Chapter 219
At a combat test site with a length and breadth of one kilometer was a typical forest landscape, complete with a very complex environment full of rocks, grass, streams, swamps, and ditches.
At the two opposite edges of the battlefield, two monster-level warbeasts motionlessly stood opposite each other with a few hundred meters between them.
Even the spiritual energy particles floating in the air were drawn to the two warbeasts and lingered around them to create faint halos.
During the test a while ago, the Wolf King had not suffered any kind of damage. And due to the green halo in contrast, the Wolf King looked as though it had been chiseled from a crystal clear jade, exuding an aura of arrogance and pride.
Whereas the Tarantula’s armor had been eroded by the acid which left multitudes of hideous scars; making it appear aggressive and ruthless.
Everyone in the audience had been deterred by the matchless aura emanating from the two warbeast as though they were watching the fight between two unrivaled demon beasts. One by one, everyone stopped moving. They didn’t dare bat their eyes and even when they were discussing, they suppressed their voice to the bare minimum.
“The two warbeasts seemed to be full of energy. What do you think, who is going to win?”
“I’m more optimistic for the Tarantula. It has a huge body, fearsome firepower, powerful defense, and can carry extra crystals. As long as it strikes the Wolf King, the Wolf King would be crushed!”
“If only it strikes the Wolf King, only then!”
“The Wolf King is fast and has a good response time. Although its long-range firepower is worse than Tarantula, when it comes to close combat, it’s pretty good. Moreover, its design has been perfected. In all aspects, it is perfectly balanced; unlike Tarantula, which has a heavy head and light feet, it is like a pony pulling a heavy cart. It is simply a lame giant!”
“I’m pretty sure that unless the Tarantula is lucky and blast the Wolf King with its railgun at the very beginning from far away, the Wolf King with its super speed and agility would obliterate the Tarantula!”
Everyone stuck to their own version; each refused to give in to the other.
Just as everyone was about to enter into a heated argument, they suddenly heard another thirty-some-year-old examinee sneer, “You are only considering the external factors and never thought that the tactics are most important!
“The Mystic Wolf was produced over three decades ago, and its experience of countless battles have long been summarized into hundreds and thousands of classic tactics which are stored inside the crystal processor. It is equivalent to Mystic Wolf having hundreds and thousands of powerful ‘tricks’!
“Whereas Student Li Yao has modified this Tarantula, its structure and modes of combat have been changed completely. It is unable to utilize a vast number of ‘tricks’.
“Even if he could temporarily devise some new tactics incorporating complexity and effectiveness in accordance with the structural characteristics of the Tarantula, they would still be unable to compare with the classic tactics.
“Therefore, in this fight, the Wolf King will win and the Tarantula will lose!
“Fortunately, the Tarantula does not need to win. As long as it can survive for five minutes, it will be considered a tie and then everyone will be happy!”
The words of the older examinee made everyone suddenly understand. Everyone repeatedly nodded.
At this moment, an ear-deafening explosion rang in the combat test site.
The two warbeasts madly poured their firepower at each other while quickly closing the distance.
The dust and stones flew everywhere, steam rose from the swamp, while the spiritual energy in the air undulated as though it was repelling the mist.
From the very first second of the fight, the fight was white-hot.
The Wolf King executed a series of dazzling dodging maneuvers, and simultaneously fired dozens of crystal railgun shots.
While the Tarantula did not dodge, it launched a thick spiritual energy shield in the front and took all the attacks head-on; nothing was able to stop it.
Both sides grew closer and closer, and the crossfire became fiercer. Occasionally, a concentrated round of artillery would collide in the air. Dazzling balls of light would appear one after another before immediately turning into colorful tides of spiritual energy, and into a super hot explosion thereafter, tearing the air apart and bursting forth with round after round of ripples which would span across hundreds of meters. The battlefield seemed like a dream.
The silhouettes of the two warbeasts would also sometimes become vague and sometimes distinct; they were unpredictable like ghosts.
