Challenge Underway

Chapter 33

Ongoing Challenges

Watching the Silver mercenary charge at him with the force of a unified human and sword, Lorist's mind flashed with over a dozen ways to instantly defeat his opponent. But he couldn't. The pleas from Er and Fatty Shi last night still echoed in his ears: "My lord, can I call you Master Locke? You have to leave some room for others to perform! Don't just knock down challengers the moment they step up, okay? At least go through the motions with your opponent a few times. Make the win look incredibly narrow, as if the opponent was just a sliver away from winning, and you only won by chance, by luck. That way, more and more people will bet, instead of no one betting on you to lose like now. It's not easy for us brothers to set up a betting pool, you have to be considerate!"

Fine, it's like acting, but I'm really bad at acting. Although the Silver mercenary's attack was fierce, he exposed many openings. Lorist not only had to suppress the urge to quickly defeat his opponent but also cooperate with him to create the illusion of being desperately cornered and evading. This, this was too difficult…

Seven years of military service in his past life had left too deep an imprint on Lorist. He wasn't a clerk or a logistics soldier; he had genuinely seen blood and taken lives. Although his seven years were outwardly a time of peace and harmony, there were still plenty of small-scale conflicts, such as border skirmishes, counter-terrorism operations, and drug bust ambushes. The experience blood and fire left soldiers with was to eliminate the enemy with a single blow, as quickly and efficiently as possible to ensure their own survival and that of their comrades on the battlefield. Even the dead had to be shot again to confirm they weren't faking. Thus, Lorist believed now that defeating the opponent as quickly as possible in a duel was the best choice.

To the spectators in the stands, the Silver mercenary on the stage had successfully suppressed Lorist with a round of thunderous, rapid attacks. Didn't Lorist seem to be scrambling to evade? This was truly rare, as he usually knocked them down in one hit. It seemed Instructor Locke was caught off guard by the initial onslaught and was having an extremely difficult time coping… Many observant individuals in the stands took note of this. If it could be confirmed in the subsequent duels, they would know if this would become a weakness for Instructor Locke.

When the Silver mercenary once again exposed his chin, Lorist couldn't hold back any longer. He feinted with his right foot, then stepped forward, his left foot following. His body flickered, his right shoulder retracted, and his entire figure moved with the agility of a fish, instantly closing the distance with his opponent. The Silver mercenary's long sword grazed past Lorist's shoulder. Lorist flipped his wrist, sword hilt facing up, and lightly swept it across the opponent's chin. The Silver mercenary staggered forward as if struck by lightning, stumbled a few steps, swayed a couple of times, and then fell to the ground with a thud.

Fatty Shi rushed onto the stage, nonchalantly checked the downed mercenary, and announced loudly, "Hit on the chin, knocked unconscious. Next challenger, prepare to enter the arena."

While gesturing for the medical staff below to help lift the man's head, Fatty Shi quickly whispered to Lorist, "Well done, keep it up. Give the next challengers hope of winning. But you need to be careful not to always strike the chin, lest people in the stands realize you're actually handling it with ease…"

Alright, twenty challengers a day, five minutes each, that's one hundred minutes. Add another twenty minutes of stalling, and it should be close to two hours, enough to make the audience feel they got their money's worth for a small silver coin. Alas, Lorist sighed, this was turning duels into performances.

Since the first duel with Violet Academy, Lorist had heard from Fatty Shi that only twenty opponents were scheduled for Challenge Day. He had requested to increase it to fifty, to get rid of these challengers sooner and have some peace. However, the academy rejected the request. The reason was simple. Challenge Day was open to the public, and just filling the stands could earn the academy over a dozen gold coins. Add the revenue from lottery tickets, snacks, and drinks, and it was more than enough to bring in forty to fifty gold fude in a single day. The academy's finance department wished this Challenge Day could go on forever, only worrying about a lack of challengers. They certainly wouldn't agree to Lorist's request to increase the number of opponents and shorten the duel schedule.

As expected, the subsequent challengers unanimously adopted the strategy of launching a fierce attack right from the start. However, in Lorist's Dynamic Vision, these sword movements, which appeared rapid as wind, sudden as rain, and swift as lightning to others, were clearly discernible. If it were a fight to the death, he could break into their sword forms at any time and pierce their hearts with a single sword strike. But now, he could only parry.

More than one opponent had tried to overwhelm Lorist by exploiting the difference in rank between Silver and Black Iron Battle Qi. At the very least, many Silver mercenaries wanted to use the sword energy emitted from their long swords to sever Lorist's sword. Without a sword, Lorist would be like a toothless tiger, naturally admitting defeat. Even if Lorist's sword was sturdy, as long as his Battle Qi was still Black Iron rank, he couldn't emit sword energy to contend with the Silver mercenaries' sword energy. If they couldn't cut it once, they would cut it again, and eventually, it would break.

However, how could Lorist let them have their way? Each time they parried, Lorist's sword would follow with a flick and a sweep, striking precisely on the sword's spine, skillfully evading the sword energy's cutting force, leaving his opponents frustrated and helpless.

Sighs of disappointment echoed from the stands. The victories Lorist achieved today were all so narrow. It was a pity that his opponents always failed at the last moment, making several mistakes themselves, which Lorist then seized upon to secure his victory. If these Silver mercenaries had been a little more careful, and perhaps a bit luckier, it would have been hard to say who would have won. It seemed Instructor Locke was truly not good at dealing with an initial onslaught.

When a Silver One-star mercenary also launched a fierce attack right from the start, Lorist was amused to the point of anger. "Come on, brother, your Battle Qi is Earth attribute, you're wielding a greatsword and shield, and you're supposed to be a guardian. What kind of rush attack is this? Charging straight at me from behind your shield, do you even see which direction I'm standing in?"

