Chapter 444: Wild Duel (3)
The ticking of the countdown clock echoed relentlessly, as if striking directly at Lan Zao's heart.
“Shuang Tu explicitly told me it was a bronze level beast. How could it have become iron level?”
“Bronze level and iron level are entirely different matters. How could such a grave error occur?”
"No, this duel arena isn't under Shuang Tu's control. At most, it's been infiltrated a little. Could a mistake have happened? Of course it's possible..."
Spring Boxer's voice snapped Lan Zao out of his chaotic thoughts.
“Hen Fa, you're not just facing a beast of your own level—it can fly!”
“Did you bring ranged weapons?”
Due to their different life forms, beasts inherently possess far tougher hides than humans, granting them a massive advantage.
Lan Zao was iron level, still one level below silver and two below gold. Yet even among gold level fighters, few mastered aerial battle skills.
Spring Boxer looked at Lan Zao with concern. It was obvious that Lan Zao was at a massive disadvantage against the iron level snow eagle!
Lan Zao shook his head, indicating he had no ranged weapons.
This made Spring Boxer's expression darken further. After a moment of silence, he said, “Perhaps, you should just concede defeat. It's not shameful...”
Surrender?
Just moments ago, that very thought had flashed through Lan Zao's mind.
But upon hearing Spring Boxer's suggestion, he shook his head decisively: “This is the wild duel arena. Early surrender isn't permitted. If I surrender now, I fear the arena owner would grind my bones to dust. Compared to that fate, facing an iron level snow eagle is preferable.”
Spring Boxer's face darkened, yet he couldn't rebuke Lan Zao's logic.
“Thanks.” Lan Zao nodded to him, “I still have a chance to win.”
With that, Lan Zao stepped out of the waiting room at a measured pace, passed through the open doors, and formally entered the wild duel arena.
Spring Boxer's concern had earned him a bit more goodwill from Lan Zao.
His conversation with Spring Boxer had also cleared away Lan Zao's earlier panic, allowing him to settle into calmness.
Lan Zao's figure appeared simultaneously across the magic projections in each spectator room.
In the room where Shuang Tu watched, he studied Lan Zao's expression with keen interest.
This arrangement was unexpected for Lan Zao.
But it was precisely within Shuang Tu's plan.
The truth was that Shuang Tu had deceived Lan Zao, misleading him about the difficulty and easily persuading him to join the wild duel.
This was a test for Lan Zao.
It was also part of his cultivation.
After all, undercover operatives often had to face unexpected incidents.
“Now let me see how you handle this sudden unexpected situation.”
Shuang Tu's initial observation of Lan Zao was, for the most part, satisfactory.
In the observation room where Bing Xiao resided.
“Hen Fa is here too?” Lan Zao's appearance surprised the veteran old leader of the Bayonet Gang.
The human ringleader behind him immediately frowned: “Hen Fa is in trouble.”
“He's not equipped with any crossbows or firearms. Aside from a set of bronze level leather armor and a bronze level scimitar, he has no other gear.”
"Against a land beast, he might stand a chance. But it's a snow eagle!"
Bing Xiao frowned slightly: "His bloodline has awakened. Why abandon proper cultivation to enter such a perilous wild duel? Is there any way to pull him out?"
The human ringleader sighed: “Difficult! Rescuing him will inevitably disrupt this wild duel. Our Bayonet Gang is new here, while the wild duel arena owner has long been the local kingpin. Still, there are precedents for such actions."
"But doing so would mean that the wild duel arena would be destroying its own reputation. The price we'd pay would be enormous. By my estimate, it would cost at least this much."
The human ringleader held up four fingers.
Bing Xiao glanced at him and shook his head slightly, “Then forget it.”
Even if Lan Zao could advance to the silver level in the future, the cost would leave the Bayonet Gang severely in the red if they went through with it.
His choice didn't surprise the human ringleader.
The human ringleader added, "But the loser isn't necessarily Hen Fa. The primary revenue of the wild duel arena doesn't come from ticket sales, but from the betting pools they set up."
“As the major bookmaker, the arena owner rakes in a fortune nearly every time!”
“To fuel gambling, they often design wild duels to feature evenly matched opponents, making the outcome unpredictable.”
"And cases like Hen Fa's now, where one side is clearly at a disadvantage, might be a deliberately set trap. When the crowd heavily bets on the snow eagle to win, if Hen Fa triumphs, it's a massive payday for the bookmakers."
Bing Xiao sighed, “Perhaps.”
They fell silent as the third duel commenced.
As Lan Zao stepped toward the center of the arena, the snow eagle, already poised for attack, let out a piercing shriek and lunged forward.
“So fast!” Even fully focused, Lan Zao was startled by the snow eagle's speed.
He rolled awkwardly to dodge, using his arms to block the eagle's claws.
Fortunately, his bronze level armor prevented any scratches.
The snow eagle, its strike missed, immediately soared skyward.
Lan Zao instantly dove toward a nearby stone pillar.
The snow eagle turned mid-air, charging toward Lan Zao once more.
Lan Zao circled the pillar, using it as cover to evade the snow eagle's attacks.
After all, the snow eagle was a magic beast with limited intelligence, repeatedly missing its strikes.
