The Stormfang clan had a peculiar tradition where when their spirit beasts died for any reason, they would honor their contributions to the family by using the dead spirit beasts' fur as a fur coat.
Both Lira Stormfang and Karl Stormfang were wearing such fur coats right now. Lira was wearing a leopard-patterned fur coat and Karl was wearing a brown-colored bear fur coat.
Since the time taken to finish each round had shortened by a lot, the break between rounds this time was only 15 minutes and it quickly passed by.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the semi-final of our intermediate-level category. Only 4 competitors left. The losers of this round would face off in the final round for the third place first, followed by the final match to determine the runner-up and the champion."
"Without further ado, the first semi-final match will be between Leyvi Leyan and Lira Stormfang!" The announcer glanced at both participants as he called their names
Leyvi and Lira both entered the arena at the same time and took a closer look at each other faces. Although Lira Stormfang wasn't a beauty, she had a face that was nice to look at.
As if they reached a tacit agreement, Leyvi and Lira summoned their spirit beasts at the same time. A Demonic Bison and a Demonic Gaboon Viper appeared in the arena.
After a few seconds, confirming that both of the spirit beasts were ready, the announcer declared the start.
The Demonic Gaboon Viper, with its massive, muscular body and striking patterns, moved swiftly across the ground. Its eyes locked onto Mr. Bison, calculating the perfect moment to strike. Mr. Bison, aware of the Gaboon viper's deadly venom, kept its gaze focused, muscles tensed for the inevitable confrontation.
"Oh shit. Can its fang penetrate my diamond body? I'm only strong to physical attack, if that venom enters my body, I'm dead!" Mr. Bison got panicked while gazing at it.
The viper struck first, lunging with lightning speed, and fangs bared. It aimed for the bison's thick neck, hoping to deliver a crippling blow.
Mr. Bison, who had been paying attention to those fangs, however, was ready. With a powerful shake of its head, it deflected the viper's attack, his Heavenly Diamond Lord Body's effect activated and reflecting the impact. The gaboon viper recoiled, feeling the reverberation of its own strike echo through its body.
Mr. Bison took this chance and charged, hooves pounding the ground as he aimed to trample the viper. The Demonic Gaboon Viper twisted and turned after it recovered from the recoil in the nick of time, evading the bison's heavy hooves with incredible agility. It struck again and again, each time its fangs meeting the bison's tough hide. Each bite was met with the same deflective force, causing the viper to grow more cautious with each failed attempt.
Mr. Bison was relieved. Thankfully the viper's huge fang couldn't get past his thick hide.
Lira was frowning. Her spirit beast's fangs couldn't penetrate the bison's body at all. She had watched this Bison fight with the dung beetle before and had noticed its unusually destructive body. But she didn't expect it to be so invincible.
Realizing that direct strikes were ineffective, Lira ordered the viper to change tactics. It began to weave around the bison, using its long body to create a confusing pattern, attempting to find a weak spot in Mr. Bison's defenses.
Mr. Bison, however, remained steadfast, his eyes following the viper's movements closely. Although he was almost invincible, who knows if suddenly the viper aimed for his balls? He didn't want that part to be poked.
In a bold move, the gaboon viper coiled around the bison's legs, tightening its grip to immobilize Mr. Bison. He felt the constriction and, using his immense strength, began to thrash violently afraid the viper would aim his balls. The force of the bison's movement caused the viper to lose its grip and be thrown off.
Dammit. This worm really wanted to harm my balls. Unforgivable! Mr. Bison's ball attack paranoia increased after that attack.
With the viper momentarily vulnerable, Mr. Bison seized the opportunity. He charged once more, this time with more precision. The viper tried to evade, but Mr. Bison's speed and power were overwhelming. His horn struck the viper's side, sending it sprawling.
The gaboon viper, weakened by its own reflected attacks and the bison's relentless assault, attempted one last desperate attack. It opened its mouth wide and forcefully ejected its venoms, spraying them on Mr. Bison's face.
