divine Maidens generally have Divine Authority resistance exceeding four stars. As the contemporary ‘Saint’ of the Moon Elf clan, Astrid naturally surpassed her predecessors, with her Divine Authority resistance soaring to a terrifying 6 stars.
This means that when Divine Authority attacks hit her, the effective damage is less than one-third—already a truly shocking figure.
Imagine in a situation where Divine Authority attacks are flying everywhere, while others have to endure nearly full Divine Authority damage, Astrid only needs to bear less than one-third. This massive advantage could almost reverse even the most disparate battle situations.
This is why the Moon Elf royal family are legitimate ‘Divine Maiden killers’—in one-on-one situations between Divine Maidens, they’re nearly unbeatable.
Astrid chanted softly and drew her weapon: a slender crescent blade emanating dim silver light.
The blade’s guard was crescent-shaped, and the blade itself was wreathed in misty silver light with a hazy, beautiful quality. From a distance, it looked like a silver moon appearing and disappearing in the clouds.
This was Tilitha’s first time seeing Astrid draw this weapon. She had always carried an ordinary slender curved blade, but this crescent silver blade was crafted specifically for Astrid by the elven clan after leaving her.
As a Saint, it was naturally forged by the most renowned and skilled elven smiths, and its style and aura completely proved this point.
The greatest characteristic of elven-forged weapons is that they combine beauty with substance—in simple terms, they’re designed to be both visually stunning and meaningful while possessing power that matches their appearance. This is why Divine Maidens are so eager to obtain elven weapons.
Who doesn’t love weapons that are both beautiful and practical?
Weapons are also part of one’s strength, so Divine Maiden competitions allow participants to use their own weapons, including the Freshman Crown Cup.
Tilitha shifted her gaze to the student opposing Astrid—today’s second unlucky victim.
When her eyes fell on that female student, Tilitha was momentarily stunned.
It’s actually her.
After getting the tournament bracket, Tilitha hadn’t paid attention to others’ matches and only looked at her own, so she hadn’t noticed at the time that her two former teammates had been matched up.
“Second match of the afternoon, Astrid Oreniman versus Lainey.”
So it’s actually Lainey…
Looking at the human girl with black shoulder-length hair standing at the other end of the arena, somewhat anxious and restless, Tilitha half-closed her eyes.
After the referee announced both participants’ names, Tilitha knew exactly what would happen without even thinking.
The surrounding sounds changed from cheering and shouting to jeering and discussion.
“No surname—a wild Divine Maiden?”
“Most likely. Look at what she’s wearing; it doesn’t look like something a Divine Maiden from a proper family could afford.”
“Haha, then isn’t the outcome pretty obvious? It’ll probably be even more one-sided than Princess Felicia’s match this morning.”
Tilitha shook her head.
She sincerely hoped her old teammates would thrive after leaving her, especially Lainey, but now it seems…
Perhaps due to her background, Lainey had always been a Divine Maiden with a rather insecure personality.
Getting good treatment after leaving her would naturally be best. What Tilitha worried about most was that this old teammate’s situation not only hadn’t improved after leaving her, but had actually gotten worse.
Her guess proved correct. From Lainey’s eyes, she could see it—the way she looked at Astrid was filled with deep insecurity.
Tilitha would rather Lainey had found a commoner Divine Child. This wasn’t because she couldn’t bear to see her do well, but because that’s how reality was.
If Lainey’s current Divine Child was also from humble origins like her, that would be one thing. But if they were from nobility, the status gap would create subtle relationships within the team, making Lainey’s insecurity even stronger.
And once they realized Lainey’s weakness and submissiveness, other team members would bully her even more ruthlessly.
Lainey’s eyes, more pessimistic than before, were the best proof of this.
Is this the ‘good team’ that wild elf found for Lainey?
After taking the stage, Astrid parted her lips slightly and spoke, but her voice was drowned out by the noisy venue. Tilitha couldn’t hear what Astrid said, only saw that after hearing her words, Lainey’s eyes widened and she bit her pale lips, saying nothing.
After a long moment, Lainey finally looked up with desperate abandon, her eyes filled with grief and anger as she said something to Astrid.
This surprised Tilitha somewhat. In their past team interactions, besides being relatively normal when talking to her, Lainey always spoke to Astrid with a kind of insecurity that kept her from holding her head up. Why today…
Hearing this, Astrid didn’t argue back. A barely perceptible helplessness flashed in her eyes as she closed them and lowered her head slightly.
But this state passed quickly. Soon she reopened her eyes and returned to calmness.
“Begin the match!”
Astrid raised her silver blade, and seven stars faintly flickered behind her. These seven twinkling stars formed the image of a silver moon goddess praying in the mist.
That was Astrid’s Divine Authority: [Perfect Moon Sage].
Silver moonlight burned on Astrid’s blade.
That was the transcendent effect gained in [Seven Star Constellation] state.
In Tilitha’s view, Seven Star Constellation was already enough.
Gritting her teeth, Lainey also released her Divine Maiden domain and Divine Authority.
Lainey’s Divine Maiden domain materialized as leather battle armor with mediocre four resistances, very ordinary, belonging to the Knight-class Divine Maidens.
She drew her short sword, and dim gray light appeared in her hand along with a gray shield carved with a wolf’s head.
This was Lainey’s Divine Authority: [Evil Wolf Guardian], which materialized as a leather shield. That’s why Lainey had always used single-handed swords that weren’t too heavy or long, suitable for pairing with a shield.
As former teammates, Tilitha only had a vague concept of Astrid’s Divine Authority effects. It wasn’t that Astrid was unwilling to tell her, but [Perfect Moon Sage]’s Divine Authority effects were simply too numerous and complex for Tilitha to remember more than the general idea.
[Perfect Moon Sage]’s displayed effects changed according to the number of stars. For example, right now, the silver flames burning on Astrid’s blade were the effect of seven constellations—and this was just one of the seven-star effects.
But that wasn’t all. Why was Astrid praised by the elves as a Saint seen once in a thousand years?
Tilitha remembered Astrid mentioning to her that her Divine Authority… wasn’t just one.
In comparison, Tilitha remembered Lainey’s Divine Authority effects very clearly, because they were really too simple—could be summarized in one sentence.
When the shield is hit, it increases the user’s resistance to that type of damage.
That’s it.
Tilitha had done detailed calculations on the specific improvement amount—about 10%. This value should increase with the Divine Authority’s level, but currently, it was too low.
So low it was almost negligible, especially when facing Astrid.
It was simply the difference between a free-to-play player and a whale.
Moreover, as a Divine Maiden, Lainey had a huge flaw: she lacked Divine Authority offensive capabilities.
Her Divine Authority was entirely defensive. If she wanted to attack, she could only rely on sword strikes. Forget competing with Astrid—even compared to ordinary Divine Maidens, this Divine Authority was extremely lacking.