Chapter 860: Chapter 648: Accepting the Challenge
Ice Calamity did not pursue, but stood in place.
As He Gaitou distanced himself, he stopped and his face showed a trace of surprise, staring at the three-meter radius circle of light: “Your frost aura actually contains the potion effects of the [Beautiful Future] magic potion?”
“That’s right, I discovered it by accident,” Ice Calamity said.
He Gaitou and the Warden of the Ice Prison both fell into silence, their eyes flickering as they looked at the aura with expressions as if avoiding snakes and scorpions!
“This time, Lord Long Fu is in big trouble!”
“It’s quite possible he might fall directly into the hands of Ice Calamity.”
He Gaitou felt pleased, but the warden showed a touch of worry.
He Gaitou stopped and ceased fighting proactively, being very wary of this mutated frost aura.
“Alright, I roughly understand now, and know what kind of equipment suits you.”
“What about your own equipment?”
Ice Calamity spoke truthfully: “Most of them have been sold off.”
Being tormented by the potion effect and feeling his days were numbered, after failing at prolonging his life, he deliberately committed a crime. Using his connections, he was imprisoned in the Ice Prison.
Although he temporarily suppressed the potion’s effect by taking advantage of the Ice Prison environment, he was already disheartened and hopeless.
To enjoy the last beautiful time in his life, he not only sold off his Golden Level equipment, but also gradually sold some assets to exchange for money to buy luxury items, like magic delicacies for his enjoyment.
He Gaitou nodded, gathered information on his combat skills from Ice Calamity, and then took his leave.
The warden escorted him out of the Ice Prison, showing a strong expression of concern before parting: “I am quite worried.”
“The frost aura isn’t scary, what’s scary is that it mutated due to the [Beautiful Future] magic potion, gaining the power of time.”
“If Long Fu loses, won’t our wagers go down the drain?”
He Gaitou thought: “Wouldn’t it be best if Ice Calamity could directly take down Long Fu?”
He fervently hoped for this to happen.
But at this moment, he couldn’t be honest with the warden.
So he persuaded: “No, in my view, Long Fu’s strength is still greater. Even if Ice Calamity has this trump card, Long Fu has an even bigger chance of winning.”
The warden didn’t believe it, shaking his head and directly saying: “I don’t believe it! I’ve also seen the magic images, I know how Long Fu defeated Teng Donglang.”
He Gaitou thought for a moment and provided a reason: “Then you must not have seen how Long Fu repelled Hua Tang.”
The warden was startled: “I have indeed heard this rumor. But whether Hua Tang, such a grand thief, is real or fake, is hard to say.”
He Gaitou, however, took out a magic crystal ball, not large, only the size of an infant’s fist.
“Inside here is the image of the confrontation between Hua Tang and Long Fu.”
“It was accidentally captured.”
“After watching this, you’ll understand my confidence in Long Fu.”
Of course, this image was secretly captured by people arranged by Mei Lin.
There are shots from all angles.
Mei Lin is an outstanding leader, naturally understanding the importance of military intelligence. So at the time of the Hua Tang operation, she consciously began collecting first-hand intelligence.
What He Gaitou brought out was just one of these.
The warden watched the magic image on the spot, quickly showing a change in expression.
The battle was brief, but Hua Tang’s strength was clearly at the Golden Level, and “Long Fu” (Zong Ge) performed outstandingly, almost indistinguishably matched.
“How did Long Fu become this strong?” The warden felt surprised.
He Gaitou smiled slightly, deliberately lowered his voice, and said his guess: “You also know that the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps has quite a profound background, don’t you?”
“Long Fu’s strength isn’t that simple either.”
“I am more inclined to believe he deliberately acted weak, ‘barely struggling’ to defeat Teng Donglang.”
“I even suspect whether he’s really on the Silver Level.”
“After all, our country’s duels only prohibit outside assistance. If the dueler himself disguises his level and others can’t see through it, it’s actually a skill of the dueler, absolutely not violating any rules.”
The warden suddenly realized: “So that’s how it is!”
“The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is suspected of being arms smugglers. If they want to have a market, they naturally need a reputation.”
“If a Golden Level pretends to be Silver Level, participates in duels, and creates stunning achievements of Silver Level defeating Golden Level, naturally they can become famous nationwide in a short time!”
“Good plan… no wonder the last attack seemed a bit abrupt when Teng Donglang lost.”
Seeing the warden say this, He Gaitou added: “Rest assured, this time I’m the bookmaker manipulating the betting, do you think I want to lose myself?”
The warden was finally completely convinced by him.
He Gaitou also acted quickly, once confirmed that Ice Calamity would battle, he immediately ordered the spread of the news. At the same time, he began collaborating with Mei Lin and other channels to prepare equipment and combat skills for Ice Calamity.
With duelists secretly assisting, the relevant information quickly spread.
“Have you heard? Ice Calamity has issued a duel challenge to Lord Long Fu!”
“Who is Ice Calamity? Sounds familiar.”
“Lord Long Fu’s combat power is top tier among the Silver Level. Can Ice Calamity stop his winning streak?”
