Capítulo 920: Chapter 708: Mifang, Mind Your Strength—Don’t Kill Long Fu
Challenging Mifang, this is an open scheme. The Dragon-man youth never worried that Mifang would refuse.
Therefore, after sending the challenge letter, he ordered the mercenary to update the rumors.
Even before Mifang left his study, the news spread throughout the Royal Capital.
The heat around the Dragon-man youth was too high. His promotion to the Golden Level was very sudden, but it made sense, carrying a legendary touch and a compelling story.
The news of his challenge to Mifang spread very quickly.
“Have you heard? Long Fu actually openly challenged Mifang!”
“I thought after he advanced to the Golden Level, he would take some time to rest. I didn’t expect him to be so valiant, immediately taking action. It’s truly exciting!”
“The key point is, for his first move, he didn’t choose a Silver Level opponent, nor an ordinary Golden Level, but Mifang. The latter is a seasoned duelist, quite outstanding in combat strength.”
“This is going to be a great show indeed.”
“Does Long Fu have a high chance of winning this time?”
“Uh, very small. Although Mifang isn’t a Snow Elf, only a Human Race, he is battle-tested, has high-level recognition, and married into the Jingxiang family. Long Fu is just a newcomer at the Golden Level, dealing with such a veteran powerhouse; it’s very challenging.”
“So, his chances are very low. Why does he still want to challenge Mifang?”
“Ah, you might not know. This matter has to do with the cooperation between the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps and the Lijian family. You should know about mount magic potion…”
The Dragon-man youth didn’t fabricate on a large scale, but rather created rumors as the situation unfolded.
These rumors were very close to reality, well-grounded, mainly focusing on shaping the personal image of the Dragon-man youth—to protect his mercenary group’s interests, he’s forced to step up, challenging the strong with the weak, highlighting courage and responsibility!
This inevitably increased the public’s favorable impression of the Dragon-man youth once again.
Especially the lower-class people, who enjoyed most seeing such heroics challenging the strong.
For a moment, Long Fu’s reputation rose again.
The Golden Level duel between him and Mifang quickly spread from the Royal Capital to the entire country.
Mifang quickly learned of these rumors, but he couldn’t care about so much. What he needed was to seek aid.
As a Human Race and son-in-law of the Jingxiang family, besides relying on family and personal strength, Mifang’s greatest support comes from the duelist camp hidden in the shadows.
Therefore, he first got in touch with Mei Lin.
Mei Lin has high prestige among duelists, one could say second only to Long Meng. On the surface, she is the general of the First Navy of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
Upon receiving Mifang’s plea for help, Mei Lin’s pupils contracted slightly: “Long Fu initiated a frontal challenge against you?”
“Yes.” Mifang’s tone was anxious, “I’m certainly no match for Long Fu, and I’m even more worried about whether he has discovered my identity as a duelist!”
Mei Lin pondered, “The probability is low.”
“The key now is that I can’t find any reason to reject this challenge. The public perception is that I’m stronger and he’s weaker. If I back down and refuse, I won’t be able to hold my head up high.” Mifang said.
There was a note of bitterness in his heart. Clearly, he was the weaker one, but the entire nation believed he was stronger and had the advantage.
Mei Lin did not hesitate, responding again: “We are both duelists, and the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is our common enemy. Regardless of whether Long Fu has discovered your identity, it is currently not important. What is important is that we will spare no effort to arm you, enabling you to exert stronger combat power.”
“This is an opportunity.”
“Previously, Long Fu’s performance externally at the Transcendent level showed only Silver Level, leaving us with no opportunity to strike.”
“Now, he has ‘advanced’ to Golden Level, our members can openly challenge him!”
“Mifang, you need to understand one point: regarding this battle, winning or losing is not crucial. The important thing is to maintain your life while trying to measure what Long Fu’s real tactics are. Especially what his power was when he once fought three at once.”
“If we can make him expose this trump card, our chances of dealing with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would increase by at least 20%.”
Hearing this, Mifang’s face paled slightly, thinking to himself: “If in the duel, Long Fu uses such a trump card against me, will I still have my life?”
Anyway, Mei Lin’s attitude of full support was favorable.
Mifang took a deep breath: “I will fight with all my strength, without any illusions or hopes. As long as I can stay alive, that is the greatest victory for me!”