After a couple seconds, the two warbeasts were already within fifty meters away from each other.
At this distance, the long-range firepower was no longer important. Only the close-combat ability would become the decisive factor.
‘The Tarantula is going to be at disadvantage,’ many examinees with keen sight thought one after another.
Some even sighed in their heart, ‘Student Li Yao’s modification technique is indeed top class, but in case of choosing battle tactics, he seems to have made some mistakes!’
‘The advantage of Tarantula lies in its firepower. He should have fought it all out to maintain the distance. He should have circled around the Wolf King at a distance and kept on firing!’
‘Now the Wolf King has closed the distance. Once it’s in melee range, the Wolf King by virtue of its speed and agility would slowly torture the Tarantula to death for sure!’
In the blink of an eye—
The Wolf King suddenly accelerated and transformed into a green stream of light. Having dodged seven to eight dangerous shots from crystal railguns, it jumped twice in the air and actually landed behind the Tarantula!
The Tarantula desperately tried to turn, while the turret on its back rotated by 180 degrees and fired.
However, its eight-legged design was unsuitable for turning on the spot, while at such a close range, there were blind spots in the turret’s range of attack.
The Wolf King always hid in the blind spots. Shrinking its neck as a few rounds from the crystal railgun scrapped its head.
“The Tarantula is finished!”
Many examinees exclaimed.
The Deep Sea University side, even more so, were wild with joy.
Whether it was the warbeast or the crystal tank, their rear part had always been the most vulnerable position.
The Wolf King of Jiang Shaoyang keenly realized the Tarantula’s fatal weak point of its inability to turn freely as it launched an attack from behind!
“Whoosh!”
The Wolf King leaped while its claws vibrated at high frequency; their destructive force elevated to the limit.
“Squirt!”
Suddenly, from underneath the belly of the Tarantula, a stream of yellowish liquid gushed out which continuously gave birth to white gas when it came into contact with the air.
In a fraction of a second, the crystal eyes of the Wolf King constricted into two pinholes as it dodged again and again. Eventually, it wasn’t able to continue dodging in mid-air, and despite having dodged a majority of the attack, a small amount of liquid still fell upon it which suddenly emitted ear-piercing “chi chi” sounds as yellowish smoke rose into air; its outer armor had been corroded in the blink of an eye and was riddled with holes.
All of a sudden, the proud and elegant Wolf King had become to look like a stray cur with loathsome spots on its skin.
“This—”
Everyone was astounded. Dumbfounded, they looked at Li Yao.
Jiang Shaoyang, even more so, seemed to have been struck by lightning. Only after a long while did he regain his senses.
The Wolf King rolled on the ground before it anxiously fled to a dozen meters away without ever paying attention to how it escaped.
Although its vital points hadn’t been breached, its prestige, on the other hand, was dragged through the dirt. The Wolf King carefully circled around the Tarantula, it dared not approach the rear of Tarantula.
“Student Li Yao, what… what was that!?” an examinee from the Star Nebula University boldly asked.
“Venom.”
Li Yao replied in a natural manner as though it was as just as the heavens, “Since the warbeast’s modification was based on a tarantula, isn’t it natural to have venom?”
This answer made everyone collapse. No one could figure out how.
“But… where did you get the venom or such a corrosive acid?”
In the repair workshop, everything complemented the Mystic Wolf. They could not remember if there was such a corrosive acid!
“I synthesized it myself!”
Li Yao explained, “Do you remember that there was Flamerite and Porous Lanthanum in the warehouse, and the coolant of the crafting furnace contained Thousand Star Essence and Snow Essence?
“These four materials are all very stable in nature, they are neither toxic nor corrosive.
“However, as long as powdered the Flamerite and Porous Lanthanum are mixed in a certain ratio and then put into a solution of Thousand Star Essence and Snow Essence, and heated to a temperature between 175 to 216 degrees, it will become extremely corrosive when it comes in contact with the air.
