Don't Touch My Teammates

When the blade flashed, Ning Rongrong did not scream.

She wanted badly to retreat.

But she remembered what Zhu Zhuqing had just said.

If she got scared, she should look at Zhu Zhuqing's position.

Zhu Zhuqing was already moving.

Her Nether Civet Martial Soul pushed her speed to its limit in that instant.

A blur of claws swept behind Ning Rongrong and met the silver blade head-on.

Clang!

Zhu Zhuqing was forced half a step back.

A bloody cut appeared on her shoulder.

Ning Rongrong went pale, but she did not run.

She remembered what Zhao Wuji had said during training.

Support types could fall back.

They could not fall back blindly.

She shifted one step to the left.

It was a small step, but it placed her right where Zhu Zhuqing had left an opening.

Oscar moved with her, a Recovery Sausage already in his hand.

This time, he did not shout anything extra or crack a joke.

Ning Rongrong took it and bit into it.

"Seven Treasure Mantra, Second: Speed!"

The support light fell on Zhu Zhuqing.

Using the burst of speed, Zhu Zhuqing pressed forward and forced the ambusher into view.

It was the Silver Blade Team's eighth member.

The stands erupted.

"Why is there another person?"

"Isn't that against the rules?"

The host's expression changed too.

The referee at the edge of the Dueling Platform was about to speak when Silver Fang shouted, "Shadow Blade is a Summoned Martial-Skill Clone! He doesn't count as an eighth person!"

The ambusher's figure flickered. His Soul Power was indeed linked to Shadow Blade, the team's vice-captain.

By the rules, it was debatable.

But no one had time to argue now.

The ambusher charged at Ning Rongrong again.

Lightning Flash had only just lit beneath Yuan Yu's feet when Zhao Wuji's words echoed in his ears.

Wait half a beat.

Let them cover the gap themselves first.

He did not draw his blade at once.

Tang San was already moving.

Blue Silver Grass shot up beside Ning Rongrong's feet and wrapped around the ambusher's ankle.

Xiao Wu sprang off the Blue Silver Grass and kicked at his shoulder.

He slipped aside, but his silver blade still drove toward Ning Rongrong.

A cold glint flashed in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes.

Instead of retreating to her old position, she cut in along the outside of his blade.

If that blade was aimed at Ning Rongrong, she would strike his hand from behind it.

The ambusher clearly had not expected her to commit so fiercely.

He had to change the angle of his blade.

From behind, Oscar pressed another sausage into Ning Rongrong's hand.

"Eat!"

Ning Rongrong bit into it and steadied her footing.

She did not retreat behind Yuan Yu.

She raised the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Her voice was tight, but it did not falter.

"Seven Treasure Mantra, First: Strength!"

The light fell on Zhu Zhuqing.

Her gaze turned cold.

Hell Stab.

A claw strike drove straight at the ambusher's wrist.

He had to pull back his blade.

In that brief instant, Yuan Yu moved.

He was not there to steal Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong's chance.

He was there to finish what they had started.

Wind Pattern lit first.

He broke away from the main fight without missing a step.

Silver Fang tried to stop him, but Dai Mubai's White Tiger Fierce Light Wave came roaring in.

"Your opponent is me!"

Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Line sealed off the other side.

"And me, too!"

Yuan Yu flashed to Ning Rongrong's side.

His scabbard swept across.

Clang!

The silver blade flew from the ambusher's hand.

The blow did not hurt him.

But it was precise.

The blade landed at the edge of the Dueling Platform, its edge still dusted with dark medicinal powder.

The front-row spectators saw it clearly, and a wave of chatter rose.

"More drugs?"

"What is wrong with this Spirit Arena?"

The manager's face turned ashen at the edge of the platform.

The referee saw it too.

He opened his mouth but did not immediately call a halt.

The Silver Blade Team kept fighting.

That single instant was enough to make the Spirit Arena's attitude clear.

Tang San's expression darkened.

This was no spur-of-the-moment rule-breaking.

