Chapter 215: Fish Eating Birds

Marquis Hart blushed furiously at the last accusation and retorted loudly, "I lost money too! How could I have ulterior motives?"

"Hmph!" The Gold-edged noble sneered coldly, "You lost money, but your Firebird family made a fortune! Phoenix Lady has been throwing money around to the commoners, but it's actually our money she's using to do it! Ha, Firebird family, truly impressive!"

Marquis Hart grabbed the sneering noble by the neck and shouted angrily, "Don't you dare insult my Firebird family! Do you believe I won't kill you?"

The noble's servants immediately gathered around, and the Firebird family's servants weren't about to back down either. The two sides were at a standoff—

"Stop it, all of you."

Phoenix Lady fanned herself with a black silk fan, speaking calmly, "Two nobles of considerable standing in Stonerock City, behaving so disgracefully—don't you feel ashamed? If you want to fight, I'll have someone throw you into the arena so you can fight to your heart's content. I'm sure the commoner audience would love to see nobles brawling."

Marquis Hart immediately let go of the Gold-edged noble and stepped back, pressing his lips together. The Gold-edged noble also bowed deeply to Phoenix Lady, apologizing for his earlier outburst, "I'm sorry, Phoenix Lady."

Phoenix Lady spoke evenly, "Marquis Hart may be related to me by marriage, but his money is his money, and my money is my money. He can bet on whoever he wants, that's his business. Your wins and losses have nothing to do with us; it's entirely your own judgment. Besides, as Lady Eileen mentioned, the match isn't over yet. The gambling is still ongoing. Who the War God will be is still unknown. There's no need to get so worked up over the current situation."

Phoenix Lady's words left the agitated nobles speechless, and they all returned to their seats.

"Indeed, the outcome is still uncertain. It's too early to say anything definitive," Eileen picked up where Phoenix Lady left off, her face coldly smiling. "Phoenix Lady, I wonder if you still dare to lend me money?"

"Oh?" Phoenix Lady was surprised by Eileen's proactive stance this time and blinked in astonishment. "Of course, money is no problem. But are you sure you want to gamble, Lady Eileen?"

"Of course," Eileen replied. "I've already said, someone will pay my debts. Phoenix Lady, you don't need to worry."

"Excellent." Phoenix Lady quickly fanned herself. "Since Lady Eileen is willing, Kiana will be happy to oblige. How much do you need this time?"

"How much did you win?" Eileen squinted and asked.

Phoenix Lady secretly chuckled. "Not much, just about one hundred thousand this time."

"Then I'll borrow one hundred thousand," Eileen said lightly.

The nobles present all gasped. Even for them, one hundred thousand gold coins was a significant amount.

Phoenix Lady was also greatly surprised, fanning herself silently.

"What? Can't lend it?" Eileen asked mockingly.

"Of course not," Phoenix Lady smiled faintly. "I was just calculating how much you owe me in total, Lady Eileen."

"No matter how much I owe you, this time will be enough to repay you," Eileen snorted dismissively.

"Lady Eileen is so confident?" Phoenix Lady smiled. "The next event is the King's Group duel. The last person standing in this group will be the new War God. Why don't we bet on who will ultimately win?"

Eileen immediately said, "That's exactly what I had in mind. One match to decide the winner."

Phoenix Lady turned to the other nobles and asked, "Do the lords dare to bet again? If you want to turn the tables, this is your last chance."

Marquis Hart hurriedly responded, "Bet, bet, of course we'll bet."

Phoenix Lady glared at him, and Marquis Hart quickly shut his mouth.

The other nobles hesitated slightly but then quickly replied, "We dare to bet. This only happens once a year. If we lose, so be it. But if we don't bet, we'll regret it for a year. This time, however, we won't listen to anyone else; we'll make our own decisions."

Phoenix Lady nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Lady Spring Rain and asked, "My dear Spring Rain, what about you? This is your last chance. Will you bet?"

"Bet." Lady Spring Rain nodded heavily. "I'll still put all my gold on Rayan."