“I inadvertently found this formula in an ancient remnant scroll. In fact, it’s of no great use as its production cost is too high, its ingredients are quite expensive. Nowadays, we are fully capable of synthesizing cheaper acids.”
“Why… why did you do it?”
“Isn’t that obvious? The Tarantula I modified is slow and heavy, especially when it changes direction, it is inflexible. The enemy’s first choice would definitely be to attack it from behind!
“So, I would set a trap at the rear end for sure.
“The Tarantula’s abdominal section is modified from the cooling tank and is filled with acid. But unfortunately, Jiang Shaoyang’s Wolf King is just too fast, it actually dodged. If it was just delayed by half a second, all the acid would have fallen upon its head and the fight would have immediately come to an end. Such a shame!” Li Yao was feeling a bit regretful.
When it fell upon everyone’s ear, it made their hearts quiver.
Jiang Shaoyang was eavesdropping with rapt attention, and even more so, was drenched in cold sweat. He secretly sighed for being lucky.
The situation in the field seemed to have taken a new turn.
After suffering a loss, the Wolf King lurked inside the grass. It no longer fired the crystal railgun and skillfully dodged the oncoming rounds of crystal railgun. On one side, it was expending the crystals of its opponent, while on the other, it was observing the opponent’s line of attack.
Suddenly, it took a leap and discarded the crystal railguns on its sides at the same time.
Much to everyone’s surprise, it took the initiative to give up long-range attacks. It was preparing to risk its life.
Without the burdensome crystal railguns, the Wolf King’s speed was raised to a whole new level. It was like a green whirlwind as it ran around the Tarantula at an astonishing speed.
The Tarantula was somewhat at a loss as to what to do. The crystal railgun turret quickly rotated like an electric fan and even fired continuously, but it could only break the green silhouette left behind by the Wolf King.
Even if it continuously fired acid, it was completely ineffective against the Wolf King’s precautionary measures.
Its eight slender legs, even more so, became cumbersome. A few number of times its legs had been thrown into confusion and occasionally collided with each other.
“This is the tactical flaw.”
Several examinees whispered to each other, “The battle tactics of the Tarantula are too simple and hadn’t considered what to do when faced with circling tactics. It can’t change the situation and can let its opponent take control of the battle.”
“However, it’s not Li Yao’s fault. After all, he was pressed for time, how could he set all the tactics? They are simply of a different level!”
“Look, the Wolf King is going to launch a second round of attacks!”
Taking advantage of the Tarantula being led around by the nose and staggered, the Wolf King with a flash of green light, jumped high in the air and pounced towards the back of the Tarantula!
The back of the Tarantula was not only the blind spot for the crystal railgun’s attack, it was also the blind spot for an acid attack. The eight legs, even more so, were unable to reach!
If the crystal railgun turret got destroyed, the Wolf King would be able to directly rush through the wound, in an unstoppable manner, and directly smash the core!
“Jump up! Jump up!”
“Block it! Block it!”
Countless examinees had their hands clenched to the point that sweat covered their palms.
The Wolf King’s first attack ended up in failure as the Tarantula promptly moved its legs and sealed the Wolf King’s line of attack.
However, the Wolf King remained patient. It continuously circled around the Tarantula; on one side, it was forcing the Tarantula to rotate, while on the other hand, it slowly lured it to a stream.
Inside the stream, the pebbles were wet and slippery.
The Tarantula was sure to fall into a trap.
After having failed three times in a row, the Tarantula was finally lured to the edge of the stream. As its legs stepped on the pebbles, the Tarantula slipped and staggered, revealing a huge gap.
Taking advantage of the situation, the Wolf King pounced and steadily stood upon Tarantula’s back. Just as it dodged the super close range attack from the crystal railgun, it immediately pounced and forcibly tore the entire crystal railgun turret from the back of the Tarantula in a ferocious manner!