Whose Nirvana (Part 4)
Sitting on the sidelines, Rin signed her name on the "Temporary Replacement Agreement".
"Boss, is it really okay for you to participate in the competition?" Crystal looked at the pale-faced Rin with some concern. She had never seen this color appear on Rin's face before.
Linyin looked up and smiled at her, patting her comfortingly.
Crystal's eyes felt a little sore, and the boss's smile was a beat slower than usual, as if he needed extra energy to complete it. Even the strength he used to pat her was much weaker than usual...
After Song Baiyue's "voluntary withdrawal", a new team member was needed to fill in. With Linyin having just recovered from a serious injury, Belle was the natural choice to fill in.
"The kitten is a yellow-level mythical beast and can participate in the second half. This way, fewer points will be deducted." Linyin tried to pull the corners of her mouth higher to make herself look more optimistic.
The Night Orchid has a special nature and cannot walk through the maze in the second half. Not only will this result in the loss of these points, but points will also be deducted according to the rules.
"The average strength of Group A is very average. Even if we lose points, we can still qualify. And you need to rest, which is more important than our qualification." Belle rarely showed her strength in front of Linyin.
The others nodded like woodpeckers upon hearing this. Fianna and Jerry also nodded, their eyes filled with guilt and regret.
"...I admit, you're right." Rin took a breath, "But... please, I want to play."
The silent pain tormented her all the time, and she needed an outlet.
After Rinyin said this, Belle exchanged glances with the others and agreed. Everyone was worried about Rinyin's physical condition, but they were also willing to respect Rinyin's feelings.
"But, Boss, with me here, you might not get a chance to play." Yu Zhu rubbed her needle-like hair with her palm, trying to liven up the atmosphere. "Just like the day before yesterday, I beat the other team."
Everyone's eyes were directed at her like searchlights.
"Song...Baiyue...wasn't able to...play..."
Yuzhu finally realized that she had said something she shouldn't have said, and her voice became smaller and smaller until it was almost inaudible.
Shuijing twisted her arm a little complainingly, "Lin! Yu! Zhu!" Shuijing rarely called Yuzhu by her full name, and she was really angry.
"Yeah... He hasn't even played yet..." Linyin was a bit dazed. After the match with Senyu, she'd even lied to him about watching his match. So, he had every reason to be angry. And at that time, she hadn't appreciated him at all. Her mind was completely preoccupied with the match and the kitten, and she'd almost forgotten the danger he faced as a traitorous Shadow Guardian of the Phantom Beast Palace.
The first players to take the stage were the 3v3 players. Crystal was worried, but she had no choice but to go and prepare.
Their opponent today is Black Marsh Academy, and the basic information of both players slowly appeared on the projection of the competition area.
Blackmarsh Academy:
Alena, physical fitness S, agility S, strength A, Xuan-level swamp firefly.
Alilang, physical fitness S, agility B, strength C, yellow level swamp mushroom.
Gray Step, Physical Fitness A, Agility B, Strength B, Yellow Level Swamp Mushroom.
Thorn Flower Academy:
Crystal Diya, Conformity A, Agility S, Strength C, Xuan-level Stone Spirit Turtle.
Han Jiangxue, physical fitness A, agility A, strength A, Xuan-level clouded leopard.
Su Lian, physical fitness A, agility A, strength B, earth-level fantasy mammoth.
Judging from the information, Black Marsh Academy is almost naturally a level weaker than Thornflower. However, Black Marsh's extreme lethality and cruel nature have made them the darkest dark horse in this ladder tournament, and no one dares to take them lightly.
Both sides are ready.
Alena stood across from them on the virtual stage, a small orange firefly hovering quietly above her shoulder, its flickering tails making the cruel smile on her lips even more eerie. She was thrilled to see the sea of fire again, once again burning the academy that was in name only and had violated fairness.
