“Why did things turn out like this… I feel like I said that last night too?”
Kersey wiped the sweat from her head with a handkerchief. It wasn’t from the heat, but from following Bried in the room doing leg curl exercises.
The equipment was brought by Bried. Although Kersey tried to refuse and was reluctant, for the sake of improving survival rate, she had to follow along, and now her body was still sore.
‘By the way, Bried’s Ring Chart is full of food and fitness equipment… How much does she love exercising?’
Kersey looked at her friend speechlessly.
“Just treat it as watching a match. Last time he could defeat Cliff without taking damage, and he’s gotten much stronger compared to before. If Cass is in danger, I’ll intervene. Kersey, you also be ready to use your skills to save people.”
Faced with Kersey’s bewildered expression, Bried gave her plan.
“Sorry, it came to this. I originally planned to go up.”
Wa Luolan, standing to Bried’s left, showed a regretful expression on her face.
At the edge of the battle circle, twenty meters in radius and surrounded by thick hemp ropes, the three stood near the ropes on the yellow sandy ground.
Beside them, many foxmen were crowded in, all there to watch.
“This really isn’t the time for this. I’ve put your companion in danger.”
“You already warned Cass. He chose this himself. Don’t take it upon yourself. All we can do now is trust him.”
Bried responded to Wa Luolan, turning her face sideways.
“Understood. If anything special happens, I’ll help right away.”
Wa Luolan explained the process of the meeting and the cause of the matter to the two.
When she and Kersey finished training, Nuo Yi brought them here, and they were greeted by a pre-arranged duel scene.
‘Besides, the real instigator is that old man.’
Bried carefully and lightly lifted her eyes to look at Baruma.
Wa Luolan finally felt relieved and looked into the circle with her vertical pupils.
This wasn’t really a duel, but rather using force to gain more say. The two sides didn’t have a conflict intense enough to require life or death.
In such battles, it’s rare for one side to die.
However, “rare” means it’s still possible. If they lose reason, a life can easily be taken.
After hearing the whole story, Bried felt like she had fallen into the old man’s trap.
It was really unpleasant.
Bried tried to read some information from Baruma’s bandaged body.
The old man under the red mask inexplicably looked up at the sky.
Surrounded by his subordinates, Baruma sat on a high chair similar to a lifeguard chair, but woven from bamboo strips.
His subordinates held up a fruit basket for his convenience, as if he wanted to enjoy the match well.
Acting Clan Chief Waermor sat in the special seats, with no one around her, separated from the crowd by guards.
She rubbed her big belly and smiled gently.
“Please prepare, both of you. When the countdown ends, the match begins. The moment one side surrenders, can no longer fight, or steps out of the circle, that is considered the moment of victory.”
She signaled to a priest. The young priest waved his staff.
In the center of the battle circle, a twisted but discernible magical number appeared, showing 120 seconds.
“It’s actually the same timing method as when we fought Cliff.”
Bried slightly raised her eyebrows.
She had thought the foxmen would use something like incense burning and gong striking as a starting signal.
Bried’s gaze turned to Ti Er Xiu and Cass inside the circle.
The chances of winning were actually equal.
From their auras, the battle energy of the two wasn’t much different, and their levels probably weren’t far off either.
Wa Luolan and the others thought Ti Er Xiu had a higher chance of winning because they knew him better.
In Bried’s opinion, it was hard to say who would win between Ti Er Xiu and Cass, because the foxmen didn’t understand Cass.
“Speaking of which…” Wa Luolan muttered to herself.
She could have sat in the special seats where Waermor was, but instead she stood among the crowd, watching together with Bried and the others.
Not long ago, when she left the small house, her mother smiled and whispered in her ear: “Actually, I think that young man named Cass, with the unusual appearance, will win. That way your uncle won’t bother you. Don’t tell anyone, or they’ll say I’m biased.”
After all, her mother married her father, the strongest warrior in the clan, so she probably had her own judgment.
But Wa Luolan still couldn’t feel at ease.
When her father was still alive, Ti Er Xiu had sparred with him, and even her father praised his strength.
If it weren’t for his bad character, he wouldn’t have always been the captain of the sixth team, the one considered the worst.
Yes, in Wa Luolan’s memory, at least before she went on her journey, Ti Er Xiu wasn’t the first team captain, but the sixth.
He was probably promoted by her uncle…
As soon as Baruma made eye contact with that orange-haired lunatic, his hands instinctively gripped the armrest tightly.
He used his strong willpower to suppress the urge to cross his legs in an “X” shape, quickly looking up at the sky.
In public, if he, an elderly, highly respected (self-proclaimed) old man, made such a feminine gesture of crossing his legs, his career as High Priest would be over.
