Chapter 184 Flying Ball Competition Finals
Countless flower fairies and demons, their expressions tense, watched from the thick ropes encircling the stadium.
The tiny flower fairy slaves stood on the green leaves that grew from the ropes, devoutly praying for the protection of the flower goddess and the goddess of fortune for the team members in the arena;
The flower fairies and commoners sat on the branches with ropes outstretched, earnestly discussing tactics and trying to find a better way to fight.
The elves and demons were secured in the air by ropes tied around their waists. Taking advantage of their height and loud voices, they were shouting towards the arena, trying to alert the team members in the arena.
"Anna! Watch your step!" Lilia, who was floating in the audience, couldn't help but clench her fist and shout loudly. Sansaka, who was lying next to her and supported by a large leaf, imitated her mother and clenched her little fist, making loud cooing noises.
With the aid of the Tree of Life, the river elves and demons on the stands—which are thick ropes made of the branches of the Tree of Life—can clearly see the movements of the flying team players in the battle through the various obstacles in the arena.
Lilia, who had been keeping a close eye on Ananna, noticed that the magic circles on the ground had moved again, with one of the delay magic circles silently shifting to Ananna's left front.
Ananna, positioned on the ground, gripped her magic wand tightly, guarding the goalpost firmly.
Blackfoot has just led all the Flower Fairy slaves to the aerial arena to retrieve the ball. After obtaining the Wind Chime Flower Ball, Blackfoot will go to the opposing team's ground arena to try throwing the ball. Naturally, the opposing team will also come to Ananna to throw the ball after obtaining it.
Her task was to defend, but she not only had to prevent the opponent from scoring, but also had to protect her own goal. Unlike the preliminary and semi-final rounds, the goal used in the final was made of velvety flowers, which were as fragile as bellflower balls. If the opponent's flying ball broke her goal, the opponent would get ten points!
The flying ball game is a very simple points system. The side that gets ten points first wins. However, in the final, if one side's bellflower ball collapses before the countdown ends, the game will not end immediately like in the preliminary and semi-final rounds. Instead, it will continue until the other side's bellflower ball collapses.
The preliminary and semi-final rounds were very short, and the hoops were woven from branches of the tree of life. Hitting the bellflower ball into the hoop would score three points. The final round, however, was twice as long, and the hoops were replaced with fluffy flowers. Breaking the hoops with a flying ball would score ten points, which meant an immediate victory!
This is the third match. In the first match, the Honey Ice Grass Cake team, including Blackfoot and Ananna, won. In the second match, the opposing team, the Acorn Bread team, won. This match is the final one to decide the winner. Unless the scores are tied, a tiebreaker will be held.
"It's getting foggy!" A flower fairy civilian who was also staying behind raised her voice to remind her teammates.
Before she could finish speaking, a thick fog swept in. Ananna quickly raised her magic wand and erected a defensive shield to the northwest. With a soft "bang," something hit the shield, and several scattered wind chime flowers fell from the air. Clearly, the other side had brought the wind chime flower ball. If Ananna hadn't been extremely sensitive to subtle changes in magical energy fluctuations, she probably would have been confused by the thick fog.
"Stay alert!" Ananna said briefly, then raised her magic wand again, ready to defend against the incoming flying balls.
The next second, Ananna sensed a faint magical fluctuation behind her. She thought to herself that something was wrong and hurriedly turned around, but it was too late. The fluffy flower ball frame that had been floating behind her had disappeared—yes, the ball frame in the final arena also moves randomly!
The fog hadn't dissipated yet, and Ananna couldn't see where the hoop had moved for a while. But she immediately threw out a defensive shield, as if someone had shot the ball again. After the shield dissipated, she turned around and stood in the same spot, still in a guarded posture, pretending that the hoop was still behind her.
The fog was still very thick, so neither she nor the other player could see the hoop. Sure enough, the opponent tried to shoot again, and with a "bang," Ananna intercepted the bellflower ball once more. Many bellflowers fluttered down in front of her, indicating that the bellflower ball was greatly damaged. Ananna couldn't help but smile. If it happened a few more times, the opponent's bellflower ball would collapse!
"Something's not right!" A voice faintly came from afar. "Let's go!"
Ananna pursed her lips. Well, she was too optimistic. Teams that made it to the finals were not so easy to fool.
The fog was swirling and slowly dissipating, but Ananna could feel a breeze rising from her feet. It seemed that the wind was about to pick up after the fog, and if the wind got strong enough, it would damage the fluffy ball frame. A broken frame would result in a deduction of ten points!
Ananna raised her voice: "Honey!"
"Honey!"
"Honey!"
The two teammates responded from different directions.
The coordinates were simply "honey," but the location of the rim that needed protection was "ice grass cake." This was not good. Anana's heart was in her throat. None of her nearby teammates had found the rim!
"Acorn Bread team, three points!" came the announcement from high above.
Did they find the basket so quickly?!
"Acorn Bread Team, six points." The announcement came again from high above.
Are there no teammates near the basket?
