A tense silence accompanied the match. Silent Acacia and Red Tulip made another probing move before changing hiding spots and remaining still for a longer time.
Silent Acacia pondered for a moment and finally summoned Korn. The winged tiger looked at him excitedly. Acacia ordered him with his mind to fly high up into the canopy, scouting for Red Tulip's hiding spot.
A few seconds passed. Acacia's heart was beating wildly, his nervousness rising. The silence was not productive for his state of mind.
Fortunately, he perceived a sound just then. An unnatural ruffling of leaves reached his ears. Acacia's thoughts spun and he quickly recalled something. It must be Red Tulip's pet, a large bat-like creature.
Oh no...
From spectating her matches, Acacia knew that Red Tulip's pet had a skill to spot enemies.
She must've spotted me!
Without hesitation Silent Acacia activated his [Stalker] skill. His body blurred, merging into the forest, becoming difficult to detect.
Elsewhere Red Tulip smiled as she got the feedback from her pet. She activated a skill and took a step in Acacia's direction. Suddenly the forest seemed to shift below her feet. With a single step Red Tulip appeared on the branch of a tree diagonally above Silent Acacia.
Her sharp eyes scanned the floor. She realized that Silent Acacia had already used [Stalker] but with a closer look she still spotted him. Carefully raising her bow, she pulled with all her strength and released an arrow.
The hair on Silent Acacia's neck stood up abruptly. He felt as if a predator's gaze had focused on him. The moving leaves revealed an arrow shooting towards him at incredible speed.
Silent Acacia instinct screamed to dodge. He was just about to move when he suddenly stopped himself. At that moment his thoughts raced, and he realized that Red Tulip would definitely expect him to dodge.
Thus, he decided to remain still for a moment and take that first hit.
Pain spread from his arm as Silent Acacia blocked the arrow. He lost almost 2500HP from a normal attack. Another four hits and he would be out of the tournament.
Right then another arrow arrived. It was silent and quick, definitely powered by a skill. But as expected it aimed for a spot right next to Silent Acacia, where he would have most likely dodged to.
The hunter grinned, inwardly praising himself, and escaped in another direction.
Red Tulip was surprised. Before she could fire another arrow, Silent Acacia had left her line of sight and with [Stalker] active, he would be difficult to find again.
The demonic hunter frowned for a moment before grinning. It didn't matter much that Acacia escaped. Red Tulip only needed to hide until her pet's skill came off cooldown and she could target Silent Acacia again.
Some distance away Silent Acacia was pondering what to do. His position was too disadvantageous. He looked around, marking a few branches in his mind.
Taking a deep breath, he sprinted a few steps and jumped, grabbing onto a low branch and using the momentum to pull himself upwards.
Next, he made use of his high agility and nimble body to climb up the tree like a monkey, stopping after a few meters. Now at least Red Tulip wouldn't be able to take the high ground again.
Silent Acacia pressed his body against the tree, vigilantly scanning his surroundings, making sure that Red Tulip hadn't spotted him.
Watching from the outside, the audience could see that the two hunters were both hiding at different ends of the arena. The spectators were on the edges of their seats, watching with tense nerves. They prayed for their favourite fighter to discover the enemy first, taking them down in a blink.
However, suddenly the situation changed, and the tension erupted. Silent Acacia received great news from Korn as the tiger had found the opponent's pet!
Instantly a fight broke out. The pets battled at the centre of the arena. Their masters hurried back in order to assist them.
Korn spotted the large bat and didn't hesitate to attack. His claws swiped down, tearing into the leathery wings.
[-1914!]
There was no sophistry in the brawl between the pets. The bat turned its body in midair, facing Korn, and unleashed a high-pitched screech from her mouth. Visible shockwaves battered the tiger.
[-2191!]
The next moment both hunters arrived simultaneously. Arrows shot at the pets. Both hunters realized that their enemy had arrived and directed their pets to dodge.
Immediately Silent Acacia and Red Tulip changed their tactics. They began to interfere with each other, stopping their opponent from affecting the fight between pets.