The reason Baruma decided to target Cass and the others was simple—threat.
Last night, although he suffered backlash from the magic circle set up in the village being destroyed by monsters, causing his whole body to be burned by thunder and fire, and he came out of the secret space a bit late, he still witnessed the combat prowess Cass and his teammates showed when dealing with the monsters.
They faced multiple monsters without panic, their skills were at least as good as the hunting squad members, and the three coordinated well.
This was not good news for Baruma.
‘What a stroke of luck, my good niece. Having such strong helpers placed with Wa Luolan is not good for me. If they become more active and show even more outstanding performances, it will affect my approval rating in the clan.’
Let Ti Er Xiu probe Cass’s depth. Best to reasonably injure him severely or kill him in this match to dampen his spirit.
‘I’ve prepared a sure-win trump card for you, so go ahead boldly, Ti Er Xiu.’
Cass first used his Ring Chart to send a message to Kersey, then faced his current opponent: Ti Er Xiu.
Captain of the First Hunting Squad, height 193 cm, had shown extraordinary combat talent since childhood, one of Baruma’s trusted men.
Cass recalled the intelligence information Siloque sent last night as he summoned the “Wraithblade.”
“Your weapon looks really interesting, like it would be delicious to eat.” Ti Er Xiu joked.
A sound like dry wood rubbing leaked from his mouth. It was the sound of foxman teeth grinding against each other. That was probably his laugh.
“I suggest you don’t. Eating it wouldn’t just cause diarrhea.” Cass replied coldly.
‘Maybe, no, definitely—he would be ripped open, flesh and blood flying everywhere.’
Ti Er Xiu was wearing somewhat heavy scale armor, with a multi-functional shoulder bag on his shoulder and a one-handed double-edged axe on his back.
On his fox head, he wore a chain hood with two holes for his beast ears to stick out, and three small earrings in gold, silver, and copper colors.
“You’re quite fashionable.” Cass had a deep impression of him.
Not just because of the equipment he was said to have won from losers and then wore, but because when he first entered the village, the foxman who was groping two women’s breasts and kicking his own wife out of the house were this same guy.
According to the information sent last night, Ti Er Xiu’s reputation in the village was not good.
His combat skills were top-notch, but he always neglected his duties.
A former teammate later said that even when a monster crippled a teammate, Ti Er Xiu wouldn’t save them, and that teammate was almost bitten to death.
Cass swept his gaze across the battle circle.
The two female foxmen who were groped by Ti Er Xiu earlier were also there, wearing only a thin piece of cloth, their expressions numb, as if lifeless.
Yesterday they were all smiles and said they liked being hit…
‘How could that be?’
They were coerced.
These two foxwomen were originally ordinary sisters living in the village, subjected to a mind-affecting Gu magic.
Because it was extremely difficult to cast, it could only be used on specific conditions. The recipient also drained the caster’s magic power.
The caster used it only once and then stopped, erased their own memories from the victims, and gave them to Ti Er Xiu, transferring the authority to him.
Ti Er Xiu was a warrior and didn’t rely on magic like the original caster, so he accepted them generously.
Because of the Gu magic, the souls of the two foxwomen were not actually extinguished, but they could not control their own bodies.
Watching helplessly as their bodies were mistreated without being able to resist, the caster had effectively turned them into slaves.
Their bodies were also engraved with a special thorn technique spell…
Even if some foxmen asked about their condition, as long as Ti Er Xiu was present, he would control them to speak.
The two were called his wives involuntarily by Ti Er Xiu.
‘How pitiful… Just imagining the feelings of those two victims made me feel extremely frightened and also extremely angry.’
“Oh, good look in your eyes, kid. You finally have some fighting spirit for me.”
“Maybe.” Cass didn’t dare slack off, pointing the blade tip at Ti Er Xiu.
“That’s the attitude I love. I love duels! Putting the key of life and death entirely on technique and experience—that’s what makes you feel alive.” Ti Er Xiu put away his frivolous attitude, his fox head showing a serious expression, but he didn’t draw his weapon.
‘Using Shilo Slash would end it in an instant. But then I wouldn’t be able to use magic for two days. If the village gets attacked again, or if everyone goes to fight the vampires, I’d be useless… I can’t use that move.
‘I’ll have to go all out.
‘Since Siloque didn’t say to go easy on Ti Er Xiu or spare his life, only that I should take it seriously and go all out. Can I take that to mean—if I get too serious and accidentally kill him, it’s okay?’
Under the shadow of his bangs and the sword blade, no one noticed Cass revealing a cruel sneer completely different from usual.