Chapter 380: Imp Beast as the Embodiment of Justice (4k)
[3s]
[2s]
[1s]
[0s]
…
At the moment the countdown ended.
The final number immediately turned into a new countdown: “29:59”.
Immediately after several seconds.
Throughout the venue, the voices of duelists echoed resolutely.
“Mana Summoning!”
In the fervent call, one Mana Spirit after another was summoned.
Such a grand scene where over a hundred Mana Spirits were summoned at once had become rare since the end of the war.
Although the Mana Spirits initially summoned were all First-Tier Mana Spirits, quantity was justice.
Seeing so many Mana Spirits appear simultaneously, the audience almost instantly fell in love with this new dueling mode.
And the contestants within were also infected by the atmosphere; many faces showed excitement.
However, the world of Mana Spirit Summoning was cruel.
Almost half of the smiles disappeared within just a few seconds after summoning their Mana Spirits.
Because their Mana Spirits were instantly killed right before their eyes!
…
The attacks from those around came even faster than imagined.
Dark Demon, after summoning the “Curse Cage: Imp Beast” at the start, found out in just three seconds that the attack from the 80th contestant on the right side had arrived!
That third-year senior who had summoned his first Mana Spirit in just three seconds chose to target the weakest-looking first-year student right away.
Even though Dark Demon’s performance during the Novice Tournament was decent, it didn’t change the fact that he was still a first-year student.
That third-year senior chose his strongest and most agile Mana Spirit, a winged steel snake, for the opening move!
[Card Name: Steel Drill Snake]
[Type: Mana Spirit Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Avian-beast Kin]
[Attribute: Steel/Flying]
[Mana: 1200]
[Attack: 1500]
[Defense: 1500]
[Ultimate Skill: Spiral Drill, Gale Charge]
The Steel Drill Snake, with steel wings, has a conical mouth like a drill, capable of high-speed rotation and piercing armor.
Its ultimate skill, “Gale Charge,” utilizes flying energy to enhance its speed, making a fatal charge!
At the moment the Steel Drill Snake initiated a “Gale Charge” against the Imp Beast, if Dark Demon were to shout commands, it would interrupt his second summon.
Thus, Dark Demon chose to trust.
The Imp Beast, sensing danger, promptly reacted, flapping its wings to ascend sharply.
Though its flight speed was far inferior to the Steel Drill Snake, its quick reaction saved it.
The Steel Drill Snake, passing beneath, did not turn to attack it but instead aimed for the 76th contestant’s Mana Spirit!
The second-year student, who also summoned a three-star Mana Spirit, immediately raised his shield upon seeing the Steel Drill Snake.
“BOOM!”
Spear clashed with shield!
[Card Name: Head Shield Guard]
[Type: Mana Spirit Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Demi-human]
[Attribute: Fighting]
[Mana: 1300]
[Attack: 1300]
[Defense: 1600]
[Ultimate Skill: Unwavering Will, Anti-explosion Shield]
Instantly.
The “Head Shield Guard” glowed orange, activating its ultimate skill “Unwavering Will,” which increased its damage absorption capacity.
The “Anti-explosion Shield” further boosted its defense.
With its base defense surpassing the top three-star value, it could withstand powerful impacts!
However, the natural克制of Flying against Fighting.
Still made it retreat several steps under the “Gale Charge” of the Steel Drill Snake, losing balance and raising its shield high!
Mana Spirit attributes have natural weaknesses, a concept taught to first-years, but practical application usually begins in second year.
Fortunately, attribute克制in this world isn’t as pronounced as in the Pokémon world, often not doubling or tripling.
Depending on the species and energy properties of Mana Spirits, this克制can fluctuate within certain limits.
Therefore, effectively using克制for ultimate skills remains a high-level application.
The Steel Drill Snake’s “Spiral Drill” is stronger in power than “Gale Charge,” but against the Fighting-type Head Shield Guard, “Gale Charge” is more effective.
After breaking through the Head Shield Guard’s shield with “Gale Charge,” it immediately switched to “Spiral Drill,” attacking the Head Shield Guard’s chest!
A massive hole drilled through its sturdy chest!
This duel was clearly a victory for the spear.
But just as the 80th contestant prepared to summon a second Mana Spirit to deal a fatal blow to the second-year student’s Mana Spirit,
A brilliant dark gold light suddenly erupted between the 76th and 80th contestants!
Under the glow, the 80th and 76th contestants’ hearts suddenly stirred with abnormal emotions.
The 80th contestant’s heart surged, his gaze turning fierce, even his summoning tone changed.
“Come out, Steel Drill Snake, show these lowly underclassmen who the true powerhouse is!”
The second “Steel Drill Snake” appeared under this commanding tone.
The 76th contestant trembled, shouting, “Just a single Steel Snake, how can it break my defense? Mana Summoning — ‘Gold Armor Curse!'”
Golden energy armor enveloped the Head Shield Guard, boosting its already formidable defense.
Now clad in golden armor, wielding a large shield, the Head Shield Guard stood like a war god.
Its eyes flashed with “Unwavering Will,” lifting its shield again to fiercely strike the Steel Drill Snake!
“BOOM!”
The Steel Drill Snake cried out in pain.
But the appearance of the second Steel Drill Snake put the Head Shield Guard in a difficult situation.
In the next instant, a massive, sharp “Death Claw” descended, destroying the Head Shield Guard’s defense and pressing its head to the ground.
“Imp Beast, Death Claw!”
Dark Demon’s voice echoed afterward.
The Imp Beast, having autonomously activated its ultimate skill, laughed maniacally, grabbing one of the Steel Drill Snakes with its other arm and pressing it to the ground!
