Chapter 207 - Wolf vs. Starfish! Ice vs. Seawater!

"The next fight will see the battle between two beast tamers - Lang of the Ice Wolf Beast Family and Chloe Elliott."

Song Yazhu's announcement caused everyone present to focus their attention on the tournament. Although the previous match had left its mark, the tournament had to continue. Besides, the spectators were eager to observe the next fights, hoping they would take their breath away.

But it wasn't just the ordinary audiences to feel that way. No, even the high-ranking martial artists gathered there felt the same. The combat prowess achieved by these young martial artists was incredible. It was enough to give them, who had seen a lot of things in their life, amazement after amazement. After all, it was difficult to find talents of this caliber.

Grrr.

Meanwhile, in the VIP stand, a slight growl rang out. The creature that let out this growl was none other than a pure white wolf about three meters high and five meters long. It possessed deep yellow eyes, capable of paralyzing the enemy just by looking at it, and long sharp fangs capable of cutting anything.

The huge wolf was lying on the ground with his eyes closed, heedless of what was happening around it. However, when it heard Song Yazhu's announcement, it opened its eyes and let out its growl at the man, wearing a blue-white robe, who was sitting in front of him.

This man possessed short gray hair and a short gray beard. He looked cold and detached, as if he wasn't interested in what was going on around him. Yet his eyes were alert and sharp, not missing even a moment of the fighters on the battle stage or one of the many chatters that echoed in the VIP section.

These were none other than the fathers of Lang and Fenrir, respectively, the Spirit Emperor and Householder of the Ice Wolf Beast Family - Eska, and the Pack Leader of the Ice Wolves - Amarok.

Typically, members of the Beast Families avoided public events like these, preferring their homes' tranquility. However, Eska had decided to accept the tournament invitation. The reasons behind this choice were two - the first was to participate in the meeting between the upper echelons in the Southern Region; the second was to observe his daughter and Fenrir's progress.

"They will be on stage soon, my friend. Also, the battle is between two beast tamers. So we will also be able to see how much your puppy has grown."

'It would be better if he grew up enough and reached a satisfactory level of strength. You know I never liked the idea of sending them to this academy rather than training them at home.'

"Yes, I know. But you must consider the position of our family. We need one of our youths to stand out and make acquaintances with the upper echelons' children. So that our chances of getting what we want will be higher.'

While the two, man and wolf, talked, the two beast tamers were making their way down the open corridor towards the combat platform. Fenrir followed to Lang's left side as he walked proudly and elegantly. On the other hand, Chloe Elliott didn't have a spirit beast following her, but on her right side, there was a spirit beast bag, so her spirit beast must have been momentarily placed inside.

The two young fighters positioned themselves inside the fighting stage. Fenrir took up his position in front of Lang. The young woman then shifted her gaze to her opponent. Lang didn't know what kind of spirit beast Chloe Elliott possessed, but as a descendant of one of the Beast Families, she had excellent knowledge about spirit beasts. She was ready to issue specific orders to Fenrir based on the type of spirit beast they would face.

"Come out, my Starry!" Chloe Elliot shouted as she released the creature that was inside the spirit beast bag.

Soon after, a light emanated from the bag while a kind of slimy tentacle emerged before being followed by other tentacles. Finally, when the light subsided, the creature was revealed in full.

'A starfish? The number of arms is usually five, but this specimen has as many as 20. From its appearance and the shape of its body, it should be a Sunflower Starfish.'

Within moments, Lang had quickly guessed what kind of spirit beast and the specific species of that creature.

"Both fighters have only one spirit beast at their disposal. Therefore, they will fight a 2 vs. 2. Now, you can start fighting." Song Yazhu gave the official start of the fight.

'Fenrir, be careful. Every single arm has tiny feet in the shape of tubes that allow the body to move. These are very sticky, similar to suction cups. Additionally, starfish can regenerate their limbs. So don't focus on creating stab wounds on the body but sever the arms cleanly. I will then freeze the wound so that no arms cannot be regenerated. But more than anything else, remember that starfish have one eye on each of their arms. So don't aim for surprise attacks, but concentrate on overwhelming the opponent.' Lang immediately warned Fenrir of the starfish's most dangerous characteristics.

Of course, there was other information that could be added, but the fight had already begun. So, Lang decided to mention only the most dangerous ones at the moment. Depending on the progress of the fight, she would provide other information to Fenrir.

'Got it, Lang. Leave it to me. You worry about blocking the woman. After all, my forte is attacking at full power.'

'Got it, partner. You will have the battlefield clear.' Lang answered as she drew her sword.

"Ice Law, Ice Dust!"

With a high jump, Lang hovered through the air and dashed toward Chloe Elliot. A kind of wind was generated from her sword made of tiny ice crystals that were heading towards her opponent.

