People playing little tricks behind others' backs was only to be expected. How exhausting would it be to take issue with every single one? Still, one must never harbor the intent to harm others, nor let down one's guard against them. He would simply be more careful in the future.
Seeing Jiang Hao remain silent, Liu Zhiwei decided he must have a guilty conscience. He raised his voice a little. "Jiang Hao, if you surrender now, everyone might forgive what you've done. After all, we're all from Shenzhou. We might even meet again in the Military Camp someday, right?"
Just how confident did Liu Zhiwei have to be to act so outrageously arrogant? Was he saying that as long as Jiang Hao surrendered, he could forgive him on everyone else's behalf? Never mind that Jiang Hao didn't think he had done anything wrong. Who could they blame for being less skilled? What did their inability to catch food have to do with him?
"Are you finished? Referee, why haven't we started yet?"
Jiang Hao could hardly wait to see the people opposite him get utterly thrashed!
The referee thought, Why are this year's Beast Tamers so full of hostility? Can't they just compete properly?
"Begin!"
As you wish.
Both sides immediately released their Beast Pets.
After merging with his Beast Pet, Chubby charged straight to the center of the Competition Platform as Jiang Hao had instructed.
The spectators below looked bewildered. What kind of move was this? Weren't both sides supposed to put as much distance between themselves as possible?
Only by keeping their distance could they find an opening to strike. Wouldn't taking the center right from the start just turn him into a sitting duck?
Qian Zhonglin, a ranged fighter from the Pinnacle Team, burst out laughing at the sight. He immediately unleashed Poison Spike at Chubby, sending more than a dozen bee stingers ruthlessly hurtling toward his face.
"Absolute Defense!"
Chubby lowered his head and braced both hands against the ground. Soon, a translucent, curved shield appeared in front of him.
As the bee stingers struck the shield, sparks burst out amid a series of sharp clinks and clangs. Their power actually rivaled that of flying arrows. Anyone pierced by them would certainly be in such agony they would wish for death.
Fortunately, Chubby's ultimate skill was powerful enough. Not only did it block the attack, but the shield remained completely intact.
Qian Zhonglin's lips curved. Let's see how long you can hold out. Every skill has to end sometime, but my Bee Sting has a very short cooldown.
Sure enough, before ten seconds had passed, Chubby's shield began to vanish. Delighted, Qian Zhonglin was about to launch a second wave of bee stingers, but he failed to notice Jiang Hao, who had already arrived behind Chubby.
Jiang Hao's squad soon formed up according to their plan. Jiang Hao stood at the center, with their defensive fighter Chubby in front. Wen Ruxue and Chen Xiaolin stood on either side, while Yang Qingliu and Song Jie stood behind those two. Their positioning was interesting: they stood diagonally behind Jiang Hao, allowing them to stay close to protect the two supports while also guarding Jiang Hao's rear against sneak attacks.
Last came Gongsun Qianxun, who had the greatest mobility. She silently entered Stealth, ready to launch a surprise attack and catch any approaching opponent off guard.
Jiang Hao rode on Big Hen. Ever since discovering in the Fire Demon Cavern that Big Hen could serve as a mount, he had put that ability to use without hesitation. He had also decided to invest more points in agility in the future. Even if he couldn't win a fight, surely he could run away?
Jiang Hao pointed at Qian Zhonglin and declared imperiously, "Name yourself! I, Jiang Hao, do not slay nameless foes!"
Qian Zhonglin broke into a sweat, feeling as though thunderbolts were crashing overhead.
His response was another wave of bee stingers.
At the same time, Liu Zhiwei charged straight toward the left flank of Jiang Hao's squad, intending to eliminate their support, Wen Ruxue, first.
Just then, Chen Xiaolin swept his hands and shot out a Spider Web, blocking the incoming bee stingers for Chubby.
"Cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck!"
Two eggs bounced toward Qian Zhonglin, one after the other. Apart from those from the Fifth Competition Zone, no one had ever seen such a peculiar attack. The other contestants had no idea what these two eggs were supposed to do. Could eggs hit people too? Oh, right, eggs could indeed hit people. Haha!
Those who had been laughing one second had their faces slapped the next.
The Wind Orb Egg burst apart. As an area attack, it could damage up to ten targets. The Pinnacle Team only had eight members, so every last one of them was hit!
Jiang Hao saw different damage numbers rise above each person's head, depending on their defense. A Beast Pet such as a support would be killed instantly if it was too fragile. Of course, some support Beast Pets had high defense too.
As an aside, regardless of their type, all Beast Pets loyally protected their masters. Whenever their Beast Tamers came under attack, they would voluntarily bear most of the damage, truly sharing life and death.
The damage number that rose above Liu Zhiwei's head was -1150.
The damage number that rose above Qian Zhonglin's head was -1500.
The three defensive fighters' damage numbers were -1000, -1050, and -1110 respectively.
Last were the three supports, and their numbers were outrageous.
The combined damage numbers for each Beast Tamer and their Beast Pet were -1888, -1850, and -2100-
The Safety Bell on the one who took 2000 rang out immediately.
Once the bell rang, it naturally meant an instant defeat. That contestant was out.
"Wow! This is my first time seeing an area attack!"
"An instant kill! Holy shit, isn't that way too ridiculous?"
