Insect Tamer's Ascension Chapter 527. Theo Merrick, you are cheating

Both mantis and Theo landed on the ground one after another. The moment they looked at the situation ahead, they realized that the serpent had entered full battle mode once again.

Theo stepped back and commanded the mantis to do the same. Its mouth was already gurgling with the poison, ready to spray at the serpent any moment.

At Theo’s command, the mantis pulled the poison back into its glands and retreated as well.

"You are crazy, Theo. I thought I had the perfect defense against your beast, but clearly I was wrong," Osric said, his gaze still lowered.

Theo was about to respond when he sensed a change in the serpent.

"Be ready," Osric warned only once, but Theo already felt that something was wrong.

The serpent’s body began slithering in place. Theo frowned. He already knew the serpent was flexible, but the way it swayed its body with an unnatural flexibility was way better than before, as if it hadn’t been fighting at full strength before.

’Did he use an ability?’ Theo wondered. A sudden boost in abilities was always a signal for the use of an ability.

Then, as if confirming his suspicion that it really was a skill with a cooldown, the serpent lunged forward again, moving away from Osric for the second time.

’Be ready, mantis. This time, be extra careful,’ Theo commanded.

But the giant serpent crossed the distance in a matter of seconds.

Theo immediately stepped back while the mantis advanced. The serpent opened its jaws wide toward the mantis, its fangs gleaming threateningly.

Theo warned the mantis to stay alert, and just when he said that, a transparent bullet-like silhouette shot out of the serpent’s mouth.

The mantis dodged it completely, but that sudden attack disrupted its flow while it charged toward the beast.

The serpent fired two more high-pressure water shots again. While the mantis managed to dodge the first, when the second came, its forelegs began to shine as if it were preparing to sidestep with Metallic Strike...

...but the water actually hit one of its forelegs before it could move.

’Wait, what?’ Theo was stunned.

For the first time, he realized there was a flaw in the mantis’s Metallic Strike skill.

’So if someone interrupts the activation of mantis’ ability... the ability gets canceled...’ Theo concluded that from what had happened before him.

The mantis landed back on the ground, one of its forelegs soaked, staring at the serpent after reaching the ground again, but the serpent had gone berserk.

It was ready with another attack. Its tail whipped toward the mantis’ position and smacked with terrifying force.

The mantis dodged easily and retaliated with Metallic Strike aimed at the serpent’s face; alas, the serpent’s reaction speed had gone off the rails.

It twisted its head to the side at the last moment, making the mantis miss. And before the mantic could get the time to hop on its body, the serpent had already whipped its massive body upward to strike back.

The four-second cooldown ended midway through the exchange, allowing the mantis to launch another Metallic Strike at the serpent’s face again.

And the cycle repeated.

’This... This is the fight I have been looking for.’ Theo thought to himself, his eyes wide with excitement.

’Mantis is getting pushed back. None of the attacks are working... we need this to learn,’ Theo spoke through the bond while the mantis remained fully focused on the battle.

Snapping back to his senses, Theo saw the bigger picture; he quickly gave the mantis a new command.

Instead of moving toward the serpent and attacking it head on, he ordered the mantis to move toward the side of the serpent’s face.

The mantis didn’t question Theo’s judgement and immediately obeyed, darting toward the serpent’s flank, making the beast follow closely, its jaws snapping after it.

’Poison now. Use the spores,’ Theo commanded.

The mantis released a jet of poison, but halfway through, its pressure weakened, turning the stream into more of a misty spray.

’Fuck... is the poison gland empty already?’ Theo smacked his forehead. Never in his life in this world had he ever needed to worry about the mantis running out of its poison.

The mantis had always been one of the strongest beings around—until now.

Still, the weakened spray was enough to reach the serpent at point-blank range.

But the serpent wasn’t finished.

It unleashed five consecutive water shots in the same direction, the blasts colliding with the poison spray midair and scattering it everywhere.

The poison splashed onto both the mantis and the serpent, but the remaining three water shots that didn’t interact with the poison spray struck the mantis directly, forcing it backward once again.

