Chapter 62: Too Obedient
The Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise, a ground-type beast, inherits the Deep Fur Turtle's aversion to water.
If a water-type beast were present, the Land Tortoise would likely retreat into its shell and refuse to come out.
"One has the Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise with its formidable defense, and the other is the Fire Fang Dog with its remarkable attack power. Who will emerge victorious in this match?"
The audience, listening to the commentator's enthusiastic opening, focused their attention on the arena.
Half a minute later...
"What's going on with these two?"
"Are they even going to fight?"
"Qiao Sang! Go for it!"
"Didn't the referee just blow the whistle to start?"
"If they're not going to fight, get off the stage! We want to see Gao Xulu and Sha Duo's exhibition match!"
Among the voices, one stood out.
"Go, Fire Fang Dog!"
"Qiao Sang! Go for it!" Bai Yunmiao stood up and shouted excitedly.
She hadn't forgotten that she had once lost to Chen Qian!
On the battlefield...
Chen Qian was the first to break the silence and issued a command.
The Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise stomped its left forelimb forcefully on the ground, causing a crack to form about a meter in front of it.
The crack quickly expanded into dozens of fissures, spreading toward the Fire Fang Dog.
At that moment, the Fire Fang Dog's form blurred, splitting into two.
"In response to the Land Tortoise's Earth Fissure, the Fire Fang Dog has used a clone. But what does this mean?" The middle-aged commentator was puzzled.
He had been in this line of work for over ten years, commentating on about 20 matches annually.
Among them were not a few large-scale competitions, but he had rarely seen something that left him so baffled.
Chen Qian was also confused.
She had a strategy in mind: Wait for the Fire Fang Dog to attack, then have the Land Tortoise retreat into its shell.
Given the Fire Fang Dog's attack power, it shouldn't be able to break through the Land Tortoise's defense.
After the Fire Fang Dog tired itself out, she would launch her counterattack.
But the opponent wasn't following her script...
The Fire Fang Dog's response to the Earth Fissure was not what she had anticipated...
She focused intently on the opposing side, eager to see how they would handle this.
"Now."
Qiao Sang spoke her first word since stepping into the arena.
As soon as she did, the Fire Fang Dog on the left jumped onto the back of the one on the right, using it as a springboard.
The right Fire Fang Dog was immediately swallowed up by the collapsing ground beneath it and disappeared.
The left Fire Fang Dog, leveraging the momentum, leaped into the air.
"The Fire Fang Dog avoided the Earth Fissure by using a clone! But what's next..." The commentator paused.
The Fire Fang Dog, now airborne, used the remaining solid ground as stepping stones, quickly closing in on the Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise.
"That's some impressive agility." A guest commentator remarked.
"But why not attack before the ground collapsed? What difference does it make now compared to earlier?" Another guest wondered.
"There is a difference. After using Earth Fissure, the Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise can't use any skills for about ten seconds." Song Yuan calmly explained, observing the battlefield.
"Song Yuan, so you do speak after all."
Song Yuan: ...
"That's a Flame Charge!" A guest suddenly exclaimed.
On the battlefield, the Fire Fang Dog gained speed as it hopped across the scattered rocks.
Mid-charge, flames erupted from its body, engulfing it entirely.
Flame Charge.
One of the more powerful mid-level skills, it combines both special and physical attacks and has a certain chance to inflict a burn on the opponent.
"Quick, retreat into your shell!"
Chen Qian quickly issued her command.
She was well aware that after using Earth Fissure, the Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise would have about ten seconds of no offensive capability. However, this didn't pose much of a problem.
As long as the Land Tortoise's defense held strong, it could stay still and take the hit without issue.
If the opponent was banking on those ten seconds, they would be disappointed.
The flames around the Fire Fang Dog were not large, and their color was a pale orange, indicating only beginner-level proficiency.
The Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise obediently retracted its limbs and head into its shell.
Chen Qian relaxed, already planning the next move for when the ten seconds were up.
Bang!
Chen Qian stared in disbelief.
The Fire Fang Dog didn't collide with the Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise, instead, it slammed into the ground right in front of it!
The ground, already cracked from the Earth Fissure, rapidly widened.
The impact from the Flame Charge caused the area where the Land Tortoise stood to collapse.
The Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise wobbled as the ground beneath it shifted, its shell tilting against a stone, exposing its pale underbelly.
Perfect!
Qiao Sang couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction.
The Land Tortoise's defense was indeed formidable, but not uniformly so.
Its underbelly was a weak spot.
If the Fire Fang Dog attacked there, it could break through the Land Tortoise's defense and deal significant damage.
Everything was unfolding according to her plan.
Now, all she needed was for the Fire Fang Dog to relentlessly attack the exposed underbelly.
Qiao Sang's eyes shone with anticipation.
But the Fire Fang Dog hesitated as it looked at the Land Tortoise's position against the stone.
Its trainer had told it to flip the opponent over and attack its belly.
But now that the Land Tortoise was stuck, its belly exposed but not fully flipped...
The Fire Fang Dog didn't hesitate for long. It unleashed a burst of Ember, targeting the stone behind the Land Tortoise as Qiao Sang watched in anticipation.
Qiao Sang's thoughts froze for a moment.
The Fire Fang Dog looked satisfied, seeing the Land Turtle now fully flipped, its belly exposed just as its trainer had described.
"Get up!" Chen Qian shouted urgently.
She finally understood what her opponent was trying to do!
The Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise extended its head and limbs from its shell, trying to flip over.
It didn't budge.
It tried again.
Still no movement...
The Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise was desperate.
Its shell was too heavy to flip back over!
The Fire Fang Dog jumped onto the exposed belly, alternating between Ember and Fire Whirl attacks.
"Lu Pa!!!"
The Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise cried out in pain.
"Get up!"
Chen Qian was sweating from anxiety.
"Lu Pa!!!"
It couldn't get up!
The Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise's high defense was well-deserved.
Even when its weaker underbelly was targeted, the Fire Fang Dog took nearly two minutes of continuous attacks to knock it out.
Fortunately, the Fire Fang Dog had trained to sustain long skill use, so it wasn't too exhausted after the two-minute onslaught.
"The winner is Qiao Sang!"
The Fire Fang Dog excitedly ran towards its trainer, trying hard to suppress its grin in front of the crowd.
Qiao Sang caught her Fire Fang Dog, her expression complex.
The match had gone as she planned, but there were some unexpected elements.
For instance...
If she had known that the Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise couldn't flip itself over and would expose both its limbs and head, why bother attacking its belly?
Wouldn't it have been better to target its head directly?
Her pet beast was just too obedient...