Chapter 753: Snow Lion King
Chapter 753: Snow Lion King (Combined)
"I know." Qiao Sang nodded.
"You know?" Birit was a bit surprised.
Qiao Sang hummed, "Yesterday, I watched the match at home and took note of all the successful participants."
Understanding all possible opponents was a small habit she had developed from her time in the National Campus Beastmaster League. However, unlike before, when she had teachers and teammates from the School Team to help gather information, she now only had a basic understanding of the participants' essential details, such as their professions and Ace Beasts, all of which could be found online.
What a diligent attitude... Birit couldn't help but compare her to his own underachieving son, feeling a pang of disappointment. He quickly gathered his thoughts and asked, "What information have you gathered so far?"
"Grocky Haldorsson, 27 years old", Qiao Sang recalled, "He has four familiars: two General-Class Beast Companions, one Advanced Pet, and one Beginner Beast."
"His Ace Beast is a Water and Ice Dual-Attribute General-Class Beast Companion, the Snow Lion King. Its fat is sufficient to withstand the cold, even below freezing."
"Good", Birit nodded, acknowledging the information. He then asked, "What about the person himself? Have you learned anything about him?"
Qiao Sang thought for a moment and shook her head. "No, I only know his age, his profession's level, and the number of familiars."
That's not bad. After all, most students in these matches focus primarily on training their familiars... Birit slowly continued, "A Coordinator doesn't overly emphasize the power of their familiars but instead strives to showcase their charm. However, anyone who has some understanding of the profession knows that a true Coordinator is not weak at all."
"They often delve deeply into the research of a particular Skill, and the higher the level of the Coordinator, the more they will try to perfectly combine two or even multiple Skills to better display their familiars' charm."
"Grocky has already achieved this."
Qiao Sang listened quietly and summarized, "He knows Combination Techniques?"
Birit glanced at her, "Not just one."
This opponent is quite something... Qiao Sang felt a slight excitement.
To perfectly execute Combination Techniques, one must have a high proficiency in all the involved Skills. Whether it's a Professional Beastmaster or a Coordinator, in the later stages, to make their familiars reach their full potential, they must consider Combination Techniques.
Currently, Yulinton University's curriculum is laying the foundation for future Combination Techniques.
She has the advantage of the Golden Finger, which allows her Skills to improve quickly, enabling her to consider more combinations. However, for others, improving Skill proficiency is not easy and requires careful thought and targeted training to achieve the desired fusion.
For someone to master multiple Combination Techniques at his age, he can certainly be called a prodigy.
Birit continued, "Another important point in battling a Coordinator is not to be deceived."
Qiao Sang recalled the Dean of the Coordination Academy's disappearance in front of her and said seriously, "I understand."
...
The Beastmaster Star Tournament only introduces each participant on the first day. After that, there is no such segment.
Once all the participants were paired up, the matches began quickly. The atmosphere was intense, and the familiars that appeared were ones Qiao Sang had rarely seen before. The various methods used by Coordinators, Artificers, Rune Masters, and other professions left her feeling like she was broadening her horizons.
Time ticked by.
A staff member approached, "Miss Qiao Sang, it's your turn next. Please follow me to the backstage preparation area."
"I'm off." Qiao Sang stood up and looked at Birit.
"Go ahead." Birit nodded.
Qiao Sang followed the staff to the backstage corridor, about to wave her hand to recall Fangy and Treasure Seeker into the Beastmaster Codex.
"Xunxun!"
As soon as she raised her hand, Treasure Seeker understood its Beastmaster's intention and called out, signaling that it wanted to be sent into battle!
Qiao Sang paused, surprised. "Why? You don't usually seem to enjoy battling that much."
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker's right corner of its mouth twitched slightly, extending its claws and lifting its Focus Monocle.
It had overheard the conversation.
The next opponent was a Coordinator, and it felt it had a talent in that area, wanting to go up and challenge them.
Qiao Sang: "……"
It's still under the influence of the Coordination Academy Dean……
No wonder it's been striking poses so much lately……
And it even insisted on buying a towel as a cape on the way here. Qiao Sang grumbled inwardly but patiently explained:
"We're not participating in a Coordination Match right now."
"Ya Ya!"
Fangy nodded, indicating that it was correct, this was a battle, and it should be sent out.
Qiao Sang: "……"
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker waved its claws.
It didn't matter that it wasn't a Coordination Match. Since the opponent was a Coordinator, they would likely use more coordination-based techniques, and it just wanted to try them out.
As it spoke, it floated over to Fangy, patted its shoulder, and called out.
"Xunxun~"
Big Brother Yabao, don't worry, you'll get your turn. We'll take turns.
"Ya Ya."
Fangy thought about it, found it reasonable, and nodded in agreement.