The mantis crashed to the ground but quickly sprang back onto its feet, as if ready to continue.

And at that moment, the crowd finally grew a little antsy.

"CHEATING!"

"YEAH! THE BEAST GOT HIT BY THE WATER SPRAY TWICE! THOSE HITS ARE NOT BEING COUNTED FAIRLY!"

"CHEATING!"

"CHEATING"

A chant rose from some parts of the crowd while others started bickering, insisting that the claims were nonsense.

Theo could already tell they were just bitter gamblers who were about to lose their money betting on the fight.

’But it does make me wonder... why didn’t the pressure activate?’

"SILENCE!"

The headmaster spoke a single word into the rock-like object near his mouth, instantly silencing the entire arena.

No one dared question the headmaster.

The referee knew what had to be done and immediately raised his flag.

"All beasts and tamers are to stop until further instructions," the referee announced, causing many, including Theo and Osric, to halt.

Yet Osric didn’t dare lift his head. He knew the mantis was still there.

"Some students and faculty members are questioning why the two hits weren’t counted. I want the referee to answer their concerns," the headmaster declared.

Only then did Theo notice the two dukes sitting by the headmaster’s side, both smiling confidently while looking at him.

The referee reached into his pocket and pulled out a stone similar to the headmaster’s.

Bringing it closer to his mouth, he spoke clearly.

"The two major strikes delivered by the Tideveil Serpent against the Apex Bloom Tyrant are currently under question."

The referee stated in a clear voice.

_____

"The Repulsion Domain ability activates the moment someone under its protection is attacked, creating a repelling barrier that shields them from the strike."

"With that in mind, I conclude that while the Tideweil Serpent did land two powerful hits on the Apex Bloom Tyrant, neither of the attacks was capable of harming the beast in any way. The repulsion only activates when the protected target is in genuine danger of being hurt."

The referee finished while looking at the headmaster.

All the students and professors immediately broke into discussions about what the referee had just said.

"Did you hear that? Do you believe my sense of smell now?" the sly boy in the crowd asked smugly to the boy who was staring at him.

"I will never question it again."

Inside the arena, Theo could hear a few chuckles coming from the front rows.

He looked toward Osric, who still had his head lowered.

"So even if I attack you, the attacks won’t have any effect? Your beast’s defense is this strong..." Osric muttered as he slowly stood up.

Then, he raised a hand into the air and spoke loudly with his gaze still low.

"I concede. Theo Merrick is the winner."

The crowd fell dead silent, except for a few of them who were distracted and were just talking with each other, clearly not looking at the interesting battle.

Theo’s jaw dropped in shock.

"What...?" he asked blankly.

The referee raised the red flag toward Theo’s side and announced aloud without using the stone.

"Osric Calder has conceded. Therefore, the winner of the match is—"

He paused deliberately for a moment to put the pressure on the next words.

"Theo Merrick and the Apex Bloom Tyrant!"

Most of the crowd erupted into excited cheers and roars, while others ground their teeth hard as if they wanted to taste dust.

"You see that? I just quadrupled my money! HAHAHAHAHAH! I am a genius!" the sly fellow shouted dramatically as he jumped from his seat, drawing the attention of everyone around him.

Still, there were many like him, reacting the same way, making him nothing special in the moment.

Theo, however, couldn’t take his eyes off Osric, who still stood there, his gaze low.

He instructed the mantis to return into the beast space.

The mantis stared at the serpent and let out a sharp screech once before turning into a blinding light and disappearing into the beast space.

The serpent continued staring at Theo as though there was some unfinished business between them, but Theo didn’t care about the giant.

"The mantis isn’t here anymore. Can you tell me why you conceded, Sir Osric?" Theo asked, eliciting a sigh from Osric before he finally lifted his head to meet Theo’s gaze again.

"My neck hurts from keeping it bent for so long. But other than that... I conceded because there was no way for me to win. I used everything I had against you, Theo Merrick. And you obliterated my tactics with ease... just as expected."