Chapter 265 - 199: Three, Two, One, Detonate
Grey Gu remained standing, completely unscathed. A closer look revealed that the feathers were only stuck in the downy fluff on her body... they hadn’t even touched her skin.
TING.
Grey Gu opened her mouth again, and a flying feather was caught right in her beak.
Then, under the curious gazes of the students watching, the feather gradually softened and softened, eventually turning into a golden, glue-like liquid.
Grey Gu ran her tongue around her beak, sweeping the golden liquid all into her mouth.
"Holy crap, she just ate it?"
"She literally ate her opponent’s attack..."
"What kind of move is that? Can any of the experts fill us in?"
"That’s the Iron-eating Owl’s Racial Skill, Iron-Eating Acid."
Chen Xinghao, who was also watching the match, explained leisurely, "Wild Iron-eating Owls often live in habitats full of various metals and Gold-element Exotic Beasts. Although the Iron-eating Owl is a Wood and Wind Dual Element Pet Beast, it needs to ingest Gold Element Energy to ensure it grows properly."
"Iron-Eating Acid is a unique Skill the Iron-eating Owl developed over a long period of evolution. The acid can soften most metals, yet it doesn’t affect non-metallic materials. It’s thanks to this ability that Iron-eating Owls can eat metal ores and even hunt Gold-element Exotic Beasts."
"GUU—"
As if to do Chen Xinghao a favor, Grey Gu licked her sharp beak on the stage, her eyes swiveling to land on Shan Bao.
"CHIRP!"
Feeling the pressure of the food chain, Shan Bao was so scared her feathers practically flew off. She frantically activated Flash Gold Teleportation to run away.
"Guu..."
Grey Gu flapped her wings and took flight, surveying the entire arena from low in the air.
The feathers shimmering with Golden Light all over the arena were perfectly visible, without a single blind spot, in the Iron-eating Owl’s unique panoramic vision.
Soon, Grey Gu caught sight of an unusual flash of light.
Shan Bao suddenly appeared. "CHIRP!"
Grey Gu had been waiting. "Guu."
"..."
"..."
The two Pet Beasts stared at each other for a moment. The scene was inexplicably comical.
Shan Bao wore an expression that seemed to say, ’Pardon the intrusion,’ before instantly taking flight in terror. She hurriedly activated Flash Gold Teleportation and vanished again just before Grey Gu could open her beak.
The arena fell into a cycle of pursuit and escape. Shan Bao’s prized Space Teleportation ability was rendered useless.
No matter which direction she teleported, Grey Gu, with her panoramic vision, could always spot her a step ahead and go lie in wait.
Despite being a round-faced, fat chicken, her speed was actually faster than Shan Bao’s!
"She’s about to catch her!"
"The Iron-eating Owl is that fast?! She really doesn’t look like she can fly very quickly based on her appearance..."
"Judging a Pet Beast by its looks is a huge mistake. Don’t be fooled by Grey Gu’s lumpy appearance; her actual weight is probably similar to Shan Bao’s. She just looks big because her feathers are so fluffy."
"Sigh, the gap is just too big after all. This match isn’t as exciting as the last one. It’s too one-sided."
"It’s not necessarily a huge gap. The two Pet Beasts are actually close in overall strength. It’s just that Shan Bao is completely countered by Grey Gu. Nothing to be done about it."
"What about Coach Ke Yan? What does Coach Ke say?"
"Isn’t Coach Ke Yan always super calm? He’s not like us noobs..."
"It’s not over yet! Who knows who’ll win? Shan Bao is Su Zhi’s Pet Beast, after all."
At that moment, the eyes of Wang Haokun, who had been commanding with calm composure, widened. He had a sudden, gut-clenching feeling of dread.
’I remember, during the introductions, Su Zhi said Shan Bao specialized in...’
’Defensive battles??’
"GUU!"
’Grey Gu didn’t want to play with this kid anymore. Her Beast Tamer had told her to fight cautiously, but after chasing for so long, she hadn’t found anything to be cautious about.’
’If this were a real hunt, the prey would already be in her grasp!’
Timing the moment of Shan Bao’s reappearance, Grey Gu went full power, extending her sharp left claw.
Iron-eating Owl Racial Skill, a Wood and Wind Element High Level Extraordinary Skill, Skull-breaking Iron Claw!
In the long evolutionary arms race against Gold-element Exotic Beasts, the Iron-eating Owl had acquired this Skill that could temporarily harden its claws.
Under the fierce strike of her claws, even metal would shatter!
"CLANG—"
Grey Gu: "?"
’It... it won’t shatter!?’
"CHIRP CHIRP!" Shan Bao, whose head was being held by Grey Gu’s talon, blinked her eyes and even poked the talon with her wing.
’Is that all? I barely felt anything.’
A fierce look appeared in Grey Gu’s eyes.
’Idiot! Don’t get so smug!’
