Chapter 49: Chapter 49: I Don’t Believe He Can Pull Out Anything Else
"Has the president won yet?"
"It should be over soon!"
Zhang Wei’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
Unlike him, the Captain was extremely cautious, having spent a great deal of effort just gathering intelligence.
’If this were a novel, he’d be the kind of ultra-cautious supervillain who could never be one-upped!’
However, this "cautious" character had, in fact, already been one-upped...
Cao Mingyu remained fully focused, directing the battle and keeping his eyes fixed on the darting Yu Bao.
Boosted by the White Mist, Cotton’s Perception could cover the entire field, allowing it to sense the trail of shifting sand left by Yu Bao’s Desert Concealment.
Even if Yu Bao changed direction to evade, it was of little use.
All they had to do was wait for the moment it revealed itself and immediately unleash a High-pressure Water Gun. Water Element Skills were far faster and more violent inside the White Mist than under normal conditions!
Yu Bao struggled to dodge. Each time it appeared, it was immediately forced to use Desert Concealment again, seemingly at the end of its rope.
However, after one such dodge, Yu Bao suddenly stopped in place.
Facing the ferocious High-pressure Water Gun, Yu Bao raised its paw and summoned a Quicksand Shield.
Grains of sand shot into the air, swirling to form an oval shield in front of Yu Bao.
The High-pressure Water Gun struck the Quicksand Shield, blasting a terrifying crater into it, but the attack was ultimately worn away by the endlessly replenishing sand.
The Quicksand Shield immediately counterattacked, flying straight toward Cotton!
"YIPE!"
Cotton quickly rolled out of the way. The Quicksand Shield slammed into the ground beside it with a loud "BANG."
Cotton was a bit dumbfounded.
’This looks a bit like a Hao Waterfowl’s Flowing Shield? But how is it an Earth Element Skill?’
’How does it always manage to pull out these strange skills I’ve never seen before?!’
"...Calm down! There’s nothing to be afraid of!"
Perhaps he had grown accustomed to being shocked, because Cao Mingyu was surprisingly unfazed by Yu Bao pulling out yet another unfamiliar skill.
"Using a skill that requires so much Earth Element inside the White Mist is incredibly draining. It can’t use that many times!"
Cao Mingyu analyzed calmly, "This is more of a deterrent, meant to show us that it has a way to defend and counterattack... But as long as we maintain the offensive initiative, they still have no way to win!"
"Ignore that strange skill! Just stay on high alert for that weird Sand Saber!"
’He’s already pulled out two bizarre skills...’
’I refuse to believe Su Zhi can pull out anything else!’
On the other side, Su Zhi was also watching the field with a slight frown, so absorbed that he didn’t even notice he’d bitten off a piece of his nail.
Using Earth Element Skills in the thick mist consumed even more Energy, and since a Wave White’s endurance was extremely high, a battle of attrition wasn’t worth it.
Su Zhi considered having Yu Bao just use Sandstorm to blow away the White Mist, but he abandoned the idea after thinking it through. freewёbnoνel.com
The Energy cost for Cotton to use White Mist was far lower than the cost for Yu Bao to use Sandstorm.
’Huh, wait a minute... I haven’t used Sand Shadow Guard yet...’
Su Zhi’s eyes lit up. ’That’s it!’
"Woof?"
Suddenly, the arena began to vibrate.
The arbitration match arena was just an empty energy-absorption plate, so the terrain-altering effect of Earth Force Field was practically zero.
However, the Yellow Earth Wall was generated directly from Earth Element Energy, so it could still be used!
’Is he trying to defend against my High-pressure Water Gun? But a garbage skill like that can’t block a Water Element Output Skill. Then... it’s for...’
Noticing a pale yellow Energy Light Array light up beneath its feet, Cotton’s eyes widened, and it quickly executed a tactical lean-back.
In the next second, an unexpected Yellow Earth Wall shot up right in front of its face.
If it hadn’t reacted so quickly, its nose would have been flattened!
"Woof-whine!" (This kid fights so dirty!)
"Your evasive posture must be elegant! Don’t stare wide-eyed, and keep your legs light and natural!"
Cao Mingyu spoke rapidly, "The opponent has created a lot of Yellow Earth Walls. It must be trying to interfere with our judgment."
