Thus, the match between the Dragon Kingdom team and the Elf Forest team came to an end.
No one expected that the team, which had just won the championship last season, would stop at the top sixteen.
"What a pity, the current Elf Forest team members aren't as strong as the last season's."
"That's only part of the reason. The main reason is that the non-specialist from the Dragon Kingdom team is too powerful!"
"Indeed, that terrifying throw that pierced through the sky made my heart skip several beats."
"..."
The audience expressed their thoughts one after another.
Last season's champion team from the Elf Forest is now in their senior year, fighting on the frontlines of the Ten Thousand Demons Dungeon.
The current team lacks personal strength compared to them.
But everyone knows that even so, this Elf team still had the strength to advance to the semifinals.
It was just unfortunate that they drew the Dragon Kingdom team.
"There's going to be some good drama coming up. If nothing goes wrong, the Free Federation team and the Dragon Kingdom team will meet again sooner or later..."
"When that time comes, who will be stronger—the further evolved demon-blooded Norton, or this talent-evolving non-specialist?"
All the spectators, even the top experts in the VIP section, were eagerly anticipating the clash between these two.
This is likely what they call a 'grudge match.'
"Damn it..."
Sitting in the preparation area, Norton naturally sensed the audience's gazes on him.
He could clearly feel that the fear the audience had towards him had decreased significantly.
No doubt, it was because of that non-specialist's display of power that the audience's fear of him was weakened.
When a vicious and brutal powerhouse shows an unstoppable stance...
The world's fear of him naturally flows like a flood, overwhelming and unending.
But now that there is someone who can match or even suppress him...
The world's fear quickly diminishes.
Because they know...
This terrifying and brutal demon is not invincible.
"I will win, just wait, you ignorant brat!"
Norton thought viciously to himself.
...
...
When the referee appeared...
The other members of the Dragon Kingdom team also emerged from their invisibility.
And their positions had already formed an encirclement around the Elf team.
Well...
It's obvious that this must have been orchestrated by that non-specialist.
A combination of the Taoist profession's basic skill 'Fate Alteration' and the Rogue's basic skill 'Invisibility.'
[Fate Alteration (A+): Can rewrite or erase one's own or another's fate, either improving or worsening it, or copying another's fate onto oneself.]
Note:
This skill is unaffected by level, only by personal strength.
...
[Invisibility (A+): Can render oneself or allies invisible.]
Note:
1. During invisibility, all traces of oneself will be hidden.
2. Invisibility duration is unlimited but continuously consumes mana.
...
To be a referee in this global Monster Combat Tournament, not only must one's strength be top-notch, but one must also have a deep understanding of combat details and the various professional skills.
In this free-form combat competition, the referee's role isn't just to monitor for rule violations.
It's also to prevent contestants from going overboard.
For example, if one side surrenders and the other side still insists on killing, the referee must step in.
So the referee must be strong and have sharp eyes to see through all the combat details.
During the individual competition...
The referee was completely played by Ling Zhan.
Throughout the match, many of Ling Zhan's skills left him utterly baffled.
This made the referee feel deeply embarrassed.
I'm a seasoned referee, yet I was dumbfounded by this non-specialist.
So after the individual competition ended...
He thoroughly reviewed all the basic skills of every profession and watched Ling Zhan's battle videos.
Now...
The referee instantly recognized what tricks the non-specialist had used.
Just as the referee thought, these two simple little skills allowed the team members to quietly surround the Elf team.
Originally, Ling Zhan's intention was just to test the effect of the SS-rank skill 'Piercing Death Thorn.'
But he didn't expect it to be this powerful.
After all, that was a defensive barrier jointly established by 50 people!
Yet it was pierced through in an instant!
Of course...
The boost from the 'Throwing' skill couldn't be overlooked either.
The 'Throwing' skill is an F-rank universal skill, which any profession can learn.
But hardly anyone learns it.
Because it's generally considered useless.
It only increases the speed and power of thrown objects.
But now, in Ling Zhan's hands, the 'Throwing' skill was elevated to A+.
[Throwing (A+): After activation, your next thrown object's power is increased by 500% and its flight speed by 200%.]
So...
This attack, which completely crushed the Elf team, actually contained eight effects!
'Throwing' + 'Critical Hit' + 'Sure Hit' + 'Sunday' + 'Poison Infusion' + 'Ultimate Acceleration' + 'Piercing Death Thorn' + 'City Breaker'!
Hmm...
Ling Zhan intended to use this move to break through the Elf team's defenses, take out Captain Lorna, and destroy the Holy Tree of All Spirits.
Then his teammates would swarm in.
But this one throw completely collapsed the Elf team.
Even Ling Zhan didn't expect this outcome.
"Oh wow, we got carried again..."
"When it comes to easy wins, who can beat us?"
"I feel like we're just there for show..."
"Hey, that's not fair! Even if Ling Zhan is amazing, without us, could he even start this team match?"
"So our role is just to make up the numbers, huh?"
"..."
As they walked out of the special dimension, the team members couldn't help but sigh and joke.
First match, easy win.
Second match, another easy win.
It feels like they could just lie down and coast into the semifinals, maybe even the finals.
"Now I'm totally convinced! Really convinced!"
"I'll admit it, before I thought the higher-ups were crazy to let a freshman compete, but now I see it's me who was crazy."
"Good thing we replaced Ke Long, otherwise, we wouldn't have won so easily."
"..."
Already sent back home, Ke Long suddenly sneezed.
Everyone in the team was now completely convinced of this non-specialist.
A few pretty girls even thought of taking this opportunity to get close to this handsome but extremely cold man, to see if their gentle charms could melt this iceberg.
But under the icy gaze of Li Chaoge and Yun Man...
Those girls shivered, immediately stopping in their tracks and dismissing such bold and absurd ideas.
That's right...
They almost forgot that this proud beauty, the club president, had recently been treating Ling Zhan with utmost compliance, completely different from her usual strong demeanor.
And there were also the three divine beast girls eyeing them like tigers watching their prey.
Hmm...
This man was clearly out of their league.
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