You two... Qiao Sang's lips twitched. She waved her hand and recalled them into the Beastmaster Codex.
Two minutes later, the Announcer's voice echoed across the arena:
"Next up, the charming Grocky Haldorsson and the newcomer who caused quite a stir on their debut, Qiao Sang!"
Qiao Sang walked out from the corridor onto the stage.
Since she hadn't heard any more comments about "using connections" this time, she wasn't as nervous as she had been on her first appearance.
Her opponent was a tall, slender young man with golden curly hair, dressed in a white suit, exuding an aristocratic aura even from a distance.
As the two of them entered the arena, the audience stands erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
"Grocky! Grocky!"
"Grocky! You're the best!"
"Grocky! Invincible!"
"Qiao Sang! Show us Iceapura again!"
Finally, someone is cheering for me... Qiao Sang felt a sense of relief, but her expression remained calm and unchanged.
Grocky turned his head, his lips curving into a charming smile, and he blew kisses to both sides of the audience stands.
"Ah! Grocky! I love you!"
"Grocky! Grocky!"
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
The cheers from the audience stands grew louder.
Qiao Sang didn't hear her name called again.
At that moment, the mechanical voice announced: "3, 2, 1, match start!"
Qiao Sang's hands moved swiftly to form seals.
She felt her sealing speed was much faster than usual, but the Star Array on the other side still lit up first.
"Show yourself!" As a six-meter-tall, predominantly blue, deep-eyed, white-ringed, and white-nosed lion-like familiar appeared in the Star Array, Grocky maintained the last gesture of his seal, his voice suddenly becoming more passionate.
Snow Lion King... Qiao Sang recognized the familiar her opponent had summoned.
"Xuexue."
The Snow Lion King opened its mouth, and raindrops fell from the sky like a curtain of beads.
The entire arena was enveloped in a mist of rain.
"Xunxun..."
Treasure Seeker emerged from the Star Array, but before it could celebrate, it was drenched by the rain.
It looks like I need to practice my sealing speed more. Otherwise, every opponent I face will summon their familiars before I do... Qiao Sang reflected, then said:
"Dark Shadow."
"Xunxun!"
Treasure Seeker, looking at the massive opponent in the distance, teleported to the sky, merging its claws.
Grocky's smile deepened when he saw this.
Of course, the display was not just about Rain Invocation.
“Snow Snow!”
The Snow Lion King called out once more, and Frost enveloped its entire body, causing the temperature in the arena to plummet.
A chilling mist enveloped the area, and the ground around it was instantly coated with a layer of ice shell.
At the same time, the rain falling from the sky turned icy, condensing into ice shells as it descended.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The rain had turned to ice rain, plummeting downward with increased speed.
“The combination of Rain Invocation and Ice Fog has created Ice Fog Rain!” the Announcer exclaimed with enthusiasm. “This not only serves as an offensive move but also creates a battlefield advantageous to Grochi! What a brilliant start for Grochi!”
“How will Qiao Sang respond? Ice Fog Rain covers the entire arena, and Ghost-type Companion Beasts are generally quite fragile. Even if Ghost Ring King uses Invisibility, it won’t help much, as Ice Fog Rain is solid and can still affect it. Its teleportation ability is also limited!”
“Did Grochi anticipate that Qiao Sang would summon Ghost Ring King? To use such a combination of techniques from the start is truly impressive!”
In the audience stands, Grochi’s fans were cheering wildly, as if the match was already won.
However, some viewers who were still enchanted by Qiao Sang’s prodigious reputation couldn’t help but interject:
“It’s just an early advantage; the match isn’t over yet.”
“True, Ghost-type Companion Beasts are fragile, but this is a Ghost-type Companion Beast from Blue Star. It might be tougher than the Ghost-type Companion Beasts from Supernest.”
“Shouldn’t you support our own local contestant from Supernest?” one of Grochi’s fans retorted.
Those defending Qiao Sang were momentarily speechless.
...
Meanwhile, in the arena.
“Xunxun!”
Treasure Seeker’s head was continuously pelted by the ice rain.
It winced in pain, instinctively wanting to dispel the Dark Shadow it had just cast and form a Light Wall to protect itself.
At that moment, Qiao Sang’s voice rang out: “Use Shadow Shield!”
Treasure Seeker understood its Beastmaster’s intent and clenched its short toe.
The six-meter-tall Ghost Ring King synchronized its movements.
A shadow about a meter thick instantly emerged from its claw tips and swiftly flew up to protect Treasure Seeker’s head.
“Xunxun…”
Relieved, Treasure Seeker’s head no longer hurt.
“Qiao Sang has ingeniously used Shadow Control for defense!” the Announcer explained the current situation. “Using Shadow Control for defense is a completely new approach!”
