Chapter 750: Faithwarden
Chapter 750: Faithwarden (Combined)
This punch was incredibly fast, the Fire Fist trailing flames and a terrifying sound.
"Seek~"
Just as it was about to land, Treasure Seeker grinned and vanished from the spot, reappearing a hundred meters away in the sky.
Flame Ape, seeing its target disappear, tried to pull back its fist but found itself unable to move.
"Ape..."
Flame Ape lowered its head and saw its limbs tightly bound by thick, dark shadows. The flames continued to burn, and the shadows, though distorted by the heat, were unaffected and tightened even more.
Behind Flame Ape, the Ghost Ring King, about six meters tall, stood with one claw raised, its expressionless face staring at the bound opponent.
"Oh my gosh! Combination Techniques! Dark Shadow paired with Shadow Control, I can't believe these two Ultimate Moves are being used by a 16-year-old competitor!" The Announcer exclaimed. "And this Ghost Ring King! It can teleport! No wonder its movements were so bizarre earlier!"
"If I'm not mistaken, this is a Ghost-type and Psychic-type dual-attribute familiar, an extremely rare find!"
The crowd was in an uproar.
"Ghost-type and Psychic-type, this familiar is definitely one of Blue Star's rarest! And it's an ultra-rare one at that!"
"Two Advanced Skills combined into a Combination Technique, I haven't been able to master even one in my decades of practice..."
"I still can't believe she's only 16... Not to mention, the Amber Star Array just doesn't add up!"
"Is she a Professional Beastmaster? I thought the Spirit Pattern on Ghost Ring King indicated she was a Spirit Pattern Master."
"The Spirit Pattern on Ghost Ring King enhances its wisdom, but it doesn't have any effect in battle", a seasoned Spirit Pattern Master explained.
Though no one knew who Qiao Sang was before the match, just a minute into the fight, the audience's discussions were all centered around her.
At this moment, the Announcer seemed to remember another Star Beastmaster and said:
"Pelart is still giving her familiar commands in a language only it can understand, one of her trademarks."
...
Treasure Seeker had been practicing Dark Shadow while Qiao Sang was using the computer these past two days. Its Shadow Control had reached Mastery Peak, and with just a bit of practice, combining the two techniques wasn't particularly difficult... Qiao Sang had initially thought Dark Shadow was just for show, but it turned out to be much more effective than she had imagined... She watched the scene before her with satisfaction.
Just as she was about to give an order, she heard the Announcer's voice.
It turned out the opponent wasn't calling Flame Ape's name but giving it commands in its own language... Impressive! This was the first time she had seen someone who could speak familiar language... Qiao Sang gazed at her distant opponent with a "Damn, you're good" expression.
Pelart, feeling Qiao Sang's gaze, stiffened and called out loudly:
"Ape!"
Flame Ape, hearing its Beastmaster's voice, tensed its muscles, and the fire collar on its neck glowed with a faint white light. Simultaneously, flames erupted from its limbs, pushing outward, causing the shadows to show signs of breaking.
This Flame Ape's strength and energy were both greater than Treasure Seeker's... I need to end this quickly... Qiao Sang quickly realized this.
"Seek~"
Treasure Seeker raised its short toe.
The six-meter-tall Ghost Ring King Synchronization stood up on its Short Toes.
Shadow suddenly spread wildly, instantly enveloping Flame Ape's entire body.
While Shadow Control performed by the Treasure Seeker couldn't achieve this, Dark Shadow could.
"Chimp!"
Pelart issued another command.
The Shadow ball suddenly expanded.
Qiao Sang could feel the boiling heat inside.
Flames began to seep through the black ball, turning increasingly red.
"Spin!" Qiao Sang didn't dare waste any time.
"Xunxun~"
The Treasure Seeker stood on its Short Toes and began spinning non-stop.
The six-meter-tall Ghost Ring King mimicked the same action.
At the same time.
High in the air, the black ball began to spin.
And it spun faster and faster, resembling a rapidly rotating black mass, making it hard to tell it was a sphere.
"Contestant Qiao Sang is using a spinning strategy!" the Announcer exclaimed excitedly. "Could this be to daze Flame Ape directly?"
In the audience stands, all the Artificers and Pelart's supporters erupted in noise.
"Can Flame Ape's flames not burn through Ghost Ring King's Shadow Control?"
"That would be such a humiliation if it gets dazed directly!"
"Pelart! Come on! I believe in you..."
