On opposite corners of the wide stage, benches for the fighters were prepared. For safety reasons, the bench, the area around it, and the audience stands were protected by a barrier, ensuring the safety of those behind them.
Soon, all participants were already present around the stage. I sat patiently, waiting for the emcee to start the duel. However, a few minutes passed and nothing but the sound the audience was making could be heard.
"Everyone! Are you ready~!"
Suddenly, a loud and energetic voice could be heard.
A shadow fell on top of the stage, making the audience and us participants look up reflexively. There, a small black dot was rapidly descending. Her figure was slowly getting more notable as she approached the ground.
It was a woman with blazing red hair, wearing what looked like cowgirl attire. She had a light brown pinched-front cowboy hat matched with a black sando inside a striped black and white polo tied loosely to the front of her modest chest.
Her well-defined abs were on full display, captivating some of the male audience members who let out a loud roar.
She had dark blue jeans with discoloration here and there. One leg had a hole around the thigh and knee, while the right side was loosely cut off around halfway up the thigh.
On her feet, she wore tall boots with what looked like large wings adorning their sides. Using that, she glided about a few meters above the stage and went around waving at the excited audience.
"Hello, hello~! It's me, your favorite God-tamer, Vermeil Raven!"
As she announced her name, the audience went wild. Loud cheers, no different from a wild growl, were heard from the audience. My ears were ringing just listening to them.
I wasn't that surprised, though, since I was told that she was going to be the referee of the duel as requested by the Luo family.
One of the five god tamers, together with Blue Zeshion, and the one with the highest popularity amongst them. Although she wasn't as strong as Zeshion was, she was still among the top three in strength among themselves. Furthermore, she was the only god tamer that came from an ancient clan, the Luo family.
"With me as the judge, not a single misappropriation or injustice will go unnoticed~!"
After her long introduction, she finally went to call forth the participants fighting in the first round.
"Then, let's begin! For the first match, we'll have Wan Er with her tamed Crimson Phoenix Destroyer, Xiao Huo, and her tamed Conflagrant Dragon Devourer, Da Longwei!"
As she called, Wan Er came up the stage with her two tamed beasts. Xiao Huo had evolved into the third stage in the month that they didn't see her, getting larger by about twice its previous size. She was now larger than Wan Er herself.
Behind her, a large dragon-type monster followed, about three times her size and, at the third stage, similar to Xiao Huo. She must've tamed it just for this duel. Surely, Wan Li had one more tamed beast too. I guess Xiao Huo's evolution was to give her enough mental strength to tame another monster.
As the three came up the stage, Vermeil nodded her head as she read the next part of her script.
"Then, from the other side, we have the Baroness of Shadowless Death, Fang, and...! And...? Fang alone?"
She tilted her head in wonder. Although Fang was a stage above the enemy team, it was 3 on 1. Given the difference in their ranks, she couldn't decide if it was a balanced match.
Vermeil looked at me as if asking if I was sure about this arrangement. Of course, I trusted that Fang wouldn't lose, so I smiled and nodded my head lightly.
Seeing my confirmation, Vermeil frowned slightly before continuing her announcement.
"It seems like it wasn't a mistake! For the first round, we would see the fight between Wan Er and her two tamed beasts against Fang alone!"
The audience cheered loudly, excited to see the result of this unbalanced match. They were completely in spectator mode, forgetting that this isn't a tournament but rather a duel.
Vermeil tapped her legs as she flew higher in the air. When she was about 50 meters above, she waved her hand as she signaled the start of the battle.
"Then, as both parties are ready, let's begin!"
As soon as the word "begin" came out of her mouth, Fang vanished.
Wan Er quickly reacted and asked Xiao Huo to release strong flames, erasing the shadows around them. Wan Er's shadows were similarly eliminated by using the skill of the dragon, the same as Igni's [Flame Clad].
With the three of them not having shadows in the few meters before them, Fang couldn't use her [Shadow Skip] or [Shadow Movement] to close the distance.
She reappeared right beyond the wall of fire, looking at the majestic display with a sneer.
"I still remember how you lost to me in the past tournament. Don't you want to see a repeat of that time?"
As Fang spoke, she started releasing black smoke all over. Of course, it wasn't the [Nightmare] skill that she used to take out Xiao Huo in the past, as just using it here would mean her loss. Instead, what she spread was a smokescreen made of Dark Energy.
"Be careful! Don't touch the smoke!"
As Wan Er warned, Xiao Huo waved her wings and pushed the approaching cloud of black smoke away. However, it had no effect at all. The cloud wasn't something physical, as it was made of energy, so it wouldn't get swept away by strong winds.
Realizing that fact, Wan Er and the dragon, Da Longwei, circled the approaching smoke by the sides while Xiao Huo flew atop it. There, as if waiting for this moment, Fang jumped up from the middle of the smokescreen and reached the flying phoenix in an instant.
"Leader told me not to kill you, so I'll be merciful."
As Fang said this, she waved her claws. The elongated nails, covered in murky Dark Energy, opened a wound on Xiao Huo's wings, causing her to rapidly fall to the ground.
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