Chapter 707: Mi Fang, Watch Your Strength, Don’t Kill Long Fu
Challenging Mi Fang was an overt plot, and the dragonman youngster was never worried about Mi Fang rejecting it.
Thus, after sending the challenge letter, he had mercenaries update the rumors.
Before Mi Fang could leave his study, these rumors spread throughout the capital.
The dragonman youngster was such a hot topic and his promotion to the gold level was very sudden, but it had basis in fact and a tinge of a legendary tale to it.
The news of him challenging Mi Fang rapidly disseminated.
“Did you hear? Long Fu actually challenged Mi Fang publicly!”
“I thought he would recover for a time after becoming a gold level. I didn’t expect he would be so dauntless and immediately make a move. I really look forward to it!”
“Most crucially, he decided not to challenge a silver level, nor an ordinary gold level, but Mi Fang. He is a veteran duelist and has outstanding strength.”
“This will be a good show.”
“What are Long Fu’s odds of winning?”
“Hic, very small. Although Mi Fang is not a snow elf, but a human, he is a veteran of a hundred duels, has been acknowledged by the high class, and is a member of the Jing Xiang Clan. Long Fu has just become a gold level, and it will be very difficult for him to deal with a veteran expert.”
“Saying that, if his probability of winning is small, why does he want to challenge Mi Fang?”
“Oh dear, you don’t know. This is about the collaboration between the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps and the Li Jian Clan. You should know about the mount potions…”
The dragonman youngster didn’t do purposeful wide scale fabrications, rather they took advantage of the situation to make rumors.
These rumors were very close to reality, and very rational. They were primarily focused on the dragonman youngster’s individual figure – for the sake of his corps’ earnings, he had no choice but to bravely step forward as the weak challenging the strong and project bravery and responsibility!
This action couldn’t help but win the favor of the masses and elevate his reputation.
Especially the lower class, who loved to hear this kind of gallantry.
In a moment, Long Fu’s renown increased once again.
The gold level duel between him and Mi Fang quickly spread out of the capital and across the country.
Mi Fang quickly found out about these rumors, but he couldn’t bother with them, he needed to ask for help.
As a human and son-in-law of the Jing Xiang Clan, outside of his clan and himself, the biggest backer Mi Fang had was the hidden duelist faction.
Therefore, he first contacted Mei Lin.
Mei Lin’s prestige among the duelists was very high, and one could say it was second only to Long Meng. Outwardly, she was the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s First Navy’s Rear Admiral.
Upon receiving Mi Fang’s plea, Mei Lin’s eyes contracted, “Long Fu launched an open challenge against you?”
“Yes.” Mi Fang was anxious, “I am certain to not be Long Fu’s match, and I am more worried that he’ll see through my duelist identity!”
Mei Lin pondered, “The probability is low.”
“Most crucially, I can’t find grounds to refuse this challenge. The masses view me as strong and him as weak. If I cower and refuse, I won’t have the integrity to raise my head.” Said Mi Fang.
He felt miserable. Obviously he was the weak one, but the entire nation believed he was stronger, that he was superior.
Mei Lin didn’t hesitate and replied, “We are duelists, and the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is our joint enemy. Regardless of whether Long Fu sees through you, that isn’t important at the moment. The important thing is we will spare no expense to arm you and maximize your combat strength.”
“This is an opportunity.”
“Before, Long Fu appeared to only be a silver level, and we didn’t know where to start.”
“Now that he’s ‘promoted’ to the gold level, our members can justly and honorably challenge him!”
“Mi Fang, you need to understand this: the outcome of this battle doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you keep yourself alive while simultaneously gauging Long Fu’s true skills. Especially since he won against three duelists alone, we need to know how he achieved that.”
“If you can get him to expose that trump card, our chances of prevailing over the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps will increase by 20%.
When Mi Fang heard this, he couldn’t help but turn pale, thinking to himself, “If Long Fu used that trump card against me during the duel, would I survive?”
Regardless of what was said, Mei Lin’s full support was positive news.
Mi Fang took a deep breath, “I will fight with all I have, don’t hold any fantasies or extravagant hopes. As long as I can survive, it will be my greatest victory!”
Me Lin faintly wrinkled her brows.
She heard the unspoken implication in Mi Fang’s words.
