Chapter 1001: Ember Dragon
1006. Chapter 1001: Ember Dragon (Combined)
As the host finished speaking, the entire venue erupted in deafening cheers.
The camera panned to the commentator booth.
Tian Yiyi and Tang Xueran said in unison:
"Hello everyone, I am the commentator for this event, Tian Yiyi."
"I am Tang Xueran."
Both continued, "It is a great honor to accompany you throughout this Regional Tournament."
Tang Xueran said, "At the Tianan City Sky Beast Arena, Contestants Yuan Tianlong and Qiao Sang will compete for the championship of the 767th Regional Tournament."
"One of the contestants, Yuan Tianlong, is known for his ambition to become a Dragon-type Champion. He has participated in the Regional Tournaments of Beilun and Lianbo, winning both", Tian Yiyi announced loudly.
"The other contestant, Qiao Sang, is the youngest among all participants and is competing in his first Regional Tournament, yet he has achieved a series of consecutive victories, reaching the final battle!"
As the commentators spoke, the cheers from the audience continued in waves, never ceasing.
Tian Yiyi continued, "As the grand finale of this Regional Tournament, today's final match has attracted many Vips to the venue."
The camera focused on the Vip seats.
Tang Xueran began describing the Vips present. Apart from Coach Tao, who had attended twice, there were past champions of the Hollow Plains Tournament, some political figures from Hollow Plains, and even the Beastmaster League's inspector from the Hollow Plains branch.
The camera quickly captured a glimpse of Ye Xiangting's face.
Ye Xiangting, surrounded by important figures she had only seen on TV, felt her body tense up, her heart racing, and her expression growing increasingly nervous.
She never imagined she would be sitting in such an important position during the finals!
With only two contestants remaining, there was no longer a need for a dedicated family section.
To show their respect for the two finalists, the organizers had arranged for the contestants' families to sit in the Vip seats.
Coach Tao smiled at the camera, then chatted briefly with Ye Xiangting and Migala.
After a few words, Migala introduced, "This is Qiao Sang's mother."
Coach Tao looked at Ye Xiangting and then his eyes lit up. He extended his hand warmly, "Hello, I'm Tao Yun Kai. I work at the National Beastmaster Bureau, and Qiao Sang is part of the national beast battle team I oversee."
"I know, I know. Qiao Sang has told me about you", Ye Xiangting replied, shaking his hand. "My name is Ye Xiangting."
Despite her extensive social experience, she still felt a bit awkward and nervous in the presence of such important figures.
They began to chat.
One was eager to learn more about Qiao Sang, while the other was more than willing to share every detail, even down to the weather on the day Qiao Sang awakened his beast. The conversation became increasingly engaging.
Finally, some peace, Migala thought.
At that moment, Liu Yao, who was chatting with someone nearby, interjected, "I only gave Qiao Sang some guidance in the past. This is his current teacher."
"Hello, Teacher. I've heard that Qiao Sang is from the Imperial Beastmaster Academy", the man asked enthusiastically, leaning over Liu Yao. "Are you from the Imperial Beastmaster Academy? What does Qiao Sang usually learn?"
Migala: "…."
Suddenly, the audience stands erupted in even louder screams and cheers than before.
The man who had been speaking instantly turned his attention to the field.
Migala also looked over, seeing Qiao Sang and another contestant, Yuan Tianlong, already on the stage.
The number "10" appeared in a glowing light on the field.
A mechanical voice followed, and the light kept changing:
"9, 8, 7... 3, 2, 1."
The light disappeared.
The crowd in the audience stands fell silent in unison.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the field.
"The first match of the Finals is about to begin", Tian Yiyi said from the commentator booth. "I wonder what familiars Contestant Qiao Sang and Contestant Yuan Tianlong will send out for the first battle."
On the field.
Both contestants simultaneously performed hand seals, and two glowing Crimson Star Arrays appeared on the ground.
Soon, two exceptionally large familiars emerged from their respective Star Arrays.
"It's the Ice Emperor Ram and the Ember Dragon!" Tian Yiyi shouted.
At the same time, the Authorities Live Stream exploded with excitement. The screen was flooded with comments about the Ice Emperor Ram, interspersed with a few mentions of the Ember Dragon, which quickly disappeared.
【Ah! Ice Emperor Ram! Qiao Sang is bringing out Ice Emperor Ram first in the Finals!】
【Thanks to Qiao Sang for letting me see Ice Emperor Ram so soon.】
【I just saw Ice Emperor Ram's match yesterday, but it feels like it's been ages.】
【Does Ice Emperor Ram have so many fans?】
【Don't mind them, they're all from the Ancient Fog Region.】
【Who said that! I'm from the Hollow Plains!】
At the match site.
