Beast Taming: Starting From Zero - Chapter 1423

Chapter 1423. Chapter 1418 The Nightmare Serpent (Two Chapters Combined)

“Next, let’s welcome the participants of the second round of the Master Challenge, the championship match!” Nefertis announced with passion, “Serana from Tianyuan Star!”

Aurore followed, “Serana has won sixty-five championships in her professional career; her entire life has been dedicated to Beast Taming combat!”

As he finished speaking, a white light descended from the platform, and Serana appeared before everyone.

Instantly, the entire arena erupted in deafening cheers and screams:

“Serana! Serana!”

“And Josang from Blue Star!” On the platform, Nefertis’s voice was even more passionate than before.

“Josang, a super rising star in the Beast Taming world!” Aurore’s tone was equally passionate: “At only 18 years old, she is the youngest A-rank professional Beast Tamer in history! This is her first appearance in the public eye, participating in an interstellar competition, yet she has reached this point with an unparalleled record! Becoming one of the top three!”

A white light descended from the other side of the platform.

Josang appeared on it.

A deafening roar, even louder than before, swept across the entire arena like a tsunami. The crowd and their pets screamed at the top of their lungs, the deafening sound filled with fervor.

“Josan! Josan!”

“Josan! Josan!”

Amidst the cries of the crowd and their pets, the two hosts and their beloved pet appeared out of thin air on the commentary stage.

“Heart~”

Heart exclaimed, listening to the din of the crowd, indicating how enthusiastic everyone was.

Nefertis smiled and said, “Judging from everyone’s reaction, both Serana and Josan have incredibly high popularity.”

“Heart~”

Heart nodded, indicating it understood.

Auror asked, “My dearest, I heard you’ve been following the Master Challenge recently, so you should be familiar with these two contestants. What do you think the outcome of this match will be?”

“Heart~”

“Heart~”

My dearest pondered for a moment, then called out twice, indicating that both contestants were very strong. Serana had extensive combat experience, and although Josang was young, her combat experience seemed no less than that of older professional beast tamers. It felt the match would be very intense, but Serana would likely win by a narrow margin, given that she had one more royal-level pet than Josang, and even her weakest pet was king-level, stronger than Thunder Dragon.

“It seems my dearest has been watching both Serana’s and Josang’s matches carefully,” Nefertis laughed.

Amidst the conversation between the host and guests, a mechanical-type pet wearing a referee’s badge appeared on the field and blew the whistle indicating preparation.

The number “10” appeared in the air, constantly changing accompanied by mechanical sounds.

“9, 8, 7…”

Serana… Josang gazed at the figure on the distant platform, her heart pounding faster and faster.

She knew it was excitement.

At the beginning of the competition, she only wanted to build a good relationship with her opponent, because she had no intention of winning. But now, she only wanted to win, to win for herself.

Serana nodded slightly to her, and even from a distance, she could feel Josang’s burning gaze.

“3, 2, 1.” The light and shadow disappeared.

Josang and Serana simultaneously formed hand seals.

Two mysterious and profound purple star arrays lit up on the field at the same time.

The voices in the audience seemed to be controlled, falling silent as everyone focused on the field, waiting for the pets to enter.

Before long, two enormous, imposing pets appeared in the star arrays.

“Tooth!!!”

Tooth roared excitedly in the star array, then stomped its paw down hard.

“Boom!!!”

Countless molten magma erupted from the ground in an instant, engulfing the entire field.

The figures on the other side of the arena were instantly engulfed.

Dark red lava surged forth like a raging tide, layer upon layer, the air scorching and distorted.

Barriers rose around the arena, preventing the terrifying lava from flowing towards the stands.

A clamor erupted.

“Good heavens, Fen Di Duo actually used the super-tier skill Lava Purgatory right from the start! Is he that powerful?!”

“Do you think the Nightmare Serpent will be killed instantly?”

“Impossible, but it might be seriously injured. After all, Fen Di Duo’s Lava Purgatory isn’t just a super-tier skill, and its proficiency with it is quite high.”

“Why didn’t the Nightmare Serpent dodge just now?”

“How could it dodge? The entire arena was covered in lava, and it can’t fly or teleport.”

“Don’t forget, Serana’s Nightmare Serpent has a super-tier defensive skill.”

“Fen Di Duo used Lava Purgatory right from the start!” On the commentary stage, Nefertis shouted, “The Nightmare Serpent blocked it with Dream Eater Barrier!”

