Chapter 657: Section 444: Savage Duel (Part 2)
The countdown echoes hit Lan Zao’s heart directly, one after another.
“Shuang Tu clearly told me that it was a Bronze Level Magic Beast, so how did it become a Black Iron Level?”
“Bronze Level and Black Iron Level are entirely different matters, how could such a serious mistake occur?!”
“No, this Barbaric Duel Arena is not under Shuang Tu’s control, at most infiltrated a bit. Is it impossible for a mistake to occur? Of course, it’s possible…”
The Spring Boxer’s voice pulled back Lan Zao’s somewhat disorganized thoughts.
“Hen Fa, what you’re facing isn’t just a Magic Beast of the same level, but it also has the ability to fly!”
“Did you bring any long-range weapons?”
Due to their different life forms, Magic Beasts naturally have much tougher hides, giving them a considerable advantage.
Lan Zao is at the Black Iron Level, with Silver Level being the next rank up before Gold Level. Even at the Golden Level, few possess a Flying Combat Technique.
The Spring Boxer looked at Lan Zao with concern. Clearly, Lan Zao was at a significant disadvantage against the Black Iron Level Snow Sculpture!
Lan Zao shook his head, indicating he hadn’t equipped any remote weapons.
This made the Spring Boxer’s expression darken further; after a moment of silence, he finally said, “Perhaps, you should just admit defeat. There’s no shame in that…”
Admit defeat?
Just moments ago, the idea had indeed surfaced in Lan Zao’s mind.
But now, hearing the Spring Boxer’s suggestion, he shook his head directly: “This is the Barbaric Duel Arena; admitting defeat beforehand is not allowed. If I admit defeat now, I fear the arena owner will crush me to bits and scatter my ashes. Compared to that, facing off against a Black Iron Level Snow Sculpture might be better.”
The Spring Boxer’s face fell, but he had to agree with Lan Zao’s words.
“Thank you,” Lan Zao nodded to him. “I still have a chance to win.”
After speaking, Lan Zao stepped out of the Waiting Room slowly, passing through the wide-open gate and officially entering the Barbaric Duel Arena.
The Spring Boxer’s concern added some good feelings towards him in Lan Zao’s mind.
The conversation with the Spring Boxer also swept away Lan Zao’s previous panic, and he calmed down.
In every Magic Image of the Observation Rooms, Lan Zao’s figure appeared simultaneously.
In the Observation Room where Shuang Tu sat, he looked at Lan Zao’s expression with interest.
This arrangement was an unexpected test for Lan Zao.
But it was within Shuang Tu’s plans.
In fact, Shuang Tu had deceived Lan Zao, making him misjudge the difficulty and easily lured him into participating in the Barbaric Duel.
This was a test for Lan Zao.
And a kind of cultivation.
After all, undercover agents often have to face unforeseen accidents.
“Let’s see, facing this unexpected test, what will your performance be like?” muttered Shuang Tu, initially quite satisfied with his observation of Lan Zao.
In the Ice Eagle’s Observation Room.
“Hen Fa is here too?” The appearance of Lan Zao surprised the old Gang Leader of the Saber Gang.
The Human Race leader behind him immediately frowned, “Hen Fa’s in trouble.”
“He hasn’t equipped any crossbows or Firearms, just Bronze Level leather armor and a Bronze Level scimitar, that’s all the equipment he has.”
“If it was a Land Magical Beast, he might stand a chance. But it’s a Snow Sculpture!”
Ice Eagle’s brow furrowed slightly, “He has his Bloodline Awakening, so why didn’t he focus on cultivation instead of participating in such a dangerous Barbaric Duel? Is there any way to get him out of there?”
The Human Race leader sighed, “Difficult! To extricate him, we’d have to disrupt this Barbaric Duel. Our Saber Gang is new here, while the duel arena owner has long been a local tyrant. However, there are precedents for such a rescue.”
“But doing so would undoubtedly ruin the reputation of the Barbaric Duel Arena, and the cost to us would be substantial. I estimate, at the very least, this much.”
The Human Race leader said, holding up four fingers.
Ice Eagle glanced at him and shook his head subtly, “Then forget it.”
Even if Lan Zao could reach the Silver Level in the future, the cost was too great; Bass Gang would suffer a big loss if they went through with it.
Ice Eagle’s decision didn’t surprise the Human Race leader.
The Human Race leader continued, “However, the loser isn’t necessarily Hen Fa. The main income for the Barbaric Duel Arena isn’t from ticket sales but from the gambling they organize.”
“As the big banker of the betting, the duel arena owner almost always fills his coffers each time!”
“To draw in bets, they often design the duel content so that both sides appear evenly matched, making the outcome of the fights unpredictable.”
“In a situation like Hen Fa’s, where one side has an obvious disadvantage, it could also be an intentional trap. If the audience places massive bets on the Snow Sculpture’s victory, and if Hen Fa wins, then for the banker, it’s undoubtedly a huge windfall.”
Ice Eagle sighed, “Perhaps.”
The two ceased their conversation as the third duel commenced.
As Lan Zao walked towards the center of the arena, the Snow Sculpture, already prepared, grew impatient, screeching and lunging forward.
“So fast!” Even as Lan Zao stayed on high alert, the Snow Sculpture’s plunging attack startled him.
He clumsily rolled on the ground to dodge, fending off the creature’s talons with his arms.
Fortunately, his Bronze Level protective equipment prevented the claws from wounding him.
The Snow Sculpture missed its strike and soared up into the air immediately.
Lan Zao then dashed towards a nearby stone pillar.
