Chapter 212: Maintaining One's Own Safety

Seeing that the representative of the Silver-edged Oath Knights agreed, Trevor immediately announced the start of the match.

Some of the audience began to place bets, while more of them held their breath, waiting to see if Rayan would once again declare "One move to decide the winner" before deciding on whom to place their bets.

The Silver-edged Oath Knights marched in unison into the arena, lining up in front of Rayan, standing in formation.

On the noble stands, Marquis Hart couldn't help but stand up and applaud, "Look, this is what a true Oath Knight should be. With Rayan's arrogant personality, he will surely propose the condition of winning with one move, and if he does, he will definitely lose!"

Sure enough, after the Silver-edged Oath Knights stood still, Rayan slowly raised one finger and said lightly, "One move to decide the winner. If I cannot make you surrender in one move, I will consider myself the loser."

The audience erupted in cheers. Most of them placed their bets on Rayan losing—they enjoyed thrilling matches and hoped Rayan would keep winning, but their rationality told them that betting and personal preference were two different matters.

Just as the betting was closed, Rayan reached for the Crow Sword on his shoulder.

"Wait—"

The representative of the Silver-edged Oath Knights stepped into view, hands on his hips, and arrogantly declared, "After unanimous discussion, I represent the Silver-edged Oath Knights to announce—surrender!"

"Surrender?!"

The audience was nearly exploding. Some had gone through intense mental debates and intricate battle analysis before deciding to bet on Rayan losing, only to find that their money was gone as soon as the bet was placed. A few even fainted on the spot, unable to bear the shock.

"Surrender?"

Marquis Hart's face turned red, his mouth agape in disbelief as he asked, "Is this some new tactic?"

It was due to his analysis and encouragement that the nobles in the stands had followed suit and bet on Rayan losing. But before they even started, the Silver-edged Oath Knights had already surrendered.

The Holy Light envoy was also taken aback. She had anticipated this wouldn't be a balanced fight, and she knew it wouldn't be easy for Rayan to win with one move. But she had never expected that the Silver-edged Oath Knights wouldn't even have the courage to face a single move.

"Scandal! Absolute scandal!" Marquis Hart stood up and shouted.

Unfortunately, hardly anyone echoed him. Everyone wore expressions of astonishment, racking their brains to figure out why the Silver-edged Knights had done this.

In the arena's rest area, Imperius, holding a flaming long spear, smirked. He muttered, "Lucky Rayan, you get to be arrogant one more time. When we face off, you won't be so lucky."

A few blade-like wrinkles gathered between Rayan's refined eyebrows. He looked at the Silver-edged noble representative standing proudly in front of him and asked in a deep voice, "Say that again?"

The representative of the Silver-edged Oath Knights laughed heartily and said brazenly, "You think I won't? I won't fight you. None of us Silver-edged Oath Knights will fight you. We will retreat together and forfeit the match! What can you do about it?"

With a loud "boom," the stands erupted again. Those who bet on Rayan losing almost certainly knew their money was gone, pounding their chests and wailing, while those who bet on Rayan winning laughed uncontrollably.

Rayan turned to the composed adjudicator, Trevor, "Lord Trevor, this isn't right, is it? How can they forfeit mid-match?"

At these words, the audience's interest was immediately piqued—Rayan clearly had a significant advantage to gain, but he didn't seem to want it.

Trevor pressed his thin lips together and solemnly replied, "Lord Rayan, as long as the other side voluntarily forfeits, then it is allowed."

"We're willing! We voluntarily forfeit!" The Silver-edged Oath Knights shouted in unison, making it seem like they had rehearsed it.

Rayan frowned and questioned, "Why are you surrendering?"

"None of your business!"

The representative of the Silver-edged Oath Knights said smugly, "We are now the ones surrendering. If you dare to attack us, it will be seen as contempt for the arena's rules, and you will be expelled!"

Rayan found it somewhat laughable. He had never seen people surrendering and conceding with such brazen arrogance.

"After all, your masters are Silver-edged nobles. You should reconsider surrendering and forfeiting." Rayan shook his head and advised.

"No need to reconsider!"

The representative of the Silver-edged Oath Knights waved his hand resolutely and said, "We aren't fools. Even if we could win against you, it wouldn't matter. Once the fight begins, we would pay a heavy price! We are not like the Copper-edged Oath Knights who can be found on any street; we are private soldiers of various patriarchs. If our Battle Qi is destroyed by you, it would take at least three to five years to recover!"

