I Just Think This Is More Interesting

A deathly silence.

After Jiang Bai uttered those inexplicable words about "Imperial Jade Liquor," the atmosphere in the entire throne room became extremely eerie.

All eyes were shifting between Jiang Bai and Jiang Bai Warren, trying to glean some information from their strange conversation.

However, they couldn't decipher anything.

Just then, an untimely voice broke the silence.

He is Hughes, the captain of the Royal Army's Third Magic Combat Unit.

He had always disliked Jiang Bai Warren, thinking he was just relying on the king's favor. Now, seeing a "fake" who looked exactly like Warren but behaved so strangely, he felt he had found an opportunity to shine.

Hey! You country bumpkin from Earth-land!

Hughes stepped out of the line, pointed at Jiang Bai's nose, and started cursing, his face full of contempt and disdain.

"What are you doing here, playing tricks on me? Who do you think you're talking to?"

He got more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice grew louder and louder.

"I advise you to kneel down and beg for mercy right now, and abandon your foolish idea of destroying 'Anima'! Maybe His Majesty Faust will be in a good mood and spare your dog's life, since you and General Warren do look somewhat alike!"

Hughes's words caused many people present to frown, including Erza Knightwalker.

But Jiang Bai laughed.

He watched the clown before him with great interest, and even felt a pang of nostalgia.

It's true... Ever since I made a name for myself in Earth-land, no one has dared to act so arrogantly in front of me for a long time.

Jiang Bai didn't waste any words.

The next second, his figure vanished from the spot before everyone's eyes.

No one saw how he moved, and no one even felt the fluctuations of magic.

It was as if the spot where he had just stood was merely an illusion.

Before anyone could even be shocked, a series of crisp, extremely loud "smack! smack! smack! smack!" sounds suddenly rang out from the other side of the hall.

Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Jiang Bai had appeared in front of Hughes without anyone noticing, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him into the air.

His other hand, however, transformed into an indistinct afterimage, striking with both hands as if beating a disobedient punching bag, frantically slapping Hughes' face.

The force was so great that the crisp sound of the slap echoed throughout the entire hall.

When Jiang Bai stopped, Hughes's face, which had been passable before, was now completely swollen like a pig's head. His eyes rolled back, and saliva and blood were uncontrollably flowing from the corners of his mouth. He had clearly lost consciousness.

Jiang Bai casually tossed Hughes back to where he had been standing, as if he were throwing away a used rag.

After doing all this, he clapped his hands as if he had done something insignificant, and gave the stunned crowd an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist."

Jiang Bai said with a sincere expression.

"I never imagined there were people in the palace who didn't brush their teeth; their breath smelled so bad!"

This time, no one in the hall dared to make a sound.

If Jiang Bai's previous intrusion into the palace only made them think he was a powerful madman, now, fear has gripped everyone's throat.

That speed...

This power...

Is this really something a human can do?

Erza Knightwalker watched in horror, instinctively turning to look at the man beside her who had remained silent the entire time.

"Warren... did he just use Space Magic?"

Jiang Bai Warren did not answer immediately.

His pupils contracted sharply, and for the first time, shock appeared in his cold eyes.

His right hand had unconsciously tightened its grip on the long, narrow, curved blade at his waist—a Space Blade called "Rift Patrol"—and his knuckles had even turned white from the excessive force.

This magical weapon, crafted by the high-level Void Raklimar, allows him to have an extremely keen sense of fluctuations in the surrounding space.

However, just now, the entire space of the hall was as stable as a solid iron plate, without any ripples.

"No!"

Warren finally spoke, his voice dry and heavy.

His gaze was fixed on Jiang Bai as he spoke, word by word.

"He's just... good at speed."

"I didn't feel any change in space."

After Jiang Bai used absolute speed and power to instantly kill the reckless Hughes.

The atmosphere in the throne room had shifted from its previous somber tone to a deathly silence.

Jiang Bai clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention away from Hughes, whose head had been turned into a pig's head, and back to himself.

His gaze fell on Jiang Bai Warren again, the playful smile on his lips undiminished.

"Hey, the other me."

Jiang Bai spoke, his voice not loud, but it clearly carried throughout the entire hall.

Let's have a fight.

This unexpected suggestion took everyone by surprise.

A glint of delight flashed in King Faust's eyes; he couldn't wait for Jiang Bai Warren to make his move immediately and kill this arrogant imposter on the spot.

Erza Knightwalker felt a chill run down her spine.

She took a sudden step forward, her spear pointing directly at Jiang Bai, blocking his Warren.

"If you want to fight Warren, you'll have to get past me first!"

She wanted to test the strength of this unfathomable man before her on behalf of Warren.

However, Jiang Bai merely glanced at her before waving his hand dismissively.

"Just wait a bit."

Jiang Bai said lazily, "My girl should be on her way now. You can fight her in a bit."

The person he was referring to was Erza from the world of Earth-land.

"Knightwalker, step down."

Before Knightwalker could react, Jiang Bai Warren's cold and unquestionable voice came from behind her.

Warren slowly stepped out from behind her, his gaze fixed intently on Jiang Bai.

"This is a battle between myself and 'myself'."

He accepted the challenge.

Knightwalker bit her lip, her heart filled with worry, but she obeyed the order and stepped aside.

Warren then did not hesitate at all.

He didn't even bother to draw the Space Blade that could cleave through space from his waist; he charged towards Jiang Bai with his bare hands and a flash of movement!

Quick!

Extremely fast!

Warren's figure left a trail of afterimages in the air as he unleashed a powerful straight punch aimed directly at Jiang Bai's face.

This punch, in terms of both speed and power, far exceeded ordinary people's imagination.

However, Jiang Bai didn't even bother to dodge.

He simply stood there, even having the leisure to silently evaluate the situation in his mind.

Imagine you encounter a parallel universe counterpart of yourself, and you are powerful enough to completely overwhelm them. Wouldn't you want to play around with them a little longer?

The answer is yes.

Jiang Bai had no intention of ending this "game" quickly.

He didn't retaliate at first, but simply turned to the side to dodge Warren's powerful punch, while reaching out to feel the force coming from the other's arm.

Hmm, the strength is decent, but that's about it.

After briefly experiencing Warren's strength, Jiang Bai made a move that baffled everyone.

He began to limit his physical abilities.

Speed, reaction, strength...

Ultimately, he limited his strength to a level slightly lower than that of Warren.

He wanted to play a purely skill-based game.

However, Jiang Bai Warren was a battle-hardened supreme commander of the Kingdom's Royal Army.

After only two moves, he keenly sensed that something was wrong.

The opponent's movements appeared full of flaws, but each time they managed to defuse the opponent's attacks perfectly.

More importantly, he could clearly sense that his opponent hadn't used their full strength at all.

This feeling is like an adult playing with a three-year-old child.

Is this... a game to me?

The moment that thought crossed Warren's mind, his anger was instantly ignited.

He abruptly stepped back, halting his attack, and for the first time, anger surfaced on his usually icy face.

He didn't care whether he lost or not, but he didn't want to win in such an undignified way.

Are you looking down on me?

Warren's voice seemed to emanate from an ice cellar, carrying a chilling aura.

"Or do you think I'd be happy if you won by letting him throw the game like this?"

No, no, no, you've misunderstood.

Jiang Bai raised his hands, a guileless smile on his face.

"I just think it's more interesting this way."

He looked into Warren's eyes, which were practically spitting fire, and slowly added a sentence.

"Wait until you can defeat me now before you talk about helping me improve."