"I never expected we'd run into each other!" Edward said with a smile, his hands on his hips. Lancelot was right across the ring.
In the first round of the 100 to 10 competition, I unexpectedly ran into Edward. Sometimes Fate is just that strange.
"I hope you can make it through the revival round!" Lancelot rubbed his wrist.
The process of narrowing down from 100 to 10 will continue for four rounds.
Round down from 100 to 50.
50 to 25.
25 to 13.
13 to 7.
The remaining three spots in the top ten will be filled by the eliminated contestants from the top one hundred through a revival round, selected using a points-based system.
"Heh, as expected of the Thunder Demon, you're pretty arrogant! I wonder if you can withstand my dual pistols!" Edward's expression turned cold.
The two stood facing each other, about a hundred meters apart.
The final arena was more than twice the size of the preliminary arena.
The countdown has ended, the match has begun.
Lancelot burst forth, his body like a raging thunderbolt, crackling with lightning, his movements accompanied by the sound of thunder.
Edward, on the other hand, remained motionless, raising his hands. Runes glowed faintly on the two exquisite revolvers, and the next moment, a storm of bullets erupted.
"Torrent Spell!"
"Frenzied Flame Blade!"
"Wind Blade Wave!"
Water Arrow Spell!
"Freezing Light!"
"Mire Spell!"
One bullet represents one spell.
Edward raised his gun and fired, his hands trembling in a blur. In less than a second, nearly a hundred spells surged towards Lancelot like a screen-filling flood. The colorful magical glow illuminated the entire arena, creating a visual feast that drew gasps of amazement from the audience.
"Qi, burning, Yuan Qi Haki!"
Electric currents coursed through the body, weaving a network that covered the limbs, bones, and internal organs, before blue flames rose and energy surged.
A blue light expanded, enveloping Lancelot in a layer of close-fitting armor.
With the activation of his two secret techniques, Lancelot went completely insane!
He cleared a path with his fists, shattering streams of magical light.
Stepping on lightning, traversing the mud as if on flat ground, unafraid of any control.
In the blink of an eye, he swept across the entire arena and arrived in front of Edward, their eyes meeting.
Edward gave a wry smile. "He certainly has the right to be arrogant!"
Bang!
As soon as he finished speaking, the Storm Gunner flew off the stage.
The battle lasted less than ten seconds from start to finish. Lancelot's fight against Edward seemed no different from fighting those A-class or S-class fighters. However, only those in the know understood that there was a serious counter-relationship between the two.
Especially with the restrictions of the arena, this restraint is amplified even further.
First, what are normal spellcasters most afraid of?
Close combat, of course!
Therefore, generally speaking, when a spellcaster faces an enemy, they either reduce it to dust with Destruction torrent of spells.
Either apply control measures first to prevent the opponent from suddenly engaging you.
In high-level battles, spellcasters will also seal off the surrounding space to prevent enemies from using spatial abilities to close in.
Edward undoubtedly chose the first method.
A direct saturation bombardment, aiming to wipe out Lancelot in one fell swoop.
Because he knew that Lancelot was not susceptible to control.
However, Lancelot's Primordial Qi Tyrant Body also has the ability to reduce damage.
His Body of Steel is also a defensive Ability Energy; the combination of the two makes him incredibly durable.
Even so, Lancelot was seriously injured after defeating Edward.
Hundreds of spells are not easy to withstand; on the panel, his health had already dropped to just over 30%.
This was a thunderous duel, swift in its arrival and swift in its departure, Thunderclap heard in the silence.
After stepping off the ring, Lancelot entered a treatment chamber.
Including this time, he has received treatment twice.
In the final stage, each participant has 6 treatment opportunities, exactly double the number from the preliminary stage.
As Lancelot received treatment, one match after another came to an end.
After a two-hour break, the second round of the top 100 competition began.
Lancelot was lucky this time, as he encountered an S-rank opponent and won easily.
In the third round, his opponent was an SS-level, fifth-place finisher in the rematch, an Energy Manipulation type Ability Energy from the Northern Region. In the end, just like Edward, he was kicked off the stage.
The fourth round, 13 to 7.
The player who received a bye was Jimmy from the Southern Division.
This guy has fought his way up with dual swords, using up all his healing scrolls. He thought he might stop here, but unexpectedly, good luck came his way, and he was guaranteed a spot in the top ten of the final exam.
This will give Jimmy an extra two hours to rest, which should allow him to return to peak condition before the top ten matches.
Nodding to Jimmy, Lancelot stepped onto the ring.
His opponent this time is not to be underestimated; he ranked second in the Central Region semi-finals.
Phoebe, nicknamed "The Fearless," is a hybrid Ability Energy, possessing abilities in Energy Manipulation, Physical Enhancement, and mental manipulation, making her extremely difficult to deal with.
"Thunder Demon..."
Phoebe stared intently at the tall man who had stepped onto the ring. Lancelot was one of the three most popular contenders for the championship in this year's Joint Entrance Examination.
The other two are musician Stell, who ranked first in the Central Region semi-finals, and Elephant Bakeluolie, who ranked third in the Western Region semi-finals.
Only these three individuals eliminated other monster-level contestants in the second round of auditions.
It's worth noting that the ranking in the re-examination does not represent absolute strength. Some people are good at one-on-one combat, while others are good at group attacks; their strengths differ.