Rayan nodded secretly. The concerns of the Silver-edged Oath Knights were indeed valid. For people like them, once they lost their Battle Qi, their lives would be immediately affected. However, he still wanted to fight these Silver-edged Knights. There were many aspects of the Twin Crows Dance he was not yet proficient in, and he needed more practice before facing stronger enemies.

"I'll be gentle, I promise."

"No!"

The representative of the Silver-edged Oath Knights shook his head vigorously and then changed to a flattering smile, "Unless you are willing to support us."

Rayan almost laughed, "Everyone says I'm a shameless scoundrel, but today I met someone even more shameless."

"We call this maintaining our safety!"

The representative of the Silver-edged Oath Knights said proudly, "As long as Lord Rayan is willing to support us, we will spar with you with all our might."

"Stop dreaming."

Rayan gave them a disdainful glance, "Indeed, there's nothing I can do about you. Alright, I accept your surrender."

The Silver-edged Oath Knights immediately beamed with joy, cheering as if they were the true victors of the match—while the actual victor looked at them with a sullen expression.

They didn't care how their patriarchs would view them. As long as they had their Battle Qi, they could find a meal anywhere. They didn't care about the audience's losses; no matter how much they won, it wouldn't be as much as a single copper coin for them.

Trevor spurred his horse forward and loudly announced to the audience, "According to the rules, Lord Rayan is the victor of this match!"

Once Trevor spoke, the result was final. The audience erupted, with people crying, laughing, fainting, and going mad everywhere.

The Silver-edged Oath Knights exited the arena in high spirits, while the noble stands were filled with curses—the loss was so quick it was unacceptable. Almost as soon as the bets were placed and the seats barely warmed, the money was all lost.

For the wealthy, losing money was secondary; it mainly ruined their mood.

Marquis Hart stomped his feet in anger, cursing loudly, "These bastards! How could they surrender? They could have won! They could have won! Now Rayan gets to take advantage of this!"

Holy Light envoy Eileen was also furious. She had calculated everything except the courage of the Silver-edged Knights. While strength is the foundation of victory, courage often changes the outcome. On the surface, Rayan won the second match effortlessly due to luck, but in reality, it was his courage that made the difference.

Some seemingly lucky events have nothing to do with luck—they are entirely due to Rayan's strength.

"Oh, he won again."

Phoenix Lady laughed, "This bet went from forty thousand to one hundred thousand in the blink of an eye, didn't it, Spring Rain?"

Lady Spring Rain smiled sweetly, "Indeed, it was a blink of an eye. I was worried that Rayan would expend too much energy, but he won without fighting—though he doesn't seem too pleased about it."

Phoenix Lady elegantly waved her black silk fan and casually asked, "You won quite a bit this time too, didn't you? Fifty thousand gold coins? That's probably your annual tax revenue from the Pisces territory, isn't it?"

Lady Spring Rain quickly shook her head, "The Pisces territory is large, but resources are scarce, and the land is poor. It's impossible to have that much tax revenue."

"I think it's because you're not ruthless enough as a lord."

Phoenix Lady smiled, "If I were you, I'd collect at least fifty thousand in taxes annually from the Pisces territory, and use that money to raise a group of Fighters strong enough to rival the Torrent Kingdom, solidifying my position."

Lady Spring Rain smiled faintly, "I'm fine the way I am."

Phoenix Lady laughed behind her black silk fan and didn't continue the conversation with Lady Spring Rain but instead turned to Holy Light envoy Eileen.

Half-jokingly and half-seriously, she said, "Ms. Eileen, if I remember correctly, you owe me six thousand gold coins."

"I know, you don't need to remind me." Eileen replied expressionlessly.

"So, Ms. Eileen, how do you plan to repay me?"

Phoenix Lady smiled, "If you can't repay, just let Kiana know, and Kiana will definitely not make things difficult for you."

"No need! I can repay it!"

Six thousand gold coins was indeed a significant amount for a member of the Holy Light Sisterhood who strictly adhered to the Holy Light commandments. However, most of the female magicians in the Holy Light Sisterhood came from noble families with significant influence. Moreover, over the decades, Eileen had saved quite a bit of money, and with what she had embezzled from Marquis Hart, repaying the debt was more than manageable.

But just thinking about conceding to Phoenix Lady and handing over six thousand gold coins she had painstakingly saved made her furious.