Seeing her mistress under attack, the starfish Starry began waving her twenty arms, intent on blocking Lang's attack. However, Starry was forced to change her mind as Fenrir was attacking her.

'Death Claws of the Wolf!'

With an eardrum-splitting howl, Fenrir concentrated his spirit power into his claws, increasing their cutting power. His goal was to sever as many arms of the opposing spirit beast.

"Starry dodges! Water Law, Veil of Salt Water! "

Without wasting a second, Chloe Elliot gave an order to her spirit beast. At the same time, she performed an elemental technique to block the impending attack.

'I've heard of the Beast Families. They are considered among the best beast tamers in existence, and their knowledge of spirit beasts is unsurpassed by normal tamers. Therefore, I have to fight with the knowledge that my opponent knows the characteristics of starfishes.'

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Just as Lang and Fenrir had a strong bond and their teamwork was flawless, Chloe Elliot and her Starry were also used to fighting together. The young beast tamer drew her sword as she parried Lang's following sword attack. Meanwhile, the starfish Starry flexed her body with incredible elasticity and dodged Fenrir's sharp claws.

'Keep dodging if you can!' Fenrir told the starfish as he unleashed one attack after another. The starfish possessed multiple arms, but Fenrir's attacks had a strong cutting component. Therefore, it was likely that one blow would be enough for them to be severed.

'Stupid wolf. As soon as I memorize your attack rhythm, I will block you using my twenty arms. If you think you can beat me alone without your master, you are very wrong.' Starry thought to herself. She wasn't afraid about her mistress, Chloe Elliott. She knew how strong the latter was, and she trusted that Chloe could fight alone.

"Water Law, Sea Foam!"

Chloe Elliott generated another attack using the Water Law. Lang smoothly dodged this technique and performed another sword attack. Her goal was to keep her opponent busy so that Fenrir could defeat the opposing spirit beast. However, the seafoam Chloe Elliott produced was not created to hurt Lang. Its purpose was another one.

Splash!

The seafoam crashed to the ground, soaking the fighting stage, exactly where Fenrir and Starry were fighting. If it had been a confrontation between two simple animals, that factor could have affected Fenrir's mobility. However, the wolf spirit beast only needed to insert his spirit power into his paws to avoid slipping during his movements.

Still, while the foam didn't affect Fenrir's ability to move, it wasn't the same for Starry. The starfish spirit beast cheered within as her tube-shaped feet slid across the battlefield floor, taking advantage of her natural predisposition for water combat.

'You are finished, stupid wolf!' Starry yelled as she lunged at Fenrir.

"Death Claws of the Wolf!" Fenrir answered in turn, howling. He knew he couldn't dodge, but he didn't intend to do that anyway. His goal was to destroy as many arms as possible.

Slash! Grab!

Claws and arms met, splashing water and flesh all over the place. It was to be known that starfish didn't have blood, but the blood was instead replaced by seawater.

"Auuuuhhh!"

Fenrir howled in anger as Starry's arms tied around his body. His claws had managed to sever eight of those arms, but the starfish had a total of twenty arms. Therefore, even though he tried to free himself, he couldn't do so.

'Get ready to be eaten!' Starry said as the mouth in the center of her body began to wiggle.

It had to be known that the starfish didn't ingest their prey like other animals, but instead made their stomachs come out and then wrap the prey and drag it inside as it was being dissolved.

"Ice Law, Freeze!"

As soon as she saw Fenrir in that situation, Lang decided to intervene. First, it was her fault for dodging instead of destroying the seafoam technique if Fenrir had been tangled by the opponent. Without the increase in speed resulting from the water on stage, Fenrir would have been able to dodge the attack.

"Like I'm letting you do it! Intent of the Sword, Water Law, Sword of the Sea! "Chloe Elliott exclaimed as she condensed her spirit power into her weapon.

'As high as the understanding of the Ice Law may be, you still need a few moments to freeze from here the area where our spirit beasts are fighting, let alone freeze my Starry. Yours is a useless move.' Chloe Elliott said to herself as her sword descended on Lang.

Still, Lang seemed to have no intention of stopping. Her sword was still stuck to the ground, and the ice had reached Fenrir and Starry, forming a thin layer of ice on the starfish's tube-shaped feet. Although the ice sheet wasn't that thick, it was still enough to disturb the starfish's movements.

"What?!" exclaimed Chloe Elliott, who didn't believe her eyes. Lang had given up any intention of defending herself, concentrating on attacking the starfish. And as expected, the seawater-covered sword descended on Lang's body violently.

Slash!

The defensive layer of spirit power over Lang's body abruptly diminished, but the young woman was still unharmed for the time being. But a whitish pallor could be seen on her face due to the rapid consumption of spirit power.

