Chapter 99 - Failure to Pierce Through Enemy Armor

“Is there no one here?”

After Zhao Chen finished speaking, no one could be heard talking. He shook his head, thinking,

These young people these days.

Though they wanted to fight, it seemed that none of them wanted to take the initiative.

“Then I’ll just call names randomly!”

The old fox, Zhao Chen, smiled slightly, intending to have the experts break the ice. Those experts’ gazes seemed to be fixated on Lu Ran’s familiar, the red-eyed crocodile skink.

Although Zhao Chen didn’t know the exact strength of Lu Ran’s skink, as second strongest familiar under his care, it couldn’t lack potential! He would let these people witness the gap between themselves and a true expert.

Zhao Chen looked at the second name on the list. Earlier in the conference room, the person with this name was the loudest.

“First up, Lu Teng.”

Before, people were shouting things like “My brother Teng will definitely perform well and live up to the association’s training!” and “My brother Teng has the makings of a champion!”

It was time to take down the show-off!

If Lu Teng, the beastkeeper, knew what Zhao Chen was thinking, he would definitely protest, claiming it was all the yes-men around him saying stuff like that, not him.

“Oh, here.”

Lu Teng, called by name, was forced to step out.

“Pick an opponent. Don’t worry about getting injured; my familiar has the healing trait, so treating wounds from minor skirmishes like these won’t be an issue,” Zhao Chen added.

Although he had retired early, he was still a first-generation beastmaster with plenty of Rare traits collected through his connections. Among them were mainly healing traits used to support his shift to logistics.

As he spoke, he took out a contract card and, holding it between his fingers, summoned a white mountain goat. This was a familiar gifted to him by an old friend, its talent strong enough to help it transcend through an Awakening Leaf alone.

“

Baaa~

”

The white mountain goat appeared, looking drowsy.

“A healer type!”

Upon hearing Lu Teng say this, the fourth-generation beastmasters’ eyes lit up. As expected, Zhao Chen, the president, was no ordinary man! Healing traits were quite rare!

Lu Teng stepped forward from the crowd, looking at the Sudden Death King.

“I choose that one.”

Even though that practice opponent looked rather intimidating and wasn’t the easiest to approach, Lu Teng, as a graduate of an animal science program, just so happened to know a bit about the red-eyed crocodile skink.

Its appearance might be imposing, but its combat drive was low, and it was timid by nature. Plus, Lu Teng was also curious about how powerful Lu Ran’s familiar might be.

Though he didn’t say it out loud, since he transitioned from being a beastkeeper to a super genius in the beastmaster realm, Lu Teng did feel a hint of pride.

Not just anyone can contract with a lion!

He felt like he would soon become the very best!

“

Ah!

You’re choosing it?

Kaka!

It’s more like you’re choosing death!”

At this moment, Dark Crow spoke up in astonishment.

“Wait, since when could that crow talk?”

Many among the fourth-generation beastmasters were baffled.

“Many birds in the corvid family, like crows and parrots, can learn to speak. After extraordinary evolution, speaking is normal.”

Being beastmasters who dealt with animals frequently, a few of them had decent knowledge. As everyone discussed this, Dark Crow looked at the Sudden Death King and passed on the message.

“Waka Baka.”

The opponent has chosen you, General Lightning Dragon. Show him a thing or two!

“

Croak.

”

The Sudden Death King looked calm but was troubled internally.

Haih, another battle...

But since this was a task left by Lu Ran, one that affected his future meals, the Sudden Death King could only step forward, one step at a time, casting a disdainful glance at the opponent, as if to say,

Don’t mess with me. The next person, choose someone else!

“This crow is remarkable.” Zhao Chen glanced at Dark Crow.

No wonder Lu Ran said he could communicate with these mutant familiars even in his absence. Lu Ran had trained this crow exceptionally well.

Even in a major city, this crow would be sought after by many beastmaster associations, especially since translators were in high demand! Green Sea City already had two of them!

Soon, Lu Teng and the Sudden Death King stood in the arena, staring each other down. The spectators, the beastmasters, watched eagerly.

And not far away, the Miss Hua that Zhao Chen had mentioned was also preparing to record the fight.

She smiled to herself, thinking,

So, this is the skink that Pedestrian A once had with him? After awakening to the lightning attribute, it’s already grown this much.

This person was the renowned Gifted Writer Hua, the one who excavated pigs for a living, and Surfing White Dragon’s colleague. Since Zhao Chen was transferred from Golden Hill to Green Sea, the massive Beastmaster Association couldn’t possibly be managed by him alone.

