Facing an opponent vastly more powerful than herself, Luna Monroe didn't show the slightest hint of cowardice. She clenched her fists tightly, slowly lowering her body as her eyes turned bloodshot.
"With my level of strength, there's absolutely no way I can be a match for Fly." Luna Monroe cast a sowhat guilt-ridden glance toward the Sun-Peak High waiting room before turning her gaze back to Fly.
Overwhelmingly powerful, effortlessly graceful, and most importantly, strikingly handso and clean-cut.
Luna couldn't help but let a fantasy slip into her mind: How wonderful would it be if a Beast Warrior as talented and good-looking as Fly attended Sun-Peak High?
If that were the case, maybe we would actually be able to break out of the group stages.
Yeah...
If Fly and Fiona Swann tead up, with the exception of the strongest, Sovereign High, we might just have a fighting chance against any other school.
But as fate would have it, Fly was their opponent. To make it out of the group stages, they absolutely had to surmount this massive mountain that was Fly!
"Will... definitely win."
Luna slowly shook her head, banishing those strange thoughts from her mind. The most important thing right now is to stay focused. I'm already the underdog here; I can't afford a single mistake. I have to go all out.
As long as I can find a way to inflict so damage on Fly, even if it just burns so of his stamina, it will give my teammates stepping up later the upper hand.
Luna Monroe plotted silently in her heart.
She wasn't naive enough to believe she could take Fly down all by herself.
She would be the first to whittle him down. As long as Serena Lowe, who was up next, could risk everything to take Fly down with her, the situation would shift to a two-versus-three advantage.
They had thoroughly done their howork before the match; Fly was undoubtedly the number one freshman of Star City High. Taking him out would deal a crushing blow to Star City High's morale.
As long as Jasper Locke, their third competitor, could execute a mutual destruction play against another one of Star City High's fighters, the remaining two could easily be handled by Fiona Swann.
A simple one-versus-two scenario. Fiona absolutely had the strength to pull that off.
As long as the match develops according to this trajectory, maybe, just maybe, we can overco Fly, and overco the towering mountain that is Star City High...
Suddenly, as if she had spotted a flaw in Fly's defense, her legs coiled and launched her forward. Completely ignoring the agonizing pain of her tearing muscles, she pounced at Fly with every ounce of strength she possessed.
Blood seeped through her bandages patch by patch, but in the face of such bone-deep agony, Luna didn't so much as furrow her brow. With a furious roar, she accelerated her charge toward Fly, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.
Then, pushing off the ground with trendous force, she launched her body into the air.
"Wolf Transformation, Skill: Savage Wolf Rend!"
Her head materialized into that of a wolf as she opened her bloodthirsty maw, viciously chomping down on the left arm Fly had raised to block.
"Awoo!"
A muffled wolf howl erupted from Luna's throat. Her razor-sharp fangs actually managed to pierce Fly's skin, sinking deep into his flesh!
Even Fly hadn't anticipated that Luna would be this desperate.
"Did you forget? My blood is highly corrosive," Fly calmly reminded her. "If you don't want your head lted off by acid blood, you'd better let go right now."
"The mont I stepped into this arena, I had already steeled my resolve," Luna mumbled, her words slurred around his arm. Glistening tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, and her body trembled uncontrollably. Yet, her bite didn't loosen for a single second; instead, she clamped down even harder!
The very instant Luna broke Fly's skin, copious amounts of acidic blood gushed from the wound. A portion of it imdiately began corroding her lower jaw, dripping down onto the arena floor, while another portion flowed straight down her throat.
The intense, searing burn twisted her expression into a mask of pure agony, and her muffled whimpers sounded exceptionally jarring.
But even so, Luna Monroe still refused to let go. She continuously pumped strength into her thighs, thrashing her body wildly in a desperate attempt to violently wrench Fly's left arm straight off.
...
Inside the Sun-Peak High waiting room.
Serena Lowe slowly closed her eyes, unable to bear watching the screen any longer.
She knew perfectly well how much excruciating pain Luna was enduring right now.
They had tried to talk Luna out of it, but she had rely smiled and refused. She had said this was the only way to secure a victory, and the only aningful sacrifice a warrior of her caliber could make for the team!
Stolen story; please report.
She was fully prepared to put everything on the line to severely injure Fly.
Only by doing this could she carve out a sliver of hope for Sun-Peak High to advance!
She wasn't wrong.
They had already defeated Obsidian High, and Grand River High had been severely crippled by Fly.
As long as they could take down Star City High here, they would hold match point.
This was the closest Sun-Peak High had been to advancing out of the group stages in years.
How could they easily let such an opportunity slip through their fingers?
Just that...
Luna had to endure unimaginable tornt, being literally corroded into unconsciousness by that acidic blood.
This sight left even Winston Hayes, who had comntated on countless matches, with an incredibly heavy heart.
Is this the resolve of Sun-Peak High?
All this ti, no one had any faith in them; no one even acknowledged their performance in the Freshman Invitational.
In recent years, they've been repeatedly swept three-to-zero in The Jade State League, suffering total defeat...
To think that...
Winston Hayes pondered silently, harboring profound respect for Luna Monroe's resolve.
...
"Luna Monroe..." Watching the scene unfold before him, Fly slowly murmured her na.
He thought back to the Beast Warriors he had encountered previously.
So threw their weight around and acted tyrannically, relying entirely on their family's resources;
So wouldn't even dare to fight when faced with a formidable foe;
And there were those blessed with exceptional talent...
But very few were like Luna Monroe, willing to gamble absolutely everything just to fight for a chance at victory.
