The stage started freezing over. The ice was quickly expanding, almost reaching Ember who was quickly charging forward.
"Now!"
Hearing my words, ember quickly used [Polymorph] and changed into something like a model plane. Its shape was simple with delta-shaped wings and a propeller-powered jet-engine-like protrusion on both wings. Ember manually rotated the propellers, giving herself enough force to lift off the ground.
Of course, since she needs to stay afloat for long periods, we discarded the idea of winding the propeller before flying. Instead, we used the idea of turning the propellers manually. This will enable flying for long periods as long as Ember has enough energy to maintain the propeller's rotation speed.
However, the problem is that this method is so energy inefficient. With ember's stamina, she could probably stay afloat for a minute or two at most. In other words, we need to finish the fight in less than two minutes.
Ember didn't try to increase her altitude but hung about only a few meters above the ground.
"A flying slime! Once again, we can see a 1st stage slime flying in the air! Although its form seems different from the previous one, she's actually actively flying in the air!"
The announcer quickly and excitedly commented. The majority of the audience probably saw Ember's fight with the Emerald Dragon, but some of them were doubting if Ember really "flew" up. Now, however, seeing her flying and maneuvering around Xiao Bing, they were finally convinced.
"So this is your flying technique! As expected, with this, [Freezing Field] would have no effect, but it's not like that's the only skill we have!"
Wan Li smiled as vines of ice quickly formed from the frozen ground. The vines grew several dozens of meters long and quickly chased after Ember's figure in the air. Soon enough, Ember was busily dodging that she was getting further and further away from her enemy.
'This is bad! Ember can't get close due to the vines!'
Half a minute passed quickly and ember was still unable to close the distance. Xiao Bing's control skills were so sophisticated that it seems like she was accurately predicting Ember's next move.
"Tamer Wan Li's controlling the field! Ember cannot even get close to her! Will the battle end just like this, or will we see another miracle play?!"
As the announcer said, it looks like we cannot close the distance unless a miracle occurs. As time passes, the number of vines increases creating less and less chance of getting close enough to attack.
'Is this our limit?'
Although I was drowning in pessimistic thoughts, Ember was keeping her burning desire to win. She was patiently waiting for an opportunity to break through the opponent's rock-like defenses.
'No, this isn't our limit! It's time to risk it all!'
As the old saying goes, "opportunities are made, not found." And so, I decided to create an opportunity for Ember to end the match. Although the accompanying risk is just as great.
"Ember, rise into the air as high as you can!"
After hearing my telepathic order, Ember quickly turned and quickly raised her altitude vertically. It is an extremely exhausting endeavor for her but she diligently followed my command.
When she vanished among the clouds, I quickly told her to now fly straight downwards to where Xiao Bing was located. Before heading downwards, she used [Expand] and increased her total surface area and mass.
At the same time, I told her to add another propeller and let it charge enough energy until the exact moment.
In the next instant, a large flying plane was falling straight down from the clouds. Its span almost covers half of the stage, enough to ensure that she wouldn't miss her target. From the link with ember, I can feel how her energy was quickly approaching its limits.
Wan Li, of course, didn't stay still. Xiao Bing quickly used the icy vines to create a temporary shelter and continued to keep adding more vines on top of it. Dodging this attack is next to impossible, so they are strengthening their defenses.
"Wan Li, you better keep your distance from the stage!"
Ember's next attack would be an indiscriminate attack that can hurt even Wan Li who was outside the stage. Hearing my warning from afar, Wan Li smiled before obediently taking distance from the ring. We were now both about a hundred meters from the ring, about half the distance from the ring and the gates.
Just as we finished evacuating, I gave the order to Ember to release the propeller that she kept on reinforcing. She was almost 200 meters above the ring by then. After she released the extra propeller, the whole arena was hit by a wave of strong winds followed by an almost deafening sound, like thunder roaring.
It all happened in an instant. Ember smashed on top of Xiao Bing's shelter. A short delay later, an invisible wave spread with Ember as the center. The ice covering the whole stage was destroyed and sent flying in all directions. The ice vines weren't spared from it and were all destroyed, exposing the stunned Xiao Bing in the middle.
The impact of the crash was so hard that Ember's two cores were almost destroyed. What's more, Ember ended up spending all her energy, rendering her immobile. Xiao Bing on the other hand...
*cough* *cough*
She was buried behind ice and stone rubbles. However, she remained mostly unharmed. Although there's blood flowing down from her ears, causing her to wobble on her feet and unable to fly, other than that, she wasn't really injured.
"X-Xiao Bing is injured?! What happened in that instant?!"
The announcer was shocked, seeing how the little fairy that possess [Physical Damage Nullification] was actually injured by a slime who only had physical damage skills. Similarly, the entire stadium was in an uproar, wondering what happened.
"Ember!"
I quickly shouted but received no response. It seems that she really spent all her energy on that last attack. Before I could even confirm her figure visually, the stage started freezing over once more. Xiao Bing used [Freezing Field] once again.
Ember, who wasn't able to move, was quickly captured. After seeing Ember's figure slowly getting encased in ice, I let out a long sigh.
"... We lost."