Hence, he had to bring a team, with Gifted Writer Hua being one of them. She was an old subordinate who had followed him from Mystic City to Golden Hill and now to Green Sea.

Upon hearing about the position transfer, Gifted Writer Hua had no objections. She was among the few who knew the true identity of Pedestrian A, Lu Ran, and was well aware of the benefits that came with this transfer.

These younglings must be clueless that this is an uncontracted familiar of Lu Ran’s. His real trump card is that sword-wielding dog. I wonder what their reaction will be if they find out that Green Sea City’s other fourth-generation beastmaster is actually Pedestrian A.

At this moment, Lu Teng also took out his contract card, holding it stylishly between his fingers, and sliced it through the air in front of him, chanting, “Familiar, summon!”

This pre-summon stance and slogan were popular among beastmasters. They were techniques taught by short-video influencers who capitalized on the beastmaster trend, which soon swept the nation.

“

Rawr!!!

”

Following his call, a lion, 1.5 meters tall and nearly 4 meters in length, exhaled a fiery breath, shocking the crowd. Its roar alone intimidated most of the fourth-generation beastmasters present.

No wonder it shared the title “King of the Jungle” with tigers. This terrifying physique, this sense of power, was unmatched by other creatures.

“

Rawr!!!

”

This lion appeared to be an African lion that had awakened to the fire attribute, giving its fur a faint red tinge. Upon its arrival, it locked eyes with the Sudden Death King, breathing heat from its mouth.

“Begin!” Zhao Chen announced.

The next moment.

“Flame Breath!”

Unsure of the Sudden Death King’s strength and wanting to show off, Lu Teng wisely refrained from a melee attack, opting instead for a projection-based skill!

Whoosh!

Following the order, the fire lion’s fur flared up as it opened its mouth, gathering flames. Accompanied by an explosive heatwave, an enormous fireball shot towards the Sudden Death King!! The flames illuminated the surroundings.

“So cool! Is this what a ‘skill’ is?”

Many fourth-generation beastmasters marveled at the fire lion’s proficiency in projection-based skills, looking envious. This was far cooler than using claws and teeth in combat.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The flames engulfed the area. People assumed that the red-eyed crocodile skink would retaliate or evade, but instead, it stood frozen in place, seemingly petrified. The flames consumed Sudden Death King, leaving many people with confused expressions.

But in the next instant, Lu Teng and the crowd’s expressions changed, as the flames dispersed to reveal the red-eyed crocodile skink, standing untouched, unscathed, its expression unmoved, with an air of indifference!!

The attack had... failed to break through its defenses?

“Damn, it’s exactly as I thought!”

In the crowd, Yang Xishuai exclaimed, recalling that when he fought this skink, his attacks had also failed to breach its defenses.

What monstrous defense was this? How was it trained?

It wasn’t surprising that his cricket couldn’t do any damage, but even the fire lion’s Flame Breath didn’t work? Right now, Sudden Death King’s defensive power wasn’t something he’d dare claim to be invincible.

However, besides his natural defensive talent, since awakening, he had been strengthened by Captain Doofus with the Heart of the Insect to enhance his scales and claws.

Later, he underwent further dragonification with the Rare resource Flawed Dragon Blood Crystal, making his training progress incomprehensible to the newcomers in Green Sea City.

“Keep going!” Lu Teng, unwilling to give up, ordered.

The next moment, the fire lion released another Flame Breath at Sudden Death King. As the flames receded, Sudden Death King remained calmly standing in the same spot, without a single burn mark.

Lu Teng and the fire lion were both stunned speechless.

“What a terrifying attack...”

At that moment, a sarcastic voice came from somewhere, causing Lu Teng’s veins to pop. Upon closer inspection, his face turned dark. It was that damn crow again.

“I’m just the translator. Don’t look at me...” Dark Crow cawed.

“

Rawr!!!

”

In truth, Sudden Death King thought the same, but its terrifying attack comment was more of a taunt, meaning,

Is that all you’ve got? Couldn’t you pick Ice Bird instead? Or Fire Snake?

To discourage these opponents, he hadn’t even activated his Lightning Armor this time. By now, Sudden Death King’s combat experience was quite extensive.

Just from the temperature and shape of the flame, he could tell it was weaker than Fire Snake’s, so he simply relied on his scales to block it.

