The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Over a long period of evolution, orcs have mostly evolved towards a human form.

　However, many species within the sea creatures have evolved into forms resembling marine organisms.

　The contestant currently appearing is a prime example. From head to toe, he resembles a giant, upright lobster. The only distinct human features he retains are his limbs… no, ten limbs!

　This "lobster tribe" contestant has eight arms and two legs. The two uppermost arms are the thickest and are located behind the shoulders.

　The second pair of arms from the top connects to the shoulders and are normal arms. Further down, on each side of the abdomen, there are two relatively slender demurrages. These are his eight arms.

　This unusual demeanor was difficult for even beastmen to accept, let alone humans.

　But that's what the "Lobster Clan" is all about!

Chapter 1538 Darkdemon and the Undead Scourge and the Fantasy World (1/3)

　Chapter 1538 Darkdemon and the Undead Scourge and the Fantasy World (10k)

　When it comes to lobsters, the first thing that comes to mind is crayfish... well, more like shrimp soldiers and crab generals.

　The claws of the "Lobster Clan" are like the robust eight-armed version of the shrimp soldiers in the shrimp and crab army.

　Although he was dressed in a suit and completely enveloped in human clothing, his hard back armor stretched the suit into an arch, making it impossible to conceal.

　These "lobster tribe" members are clearly extremely strong; calling them "shrimp soldiers" is an insult.

　It has eight arms, with the two main arms and the arms behind the shoulders being the most flexible. However, the four auxiliary arms on the sides of the abdomen can also reach the level of an average person's arms after training.

　By attaching the "Duel Disk" to one of his secondary hands, Haqian can free up his primary hand to use various weapons in combat.

　This is the advantage of having eight arms.

　If it were the rules of the Academy Championship, his tough back armor would also play a very important role.

　However, according to the rules of the World Cup, the individual defense of a mage is relatively less effective.

　The "Life Card" system effectively reduces racial advantages, making the duels more focused on the contestants' magical abilities.

　Compared to other races, the number of audience members from the sea tribe was relatively small. The cheers for Haqian were noticeably less enthusiastic than for Emily.

　But in the arena, true strength prevails, and popularity alone doesn't guarantee victory.

　If popularity were the sole criterion for judging the winner, Darko Dimon could just go and accept the award.

　As the realm unfolds, the duel between Emily and Harper officially begins. Like Albert, Emily uses a very pure "Paladin" deck.

　They have so much to learn that it's difficult for them to focus all their energy on improving their magical abilities. Therefore, some choices were made when building the deck, prioritizing quality over quantity.

　However, even within the "Paladin" deck, there are various differences. Elimi's deck is relatively small, only comparable to top-tier archmages. The duel begins.

　Emily then summoned a magic card—[The Holy Maiden's Prayer]

　She used the "Sacred Maiden's Prayer" on herself, causing the "Sacred Maiden" to possess her body like a spirit behind her. Then she and the "Sacred Maiden" closed their eyes and prayed softly.

　Seeing that she had closed her eyes, Haqian of the "Lobster Clan" immediately sensed an opportunity and manipulated the magical spirit he had just summoned—the "Shrimp Soul Weapon"—to transform it into a weapon form.

　Those were giant pincers attached to one of his arms.

　He opened his giant pincers and used his ability to manipulate water elements to rapidly absorb water elements from the air, condensing them into a huge blue water sphere within the pincers before shooting it out.

　This technique, which involves attaching magical spirits to oneself and then using one's own abilities to enhance the power of one's ultimate attack, is the main reason why Haqian was able to advance from the preliminary rounds.

　Once launched, the "Giant Claw Water Cannon" formed a massive water column with a diameter of two meters, its power clearly beyond what a three-star magical spirit could achieve.

　But Emily's expression remained unchanged in the face of such a terrifying attack.

　Amidst the gasps of countless spectators, a cylindrical light screen suddenly appeared around him, firmly blocking the bombardment of the "giant pincer water cannon".

　That was actually a light barrier with a "defense" effect, capable of completely blocking the opponent's attacks.

　When Elimi uses "The Prayer of the Holy Maiden", a light barrier forms around her, making her almost invincible.

　Using this characteristic, she perfectly neutralized Haqian's first powerful attack. Immediately afterward, her eyes snapped open, and a hymn suddenly resounded across the arena. A radiant light shone overhead, white feathers drifted in the air, and a sword-wielding angel exuding a divine aura appeared from within the light.

　That is the power of "Sacred Maiden's Prayer," which summons "angels"! The ritual requirements of this arcane card are basically all focused on the requirements for the user.

　Elimi, on the other hand, fully fulfills the "Holy Maiden's" requirements. Therefore, she only needs to perform a prayer lasting a few seconds to activate this ritual. And what she summons from her deck is the nine-star angel—[Holy Sword Angel]!

　"Holy Sword Angel" has a special ability: during the three-second appearance period after being specially summoned by "Prayer", she can unleash a super-powerful ultimate move - "Holy Sword Judgment"!

　[Holy Sword Judgment] can double his attack power and transform his body into a sword to strike his opponent.

　Emily launched the offensive without hesitation.

　Suddenly, an extremely strong holy light erupted from the "Holy Sword Angel's" body, and countless rays of light condensed highly around its body, transforming into the shape of a sword.

　It suddenly took a step forward, and its entire body instantly transformed into light, merging with the light sword, and slashed at the opponent.

　Haqian's reaction was undeniably swift.

　It dodged to the right almost the instant the lightsaber was formed.

　However, the next second, it found itself locked onto by the lightsaber, with no way to avoid it.

　The next second, the lightsaber was already overhead.

　With 8,000 health points in the qualifiers, if this sword hits, the player will be eliminated on the spot.

　Haqian is capable.