Someone believed they could break the rules and keep fighting anyway.

Yuan Yu looked at the ambusher.

"You can fight us."

"But don't touch my teammates."

The ambusher's face changed, and his body suddenly began to fade.

He was trying to return to Shadow Blade.

Tang San was ready.

Blue Silver Grass coiled up from the floor and dragged Shadow Blade himself into the open.

Xiao Wu followed close behind.

Waist Bow.

Shadow Blade and his clone were flung together toward the edge of the platform.

Zhu Zhuqing did not pursue them.

She returned to Ning Rongrong's side, blood still running from her shoulder.

Ning Rongrong looked at the wound, her voice trembling slightly.

"Are you okay?"

"It's just a scratch," Zhu Zhuqing said.

Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth.

"I'll be faster next time."

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at her.

"You were fast enough this time."

Across the platform, Silver Fang's expression darkened completely.

He had not expected the attack on their back line to fail, much less hand the momentum to Shrek.

Dai Mubai charged from the front.

Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Line blocked the escape routes.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass held Shadow Blade, cutting off every Agility Attack route the other team had.

Xiao Wu seized the opening and closed in again.

Silver Fang roared, and his fourth Spirit Ring lit up.

Silver Fang Blades sprang from his forearms and shot straight at Dai Mubai.

Dai Mubai took the attack head-on and was driven back.

Yuan Yu did not step in immediately.

Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, and his third Spirit Ring lit up.

White Tiger Vajra Transformation.

He forced himself to stand firm.

"I can take it!"

Yuan Yu smiled.

"Then hold on."

Dai Mubai thrust out both arms and knocked Silver Fang's blades aside.

Before, he had been more used to charging in alone.

This time, he did not give chase.

He waited half a beat.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass coiled around Silver Fang's feet.

Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Line swept in from the side.

Only then did Dai Mubai advance again.

The three of them fell into rhythm.

Yuan Yu turned, and Water Pattern lit along his blade.

"Water Breathing, Fourth Form."

"Striking Tide."

A succession of water-blue strikes fell, turning Silver Fang's follow-up attacks aside one by one.

Dai Mubai seized the chance and drove a fist into Silver Fang's chest.

Silver Fang staggered back.

Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Line followed.

Xiao Wu leaped in from the side.

Zhu Zhuqing moved too.

Ning Rongrong's support light came faster than it had at the start.

"Seven Treasure Mantra, First: Strength!"

"Second: Speed!"

This time, the light did not lag behind.

The Shrek Eight Monsters' attacks flowed together.

The Silver Blade Team was soon broken apart.

The opposing support-type Soul Master tried to retreat behind Silver Fang.

Zhu Zhuqing gave him no chance.

Her shoulder was still bleeding, but she moved even faster.

By the time Ning Rongrong's support light fell, Zhu Zhuqing had already reached the Soul Master's flank.

"Get off."

Her voice was quiet.

Her claws stopped just short of his throat.

The Soul Master went pale and jumped off the platform himself.

Without his support, Silver Fang's expression grew even uglier.

Ning Rongrong saw it too.

She did not chase the support Soul Master. She simply held the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda steadier.

She understood now: as long as the support held her ground, the team would not fall into disarray.

She committed that to memory.

Her hands steadied too.

Silver Fang tried to counterattack, but Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had already wrapped around his ankles.

Yuan Yu tapped his shoulder with the back of his blade.

"It's over."

Silver Fang's face darkened.

The announcer looked toward the Referee.

The Referee hesitated, then finally made the call.

"The Shrek Eight Monsters win!"

The cheers rose in a ragged wave.

Some shouted their approval.

Others cursed the Spirit Arena for breaking the rules.

Before his teammates could help him away, Silver Fang suddenly shook them off.

"Don't look at me! Someone hired us to do this!"

The manager's expression changed.

Flender rose from the rest area.

Yuan Yu sheathed his blade and looked toward the VIP seats.

The Rosy Cloud Pattern glowed more distinctly now.

The thread behind this scheme had finally come to light.