However, to demonstrate his power and dissuade others from picking him as an opponent, Sudden Death King, after showing off his defenses, decided to let them witness what true despair looked like.

He activated his Lightning Armor. Electric currents in blue and white surged from the black scales across his entire body, encasing him in a thick, spiked lightning armor that glowed with formidable energy!

It wasn’t just a simple energy infusion but rather energy formation!

“No way! Lightning attribute?” Lu Teng was rattled, bewildered by what he was witnessing.

“It’s actually a lightning attribute!”

The others, who had assumed the Sudden Death King’s defense was due to being a rock-type, were shocked to see lightning armor. An attribute known for its destructive power!

“It’s over for Lu Teng. The fire lion can’t penetrate its defenses. Now that the opponent has lightning armor, how will he fight back? Especially since the lightning attribute is famous for its offensive capabilities, and that skink hasn’t even started attacking!”

At this moment, everyone was beginning to believe Zhao Chen’s claims about Lu Ran’s incredible strength.

“Yilang, what do you think?”

A female university student among the fourth-generation beastmasters asked Lu Yilang, who stood next to her wearing glasses. Compared to Lu Teng, who contracted a spirit attributed collie, he was far more reserved.

“I have no opinion, but my collie in the contract card seems to be saying it doesn’t want to fight that guy...” Lu Yilang adjusted his glasses.

“It’s smarter than I am, so I’ll listen to it and pick another opponent.”

At this point, Lu Teng was essentially stuck between a rock and a hard place. But the worst part was that just as he expected the skink to launch a fierce attack, it didn’t move again!

What does this mean... Did it want him to take the initiative to attack???

Even if the red-eyed crocodile skink wasn’t highly aggressive, wasn’t this a bit too passive?

However, he didn’t understand Sudden Death King’s combat philosophy. Attacking recklessly only exposed weaknesses. Pouring all effort into defending against the enemy’s attacks was how he remained undefeated!

“

Rawr!!!

”

Sudden Death King held his defensive stance.

“Damn it, Flame Claws!”

Under the weight of so many watching eyes, Lu Teng couldn’t hold back any longer and instead instructed the fire lion to continue its attack. This time, flames ignited on the fire lion’s limbs, surrounding its claws in a fiery glow, as it charged at Sudden Death King.

He hoped the combination of fire’s attack power and sharp claws would finally damage Sudden Death King!!

“Roar!!!”

In an instant, the fire lion closed in, slashing with its flaming claws at Sudden Death King’s armor, or more precisely, his lightning armor. When fire and lightning collided, an explosive reaction occurred, with the fire lion feeling a sharp pain in its paw as a terrifying electric current coursed through its body.

Crackle.

The next moment, the fire lion was electrocuted, spitting smoke as it collapsed, stunned and twitching on the ground. And Sudden Death King remained perfectly calm, not having moved an inch, not needing a single attack!

“So close! Just a little more...” Dark Crow cawed mockingly.

“Alright, next up. Lu Teng, wasn’t it? In the future, try not to recklessly go close-range against a lightning-attribute opponent,” Zhao Chen advised.

Indeed, though Lu Teng had some potential, he was far from being in the same league as a monster like Lu Ran. The levels of familiar training were simply not comparable.

“I...”

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Lu Teng was at a loss for words. The enemy hadn’t moved. What was he supposed to do? The fire lion’s stamina wasn’t enough for repeated flame attacks.

“What an impressive defense.”

Zhao Chen, too, looked at Sudden Death King with surprise.

“Alright then, next up is Lu Yilang. Your opponent will still be Lu Ran’s familiar. Go ahead and attack it all you want.”

The crowd was stunned.

How are we supposed to fight this thing?

They looked on at the Sudden Death King, stupefied.

“President Zhao is wise!” Dark Crow cheered happily, realizing the other six generals would be off the hook as it explained Zhao Chen’s orders to One Ear and the Sudden Death King.

Sudden Death King, thinking he was about to be dismissed, had a huge question mark above his head.

Why, why is it still me!?

Little did he know, Zhao Chen had been asked by Lu Ran to give him “special attention.”

The collision of different types of energy, such as fire and lightning, would lead to various reactions, like explosions, which could destabilize the shape of the Lightning Armor.

Facing dozens of different elemental attacks daily, after a month, Sudden Death King could now adjust his Lightning Armor to be more stable, resilient, and equipped to defend against various attributes. Lu Ran’s dedication to training his familiar was painstaking indeed.