Return Of The Supreme Beast Tamer
Chapter 166: Academy Competition 12: HOW?!!

Chapter 166: Academy Competition 12: HOW?!!

"Teach him a good lesson," Scarlett said calmly, her eyes fixed on Zack.

HISSS!

The snake lunged forward, its maw wide open.

"Don’t look down on me!" Zack clenched his fist, a golden aura erupting around it. "Buddha Fist!"

The golden fist shot towards the charging beast.

BOOM!

The Cobra shattered the fist energy, still relentlessly heading for Zack. "This?!"

Zack leaped backward as the massive snake smashed into the ground, obliterating it. He walked on air as the beast surged forward again, directly at him. He twirled his body, narrowly dodging the snake’s cavernous maw, and landed lightly on the shattered earth.

"So annoying! I can’t defeat you with just my strength!" He stood up, his gaze hardening.

BOOM!

Scarlett’s expression turned serious as her beast retreated to her side. Everyone watched, captivated, as Zack’s hair and eyes turned a fiery red, the energy emanating from him instantly becoming denser, more potent.

"Go!"

Scarlett created a sword of pure life force and lunged at Zack, her beast close behind. "Come out!" she yelled mid-stride.

BAM!

Zack sharply lowered his gaze to the ground, just as thick green tentacles shot out, coiling around his arms and legs, pinning him. "This?!" He looked up to see Scarlett directly in front of him, slashing with her life-force sword, her beast releasing a concentrated plasma blast from its maw.

".....?!"

BOOOOOM!

Before the attacks could land, a colossal sonic wave erupted from Zack, blasting Scarlett and her beast backward.

"I’ve had enough! No more playing around!" Zack stomped his feet on the ground, sending a powerful wave of pure life force into the earth.

BOOOOM!

A monstrous octopus burst from the ground directly behind Scarlett, its two beasts flanking her.

"Are there any other beasts you’re hiding?!" Zack asked, clenching his fists.

Scarlett merely smirked in response.

WHOOSH!

Zack and the entire audience raised their heads to the sky as a pillar of fire descended, hurtling towards Zack.

"YOU?!"

Zack swiftly moved backward, but the sheer sonic force of the fiery pillar still threw him back. He crashed hard onto the ground.

Everyone watched as a fifteen-foot-tall flaming fox descended from the sky, taking its place before Scarlett’s two beasts and behind her.

"Hmm... A divine stage beast with Lv8 combat strength... Impressive," Christopher muttered, a thoughtful expression on his face.

’Isn’t this strange? Almost all these kids have a Divine stage beast! And none of them is strong enough to wield such a beast... Taming it is out of the question because these children won’t survive.’ Tiamat’s voice echoed telepathically.

’Now that I think of it, three months ago, I was the only one who had one... Now, Divine stage beasts are all over the place. Do you think it has anything to do with the life force tide?’ Christopher asked, his thoughts directed at Tiamat.

’It most likely does... With my calculations, a life force tide will hit your world in a month... I don’t know what is happening, but there are huge life force signatures around Cordelia.’ Tiamat replied.

’Life force signatures? From what? Human?’

’No... Beasts, and something else.’ Tiamat said, a thoughtful expression on her face.

We will check it after the competition. Christopher turned his attention back to the stage. "It means some of these guys lent these beasts from other Tamers." he said in a low voice, and Tiamat nodded in agreement.

’Correct.’

"No need to expose anyone... If I do, they will simply lose this round, but I don’t think that is necessary."

Tiamat simply nodded, remaining silent.

BOOOM!

Zack dodged another massive fireball from the fox, his gaze cold and calculating.

"So that’s your weakness, Fire," Scarlett said, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. She pointed a finger at Zack: "Use your ultimate attack!"

GRAAAAA!

The huge fox let out a terrifying roar, opening its mouth and channeling all its life force into one colossal fireball.

"How cute," Zack scoffed. He stretched forth his hand towards the beast and activated his powers.

GRAAAAAAA!

The fox let out a painful roar, blood bursting from its nose, ears, and body.

"This?!" Scarlett was stunned, then shrieked, "Stop him!"

Zack stretched forth his other hand towards the two remaining beasts. Instantly, the snake let out a painful hiss, blood spraying from its mouth.

WHOOSH!

"....?!!!"

Zack’s eyes widened in horror as the octopus’s tentacles smashed into him, sending him flying meters backward. The two beasts he had affected collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.

"You! Are you okay?!" Scarlett asked, mild horror in her voice.

The two beasts didn’t reply, simply trying to catch their breath. She quickly recalled them, then turned to Zack, who was still on the ground, vomiting a mouthful of blood from the devastating blow.

"You! I controlled that beast! Why didn’t my skill work??" he asked in confusion, pushing himself back to his feet.

"You!" Scarlett pointed her sword at him, her voice trembling with fury. "I won’t let you off! ATTACK!"

With her command, she and the octopus shot forward.

"Why didn’t Zack’s skill work on the octopus?" Advika asked in confusion, turning to Mariana.