Leyvi's expression turned serious. He immediately told Mr. Bison to end the fight quickly, before the venom entered his pores through his skin.
Mr. Bison, who was scared of the venom, wanted to end the battle as soon as possible too. He stepped on the viper's tail causing it to hiss in pain, unable to get away. Mr. Bison raised his other leg, intending to stomp and finish this viper. Fresh chapters posted on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁
"Stop! I surrender!" Lira admitted defeat. A good beast tamer knows when to stop. She knew if the attack connected, her spirit beast would die. She didn't want the viper to be a part of their clan's clothes yet.
"Leyvi Leyan wins! Congratulations to our first finalists!" The announcer quickly declared after Lira surrendered.
Mr. Bison's hoof stopped mid-air. He then stepped away from the viper.
"Do you have an antidote for your viper's venom?" Leyvi asked her. He didn't want to bring out more of Anda's alchemy products if possible. The medium healing elixir had already attracted too much dissatisfaction, if he brought out Anda's rare antidote now they might resent him.
Lira nodded. She took out a pill and threw it to Leyvi. "Wipe away the venom and feed the antidote."
Mr. Bison immediately ran to Leyvi. "Boss, fast, wipe the venom away. I can feel it seeping into my skin. It burns! I don't want to die yet!"
Leyvi brought out a random rag he had and cleaned the venom off his body. Afterward, he fed the antidote to Mr. Bison, neutralizing the venom that had seeped into his pores.
"Wew, I thought I was going to die. Boss, don't you have any unique body that can resist poison? Give that to me too." Mr. Bison said.
Leyvi side-eyed the bison. "Do you think if I could do that I would give it to you? Lawnmower, you are getting greedy, you already had the Heavenly Diamond Lord Body but you want more? Keep dreaming! Get back to the spirit beast bag now." Leyvi was annoyed.
He returned to his seat. Now that he won this match, the Metallic Durian was guaranteed his. Leyvi spread his spiritual sense to where Lilian and the rest were sitting and saw Lilian cheering and celebrating like a kid with Sayu, not looking like a madam at all.
Soon, the next semi-final round between Fisherwomen and Kael Stormfang began.
The crowd watched with bated breath as two demonic beasts prepared for battle. A Demonic Mantis Shrimp and a Demonic Grizzly Bear. The mantis shrimp, known for its incredible speed and powerful strikes had won the tournament by itself two times already and now aiming for the third one, faced off against the massive and formidable grizzly bear of the Stormfang clan.
The announcer's voice echoed through the arena, starting the match, and the grizzly bear roared, displaying its enormous size and strength. It charged forward, each step causing the ground to tremble. The mantis shrimp, though smaller in comparison, stood its ground, its multifaceted eyes tracking the bear's every movement.
People who didn't know about a mantis shrimp might think that its greatest weapon was the club-like arms capable of dealing powerful smashes. However, right now, only Fisherwomen knew that the most extraordinary thing about mantis shrimp was its eyes.
The mantis shrimp's eyes are extraordinary and she considered them as some of the most complex visual systems in the animal kingdom.
Each eye of the mantis shrimp could move independently and has three separate regions for detecting depth, allowing the shrimp to have trinocular vision with just one eye. This means each eye could perceive depth and distance on its own.
The eyes of mantis shrimp can move and track objects rapidly, enabling them to quickly process visual information. This is crucial for their predatory lifestyle, as they needed to strike with their powerful hammers or claws with high precision.
Furthermore, the eyes also had some unexplainable ability to detect more colors than a human could and this aided them greatly in battle and identifying different materials. Although its vision range was far from what her spiritual sense could do, its ability to detect something was far greater than she had expected. With the mantis shrimp eyes, she had found many unexpected treasures along her aimless travel.
Without these extraordinary eyes, Fisherwomen knew her spirit beast would not be as strong as it was now.
This was how she had become an undefeated beast tamer so far. However, the mantis shrimp stagnation made her worried. It just couldn't break through and become a high-level demonic beast after so long.