Crystal clenched her fists. Black Swamp Academy's tactics were no longer a secret. The Swamp Fireflies replicated themselves to ignite the arena, and the spores of the Swamp Mushrooms provided the perfect fuel for the flames.
It's an old trick, but it works. No one wants to repeat the mistakes of those schools that were driven insane by fire and forced to withdraw from the competition.
"The game begins."
As soon as the referee's voice fell,
One swamp firefly turned into ten, and ten turned into a hundred. In the blink of an eye, the entire arena was covered by dense spots of light.
Su Lian's Dream Mammoth immediately deployed its crystal barrier. Almost at the same time, the first small mushroom cloud exploded.
The other two people urged the swamp mushrooms, and the dry caps expanded rapidly under the high temperature, the epidermis tore, countless spores gushed out, and the flames immediately soared higher.
"Everyone step back." Crystal commanded everyone.
The turtle transformed from the stone man grew several times larger, standing shoulder to shoulder with the dream mammoth. A thick rock wall rose from the ground, barely blocking the first wave of flames. But Crystal knew that the stone man, not yet restored to his true form, could not exert much strength and would not last long under such a fierce fire.
Behind the Dream Mammoth, Su Lian gritted her teeth to maintain the crystal wall, beads of sweat already oozing from her forehead.
"Xuezi!" Crystal shouted.
Han Jiangxue received the signal and vanished. Already armored, she moved as fast as light. She knew she had to eliminate the two swamp mushrooms before their spores multiplied to inexhaustible levels, or else defeat was inevitable.
At this moment, the two owners of the swamp mushrooms remained motionless. Upon closer inspection, the two swamp mushrooms were multiplying at a terrifying rate, as if they had absorbed water.
"not good!"
Rin was watching the field closely, and at this moment she almost stood up.
She looks completely different now than before when she was sitting calmly on the sidelines, as if she was just there to pick up her child from kindergarten.
She...can't afford to lose any more companions.
"It's too late to deal with those two..." Lin Yin muttered to herself, and the Wuji true energy formed a chaotic cyclone around her.
Seeing this, Belle grasped her wrist. The delicate fragrance of the night orchid filled her face. "They've deduced how to handle this situation. Trust them."
"Xuezi, Prism!" Crystal noticed something was wrong and immediately called Han Jiangxue who had already taken action.
"Got it!" Han Jiangxue decisively abandoned the assassination attempt and returned to the arena. She clasped her hands together, "Cloud Shadow Thousand Splits!"
The next second, her figure suddenly blurred, as if blending into the surrounding air. And around where she disappeared, countless prisms cut through the air.
Under the prism's refraction, the firelight in the entire arena became extremely dazzling. The Black Marsh trio was blinded by the strong light.
"Su Lian! Now!"
"Understood!" Su Lian suddenly withdrew the skill, and the Dream Mammoth raised its head and let out a deafening roar -
"Dream Storm!"
Frost and rainbow light intertwined, and the refracted purifying beams poured down like a rainstorm, and wherever they passed, the spores turned to ashes.
Alena shielded her face with her arms, but it was in vain. The other two team members simply fell to their knees and vomited.
"Damn... I can't see..." Alena gritted her teeth and tried to move, but she stepped on something smooth. Her ankle twisted strangely, and she thought she was going to fall, but something firmly fixed her to the ground.
Seeing the three men on the other side had all fallen into the disc trap, blinded by the bright light, Han Jiangxue calmly adjusted the angle of the prism. The embers were deflected towards the remaining spores, and the rekindled flames flew towards the people in the Black Swamp...
The small sparks became more and more numerous and denser, gradually forming a sea of fire.
"Referee team, we admit defeat."
A slightly hoarse voice of Kuang Gu came from the sidelines.
The voice was not loud, but Alena seemed to sense something and struggled to raise her head, "Kuanggu! Are you admitting defeat? Why should you admit defeat! I didn't lose!"
"Black Marsh Academy admits defeat, and Thorn Flower wins."
