Chapter 65: Fortunately, I caught up

On the field.

A grey Star Array lit up in front of Hou Xiangyu.

A light grey Pet, shaped like a steelyard weight but with a soft, not hard, body, floated on the Star Array.

Knowing that the opponent only had one Fire Fang Dog, Hou Xiangyu did not send out the slightly weaker Ba Xue Butterfly, but instead, showing respect, summoned the Control Scale Puppet.

Hou Xiangyu looked at the Fire Fang Dog opposite him, which was already poised for battle, with full appreciation.

He had only watched the Bai Xin Competition on the first day to get a general understanding of the participants’ skill levels, and he hadn’t paid attention in the following days.

Except for this morning’s 8-to-4 match.

Although he hadn’t watched all of Qiao Sang’s previous matches, he had heard her name.

After all, there were only a few outstanding contestants in the Bai Xin Competition, and the reports always focused on them.

As the only contestant to first contract a Fire System Pet, and even publicly regarded as a future opponent by Sha Duo, it was hard not to notice her.

This morning’s match indeed lived up to the media’s reports about her, perfectly demonstrating the phrase ‘overcoming the strong with the weak’ through her tactics.

The tactics were very clever.

But many people overlooked that tactics also require the Pet to have the strength to cooperate.

In just one match, the Fire Fang Dog had already displayed four skills: Shadow Clone, Flame Charge, Flame Vortex, and Spark.

And the scene of it stepping on rocks on the collapsed ground to charge at the Double-Tailed Tortoise—how could it do that without a certain reaction speed?

It was hard to believe that this was a Pet just contracted by a junior high school graduate.

Watching that match made him want to contract a Fire Fang Dog himself.

The reason he sent out the Control Scale Puppet wasn’t because he thought the Ba Xue Butterfly would lose.

It was simply an acknowledgment and respect for the opponent’s strength to summon his strongest Pet.

Everything was in place.

With the referee’s whistle, both sides immediately used their skills.

A translucent layer of Superpower fluctuation appeared on the Control Scale Puppet’s body, and its two short claws pointed towards the Fire Fang Dog.

As soon as the whistle blew, the Fire Fang Dog rapidly charged towards the Control Scale Puppet.

While running, its form flickered, turning one into two, and two into four.

The four Fire Fang Dogs simultaneously used Ram.

The Superpower fluctuation on the Controlled Puppet’s short claws paused, momentarily unsure which target to use its Superpower on.

In that moment of hesitation, one Fire Fang Dog had already appeared in front of it.

The Controlled Puppet recovered, and with an energy fluctuation, its body appeared in another direction.

The Fire Fang Dog missed.

Troublesome…

Qiao Sang sighed inwardly.

This Controlled Puppet could also use teleportation; it hadn’t displayed it in the previous matches at all.

She had thought of several plans to defeat this Controlled Puppet.

As long as a Superpower System Pet’s internal energy was depleted or it was attacked with a faster reaction speed, it could be defeated.

But this Controlled Puppet had teleportation.

That made it very difficult to hit.

After all, teleportation is a skill that can be used with just a thought, so its speed must be faster than the Fire Fang Dog’s.

Even if the Fire Fang Dog managed to get within a meter of it, the Controlled Puppet could instantly teleport to another place.

Ranged attacks were also very difficult to hit it with.

It seemed they could only fight a war of attrition…

The distance between the two sides widened, leading to a stalemate.

“Illusion Ray.”

Hou Xiangyu was the first to give the command.

The Control Scale Puppet extended its short claws forward, and several colored rays of light shot out from its claws.

After the Illusion Ray hit one of the Fire Fang Dogs, that Fire Fang Dog quickly disappeared.

It was a clone.

After dealing with one clone, the Illusion Ray did not stop but continued to sweep horizontally, firing at the other three Fire Fang Dogs.

The clones’ energy could not compare to the main body’s, and their speed was also inferior to the main body’s.

Soon, the two Fire Fang Dogs that were clones disappeared under the sweep of the Illusion Ray.

Only the Fire Fang Dog’s main body remained, dodging.

Just as the Control Scale Puppet concentrated its power on attacking the only Fire Fang Dog on the field, Qiao Sang spoke up with a countermeasure: “Shadow Clone.”

The Fire Fang Dog’s form flickered, and it immediately split into four again.

Control Scale Puppet: “…!”

Hou Xiangyu frowned, guessing the opponent’s intention.

Illusion Ray required a lot of energy, especially to maintain such a sweeping state.

And the Fire Fang Dog only needed to dodge and use Shadow Clone; as long as it had enough stamina, it didn’t require much energy consumption.

Even if the Control Scale Puppet was a Mid-level Pet, its internal energy was much greater than the Fire Fang Dog’s.

But under this unequal energy consumption, it was likely that the Control Scale Puppet’s energy would be depleted first.

“Stop.”

Hou Xiangyu said calmly.

The Control Scale Puppet lowered its short claws, and both sides were once again at a stalemate.

They had to finish this quickly, Hou Xiangyu immediately judged the situation on the field.

“Shadow Clone.”

The Control Scale Puppet’s internal energy fluctuated slightly, and four Control Scale Puppets appeared on the field.

Qiao Sang was slightly stunned.

It had too many hidden skills!

None of them had appeared in the previous matches!

A ripple of energy flashed on the four Control Scale Puppets, and they appeared behind the four Fire Fang Dogs respectively.

“Four Fire Fang Dogs against four Control Scale Puppets, the situation is exciting! I didn’t expect the two sides to clash so many times. Contestant Hou Xiangyu didn’t end the match immediately like in previous matches. Where do you two think the problem lies?” The Commentator said, looking at the situation on the field.

This time, before Sha Duo could speak, Gao Xulu spoke first: “Of course, it’s because Contestant Qiao Sang is strong enough.”

Commentator: “…”

“Alright, let’s continue watching.”

“Illusion Ray.”

Hou Xiangyu immediately gave the command.

Four Illusion Rays were simultaneously launched towards the four Fire Fang Dogs.

Just when everyone thought the match was about to end.

“Shadow Clone!” Qiao Sang shouted.

Shadow Clone?

Everyone, whether at the venue or watching the live broadcast, was stunned.

Wasn’t this Shadow Clone already in use?

The Fire Fang Dog was also stunned.

But it quickly felt the change in its internal energy.

Its form flickered, and the four Fire Fang Dogs instantly became eight.

“Woof?”

The Fire Fang Dog tilted its head.

Why did its clones suddenly become stronger?

The whole audience was shocked.

Are new people nowadays hiding their strength so deeply?

In the guest seating area.

“I didn’t expect the Fire Fang Dog to have hidden its strength in the previous matches either.”

“Yeah, I’ve watched the previous matches. This Fire Fang Dog’s Fire Fang and Spark have already reached the Minor Accomplishment stage, and Flame Vortex is at the Proficient level. I didn’t expect Shadow Clone to also be trained to Proficient.”

“This Fire Fang Dog doesn’t look very big, and I thought it wasn’t very old either. But it seems it must be quite old.”

“That shouldn’t be right. Logically, when a Fire Fang Dog reaches one year old, the orange-red short fur on its head should turn the same red color as its body fur. But the short fur on the one on the field is clearly still orange-red.”

A guest who had passed the Trainer qualification exam said.

“You mean a Fire Fang Dog that knows so many skills and has such high proficiency is less than a year old?”

“Don’t listen to him, he didn’t even pass the F-rank Trainer exam.”

The guest who had passed the Trainer qualification exam: “…”

Qiao Sang breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the eight Fire Fang Dogs on the field.

Thankfully, they made it in time.