Chapter 340 - 236: Wu Bao is a Defeated Dog
In a delicate moment like this, however, one or two seconds was all it took to turn the tide of battle.
Yu Bao’s eyes went wide. He felt the sudden urge to throttle Wu Bao.
He never imagined Wu Bao would be so crazy as to learn a Skill that had absolutely nothing to do with his Attributes. He hadn’t considered this possibility at all!
"ROAR!" Having played his trump card, Wu Bao no longer hesitated. He unleashed a full-powered Lance Charge, rushing straight for Yu Bao.
The vines weren’t actually that tough; a single Giant Fire Pillar could have destroyed them. But with his Skills temporarily sealed and not enough Power to break free on his own, Yu Bao was suddenly rendered helpless.
In the blink of an eye, Wu Bao’s horn was right in front of his face.
Almost simultaneously, after less than a second of being silenced, Yu Bao regained the ability to use his Skills.
"WHOOSH!"
At the last moment, Yu Bao seemed to give up struggling. Instead of using Giant Fire Pillar to break the vines, he organized one final offensive.
Sandstorm, Burning Sand Blade, Quicksand Shield, Giant Fire Pillar... He unleashed all of his Skills at once, bringing his strongest firepower to bear.
He was like a gambler going all-in, willing to fight to the bitter end for the sake of victory!
"ROAR!"
Wu Bao didn’t retreat an inch. Like an unwavering knight, he charged forward regardless of his opponent’s actions.
Boosted by Lance Thrust, a black, focused light coated Wu Bao’s horn, making it just like a real Riding Lance.
’Come on, Yu Bao! If you want to go all-in, then I’ll go all-in with you!’
’I may be a little timid and overly cautious, but I’m still a Black Fighting Emperor. The blood of a knight flows in my veins.’
’This attack carries all my pride as a knight!’
"WHOOSH!"
Raging sand swirled with Flame, crashing against the Riding Lance.
On the sidelines, Su Zhi’s spectating family of three all leaned forward in unison, each holding their breath as they stared intently.
Even though this was just an inner-squad match between Yu Bao and Wu Bao, the intensity was no less than that of the team tournament finals—in fact, it might have been even greater.
This was the benefit of having an outstanding Beast Tamer in the family... If nothing else, you never had to worry about the quality of the viewing experience.
A few meters away on the flat ground, the storm of sand and Fire slowly subsided...
The Riding Lance was still gleaming, the armor still intact.
This time, victory belonged to the proud knight, the fierce and combative Fighting Element Race, the advancing Black Fighting Emperor, Wu... Huh? Wait...
Wu Bao stared at the pile of sand that had once been Yu Bao, his eyes wide with shock.
’Damn it, how is it a fake?’
’That’s not right. I know Yu Bao has Clone Skills, so I was watching him like a hawk. He shouldn’t have had an opportunity...’
’Then again, it’s hard to say. His ability to seamlessly switch Skills is just too broken. It’s really hard to keep track.’
’Maybe that whole barrage of Skills was just a Blinding Technique, and Yu Bao’s real body has already snuck behind me!’
"Woof." Sure enough, a bark came from behind him.
Jinxing himself like that, Wu Bao flinched instinctively. But having been tricked once already, he was mentally prepared this time and didn’t fall into disarray.
In a flash, Wu Bao calmly spun around, his horn tracing a sharp arc of light through the air as he swept it directly behind him.
’So what if you have a backup plan? I haven’t shown any openings!’
"SWISH!" The Riding Lance swept through, cutting Yu Bao in half at the waist. He once again crumbled into a pile of sand.
"???" Wu Bao was dumbfounded. ’How is this one a fake too?’
The next moment, the disintegrating sand reformed into a small Quicksand Shield and shot upward with explosive force.
Wu Bao was skilled in grappling from almost any angle, but he had difficulty dealing with impacts from directly below. The Quicksand Shield sent him flying backward, leaving him suspended in the air for a moment.
’Not good! Danger!’
Wu Bao instinctively activated Doubling, shrinking his body to its smallest size to evade any potential attacks.
However, even he knew this was just a final, desperate struggle.
The Black Fighting Emperor was a knight of the earth and forest. When a knight was trapped in mid-air with no point of leverage, that was when he was most vulnerable.
Especially against a veteran Pet Beast like Yu Bao, who would never give his opponent the slightest chance to fight back.
The next moment, Yellow Earth Walls erupted from all four sides, forming a box that sealed the vertically-oriented Wu Bao inside.
