For three full minutes, the battle raged. The arena floor was a testament to the Volt-fang Panther's unrelenting assault, scarred with the scorch marks of its lightning and the gouges from its claws. To everyone watching, the outcome seemed inevitable.
"And Jin Kai continues his ferocious offensive!" the announcer's voice boomed across the stadium, a mixture of awe and pity in his tone. "The Rock Vole is doing an incredible job of holding on, but it's completely suppressed! It hasn't been able to land a single effective blow!"
In the VIP box, the Guild executives murmured amongst themselves. "The difference in raw power and speed is just too great," one of them commented, shaking his head. "Lin Ke's defensive strategy is brilliant, but you can't win a match by only defending. It's over."
On the field, Jin Kai's confidence had swelled into outright arrogance. He saw the Rock Vole, now panting heavily, its movements a fraction slower than before. He saw victory within his grasp.
"Is that all you have, bookworm?" Jin Kai shouted, a taunting smirk on his face. "Enough dodging and hiding! It's time to end this! Panther, one more Lightning Rush! Finish it!"
This was it. The final, decisive blow. The Volt-fang Panther gathered its energy, its body crackling with its most intense electrical charge yet. It let out a triumphant roar and lunged, becoming a black and blue projectile aimed straight at the exhausted Rock Vole.
The crowd gasped. The end had come.
But they did not see what Lin Ke saw.
From the moment the battle began, he had been more than a tamer; he had been a scientist collecting data. His mind was an oasis of calm in the storm of battle, the Gene Editor's interface a silent, ceaseless waterfall of information. While everyone else saw a desperate defense, he saw a successful experiment.
[Target: Volt-fang Panther]
[Energy Level: 36%... 35%...]
[Status: Onset of muscular fatigue due to prolonged high-speed combat.]
[Pattern Analysis: In preparation for 'Lightning Rush', the subject tenses its rear leg muscles for 0.8 seconds. However, due to fatigue, a micro-tremor is now present in the left leg. This creates a 0.2-second window where its trajectory is locked and its lateral evasion capability drops by 90%.]
There it was. The turning point. The single, fleeting flaw born from arrogance and exhaustion. A crack in the armor of instinct.
While Jin Kai was shouting his victory cry, Lin Ke's mind was processing the final calculation. He had weathered the storm. He had drained the battery. Now, he would flip the switch.
As the panther launched its final, glorious charge, the word "Halt" echoed in Lin Ke's mind, a command not for his pet, but for his strategy. The time for defense was over.
His eyes, which had been calm and analytical, now flashed with a cold, sharp light. He leaned forward slightly, his voice cutting through the roar of the arena, clear and absolute.
"Don't dodge."
The command was so unexpected it stunned those nearest the field into silence.
The Rock Vole, hearing the order, stopped its defensive scramble. It planted its feet, its exhausted body trembling slightly. It did not use "Rock Harden". It did not brace for impact. It stood, utterly exposed to the oncoming doom.
"He's given up!" someone in the crowd yelled.
Jin Kai laughed, seeing the seemingly suicidal act. "Too scared to even move?!"
But then came Lin Ke's second command. A command that made no sense. A command that would be etched into the memory of everyone present.
"Target, ground. 1.5 meters ahead of you. Full power. Dig."
The Rock Vole obeyed without question. It lowered its head and slammed its powerful claws into the solid floor of the arena. It wasn't an attack. It wasn't a defense. It was an act of excavation, executed with desperate, last-ditch energy.
The Volt-fang Panther was now just meters away, a bolt of lightning about to strike. The battle, the championship, was about to end in a single, earth-shattering moment.