“Dream Eater Barrier, a super-tier defensive skill, and also a rare super-tier skill with both poison and ghost attributes.” Auror said, “Any long-range attack can be corroded by Dream Eater Barrier, while close-range attacks will cause any pet that comes into contact with the barrier to be swallowed up by Dream Eater Barrier and trapped in a dream.”

“Heart Heart.” Heart Heart called out, watching the commotion, indicating that it seemed the Burning Emperor’s Lava Purgatory technique was more powerful; the Dream-Eating Barrier hadn’t completely blocked the magma.

On the field, magma that seemed capable of scorching everything surged down from the Nightmare Serpent.

It was enveloped in a dark purple spherical barrier, riddled with scorched holes. Some magma flowed into the barrier, dissolving and disappearing within with a hissing sound, releasing purple poisonous gas.

However, even after the poisonous gas dissipated, the Nightmare Serpent still bore some burn marks.

The Nightmare Serpent, a unique Ghost-type Royal-level pet, differs from ordinary Nightmare Serpents in that its body is incomplete, preventing it from becoming invisible or levitating like ordinary Ghost-type pets. However, it also possesses the Poison attribute, which other Nightmare Serpents lack, making it a unique dual-attribute Royal-level pet… Qiao Sang gazed at the distant serpentine pet, about thirty meters in size, its body largely translucent blackish-purple gelatinous, with irregular markings suspended within, unbranched dragon horns on its head, and a deep black tail. After recalling relevant information, his gaze fell upon the visible irregular markings within its body.

It is said that the Nightmare Serpent can invade others’ dreams, transforming pleasant dreams into nightmares, and then devouring the true nightmares, converting them into energy for its own use. Each marking represents a dream that has been devoured

…

VIP Room.

“Xiaxia!”

Xia Lala called out excitedly.

In its opinion, Ya Bao’s attack had been very successful.

Michaela stood to the side, looking at the scene outside the floor-to-ceiling window, his expression somewhat grave.

“Jiujiu.”

Jiu Bugu appeared beside them, calling out, indicating there was nothing to worry about; it was just a ghost-type pet that couldn’t hide.

“Haven’t you heard of the Nightmare Serpent on Tianyuan Star?” Michaela asked.

“Jiujiu.” Jiu Bugu called out, indicating that this Nightmare Serpent was of the same gender as it, and it never paid attention to creatures of the same gender.

Michaela: “…”

Penjame: “…”

Dragon King: “…”

Sharara stopped cheering, turned to look at Jiu Bugu, and then, as if remembering something, silently moved two steps to the side.

“This Nightmare Serpent in Serana is a dual-attribute pet of Ghost and Poison types.” Michaela stared at the field and slowly said, “Although it’s fragile compared to other royal-level pets, as long as you hit it, whether it’s a ranged or melee attack, you’ll be cursed with bad luck or poisoned. It’s a character that gets harder to defeat the longer the battle goes on.”

“Jiujiu.”

Jiu Bugu called out after hearing this, indicating that Ya Bao had the Holy Fire to remove the curse.

Although it didn’t usually appear, Ya Bao and the others trained every day, so it still had some understanding of their skills.

“Yabao’s proficiency with Holy Fire isn’t particularly high,” Michaela said in a deep voice. “And this Nightmare Serpent in Serana has reached S-rank in its bad luck trait. There’s a 90% or higher chance of it becoming unlucky if you attack it. Even if Holy Fire can remove the curse, it probably won’t be enough to purify it every time.”

“Momo,”

the Dragon King called out, indicating that there was nothing to fear. At most, it would just be so unlucky that it couldn’t activate its Blazing Fire trait.

Michaela gave it a look that said, “Can’t you speak properly?”

The Dragon King looked at its Beastmaster, its eyes saying, “Why are you looking at me?”

“Puff,”

Puffam called out, indicating that the Nightmare Serpent was fragile and Yabao should be able to take it down without activating Blazing Fire.

Michaela looked at Puffam, smiled, and said, “You’re right.”

…

On the field.

The tattered barrier on the Nightmare Serpent disappeared.

At the same time, starting from its location, the dark red magma around it visibly transformed into a blackish-purple color and rapidly spread throughout the entire field.

“Sparks,” Qiao Sang said.

Toothless teleported away, reappearing high in the sky, its head slightly tilted back, mouth open, and a terrifying crimson light instantly condensed deep within its throat.

