Suddenly, Adrianna smiled. Multiple blood arrows materialized and shot toward the burly man. He quickly used his power to burn them, incinerating them with his flames.
However, the blood arrows exploded without warning, catching the burly man off guard. He hastily took countermeasures to defend himself, bracing for impact.
The crowd was still reeling from Adrianna's unexpected attack. But then, her body collapsed into a pool of blood.
"Maybe that was her last attack," they all thought when they saw her faint, plummeting smile, as if she had accepted defeat. Even the burly man believed the same, seeing her lifeless pool of blood.
But moments later, confusion spread through the crowd. Why hasn't she reappeared in the arena? they wondered.
They looked back at the screen, and shock and horror swept through their faces. Adrianna was right behind the burly man, holding a blood sword that sought to claim his life.
Some tried to scream, urging the burly man to look behind him, but he couldn't hear them. This was precisely why the competition battles were held in a separate location — so the crowd wouldn't interfere in a way that could cause a contestant to lose.
The burly man noticed that he hadn't been sent back to the arena, even though Adrianna had seemingly turned into a pool of blood.
"Oh no…" the burly man muttered, but it was too late. Everything went dark as he found himself back in the arena.
The crowd saw Adrianna claiming victory over her opponent as she swung her sword, decapitating him. Blood gushed onto her, but this only made her smile, causing the crowd to look at her with terror.
"Even though this is fake, blood really smells nice," Adrianna thought, a smirk forming on her face.
She then reappeared in the arena, and everyone stared at her with a mix of curiosity and fear, wondering how she had pulled off such a move.
Draco shook his head at the sight. He had learned a valuable lesson — never underestimate your enemies.
If I didn't know Adrianna had such a skill, I too would have fallen for it, he thought.
What she did was simple, yet risky. She parried the attack with her real body, using the explosion as a smokescreen. Then, she swapped herself with a blood clone, appearing behind the burly man while hiding all signs of her presence.
Of course, this alone wouldn't have been enough to execute her plan. As expected, even though her blood clone appeared heavily wounded, the burly man didn't let his guard down. Instead, he became suspicious.
This was exactly the result Adrianna wanted. Following her plan, she launched blood arrows — but not ordinary arrows. These were designed to explode on impact. This attack was meant to make the burly man believe it was her final move.
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The burly man successfully blocked her attack. Then Adrianna smiled with a face full of despair and defeat, as if she had lost her last chance. Her body dissolved into a pool of blood.
Even the crowd believed she had been defeated, falling for her ruse because of the expression she had shown.
All of this was a ploy to make the burly man lower his guard — and he did exactly as she had planned, giving her the perfect chance to strike.
If someone heard of this strategy, they would surely look at Adrianna with horror. "All this for a simple killing move? You devised such an elaborate plan?"
Adrianna approached Draco, her eyes seeking an answer. Draco knew what she wanted, but he couldn't understand why she sought it from him.
"You did well," Draco said helplessly. Adrianna beamed with a radiant smile.
This small exchange didn't go unnoticed. The eyes of the crowd were on Draco, wondering who is he? Even Adrianna seemed unusually close to him.
The next battle was announced.
"No. 2 vs. No. 11," the announcer declared.
"That's me," Rose said to Draco as she stepped forward. Another lady emerged from the group, ready to battle.
Nine men and four women had qualified for the Top 13. Adrianna, Rose, and Sharon were well known, but as for the fourth woman, not much attention had been paid to her previous fights. The crowd was left wondering how she had made it this far.
Both women disappeared, reappearing at the designated battle area. Everyone watched with eager anticipation. Even though it was a match between two women, no one dared underestimate them — especially since one of the contestants was among the top three beauties.
When they appeared in the designated battle area, Rose looked at her opponent warily, not daring to underestimate her.
"I never thought I would meet so many God Heirs here," the young lady muttered, her voice low enough for only Rose to hear. Her words made Rose look at her in shock.
The young lady had dark hair and wore the academy uniform. Rose, who heard this, grew even more cautious. For someone to recognize a God Heir, they themselves must be a God Heir.
"Your thoughts are right. I am a God Heir — the Heir of the Bow Goddess," the young lady declared. Immediately after she spoke, a bow appeared in front of her.
No matter how one looked at it, it was an ordinary bow. This was the crowd's collective thought, leaving them to wonder why she had summoned it. But Rose, who stood before her, felt an overwhelming sense of danger. Her body instinctively activated her ability.
The young lady drew the bowstring, firing a blue arrow. Rose prepared herself to dodge. As the arrow reached midway toward Rose, it suddenly split into multiple arrows, shocking both the crowd and Rose. Its speed increased drastically.
The only thought that ran through Rose's mind was to dodge the attack, or she might lose the match.
The crowd watched in awe and surprise. They stared at the young lady in shock, realizing they had severely underestimated her.
"Bow Goddess Heir," Xylara's voice echoed in Draco's mind, surprising him. Draco, who was intently watching Rose's battle, felt his heart race. He didn't know why, but seeing the arrows approach Rose filled him with unease.
Rose's expression turned grim as she watched the cluster of blue arrows hurtling toward her. She moved swiftly, weaving through them. The arrows she couldn't dodge, she used her five-tailed fox spirit to destroy.
Finally, she managed to overcome the barrage of arrows, though her body was covered in bruises. Her breathing was labored, and she had used up a considerable amount of Originat.
The crowd erupted into cheers when they saw that Rose was still standing. *As expected of the Tigress,* they thought.
Draco's mind also calmed, and he chuckled to himself. It seemed he hadn't had much faith in Rose's abilities after all.
"Who is the Bow Goddess?" Draco asked Xylara.
"From her name, you should be able to guess. She became a god through the Origin Dao of Bow and Arrow," Xylara explained. "But that alone didn't earn her the title of 'Bow Goddess' since she wasn't the only one who became a god through that Dao. What set her apart was that she shattered the common sense of the bow and arrow."
Draco furrowed his brows, still confused by her explanation. *What is Dao? And what is this 'common sense' about bows and arrows?* he wondered, baffled.
The crowd's sudden roar pulled him from his thoughts. Another barrage of arrows was heading for Rose, but this time, they were different. The arrows spiraled as they moved, creating a vortex-like effect.
"If you can stop this, then you are qualified to fight me," the young lady said arrogantly, her voice filled with confidence.
Rose's expression grew serious. The young lady's words startled her. *What makes this attack so special that she would make such a bold statement?*
The crowd's hearts were pounding with excitement as they watched Rose weave her way through the spiraling arrows. When she attempted to block them with her silver energy fox tails, the arrows pierced right through, forcing her to switch tactics.
This struggle allowed Rose to narrowly avoid the arrows, but she didn't come out unscathed. Deep gashes covered her body, though her face remained untouched.
The young lady's smile grew wider — a smile of victory.
**BOOM!**