Chapter 515: Section 302: Menshi vs Ban Langen
Snowbird Port.
In one of the small dueling fields closest to the docks,
the battle had dragged on for most of the day.
“Huff, huff, huff…”
The Dwarf Menshi was drenched in sweat, panting heavily.
He looked at the Ban Langen nearby, feeling utterly powerless.
Ban Langen was a Tree Man, and at that moment, he had taken root in the sandy soil of the dueling field.
His size had increased more than threefold compared to his normal form, with at least ten times the number of branches on his trunk, which waved in the wind.
“Come at me, I’m just standing here,”
“Go ahead and attack!”
“If I move a step, I lose.”
Ban Langen constantly taunted the Dwarf Menshi with these provocations.
His face was situated in the upper-middle part of the giant tree trunk.
Numerous branches and vines twisted together, forming two massive wooden palms on either side.
One large hand held the Golden Flower Steel Saw.
The other hand was raising a Silver Level square tower shield.
At the same time, a shoulder patch was hidden among the canopy—none other than the Long Fu.
Aside from the Long Fu, his Strike Syringe was concealed somewhere else.
The Little Thunder God Flying Hammer also orbited him, occasionally landing in his canopy like a weary bird seeking refuge.
To secure his victory, Ban Langen had borrowed equipment from other leaders before launching this challenge.
He was fully armed!
In terms of equipment, he far outmatched Menshi.
In Menshi’s hands was only his two-handed long-handled warhammer,
which was merely Silver Level as well.
The Dragon-man youth had also considered lending out equipment,
but his own was limited.
The Big Arena Badge and golden silk chain armor could not be lent out.
The Big Arena Badge was in constant use, and the golden silk chain armor needed repairs.
Another significant reason was that both pieces of equipment were covered with a Deception and Disguise Skill and an Anti-Intelligence Prophecy Skill.
If lent to Menshi, the related secrets would be exposed.
Menshi had not anticipated that Ban Langen would come so fully prepared.
It was unexpected, considering Xiong Ju had done the same before, and yet here was Ban Langen initiating a challenge and resorting to the same tactics.
“Fighting energy, physical ability, nearly all exhausted.”
“No strength left to continue fighting…”
Realizing this, Menshi let out a deep sigh
and then loudly declared, “I surrender.”
He stepped down from the dueling field with dignity, his face unable to hide his frustration.
In this duel, he had been completely at a disadvantage, unable to pose any threat to his opponent after the initial phase.
As soon as they began to fight, Ban Langen immediately released the Little Thunder God Flying Hammer.
The Little Thunder God Flying Hammer incessantly disrupted Menshi.
Menshi’s combat style was typical of Dwarves—exceptional in defense, but lacking in assault capability.
Taking advantage of Menshi’s distraction, Ban Langen swiftly retreated and, after gaining some distance, took root in the sand.
Seeing the Tree Man take root, Menshi immediately sensed trouble and, regardless of the energy cost, mobilized his fighting energy to launch a frenzied attack.
As he charged up to Ban Langen, he maintained his position, determined to fight up close.
The interference and threat brought by the Little Thunder God Flying Hammer suddenly plummeted.
Ban Langen had very little time to handle this piece of equipment, so he couldn’t achieve precise control.
But this situation was within his expectations.
He had observed the battle between the Dragon-man youth and Xiong Ju; the Dragon-man youth had exploited this very flaw to trouble Xiong Ju.
Ban Langen simply gave up on the Little Thunder God Flying Hammer and began to frantically use Combat Skills, completely disregarding the severe consumption of Fighting Energy.
Many spectators considered his way of fighting unwise.
Such mutual depletion of Fighting Energy clearly played to Menshi’s advantage.
And even if Ban Langen had fully taken root, it would only bring about a slight increase in Recovery Power and other aspects.
The consumption in terms of Fighting Energy was too great, and the remaining reserves were unlikely to withstand Menshi’s subsequent attacks.
Ban Langen completely implemented his tactics.
After paying a tremendous cost in Fighting Energy, he finally managed to take root solidly in the sand of the dueling field.
Menshi was full of fighting will, feeling that he still maintained the advantage.
But in the next moment, Ban Langen let out a big laugh and took out the Strike Syringe.
He jabbed the Strike Syringe harshly into his own arm.
The Strike Syringe contained Fighting Energy that he had accumulated over time, identical in nature to his own.
With one needle down, his Fighting Energy was immediately replenished, restored to peak condition.
