Andrea returned and took off her helmet and armor, showing red-stained clothes with cuts everywhere. Her head had been mostly protected while using her skills, so there wasn't anything wrong with it other than the soaked hair, wet with sweat, and her slightly paler complexion.
Yasenia approached and smiled. "Welcome, Darling. How are you feeling?"
Andrea shook her head before kissing her. "I'm just exhausted. I'm going to sit in that recovery place that the organizers set up."
Cecile, who was lying there as well, opened one of her eyes. "Good fight."
Andrea smiled. "Thanks."
Cecile then closed her eyes again and relaxed, moving aside and opening space for Andrea to sit.
Yasenia looked at Kali and saw her thoughtful gaze. "Honey, is everything all right?"
Kali looked at Yasenia and asked. "Love, if I lose… Would you mind?"
Yasenia walked forward and gathered her in her arms, looking down at her with confusion. "Why would I, Honey?"
Kali said. "Because I have the ability to win. If I lose, it is because I'm not using Valeria, who, at the end of the day, is my trump card and the core of most of my skills."
Yasenia asked. "So, you are wondering whether you losing without using Valeria would make me think you did it on purpose and, therefore, be upset?"
Kali looked up at her tall loved and nodded. The dragoness chuckled. "Honey, there is no need. Fight as you please as long as you are fighting and doing your best. I wouldn't mind if you were giving yourself disadvantages. We didn't come to win the tournament but to learn and fight people of our level. How has the experience been?"
Kali smiled. "Good. I managed to understand many things I was not aware of."
Yasenia hugged her tightly, squeezing their breasts together. "Then, do the same this time. Fight, and whether you win or lose, just do your best."
Kali laughed and returned the hug, not only with her arms but also with her tails. Both women entangled themselves for a few moments. Kali buried her face in Yasenia's neck, sniffing her aroma while her fox ears danced in happiness. 'Ah, so nice~.'
In her lover's arms, Kali felt protected and safe from harm. 'I'm so happy to have her,' she thought.
After that small moment together, Kali jumped into the arena. In her mind, Valeria spoke. 'Summon me, Kali.'
Kali blinked. 'Huh? But I don't want to use you.'
Valeria chuckled gently. 'I know. I'll just be outside, protecting you, just in case.'
Kali realized and nodded. 'Okay, I can do that.'
The first thing Kali did was look at her opponent. To her surprise, it was a female Undead. While it was not that rare, most undeads were androgynous, tilting more toward male appearance. After all, natural undeads were born from pure death energy; gender meant little to them. It was more of an accessory left from the people they were born from.
Regardless, it was not like it didn't completely matter. As undeads became more complete, they were even able to have progeny normally by mixing with other undead.
However, because of the nature of what an Undead was, having progeny with a being that was alive, regardless of how much that person practiced death-attribute-related arts, was impossible.
Because, in essence, that person had life energy, which greatly conflicted with the creation of life. That's why people born with the Death attribute could have children, albeit with a bit more difficulty.
The undead smiled a bit, her stiff lips arching upward. "Hello, Junior. My name is Wu Xian Nu, it is a pleasure to meet such talented children such as yourself."
Kali smiled respectfully under her veil and bowed elegantly. "The pleasure is mine, Lady Wu. I hope we can have an interesting match."
Wu Xian Nu nodded and looked at her with interest. "I feel an extremely potent life energy coming from you. What are your attributes, child?"
Kali placed a hand before her mouth and said with a chuckle. "Life, Nature, and Wood."
Wu Xian Nu also laughed. "Quite the attributes to face. My attributes are Ice and Death."
Kali nodded, her three tails dancing slowly. Then, her eyes moved to the staff Wu Xian Nu held. 'It is similar to Wu Rongyao's. She should also be a summoner. Army vs army, huh?'
The judge appeared and started the countdown.
"Kali against Wu Xian Nu. The match begins in 10… 9…"
Both sides expanded their auras as their bodies released dense waves of opposite energies.
In the middle of the arena, Kali's pure Life energy and Wu Xian Nu's Death energy clashed, creating visible waves.
Then, both sides began summoning. Because it was a battle against many, Kali didn't stop at her usual 100 Dryads.
After summoning her army's core, the dryads, Kali briefly called upon Valeria.
BOOM!
The life energies in the entire arena soared without control, making Wu Xian Nu's face go from relaxed to terrified. 'What is this amount of Life energy!?'
A thick green vine that transformed into Valeria appeared from the ground by Kali's side. Valeria looked at Wu Xian Nu and smiled. "Don't worry, I won't participate in this fight, not even as a support."
Wu Xian Nu blinked incredulously. 'It talks!?' Snapping out of her surprise, the female undead nodded somewhat respectfully. "I understand."
While she was an undead, Valeria's life energy was so pure that it felt comfortable even for Wu Xian Nu. Naturally, this effect was created by Valeria herself. With just a thought, that aura would become poison.
