Chapter 89: Hope
Chapter 89: Hope
Arm Hammer!
Tightly knotted muscles surged madly over the limbs of the martial panda, while a fierce reddish-brown fighting aura blazed around it.
Like a relentless machine of war, immense force tore through the air with a shrill whistle.
For a moment, the fiery beast’s movements stiffened, and before it could react, it could only watch helplessly as the martial panda’s fist came crashing down.
Bang!
The sound of bone breaking rang out abruptly across the field, and the fiery beast was blasted sideways as if it were nothing more than a sack of rags.
Bright red blood spurted from its mouth as if it cost nothing, only to be swiftly vaporized by the flames that encircled its body, turning into wisps of foul white smoke.
The tremendous momentum spun the fiery beast through the air, hurling it away.
Anger, savagery,
The ancient bloodline hidden within its genes erupted all at once.
At this critical moment, the fiery beast’s ability, Blaze, was finally triggered.
Its eyes seemed bloodshot, overflowing with endless cruelty as crimson light spilled from them.
Deep red flames spread from its back like a magnificent cloak, stretching long through the air like hanging tassels.
Stripping away the last trace of strength from its cells, the fiery beast wrapped itself in blinding, searing flames and, with astonishingly precise control, halted its hurtling body in midair.
Inferno!
Wherever that scarlet gaze fell, raging flames burned everything to the ground.
The martial panda’s thick fur became the perfect fuel for the fiery beast’s wrath.
A painful whimper squeezed from between its sharp teeth. The torment of the burns made the martial panda roll across the ground, trying desperately to extinguish the crimson blaze clinging to its body.
Eruption!
Explosive fire burst from the fiery beast at the height of its fury, carrying boundless heat like a walking furnace, roasting everything around it into ruin.
Boom—
A dazzling red torrent swept over the martial panda’s immense black-and-white form like an endless tide,
until at last it lay motionless, no longer able to resist.
The martial panda is unable to battle. The fiery beast wins!
The referee’s cold declaration echoed across the field.
Scalding.
The residue of fire-type energy lingered behind, and a hazy, burning mist shrouded the battlefield.
Seeing his chosen creature defeated, Norn showed not the slightest trace of displeasure.
With a smile, he recalled the martial panda into its sphere and called out to Lanny in the distance.
“Good battle. But the real show is still to come.”
The smile at the corner of his mouth seemed to conceal a sharp dagger, and a faint murderous chill spread across the field.
Lanny said nothing, steadied his mind, and fixed his gaze on the fiery beast standing on the battlefield.
Trembling.
The fiery beast panted violently, each breath forcing out torrents of searing heat mixed with tiny red sparks. The breath left its mouth in bursts.
At the corners of its mouth, the blood that had flowed there had dried away, becoming a gaunt, mottled brown stain, vicious as a tattoo.
And on its chest, that terrifying blow from the martial panda had left a faint depression.
Worry seeped from the depths of Lanny’s eyes.
In his original plan, if everything went smoothly, the fiery beast should at least have been able to trade away two of the opponent’s ordinary creatures.
But plans were never enough to keep pace with change, and Lanny had misjudged his opponent’s strength.
He had never imagined that just one martial panda would nearly take the life of his ace, the fiery beast.
Judging by the state of the fiery beast before him, it would probably not be able to hold on much longer.
In his heart, the hope of winning the championship once again turned distant and hazy,
leaving only a faint thread of expectation tied to the black-and-yellow sphere at his waist.
“Incredible!”
From the commentary booth, Audrey suddenly rose to her feet and began applauding the fiery beast on the field.
“A mad last-ditch counterattack, like an assassin walking the blade’s edge.”
“The fiery beast, with its superb ability to explode at the decisive moment, took down the martial panda in a completely unexpected way!”
The words of the professionally trained commentator flowed from Audrey’s mouth in a fluent, rapid, uninterrupted stream.
“Indeed, magnificent.”
Beside her, Doctor Tsukita remained as cool and detached as ever, echoing her words.
...
Strength,
A vast divine might seemed ready to overturn the world itself.
A gleaming silver radiance like iron wrapped around the massive body, leaving deep furrows in the ground like a meteor that had fallen from the sky.
The perfect union of savage power and extreme speed made a shrill howling sound, as though the air itself were crying out, echoing across the battlefield.
Heavy Slam!
Bang—
A violent explosion rang out all at once, and the tiny blue figure of the marsh king was flung upward like a fragile toy.
The marsh king is unable to battle. Snorlax wins.
Wind howled, and Snorlax’s immense silhouette loomed amid the scattered gravel and sand, like a demon from the underworld.
Lanny’s expression was grim. Beads of sweat streamed from his forehead, dripping to the ground and darkening it in patches.
With stiff movements, he recalled the marsh king and handed the sphere to a staff member behind him.
His left hand numb, he reached for his belt and found, with a jolt, that only the black-and-yellow sphere remained.
A crushing defeat.
Lanny had once believed he possessed the strength to contend with Norn, but reality had slapped him hard across the face.
The mighty Snorlax before him was Norn’s fourth creature, while Lanny was now left with only his final one, a fluffy sheep.
Norn’s deep reserves allowed him, even after an early setback, to advance steadily,
step by step drawing on the foundation behind him to pull off the most inevitable of comebacks.
“The battle is drawing toward its end, and the champion of this match is about to be decided!”
“Let us witness the final curtain call from these two formidable competitors.”
In the commentary booth, Audrey said slowly, with the tone of a conclusion.
By her judgment, the champion of this League Tournament had already been decided.
Miracles of reversal and comeback might appear from time to time, but under the crushing weight of absolute strength, their chance of occurring was nearly zero.
In a battle of this level, the final of the League Conference, not even a comprehensive survey of League history could turn up a record as outrageous as a one-versus-three victory.
Though Lanny’s fluffy sheep was indeed strong, it was still only a fluffy sheep.
No matter how strong it was, it could not possibly withstand Norn’s rotating assault from three elite creatures in total, including his ace.
Not to mention...
A glint flashed through Audrey’s eyes. As a social butterfly who moved through the world of creatures with remarkable ease,
she had long ago, before the tournament, learned certain things about Norn through some obscure channels.
Beside her, Doctor Tsukita remained silent, his deep eyes fixed tightly on Lanny—
more precisely, on the black-and-yellow sphere in Lanny’s hand.
In the upper stands,
Damaranchi wore an amused smile as he looked down into the arena, his eyes full of anticipation.
...
Both hands gripping the sphere tightly,
Lanny clenched his teeth and hurled the black-and-yellow ball forcefully toward the sky.
It tore through the air, spinning—
from a certain angle, the round sphere seemed to overlap with the moon hanging in the night sky.
In that instant,
starlight burst forth, and dark clouds gathered.