Two three-star Mana Spirits were no match for the four-star “Imp Beast.”
The 80th and 76th contestants, affected by “Pride,” instantly changed expressions.
The 76th contestant controlled the impulse to summon a second Mana Spirit.
The 80th contestant pulled out a six-star Mana Spirit card…
But his “Steel Drill Snake” couldn’t survive his “Sacrificial Summon.”
Dark noticed his intention and immediately directed the Imp Beast to focus on the “Steel Drill Snake,” completely eliminating one of them!
[Score +1]
…
The name of the contestant who completed the kill quickly jumped to the top rankings.
Dark Demon’s “First-Year” stood out among a cluster of “Second-Year” and “Third-Year” contestants.
But students, once they saw his name, were less surprised.
“If it’s Demon, it’s somewhat acceptable,” most students said.
But the first-time viewers were shockingly amazed.
Yet, the rhythm of the preliminary battle was unexpectedly fast.
As soon as the audience was shocked, the rankings changed again!
…
[Score +1]
The “Head Shield Guard” of the 76th contestant and the two “Steel Drill Snakes” of the 80th contestant were all destroyed.
Both contestants stopped summoning after regaining their senses to minimize losses.
The rules of the preliminary battle allowed such behavior; continuing to summon would only lead to more points lost.
The 76th contestant, having lost one Mana Spirit, was now in negative scores.
The 80th contestant, having lost two Mana Spirits, dropped two points!
Meanwhile, Dark, who had gained three points in a short time, began summoning his third Mana Spirit card.
As the Imp Beast held a holy sword emitting sacred energy, Dark Demon’s initial summoning was complete.
The great demon holding the holy sword would eventually become the grim reaper!
The four-star Mana Spirit, Imp Beast, with a base attack of 2000 points, gained an additional 1200 points in attack when equipped with the “Solo Sword Sheath,” reaching a terrifying 3200 points.
Combined with the discounted ultimate skills “Double Slash” and “Sword Dance,” it could push its attack to the limit, exploding with its strongest strike at critical moments!
…
The “Holy Sword” indeed lived up to its name.
…
“What’s that?”
The appearance of the “Solo Sword Sheath” slightly leaked a trace of aura.
Wit Gold, most sensitive to such changes, suddenly turned his head, showing surprise in his eyes. He sensed a trace of the “Holy Sword” from the direction he was looking at.
This trace was quickly submerged in the surging mana fluctuations.
Wit turned his head back, slightly puzzled.
But this brief distraction cost him dearly.
Diana, not adhering to martial ethics, ordered the “Bear Spirit” to brutally ambush his “Gigant”!
…
Finally obtaining ownership of the “Holy Sword,” the Imp Beast was completely overwhelmed with joy.
Though it couldn’t fully utilize the “Holy Sword’s” power, the feeling of wielding “Deoxys’ Holy Sword” excited it even more.
Following Dark’s command beforehand, it began massacring nearby low-star Mana Spirits!
After the 76th and 80th contestants stopped summoning, the 75th contestant’s Mana Spirit naturally became the Imp Beast’s target.
It was a three-star Mana Spirit strong in defense, similar to the “Head Shield Guard.”
But with the “Solo Sword Sheath”加持, the three-star Mana Spirit’s sturdy defense was easily torn apart.
In the third-year student’s horrified gaze, the Imp Beast, having slain his Mana Spirit, turned and grinned wickedly, wielding the sacred longsword to the next target.
[Score +1]
Confident in the Imp Beast’s capabilities, Dark looked up at the ranking screen after completing his three consecutive summons.
No one would exert themselves fully in the preliminaries.
His strategy was to aggressively harvest low-star Mana Spirits in the early stages of the preliminary battle to ensure sufficient base points.
Then, based on the rankings, decide whether to continue summoning.
Summoning weaker Mana Spirits in the preliminary battle results in “Score -1.”
If one performs too prominently, they will face coordinated attacks from other contestants.
Among his Mana Spirits, only the “Imp Beast” could easily escape such encirclement.
Even “Deoxys” wouldn’t stand a chance against multiple Mana Spirits attacking together.
In the current rankings,
His name unsurprisingly entered the top ten.
Considering there were nearly sixty third-year students participating in the preliminary battle, this was quite good.
But this was just the beginning.
Dark glanced at the “Imp Beast.”
Upon seeing it, his brow furrowed slightly.
The Imp Beast was actually restrained!
Red and blue Mana Spirits stood on either side, releasing red and blue light chains that intertwined, trapping the Imp Beast in mid-air!
“Has it been targeted?”
Dark was slightly surprised, then looked toward the owners of the two Mana Spirits.
…
“He’s looking over!”
Contestant 74, Aurelio Ruze, felt cold sweat.
Since directly attacking contestant 77 from position 74 might seem too abrupt, he hadn’t summoned a Mana Spirit to attack Dark Demon right away.
But this delay made him realize that Dark Demon was actually attacking proactively!
This surprised and delighted him, as it made his resistance more justified.
Even so, being stared at by Dark made him nervous.
Even though he hadn’t done anything out of line, he felt guilty.
Ruze tried to keep his focus on the battlefield, not letting his gaze shift.
His two Mana Spirits were both three-star, psychic type, and due to being crafted from the same material, they unexpectedly gained a joint ultimate skill.
When the two Mana Spirits used their ultimate skill together, even second-tier Mana Spirits could be bound!
Once the clearly threatening Demon race was bound, he believed that the surrounding contestants, unless they were brainless, would choose to attack the Imp Beast!