Mei Lin slightly frowned.
She could hear the undertone in Mifang’s words.
Mifang initially expressed his concerns, worried that Long Fu might have discovered his identity as a duelist, yet he provided no strong logical basis—this was a subtle reminder to Mei Lin—that if she didn’t save him, Mifang might “defect” to some extent, revealing the secrets of duelists to Long Fu.
In the end, Mifang stated self-preservation as a priority, which showed practicality, but simultaneously revealed his weak fighting spirit. Mifang used this as a tactful refusal to Mei Lin’s demands—he would not engage deeply with Long Fu, risking his life to probe the one-against-three trump card for other duelists!
“Mifang is not part of the military factions after all. His main reason for dealing with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is his own interests.” Mei Lin was very clear in her heart.
“But he is ultimately a member of the duelists and is actively aligning with our side, so we must support him with full strength!”
“Unfortunately, I’m currently swamped with military affairs.”
“We can only fully assist Mifang from other aspects.”
Mei Lin’s military affairs were quite busy.
All this could be blamed on the Lijian family. The Lijian family, in order to preserve their strength, did not fight to the end with the pirate coalition led by Da Han, but withdrew in time.
This led to a large number of pirates appearing around Ice Sculpture Island, making the coast of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom very dangerous.
The First Naval Fleet, where Mei Lin was stationed, under such circumstances, had to undertake full maritime defense duties, continuously clearing all sizes of pirates for almost 24 hours.
Mifang’s matter was more urgent and important. After ending the communication, Mei Lin rarely put aside her military affairs, using her contacts and resources to arrange for Mifang.
“To outsiders, Mifang and I are strangers, so this aid has to take a detour to reach his hands.”
“I hope the timing is right.”
Mei Lin continued handling military affairs.
One of her arms, the Golden Level Bei Jia, proactively asked for orders this time, submitting a report. The report roughly stated: Bei Jia caught up with the Vegetable Basket Pirate Group, confirming significant losses of the group, requesting a strike to try to eliminate this group of pirates.
Information swiftly flashed through Mei Lin’s mind: “The Cong Mang Pirate Group attacked Snowbird Port, and the Mage Tower of Snowbird Port was bombed. However, the City Lord of Snowbird Port explosively turned the situation around by blowing up the City Lord’s Mansion, causing them severe losses. Coupled with the sudden intervention of a mysterious Fishman strongman, the Vegetable Basket Pirate Group had to withdraw…”
She rapidly assessed the risks of this military action: “The vast majority of the Vegetable Basket Pirate Group’s pirates were bombed to death, but the Bachelors Team remained intact, and other island group’s elite are still present.”
“Cong Mang is already missing, and the Vegetable Basket Pirate Group lacks a Golden Level powerhouse to oversee, leaving Bei Jia with a great advantage… It can be fought!”
Mei Lin approved the action plan of her subordinate Bei Jia.
Mifang approached Gudong.
Upon hearing the news about Long Fu’s challenge, Gudong’s expression turned serious: “Mifang, you’re no match for Long Fu. You must be extremely careful.”
Gudong had a military background, and spoke very directly.
Gudong continued, “The equipment I’ve got, if you like anything, I’ll lend it to you. Also, you can come to the Divine Country of Duels, and I’ll do my best to mimic Long Fu, using his fighting style to help you practice.”
Like Meilin, Gudong’s attitude was firm, offering Mifang his full support without a hint of hesitation.
Mifang wasn’t shy and borrowed Gudong’s shield immediately.
He then went to find Bao Ligen.
Bao Ligen was inconvenienced, stating they would get in touch later.
Mifang approached Yijiu, who shrugged, saying he had been healing recently, was penniless, and short on resources. If Mifang were to hire him heavily to assassinate, he could take action.
Mifang’s eyes lit up: “You’re willing to assassinate Long Fu?”
“What a joke?” Yijiu’s pitch immediately rose, “That’s too risky. I meant I could help you assassinate other members of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to distract Long Fu.”
Mifang’s face darkened.
How could he do such a thing?
The heat of this duel was sure to cover the entire nation. At this critical moment, if other members of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps were assassinated, Mifang would be the prime suspect. Whether there was evidence or not, he and the Jingxiang family’s reputation would be severely tested.