Menshi was dumbstruck on the spot.
Xiong Ju had forgotten to use the Strike Syringe during his fight with the Dragon-man youth.
This oversight was exploited by Ban Langen, catching Menshi completely off guard.
His tactic was a huge success!
After successfully taking root, he gained a greater advantage in terms of recovery and defense.
Moreover, his reserves of Fighting Energy were fully restored, even surpassing Menshi’s at the moment.
A single Strike Syringe flipped the situation of the battlefield on its head.
The onlookers were astonished and engaged in a flood of discussions.
Brave duels did not prohibit the use of equipment, potions, and other external objects.
However, of course, the audience valued fights like those between the Dragon-man youth and Xiong Ju more.
Especially battles that reflected the individual wills of the duelers.
Ban Langen had such significant equipment advantage but chose such a conservative strategy, making it difficult for the audience to cheer for him.
The following battle scenes were lackluster.
Menshi maintained his offensive stance, while Ban Langen was always on the defensive.
He plunged his roots deeply into the soil, recovering Physical strength and Fighting Energy faster. Even if injuries appeared on his tree trunk, he could rapidly self-heal.
The speed of self-healing was only slightly weaker than that of Healing Magic.
Ban Langen’s biggest drawback was his inability to move.
However, Menshi was unable to capitalize on this flaw.
This was because Menshi lacked long-range firepower.
His most powerful long-range attack was a Combat Skill. This Combat Skill allowed him to throw his long-handled Warhammer directly at an opponent.
He couldn’t use this Combat Skill at will.
Ban Langen was in very good condition; if Menshi threw his hammer, it was very likely that Ban Langen would simply confiscate it.
Then, Menshi’s situation would become even more awkward, stranded without a weapon.
Menshi had only one choice, and that was to engage Ban Langen in close combat.
But in close combat, he lacked a decisive attack.
He was facing not only Ban Langen’s full armament but also his massive wooden palms and the vines and branches that could whip out from all angles.
Ban Langen had transformed into a tree-shaped fortress with no blind spots.
After a few exchanges, Ban Langen laughed heartily and started to urge Menshi to surrender.
“Give up, my advantage is too great.”
“You still can’t see it? The victor of this duel will only be me.”
“You’re just like a clown. You can’t threaten me at all, so why waste any more time? Just surrender gracefully and save some face.”
“Once my tactics are implemented, the battle is over. I have already reaped victory.”
Menshi had to admit that Ban Langen made a lot of sense.
But Menshi did not give up.
Because he thought of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, thought of the Dragon-man youth.
The Saber Gang initiated the challenge simply to disrupt the Dragon-man youth’s recuperation. They schemed to use various underhanded methods to force the Dragon-man youth to face reality and duel Teng Donglang as soon as possible.
Menshi knew all too well that this was the Saber Gang’s conspiracy.
Of course, he would not let Ban Langen succeed so easily.
So, Menshi adopted a delaying tactic.
Every time he launched a round of close combat attacks, he would quickly retreat to a safe area to rest and regroup.
In the meantime, he resisted the interference of the Little Thunder God Flying Hammer while taking potions.
Now, Ban Langen was the one taken aback.
Because he couldn’t move.
Even if he had the upper hand during close combat and even managed to injure Menshi, it was hard to pursue and seize the advantage.
Because once he pursued, he would have to leave the ground and unroot himself.
After unrooting, trying to take root again was much too difficult.
The success of this tactic also caught Menshi off guard.
Ban Langen won’t get a second chance to root himself, Menshi would never agree to that again.
A crucial point was the Strike Syringe.
The Qi stored in the syringe was all used up. Replenishing it wasn’t a matter of one or two days.
Without this critical equipment, Ban Langen found it difficult to execute the rooting tactic again.
“I can’t easily unroot myself.”
“Otherwise, all of my meticulous preparations, all the efforts I’ve made, would be for naught.”
“Who would actively cancel their own advantages?”
“Moreover, what if this is the opponent’s trick, Menshi is just acting, setting up a trap? If my desire to win makes me pursue aggressively and abandon my rooted state only to end up losing, wouldn’t I become the biggest joke in Snowbird Port this year?”
Ban Langen bore a heavy psychological burden.
Because before this, he had been careless in his duel with the Dragon-man youth, who launched a surprise attack and knocked him out with a single punch.
Because of this shameful outcome, he had endured ridicule and laughter during these days.