Large snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
It's not the Sawtooth Dragon... Qiao Sang looked at the familiar standing about twelve meters away, its body a deep crimson with flame-like eyebrows extending upward, strong limbs, and a tail encircled by iron rings. Her heart sank.
Since the start of the Regional Tournament, Yuan Tianlong had always sent out the Sawtooth Dragon in the first round of each match. She never expected it to be different this time.
As she thought, a chill aura spread from Lulu's body.
The temperature dropped sharply, and everything on the ground, including the Ember Dragon's feet, instantly froze in a thick layer of ice.
The Ember Dragon, a Dragon-type and Fire-type Dual-type Royal Tier Beast, had an incredibly strong fighting spirit. Its internal temperature exceeded 3000 degrees, and when its fighting spirit was ignited, the flames on its eyebrows burned even more fiercely. It possessed the Sun Power trait, which increased its special attack in clear weather, as well as the Flame Body and Blazing Fire traits, and the Mental Power trait... Qiao Sang's mind flashed with the relevant information about the familiar.
A massive "Ice Mountain" appeared above the arena, seemingly covering the entire field.
"The most powerful Colossal Ice Spike has appeared!" Tian Yiyi exclaimed from the commentator booth. "Ice Emperor Ram started with Frost Haven and the most powerful Colossal Ice Spike, and it's already at maximum size. Is this a move to take out the Ember Dragon in the opening seconds of the match?"
The "Ice Mountain" fell.
At that moment, Yuan Tianlong spoke:
"Fire."
As soon as he spoke, fierce flames burst from the Ember Dragon's body.
With a loud "bang", the ice shell around it shattered and scattered.
Indeed, the Ember Dragon's energy far exceeded Lulu's... Qiao Sang watched the scene on the field, her expression unchanged.
She had already researched the Ember Dragon's information beforehand.
With the additional data provided by Rong Yuhua and Wu Tianjiao, even without detailed statistics, it was not difficult to deduce that the Ember Dragon's energy was greater than Lulu's based on its evolution time and the strength it had displayed in various matches.
She believed Lulu also remembered the information about the Ember Dragon...
"Ice Emperor."
Lulu's chill aura spread once more.
In the next second, the Ember Dragon was instantly covered in ice shell again.
Bang!!!
"Ice Mountain" fell.
The arena trembled.
The ground suddenly sank, pushing the entire arena down by a few centimeters!
"Although the ember dragon managed to break through the ice seal, the Ice Emperor Ram clearly anticipated this. In an instant, it refroze the ember dragon, and the Colossal Ice Spike successfully landed on it!" Tang Xueran rapidly narrated what had just happened on the field.
"Can the ember dragon withstand this blow?" Tian Yiyi asked, playing along.
The ember dragon would never just fall like that... Everyone who had watched Yuan Tianlong’s match was firmly convinced of this.
"Ice Mountain" didn’t dissipate after landing as it had in previous battles.
Bang!
A flame dragon shot straight up from the spot where the ember dragon was pinned!
The massive "Ice Mountain" seemed powerless against this terrifying force, and it was pierced at that point, with the flame shooting up into the sky!
"Ice Mountain" began to crack, forming numerous rifts.
More rifts appeared in "Ice Mountain" one after another.
Just as it was about to shatter completely, a huge flame burst out from within.
Qiao Sang calmly said, "Continue."
"Ice Emperor."
Lulu called out.
A visible chill aura spread through the air.
The flame that had just burst out was instantly encased in a thick layer of ice, revealing the ember dragon’s body inside.
In the commentator booth, Tian Yiyi exclaimed, "The ice shell breaks, and Ice Mountain shatters, but the effect of Frost Haven remains. Even if the ember dragon breaks through the ice seal and Ice Mountain, it can still be refrozen by a single thought from the Ice Emperor Ram."
Since the last match, he had subtly shown a preference for Qiao Sang, and his commentary style reflected this.
Tang Xueran provided a more rational analysis: "This is the first time a familiar has broken through Ice Emperor Ram’s combination techniques so quickly. Although Ice Emperor Ram can refreeze the opponent with a single thought, the longer it takes, the more energy it will consume."
Tian Yiyi smiled and said, "Ice Emperor Ram has Energy Regeneration, so energy consumption isn’t much of a problem for it."
On the field.
Qiao Sang stared at the ember dragon that had just been refrozen, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Something was off. It had no injuries at all; this wasn’t the real ember dragon!