If Yijiu assassinated Long Fu, that would be understandable, but merely assassinating other members would only add chaos for Mifang.
Mifang cut off his contact with Yijiu and then reached out to He Gaitou.
He Gaitou previously supported Ice Calamity in causing trouble for Zong Ge, and Mifang had covertly aided him a bit.
With such factors, after hearing the news, He Gaitou did not shirk in the slightest and was willing to assist.
He Gaitou remarked, “Brother Mifang, you got the right person. I can provide assistance that other duelists cannot.”
This piqued Mifang’s interest.
Mifang inquired further.
He Gaitou boasted, “You know, I own quite a few gambling houses. For this duel, I can orchestrate another nationwide gambling event. Before the duel, we’ll boost your odds of winning, and we’ll strive to raise public expectations of you, while secretly placing huge bets on Long Fu winning!”
Mifang: …
He Gaitou continued to persuade, eloquent as a lotus: “Don’t carry too much psychological burden, brother Mifang.”
“You’re bound to lose. But even in defeat, shouldn’t it at least be worthwhile?”
“Even if you lose, you can profit from the gambling, gaining a large sum of money. It’s quite wise.”
Mifang: …
“Let me think about it.” Mifang severed his communication with He Gaitou.
He was just about to contact Snow Ball when he received a communication from Bao Ligen.
Bao Ligen, with a loud voice and fiery temperament, spoke even more directly than Gudong: “What do you need me to help with, just say. Don’t be afraid, just do it! One word, do! If we don’t kill him, it’s just one death, what’s to fear?”
Mifang hearing Bao Ligen’s booming voice in his ear, metaphorically rolled his eyes: “It’s dying that I fear…”
Aside from Bao Ligen, Snow Ball also proactively contacted him.
Snow Ball: “I heard about your situation, Lord Mifang, do your best.”
“I need to fully participate in the Warm Snow Cup and can’t help you personally.”
Although Mifang wasn’t familiar with Snow Ball, at this moment, he wasn’t polite and directly made a request: “I’ve got plenty of equipment. What’s missing now is life-saving tools, if you have any, lend them to me.”
Mifang contacted almost everyone among the duelists, trying to muster as much support as possible.
Returning to the Jingxiang family, someone immediately informed him that the Clan Leader had sent a message, urging him to make contact once he was back.
After activating the emergency contact device, a three-dimensional magic image of the Jingxiang Clan Leader appeared before Mifang.
The Jingxiang Clan Leader wore a smile, his demeanor calm, and started with: “Mifang, you truly deserve to be the talent I selected. I must congratulate you in advance, you’re about to make a meritorious deed again.”
Mifang: …
The Jingxiang Clan Leader continued: “I reviewed the list you submitted, and I’m quite satisfied. Even facing a newly promoted Golden Level, you maintained a cautious approach, not becoming complacent, and requested the family’s greatest support.”
“However, your caution is somewhat extreme.”
“Naturally, this could cause others within the family to think more.”
“Therefore, some items on this list, I can’t approve, I hope you can understand.”
Mifang’s expression changed, and he quickly spoke up, diplomatically advocating for himself.
After some back-and-forth, the Jingxiang Clan Leader’s demeanor grew impatient, waving his hand: “Requesting three Golden level armors at once is indeed excessive.”
“Recently, you’ve performed excellently, and you’ve gained family authority commensurate with your achievements.”
“But don’t take this opportunity to test the boundaries of your personal power within the family!”
The Jingxiang Clan Leader firmly cautioned Mifang.
Mifang wore a distinctly bitter expression.
Finally, the Jingxiang Clan Leader, in a matter-of-fact tone, declared: “This battle concerns Magic Potions for mounts, and our clan’s core interests. You must win, and the more handsomely you do, the more advantageous our subsequent negotiations will be!”
“But remember, restrain your force.”
“By no means should you kill Long Fu; if you do, we’d forge a deadly enmity with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, and any possibility of cooperation would be lost.”
Mifang opened his mouth, his grievances hard to express.
The Jingxiang Clan Leader seriously misjudged the situation!
Firstly, Mifang and the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps were already sworn enemies.
Secondly, what Mifang feared most was being killed by Long Fu.