Kali saw that the timer was about to hit zero, so she quickly used her other summoning skills to create a small army to accompany the Dryads. Giant treants, man-eating plants, life spirits, and similar other creatures appeared in the hundreds. The final size of her army was 700 creatures.
Wu Xian Nu didn't fall behind, even when Valeria's presence surprised her. Around her, several black rifts opened and spewed countless ghosts, wraiths, and banshees. By the end of her summoning, there were nearly 1000 beings floating around her.
While Wu Rongyao specialized in skeletons and zombies, Wu Xian Nu took the path of apparitions.
The sky around Wu Xian Nu became covered in translucent silhouettes, while the ground around Kali was covered in plant creatures.
Both sides, the opposites of the same coin, face each other in silence even after the countdown has reached zero as if they had an agreement.
Then, both women looked at each other across the battlefield and nodded.
"[Ghost King's March]."
"[Innate Skill: Flower World Domain]."
Both sides chanted simultaneously, separating the arena into a flower field and a misty land.
The largest plant creatures rushed forward, and the rest of the army followed behind while the undead did the same.
As they approached, Kali pointed at one of the treants at the lead. "[Life Enhancement: Verdant Core]."
A green aura enveloped the 15-meter-tall creature, and while circling around it, it sunk into its chest and created a head-sized green sphere. The creature's eyes became much more lively, while the entire aura became more stable and incredibly stronger.
Verdant Core not only increased the plant creature's physical attributes, but it also gave it a much more powerful mind. It basically gave it a temporary mind.
'Open a path.'
A grunt reached Kali from the other side, and the giant treant charged forward and clashed with the army made of ghosts.
BANG!
The loud sound of the collision echoed, followed by many in kind as the two armies collided.
Kali's spiritual sense took everything in as her intents enveloped her entire army. While she had expected it, she couldn't help but smile wryly. 'My army is weaker.'
"[Healing Life Aura], [Whispering Blossom Essence Dance]."
A pulse of energy covered the entire army, increasing their already high regeneration to an absurd degree.
Creatures clashed, the limbs of the plant creatures flew, and the bodies of some ghosts exploded after being hit.
At the front of the entire army, the large treant that Kali summoned fought bravely, its large fists and strong legs hitting everything that approached.
However, as it fought, suddenly, it was repelled. Seeing the treant take a few steps back, Kali looked over and sent a quick wave of energy. "[Life Enhancement: Vitality]."
"RAAAH!"
The treant let out an echoing shout as it looked at the creature that pushed him away.
It was a slim female ghost wearing an armor that hid everything about her body. She held a large sword as she floated mid-air, her eyes glowing with a ghostly flame as they looked at the large treant.
It was clearly an extraordinary summon from Wu Xian Nu. Kali hummed. 'I need to move my dryads quicker.'
"[Innate Skill, Nature Fox First Tail: Nascent Life]."
Around her, 50 plant creatures of wildly varied shapes appeared. Kali did not control these summons but naturally created them as she gave reigns to the Life energy combined with Nature and Wood to give shape to new life.
"[Innate Skill,Nature Fox Second Tail: Blooming Life]."
The 50 plant creatures weren't stronger than the rest of her army. However, after [Blooming Life] covered them, their bodies quickly refined as some of them multiplied further, dividing themselves.
The number grew to 73 while their bodies became much more streamlined and perfected. However, Kali was not done.
As they currently were, they would not be able to make a difference on the battlefield, where her numbers had fallen to 650 while her enemy still had more than 900 ghosts.
The only reason for Kali's army's advantage kill-wise was the 100 Dryads putting in work in the middle of the war. Their presence was extraordinary to the point that Wu Xian Nu had noticed them. Thankfully, Kali had already predicted it and placed the treants and other sturdy creatures around them.
If the 100 dryads were her sword, her other 600 summons were their shield.
But, with just the dryads, it was not enough.
"[Innate Skill, Nature Fox Third Tail: Developing Life]."
The 73 beings around Kali were enveloped in Kali's aura once more, and their bodies began wriggling and bulging.
BOOM!
A massive aura exploded from them, instantly creating a change in the battlefield's atmosphere. Then, Kali pointed forward and ordered. "Go. [Fox Essence Boost: Fox Flower Land]."
Fox Essence Boost was the skill that increased the strength of the following skill she cast. With it, [Fox Flower Land] was quick to cover the entire battlefield, combining with [Flower World Domain] and covering everything in flowers.
Instead of a battlefield, Kali made it look as if she was creating a flower field in spring. However, while the surroundings were beautiful, once the 73 new plant monsters arrived at the front lines, Wu Xian Nu had no other choice but to admit it. "Strong."
The 73 beings were similar to the dryads, becoming powerful killing machines as they worked in tandem with the rest.
Wu Xian Nu smiled, even when her army was being slaughtered little by little. "Since you've used a strong card, I'll do the same. [Ghost King's 100 Concubines]."
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
The sounds of 100 women screaming spread around like a cacophony of terror, together with a thick aura of death.