"It's a bit difficult to fight now."
Chen Shu frowned, not expecting the contestants from the country of Lan to have contained A Liang and the other two.
With the lightning-immune shield now in play, the main force, the Thunder Ape, was essentially neutralized.
Although Snow Ball's strength was formidable, its ice and snow skills were primarily focused on crowd control. Eliminating six contracted spirits on its own seemed unlikely.
"Let's see how long the skill lasts. It shouldn't be too long."
Liu Feng stroked his chin. Logically, such area-of-effect support skills wouldn't last long.
However, if it did last too long, A Liang and the others would have a slim chance of winning.
The contestants from the country of Lan had kept this skill hidden until now, releasing it suddenly and catching A Liang and the other two off guard.
"Buy time!"
A Liang also realized the situation and immediately changed their tactics.
For a moment, except for the Thunder Ape, all other contracted spirits moved to the back of the Thunder Bird.
The mutated Thunder Bird flapped its wings and positioned itself above the six contracted spirits.
"Chirp chirp!"
Snow Ball continuously unleashed its skills, spewing cold frost from its mouth, slowing down the enemy contracted spirits.
Roar!
Another small blue beast from the country of Lan roared, its eyes filled with a blue glow.
A cluster of blue whirlwinds appeared, swirling around the feet of the six contracted spirits.
Suddenly, their speed surged, gaining a significant boost.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Countless ice and snow attacked, continuously slowing them down.
But with the boost from the wind-attribute enhancement skill, the six contracted spirits from the country of Lan were not significantly affected.
Roar roar!
The six contracted spirits roared softly, ignoring Snow Ball and focusing their attention on the Thunder Ape ahead.
Before long, the distance between the two sides closed.
Boom—
The Thunder Ape's eyes flashed, and it swung its thick right arm, throwing out a lightning bolt with astonishing destructive power.
Bang—
The lightning shield on the six contracted spirits flickered, once again rendering the lightning immune, but the glow seemed to have dimmed slightly.
The lightning protection shield had its limits, but unfortunately, the Thunder Ape had not reached Silver-tier strength to break it.
Boom boom boom—
The six contracted spirits from the country of Lan immediately counterattacked, unleashing a barrage of skills filled with destructive damage.
The Thunder Ape was about to evade, but a control skill struck instantly.
Buzz—
The Thunder Ape's eyes flashed with lightning, forcefully dispelling the control.
But immediately, another control skill struck, pinning it in place.
Boom—
In an instant, various skills bombarded the Thunder Ape's body.
Seeing this, A Liang could only reluctantly recall it to his beast-taming space.
"Chirp chirp!"
Seeing its companion injured, Snow Ball's cute eyes immediately turned angry.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The descending ice and snow were faintly white, imbued with terrifying water-attribute power.
"Roar!"
The six contracted spirits endured the damage, unleashing skills to counterattack, their momentum immense.
The mutated Thunder Bird spread its wings, using its extreme speed to dodge various skills.
For a time, the battle seemed to turn into a tug-of-war.
"It's over."
Chen Shu shook his head, already able to predict the outcome.
The weaknesses of A Liang and the other two were still obvious: too few contracted spirits with damage output, and no defensive contracted spirits.
Although the mutated Thunder Bird had astonishing speed, the combat stage had limited space, and it would inevitably be hit by control skills.
This effectively suppressed its advantage.
Once controlled, A Liang and the other two might not be able to withstand it.
As expected, the battle lasted only three minutes before the mutated Thunder Bird was trapped by three control skills, its retreat blocked.
With no way to evade, it was instantly controlled in place.
The corners of the mouths of the three from the country of Lan curved into a sinister smile.
"After eliminating Lin Han, you'll pay a price!"
Roar!
The six contracted spirits roared in unison and then unleashed a series of damaging skills, their power immense.
At this moment, a purple contracted spirit's eyes flashed, and a peculiar aura appeared on its body.
A purple light blade, inconspicuous, merged into the incoming barrage of skills.
"Hmm?"
Chen Shu below was slightly startled, instinctively having a bad feeling.
"That light blade is not right..."
Although the combat stage had protective devices to isolate it, he could still tell the light blade was problematic.
"There is a bit..."
Liu Feng nodded, also sensing something was wrong.
"This is my only skill that has reached Silver-tier power. Let's see how you take it."
The leader of the country of Lan muttered to himself.
If the opponent were truly hit, there was even a possibility of perishing.
Although it was just a competition, deaths occasionally occurred, and the rules did not prohibit it.
However, just as the skills released by the three from the country of Lan flew out,
A Liang and the others' contracted spirits were instantly recalled, without any hesitation.
"???"
The three from the country of Lan widened their eyes. Did they have to be so afraid of death?
"What a shame."
A Liang and the other two exchanged glances, but they were not too disappointed.
They already had their shortcomings, and reaching the top four was already a very good result.
Moreover, the three were not very old. If they participated again in two or three years, they might have a chance to win.
For a moment, the global audience was in an uproar, but not too surprised.
The fans who supported A Liang and the other two sighed, not expecting them to stop at the semifinals.
The two teams left their combat positions.
"Did you figure it out?"
One of the people from the country of Lan looked at A Liang with a hint of confusion and bewilderment.
"Figure what out?"
A Liang and the others were slightly startled, all not understanding his meaning.
The three from the country of Lan asked again and finally confirmed one thing: these three simply didn't want their contracted spirits to get hurt...
"We did our best, we did our best!"
A Liang and the other two returned to the Huaguo team, their expressions calm and composed.
"You fought well."
Liu Feng nodded, satisfaction in his eyes.
A Liang and the other two achieving a top-four result at their age was already excellent, after all, not everyone could be like Chen Shu...
"A Liang, that purple light blade just now was problematic. It's good that you recalled your contracted spirits."
"Hmm? What problem?"
A Liang scratched his head, his eyes filled with confusion.
Then, Chen Shu explained it to the three.
"Damn, that's devious!"
The three widened their eyes and looked towards the distant team from the country of Lan.
"Good thing we thought medical expenses were too high and recalled our contracted spirits!"
"..."
Chen Shu and his group left the combat stage, preparing to rest and recuperate.
Next, only the finals of the remaining two groups were left!
Qin Tian smiled and said, "Chen Pi, you are now the hope of the entire nation! Do you feel any pressure?"
"No pressure at all. After all... I used to be the hope of the entire village."
Chen Shu shrugged his shoulders, confidence in his eyes.
"Still making things up? Weren't you the scourge of Nanjiang City before?"
"It's all the same, one and the same."
"..."
Everyone's faces were filled with black lines. How could that be the same?