Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 298 - Tamer’s Battle Week - 34

”Theyʼve studied every movement pattern of the cousins.”

Indeed, each jump, each rescue attempt, seemed anticipated by Kleinʼs team. They moved with a coordination that suggested hours of analysis and specific preparation for this confrontation.

Maria tried to resist, but the combination of the cobraʼs acid and the rhinocerosʼs piercing impacts was too much. The armadillo finally gave in, vanishing in a flash of light.

Maria fell to her knees, stunned by the broken connection.

”No!” exclaimed Liora, her concern for her friend momentarily overcoming her discipline.

That instant of distraction was all Klein needed.

”Being emotional,” he murmured, a confident smile on his lips as he launched an attack. ”Is a bad idea in battle.”

Liora retreated with a jump just in time to avoid being severely injured, only a small scratch on her shoulder, but the situation had changed dramatically. With Maria out of combat, the numerical advantage clearly favored Kleinʼs team.

”Letʼs regroup!” ordered Larissa, executing another spatial jump to reunite with her cousin.

The two positioned themselves back to back, a defensive posture that acknowledged their new disadvantage. Three against two, with Klein and his team now controlling the rhythm of combat.

”You must admit it,” commented Klein, advancing confidently while his companions flanked him on both sides. ”Weʼve taken a weight off your shoulders... That girl isnʼt at the level of our blood.”

Larissa didnʼt respond verbally, but her expression hardened.

In the stands, spectators observed with renewed interest. What many had anticipated as a more even battle had quickly tilted in Kleinʼs team favor.

”Do you think they can recover?” asked Min, his antipathy toward Klein evident in his concern that the girls who had won individually might lose and in his childish grimace of disgust. ”Wonʼt his bragging get much worse if everyone thinks that only thanks to him the situation went completely different?”

Ren studied the situation in the arena, his mushrooms pulsing as he analyzed the situation.

”Itʼs still possible for them to win,” he responded after a moment. ”Larissa and Liora still have hidden resources... But although I hate to admit it, Klein has accomplished something important...”

”Heʼs countered the fire that seemed unavoidable,” added Taro. ”Without that advantage...”

The battle continued below. Liora tried to keep Feng controlled by eliminating his venom with will-oʼ-wisp, while Larissa used defensive spatial jumps to avoid the rhinocerosʼs charges and move away from the groupʼs advance to avoid being near Kleinʼs claws.

Klein maintained a central position, coordinating his team to keep them together while his phantom claws tried to reach the cousins or cut any significant attack they might launch.

”Without that advantage theyʼll run out of mana, plus...” Taro began.

”Plus the boys are three and have higher-ranked beasts,” completed Ren. ”But Lioraʼs fire could be unstoppable again...”

The battle had entered its decisive phase, with the balance of power clearly tilted toward Kleinʼs side. Two nobles cornered against three opponents of similar level.

And as the combat continued, in a discreet corner of the stands, Kassian Goldcrest observed with a barely disguised smile. His younger brother was finally demonstrating something at the level of the true heirs of their lineage... And he still had a new secret card to demonstrate.

♢♢♢♢

Liora and Larissa were forced into a purely defensive strategy, keeping themselves in constant movement to avoid being cornered.

”We canʼt continue like this,” murmured Larissa during a brief moment of respite, her eyes evaluating the enemy formation. ”Theyʼre too close together.”

Klein still directed his team in a very tight formation. The three moved as a single entity, always maintaining a maximum distance of 2 steps between them, as the effective range within which Klein could intercept any attack with his phantom claws was only 3 meters.

”Watch out!” warned Liora, executing another spatial jump to avoid a jet of venom from Fengʼs cobra.

Larissa followed her an instant later, reappearing beside her at the opposite end of the arena. Both already showed slight signs of fatigue; spatial jumps consumed a considerable amount of mana, and the frequency with which they were forced to use them was quickly depleting their reserves.

Astorʼs rhinoceros charged periodically, always aiming at Larissa to keep her on the defensive, but carefully avoiding getting too close to Liora, whose will-oʼ-wisp could quickly neutralize it. Feng, meanwhile, maintained constant pressure with his venomous distance attacks, forcing Liora to spend mana on invoking her fire.

”Theyʼre trying to exhaust us slowly,” observed Liora, breathing heavily. ”And itʼs working too well.”

Larissa attentively observed her opponents while dodging another rhinoceros charge at the last moment. Her mind worked frantically, looking for a way to separate the impenetrable enemy formation.

Together they had the perfect amount of capabilities to counter them, but separated they couldnʼt defend against Lioraʼs fire. At least not Feng and Astor...

And then she saw it.

”Klein,” she murmured, a spark of understanding illuminating her eyes. ”Heʼs the only one capable of neutralizing the fire.”

Liora immediately caught the implication. ”If we could separate him from the others...”

Larissa jumped near Liora in the next evasion and quickly revealed the secret part of the plan that had just occurred to her, her voice barely audible as they executed another coordinated jump to avoid being surrounded.

Liora nodded with a gleam of determination in her eyes, immediately understanding the plan. It was risky, almost suicidal, but in their current situation, audacity was their only hope.

From the stands, Ren detected the subtle change in the posture and mana flow of the cousins.

”Theyʼre going to try something desperate,” he commented, leaning slightly forward.

”What have they seen?” asked Taro, closely following the movement of the combatants.

”The key to Kleinʼs strategy,” replied Ren. ”Itʼs as could be expected from him, Klein himself... He is the central point of the defense. Without his phantom claws...”

Events unfolded with vertiginous speed.

Larissa, in a reckless turn, executed a spatial jump that placed her directly in the center of the enemy formation. Her mineral spear, materialized during the jump, aimed directly at Klein.

Yes… She didnʼt intend to separate him from the others, space was her advantage anyway. If she was always close, then attacking the problem directly also worked.

The reaction of Kleinʼs team, which was completely alert to the jumps, was instantaneous… and precisely what Larissa had anticipated.

But Astor, faithful to his protective role, retrieved his rhinoceros to manifest the armor and intercept the attack, placing himself between her and Klein in an instant.

What they didnʼt anticipate was that Larissa would continue her attack despite the intervention. Her spear clashed against Astorʼs chest, with her center of gravity lowered and all the strength of her legs pushing him, generating an imbalance in the now more voluminous boy that momentarily destabilized everyone present.

But Klein would have none of this; he recovered his balance first, had already charged his phantom claws, and didnʼt delay in counterattacking.

”Pathetic attempt!” he exclaimed, launching a devastating cut that connected directly with Larissaʼs side.

A collective gasp ran through the stands. Larissa was thrown 2 meters outside the formation by the impact.

To all present, it seemed the end of the cousinsʼ resistance.

All except Liora, who had disappeared during the chaos.

”Klein, behind you!” warned Feng, but it was too late.

Liora materialized behind Klein, her will-oʼ-wisp concentrated in a sphere of intense blue power. Her eyes shone with fierce determination as she launched the most powerful attack she had shown so far in the tournament.

The blue flames advanced toward Klein, who was completely unprotected, his attention barely shifting focus from Larissa.