Lorist stepped forward a few paces, shifted sideways, and hooked the mercenary's leg. The Silver mercenary, wielding a greatsword and shield, tripped and fell face-first. Lorist stepped on his back, leisurely drew his sword, placed it on his shoulder, and patted him twice. Hearing the jeers and curses from the stands, the Silver mercenary, red-faced, got up from the ground, picked up his shield and sword, and fled the stage as if flying.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang…" The sound of sword strikes, as rapid as a torrential downpour, continuously echoed on the stage.

This was the last challenger of the day, a mercenary in his forties, with Silver Three-Star Battle Qi. Unlike the previous challengers, he didn't launch an immediate attack upon entering the stage. Instead, he was fully prepared defensively, waiting for Lorist to approach.

This was also the most competent challenger of the day. Lorist had attacked three times but couldn't break through the middle-aged mercenary's defense. Lorist became interested, circling the mercenary continuously while carefully observing his opponent.

The middle-aged mercenary had a calm and composed expression, his breathing long and steady. His feet were positioned one in front of the other, with a very small stride. He appeared unhurried and composed, neither rushing nor lagging. Every time Lorist was about to move to his flank, he would subtly shift his feet, returning to a head-on stance.

This was a true master, likely not far from advancing to the Gold rank. He had undoubtedly experienced many life-or-death situations, remaining calm and collected. His swordsmanship foundation was extremely solid. Lorist's three previous assaults had posed a fatal threat to the middle-aged mercenary with several sword strikes. However, the middle-aged mercenary had blocked these strikes with instinctive bodily reactions. Just as Lorist had said before, this opponent had practiced the eight basic sword movements to the point where they were instinctive reactions, enabling him to block those fatal attacks.

Lorist stopped, his expression solemn, and bowed to the middle-aged mercenary. "Hello, my name is Norton Lorist. It is my honor to fight you."

This was the first time Lorist had announced his name to an opponent on the stage. It was not for any other reason than that the middle-aged mercenary was a worthy opponent. Anyone who could practice the basic sword movements to such a degree deserved respect.

The middle-aged mercenary was stunned, a flicker of warmth in his eyes. He nodded slightly in return, "Hello, my name is Gurey Boderfinger. It is also my honor to fight you."

Lorist brandished his sword. "Be careful, I'm going to attack again."

This time, Lorist did not attack with full force like the previous three times. Instead, he advanced step by step, adopting a steady and solid strategy, forcing the middle-aged mercenary to respond to each move and engage him head-on. In his Dynamic Vision, every parry and counter-attack by the middle-aged mercenary had a discernible opening. If he changed his move halfway, the opponent would surely be unable to react in time, creating a favorable opportunity for victory.

However, this middle-aged mercenary named Gurey Boderfinger was extremely experienced. He retreated step by step, neutralizing Lorist's relentless offensive with skillful defense, leaving no exploitable openings. Lorist changed his sword momentum, launching a rapid series of attacks before closing in, clearly intending to fight at close range.

The middle-aged mercenary's expression changed. He let out a low shout, and the sword energy from his long sword surged, slashing downwards diagonally. Lorist's forward momentum did not decrease; he rotated his right sword to deflect the incoming sword energy diagonally. The middle-aged mercenary let out a sigh of relief. Seeing Lorist closing in, he quickly retreated to create distance, but then he heard the sound of a sword being drawn, "Ching," and a flash of cold light appeared before his eyes, with a short sword precariously placed by his neck. It turned out Lorist had drawn the short sword at his waist with his left hand. This move completely surprised the middle-aged mercenary.

The middle-aged mercenary froze, his long sword falling limply. "I lost. I forgot about the sword at your waist…"

Lorist sheathed his sword. "You are very strong. You are the only one who has forced me to draw my second sword in a duel so far."

"A loss is a loss, no excuses," the middle-aged mercenary said with a bitter smile. "Thank you for holding back. I learned a lot from today's battle. I'll take my leave."

The middle-aged mercenary walked off the stage without looking back. Disappointed sighs erupted from the stands again, torn lottery tickets fluttered in the air, and the crowd began to disperse, cursing. This had become a common scene over the past month.

In fact, if Lorist had used his "Inch Punch" burst, he could have forcefully broken through the middle-aged mercenary's defense within three moves. However, controlling the force would have been difficult, and it might have resulted in serious injury to his opponent. Although injuries were inevitable in duels, Lorist had reached the realm of Dark Force, making him capable of crushing Silver rank Battle Qi experts. It wasn't a matter of rank difference anymore. If Lorist could avoid causing casualties to his opponents, he would do so as much as possible, simply knocking them out. This was also why Lorist preferred to strike their chins.

Fatty Shi stepped onto the stage and asked Lorist, who was deep in thought, "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"

Lorist said, "That middle-aged mercenary just now was a true master. If it were you or Er, you definitely wouldn't fare well against him. His skills are superior to most of the Silver instructors in our academy."

Fatty Shi said, "You don't need to tell me that. I was on the edge of my seat watching from below, terrified you might slip up. This duel was truly exciting. I've never seen you fight so many moves."

"I wouldn't lose, you have to have faith in me. I just dragged it out a bit longer to make it look like I won by luck and by a narrow margin. I'm so tired after these twenty duels today. I really shouldn't have listened to you guys and pretended during the duels," Lorist complained.

"Alright, it's all for the money. Brother, for the sake of us getting rich, just bear with it. By the way, today is payday at the academy. You haven't gone to the finance department to collect your pay yet, right? We're planning to gather at the Red Raven Tavern tonight," Fatty Shi said.

Lorist remembered the last time he had to pay the bill and said irritably, "Don't expect me to pay. Last time, some fat guy ate and took things, it was utterly shameless…"