The referee on the sidelines announced the result with a sense of relief. Even if Kuronuma refused to admit defeat, they would have to forcibly end the game to prevent further casualties.
"Why! I didn't lose! I can still..."
Alena bared her teeth like an untamed wolf, but when her helmet automatically fell off and her eyes met those of her teammates, she fell silent.
Even though they had taken off their helmets, Alilang and Huibu were still curled up in pain, covering their eyes. Medical team members had already surrounded them.
"Remember why we came here." Kuang Gu's voice was a little hoarse, "Leave the next one to me."
…
Crystal and the other two walked out of the arena and saw Rin standing at the entrance waiting for them.
"Boss!" Shuijing took two quick steps and almost tripped over herself. She almost laughed at herself. When Linyin wanted to help her, she subconsciously tried to put her hand on him, but then adjusted her balance and dodged. "Boss, you should take a good rest."
"Thank you for your hard work." Linyin's voice was very soft.
Crystal grinned: "No big deal, this is all I can do as a bug player."
Su Lian said nothing. Seeing Lin Yin coming to pick them up, even though he knew she wasn't coming just for him, there was still a hint of brilliance in her eyes. But he didn't dare show it and stood silently beside Lin Yin.
When the three of them left the stage, Yuzhu was about to go on stage.
Yuzhu noticed the gazes of several people, turned her head back and blinked: "Don't worry, Ah She and I are invincible."
Linyin had a hint of worry, but she didn't show it, "I believe you."
She said this, and Yuzhu smiled reassuringly, "Boss, have a good rest. You won't need to play."
…
The basic information of both parties appeared on the projection.
Crazy Bone, physical fitness A, agility A, strength A, Xuan-level skeleton mantis.
Lin Yuzhu, physical fitness A, agility A, strength A, Xuan-level horned python.
At the beginning of the game, Yuzhu and Kuanggu were not arrogant and transformed into armor almost at the same time.
Black scales covered Yuzhu's body like flowing water. A few snake scales appeared at the corners of her eyes, and her fingers extended into translucent sharp claws. Ah She completely merged into her right arm, transforming into a black and purple gauntlet that coiled to her elbow.
The skeleton mantis's shell split open like a living thing, wrapping up Kuang Gu completely, and two long bone swords grew out of its wrists.
Yuzhu took the lead in attacking, and his claws went straight for Kuanggu's throat.
The bone spurs around the bone knife protruded from impossible angles, accurately blocking her attack. Yuzhu retreated quickly, but the bone spurs still touched her skin.
"Poison?" Yuzhu noticed that a tiny liquid was seeping into her skin.
Are you kidding me? Thinking of playing with poison with a Heaven-level venomous snake? The snake, transformed into arm armor, opened its mouth and, like a whale sucking in water, absorbed all the invading toxins. It even smacked its lips in satisfaction.
Although Kuang Gu's counterattack failed, she did not lose heart. She calmly plunged the bone knife into the ground, and the next second, dozens of bone spurs broke through the soil.
Yuzhu shuttled through the dense cluster of bone spurs. Every time she landed, new bone spurs would erupt, forcing her to change position constantly.
Yuzhu heard Kuanggu's sneer. She had clearly rushed in front of Kuanggu, but the opponent's bone blade was already waiting for her where she landed.
The bone blade grazed her cheek, leaving a bloody mark.
Yuzhu hurriedly changed direction, but the second and third slashes had already blocked all her escape routes. She simply stood still, and the arm armor version of Ah She suddenly shot out, and its horn fiercely drilled into Kuang Gu's wrist——
Click.
The unicorn horn pierced into the white bone, but Kuang Gu didn't even frown, as if he didn't feel the pain.
"Kuang Gu's mythical beast... may not be a living creature..." Teacher Fiana made a judgment.
