"B-Boss Lin!!" Lin Zi's underlings exclaimed in utter horror.
Initially, they thought Almira would be fortunate to keep pace with their boss, only to be confronted with the harsh reality that it was Lin Zi, their esteemed leader, who found himself on the defensive mere seconds into the match.
Not only on the defensive but already injured at that!
Witnessing Lin Zi's pathetic state, everyone concluded that the match was already over.
After all, how could an archer pull bowstrings back without his other hand?
Well...in the next moment, the seemingly fading Lin Zi showed them how.
Holding the grip of his bow using his right hand, Lin Zi stood on one foot, using the other to pull the bowstrings back.
Such unbelievable skills and tenacity naturally shocked the crowd—every bit of common sense slowly leaking out of them.
Lin Zi...was still planning to fight back.
Shortly after assuming his odd fighting stance, the now one-legged archer summoned gusts of wind at his location, slowly converging at his feet and granting him unimaginable speed.
"Let's go boss! The counterattack starts now!!" Lin Zi's underlings exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm.
They were desperate to show everyone that their boss still had something up his sleeves and that he should never be counted out.
With one strong push using his right leg, the one-legged archer repositioned with unbelievable speed—his other leg already pulling back at the bowstrings.
'Hunter Arrows!'
Releasing the bowstrings, twelve mana arrows with violent wind enchantments fired off in different directions, astonishingly changing trajectory and shooting toward Almira shortly after.
"Go! Boss!"
Unfortunately for the enthusiastic underlings, the battle priestess was way too focused, immediately summoning a thick barrier around herself to absorb the arrows.
Then, once the barrier cracked, she dodged the last arrow and finished casting one more spell at the same time.
For the first time in their lives, the crowd felt danger emanating from the light energy particles that were converging in front of the battle priestess' weapon.
Only now have they seen the light element being harnessed for offensive purposes.
'F*ck! F*ck! I can't lose like this!' Lin Zi inwardly cursed as he struggled with reckless abandon, biting the mana vines in hopes of escaping in time.
Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time.
"Divine Annihilation!"
A golden magic circle appeared in front of Almira's vitality mace, sucking the light energy particles she gathered on one side before firing them off on the other as a blinding ray of golden light.
Naturally, this enormous ray of light did not feel soothing at all as it made contact with Lin Zi's body, annihilating him and turning him into an azure ray of light under the awestruck gazes of the crowd.
"NO!!! BOSS LIN!!" The underlings screamed in despair.
Their boss...had lost the quarterfinal match against the relentless battle priestess.
Hearing their words of despair, even Seira felt a little bad. She was rooting for Almira simply because she was suffering unjust treatment from the crowd—just like her boss.
But this Lin guy didn't appear to be some rotten apple, hence, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy who seemed to be dejected after materializing near the stage.
"H-HEAVENS!! BALKROW CITY'S ONE AND ONLY BATTLE PRIESTESS, UPSETS LIN ZI!! ALMIRA BLACK MOVES ON TO THE SEMI-FINALS TO FACE ARTHUR VERMILLION!! WILL SHE BE ABLE TO CONTROL THE INDOMITABLE WARRIOR? OR WILL SHE BE CUT DOWN LIKE EVERYONE ELSE WHO STOOD IN HIS PATH?
STAY TUNED FOLKS, THE SEMI-FINALS WILL BEGIN AFTER A SHORT BREAK!" Corey's voice carried a hint of shocked undertone as it reverberated across the arena, signaling the end of the quarterfinals.
Now, only four competitors remain—the top four rookies, to be exact.
Although the tournament had a few mind-blowing upsets, in the end, the top four firmly held their ground, dominating everyone unlucky enough to stand in their way.
Having nothing to do, the crowd thought of the past matches of the remaining four competitors and they couldn't help but feel excited.
Why?
Because the championship is in anyone's hands.