The moment the countdown ended.
Whoosh!!
Ichiro Ikawa, his face arrogant and his eyes full of contempt, suddenly retreated at top speed!
"So he really chose to widen the distance..."
Seeing Ichiro Ikawa retreat, the contestants from every nation watching the battlefield with rapt attention showed no surprise.
Every contestant present had experienced that unforgettable banquet.
This Freelancer's physical strength had already far surpassed the limits of their understanding.
If a squishy class let this Freelancer get close, defeat was the only possible outcome!
Roar!!
As he retreated—
To avoid capsizing in a gutter, Ichiro Ikawa had even summoned his contracted spirit beast in advance!
It was a spirit beast wreathed from head to toe in dazzling lightning!
Thunderous Giant Python!!
This was a formidable existence ranked twenty-first on the spirit beast rankings!
Because divine beasts were proud and scarce, there were exceedingly few contestants present who possessed divine beast contracts.
As a result, spirit beasts had become the contract targets of most contestants.
Yet even if they were merely spirit beasts, forming a contract with one was no easy task.
Though spirit beasts were neither as noble nor as powerful as divine beasts, nor could they assume human form—
They still possessed intelligence no lower than that of humans. Some of the top-ranked spirit beasts could even communicate verbally with their masters.
They could also learn human knowledge.
Thus, the instant the Thunderous Giant Python appeared, it once again sparked thunderous cheers from the hundreds of thousands of spectators!
The moment it appeared, the Thunderous Giant Python immediately stretched itself across in front of its master, its purpose being to prevent the Freelancer from pressing forward.
Ichiro Ikawa had already drawn the gold-patterned katana at his waist!
He had named this katana "Little Thunder Gift."
Of course...
That was