"It's not a living thing?" Crystal's eyes widened. "Then how can it still be considered a fantasy beast? Isn't it against the rules to participate in the competition?" Then he thought of their experience of concealing the level of fantasy beasts in registration - the various branches of the Fantasy Beast Hall did not conduct strict inspections at all. Ah She was successfully registered as an ordinary horned python after being painted white, and the dead skeleton mantis was registered as a skeleton mantis... It didn't seem strange.
"There is indeed a technology that uses the bones of dead exotic beasts to make fantasy beast armor, but it seems to have been lost very quickly." Linyin remembered the relevant records she had seen in the library.
Given the style of the Fantasy Beast Hall, how this technique was lost must be a mystery. Looking at the tense arena, her heart began to lift.
"I caught it."
In the projection, Kuang Gu smiled triumphantly, and his gray-white bones began to wriggle like a living thing, wrapping the unicorn horn tighter and tighter.
Yuzhu's breathing became slightly rapid. Ordinary horned pythons have white skin, but Ah She's armored black scales were already suspicious. If he revealed more of the characteristics of a heavenly-level mythical beast...
Although the boss didn't tell them what happened in detail, what other reasons could be related to Song Baiyue's disappearance besides the heavenly-level fantasy beast?
Yu Zhu, who had fallen into misunderstanding without realizing it, silently made up his mind - he must not let the fact that Ah She was actually a Heavenly Grade Nether Horn Python be exposed.
"Remove the armor!" She made a prompt decision and let Ah She transform back into her original form, and they were all out of trouble in an instant.
"What courage!" the commentator applauded excitedly. "She's so confident, she can face a powerful opponent in his armored state without armor. Let's see what Lin Yuzhu has up her sleeve!"
From Yu Zhujing's perspective, if she could hear the commentary, she would probably say something like "That's because you haven't seen my boss fight, so she hasn't worn armor."
Bang!
A spinning kick ripped through the air, and the shadow of a slender leg shone with a golden afterglow. Kuang Gu's visor instantly caved in, and he flew out like a toy, slamming heavily onto the edge of the ring.
The whole audience was in an uproar.
Linyin unconsciously leaned forward. She was all too familiar with the golden light flowing beneath Yuzhu's skin—it was Wuji Zhenqi! She felt a little relieved, and her tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
Kuang Gu lay on the edge of the ring, motionless.
"The referee has started counting!" The commentator's voice was distorted with excitement. "Can Kuang Gu still stand up? Lin Yuzhu's amazing kick! He also showed his prowess against Senyu Academy yesterday..."
"You think... you can win like this?"
Kuang Gu took off his deformed mask, slowly straightened his body, and spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood.
boom!
The entire arena floor collapsed, rotting mud surging out, and a pungent stench filled the air. The ground beneath Yuzhu's feet transformed into a pitch-black swamp. The sticky mud wrapped around her legs, pulling her down with an almost unmatched force.
"This is a territorial ability!" the commentator exclaimed in shock. "Kuang Gu actually managed to unleash a territorial ability despite being at a disadvantage! Lin Yuzhu is in danger!"
Yuzhu exerted force, trying to break free, but the mud seemed to have a life of its own, wrapping around her tighter and tighter. Even more terrifying, countless tiny bone spurs emerged from the mud and clung to her body!
“Hmm…”
The mud was the first to pour into her nasal cavity, and she felt suffocated instantly. In her blurred vision, a sharp bone spur appeared before her eyes. In her ears was the whisper of Kuang Gu -
"Can't breathe? Don't worry...it won't hurt soon."
“…We give up.”
Rinyin grabbed the terminal and called out to the referee's channel. She tried to calm down, but her whole body was shaking.
Belle pressed Linyin's shoulders and said, "Okay, okay, we admit defeat. It's okay. It's okay if we admit defeat."
But Rin seemed to be trapped in a nightmare.
The scene of Song Baiyue being pierced through the chest perfectly overlaps with the scene of Yuzhu about to be pierced by the bone spur.
She doubled over and began to retch.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