Instead, Lan Zao seized the moment the snow eagle dove down, swinging his bronze level curved blade to land heavy blows on its body and wings.
Though Lan Zao's blade skills weren't exceptional, they were rock-solid from countless real battles.
The snow eagle sustained minor injuries.
“If only I had an iron level curved blade!” Lan Zao sighed inwardly.
His fighter level had risen, but his equipment hadn't been upgraded yet.
Having suffered repeated setbacks, the snow eagle abandoned its diving attacks. Instead, it employed a racial magic, firing feathers from its own plumage as projectiles.
Lan Zao used the stone pillars as cover, temporarily stabilizing his position.
The snow eagle circled overhead, constantly adjusting its position to fire long-range shots at Lan Zao.
Battle skill - Air Cannon.
Seizing a moment, Lan Zao suddenly unleashed a ranged attack.
Caught off guard, the snow eagle was struck by the blast.
This counterattack immediately drew low gasps from many in the viewing rooms.
“He actually possesses long-range attack capabilities now. That must be the battle skill: Air Cannon.” Bing Xiao felt a flicker of surprise, but quickly shook his head, “Too bad Hen Fa's practice wasn't thorough enough. If he'd fired two shots in succession, the snow eagle would've been severely injured. Hitting just one doesn't amount to much.”
The human ringleader nodded, casually remarking, “It seems his battle qi technique has changed too.”
Struck by the air cannon, the snow eagle grew considerably more cautious, no longer as reckless as before.
It relentlessly fired feathers, while Lan Zao countered through the stone pillars with Air Cannon.
Lan Zao gradually gained the upper hand.
The snow eagle's feathers were blocked by the stone pillars, while the air cannon shells exploded even if they missed their mark, dealing area damage. The snow eagle struggled to evade this damage entirely through flight.
As the damage accumulated, the snow eagle sustained more injuries and its flight speed slowed considerably.
“At this rate, I can win!” Lan Zao was secretly rejoicing when the stone pillars before him began to slowly descend.
“Damn it!” Lan Zao cursed, instantly recalling the previous wild duel.
The bronze magician had attempted to conserve his magic power through meditation, only for a horde of swamp octopusmen to emerge and pursue him relentlessly.
Clearly, tedious, uneventful duels were precisely what the wild duel sought to avoid.
Such matches severely diminished the audience's experience.
Therefore, they directly altered the battlefield to make the combat more intense and spectacular.
All the stone pillars began to sink slowly, stripping Lan Zao of his home-field advantage.
Lan Zao had no choice but to fight desperately. Wielding his curved blade, he charged forward, closing the distance between himself and the snow eagle.
After exchanging several long-range attacks with him, the snow eagle, driven by rage, lunged at Lan Zao once more.
Without cover, Lan Zao could only dodge the snow eagle's claws by rolling.
As it closed in, he relentlessly swung his bronze scimitar or unleashed air cannons.
After a series of perilous exchanges, the snow eagle crashed to the ground, one wing severely bent, its flight capability lost.
Lan Zao was also badly wounded. The snow eagle nearly gouged out his left eye, leaving a gruesome claw mark across his cheek, blood streaming down.
Finally, Lan Zao severed the snow eagle's head with his serrated curved blade, securing ultimate victory.
No cheers erupted.
Only his heavy, exhausted panting filled the air.
Soon, he was led away.
The wild duel arena was once again shrouded in black mist.
“I wonder who Spring Boxer fighter's opponent is?” Lan Zao's question went unanswered.
But his performance satisfied Shuang Tu: “Not bad.”
In another viewing chamber.
The human ringleader remarked, “Hen Fa is truly impressive. We should recruit him—it would strengthen the Bayonet Gang.”
Bing Xiao nodded in agreement, “Wait for a reply. If the situation looks favorable, you can attempt recruitment.”
“A reply?”
Bing Xiao offered no further explanation, “Judging by the timeline, the letter should arrive soon.”
Blood Kin City.
Bayonet Gang's base.
Within a secret chamber, two gold level fighters laughed heartily as they drank fine wine and engaged in confidential discussions.
One was the Axe Gang leader; the other was a gold level fighter named Lin.
Fu Zhao pushed open the door and approached the leader, handing over several sheets of paper, “Father, these are the results of our investigation into Hen Fa.”
The Axe Gang leader took them and scanned them quickly, “Draft a letter. Send all this intelligence to Bing Xiao.”
Lin paused mid-sip, “That Bing Xiao who served under Teng Dong Lang?”
“Precisely,” the Axe Gang leader affirmed, “He escaped Snow Bird Harbor with his men. Crucially, he retrieved Teng Dong Lang's body and brought out the designated coffin bearer.”
A grave expression crossed Lin's face. "Time is running out. They must depart immediately. Otherwise, even if they reach Tranquil Hill, it will be too late."
The Axe Gang leader grinned. "Forget about him! Bing Xiao visited Tranquil Hill before, but his bloodline wasn't pure enough back then, he got rejected. He knows his limits. Besides, with the Lord Guide there, why worry about them not making it back?"
“Our top priority now is eliminating the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps currently in Blood Kin City.”
“With the two of us teaming up, they're as good as dead!”