"SPLASH—"
Grey Gu opened her mouth wide, and a dark gray, viscous liquid shot out, instantly covering Shan Bao’s entire body.
Iron-eating Owl Racial Skill, Iron-Eating Acid Spray!
"Holy crap, she just sprayed her with all of it?"
"She’s probably going to be corroded until not even dust is left, right?"
"Oh my god, I thought this was just a friendly match? This is way too cruel..."
"Why is the coach just watching? Are we sure we don’t need a medical team or something...?"
The students below the stage were even more nervous than the Pet Beasts on it, all of them staring intently at Shan Bao.
At that moment, a gleam of a predator’s pride and cruelty flashed in Grey Gu’s eyes.
’That’s what you get for mocking me! Now feel the excruciating pain and helplessness of your body being corroded by my powerful acid!’
However, after waiting a full two seconds, Grey Gu didn’t hear the sound of metal being corroded coming from Shan Bao’s body...
In fact, because some impurities were removed by the acid, Shan Bao actually became even shinier and brighter.
"CHIRP CHIRP!" Shan Bao chirped cheerfully.
’Thanks for the free Car Wash Liquid, senior!’
...The pride in Grey Gu’s eyes froze.
"???" Question marks practically appeared over the heads of the spectating students.
What was going on? Weren’t Iron-eating Owls best at dealing with Gold Element Pet Beasts? Could it be that Shan Bao wasn’t a Flash Gold Sparrow, and this was some kind of texture glitch?
"Hardening and... Immortal True Gold!?"
Wang Haokun, recognizing Shan Bao’s Skills, nearly fainted. He felt his vision go dark.
’What kind of psycho would make a Flash Gold Sparrow learn this stuff!?’
’And what’s even more ridiculous is... she’s actually pretty good at it??’
Grey Gu’s grab and spray had taken too long. By the time she finished her skills and tried to get away, countless golden Light Arrays had already lit up around Shan Bao, completely surrounding Grey Gu.
’Senior! Eat my Golden Feather Flying Blades!’
’I’m casting this point-blank! There’s no way I can’t hurt you now!’
"SHING SHING SHING—"
Feathers danced in a chaotic flurry as a brilliant Golden Light erupted, the special effects cranked to the max.
But Grey Gu wasn’t hurt at all. After the feathers dissipated, she revealed a mocking smile, even holding a large wad of feathers that had been softened into "jelly" in her beak.
In reality, she had just eaten forty percent of Shan Bao’s attack.
"GUU!"
Grey Gu flapped her wings and flew far away, putting distance between herself and Shan Bao. Finally feeling vindicated, she returned the taunt.
’Thanks for the free delivery!’
Seeing Shan Bao standing foolishly on the ground, looking like her brain had stopped working, Grey Gu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
’I have to admit, this Shimmering Free-Range Chicken’s trump card was certainly unexpected. It’s so hard and difficult to corrode. I really don’t have a good counter for it right now.’
’In reality, however, time was the best countermeasure.’
’No Skill in the world can be maintained forever, and Hardening and Immortal True Gold are no exception. As long as I wait for Shan Bao’s stamina to run out before attacking again, everything will be fine...’
Suddenly, Grey Gu’s body grew heavy. She plunged from mid-air, crashing to the ground with a THUD.
...Grey Gu looked completely baffled as she glanced down at her stomach.
’What’s going on? Why do I suddenly feel so much heavier? I didn’t eat anything before the match. The only thing I ate was Shan Bao’s feathers!’
Sensing something was wrong, Grey Gu tried to take off, but found that she couldn’t even take two steps, let alone fly.
It felt like there was a lead weight in her stomach, pressing down on her so much that she could barely move.
’Could it be... those feathers...’
"CHIRP CHIRP!" Shan Bao’s voice came from high above.
Grey Gu stared blankly up at the sky and saw Shan Bao, who had flown to the highest point just below the ceiling, give up flying and begin to free-fall.
Hardening + Super Heavy Gold Fall, combo activated.
Five, four, three, two, one...
Detonation—
"BOOM!!!"
An earth-shattering impact echoed through the Battle Hall.
Everyone’s mouths were agape. The Battle Hall fell as silent as if a nuclear bomb had just gone off.
On the stage, Grey Gu’s tongue lolled out of her beak, her eyes spinning in opposite directions. Liquefied metal trickled from the corner of her mouth.
The round-faced fat chicken was down for the count.
[Assignable Attribute Points (Shan Bao)... 0.13]
"CHIRP CHIRP!"
Shan Bao cheerfully flapped her wings, hopping back onto Su Zhi’s shoulder.
Su Zhi staggered, nearly collapsing on the spot. Shan Bao still had Super Heavy Gold Fall active...
Realizing her mistake, Shan Bao quickly deactivated the Skill and scratched her head apologetically with her foot.
"It’s okay!" Su Zhi chuckled, gently flicking Shan Bao’s forehead with his finger.
"You did great!"
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