"Tsk, tsk. Impossible to guard against. Haha!"
An uproar swept through the spectators below the Competition Platform. Those seemingly unremarkable eggs actually dealt such terrifying damage! An area attack was bad enough, but it had even instantly eliminated a support. It really was impossible to guard against.
Liu Zhiwei and Qian Zhonglin's expressions changed drastically, their earlier arrogance vanishing. They realized they had run into a tough opponent. Before Qian Zhonglin could even regret it, however, the second egg burst apart, and a thick aura of death closed in.
Six-Shot Fireball! Were they scared yet?
Seeing six fireballs flying toward him, Qian Zhonglin was frightened out of his wits. He hurriedly ducked behind a defensive teammate, hoping his teammate could shield him from this calamity. But then...
The six fireballs followed close behind, as though they had locked onto him.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
His Safety Bell had already rung when the first fireball exploded against him. As the five remaining fireballs burst, the Safety Bell rang violently, clearly showing signs of being overloaded.
"This..."
Everyone on and below the arena fell silent.
Two moves, two instant eliminations.
Wasn't this far too monstrous?
Only Jiang Hao's squad looked unsurprised. Jiang Hao's Beast Pet had already killed two Mountain Moving Realm beasts. Instantly defeating a bunch of Golden Body Realm contestants was as easy as turning over a hand!
"Kill Jiang Hao! Kill Jiang Hao first, or you won't win!"
Someone below the Competition Platform let out a shout and immediately received a warning from the referee. Spectators could discuss the match, but they were not allowed to interfere.
Those words also reminded Liu Zhiwei. He had originally charged over to instantly eliminate Wen Ruxue, their support, but after hearing that advice, he immediately changed targets.
Bang!
Just as Liu Zhiwei circled around Wen Ruxue and rushed toward the rear, Song Jie raised his saber and slashed at him. Liu Zhiwei deftly dodged the blow, but before he could react, a beautiful woman suddenly appeared at his side. One of her long, slender legs kicked him squarely in the waist.
Liu Zhiwei let out a muffled grunt. That kick had clearly landed hard.
But with Liu Zhiwei's high defense, it was nowhere near enough to inflict fatal damage.
He swung his hand back and struck at Gongsun Qianxun with a palm, fast, precise, and vicious. Relying on her high agility, Gongsun Qianxun barely managed to keep it from hitting a vital spot, but the wind from his palm still grazed her cheek. It felt as though she had been slapped hard, and her little face immediately swelled up.
If that palm had struck her body directly, she probably would have been eliminated instantly.
Terrifying!
Liu Zhiwei's target remained Jiang Hao. Even with Song Jie and Yang Qingliu joining the effort to protect him, they still could not hold back Liu Zhiwei's ferocious assault.
This was why the Pinnacle Team had kept winning. Liu Zhiwei truly had exceptional abilities: he was powerful and focused on his objective. His gorilla Beast Pet was outstanding in explosive strength, defense, and even agility. If he reached the Mountain Moving Realm, slaughtering the Fog Capital Divine Eagle would be no trouble at all, and he would at least have an even chance against the Snow Wolf King.
But the opponent he faced now was Jiang Hao, the man who had killed the Snow Wolf King.
Meanwhile, the Pinnacle Team's remaining healer saw Liu Zhiwei charging deep into enemy lines alone. He had no choice but to cast a healing skill on him from afar, immediately drawing Jiang Hao's attention.
An egg bounced toward him, frightening him into trembling all over. Knowing there was no way he could escape, he could only keep casting heals on his other teammates, restoring the damage the earlier Wind Orb had dealt!
It was another Wind Orb.
Although the Healing Art was timely and well placed, it still could not prevent someone from being instantly eliminated.
The two fragile supports went down just like that. As two bells rang out together, the outcome of this Team Competition was already decided.
With the supports eliminated, the Pinnacle Team had only four members left. Under the competition rules, a team was eliminated once it lost half or more of its members.
The referee blew his whistle and immediately announced the end of the match. Liu Zhiwei, who was still locked in combat with Song Jie, Gongsun Qianxun, and Yang Qingliu, could not accept it. But the referee had already declared Jiang Hao's squad the winner. However unwilling he was, he could only slink off the Competition Platform with his three defensive teammates.
The Pinnacle Team had failed to defend the arena.
Jiang Hao's squad became the new champions of the fifth arena.
Yet more than ten minutes passed without another team stepping up to challenge them. What was going on?
As it turned out, everyone was racking their brains over how to deal with Jiang Hao's terrifying damage output.
The other members of Jiang Hao's squad were nothing to fear. As long as they instantly eliminated Jiang Hao first, they would win. But how could they accomplish that?
Even Liu Zhiwei's team, with nine consecutive victories, had lost. Could they win?
Still, some people refused to believe it. They thought Jiang Hao's squad had beaten the Pinnacle Team only because everyone was unfamiliar with them. They had underestimated Jiang Hao's strength and been caught off guard. Now that they knew Jiang Hao was the squad's core, then...
A team called the Assault Squad stepped up to challenge them.
The Assault Squad had ten members in total: three melee fighters, two ranged fighters, three defensive fighters, and two supports.
It was fair to say that the Assault Squad was very strong.
Before you continue