When Mi Fang was stating his concerns, he said he was worried that Long Fu might unmask him as a duelist but didn’t provide enough evidence – this vagueness warned Mei Lin that if she didn’t save Mi Fang, he might “defect” and tell Long Fu the secret that he was a duelist.
Mi Fang’s final statement that ensuring his survival came first showed his pragmatic attitude, but on the other hand, it also illustrated his battle intent was quite weak. From this, Mi Fang tactfully refused Mei Lin’s request – he was unlikely to risk his life to expose the skill Long Fu used to win the 3 vs 1 battle!
“Mi Fang is not from the military, and he is mainly attacking the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps for his own interests.” Mei Lin was very clear about this.
“But in the end, he is still a duelist member, and he proactively drew close to us, therefore, we have to help him fully!”
“Unfortunately, I am up to my ears at work right now.”
“I can only subsidize Mi Fang in other respects.”
Mei Lin was very busy with military matters.
Everything could be blamed on the Li Jian Clan. To preserve their strength, the Li Jian Clan did not openly clash with Da Han’s pirate alliance, instead they retreated without delay.
This caused many pirates to appear around Ice Sculpture Island and turned its coastline very treacherous.
Mei Lin was in the First Navy Fleet, and due to the situation, she had no choice but to undertake this maritime defense duty, working to deal with pirates large and small almost 24 hours a day.
Mi Fang’s business was more urgent and important, and after the communication finished, Mei Lin set aside her military affairs for a rare moment and mobilized her contacts and resources to make arrangements for Mi Fang.
“To outsiders, it seems that me and Mi Fang are unacquainted, therefore, this support needs to walk a winding road before being delivered to his hands.”
“I hope it can make it to him on time.”
Mei Lin went back to handling military affairs.
One of her trusted aides, the gold level Bei Jia, volunteered to fight. They had then sent a report that went roughly: Bei Jia caught up to the Vegetable Pirates and confirmed that their group had suffered grave damage and requested that they sally out and try to eliminate this pirate group.
Mei Lin’s heart rapidly soared at the related information: “Cong Mang’s pirates attacked on Snow Bird Harbor, consequently blowing up their magician tower, then Snow Bird Harbor City Lord brazenly exploded the city palace, making an unexpected comeback and causing them disastrous losses. Adding onto that mysterious fishman expert suddenly attacking, the Vegetable Pirates were forced to retreat…”
She rapidly evaluated the risks of this military operation, “Most of the Vegetable Pirates died in that explosion, but the Hoodlum battle squad is intact and there are other elites still on the island.”
“Cong Mang is unaccounted for, and the Vegetable Pirates lack a gold level expert overseeing them, Bei Jia has an immense advantage…we can attack!”
Mei Lin approved of Bei Jia’s program of action.
Mi Fang tried to find Gu Dong.
When he learned of Long Fu’s challenge, Gu Dong turned grave, “Mi Fang, you are not Long Fu’s match, you must be very careful.”
Gu Dong was from the army and had a straightforward way of speaking.
Gu Dong continued, “Take a look at my equipment, I will lend it all to you. In addition, you can come to the Dueling Divine Domain. I will do my best to play the role of Long Fu and use his fighting style to practice with you.”
Like Mei Lin, Gu Dong’s attitude was firm, and without hesitation, he fully supported Mi Fang.
Mi Fang was not reserved and asked to borrow Gu Dong’s shield on the spot.
He tried to find Bao Li Gen.
Bao Li Gen was busy and stated he’d get back to him later.
Mi Fang looked for Yi Jiu, the latter threw up his hands and said he was healing, impoverished, and lacked financial resources. If Mi Fang hired him at a large sum as an assassin, then he would act.
Mi Fang’s eyes lit up, “Are you willing to assassinate Long Fu?”
“Are you joking?” Yi Jiu’s tone jumped, “That is too risky. I meant I could help you assassinate other members of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps and distract Long Fu.”
Mi Fang’s face turned dark.
How could he possibly do that?
This duel was too hot and was bound to be covered nationwide. At this critical juncture, wanting to assassinate other members of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would put Mi Fang into the greatest suspicion. Regardless of the evidence, his and the Jing Xiang Clan’s reputation would be sorely tested.
If Yi Jiu could assassinate Long Fu, then it would be easy to deal with, but simply assassinating anyone else would be more of a hindrance than a help to Mi Fang and stir up endless troubles.
