It was not only for the third-place prize but also for his pride. He was confident that as long as he defeated Su Ze, he could then beat Huang Peng and Taka to secure the spot.
"Mr. Huang, please be sure to go all out. Iāll reward you handsomely afterward!" Jiang Yi said to Huang Peng via Spiritual Transmission.
He was worried Huang Peng would deliberately hold back. After all, Huang Pengās strength was the weakest among them. If they defeated Su Ze, third place wouldnāt go to him anyway.
Huang Peng replied via transmission: "Donāt worry, Mr. Jiang. Weāve been brothers for years. Of course Iāll help you."
Jiang Yiās mind was put at ease. He then used Spiritual Transmission to communicate tactics with Taka as well.
"Taka, youāre the defense specialist. Iāll need you to hold the front and stall Su Ze. Huang Peng and I will attack from the flanks..."
Taka nodded repeatedly.
Su Ze couldnāt care less what the three of them were discussing. The moment the referee announced the start of the match, he immediately activated his "Expansion" skill!
After completing his fourth evolution and upgrading his "Expansion" skill once, the limit to his bodyās expansion had clearly increased again. He instantly transformed into a forty-meter-tall giant!
Of course, so as not to provoke the men of the Lin Hua Continent, he deliberately used his Liquid Life skill to manifest a set of clothes on his bodyās surface.
Jiang Yi and the other two, who were just about to charge, were all startled. Facing the giant Su Ze, they felt like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
āWhat kind of skill is this?ā
The audience watching the live broadcast on TV was also shocked. On the broadcast, Jiang Yi and the other two looked incredibly tiny compared to Su Ze.
In order to get all four of them in the same frame, the director had to pull the camera back to a long shot, which resulted in Jiang Yi and the other two becoming three small dots on the screen.
"Whatās the use of just being big? Donāt be afraid, letās attack together!" Jiang Yi said, trying to rally Taka and Huang Peng.
"Thatās right! Heās just a paper tiger, all for show!" Huang Peng echoed.
Despite their words, both of them subconsciously slowed their steps. Only Taka took them seriously and charged forward, leading the way.
The next second, a six-to-seven-meter-long Crystal Sword appeared in Su Zeās hand.
This Crystal Sword could change its size freely, but six to seven meters in length was already its limit.
The massive Crystal Sword was as tall as three Takas, but in the hands of the forty-meter-tall Su Ze, it still looked a bit small, like a little toy.
Su Ze gripped the giant sword and swung it down at Taka, who was closest to him.
Takaās expression changed abruptly as he felt the terrifying power radiating from the giant sword.
He especially noticed that his two teammates hadnāt actually followed him.
"Deceitful Lin Hua people!"
Taka cursed angrily and took out his fourth-tier wondrous item: a giant shield as large as a door panel.
CLANG! The giant Crystal Sword slammed into the door-panel shield. In the next instant, Taka vanished from everyoneās sight.
He had been smashed deep into the desert ground, to an unknown depth.
Su Zeās Perception Tentacles probed into the ground and found Taka. He discovered Taka was unconscious over a hundred meters underground, injured by the tremendous force, with blood seeping from his skin all over his body.
The door-panel shield lay on top of him like a coffin lid.
The Legendary powerhouse from the Snowfield Continent gently shook his head. With a wave of his hand, the sand surged, carrying Taka from deep underground back to the surface.
"Taka is out of the match," he said softly, controlling the sand to carry Taka all the way out of the competition area to receive medical treatment.
Huang Peng and Jiang Yi felt a chill run down their spines seeing this. Taka, the defense specialist, had used his defensive wondrous item and was still defeated in an instant. What would happen to them?
āMaybe... we should surrender?ā
But Su Ze gave them no time to think. The giant Crystal Sword swept towards them, and the two scrambled to fly out of the way in terror.
āFurious Waves!ā
With a single thought, Su Ze unleashed an upgraded version of "Furious Waves," and roiling airwaves materialized out of thin air.
The upgraded "Furious Waves" no longer required the casting motion of striking the ground; Su Ze could now use it with just a single thought.
The power of the "Expansion" skill was that it would enhance all of Su Zeās other skills to match his current body size.
When the forty-meter-tall Su Ze used the "Furious Waves" skill, its area of effect exceeded the entire competition grounds. Huang Peng and Jiang Yi had absolutely no way to escape!
Even if they did escape, they would still lose for leaving the competition area.
Facing a colossal wave dozens of times larger than themselves, the two were like a pair of small boats in a furious storm, mercilessly overturned and submerged.
Jiang Yi and Huang Peng both passed out. They werenāt stunned by the Dizziness control effect of "Furious Waves," but were knocked unconscious by the sheer force of the airwaves.
The two of them were like a pair of green onions stuck upside down in the sand, with only their two legs dangling outside.
At this point, even if Su Ze wanted to kill them, it would only take a finishing blow. But under the watch of the Legendary powerhouse, he naturally wouldnāt do such a thing. He turned to the stunned referee and asked:
"Did I win?"
"Huh? Oh, oh... You won. You won." The referee nodded mechanically.
It wasnāt just the referee; everyone in the surrounding audience wore a dazed expression, including Chen Suifeng, who had some understanding of Su Zeās strength.
Only the three Legendaries managed to remain composed, but an imperceptible, unusual light still flickered in their eyes.
The viewers watching the live broadcast on their TVs were even more gobsmacked. The shock this match gave them was far greater than the finals!
In a one-on-three fight, Jiang Yi and the other two couldnāt even withstand a single clash with Su Ze.
They were all contestants, all prodigies from their respective continents, yet the gap in their strength could be so enormous!
In that moment, they all understood that Su Ze was the true champion of this competition.