If the terrifying creatures of The Martial Sanctum ever invaded, a Beast Warrior like Luna Monroe would undoubtedly fight to her very last breath to protect everyone, wouldn't she?
In this very mont, the true spirit of a warrior was physically manifested in Luna Monroe.
This match, Fly won with absolute ease.
He didn't even need to launch an attack; he secured the victory purely through Luna's suicidal assault.
Thud.
Luna Monroe collapsed rigidly onto the arena floor. Half of her head had been entirely corroded away, leaving stark white bone clearly visible. Tears of blood mixed with the acidic gore, painting a truly grueso and tragic picture.
The truly lantable part was that, despite Luna putting absolutely everything she had into that attack, she ultimately only managed to pierce Fly's skin. She didn't damage his bones, nor did she even manage to tear off a single chunk of flesh.
To Fly, a minor injury of this magnitude was practically less than a scratch.
Suddenly, Luna's body twitched on the ground. Her facial muscles slowly contorted into an expression that was indistinguishable between a smile and a cry, and a faintly audible whisper drifted over, "So, even going this far... it's still not enough?"
Even paying a price like this, I still can't severely wound a powerful enemy for my teammates?
Luna's head lolled to the side, and she passed out completely.
However...
Just a mont before the referee was about to announce the match results, a significant number of spectators spontaneously stood up from their seats.
In an instant, thunderous applause erupted, shaking the entire stadium!
"It's a pity the disparity in strength between Luna Monroe and Fly is simply too vast; otherwise, this would have undoubtedly been a spectacular battle." Comntator Winston Hayes couldn't help but express his regret for Luna.
"Indeed," Vera nodded in agreent. "Luna's Gray Wolf totem's primary thod of attack is practically limited to biting, which is perfectly countered by Fly's highly corrosive acidic blood."
"But, even though Luna lost the match, her fighting spirit can only be described as incredibly tenacious."
"I imagine, from this day forward, no one will dare to look down on Sun-Peak High ever again."
Vera spoke, her voice laced with emotion. She knew all too well how much her alma mater had been constantly criticized by others.
But today, Luna Monroe had proven that the Beast Warriors of Sun-Peak High possessed the hearts of true champions!
Sun-Peak High's second competitor, Serena Lowe, slowly stepped onto the arena. After the dical staff cleared the residual acidic blood from Luna's body, Serena gently gathered Luna into her arms.
"You did incredibly well," Serena said softly, as if comforting a frightened child. "Look, everyone is applauding for you."
"Your valor, I have witnessed."
"Leave the rest to , Luna."
A single teardrop slipped from the corner of Serena's eye.
"Our Sun-Peak High will definitely advance this year."
"Trust , okay?"
The dical personnel moved Luna onto a stretcher and carried her out.
Following that, Serena snapped her head up, locking a gaze tinged with desolation directly onto Fly.
She slowly walked to the center of the arena.
"Pardon the spectacle," Serena told Fly with a bitter smile. "That girl, Luna, trains herself to the bone every single day."
"Even when she sleeps, she dreams about Martial Studies."
"She's an incredibly hardworking and painfully stubborn kid."
"Her starting point wasn't high. It was precisely by relying on that superhuman perseverance that she managed to make it to The Jade State League."
"Perhaps in the eyes of others, she's just an ordinary Beast Warrior lacking in talent, but I've seen every ounce of effort she puts in. To , she is a remarkably precious partner."
"So..."
The smile on Serena's face vanished instantly, replaced by a razor-sharp glint erupting from her eyes.
"I must strike you all down right here."
"To carry Luna's dream to a higher stage, to make everyone see us, to make everyone understand us."
"We, Sun-Peak High, are absolutely no cowards!"
The mont the words left her mouth, Serena manifested her Beast Totem. A faint, ethereal light flashed past.
In the next second...
The phantom of a muscular, heavily built fighting bull slowly materialized behind her.
Its four limbs were like four dark iron towers, and the horns atop its head emitted a distinctly tallic sheen under the arena lights. Its body was covered in coarse reddish-brown fur, and a pair of eerie green eyes scanned its surroundings with seething rage.
Although Serena's Beast Totem was also a Common Species, with the financial backing of Sun-Peak High's administration, she had undergone a body-tempering process and had even learned the Tremor Strike Skill.
It could unleash a powerful shockwave into the surroundings, toppling opponents. It was an Area-of-Effect Skill boasting extre destructive power and a massive range.
During the battle against Obsidian High, it was precisely by relying on this move that she managed to sweep three fighters in a row, securing a hard-fought victory for her team.
Now, facing Fly's Roach Matriarch, she was determined to claim this victory no matter what.
Clap, clap, clap, clap...
Facing the aggressively imposing Serena Lowe, Fly slowly began to applaud.
"Hm?!" This unexpected scene filled Serena with doubt.
What the hell is Fly playing at?
"What is the aning of this?" Serena asked, perplexed. "Are you looking down on Sun-Peak High?"
"Not at all," Fly gave a slight shake of his head. "It's a sign of respect."
"Still gambling everything even in a completely hopeless situation, choosing to fight for your comrades."
"Soone once said..."
"True courage isn't the absence of fear, but rather feeling fear to your very core, yet conquering that fear to keep moving forward, attempting the impossible even when you know it cannot be done."
"I have received your Martial Art."
"So, I've decided to fight you using a different thod."
"Next, I will use a single move. If you can withstand this one strike of mine, I will forfeit and leave the rest of the matches to my teammates."
"Of course..."
Looking directly into Serena's eyes, Fly spoke with a solemn expression, "Whether it's this move of mine, or my teammates, neither will be easy to deal with."
As he spoke, Fly slowly extended his right arm, raising his index finger.
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