Lacking the energy and having his speed sealed a step too late, Qiao Sang was at a disadvantage. He needed to resolve the situation quickly. He called out again:
“Charge!”
“Xunxun!”
Hearing its Beastmaster’s command, Treasure Seeker’s expression turned serious, and it raised its second short toe.
The six-meter-tall Ghost Ring King synchronized its movements.
Instantly, a black shadow shot out from the tip of Ghost Ring King’s second short toe, rapidly heading toward the Snow Lion King.
The ice rain continued to fall.
It pounded densely onto the shadow.
However, it only slowed the shadow down, causing it to slightly sink at the point of contact without breaking through.
The proficiency of this Shadow Control is higher than I thought… Grochi glanced away, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead. “Ice Crystal Wall.”
The Snow Lion King withdrew the energy it had used to create the Ice Fog, and the chill dissipated. The ice rain turned back into ordinary rain.
In the next second, the Snow Lion King’s front was enveloped in Ice-type energy, forming a thick, six-meter-tall Ice Crystal Wall.
“It seems that the obstruction caused by the Ice Fog Rain slowed down Ghost Ring King’s attack, allowing Snow Lion King to set up its defense in time,” the Announcer observed the situation and commented.
The Shadow, thick and reaching a meter, touched the heavy Ice Crystal Wall.
Grouchy smiled confidently and declared, "Freeze, Snow Lion King!"
Those who could become Coordinators must all be e-people... Although Qiao Sang was inwardly mocking, he continued to observe the situation in front of him.
Despite the Ice Crystal Wall defending against the Shadow Control, it also blocked the view...
"Right now!" Qiao Sang shouted.
A chill spread from the Ice Crystal Wall, and the Shadow that came into contact with it instantly froze, encased in a layer of ice shell.
But at that moment, the Ghost Ring King, about six meters tall, suddenly vanished from the field.
The Shadow also disappeared without a trace.
At the same time, the Treasure Seeker vanished from the sky.
Grouchy's pupils contracted, and he shouted, "Ice Spike from behind, don't look back!"
He hadn't forgotten that the Ghost Ring King had demonstrated Hypnosis in the previous match.
However, for a battle where the situation could change every second, this command was a bit too long.
Under the Panoramic View, the Treasure Seeker appeared behind the Snow Lion King.
It raised its claws, condensing a thick white light, and mercilessly struck the Snow Lion King's head.
At that moment, the Snow Lion King had just begun to condense energy.
"Xue Xue!"
The Snow Lion King's head was suddenly hit hard, and it felt a "buzz", its energy dissipating, its body swaying, and it let out a painful cry.
Grouchy: "!!!"
What was that? Tile Split?!
Grouchy couldn't believe his eyes.
"Oh! What am I seeing!" The Announcer's eyes lit up, visibly excited. "The Ghost Ring King actually used the Fighting-type Pet Beast skill, Tile Split! The Snow Lion King looks to be in a lot of pain! The proficiency of the Ghost Ring King's Tile Split seems quite high!"
The audience stands erupted into a commotion.
"Is it normal for Ghost-type Companion Beasts to have combat-type skills?!"
"I remember there was a legend about a Ghost-type and combat-type dual-attribute familiar..."
"But those are attributes determined at birth! This Ghost Ring King has such small arms and legs, and no muscles, clearly it has nothing to do with combat-type!"
"I checked, the Ghost Ring King is just a Ghost-type familiar. Qiao Sang's is a Variant, the Psychic Type is a mutation!"
"Damn! Impressive!"
Amidst the audience's chatter, the Treasure Seeker's head condensed with a layer of white light and slammed heavily into the Snow Lion King's head.
"Xue Xue!"
Despite the Snow Lion King's head being n times larger than the Ghost Ring King's, it was the Snow Lion King who staggered and let out a painful cry.
"The Ghost Ring King used Psychic Hammer!" The Announcer, overcome with excitement, abruptly stood up from his chair. "It used a High-Rank Psychic Skill!"
"Snow Lion King! Stay strong! Omni-Defense!" Grouchy forced himself to suppress his shock and issued the command.
If the five Ice Crystal Walls could form a full positional blockade, the Snow Lion King could recover inside and potentially regain the advantage!
"Xue Xue..."
The Snow Lion King, with its thick fat and strong defensive strength, had a weakness in its head. After suffering two head attacks, it was in unbearable pain.
However, it still heeded its Beastmaster's words.
The Snow Lion King shook its head, enduring the pain, and opened its eyes. Then it saw its opponent right in front of it, eyes glowing with a purple light.
"Xue Xue..."
"Bang!"
Three seconds later, a loud noise echoed.
The Snow Lion King crashed to the ground.
(End of Chapter)
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