"Is that so? What a pity then."

Hearing this, Ma He smiled.

No matter what level the straw man was, he had actually planned from the very beginning.

Being able to defeat the first in speed carried a value incomparable to other arenas.

So he wanted the hippo to use its strongest skills at the start of the match.

"That's enough small talk, pay attention to the ringing in the arena, the battle begins at the fifth chime."

At this moment, the referee finally pressed the button in his hand.

[Beep!]

[Beep!]

[Beep!]

The interval chimes resounded immediately on Arena No. 19.

[Grass!]

[Hehe!]

Both summoning beasts were ready, waiting for the imminent battle to begin.

The hippo's throat started to churn, as if already preparing to exert force.

[Beep!]

[Beep!]

With the sound of the final chime, the hippo immediately took action.

[Heheou!]

The hippo opened its mouth wide, and a large amount of mud gushed out.

Instead of piling up uselessly, the mud spread out as if controlled.

[Mud Domain], this was the hippo's inherent E-level skill.

The sticky mud, within a certain time and range, could be somewhat controlled by the hippo, restricting the enemy's movement.

The spread of the mud could at least occupy more than a third of the arena.

Soon, it would spread to the feet of the straw man.

[Grass!]

The straw man tried to dodge, but found the mud's flow suddenly sped up, closing in around it.

[Caocao!]

Ultimately, the mud quickly surrounded the straw man and continued to follow it under the hippo's control.

Its feet stuck in the mud, the straw man's movement significantly slowed, unable to escape the range of the mud.

"Are you anxious watching this? But this is just the first step."

At this point, Ma He had already cast a victory glance at the calm Li Pu.

Based on the past two weeks of arena experience, once the opponent's summoning beast was affected by the Mud Domain, it was hard to avoid the hippo's attack.

The hippo itself possessed considerable brute strength.

Simply being charged by it, the LV1(?) straw man summoning beast would not withstand it.

But that alone did not satisfy Ma He.

He not only wanted to win but to win beautifully.

He had to crush the opponent with overwhelming force.

So while activating his summoner's talent, he issued a new command to the hippo through telepathy.

[Hehe!]

Feeling the change on its surface, the hippo raised its head and let out an invigorated roar.

Then it rolled onto the mud.

For hippos, rolling in the mud was a well-practiced skill.

In just a few seconds, it was completely covered with a thick layer of mud.

[Grass?]

Watching this, the straw man was puzzled.

The mud on the hippo's body dried quickly, shedding moisture to form a cracked outer shell.

This was Ma He's summoner talent, enabling the summoning beast to heat its body for warmth.

This talent was initially meant for combat in cold environments.

But he adapted it to complement the Mud Domain.

For the hippo, the thick, hard shell was its armor.

The mud produced by the hippo's skill wasn't ordinary; its special composition made it very hard when dry.

"Here it is! Ma He's ultimate move!"

"Yeah, I lost to this move several times in PKs against him."

"Indeed, that hard shell armor is difficult to penetrate."

"I think Li Pu might lose this time; a straw man clearly can't breach the hippo's defense."

The audience erupted in discussion.

Li Pu might be strong personally, but since this was a summoning beast arena, everyone favored Ma He.

"So the Mud Domain's development indeed works."

"This Ma He does have some skill."

Even the referee nodded discreetly.

As a summoner with an Earth Attribute beast himself, he had some authority on the matter.

The hippo, tough and bulky, now additionally armored in a shell blocking most attacks, seemed invulnerable to any same-level summoning beast.

[Hehehou!]

Armor-clad, the hippo let out a long howl and charged at the straw man, guided by the summoner.

The Mud Domain naturally posed no obstacle to it; the mud parted like living bodies under its control.

[Caocao!]

Seeing no way to evade the straw man opts not to dodge.

Yet its posture grew serious facing such momentum.

To be honest, against such a massive creature, it didn't have much confidence.

But failing and struggling would be more humiliating than facing it head-on.

BAM!

Seconds later, the hippo charged with its hardened muddy shell, hitting the straw man squarely, sending mud splattering everywhere.

[Grass?]

But the result...

The straw man merely stepped back a few paces.

Straw Man: Is that all?

It was dumbfounded; this felt lighter than a kick or a shove from the summoner!

Ma He was stunned; had his hippo lost its strength today?

The audience was flabbergasted; were they playing house?

The referee was equally amazed; something seemed off about this straw man!

A wave of silence fell over Arena No. 19 and its surroundings.

Only Li Pu, from the start, was unconcerned about the straw man.

Because he never believed a mere LV3 summoning beast could bother his LV10 one.

[Caocao~!]

Straw Man: You're so big, yet softer than Ben Cao!

The unexpected situation invigorated the straw man.

So this hippo was all show, weak beneath its facade!

Bullying the weak would be easy then!

[Grass!]

With an emphatic shout, it punched.

Crack...!

The seemingly impenetrable shell immediately cracked.

[Grass!]

Before the hippo could react, another punch followed.

Crack...!

The crack widened.

[Grass!]

The third consecutive punch shattered the shell in sections.

"How is this possible?!"

Ma He gasped in shock.

He looked at Li Pu, eyes filled with disbelief.

Did your straw man take something before entering the arena?!

(Why not?)

Li Pu thought it was easy with this clear level advantage.

...

...

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