“Ice Calamity is different from other Silver Levels. He was once a Golden Level fighter but dropped in Level due to consuming too much of the Magic Potion ‘Beautiful Future’.
“Oh, that’s how it is!”
“Is he also a victim of ‘Beautiful Future’? How has he not died after all these years?”
“After all, he was once Golden Level, and I heard he deliberately committed a crime to enter the Ice Prison and found a way to suppress the potion’s effects!”
“Ice Calamity is extraordinary! He was once Golden Level and can still resist the ‘Beautiful Future’ Magic Potion. Now he’s actively challenging Long Fu; he must have some assurance. How much combat power does he still have?”
“Could it be that Ice Calamity has recovered and returned to Golden Level?”
“No, many sources confirm that he’s still Silver Level.”
“This is definitely not an ordinary Silver Level; his combat power must be astonishing. I’m really curious about who is stronger between him and Long Fu.”
“I’m also very interested! Their fight might be the strongest Silver Level contention in this National Ceremony duel.”
“Now it’s up to Long Fu’s side to respond, whether they accept or not.”
“They’ll definitely accept! It’s understandable to refuse a Golden Level challenge since Long Fu is only Silver Level, but how can he refuse a fight of the same rank?”
“No guessing needed for this. I firmly believe Long Fu will not refuse. He dared to challenge and publicly kill a Golden Level Teng Donglang; why fear a mere Ice Calamity?!”
“This battle is bound to happen! The National Ceremony duel is finally going to be worth watching now.”
“It’s a pity that both of them are in the Royal Capital, so we can’t watch it live.”
“What does that matter? The magic image of their battle will surely sell like hotcakes.”
“Eh? Don’t you know Long Fu’s recent duels have all been private, with no audience?”
“Ah, it seems like that’s the case…”
“Then let’s raise a clamor! We demand this duel to be public, we want to see it. If they don’t let us see it, we won’t buy their Dragon Power Riding Potion!”
“Hahaha, if the duel is public, I’ll first sell ten sets of Magic Potion to support the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.”
The public opinion quickly became a raging wave and soon swept over to Zong Ge and Zi Di.
Zong Ge sharply sensed the hostility: “There are enemies spreading and pushing this public sentiment. As we discussed earlier, they want to entangle me, hinder my recovery, determine my condition, and then seize the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.”
Zi Di paced back and forth, looking uneasy: “According to the intelligence we’ve gathered, Ice Calamity’s combat power at the Golden Level was already elite!”
“If he hadn’t been dragged down by the ‘Beautiful Future’ potion, his future would have been promising, and he wouldn’t have ended up voluntarily in prison.”
“Now, since he’s been picked by our enemies, he’ll surely be armed and nurtured.”
“He comes with ill intentions…”
“In our current situation, we can’t refuse.”
It’s understandable for Zong Ge to refuse a Golden Level challenge, but refusing a Silver Level duel would surely tarnish his reputation and make the citizens of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom think he’s weak and cowardly.
This goes against the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s customs and values.
Sales of Dragon Power Riding Potion would be halved, at best.
Zong Ge’s eyes flashed with sharpness, showing no sign of retreat: “Since we rely on reputation, we are naturally also burdened by it.”
“Not to mention our commercial plan, just Ice Calamity himself must be dealt with.”
“Yuan Ci has been secretly operating, originally having Shi Liu representing Ice Prison in the battle. Now, it’s Ice Calamity who took that spot. After I kill him and free that spot, it would be easier for Shi Liu to come out.”
Zi Di sighed and could only nod.
Hua Tang was unaware that choosing Ice Calamity not only disrupted the commercial strategy of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps but also the secret plan to open the Purple Vine Secret Stash.
Ice Calamity must die!
This was the decision of Zong Ge and Zi Di.
After the two reached an agreement, Zong Ge went to prepare for battle.
Meanwhile, Zi Di contacted the Lijian family.
She took out two Magic Potion recipes and handed them to the Lijian family’s Alchemy Mage: “One is the Magic Potion ‘Soul Strolling’, the other is ‘Smooth Run’, both for speeding up magic beast mounts.”
“However, the former accelerates thinking, while the latter accelerates movement speed.”
“Once these are crafted and released into the market, they will surely spark a second wave of sales.”
Zi Di was extremely confident.
The Alchemy Mage, lacking her commercial acumen, couldn’t see the vast potential market but could study these two potion recipes.
Soon, the Lijian family members were full of praise: “Marvelous, the principle behind the Magic Potion ‘Smooth Run’ isn’t just increasing the mount’s base speed; it also has a Spell effect similar to ‘Bottom Grease’, which significantly reduces resistance.”
When it reached the Lijian family Housekeeper’s hands, with some commercial aptitude, he saw more: “‘Soul Strolling’ Magic Potion is excellent! Its crafting cost is very low, accelerating the mounts’ thinking, making them more agile and able to adapt to the sudden increase in speed. In our country’s thinking potions, the mainstream is calm thinking, resisting external interference. There’s nothing comparable in thought acceleration.”
“This potion will definitely be well-received!”