Auuuuhhh!

Fenrir howled as he freed himself from the starfish's grip. Part of his fur was gone, swallowed up by Starry's stomach. Fenrir had detached with his teeth the part of the flesh trapped by the stomach while using Lang's ice to destroy the tips of the starfish's arms and thus free himself.

'From the beginning, you called me a stupid wolf. If so, you are a starfish idiot. Wolf King's Death Claw!'

Fenrir's spirit power peaked as he concentrated everything into one claw of his right paw. Starry focused what was left of her arms forward to block her enemy's attack.

Slash!

There was a glow, and more splashes of water and flesh flew into the air. Fenrir's claw severed the rest of Starry's arms and even caused a medium-sized cut in the center where the spirit beast's mouth was. The starfish let out a silent cry of pain, audible only by her mistress.

"Starry!" Chloe Elliott moved her eyes from Lang to Starry. Thanks to the connection created at the time of the spirit pact, she could sense her spirit beast's emotions. She knew Starry was alive, but she ran to see what her conditions were anyway. Even though Starry wasn't dying, the starfish's wounds weren't even light.

"Ice Law, Finger of Death - Brinicle!"

Lang pointed her sword at Chloe Elliott. A tornado of ice only a few inches thick emerged from the tip of her sword. Yet this tornado of ice accurately pierced the area where the Achilles tendon of Chloe's left foot was located.

Stab!

Chloe Elliott fell to the ground. Because she was concerned about her spirit beast's condition, she had failed to keep the defensive layer of spirit power homogenous. So Lang's technique managed to shatter it, reaching the flesh and the bone. Chloe Elliott, however, didn't allow herself to be stopped and continued to advance. Her foot hurt, but she wanted to reach for her Starry.

"Starry ..." the young beast tamer moaned.

"Fenrir." Lang said to Fenrir.

Fenrir immediately understood what she wanted to tell him, and he approached Chloe Elliott. The woman, seeing Fenrir coming over, shuddered with fear and stopped. She was afraid that the wolf was going to knock her out.

"If you want to fight, I'll satisfy you." Chloe Elliott said as she struggled to her feet, prying on her sane foot. Even though she had been injured, in the end, her spirit power wasn't exhausted. Besides, she hadn't received any other injuries. As a result, she still had the ability to fight.

Seeing this, Fenrir stopped and turned his head elsewhere. He went to the starfish and sank his teeth into the spirit beast's body. Chloe tried to stop him, but Lang launched her sword to make it pass in front of Chloe and stop her.

Unexpectedly, Fenrir's teeth didn't sink into the flesh but got stuck on the outermost layer. In that position, Fenrir began to drag the starfish towards its master.

"Your starfish is strong. She will be fine. Call her back into the spirit beast bag and let her rest. With enough rest and food, she will recover. My Fenrir has been careful not to damage her spirit core." Lang said as she approached Fenrir, Chloe, and Starry.

"I am your opponent ... why are you treating me this way?" asked Chloe, who couldn't understand. They were opponents in this tournament, and yet she was receiving comforting words from Lang.

"You aren't my mortal enemy. I don't see why I shouldn't help you. You fought well, and it is clear that you love your spirit beast. As a representative of one of the Beast Families, it would be a disgrace for me not to recognize the bond between you and your Starry." Lang replied as she motioned for Fenrir to let go of the starfish so she could be called back.

"The winner of this match is Lang!" Song Yazhu announced.

Chloe Elliott's spirit beast was out of the game, and even the young woman seemed to have lost the will to fight. But Lang and Fenrir, although they were wounded, didn't seem to have lost their fighting spirit and possessed enough spirit power to continue to fight. Therefore, Song Yazhu decided to end the fight.

The audience meanwhile began to applaud Lang's behavior. Although it seemed hypocritical given the selfish and self-centered nature of martial artists, seeing such a display of respect towards the opponent was heartening. After all, regardless of their heritage, no one liked someone who tormented the losers to show off themselves.

"What do you think, my friend? Are you satisfied?" Eska asked Amarok. A faint smile was imprinted on his face, a sign that he was proud of the attitude shown by his daughter.

"Umph .. that fool Fenrir has let himself be fooled by such an elemental tactic. He still needs more experience. But all in all, I can't complain. Apparently, I have to change my mind about these academies created by you humans. They're not so bad."

Eska smiled, and his eyes followed Lang and Fenrir as they left the fighting stage. 'My little one. I was worried you might not be comfortable here due to your nature. After all, I've always treated you harshly to prepare for the burden you have to carry, and you ended up developing an aloof behavior like me. But my worries were wrong. Let me see all your strength, my daughter. You are our hope in realizing our family's longed-for dream.'