　His ability to reach the qualifying stage is proof of that.

　However, under such circumstances, if one does not handle the situation well, no matter how much strength one has, it will be in vain if one cannot exert it.

　"Boom!"

　A massive lightsaber cleaved the arena in two. A deafening roar filled the dueling hall. The Holy Church's Faith

　The apprentices cheered wildly. Emily stood suspended in mid-air. But in an instant...

　Amidst the smoke and dust generated by the lightsaber strike, a beam of red light suddenly shot out like an arrow.

　Emily's expression tensed for a moment, and at the critical moment, she moved sideways and raised her hand to smash towards the red light.

　"boom!"

　When her punch landed, she felt a burning sensation on her hand, as if her finger bones were about to crack, and her health points dropped instead.

　But the red light, impacted, revealed its true form: Haqian, its entire body now a deep, blood-red color!

　At this moment, Haqian resembled a cooked lobster, and the arm wearing the "Shrimp Soul Weapon" had disappeared.

　At the critical moment, he actually chose to cut off his own arm like a shrimp!

　At the cost of that arm and the "Shrimp Soul Weapon," the attack of "Holy Sword Judgment" was neutralized.

　They immediately seized the opportunity and launched a surprise attack the moment Emily relaxed her guard.

　However, Emily was also a seasoned veteran. Although she relaxed for a moment, she still reacted before the crisis arrived and managed to dodge in an almost impossible situation.

　—She even managed to launch a counterattack in the blink of an eye.

　Although the result of that counterattack was not good.

　After that brief clash, the two sides quickly separated.

　Under Emily's control, the "Holy Sword Angel" turned and pounced back.

　Haqian quickly released the seals on the bottom two of his hands, using one of the spell cards in his hand as an aid to cast the shrimp spell "Overturning the Sea".

　Suddenly, a phantom of seawater appeared, and before everyone's eyes, it materialized, roaring and howling as it charged toward Haqian's front.

　Haqian has retreated to a corner of the field.

　The entire venue was right in front of him!

　The battle between Emily and Harper was truly breathtaking. It was so captivating that it kept you glued to the screen, unable to take your breath away. Especially that opening clash.

　If either of them hesitates even slightly, the duel will be over.

　It was extremely dangerous.

　The upperclassmen around Dak watched with tense faces and cold sweat pouring down their backs. They were clearly deeply immersed in the story.

　If a mage lacking physical abilities were caught in such a battle, it would be impossible for them to dodge at those critical moments.

　At this point, the importance of intelligence gathering becomes even more apparent.

　If you encounter this type of opponent, choosing to play defensively at the start might be a good strategy.

　Emily and Harper ultimately won their battle by a slight margin.

　Although the entire arena had been transformed into a vast ocean by the Ha-Claw, Emily was able to fly and overcome the disadvantages of the terrain.

　In this duel, she summoned a legendary paladin with angel wings on his back, demonstrating her formidable power as a mage. Although Haqian also summoned a terrifying sea monster, he ultimately failed to defeat the legendary paladin and was forced to self-destruct, perishing together with him.

　However, Emily somehow managed to resurrect the legendary paladin, which is how she won the duel.

　Emily, having won the victory, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

　She accepted the cheers and applause from the audience with a smile, and after a while, she slowly walked off the stage.

　She finally made it through the first round of the qualifiers. At least she didn't disappoint His Holiness the Pope.

　Then the host went on stage and drew the names of the next group of contestants. When the list of contestants was announced, the students from St. Mary's Academy finally entered competition mode.

　"Is it my turn to go on so soon?" Shrek Holmes touched his nose, trying to hide his nervousness.

　"Relax and just give it your all," Professor Cazell said, patting him on the back.

　Shrek lowered his hand, grinned, and said, "I'm not nervous at all, I'm just excited!"

　He clenched his fists and placed them on his knees, feeling the slight tremors throughout his body.

　That was definitely exciting.

　But there was also tension.

　The mixture of tension and excitement caused his blood to flow faster, and his entire body spontaneously entered a preheating state.

　“Let’s just call it an academy championship,” Dark said.

　Both the World Cup and the Academy Championship are broadcast to the public, so in that respect there is really no difference.

　But the level of the opponent is different!

　Having just watched Emily and Harper's duel, it would be abnormal not to feel tense.

　Although Shrek Ketchum is considered one of the best graduates of St. Mary's Academy, compared to Pandora and others, he is only among the top of the ordinary.

　That is, the limit of what is considered normal human beings. Being able to enter the preliminary rounds is already meeting expectations.

　But as I said before, once you're on this stage, no one wants to lose.

　Shrek Holmes, prepare for battle!

　The fourth duel unfolded amidst great anticipation. Then came the fifth duel.

　Then came the sixth duel.

　Finally, it was Shrek Holmes' turn to appear.

　As the first contestant to appear from St. Mary's Academy, Shrek was under immense pressure.

　He walked towards the arena amidst the cheers and blessings of Dark and the others, and soon arrived at the dueling platform.

　Meanwhile, in the open-air dueling arena of St. Marian's Academy.

　Shrek's image appeared on the projection screen in the center of the venue. The students cheered immediately.

　Their voices remained loud, as if they wanted to share their passion.

　The emotions were projected and displayed in front of the contestants.

　The members of the sports club, in particular, raised their flags and waved them frantically.

　It doesn't matter even if Shrek can't see it.

　Meanwhile, in the player and spectator area inside the League Duel Arena.

　Witt, Robert, Doron, and others were screaming and cheering as if they were about to shout themselves hoarse.

　But this time, Shrek Holmes's opponent is Fielding Silas, a renowned sage.

　Fielding was known as the "Sage of Fire".

　Legend has it that the flames he created could even incinerate the Balrog. His research into fire reached almost the pinnacle.