Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 284

From his position, Ren exchanged a final glance with Min and Taro. They needed no words; they had discussed their strategy enough and knew each strength and weakness of their opponents.

Jin, Kai, and Cass entered from the opposite side. Unlike the previous day, Jin didn’t display his usual arrogant confidence. His face reflected intense concentration, almost fierce, betraying how much this battle meant to him.

"Remember the plan," Cass murmured to her companions as they took position. "Jin, neutralize Taro. Kai, take care of distracting the rotten one. I’ll keep an eye on Min; my eyes won’t be fooled by his camouflage if I see where he steps."

Jin nodded, his eyes remaining fixed on Taro. The beetle represented the only Bronze beast on the opposing team, a tangible threat unlike Min and Ren’s ’weak’ Iron-rank creatures.

Even so, he couldn’t underestimate Ren after what he’d seen the previous day.

"His hydra will be problematic even without the spear," he calculated mentally. "But without his trap-setting tricks and without weapons, his new armor doesn’t represent a real threat to my ability. The spirit waves of my tiger will ignore any armor, no matter how resistant it is."

"Both teams have proven their worth yesterday," declared Lin, positioning herself between the two groups. "So remember: the objective is neutralization, not unnecessary damage. Victory is declared when the opposing team is incapacitated or surrenders."

She raised her hand, anticipation rising to almost tangible levels.

"Begin."

Jin immediately fused his body with the Greater Spirit Tiger. The markings covered his skin while his eyes adopted that characteristic blue glow. Kai invoked his green lizard externally, the creature considerably increasing its defense with stone scale armor, while Cass released her red eagle, which rose majestically over the field.

On the opposite side, something unexpected occurred. Neither Min nor Taro finished manifesting their beasts when Ren partially manifested his hydra, the translucent scales appearing on his skin like natural armor.

Also, Ren had already shot forward to the front, alone.

"What is he doing?" murmured a confused spectator.

Jin didn’t wait to find out. With a roar that combined human and animal, he also launched forward, his spirit claws glowing with energy.

His initial target was Taro, thinking of eliminating the Bronze-rank threat first. But since the rotten boy had decided to play hero, he could teach him a lesson first about not trusting his new armor too much.

This move should be optimal in his favor. A tamer fused with a Bronze 1 Greater Spirit Tiger against a student who had just acquired his new beast; the result seemed obvious.

But Jin realized he wasn’t the fastest despite his supposed rank advantage.

Ren moved with a speed that no one had anticipated. One instant he was still a dozen meters away, the next he had become a blur of movement that intercepted Jin before he could cover even a third of the distance between the teams.

"Impossible," gasped someone from the stands. "How can he move like that with an Iron beast?"

Jin, surprised but still confident in his superiority, directed his fist charged with spiritual energy directly toward Ren’s chest.

His speed didn’t matter if the idiot was heading straight toward him...

"Got you," he thought, sure of his victory.

But Ren executed a movement that left all present astonished. Instead of blocking or dodging, he deflected Jin’s wrist with superhuman precision, using a combat technique from Lin.

Jin’s fist passed centimeters from Ren’s chest, the spiritual energy failing to reach him.

And then he counterattacked.