Chapter 214: Strength Reigns Supreme
She sighed heavily, "Obviously, he had calculated it in his mind long ago. He knew it was impossible to defeat the Gold-edged group's Oath Knight in one move, so he changed his strategy. This kind of thinking and adaptability, may I ask how many of the noble lords present can match it?"
The lords and ladies in the noble stands all remained silent, their faces growing increasingly grim.
"In this sense, what we call luck is also a part of one's strength."
Although Eileen was extremely reluctant to admit this, she still admired him quite a bit and said, "Rayan, truly a remarkable figure not to be underestimated."
Marquis Hart opened his mouth, pretending to be tough, and said, "The match isn't over yet. The outcome is still uncertain. Maybe—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the battle in the arena had already begun.
After a somewhat orderly shout, the Gold-edged Oath Knights charged at Rayan with gritted teeth. Rayan, however, did not even draw the Crow Sword. Instead, he gathered his Battle Qi at his feet, activated the Gale Boots, and started the Gale Step he had comprehended a few days ago. Using his agile footwork, he weaved in and out among the twenty Gold-edged Oath Knights.
The reason for doing this was twofold. First, in actual combat, agility is crucial, and now was a perfect opportunity to practice this movement technique. Second, the preparation time for the "Twin Crows Dance" move was slightly long. After all, the Gold-edged Oath Knights were still considered experts. If Rayan stood still to charge up his power, the Gold-edged Oath Knights would never give him a complete chance to strike.
Therefore, the best strategy was to first use agile and ordinary attacks to deplete the Gold-edged Oath Knights' stamina and Battle Qi, disrupt their formation, and make them unable to respond effectively.
The Gold-edged Oath Knights, already lacking confidence, were exhausted and drenched in sweat after being tormented by Rayan's bizarre and swift movements. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't even touch the hem of Rayan's garment.
Imperius, watching from the rest area, couldn't help but nod, "This kid really has a lot of talent and insight. If we were of the same age and experience, I definitely wouldn't be his match..."
"Lord Imperius, you don't need to worry."
Several Oath Knights from the king's group gathered around Imperius and whispered, "That kid's Battle Qi is limited, so he certainly wouldn't dare to single-handedly challenge all of us from the king's group. Although we are not as strong, we can still do our best to deplete his Battle Qi. This way, Lord Imperius, you can easily defeat him."
After saying this, they chuckled slyly.
Imperius gave them a cold glance and said nothing, merely turning his gaze back to the arena.
In the arena, during the first few minutes, the Gold-edged Oath Knights collectively chased after Rayan. Rayan only dodged without fighting, giving the audience who bet on Rayan's loss a glimmer of hope. But after a few minutes, the situation quietly reversed. Some of the Gold-edged Oath Knights, realizing they couldn't catch up with Rayan, began to distance themselves from him to delay time. They didn't hope for anything else, just to survive until the end of the match without being defeated, thus resulting in a draw and avoiding embarrassment.
According to tournament rules, the Copper-edged group must finish the battle within five minutes, the Silver-edged group within ten minutes, the Gold-edged group within fifteen minutes, and the king's group within twenty minutes.
As long as the Gold-edged Oath Knights could last fifteen minutes, the challenge would end in a draw, and Rayan could not challenge the same team twice. This meant it would proceed to the one-on-one duel stage. Once it reached the one-on-one stage, at least nine of the Gold-edged group Oath Knights could advance alongside Rayan.
To secure their advancement spots, more and more Gold-edged Oath Knights started to adopt passive combat strategies to delay time.
Seeing this, the referee Trevor couldn't help but frown. Passive combat was undoubtedly a tactical method, but it wasn't the true spirit of competition. Just as he was about to urge his horse forward to remind the Gold-edged Oath Knights, he saw Rayan suddenly stop in his tracks. The Crow Sword rang out as it was drawn, and Battle Qi and sword gang power quickly condensed on the broad blade!
The Gold-edged Oath Knights in the arena were all startled. By the time they realized the severity of the situation, it was too late to organize and rush to Rayan. With their morale scattered, most of the Gold-edged Oath Knights chose to stay in place, concentrating all their Battle Qi on defense to protect themselves.
The sky darkened instantly, and within the arena, only silhouettes shrouded in red Battle Qi and the rotating light spheres on the Crow Sword could be seen.
The spectators outside the arena all held their breath, staring intently at the orange and dark light spheres.