His indestructible horn was now pointed uselessly at the sky. Having lost its ability to charge and kill, it could be easily restrained by even a simple Yellow Earth Wall.
Wu Bao tried to use Doubling to break free, but Yu Bao’s Yellow Earth Wall utilized a clever, adjustable configuration; as Wu Bao grew larger or smaller, the four walls would extend or retract in tandem, always keeping Wu Bao perfectly snug inside without rupturing.
Yu Bao circled Wu Bao’s custom-made solitary confinement cell, strutting around smugly like a cat.
"ROAR! ROAR!"
Wu Bao was expressing that a warrior could be killed but not humiliated. He would never surrender!
"Woof?" Yu Bao raised an eyebrow, then gave a signal.
The next moment, Giant Fire Pillar activated inside the containment box. A flicker of Flame could be seen escaping the opening at the top as the box turned into an oven.
"WAAAAAHHH!!"
A scream worthy of Tom the cat echoed through the residential complex...
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「Five minutes later.」 The oven opened.
[Assignable Attribute Points (Yu Bao)... 0.20]
"Nghhh..." Wu Bao lay on his back, belly up, his six limbs curled. He looked for all the world like he was dead. A barbecue-like aroma wafted from his body, and some parts of his carapace were even glistening with rendered fat.
"Chirp~" Shan Bao, who loved to stir the pot, hopped over to his big brother’s side, grabbed a cumin shaker with his foot, and sprinkled some on him.
Su Mao looked terrified. "Did Yu Bao roast Wu Bao?"
"It’s fine. A little Fire like that isn’t enough to cook a Black Fighting Emperor. Wu Bao’s just in shock."
Having finished his observation, Su Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing Yu Bao squatting beside him with an expectant look, Su Zhi could only give a wry smile and pat the little guy’s head. He picked up the bowl of watermelon with one hand and raised Yu Bao’s paw with the other.
"Congratulations to Yu Bao for winning the first-ever Su Cup and earning the title of ’Su Zhi’s Number One Pet’!"
"Woof-arf!" Yu Bao looked over at Wu Bao, flicked his tail, and stuck out his tongue.
’See that? I’m now the officially crowned Number One Pet of Su Zhi!’
Wu Bao, however, closed his eyes as the tears of the defeated streamed down his face.
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「Dusk.」
The training camp at Pearl Harbor had been tense and exciting, like a turbulent sea.
But upon returning to Huai City, the rhythm of life seemed to return to its former tranquility.
The night sky was brilliant with stars, a vast black curtain dotted with faintly shimmering specks of light. The evening breeze was like a tide, the chirping of insects a song. The small mountain city drifted off to sleep, soothed by the last vestiges of twilight.
In the residential buildings, five or six windows lit up, then seven or eight, then more than ten, like dreams being kindled one by one.
Su Zhi sat in his study doing Meditation. His current goal was to break through to a Tier Five Beast Taming Space.
Yu Bao and Shan Bao were in the courtyard practicing their Skills together. It was more efficient, closer to a real battle, and they could snuggle up when they got tired.
Wu Bao only practiced for a little while in the afternoon before giving up. He was now lying in the garage, not wanting to go out.
After training so hard for so long, he had still been defeated by Yu Bao in the end. Wu Bao felt a little depressed.
What was even more depressing was that after being interrupted by Yu Bao that morning, by the time he got back to it, his ranking in the writing room had been shattered by other authors.
Wu Bao watched helplessly as his avatar and word count sank to the very bottom. All those slackers he usually left in the dust were now towering over him...
’Sigh... So annoying. I don’t want to write...’
"BZZZ BZZZ."
As he was spacing out, his tablet vibrated. His editor, Er Shang, had sent him a new message.
[Er Shang]: Something seem off with you today?
[Wu Bao]: ...How did you know?
[Er Shang]: I heard a few people in the group chat talking about you.
[Er Shang]: Your writing speed has always been in a league of its own, but today you were dead last. Then you didn’t reply to any messages in the group, so I figured you might have run into some trouble in real life.
[Er Shang]: As long as it’s nothing serious and won’t affect your writing mood, it should be fine.
[Er Shang]: If you feel like you need to talk, you can always chat with me. I’m usually online 24/7.
Looking at the lines of text from his editor, Wu Bao’s eyes welled up with tears.
He had always heard that Editor Er Shang was cold and aloof, that he didn’t like to talk to people... Those were all lies!
’He’s so kind I could cry!!!’
Wu Bao hadn’t thought it was a big deal, but after Er Shang’s words, his more fragile side was touched, and the urge to vent suddenly came pouring out...
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