【District D Battle Zone 3, National High School League, First Stage, Second Round, Third Match: Tianqi Beast Taming High School's Liu Yi versus Fugang Beast Taming High School's Pei Yingwu.】
【Match rules: Both sides may deploy two pets for 1v1 battles. The match ends when both pets of one side are incapacitated.】
【Both contestants, please deploy your first pet.】
Pei Yingwu and Liu Yi simultaneously summoned their Nightblade Wolf and Chiying.
The Nightblade Wolf's fur was entirely black, and its body length exceeded three meters. Dark red patterns were faintly visible on its back, and its ferocious fangs protruded.
Upon landing, it didn't immediately assume a battle pose, nor did it spare a glance for its opponent.
Its blood-red eyes lazily swept over the surrounding floating islands, then over the energy shield above. Finally, they slowly settled on the dark dragon shadow suspended in the air opposite it.
Then, its gaze froze.
Its blood-red eyes narrowed slightly, and a flicker of light passed through its pupils.
It wasn't hostility, nor vigilance, but a flicker of interest.
It tilted its head, carefully examining the dragon in the air: its crimson eyes, dark scales, golden patterns, slender dragon horns, and its wingless flight.
The Nightblade Wolf's tail stopped its lazy swaying. It stared at Chiying for a full two seconds, letting out a low, almost inaudible purr from its throat.
It was only for an instant.
Because the next second, Chiying's body stiffened slightly.
It was an extremely subtle change, one that would go completely unnoticed by anyone who wasn't constantly observing it. Chiying's tail stopped swaying, and its hovering height dropped slightly.
Its breathing became rapid.
Chiying swayed slightly in the air, as if trying to steady itself, but the swaying grew more pronounced.
Oppression.
The Nightblade Wolf's Oppression Trait was taking effect.
Pei Yingwu noticed Chiying's change. The curve of his lips widened slightly, and his gaze shifted from Chiying to Liu Yi's face.
Liu Yi stood on her maglev skateboard, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the skateboard's armrest, much faster than usual.
It was a sign of nervousness.
“Chiying,” she said, her voice carrying an imperceptible tension. “Dragon Dance.”
Chiying heard her.
But it didn't act immediately.
It hovered in place, its crimson eyes fixed on the Nightblade Wolf opposite, its body still trembling slightly. The trembling wasn't fear, but more like being suppressed by some invisible force, making its movements sluggish.
One second.
Two seconds.
Chiying remained stiff.
The Nightblade Wolf lay down.
It rested its chin on its front paws, its blood-red eyes half-closed, lazily watching the dazed dragon in the air.
The fleeting interest it had shown earlier was slowly fading.
The Nightblade Wolf's tail swayed gently.
It understood.
This dragon was no different from the Intermediate pets it had encountered before. Under its pressure, it was stiff, nervous, slow to react, and couldn't even maintain a basic battle pose.
That momentary interest seemed to have been an illusion.
Pei Yingwu frowned, but said nothing.
Chiying finally moved.
It began to rotate slowly, Dragon-type energy flowing around its body. But the rotation speed was much slower than usual, and its movements weren't fluid, like a rusty machine.
Dragon Dance, barely completed.
But the effect seemed greatly reduced.
The Nightblade Wolf watched Chiying stiffly perform Dragon Dance, and its half-closed eyes shut completely.
It shifted its head, stretching its entire body out along the edge of the floating island, its tail hanging off the side, swaying gently in the wind.
It was going to sleep.
Pei Yingwu's expression changed.
He stood on his maglev skateboard, pulling his hands from his pockets and gripping the edge of the board tightly. He looked at the Nightblade Wolf's lazy demeanor and gritted his teeth.
“Nightblade Wolf, Shadow Claw.”
The Nightblade Wolf's ears twitched.
It opened one eye, glancing at the dragon still stiffly rotating in the air.
Chiying continued to perform Dragon Dance for the second time, but its movements were so stiff it looked like a novice practicing the skill for the first time. The angle of its tail sway was off, and its body's rotation wasn't fluid enough.
The Nightblade Wolf watched for two seconds, then that open eye also closed.
It shifted its head, stretching its entire body out completely along the edge of the floating island.
Pei Yingwu's expression darkened completely. He stood on his maglev skateboard, his lips pressed into a thin line, his fingers gripping the edge of the board until his knuckles turned white.
“Nightblade Wolf!” his voice rose several octaves. “Shadow Claw!”
The Nightblade Wolf didn't react.
Its breathing became steady and deep, but its blood-red eyes remained closed.
Pei Yingwu stared at it for a few seconds, then abruptly turned his head, his gaze falling on Liu Yi opposite him.
Liu Yi stood on her maglev skateboard, her eyebrows still slightly furrowed, her lips pressed together, her expression appearing somewhat troubled.
But her fingers had stopped tapping.
Pei Yingwu didn't notice this detail.
His gaze swept back and forth between Liu Yi and Chiying several times, then he withdrew it, looking at his sleeping Nightblade Wolf.
“Fine,” he muttered a single word, then looked up, turning his gaze back to Liu Yi.
His expression returned to its initial indifference, even carrying a hint of impatience.
The Nightblade Wolf's disobedience was something he had long grown accustomed to.
Anyway, the dragon opposite couldn't even withstand its Oppression. Even if the Nightblade Wolf slept for ten minutes and then woke up, it still wouldn't win.
Pei Yingwu put his hands back into his pockets.
Above the opposite floating island, Chiying was still slowly rotating.
The Dragon Dance movements remained stiff, but it didn't stop.
It performed the dance over and over, as if practicing, or perhaps waiting for something.
The Nightblade Wolf's breathing became increasingly steady.
Its blood-red eyes remained closed.
The energy shield shimmered with a pale blue halo in the sunlight. Eight floating islands moved slowly along irregular trajectories, and the entire District D Battle Zone 3 was so quiet that only the whistling sound of high-altitude winds sweeping past the edges of the floating islands could be heard.
Chiying's rotation finally ceased.
It hovered above the central main island, its crimson eyes fixed on the sleeping black giant wolf on the opposite floating island.
The light in its eyes was no longer the flickering panic of being intimidated by the Oppression.
Instead, it was calm, steady, and cool, with a hint of scrutiny.
It tilted its head, and its tail swayed gently behind it.
Its previous stiffness, the trembling from the Oppression, and its slow-to-react movements had all vanished.
It was as if it had become a different dragon.
Pei Yingwu didn't see this scene.
His gaze was fixed on a distant floating island; he wasn't looking at anything in particular.
The Nightblade Wolf didn't see it either.
It was still sleeping.
Rate on N.U.
