Rivalry: Thundercloud General

"Rivalry: Thundercloud General" is the fourth episode of the first season of the Queen's Blade anime.

Story
Claudette arrives where Leina and Risty were the night before and encounters Echidna, who explains she let Leina go so that Claudette could become countess and hence reward her. Claudette goes to find Leina, and has a flashback to where she rescued Leina as a child. Meanwhile, Leina eats a poisonous mushroom and Nanael turns up to help her out with some medicine. Leina asks Nanael where Risty is, but she does not know. Claudette arrives and chastises Leina for consorting with thieves and challenges her to a fight to decide who will be the next countess. Tomoe and Shizuka watch the battle from afar and decide Claudette will be victorious. Claudette forfeits to protect Leina's honor but Leina refuses to accept the forfeit and continues to fight, asking why she has to be the heiress and does not understand why Claudette just accepts it when her father did not like her at all. Claudette says she does it for the Vance Family and attacks Leina, defeating her swiftly with a lightning attack. The ground gives way and Leina almost falls from the cliff, with Claudette grabbing her hand as she dangles over the edge. Claudette has a flashback to when they were children, coming out of it to find that Leina is no longer in her grasp.

Trivia

 * This episode contains an alternate ending sequence. During the credits, flashbacks of the Vance sisters as children are shown, and an instrumental version of the ending theme is played.