"Zack’s skill worked on Mitchell, but why not the octopus?" Mariana added, equally bewildered. She and Advika turned to Christopher. "Does Octopus have iron?"

Christopher stared at the two and sighed. "Yes, octopus contains iron. It’s a good source of iron, along with other essential vitamins and minerals," he explained.

"Then what about its blood? Because it seems Zack’s aimed at the blood."

"That’s why he got hit. Octopus’s blood does not contain iron in the way that human blood does. Instead of iron, octopus blood contains a copper-based protein called hemocyanin, which carries oxygen. This copper-based protein is what gives octopus blood its characteristic blue color... So no iron in the blood, but iron is present in it... Understand?"

The two thought for a moment, then slowly nodded their heads.

’Way to go, my good disciple.’ Tiamat said, impressed.

’There is nothing impressive about it, all these are from the internet.’ Christopher replied telepathically.

Tiamat: "...?!"

"Does that mean Zack will lose?" Mariana asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Nope... He will figure it out," Christopher replied confidently.

Tony and his team stood still, silently watching as Zack faced off against the two.

"Doesn’t that fool know there’s iron in an octopus?" Tori asked with a frown.

"He does... He just doesn’t know there isn’t any in their blood," Tony said, folding his arms across his chest.

"That suits him right," Tori muttered with a frown.

Tony and Hank turned to her in confusion but remained silent.

"Don’t underestimate me!!!" Zack yelled, unleashing all his life force, which slammed into Scarlett and the octopus, throwing them back several meters. He thrust his hand forward and, using his skill, grabbed Scarlett, lifting her into the air.

"Stand down," he commanded, staring intently at the octopus, which stopped its advance, its gaze fixed on Scarlett. "Surrender," Zack spat out, tightening his grip, almost crushing her bones.

The octopus was enraged, but it remained motionless, awaiting its master’s command. Scarlett’s face turned pale as the pressure on her body intensified with each passing second.

"I... I surrender!" she finally choked out after some hesitation.

Zack exhaled and released her. She dropped to her knees, gasping for breath.

Zack looked at her and said, "You did good. You are the only one who has injured me so far." He stretched forth his hand.

Scarlett took his hand, and with his help, she stood up. "Thank you," she said, and he nodded in return.

"Okay! Zack won this round and earned his team 2,000 points! Making 4,000! With a total of 7,000! They are right behind the Vitality Academy! Then the First Star Academy!" the announcer boomed, his voice echoing through the arena. He then turned to Scarlett. "Sorry, Miss Scarlett, but your journey ends here."

Scarlett nodded, recalled her octopus, turned around, and walked away from the stage.

"Okay, everyone! You all have five minutes to rest for the last round, which will determine the winners of this competition! We will meet back here in five minutes!" he yelled, his voice filled with anticipation.

____

[Xavier Continent.]

While the Baltimore Continent was engrossed in its competition, the Xavier Continent found itself in a desperate battle against the colossal crocodile. Half of their forces had been wiped out, and the military was so desperate that they were seeking help from someone far from civilization.

____

[Distant Mountain.]

RA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA!

The Wind Spirit raised her head, her serene expression unwavering, as a helicopter flew towards her. She watched as it slowly descended, landing gently on the mountaintop.

TAP!

The leader of the Xavier Continent and its chief commander, both impeccably dressed in suits, exited the helicopter.

"That is far enough." The two men stopped ten meters from the lady, who remained in a meditating posture.

"Why are you here?" she asked, though she already knew the reason.

"Wind Goddess, we need your help! I can see you broke through again and entered the Ascendant level... You alone can kill that beast and save millions," the chief commander quickly stated, his voice urgent.

The Wind Spirit recalled the Earth Spirit’s warning and sighed softly. "I am not interfering," she said.

"....?!"

The commander was stunned, but the man beside him, the leader, took a step forward.

"Wind Goddess, I know you’ve helped us countless times, but please, can you help us this time again? We will do anything."

"I want nothing," she said, finally looking up at the man. "Xavier isn’t its target. The beast’s target is Cordelia... You attacked it, which caused you losses."

"Cordelia?" The Commander was stunned, but still pressed on.

"But five cities are on its path; it will destroy everything!"

"You already took everyone out, right?" she asked calmly.

The two men looked at each other and nodded.

"Good... Then withdraw your forces and let the beast pass through... The cities will get destroyed, but no life will be lost, and you can simply rebuild it."

The two men stared at her for a moment, then the leader asked, "Is that a good idea? What if it changes route and attacks another city filled with people?"

"That won’t happen... Instead of fighting a battle you won’t win, you should search for the sword and think of a way to face the upcoming monster raids and life force tide," she said.

"....?!!"

The two men were stunned speechless.

She looked up at them in confusion. "You don’t know?"

"We... We were occupied with the Beast," the commander stammered.

"And you don’t wonder why the other continents didn’t send reinforcement? They are all preparing for this... They don’t know about the monster raids, but they surely know about the life force tide." She fixed her gaze on them and continued, her voice firm.

"Withdraw your forces and think of a way to stop these two problems! The Crocodile isn’t your problem!"

".....?!"