The second round of interviews is undoubtedly more suitable for contestants who excel at group attacks, such as Edward.
Therefore, in all previous Joint Entrance Examination, only about half of the final champions have won the championship in the preliminary, re-examination, and final examinations. The other half are basically those who failed to rank first in the re-examination.
"According to my mentor's analysis, Lancelot the Thunder Demon's second Ability Energy has only been awakened for a short time, and his energy attribute is not high. His real threat is melee combat, and my Ability Energy is exactly what counters melee combat. As long as I seize the right opportunity, it's not impossible to defeat him!" Phoebe thought, her fighting spirit growing stronger.
The blood-red countdown gradually reached zero, and the match began.
Lancelot continued to take the initiative, charging forward with his usual Berserk momentum.
Phoebe, who was only a little over 1.6 meters tall, was completely Radiance by the imposing and tall Lancelot.
However, Lancelot would not underestimate this opponent; according to the information, the opponent's abilities were indeed a counter to his own.
Phoebe suddenly took a dozen steps forward, stopped, crossed her arms in front of her forehead, and assumed a defensive stance.
At the same time, a strange fluctuation coursed across the surface of his skin.
Lancelot narrowed his eyes, recalling the intelligence report, and after holding back some of his strength, threw a punch.
The moment the Iron Fist struck Phoebe, it was as if a clay ox had entered the sea, or a blow had landed on cotton; the kinetic energy vanished abruptly, transforming from extreme motion to extreme stillness, leaving one feeling extremely uncomfortable.
On the other hand, Phoebe remained completely unaffected, her aura even seemed to have intensified.
Lancelot noticed that at the moment the punch struck, fine, layered ripples spread across the opponent's skin, and then the kinetic energy contained in his fist—enough to pierce an alloy steel plate—disappeared.
His expression hardened slightly, Lancelot took two steps back, thinking to himself, "Just as I thought!"
According to intelligence, Phoebe's Ability Energy, while strengthening her body and giving it energy, has the greatest effect of absorbing kinetic energy.
He can absorb and neutralize all kinds of forces applied to his body. As long as it does not exceed the limits of his body's capacity, the power of these attacks will be absorbed by him and transformed into his own strength, greatly improving his physical attributes, especially the two secondary attributes of strength and speed.
However, Phoebe has a strong ability to withstand attacks. Not to mention Tier Four attacks, he can absorb almost half of even Tier Five kinetic energy attacks.
Physical attacks are ineffective against Phoebe; only energy, mental, or mystical attacks can inflict significant damage.
With her Ability Energy, Phoebe rampaged through the semi-finals, completely unafraid of gunfire.
The bullets fired at him did nothing but give him extra power.
The bomb's damage to Phoebe was also greatly reduced; the shrapnel was useless, and the shockwave and negligible heat couldn't even scratch his skin.
That's why Phoebe earned the nickname "The Fearless," and he certainly deserved it in the semifinals.
"Thunder Demon, why aren't you attacking?" Phoebe provocatively asked, beckoning Lancelot with her index finger in an arrogant manner.
Lancelot remained unmoved. It was clear that his opponent was trying to lure him into attacking so that she could accumulate strength. He was not about to let Phoebe have her way.
But Lancelot did not actually stop his attack.
"If close combat doesn't work, then attack from a distance!"
He decisively abandoned close combat.
Phoebe miscalculated one thing: while Lancelot excelled in close combat, his mid-range attack ability was definitely not weak; he just hadn't shown it in the retest.
As a master of Qigong Style, Lancelot was extremely familiar with the technique of external Qi Gong waves.
With a light leap, Lancelot created a few meters of distance, lowered his waist and hips, and exhaled.
"Spiral Hadoken!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he threw out both fists at the same time.
The electric current coiled around the fist like a snake, eventually condensing into two endlessly spinning electric balls at the knuckles.
Blue-gold currents surged across the surface of the electric sphere, causing it to spin rapidly, creating airflow oscillations and emitting a sharp, piercing whistle.
Boom!
Two spiraling electric spheres flew out.
Phoebe's expression was serious, and she was on high alert.
"So you've used an energy attack after all. But how long can your energy last?" He sneered, also mobilizing his own energy to form a thick barrier in front of him.
Thump! Thump!
The electric ball, mounted on the barrier, spun at high speed, and the added penetrating force caused violent ripples to appear on the barrier, making Phoebe's eyelids twitch.
However, the electric ball eventually shattered, the barrier returned to calm, and Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief.
But the next second, a blinding flash of lightning shone from the front.
Lancelot unleashed a flurry of punches, sending out a continuous stream of Spiral Hadoken, undulating electric orbs.
"I'll block it!" Phoebe's eyes bulged, veins bulging on her forehead, as she desperately held up the energy barrier.
"If he can just get through this wave, he'll be out of energy!"
Phoebe roared inwardly, desperately trying to stop Lancelot's fierce attack.
However, as time passed, Lancelot's offensive not only did not weaken, but actually intensified.
The Primordial Qi Return recovers and reuses the energy that was previously released, saving up to 45% of energy consumption.
Phoebe overlooked this secret technique, and as a result, he lost the game.
Click!
The energy barrier finally gave way and shattered. More than a dozen electric orbs engulfed Phoebe, and thunderous booms echoed across the arena. A charred figure was blasted away and crashed heavily to the ground.
Top ten!