The noise abruptly stopped.
Flames burst through the Shadow Control-formed black ball.
Flame Ape, covered in flames, appeared on the field.
However, its eyes were dazed, and it began to fall from the sky.
"Chimp!" Pelart realized the situation was dire and shouted urgently.
"Chimp..."
Flame Ape, hearing its Beastmaster's voice, forced its eyes open to fight off the dizziness.
But in the next second, it saw a pair of purple eyes.
Under the panoramic view.
During the descent from the sky.
The Treasure Seeker suddenly appeared in front of Flame Ape, falling at the same level as its head.
"Bang!"
Three seconds later, Flame Ape crashed heavily onto the ground.
Dust rose.
In the close-up shot, Flame Ape's eyes were closed, and it didn't get up.
Meanwhile, the Treasure Seeker appeared high in the air, covering its mouth and giggling.
The crowd fell silent for a moment, then the Announcer's voice rang out:
"Flame Ape broke free from Ghost Ring King's Bind, but it seems the Spin still disoriented it. Ghost Ring King's Hypnosis at the end was a stroke of genius."
"Using this move when Flame Ape's mind was most muddled had an exceptional effect. Ghost Ring King's Hypnosis Level must be quite high. We'll see if Flame Ape can wake up in time."
The mechanical referee flew to Flame Ape's side.
Pelart clenched his fists tightly.
Soon, the mechanical referee blew the whistle, signaling the end of the match.
"It looks like contestant Qiao Sang has won this match", the Announcer concluded.
The audience stands initially buzzed with low murmurs, which grew louder.
"Pelart actually lost..."
"Actually, I think it's pretty normal for Pelart to lose. A Ghost-type and Psychic-type combination, using Dark Shadow and Shadow Control together—let alone whether an average Professional Beastmaster can bond with such a rare familiar, the Combination Techniques alone are beyond what most Professional Beastmasters can achieve. Pelart is just an Artificer..."
"You're right. This contestant Qiao Sang is definitely not simple. The Hypnosis Ghost Ring King used at the end wasn't in a stable state; it had to match Flame Ape's falling speed. It's a small, Ghost-type Companion Beast, so its descent is slower. It had to maintain the same speed while casting Hypnosis."
"She acts like an experienced Professional Beastmaster..."
"No wonder she's so popular in Blue Star..."
"I still have to ask, is she really 16 years old..."
At the Beastmaster Star Tournament, most of the audience members were fans of the participating stars. There were no betting or financial interests involved, so even if their supported contestant lost, the fans would subconsciously find ways to make up for it, rather than getting angry. They might feel a bit disappointed, but that was all.
In the audience stands, Row 5 of Section A.
Dorothy took out her mobile phone, snapped a photo of the scene, and sent it to the group chat for the first-year Beastmaster Program, typing:
"I'm at the scene and can't help but laugh. They're actually questioning Prodigy Qiao's age."
Soon, someone replied:
"Specializing in Dragon-type: I can understand. When I first learned that Prodigy Qiao was two years younger than us, I was also skeptical for a while."
"Let's laugh: It seems there are precedents. Some celebrities have a habit of altering their ages, right?"
"Please don't disturb: I'm dying of laughter. Just now, those guys from Artifacts College were saying in the group chat that it's not fair to fight someone who will be participating in the Interstellar Cup in the future. They should look at how old Qiao Sang is and how old that Artificer celebrity is."
Dorothy looked at the messages in the group chat and couldn't help but smile.
In the contestant area.
Qiao Sang's performance was even better than Birit had imagined... Birit wore a satisfied smile.
At least the combination of two Advanced Skills was something he hadn't expected.
...
On the field.
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker teleported back to its Beastmaster's side.
Qiao Sang waved her hand, and Treasure Seeker returned to her Beastmaster Codex.
The reason she won so quickly was mainly due to the information gap. She knew about her opponent, but her opponent didn't know about her. Using the same move again wouldn't be so easy, especially since the opponent wouldn't turn their back to Treasure Seeker's Dark Shadow... For the second match, she would switch to Fangy and the others...
Is she not preparing to use Ghost Ring King for the second match? Pelart watched the actions of the black-haired girl from a distance, thinking instinctively.
No, Ghost Ring King is clearly her ace familiar. Since she's preparing for interstellar development, she would want to put in her best effort in the first match, aiming for a 2-0 win to leave a deep impression on the audience... Ghost Ring King didn't fight for long in the first battle and still has plenty of strength left for the next one... She must be intentionally putting Ghost Ring King away to throw me off and make me let my guard down...