With two responding crow cries, the orange and dark light spheres exploded on the Crow Sword, and two crow shadows swiftly took shape. With overwhelming power, they charged at the Gold-edged Oath Knights. One side brought bone-chilling cold, while the other side blazed with scorching heat. Upon contact, they immediately sent the prepared Gold-edged Oath Knights flying.
These Gold-edged Oath Knights had Battle Qi levels clearly higher than the Silver-edged and Copper-edged Oath Knights. Although they were extremely shocked, their Battle Qi defenses weren't broken in one hit. However, the Battle Qi within each of them became chaotic and uncontrollable. Several with lower Battle Qi levels coughed up blood on the spot, their legs unable to support their bodies.
After the strike, the arena's light returned, but the Twin Crows didn't disappear. Instead, they merged into a larger Blood Crow. The Blood Crow screeched and dove from the highest point in the sky toward the Gold-edged Oath Knights.
The Gold-edged Oath Knights hurriedly tried to muster their Battle Qi again, hoping to withstand this final strike. However, they were already out of Battle Qi, and the giant crow's attack range was too vast for them to dodge. They could only grit their teeth and endure it in place.
With a "boom," the entire arena shook. As the dust settled, a deep crater, like one made by a meteor impact, appeared before everyone's eyes.
The Gold-edged Oath Knights lay scattered in the crater. Only a few could barely maintain their Battle Qi and crawled out using both hands and feet. The remaining Gold-edged Oath Knights had their Battle Qi completely shattered, groaning in pain and rolling in the dirt.
Rayan, holding the Crow Sword, slowly walked to the edge of the crater and stepped on a hand.
"Ra-Ra-Ra Rayan... my lord..."
The person underfoot trembled as he looked up, the representative of the Gold-edged Oath Knights.
Rayan looked down at him, exuding a strong aura of Battle Qi and sword gang power, his expression cold and ruthless.
"Surrender," Rayan said coldly. "Or I'll kick you back down."
The Gold-edged Oath Knight representative wore a look of bitter resentment but was helpless against Rayan. If these Gold-edged knights had acted as one and not been split apart by Rayan's Gale Step and their own differing thoughts, perhaps they wouldn't be in this situation now.
However, strength reigns supreme, and the Gold-edged Oath Knights' strategy to delay time clearly failed. If the fight continued, even the remaining Battle Qi defenses of this Gold-edged knight representative would be shattered. Once the Battle Qi was broken, the cost he would pay would be far greater than the humiliation from Rayan.
"Surrender... we surrender!"
The Gold-edged Oath Knight representative gritted his teeth and said, "We admit defeat!"
The crowd sighed in disappointment. Although Rayan did not claim victory with a single move, these Gold-edged Oath Knights, who were held in high regard, were ultimately defeated in one blow.
The Gold-edged Oath Knights raised their hands to signal their surrender, regretting not having conceded earlier like the Silver-edged Oath Knights. If they had surrendered sooner, their Battle Qi wouldn't have been completely shattered.
Trevor, frowning, urged his horse forward. Without rushing to announce the result, he first whispered to Rayan, "Another big crater. If this continues, this three-thousand-year-old ancient arena will be torn apart by you."
Rayan smiled faintly, "The parts built by the dragon race cannot be easily destroyed, while the parts built by humans, as long as the arena is in use, will eventually be destroyed."
Trevor stared at Rayan for a long time, then nodded slightly and turned to announce to the audience, "In this duel, Lord Rayan wins!"
The spectators who bet on Rayan cheered loudly, though they were few in number, their cheers were particularly loud. Those who thought themselves smart for betting against Rayan all looked disheartened, shaking their heads and sighing.
The noble stands were filled with a gloomy atmosphere.
Although Eileen had predicted this result after the duel began, she had already placed her bets. The rules of gambling were always set, no regrets allowed, and all the money she bet was borrowed from her arch-enemy, Phoenix Lady, making her more regretful than anyone else.
Marquis Hart stood up and berated the Gold-edged nobles, "Your Gold-edged Oath Knights are too disappointing. They clearly could continue fighting. Why didn't they? Did that brat Rayan give you some benefits?"
The Gold-edged nobles, having lost money and wounded their Oath Knights, were already filled with anger. Hearing Marquis Hart's reckless accusations, they immediately vented their full fury:
"Lord Rayan's strength is overwhelming. If you can't beat him, you can't beat him. If you have the ability, try it yourself!"
"My Oath Knight doesn't need Marquis Hart's directions!"
"Accusing us of taking benefits from Lord Rayan? I think you're the one with ulterior motives, trying to make money off us! Otherwise, why did you keep urging us to bet against Lord Rayan?"