Mi Fang severed his connection to Yi Jiu, then contacted He Gai Tou.
He Gai Tou had helped Bing Yang find trouble with Zong Ge and could secretly help Mi Fang too.
With this factor, after He Gai Tou learned of the news, he didn’t make any excuses and was willing to help.
He Gai Tou also said, “Old Brother Mi Fang, finding me was the right thing to do, I can get other duelists to help you.”
This sentence induced Mi Fang’s interest.
Mi Fang questioned him, closely.
He Gai Tou was somewhat proud of himself, “You know, I have many gambling houses. For this duel, I can manipulate the gambling joints nationwide. Before the duel, we can hype up your win chance and do our best to raise the masses’ hopes in you, then we can secretly bet a massive sum on Long Fu winning!”
Mi Fang: …
He Gai Tou continued to persuade eloquently, “No need to be so mentally burdened, Elder Brother Mi Fang.”
“You are certain to lose. But your loss needs to have value, isn’t that so?”
“Even if you lose, you can profit from the gambling and obtain a hefty sum. This is very sensible.”
Mi Fang: …
“Let me think it over carefully.” Mi Fang disconnected with He Gai Tou.
He was just about to contact Xue Tuan Zi when Bao Li Gen called.
Bao Li Gen’s voice was loud, and his temperament was fiery, speaking even more straightforward than Gu Dong, “What do you need help with, tell me. Don’t be afraid to kill him! One word, kill! If you can’t kill him, at worst you’ll die, what’s there to be afraid of?”
When Mi Fang heard Bai Li Gen’s loud voice bombarding his ears, he powerlessly ridiculed in his mind, “I am the one afraid to ‘die’, ugh…”
Apart from Bao Li Gen, Xue Tuan Zi also contacted him first.
Xue Tuan Zi, “I heard about your problem, Lord Mi Fang, I’m here to cheer you on.”
“I want to participate in the Warm Snow Cup Competition, so I can’t personally come to your aid.”
Mi Fang and Xue Tuan Zi’s relationship wasn’t deep, but at this moment, he was very blunt and directly asked, “I have plenty of equipment. My greatest deficiency is in life-saving items, if you have any, Xue Tuan Zi, lend them to me.”
Mi Fang contacted almost all of the duelists to gain as much support as he could.
He returned to the Jing Xiang Clan, and someone immediately notified him that the clan leader had summoned him and to contact him now.
After activating the emergency communication device, the Jing Xiang Clan Leader appeared as a three-dimensional magic image and floated in front of Mi Fang.
The Jing Xiang Clan Leader smiled and appeared calm, proceeding to say, “Oh Mi Fang, you are a talent worthy of my investment. I wanted to congratulate you ahead of time for distinguishing yourself once again.
Mi Fang: …
The Jing Xiang Clan Leader continued, “You submitted a list for me to look at, I am very satisfied. Even though you are facing a newly promoted gold level, you still maintain your cautious approach and are never negligent, asking the clan’s utmost support.”
“Anyways, your caution is somewhat excessive.”
“It is inevitable that others inside the clan will be displeased.”
Therefore, I can’t grant some of the things on the list, I hope you can understand.”
Mi Fang’s expression changed, and he promptly spoke out to tactfully fight for himself.
After talking in circles, the Jing Xiang Clan Leader’s patience vanished, and he waved his hand, “You applied for three pieces of gold level armor, that is really excessive.”
“Recently, you’ve been doing wonderfully, and you’ve obtained power and a clan position that matches your achievements.”
“But you shouldn’t treat this as a chance to probe at the clan’s bottom line for what you can get from us!”
The Jing Xiang Clan Leader directly slapped down Mi Fang.
Mi Fang looked agonized.
The Jing Xiang Elder spoke in a conclusive manner, “This battle concerns the mount potions, and it concerns my clan’s core benefits. You need to win decisively, the more beautiful your victory, the more advantageous we’ll be in the following discussion!”
“But keep this in mind, remember to greatly restrain your power.”
“You must not kill Long Fu, if you kill him, our relationship with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps will be reduced too enmity, and I fear there will be no chance of working with them.”
Mi Fang went agape, speechless from those words.
The Jing Xiang Leaderhad made a grave misjudgment of the situation!
First, Mi Fang had an irresolvable enmity with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Second, what Mi Fang was most worried about was Long Fu killing him.