The contestant preparation area of Tian Shi City was occupied by a man around fifty, seated elegantly on a wooden chair. He reached out to prepare a cup of tea, his gaze casually turning towards the arena.
"A Beast Tamer?"
The elderly purple-staffed man, whom Night Third had seen before, lowered his head. "Indeed, my lord. The person sent last time has already probed. The Forest Guardian lad and this woman herself are quite weak, so as long as we pay attention to her battle companion, it should be fine."
Surprisingly, this man was the lord of Tian Shi Territory. It was unexpected to find the lord observing the contestants' preparations.
"Is it that gigantic crocodile?"
The lord of Tian Shi Territory pointed towards the massive and robust crocodile entering the field, causing the audience to erupt in astonishment.
With just these two colossal battle companions, they could probably take on an entire squad of soldiers. Yet now, they were teaming up against that attractive woman, making people inevitably anxious.
"Yes, but rest assured, Mao Sanzhi is an experienced hunter. His profession alone completely counters the Beast Tamer, and the woman's strength is not formidable," the elder with the purple staff chuckled.
Getting the opponent's list was too easy for him. Observing the peculiar lineup, he was confident in at least a ninety-nine percent chance of victory and could likely resolve the battle in three rounds.
The lord of Tian Shi nodded without speaking.
In the arena, the Blackwater Giant Crocodile had already strolled over to Bede.
As a "Beast Tamer," she could bring up to five battle companions into the fight. In one-on-one matches, this professional advantage often overwhelmed opponents because of the confined environment, allowing them to outnumber their adversaries.
Unless the opponent was a hunter.
A hunter who understood the habits of beasts.
Mao Sanzhi, as a professional hunter who had roamed the jungles year-round, was originally not supposed to be the first to enter the battle. However, after learning that the opponent was a Beast Tamer, the purple-staffed elder had him play it safe and arranged for him to enter directly.
Leveraging Mao Sanzhi's honed skills, he could swiftly locate the weaknesses of the beasts. Moreover, being a ranged profession, within the range of three hundred meters, his hunting bow was enough to leave the opponent Beast Tamer with nowhere to hide.
As long as he disabled the Beast Tamer, he wouldn't even need to deal with the crocodile to win.
"Hehe, beauty, I suggest you surrender quickly, or I won't show mercy later," Mao Sanzhi looked at Bede, licked his lips, and slightly raised his hunting bow.
This bow, polished to a smooth and shiny finish by him, filled him with confidence that he could resolve the battle before the crocodile charged over.
Bede ignored him, squatting down behind Steel Fang. She took off her gloves, continuously releasing various colored gases towards the crocodile's nostrils.
"Mao Sanzhi, what are you waiting for? Attack!" A female swordsman from the preparation area shouted loudly.
Giving guidance or causing disturbances were also tactics allowed in the competition.
"Alright, alright." Mao Sanzhi sighed, hooking two fingers, plucking an arrow from the quiver, and placing it on the bow. He then aimed directly at the exposed beautiful face of Bede.
Smirking, he suddenly remembered something and slightly adjusted the crosshair downwards.
"Hit!"
With a twang, the arrow was shot straight towards Bede's chest.
Capture the leader first...
Snap!
However, this lightning-fast arrow was abruptly swatted away, and upon closer inspection, the huge crocodile was exhaling thick breaths, its eyes flashing with a hint of red, fixedly staring at him.
And the one that knocked away the arrow was its tail, covered in formidable armor-like scales.
"Hmph!" Mao Sanzhi snorted, preparing another arrow. He moved laterally, continuously adjusting the shooting angle.
"Found it!"
Twang! Twang! Twang!
Impressively, Mao Sanzhi, even while traversing horizontally, managed to shoot three arrows in rapid succession, all aimed at Bede's exposed body.
"It's here! Mao Lord's Three-Star Moon Bomb!" Knowledgeable spectators among the audience exclaimed.
Though this technique involved continuous firing, its angles were quite tricky—specifically designed to attack enemies hiding behind cover.
Just as the three arrows approached the crocodile, attempting to evade it again, the crocodile lifted its massive tail, intending to knock down the flying arrows. However, the arrowheads suddenly quivered, clinking together like three colliding stone spheres. The arrows unexpectedly changed directions, with one soaring high, and the other two diagonally piercing towards the half-crouching Bede.
"Hit!" Mao Sanzhi smirked, standing still, waiting for the referee to announce the judgment.
In his view, the woman who got shot in the left shoulder and right abdomen wouldn't last long if she didn't surrender. His arrows were designed with a blood groove!
However, after waiting for a long time, there was no movement.
"Fool! What are you doing? Move away quickly!" Mao Sanzhi heard his companion shout, turned around blankly, and sprinted away. Just as he glanced back, the colossal crocodile was charging over, thunderously knocking towards him, even faster than their lord's prized steed!
Seeing the reddened eyes and the gaping maw of the crocodile, Mao Sanzhi's face turned bitter.
"How is it possible? How can a crocodile run so fast on land!"
However, at this moment, there was no one to answer him. Mao Sanzhi, who ran with all his might, was caught up by the giant crocodile, catapulted away with a crash, and then, with its wide jaws, it was about to bite down.
"Stop!"
"I concede!"
Mao Sanzhi covered his head, closed his eyes in terror, and shouted.
"The match is over, the first round, Bede of Lorand Territory."
"Victory!"
Coughing, Xu Muchizhi announced.
Crash!
The lord of Tian Shi furrowed his brows, crushing the porcelain cup in his hand, and the spilled hot water dispersed with dense mist.
Seeing this, the purple-staffed elder's body trembled, shouting to the female swordsman beside him, "Hurry, get a new cup for our lord!"
"Ah, yes!"
The lord of Tian Shi didn't turn around but looked at Mao Sanzhi, who walked over with a regretful and despondent expression, and said lightly.
"In the next round, I don't want to see any accidents."
"Yes, yes! I've already figured out the opponent's strategy. I'll arrange it now to ensure nothing goes wrong!" The purple-staffed elder wiped away the sweat from his forehead and walked towards his companions.
"Nicely done!" Sha Wen Cheng playfully comforted Steel Fang, who had returned to the camp. "I didn't know you could run so fast!"
Bede shrugged. "Well, you have to see what I've added to it."
"Are you okay?" Ong Ling looked at Bede with some concern. Those two arrows had actually hit her.
Bede patted her body, turned around with a
smile, and said, "Sister, do I look like I'm in trouble?"
At the critical moment, Bede had used the Mist Transformation technique. The arrow passed directly through the mist, causing no harm to her.
"But my energy is depleted now. I won't be able to use this trick in the next round," Bede looked towards Night Triple-More.
"Boss, do you have any other tricks?"
Due to Bede's self-harm to ward off magic, her magic energy reserve was only at the Black Iron level. The Mist Transformation technique was a relatively advanced magical skill, and her remaining magic energy could no longer support its use.
Night Triple-More nodded, saying seriously, "I do."