No, no, no. If the hoop wasn't guarded, the opposing team would definitely smash it and score ten points, instead of getting three points like they are now. Apart from her, the teammates who stayed on the ground are all civilians. Their advantage is that they can quickly receive the ball because of its high flight speed, but their disadvantage is that their defensive shields are not strong enough. If they face the flying balls of elves or demons, their defensive shields are likely to be broken directly.
Each flying team included demons, elves, flower fairies, commoners, and slaves. In the initial preliminary rounds, the competition was quite chaotic, but as they gradually became familiar with the rules and the playing field, each team found its own niche.
Demons and elves are all tall, long-legged, and full of magic. Since each team only has two large members, they are responsible for offense and defense. Flower fairies, commoners, and slaves are all small in size. In addition, since there are many of them, and since both the aerial and ground areas are quite large, they need to scout out changes in the terrain and provide and exchange intelligence information in a timely manner.
The Acorn Bread team also consisted of one demon and one elf. Could it be that the opposing team didn't leave any elves or demons behind to defend, but instead sent out their entire force to attack?!
"Acorn Bread Team, nine points." The announcement rang out again from high above.
One more goal and they'll win! Where exactly is the goal?!
"Ice Grass Cake!" a teammate shouted.
Alright! The hoop has moved again! Ananna didn't dare to delay and quickly took off, but she froze as soon as she flew out, involuntarily slowing down her flight speed—damn it! It's a slowing magic circle!
"Please note that there are five minutes left in the match." The announcement of the match timer rang out from high above.
Help! The delaying spell lasts for three minutes!
Ananna flew forward with all her might. Fortunately, the fog had completely dissipated, replaced by a strong wind that even whipped up the wind chime vines on the ground. With the help of the wind, Ananna's flying speed increased considerably.
Through the petals and vines, Ananna saw a fluffy flower ball suspended in the air in the distance. The fluffy ball was being blown about by the strong wind, and the surrounding area was empty. She could not see any enemy personnel or her own teammates.
As for the other side, they probably haven't found us yet. As for our teammates, they were probably blown away by the increasingly strong winds...
Thankfully, her teammates reported her spatial coordinates before she was blown away. Ananna, covered in flower petals and battered by the slapping vines, finally reached the hoop. She quickly cast a shield to protect the hoop from the wind, but when she looked up, she saw a figure appear in the distance—
As expected, the opposing team sent out all their large-sized players!
The burly demon flew towards them first, followed closely by the tall elf. Their other teammates, who were originally with them, were blown away by the wind.
When Ananna saw them, they also saw Ananna guarding the goal. Their eyes met, and their expressions became tense.
They noticed that only one elf was guarding the hoop, and Ananna also noticed that the wind chime flower ball that the demon on the other side was protecting was now only the size of a fist. At this moment, the time indicator sounded again in the sky:
"Please note that there are two minutes left in the match."
As the demons and elves opposite maintained their high-speed flight, they both raised their magic wands. Ananna gritted her teeth and firmly gripped her own wand. Suddenly, a new announcement came from high above:
"Honey Ice Grass Cake Team, 10 points."
Ananna was overjoyed! Blackfoot had smashed the opposing team's goal with a flying ball!
The increasingly strong winds on the field suddenly stopped, and the ball frame that Anana was protecting behind her, along with the flying ball that the demon was holding in front of her, disappeared together. Also disappearing from the field were all the players of both flying teams.
The broadcast continued to echo in the air:
"The match is over. The Honey Ice Grass Cake team is the winner."
"Please note that the second match of the top 10 to top 5 finals will begin in fifteen minutes. Teams, please prepare for the next match."
"Please note that the Nut Candy Team and the Snow Dragon Fruit Ice Cream Team must enter the venue on time in fifteen minutes."
"This competition is really tense and exciting," Shu Xin exclaimed as she lay on the ropes, protected by disguise and confusion magic. She looked down at the two flying teams preparing to enter the arena and stroked her chin. "I wonder which team will win."
The flower fairy commoner on the left shouted, "Of course it's the Nut Candy Team! Those two big demons are incredibly strong; they can break through several layers of defensive shields. And their shots are incredibly accurate! Plus, my neighbor is on that team; his innate magic is detection magic!"
"I don't think so. In my opinion, it's still the Snow Dragon Fruit Ice Cream team! Those two elves have the fastest flight speed of all the final teams!" The demon on the right also objected loudly. "The defensive shield you mentioned must have been released by the Flower Fairy. Those two elves' defensive shields are still pretty tough!"
The Nut Candy Team's main force consisted of two demons, while the Snow Dragon Fruit Ice Cream Team's main force consisted of two elves. However, the flower fairy was supporting the demons, while the demons were supporting the elves. Listening to the arguments on both sides, Shu Xin couldn't help but smile, resting her cheek on her hand.
But Shu Xin's smile soon faded; the merchant caravan that had gone out brought back bad news—
It turns out that not only did the rainy season fail to bring rain to the Land of Sin, but all the territories within Ghanal were also without rain!
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Author's Note: I'm sorry, this competition was really difficult to write about. My recent updates have been a mess TvT [bows deeply in apology]
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