However, at that moment, countless purple poison needles shot upwards from the Nightmare Serpent’s body.

Just as the needles were about to strike Toothless, the flames around it suddenly surged outwards, forming a spherical fire barrier that enveloped it.

“Bang bang bang!”

The poison needles struck the barrier, and as they exploded, the purple poison gas rapidly spread.

Simultaneously, a crimson energy sphere containing terrifying power shot out from the gap above the fire barrier.

With a “bang,” the crimson energy sphere exploded at its highest point.

Countless fire rains fell, the temperature in the air soared, and the entire arena and sky seemed to be bathed in red light.

The Spark Rain had been successfully executed, but Qiao Sang’s expression turned serious.

The poison gas on the field was increasing…

Previously unnoticed, the air now reflected not only red but also purple…

Josang looked at the discolored lava and the poisonous air, and a video of Serana’s past match flashed through his mind.

Back then, the Nightmare Serpent had fought a dragon-type pet. Initially, it was no match for that dragon-type pet. Just as it was about to collapse, the dragon-type pet, preparing to unleash a powerful attack to end the match, suddenly couldn’t use its skill, its entire body turned purple, it collapsed from poison, and fell unconscious, directly reversing the outcome.

Thinking of this, Josang said,

“Hold!”

High in the sky, Tooth held its breath.

It noticed… Serana laughed.

Holding its breath, huh? But how long could it hold it…?

“Divine Mist,” Serana said.

Divine Mist, a neurotoxic mist, a high-level poison skill that could slow the target’s reactions, reduce skill accuracy, and even cause hallucinations… Josang’s mind quickly flashed through information about “Divine Mist,” but he didn’t issue the command.

As long as Toothbear can hold its breath, these poisonous gas skills can be ignored, since there’s no better way.

However, the pace of the battle needs to be sped up… Josang gathered her thoughts and issued the command:

“Continuous attack.”

Toothbear opened its mouth, and a golden-red beam of light instantly pierced through the rain of fire and struck downwards.

The black-purple barrier around the Nightmare Serpent instantly rose up.

“Bang bang bang!”

One loud bang after another rang out, the barrier not only blocking the golden beam of light but also blocking the rain of fire.

High in the sky, Toothbear teleported away and appeared behind the Nightmare Serpent, opening its mouth.

Purple poisonous gas filled the air, and before Toothbear could make any move, it suddenly disappeared with a “bang.”

This is learning from the Underworld Lord’s use of a substitute to divert attention. The Burning Emperor just now should not be a substitute, but an clone. The real Burning Emperor… Sera looked up at the sky and, sure enough, saw the second “sun” that suddenly appeared.

“Mix it up.” She quickly decided.

The Burning Emperor is not easy to deal with, especially for a pet like the Nightmare Serpent, which has low defense and slow movement. However, every pet has its own fighting style. Just because its overall strength is inferior to the Burning Emperor doesn’t mean it’s helpless.

“Nightmare Serpent.”

Looking at the rain of fire, the Nightmare Serpent slowly exhaled a breath of poisonous gas, and then the purplish-black barrier around its body disappeared.

“Bang bang bang!”

Countless showers of fire rained down on its body.

The Nightmare Serpent frowned, enduring the pain.

At the same time, it raised its tail, opened its mouth, and different colored poisonous gases spewed out from its mouth, tail, and gelatinous body.

Purple, black, red, and green poisonous gases mixed together, spreading visibly around its body.

“The Nightmare Serpent has unleashed a mixed poison gas!” Nefertis exclaimed from the commentary platform.

“Mixed Poison Gas isn’t a single skill; rather, it’s the Nightmare Serpent simultaneously unleashing four of its advanced poison gas skills, fusing them together and spreading them throughout the air,” Auror explained. “Corrosive Poison Gas corrodes the target and inflicts continuous damage; Neurotoxic Mist slows the target’s reactions and causes hallucinations; Pressure Poison Gas drastically reduces the target’s speed, making it difficult for flying pets to take off; and Memory Poison Mist shrouds the target’s brain in a fog for a period of time, preventing the Beastmaster from immediately associating commands with their skills.”

“With these four poison gas skills combined, if the Burning Emperor is hit by even a few of them, the match is essentially over.”

He paused, then added, “However, this is on the premise that the Nightmare Serpent can withstand or evade the Blazing Sun Impact of the Burning Emperor.” (End of Chapter)