"Don’t be deceived. The Yellow Earth Walls only rise vertically. Focus on tracking the constantly moving sand!"
’My master never forgets to micromanage...’ Cotton silently tensed its nerves, focusing all its attention on its Perception.
Everything within the White Mist became clear. That shadow of sand leaping between the Yellow Earth Walls was painfully obvious!
"WHOOSH!"
The High-pressure Water Gun blasted out, rushing with fierce momentum toward the tracked sand.
As the distance closed, Yu Bao’s reaction time was drastically reduced. With no time to use a Quicksand Shield, it could only summon a Yellow Earth Wall. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
As a Low Level Extraordinary Skill, the Yellow Earth Wall was no match for the High-pressure Water Gun and was instantly blown to pieces.
The dragon-like jet of water continued onward with undiminished force, grazing past Yu Bao.
A direct hit!
Cotton was thrilled, but Yu Bao didn’t retreat in the face of difficulty. Instead, it continued to use Desert Concealment, closing the distance through a series of flanking maneuvers.
Cotton had no idea what it was plotting, so it strategically used High-pressure Water Gun to prevent Yu Bao from getting any closer.
Its tactical execution was decisive, making it difficult for Yu Bao to close the final gap.
Cao Mingyu’s previously relaxed brow was now furrowed in thought.
’It looks like Yu Bao is trying to get in close and then unleash that strange Sand Saber or a Sandstorm to end the battle quickly?’
’That seems to be its apparent tactical goal.’
’But, setting aside the extremely low chance of success, if it failed, there would be no opportunity to recover.’
’Looking at the match as a whole, this clearly isn’t Su Zhi’s style.’
’No, something’s wrong with that Yu Bao!’
"Cotton, cancel the White Mist! Use Water Bombs for a blanket attack!"
"Woof?!" (What are we doing?!)
Despite its surprise, Cotton obeyed without hesitation.
The Water Bombs, which were faster to deploy than the High-pressure Water Gun, instantly covered the Yu Bao that was darting all over the field.
But Cotton was shocked to discover that the Yu Bao it hit immediately disintegrated into a pile of sand.
Even without knowing that Yu Bao had the Sand Shadow Guard skill, it instantly understood: this was some kind of Stand-In made of sand!
"WHOOSH!"
The sound of whistling sand came from behind a Yellow Earth Wall on the flank. The real Yu Bao had been lying in wait for some time.
Previously, while Cotton was using High-pressure Water Gun, Yu Bao had been sticking close to the attack’s trajectory as it advanced.
The White Mist provided perception and location tracking, but the turbulence from the High-pressure Water Gun was perfect for weakening that effect!
In a flash, the dagger was revealed at the map’s end—the final moment to reveal the killing blow!
Yu Bao unleashed Furious Sand Blade without a moment’s hesitation.
Cotton sensed it in advance, reacting a fraction of a second faster than Yu Bao had anticipated, and fired a Water Bomb in return.
THMM—
The Water Bomb stopped just inches from Yu Bao’s forehead.
Yu Bao’s Furious Sand Blade stopped at the point between Cotton’s brows.
In the spirit of a friendly spar and avoiding vital points, both sides had simultaneously halted their attacks.
"This..."
The surrounding student council members were all dumbfounded.
The head referee and their deputy looked at each other, unsure how to rule on the outcome of the arbitration match.
The most awkward person there should have been Cao Mingyu. As the president, he had personally stepped in to enforce school discipline, only to end up with a draw...
However, Cao Mingyu showed no sign of embarrassment as he strode over to Su Zhi.
"That was a magnificent performance!"
There was no shame or anger from the draw in Cao Mingyu’s eyes, but rather the joy of finding a kindred spirit.
’It’s true that Su Zhi was the target of the student council’s arbitration, but what did that have to do with him personally?’
’He had just wanted to have a proper match with Su Zhi; they weren’t enemies.’
’And he hadn’t expected it to be so exhilarating!’
"Anyone who can fight me to a draw has earned my respect. Let’s be friends!"
Cao Mingyu extended his right hand to Su Zhi.
Su Zhi didn’t take it.
After a moment of silence, he spoke calmly.
"It wasn’t a draw. You lost."
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