The Snow Sculpture turned in the air, attacking Lan Zao once more.
Lan Zao circled the pillar, using it as a cover to evade the Snow Sculpture’s assault.
Snow Sculpture, after all, was a Magic Beast with limited intelligence and repeatedly failed to hit its target.
Instead, it was Lan Zao who took advantage of Snow Sculpture’s dives to hack at it with his Bronze Level scimitar, striking its body and wings ferociously.
While Lan Zao’s swordsmanship was not remarkable, it was solid from countless real battles.
Snow Sculpture sustained minor injuries.
“If only I had a Black Iron Level scimitar!” Lan Zao sighed.
His fighter level had been promoted, but his equipment had not yet been updated.
After suffering several times, Snow Sculpture no longer chose to dive but instead used Magic-like abilities to shoot feathers from its body as if they were arrows.
Lan Zao temporarily steadied his position using a stone pillar as cover.
Snow Sculpture circled in the air, continuously adjusting its position, shooting from afar at Lan Zao.
Combat Skill—Air Bomb!
Lan Zao seized the opportunity of battle and suddenly deployed a long-range attack.
Caught off guard, Snow Sculpture was hit by the bomb.
This counterattack caused a murmur of surprise to rise in many in the Observation Room.
“He actually has the capability to attack from a distance. That must be the Combat Skill Air Bomb,” Ice Eagle thought with some surprise, but then shook his head, “It’s a pity, Hen Fa’s practice is not proficient. If he had launched two bombs consecutively, Snow Sculpture would have been severely injured. Hitting only one, the result is not significant.”
The Human Race leader nodded and casually reminded, “It seems his Fighting energy spell has been switched, too.”
Struck by an Air Bomb, Snow Sculpture became much more cautious and no longer behaved as recklessly as before.
It continuously shot feather arrows, while Lan Zao countered with Air Bombs from behind the stone pillars.
Lan Zao gradually gained the upper hand.
The feather arrows were blocked by the stone pillars, and even if the Air Bombs didn’t hit directly, they would explode, causing area damage. Snow Sculpture struggled to completely evade these effects by flying.
As minor injuries accumulated, Snow Sculpture’s speed of flight slowed.
“Looks like I can win this way,” Lan Zao thought jubilantly when the stone pillar in front of him began to slowly descend.
“Damn it!” Lan Zao cursed, immediately recalling the previous barbaric duel.
The Bronze Mage tried to sustain his Mana through meditation, only to have a large number of swamp Fishmen appear and hunt him down.
Clearly, the Barbaric Duel Arena did not want to see a dull, uninteresting fight.
It would greatly affect the audience’s experience.
So, they directly changed the battlefield to make the fight more intense and exciting.
All the stone pillars began to slowly sink, stripping Lan Zao of his home-field advantage.
Lan Zao had no choice but to be aggressive, brandishing his scimitar as he charged forward, closing the distance between himself and Snow Sculpture.
After several exchanges of long-range attacks, Snow Sculpture, driven by anger, dove at Lan Zao once more.
Without cover, Lan Zao could only roll to avoid Snow Sculpture’s sharp talons as much as possible.
And at the moment it drew close, he continued to swing the Bronze scimitar or spit out Air Bombs.
After a harrowing exchange of offense and defense, Snow Sculpture landed heavily, one wing severely bent, losing its ability to fly.
Lan Zao was also severely injured; his left eye was nearly clawed through by Snow Sculpture, a horrific talon mark added to the left side of his cheek, blood streaming down.
In the end, Lan Zao beheaded Snow Sculpture with his serrated scimitar, securing the final victory.
There were no cheers.
Only his heavy, exhausted breaths could be heard.
Soon, he was taken down.
The Barbaric Duel Arena was once again shrouded in black fog.
“I wonder who the Spring Boxer’s opponent will be?” Lan Zao’s question remained unanswered.
However, his performance satisfied Shuang Tu, “Not bad at all.”
In another Observation Room.
The Human Race leader said, “Hen Fa is really quite good, we should recruit him. It would benefit the growth of the Saber Gang.”
Ice Eagle also nodded, “Just wait for a reply. If the situation looks good, you can then try to recruit.”
“A letter?”
Ice Eagle didn’t explain further, “Judging by the time, we should get a reply soon.”
Bloodline City.
Saber Gang headquarters.
In a secret room, two Golden Level fighters laughed heartily, drinking fine wine while having a confidential talk.
One was the leader of the Axe Gang, the other a Golden Level named Lin.
Fu Zhao gently pushed the door open and approached the Axe Gang leader, handing over a few sheets of paper, “Father, this is our investigation on Hen Fa.”
The Axe Gang leader took them and glanced over quickly, “Go write a letter, send all this intelligence to Ice Eagle.”
Lin paused his drinking, “You mean the Ice Eagle that’s with Teng Donglang?”
“Yes,” said the Axe Gang leader, “He escaped from Snowbird Port with a group, but most importantly, he took Teng Donglang’s corpse and the designated Coffin Carrier with him.”
Lin’s expression turned grave, “Time is running short; they should make their journey quickly. Otherwise, even if they reach Anqiu, it would be futile.”
The Axe Gang leader smiled widely, “Let them be! Ice Eagle has been to Anqiu before, but was knocked down back then because his Bloodline wasn’t strong enough, so he has a sense of measure. Plus, with the guide, are we afraid they can’t make it back?”
“What we need most now is to eliminate the people from the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps in Bloodline City.”
“With us two joining forces, they are as good as dead!”