51: Chapter 51 Victory and Defeat
She had to keep both hands in contact with the ground at all times; once they left the surface, the spell would immediately be interrupted.
Furthermore, every time she manipulated the terrain, it consumed a portion of her mana, though the consumption was far lower than that of casting conventional offensive spells.
This was also the reason she could hold out for so long by relying on terrain manipulation.
The Fire Mage clearly realized this as well and simply stopped his attacks.
After the two faced off for several seconds, the Fire Mage suddenly spoke up mockingly:
"Is this all you're capable of? Only being able to control the ground within a five-meter radius?"
"Then as long as I stand outside that range, let's see how you'll block my attacks!"
He gave a cold laugh and strode toward the girl, closing in.
The girl watched her encroaching opponent with an icy gaze.
Her hands remained pressed firmly against the ground, without the slightest hint of panic.
The audience in the stands instantly grew boisterous, all thinking they were about to witness an exciting close-quarters combat.
Lin Fan, however, couldn't muster any interest at all; watching this match was making him feel depressed.
If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't condense mana to cultivate under the watchful eyes of the public...
He really wanted to just sit down and meditate until his name was called.
Little did he know.
At this moment, a gaze was locked tightly onto him.
The owner of that gaze was none other than the academy's Vice Principal!
"Looking at his expression, does he think the level of these students is too poor?"
"Hmm... I really want to see what kind of performance he can actually put on."
She sat in her exclusive seat in the audience, murmuring to herself with great interest.
On the stage, the Fire Mage had closed in on the girl, yet he maintained a distance of eight to ten meters from her.
He unhurriedly summoned star points, taking a full five seconds to condense a Star Pattern.
"Starfire Spell!"
Several clusters of flames emerged and shot toward the Earth-element girl, surrounding her.
Seeing this situation.
A sharp light flashed in the girl's eyes, and mana surged within her body; the ground beneath her feet instantly became soft and began to bulge slowly.
Almost at the same time...
"Burst!"
The boy let out a violent shout, and the flames exploded around the girl. Thick smoke billowed, completely obscuring her figure.
This made it impossible for the students in the stands to see the situation inside.
Only Lin Fan and the teachers present could see clearly:
A second before the explosion occurred, the girl had manipulated the earth to build a solid Earthen Shield around herself.
"Hahaha! Blow this turtle away!"
"All you do is dodge and hide, what kind of skill is that! Such a coward!"
"How dare you bully our Liu, I won't let you get away with this!"
Various shouts rose and fell across the arena.
Some cheered for the Fire Mage, while others cursed him for winning unfairly.
But the Fire Mage didn't care about this at all.
His face was pale and he was drenched in sweat; clearly, his mana was on the verge of depletion, and even his physical strength was exhausted.
He didn't rush to release the next spell, but instead waited quietly for the smoke to dissipate.
When the dust settled, he was shocked to find that the girl had actually survived unscathed by relying on the Earthen Shield.
Although Lin Fan found the match dull.
He had to admit that the girl's reaction speed was indeed fast enough for her to protect herself at the critical moment.
The Fire Mage was both shocked and furious, his face full of disbelief.
The audience in the stands was also in an uproar; no one had expected the girl to escape this ordeal.
"Hehe, don't underestimate Earth-element Spells too much!"
"Great job, Liu! Beat this Fire-element guy to a pulp!"
"Smash her turtle shell to pieces!"
Shouts from all directions rang out incessantly, but the two on the stage seemed deaf to them, their eyes fixed deathly on each other.
"Are you a turtle in a shell? Only capable of taking hits passively, not daring to fight back?"
The Fire Mage roared in exasperation, but received no response.
By now, the girl had withdrawn the Earthen Shield and was watching him with a cold gaze.
Driven by shame and anger.
The Fire Mage decided to take a risk and actively close the distance between them.
His plan was to feign a charge into the girl's control range to lure her into defending, while secretly condensing a spell.
But he also kept a cautious eye out, always mindful of the five-meter limit, refusing to cross that line.
Having made up his mind.
He summoned star points again, condensing a brilliant crimson Star Pattern.
Then, with cautious steps, he slowly approached the girl.
"Since my attack speed isn't fast enough, I'll just explode a fireball right in your face!"
He shouted with a sinister grin.
The audience in the stands was stunned upon seeing this... what was he trying to do?
Getting too close was too dangerous!
Everyone thought the Fire Mage was going to risk everything for a close-quarters struggle.
The girl's gaze also instantly became sharp, warily watching his every move.
However.
Just as he was only six meters away from the girl, he suddenly stopped and shouted sharply:
"Fireball Technique!"
A fireball the size of a watermelon suddenly condensed in front of him.
Carrying a scorching temperature, it smashed violently toward the girl.
This sudden attack caught everyone off guard... everyone had thought he would continue to close in.
The girl was also caught unprepared, her expression changing drastically.
She subconsciously released her hands from the ground and rolled to the side in a disheveled manner to dodge, and the Earth Manipulation Spell was subsequently deactivated.
Boom!
The fireball accurately smashed into the spot where she had been just a moment ago, and the ground was instantly scorched black.
"The game isn't over yet!"
The Fire Mage's voice followed immediately in the girl's ear.
In his hand, he had already begun to condense the next Star Pattern.
The girl reacted extremely quickly.
She immediately began to condense an Earth-element Star Pattern, and her speed was even faster than his!
She completed the Star Pattern construction in only three seconds.
While her opponent still needed one more second before he could cast!
"Sigh, she shouldn't be condensing a Star Pattern on the spot; she should have immediately pulled back. He's currently outside her control range, so she can't do anything to him at all."
A teacher sighed with regret.
In the teachers' view, the girl would definitely perform the Earth Manipulation Spell again for defense, just like before.
But what happened next caused everyone's jaws to drop!
The girl pressed her hands to the ground once more and activated Earth Manipulation Spell.
At the same time, her opponent also completed his Star Pattern condensation and was about to launch his spell.
Just when everyone thought the girl was going to repeat her old trick.
And at the very instant the Fire Mage was about to chant his incantation...
Boom!
The ground beneath the Fire Mage's feet suddenly vibrated violently.
Two giant, crudely shaped stone hands burst out of the earth and instantly clamped onto him tightly.
This scene shocked the entire audience, including the Fire Mage who was caught by the stone hands.
He could clearly feel it.
Bursts of sharp pain came from where the stone hands were clamping him, and his body was firmly locked, unable to move.
He stared with wide eyes in disbelief.
Looking at the girl opposite him, whose lips curled into a sly smile.
Just then.
One of the two Referee Teachers appeared between them like a ghost.
Announcing the end of the match.
Declaring the girl the winner.
And ordering both of them to immediately deactivate their spells and dissipate their Star Patterns.