The more Pelart thought about it, the more she felt it was the case.
She didn't realize that she no longer felt as relaxed as before. Her entire body was tense, and every move her opponent made made her think a lot.
"Contestant Qiao Sang has put away Ghost Ring King!" the Announcer's eyes lit up. "Is she preparing to switch familiars?"
Switching familiars wasn't unusual, but since the contestant was from Blue Star, the familiar she summoned would most likely be from Blue Star as well, which made the Announcer slightly more excited.
As soon as he finished speaking, a mechanical voice echoed throughout the venue:
"3, 2, 1, match start!"
Qiao Sang and Pelart simultaneously formed hand seals.
Experience clearly gave Pelart an advantage this time. A Green Star Array appeared in front of Pelart first.
A familiar with a mostly green body, resembling a deer, with blunt, curled horns on its head and a ring of dark green leaves around its neck appeared in the array.
At the same time, a deep blue, mysterious figure began to emerge from the Amber Star Array.
It couldn't be the Ghost Ring King... Pelart was momentarily stunned, then overjoyed, but quickly realized something was off.
Looking at the size, it seemed to be another General-Class Beast Companion...
Of course, it couldn't be 16 years old... Pelart steadied her emotions.
Summoning another familiar would be fine; it couldn't possibly be as troublesome as the Ghost Ring King. With her familiar summoned first, the advantage was on her side!
Qiao Sang looked at the distant familiar and thought, as expected, it was a Faithwarden...
"Mumu."
The Faithwarden saw the figure that hadn't fully materialized yet and called out, starting to condense energy, the leaves on its neck glowing green.
But in the next second, it suddenly stared blankly ahead, the green light fading as it stopped condensing energy.
In the Panoramic View.
A mysterious familiar appeared in the orange-yellow Star Array, its body almost entirely covered in deep blue scales, a white gem embedded in its forehead, and two tails of different colors but the same shape.
As it appeared, white snowflakes filled the sky.
The snow and the familiar intertwined, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
The people of Supernest, who experienced a constant temperature year-round, were caught off guard. They were stunned, their eyes wide with amazement, as if they had been mesmerized by the sight.
"Oh my gosh! This is too beautiful!" the Announcer exclaimed. "Qiao Sang's familiar has the Snowfall Trait! Its entrance not only stunned us but also captivated the Faithwarden, which stopped its attack! It missed the best opportunity because it was mesmerized!"
The silence was broken, and a wave of excited chatter erupted from the audience stands.
"This familiar is so beautiful!"
"I think Qiao Sang might be a Coordinator in Blue Star!"
"She's only 16, still a high school student; she probably hasn't chosen a career yet..." This comment was quickly drowned out.
"I want all the information on this familiar within a minute!"
"Don't let Blue Star's familiar blind you! We have familiars in Supernest with the Snowfall Trait too!"
"But none of them are as beautiful as this one!"
The audience was made up of people from various professions, including Coordinators. At first glance, they were captivated by the familiar's beauty. The combination of its appearance and the snow that wouldn't naturally occur in Supernest made a small portion of the crowd instantly become Qiao Sang's fans. They began searching for "Qiao Sang" and "Qiao Sang's familiar" on their mobile phones or using their Beast Identifiers to scan the mysterious familiar on the field.
...
On the field.
"Mu!" Pelart suppressed her amazement and spoke.
"Mumu!"
Hearing its Beastmaster's voice, the Faithwarden's eyes sharpened. It let out a loud call, the leaves on its neck glowing green.
"Boom..."
Instantly, a massive vine burst from the ground, towering up to dozens of meters, like a giant green monster emerging from the earth!
It lunged fiercely toward Lulu.
The vine was incredibly long and fast, reaching Lulu in the blink of an eye.
Instead of dodging as she usually would, Lulu stomped her right front limb downward.
In an instant, the entire world seemed to turn into an icy wasteland, with frost rapidly spreading in all directions, freezing everything in its path.
The massive vine, just a meter away from Lulu, was covered in a thick, hard layer of ice, turning into an ice sculpture.
Behind the vine, the Faithwarden, still with its mouth open in a high call, also turned to ice, frozen in place.
Pelart, standing behind the Faithwarden, was speechless, her mouth open wide enough to fit an egg, staring in disbelief at the scene before her.
The entire arena fell silent.
(End of Chapter)
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