Instantly Korn barred his teeth. He darted towards the bat and swung his claw gleaming in a silvery sheen, aided by his skill [Sword Claw].
[-2585!]
The bat let out a pained cry, retaliating instantly. Arcs of dark magic shot out of her wings, slamming into Korn's body.
Both pets became increasingly enraged. Suddenly they opened their mouths wide.
Sharp teeth resembling ferocious daggers shone in Korn's mouth. Fangs made from dark magic formed in the bat's maw. Instantly both bit at each other, tearing violently at their opponent.
The brawl between the pets split the audience.
"Haha, that's it!"
"Pure combat, none of that dodging and hiding!"
"Yes, give it another claw!"
"Damn, nice bite!"
"No, my pure Korny!"
"Look, they are bleeding!"
"Pets shouldn't be forced to fight! This is unethical!"
"I just want to hold them and pet their heads!"
When the two sides clashed, arguments easily erupted but nothing they did would affect the battle in the arena. Only the hunters could do so.
Suddenly one could see the pets undergo obvious changes. Korn attacked faster and his damage increased as Silent Acacia activated [Rampage]. On the other side the bat's eyes radiated a bloody red and all its magic damage increased through [Bloodlust].
Yet the activation of two skills didn't change much about the fight. The bat still retained the upper hand in damage but had lower HP.
It was not surprising that the pets were on a path of mutual destruction. But none of the hunters had a solution for this. At this point drawing back would be equivalent to losing.
Soon both Korn and the bat were only a single hit away from dying. They stared at each other with heated eyes, just about to unleash their last attacks.
Red Tulip gritted her teeth. She didn't want to see her pet die. With a thought she recalled it at the last moment.
But when she glanced at the place where the two pets fought, she realized that Korn was gone as well. Red Tulip sighed in relief.
Silent Acacia on the other side suddenly showed a victorious grin. While Red Tulip completely recalled her pet, Silent Acacia made use of his set effect to swap the seriously injured Korn for the healthy Zorn.
Red Tulip suddenly noticed a movement on the forest floor. A few bushes were trampled by a huge alligator. Instantly Red Tulip's face lost its colour. She had made a mistake! She didn't calculate Silent Acacia's ability to swap pets!
To be fair Silent Acacia had only shown this ability once in public and the conditions to do so were unknown. But still, Red Tulip knew that this mistake would cost her the match.
It quickly came as expected. Silent Acacia and Zorn pressured Red Tulip from two sides. No matter how she struggled there was no solving the situation. After a few more arrows Silent Acacia cleanly took the victory.
Dream Avenue's fans instantly erupted. With this series of wins Hotpot had proven themselves yet again. Even against some of the best players they won beautifully!
Silent Acacia humbly accepted the congratulations from his guild as the tournament continued. After the series of stronger opponents, Bleary Mirage, Silent Acacia, and Quickstep were rather lucky and met no more outstanding opponents.
Finally, all three made it to the top 32, causing a sensation. Their achievement was only matched by Leo's Pride, which instantly brought them into the spotlight again.
The names of the 32 players spread through the federation. Billions of players were eager to see who could claim the title of number one. Who could reign as king above such an insane number of players?!
These were the questions Maycos asked as well, causing the audience to boil.
"Apollo! The one and only! How can someone else take the crown?!"
"Prime will win it all! Her tactics are unmatched!"
"How can you all forget TripleTurn? He has consistently been at the top. This time he will take the championship!"
"Conter! Conter! Conter!"
"Who else can it be other than Bleary Mirage?"
"Mirage is alright, but I prefer Quickstep! It's time for revenge, Queen!"
"If we are talking about revenge, we can't forget Silent Acacia! I'm rooting for him!"
"You all underestimate Dragon of Time! Ouroboros has come so far under his lead!"
Maycos smiled, allowing the cheer to reverberate through the world. Only after a long time did the audience calm down. It was time for the final five rounds to start!