47 - I’m Surrounded by My Own Pets!

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!!" "Rumble! Rumble!!!!" In the virtual combat arena, rocks and debris fell like a meteor shower from the sky, transforming the remains of the execution ground into a veritable inferno. The ground crumbled, night seemed to teeter on edge, and searing hot waves surged incessantly. "..." "..." "Is this thing a biological species or a missile launcher from the mechanical species?" After being defeated and entering the spectator space, a bespectacled girl from Starlight Academy3 muttered incredulously. In her confusion, she immediately opened the death replay perspective and witnessed a scene she couldn't comprehend. Soon after, a cute girl with green twin tails also entered the spectator space. Mianqing had been defeated too. As the vice-captain, she lasted only a few seconds longer than the other team members. "What exactly happened..." "Whose attack was that?" With a face full of shock and confusion, Mianqing initiated the death replay. On replay, a bizarrely shaped Moonlight Rabbit appeared before her eyes. The advanced biological species evolved Moonlight Rabbit had a sleek and slender body, but its two pairs of green, crystalline rabbit ears were disproportionately large and heavy, an odd design inducing a palpably oppressive fear. This must be... the Hugging Moon Jade Hammer!? Under Mianqing's terrified gaze, the "Moonlight Rabbit" assumed an awkward posture, its body lowering as it poised to throw something skyward. What the hell, is it planning to launch an attack across the entire map!!!??? How is that even possible? Moments later, Mianqing's expression froze. There was no need for further explanation. The replay showed the Moonlight Rabbit doing exactly that!! "Boom!!!!!!" With black and white starry flashes tearing through the screen, ears propelled by firepower were hurled outward, debris scattered like a meteor shower, splitting the night sky. The deafening sound of explosion rang out, flinging both the Hugging Moon Jade Hammer's master and allies into the air. What followed was precisely the moment witnessed by Starlight Academy... The meteoric rain launched by the Hugging Moon Jade Hammer traversed the entire map at an incredible speed and exploded above the Starlight Academy team's spawn point. It covered a kilometer-wide area like a torrential downpour. Faced with this catastrophic, almost natural disaster-like aoe attack, the Starlight Academy team was annihilated in an instant. "..." "..." "So this is the true power of the strongest Moonlight Rabbit?" After witnessing everything, Starlight Academy's foremost beauty, Mianqing, murmured bleakly to herself. She faintly recalled the scene when she first defeated that blond-haired bun girl. The mid-level gigantic Moonlight Rabbit had been turned into a sieve by the repeated shots of the eight-legged spider, with no counterattack at all. But who would have thought that in just a week, this Moonlight Rabbit could evolve to such an extent!!! "...” “...” [Battle Victory] [Hugging Moon Jade Hammer: Level 30 → 31] “Bang!!!!!” Upon regaining consciousness in reality, captain Ziwutong shot up from her equipment in terror, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. She was drenched in cold sweat, her pale face bloodless. The despairing emotions from the virtual battle had affected her physical form. After calming down somewhat, she slowly raised her head, looking incredulously towards the opposite side... Meanwhile, a blond girl with a serene expression also stood up from her machine seat. Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Lianxing maintained her perpetual joyful, starry-eyed demeanor. To her, defeating the super-elite Starlight Academy was but a trivial affair, undeserving of boasting or showcasing. "Hey, babe, remember to transfer the energy crystals to my account later, you can find the record of this battle," Lianxing said with a smile to Ziwutong, waving as she headed for the training room door. Truth be told, she wasn't satisfied with today's combat. While the Hugging Moon Jade Hammer's throwing power was absurdly ridiculous, even exceeding her expectations... Must she always scatter her own allies' ashes before making a move? As Lianxing pondered, having been flung to some ruinous corner just moments ago... Considering the Hugging Moon Jade Hammer now had explosive power similar to missile types from the mechanical species, it was highly likely to annihilate its own team in an offensive stroke. "Then, it seems the next pet beast ought to be of a defensive specialization~~~~ At least enough that it wouldn't affect me..." Adjusting her slipping white stockings, Lianxing muttered softly as she left the Youlan Academy's team training room. Simultaneously, as the sight of the blond girl’s disappearing figure registered, Momoka, seated at her equipment, finally snapped out of her daze, chuckling bitterly and shaking her head. Before the battle, she had been preoccupied with increasing the odds of victory—how laughably naive. The reputation of the Starlight Academy's star players was so overwhelming that her team seemed to have forgotten— The awe and terror that Hugging Moon Jade Hammer and Golden Wheel’s initial appearance, shredding Youshi Valley with a single strike, invoked!!! Now, it seems, in Lianxing and her Moonlight Rabbit’s presence, even star players make no difference~~~~ "..." "..." Within the training room, under the silence of death itself, the members of Starlight Academy were uniformly crestfallen. With a pained smile, Mianqing, her twin tails impishly tousled, looked as if the hearse carrying her dear one's ashes had been struck as well. No one had foreseen the training match ending like this. At this moment, turning her head toward Ziwutong, Mianqing rasped, "Captain, you took a long time to quit. Did you watch the death replay?" "So, did you see that thing?" Upon hearing this, Ziwutong remained silent for a while before bitterly nodding. "Yes—" "If I didn't misunderstand, the burst from Hugging Moon Jade Hammer was half passively triggered during its throwing attack, so there was no stiff period or cooldown." "In other words, for it, this burst is just a regular attack..." "The strongest Moonlight Rabbit is too dangerous—" "...” “...” About half an hour after the battle, the members of Starlight Academy sluggishly left the training room, looking dejected. By this time, many curious onlookers from Youlan Academy had already gathered outside. Everyone wanted to see the result of the match between Starlight and Youlan Academy's main force. Surely there could be no other outcome—Starlight Academy would crush them effortlessly, right? After all, in last year's league, Ziwutong was named as one of the star players most nearing the top ten... Assuming the others didn't intervene, Ziwutong's main battle pet alone should be enough to obliterate the entire Youlan Academy~~~~ Just like last year, when their first and second teams were beaten senseless in the preliminaries and main matches by Baifeng Academy's classic revival~~~ However— Seconds later, Seeing the star players of Starlight Academy emerging with faces void of life, the gathered students halted in bewilderment. Their previously ecstatic and starstruck expressions shifted to ones of confusion. Wait, what reaction is that? Did they lose!? How's that possible...!! Could there really be a beastmaster in Youlan who could defeat Ziwutong? No, no, no, that can't be. It must just be dissatisfaction with their own performance, right?