Publicly, there might not be much mocking to his face, but the members of the Saber Gang had plenty of criticism for Ban Langen behind his back.
After all, Ban Langen was one of the six leaders of the Saber Gang, a Superior, who had to care about face.
A Superior needed reputation.
“This time I must be cautious.”
“Losing to the squad leader of the Long Fu is fine; after all, Xiong Ju was not his match either.”
“But losing to an insignificant Silver Level member of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would be too embarrassing.”
“What face would I have to continue being a leader in the gang after that?”
Ban Langen dared not be arrogant again.
This time, he was extremely cautious.
To lure Menshi into attacking and to engage him in continuous close combat, he kept provoking and insulting Menshi, hoping to provoke his anger.
Had it been Gang Lie, he might have taken the bait.
But Menshi was an honest person.
No matter how ugly Ban Langen’s insults were, Menshi endured them without a word and resolutely carried out his delaying tactic.
Gradually, the time Menshi spent resting got longer and the time spent attacking got shorter.
When Menshi and Ban Langen fought close combat, the situation was quite clear, and very unfavorable for Menshi.
Regardless of whether it was the roaming silver warrior in full armor or Teng Donglang with his Golden Flower Steel Saw, both were granted a significant advantage in close combat by their gear.
The best equipment Menshi had was only his Silver Level two-handed warhammer.
The disparity was all too obvious.
However, when Menshi retreated to a safe distance, Teng Donglang lacked effective long-range attack options.
He was inherently a close combat fighter.
His most reliable long-range attack was the Little Thunder God Flying Hammer he had just borrowed.
Yet, though the flying hammer could cause interference and threat, this level of threat did not suffice to create an opportunity for victory.
In fact, the Little Thunder God Flying Hammer was still unfinished, a work in progress.
Menshi used his long-handled two-handed warhammer to fend off the attacks of the flying hammer. During the intervals when the flying hammer circled and danced in the air, he could casually swallow potions.
In this scenario, the Evil Eye was different.
The spirit beams it emitted were extremely powerful and nearly impossible to avoid, very difficult to defend against.
But regrettably, this treasure imbued with Abyss magic power had already been destroyed by Xiong Ju.
Thus, even though Teng Donglang held a significant advantage, the initiative was always in Menshi’s hands.
The duel was becoming more and more unsightly.
At first, the spectators were enthusiastic, nearly filling all the viewing seats of the dueling field.
But soon, the battle became monotonous and boring.
Some of the spectators left cursing under their breath.
Those who stayed hoped Menshi had some other tactic up his sleeve, or that some unexpected turn would suddenly occur.
But as time dragged on, one hour, two hours gradually slipped by.
The spectators who persisted began to see: Menshi had no other strategies; he was merely delaying the inevitable.
More and more spectators left the minor dueling field.
Originally full to capacity, the field eventually dwindled to groups of two or three scattered about, with vast empty spaces.
Even the vendors had disappeared without a trace.
A group of children laughed and chased each other between the seats.
Several elders lay sprawled across the seats, deep in sleep. They had become drowsy during the uninspiring battle and had simply fallen asleep.
There were also couples whispering to each other in corners, spreading the sweet, pungent scent of love into the air.
New spectators entered, hoping for some excitement.
But they often couldn’t endure for more than ten minutes before leaving, disheartened.
“If only I had brought more potions,” Menshi, engaged in battle, grew increasingly regretful.
He hadn’t brought enough potions!
Before, he hadn’t anticipated such a turn of events in the battle.
Normally, during an intense fight it’s quite difficult to find chances to consume potions.
Menshi had thought the potions he brought would be more than sufficient.
But during the actual combat, he felt deep regret.
However, there was nothing to be done.
Without potions to quickly replenish him, his physical strength and fighting energy had plummeted to rock bottom, and his combat effectiveness had severely declined.
It was very difficult for Menshi to re-engage in close combat.
Whereas Teng Donglang’s condition remained at its peak.
Tree Men, when rooted, continuously accumulated an advantage.
Finally, Menshi thought it over and decided there was no point in risking close combat any longer.
Because if he were injured, it wouldn’t just trouble the Mercenary Group and worry the Long Fu squad leader but would also play right into the Saber Gang’s scheme.
Menshi finally shouted out, conceding the match voluntarily.
The referee had already dozed off and was shaken awake by a staff member nearby.
“Ah, it’s over?” The referee looked up at the sky.
It had already turned dark.