Chapter 75 — A Deadly smile
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"Is that the lady he used and replaced you with, Lu Yaruo? This boy really doesn't count the Lu Clan as anything." A middle-aged man from the Lu Clan said shortly after Lu Yaruo returned from the field, his voice carrying a trace of displeasure beneath the cold air.
"We need to teach him a lesson," another middle-aged man added, his eyes narrowing toward the snowfield below.
"Don't forget he's a disciple of the Northern Gladiator Guild. This is my personal matter, I'll handle it myself," Lu Yaruo replied calmly as she returned her focus to the snowfield where Socrates and Kurama were both engulfed in blue rune formations.
The glowing square barriers hummed faintly amidst the falling snow while Binata and Kamira stood before their respective formations, guarding them from external interference.
'Let's see how you fare against the Ichigo Clan.' Lu Yaruo clicked her tongue, a look of disdain flashing through her eyes as she stared at Kamira.
---
'What the heck is this thing?' Socrates asked himself as he looked around the glowing blue space surrounding him. Strange runic patterns drifted across the walls of the formation like flowing water, flickering softly against his face.
But he had no idea what to do.
'Formation? What's a formation?' He frowned.
There was nobody to answer him.
Cold air seeped through the thin gaps of the barrier while the distant roar of the crowd echoed faintly outside.
'Should I just punch this thing and break it?'
He paused.
'Won't that mean I'll lose and the image of the Northern Gladiator Guild will be tarnished...?'
'But what can I do?' He asked himself again, irritation building in his chest.
'Kamira is an engineer... She should know about this.'
"Kamira... Kamira... Kamira!" Socrates yelled at the top of his voice, his voice slamming against the glowing barrier.
But his partner didn't answer.
It wasn't that she didn't want to answer.
She simply couldn't hear him.
'Shit... My voice can't pass through this formation...'
Socrates turned toward Kurama's direction only to see that his opponent had his eyes closed while seated in a lotus position as though cultivating peacefully amidst the chaos.
'Is that it? Maybe I should also try the same...'
The snow beneath him felt freezing even through his clothes as Socrates slowly assumed a sitting position. He closed his eyes and attempted to sense the barrier around him.
---
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Kamira's heart clenched violently as her sympathetic nervous system activated almost instantly. Her breathing became uneven beneath the freezing air.
Her worst fear was happening.
Binata was slowly approaching her.
'Is she going to fight me? Why?' Kamira asked herself as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her nose despite the harsh cold surrounding the battlefield.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Binata's boots pressed into the snow with steady rhythm as she walked forward without even sparing Kamira a proper glance.
Her gaze remained fixed on Socrates' location.
As though Kamira didn't exist.
Binata pulled out a short black dagger from her pocket while carefully analyzing the glowing blue square barrier, calculating the perfect angle to destroy it from.
'She wants to destroy the barrier... And... And... she's not even taking me into account... She's acting as if I don't exist.'
Kamira's blood churned violently.
Her entire body trembled.
'Am I that little? Am I that weak that she doesn't even count me as a threat?'
She watched Binata take another step forward, dagger poised calmly in her grip, fully prepared to move without hesitation.
'I've to stop her... I can't allow her to make Socrates fail.'
The toy spider suddenly moved as though responding to her emotions. It rushed across her shoulder toward her wrist before wrapping its metallic legs tightly around it.
Boom!
Binata exploded forward.
Snow blasted outward beneath her feet as she rushed toward Socrates' Blue Square Formation with terrifying speed.
Kamira's eyes never left her legs as she observed every movement carefully.
Every shift.
Every step.
The moment Binata jumped into the air with the intention of launching a vertical slash toward the Blue Square Barrier—
Fwish!
A white sticky web shot through the air and wrapped around Binata's arm before violently dragging her downward.
Kamira had finally attacked.
Using the toy spider, she fired a web strand that bound Binata's arm and slammed her toward the ground.
Binata twisted midair with frightening agility and sliced through the web instantly using the black dagger before rotating again to launch another strike toward the Blue Square Formation only four meters away.
Fwish!
Another web shot out.
This time binding one of her legs.
At that exact moment, Binata pushed her body forward forcefully and struck out with the dagger. The wind carried her momentum as the blade tore through the freezing air toward the glowing formation.
But just as the slash was about to land—
The web binding her leg tightened violently and dragged her balance off-center.
Screech!
The dagger merely scraped across the outer surface of the formation, creating only a small tear before failing to penetrate fully.
Inside the formation, Socrates looked upward sharply.
His eyes widened the moment he saw the crack.
He quickly turned toward the outside only to see Kamira and Binata battling each other amidst the snowstorm.
'What the heck?'
His mouth opened wide in shock.
'Isn't this why we need a partner? To protect our formation? Why is she attacking Kamira?'
He immediately stood up, intending to leave the formation.
He could tolerate many things.
But he couldn't risk Kamira's life.
However—
The moment he attempted to step through the barrier, he discovered something shocking.
He couldn't leave unless the formation itself was destabilized.
"Mr. Socrates... You can't exit the formation unless you destabilize it. You also can't destroy the formation from inside... Only from outside," the referee's voice echoed across the battlefield through the transmission stone.
"And why should I agree or believe that?" Socrates clenched his fist and threw a punch directly at the Blue Square Formation.
Boom!
The instant his fist landed on the barrier, a violent rebounding force blasted him backward.
Crash!
His back slammed heavily against the opposite side of the formation.
'Fuck...'
He grunted painfully while steadying himself.
Outside, Kamira and Binata were already rushing toward another clash.
'Just hang on, girl... I'll get out of this situation as soon as possible.'
Socrates returned to his sitting position once again, this time seriously analyzing the formation with urgency burning inside his chest.
---
Kamira tightened her grip and pulled hard on the web binding Binata.
Using all her strength, she dragged her backward across the snow-covered field.
Thud!
Binata stumbled roughly against the ground before quickly regaining her footing while slicing apart the web binding her leg.
Without hesitation, she moved again.
Rushing toward the Blue Square Formation while kicking snow violently behind her.
Kamira immediately fired another web toward the formation before propelling herself forward alongside it.
So the very moment Binata slashed downward with her dagger—
Clang!
Kamira blocked the strike using her Spider Shield.
It was the newest technology she had developed.
A new feature added to the toy spider.
The spider's main torso expanded instantly into a compact shield structure capable of defending against direct attacks.
'I'm sorry, Spidey...' Kamira muttered softly.
Then she stepped forward and bashed the shield directly into Binata's face.
Bang!
Binata stumbled backward violently.
Snow scattered around her boots as she nearly lost balance before finally stabilizing herself several meters away.
A thin line of blood trickled down from her nose.
She clearly hadn't expected such resistance.
"Kurama has destabilized the first part of the formation. Three remain... He is now leading the race!" the referee announced loudly through the transmission stone.
The crowd erupted instantly.
Cheers thundered across the snowfield.
A smile slowly formed on Binata's face as she lifted her gaze toward Kamira.
"Since my partner is winning... why don't I just get rid of you?"
She flashed Kamira a deadly smile before releasing her energy—
The pressure of a Mid Stage Qi Condensation Realm cultivator burst outward like a wave, causing the surrounding snow to tremble beneath her feet.