Emberaile's sleek red body covered itself in ever-burning flames without harming Elira as his fiery golden eyes stared at the target, and—
He shot a beam of fire right at the Eryndor Warrior, Arthur Graylock, taking him by surprise.
Silas did the same, his Storm, a grey eagle with glowing blue streaks running along his feathered wings, moved right above the Xenthalor Mage and,
He activated his ability, Tempest Vortex, trapping Rowan inside a hurricane.
THUNDER THUNDER THUNDER
Storm then rained down lightning on top of the trapped Mage, not even giving him a chance to resist.
Kael blinked, surprised by what happened.
'When did they team up?'
It wasn't just him, the rest of the guests were shocked and confused too. At one moment, it felt like Elira and Silas would be going at each other, but the next moment, they changed their targets, eliminating the other two contestants.
Or at least… that was what Kael and the guests were expecting, but…
As the dust surrounding Arthur cleared up, the Warrior stepped forward with a cold look on his face.
In front of him lied one of his Bonds, a Frostfang Mauler, a Beast known for its ferocity.
Right now, however, this ferocious Beast was lying on the ground, whimpering. His frost-covered fur was burned, even his skin hidden underneath was scorched.
He had blocked Emberaile's attack and protected his Master, but now, he was in no condition to fight anymore.
With a cold look on his face, Arthur pulled him back into his Sanctuary, where one of his other Bonds would help him heal.
Just like that, one of Arthur's Bonds was eliminated.
"You will pay for that."
Arthur spoke as he stared at Elira, his voice much colder than before.
"You should have taken that attack on your own if it bothers you that much."
Emberaile attacked again.
'Exactly! That's my Instructor!
Shameless to her core!'
Kael grinned at that.
At the same time, he read through Arthur's and his Bonds' information.
[Name: Arthur Graylock]
[Strengths: High Strength and Defense, Master of Battlefield.]
[Weaknesses: Low Mana, Overreliance on Physical Combat, Slower than Warriors his Level.]
[Race: Titanback Behemoth]
[Strengths: Strong defense, immense physical power, ground-shaking attacks.]
[Weaknesses: Slow movement, low mana, struggles against aerial enemies.]
[Race: Frostfang Mauler]
[Strengths: Agile and deadly in close combat, freezing attacks weaken enemies, can manipulate ice.]
[Weaknesses: Lower defense than most melee beasts, fire-based attacks are highly effective.]
'Holy fuck, she is a genius.'
Kael finally realized what Elira was doing.
Maw, the Frostfang Mauler, was Arthur's only Bond who could go against an aerial enemy. He was also the only Beast fast enough to react in time when Arthur was attacked.
Taking Arthur by surprise forced Maw to take action and get eliminated.
Now, Arthur was left with Titan, the Titanback Behemoth, who struggles against aerial attacks because he has no way to attack back.
With just one attack, Elira had reduced the Eryndor Warrior into an open target who could do nothing but defend.
She did all that without having Kael's System Screen to understand her enemies' weaknesses.
'Did she plan all that from the beginning, or was it just a coincidence?'
For some reason, Kael knew it was the former. But if that was truly the case, the same question bothered him again.
'How did she convince Silas to work with her? No, when did she do it?'
With a frown, Kael turned towards the battle between Silas and Rowan.
"RROOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!!"
A loud roar was heard, and Rowan, who was supposedly trapped in the middle of a hurricane, was seen sitting on top of his Stormfang Monarch—a majestic lion covered in sleek, storm-grey fur with golden lightning streaks running across his body—flying in the air.
The Beast seemed to have the ability to run on top of the wind currents, so all the supposedly death-like hurricane could do was…
Pave a way for the Stormfang Monarch and his Rowan to run in the air.
Yes, Rowan, sitting on top of his Bond, was riding the deadly wind currents like it was the most comfortable roadway in the world.
'Just how many absurd things am I going to see today?'
He questioned inwardly as his eyes turned golden again.
[Name: Rowan Ashworth]
[Strengths: Master of Wind Magic, Magic Knowledge, High Mana Reserves.]
[Weaknesses: Weak Physical Combat.]
[Race: Stormfang Monarch]
[Strengths: Movement Speed, Airborne Battles, Manipulate Wind.]
[Weaknesses: Large Energy Consumption, Mana Dependence.]
'Airborne battles are his strength? A Beast that cannot even fly?'
Kael frowned, his focus now completely on Rowan and his Leon, who were now in the air, still riding the wind currents, avoiding Silas's Storm's attacks like it was nothing.
"Sending a Mage with a Stormfang Monarch into a battle where a Zephyrian Warrior is participating… is this Xenthalord's way of taunting us?"
Silas, who was sitting on top of Storm, questioned as he raised his eyebrows.
At his words, Rowan just chuckled.
"Taunt you? What are you talking about?
Isn't a Stormfang Monarch a perfect Bond to face one of the self-called Rulers of the Sky?"
"A Beast who needs wind currents to even stay in the air wishes to face actual flying Beasts? How foolish."
He didn't seem to like the Stormfang Monarch very much, and Rowan, who seemed to know that, just grinned.
"This Beast who needs wind currents to even stay in the air has killed more actual flying Beasts than he has the normal ones.
There is a reason these Beasts are called the Nightmare of Flying Beasts."
"Oh, trust me, I'll show you what a true nightmare looks like."
Silas answered as the tension between the two Tamers rose.
Tension that… didn't seem to be regarding this particular battle alone.