Qiao Sang gathered his thoughts and, relying on his intuition, shouted, "Ice Armor!"
Lulu didn’t have time to think. A thought flashed through her mind, and a set of intricate Ice Armor instantly condensed around her body.
At the same time, the frozen ember dragon disappeared from the air.
What was going on?
The audience was stunned. Before they could figure it out, a brilliant, scorching flame exploded from beneath "Ice Mountain."
The already cracked "Ice Mountain" shattered completely, with large chunks of ice falling to the ground.
At the same time, everyone saw a red, injured shadow deep underground.
It was the ember dragon!
The ember dragon had been pinned under "Ice Mountain" the whole time!
The speed of the flame explosion was astonishing, tearing through the entire arena in the blink of an eye.
A fierce burst of flame erupted beneath Lulu, who had just condensed her Ice Armor.
Lulu was sent flying backward.
The cold aura on the field dissipated, and the temperature returned to normal.
The crowd erupted in shock.
"Damn! The ember dragon was under there the whole time! What was that thing that came up the first time? A clone? A decoy?"
"Yuan Tianlong truly lives up to his name. This is the first time a familiar has broken through the ice seal and managed to attack the Ice Emperor Ram."
"Brilliant! Knowing it would be frozen on the surface, it stayed underground the whole time, using Hellfire to launch a ground-based attack, and even created a clone to draw the Ice Emperor Ram’s attention."
"I can't help but feel that I see the Ghost Ring King's battle style in it. It always likes to use Substitution to confuse its opponent."
"But how did the ember dragon recover so quickly from such a powerful attack? If this were any other familiar, it would have been knocked out, let alone have a chance to attack."
"I always thought that Yuan Tianlong anticipated that his first battle would be against the Ice Emperor Ram..."
"The ember dragon uses its Clone to draw the Ice Emperor Ram's attention, while the original attacks from underground." In the commentator booth, Tian Yiyi said, "It seems that Yuan Tianlong's contestant had this battle strategy planned from the beginning."
"Domain-type Ultra-Rank Skills are almost unbreakable at the same stage, but that's not an absolute rule", Tang Xueran observed, watching the ember dragon jump out from underground.
"If there's a significant disparity in energy and strength, or if the familiar has a powerful Combination Technique that can counter an Ultra-Rank Skill, or if a strong attack can directly penetrate the domain and strike the familiar, causing instability in its energy, the domain will naturally disappear."
"Despite supporting Qiao Sang, Tian Yiyi maintained his professional integrity and said, "The ember dragon's Hellfire isn't powerful enough to break through Frost Haven, but its method is intelligent. It knows to use its Clone to draw the Ice Emperor Ram's attention, allowing the original to hide and attack the Ice Emperor Ram's position directly."
"Exactly", Tang Xueran agreed.
"Qiao Sang's contestant clearly realized the situation was off at the last moment and had the Ice Emperor Ram use Ice Armor to defend itself."
On the field, Yuan Tianlong said:
"Continuous attacks."
Frost Haven consumes a large amount of energy. Compared to Frost Haven, the Ice Emperor Ram's more troublesome skills are Healing Light and Energy Regeneration.
Once Frost Haven is broken, continuous attacks on the Ice Emperor Ram when it is injured, preventing it from using Healing Light or Energy Regeneration, will allow Yuan Tianlong to control the battle's rhythm and secure victory.
Yuan Tianlong looked at the fallen Ice Emperor Ram and waited for the next round of continuous attacks.
Among Qiao Sang's familiars, only the Ice Emperor Ram was suitable to battle the Sawtooth Dragon. Since Yuan Tianlong had sent out the Sawtooth Dragon in the earlier rounds, Qiao Sang was likely to send out the Ice Emperor Ram in the first match.
The Ice Emperor Ram is a Water-Type familiar, which has an advantage over the fire-type ember dragon. However, its battle style is primarily Ice-Type, often starting with Frostflower Seal or Frost Haven.
Yuan Tianlong had prepared strategies to counter both Frostflower Seal and Frost Haven before the match.
Until he was sure the ember dragon was still active, the Ice Emperor Ram wouldn't immediately dispel the "Ice Mountain", providing an opportunity for the ember dragon to attack.
However, the power of the "Ice Mountain" was stronger than he expected. Even though he had warned the ember dragon to break through the ice shell and use Flame Guard to defend itself immediately upon impact, the "Ice Mountain" still inflicted significant damage... Yuan Tianlong's gaze fell on the injured ember dragon.
It would be best to end this match quickly... (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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