Phoenix Lady had long known that Lady Spring Rain would consistently support her own Oath Knight, so she wasn't surprised by this outcome. But she still asked deliberately, "My dear Spring Rain, I noticed you looked unhappy when Lord Rayan won the match earlier. Are you sure you want to put such a large sum of gold on him?"

Lady Spring Rain recalled the scene where Rayan stepped on the hand of the Gold-edged Oath Knight's representative and threatened him, feeling somewhat uneasy. "He shouldn't have treated them like that. After everything is over, I will find an opportunity to have a good talk with him."

Childish. Phoenix Lady covered her mouth with a smile, then turned to Eileen and asked, "Lady Eileen, who are you betting on to win this time?"

"You'll find out when it's time to place the bets."

Eileen stood up expressionlessly and shouted to the Young Lion Group soldiers lazily filling the pit below the stands, "Hey, speed it up! Get the match going quickly!"

The soldiers of the Young Lion Group, though unwilling, did not dare to speak up when they saw it was their new leader speaking. They lowered their heads and quickened their pace.

Phoenix Lady also stood up, walked to the edge of the stands, and announced loudly, "Young Lion Group Fighters, thank you for your hard work. On behalf of the Second Prince, who could not be here due to unforeseen circumstances, I reward each of you with ten gold coins!"

The soldiers of the Young Lion Group were overjoyed and bowed to Phoenix Lady, then shouted in unison, "Long live Phoenix Lady! Long live the Second Prince!"

They then worked even harder.

Phoenix Lady glanced at the sullen-faced Eileen beside her, then turned to the spectators and announced, "The final round will determine the new War God. To make sure everyone enjoys themselves, allow me, on behalf of the Firebird family, to present each of you with a fine meal, and—"

She deliberately paused, waiting until all the spectators craned their necks in anticipation, then smiled, "Additionally, I will give each of you an extra five gold coins!"

The spectators erupted in cheers, "Long live Phoenix Lady! Long live the Firebird family!"

Phoenix Lady nodded and smiled, frequently nodding to the enthusiastic crowd, completely ignoring Eileen beside her.

"I could push you off here," Eileen said in a low voice.

"You wouldn't dare." Phoenix Lady replied with a cold smile, "Under the watchful eyes of everyone, if you push the beloved Phoenix Lady down, you won't leave the arena alive."

"Beloved?" Eileen retorted coldly, "People only love your money. Without it, they wouldn't cheer for you."

"But I do have money." Phoenix Lady shrugged, "To deal with a poor woman like you, that's enough."

Eileen's plump cheeks were full of anger, "We'll see."

With that, she twisted her plump waist and returned to her seat.

Phoenix Lady did not hurry back, but continued to stand in the stands, enjoying the cheers of the crowd.

In the resting area of the arena, the Copper-edged, Silver-edged, and Gold-edged Oath Knights had all left, leaving only Rayan and the last nine kings-level Oath Knights who needed to be challenged.

Imperius voluntarily urged his horse to approach Rayan, looking at the Pisces banner beside Rayan and mocked, "Pisces."

"Roasted chicken," Rayan retorted without hesitation.

If it had been someone else, Imperius would have already drawn his spear, aiming for the throat of anyone who dared insult the Firebird family. But because it was Rayan who said this, he only laughed coldly and said, "I've lived so long, I've only heard of birds eating fish, never fish eating birds."

Rayan smiled faintly, "You've never heard of it because fish that eat birds never make a sound."

Imperius was stunned for a moment, his old face turning red. "I can't outtalk Lord Rayan, but just talking won't win you the match."

Rayan immediately said, "Then please, Lord Imperius, step aside. I'm about to enter the match."

With that, he walked towards the center of the arena.

The reason he didn't ride the Emerald Fire Thunder was that no mount could compete with it. He would have to dismount eventually for the match, so he simply didn't ride it to avoid the hassle.

However, the demonic steed's aura on him still made Imperius's warhorse tremble until he entered the competition area, where the warhorse finally calmed down.

The arena's large pit had been filled, and the Young Lion Group soldiers had all withdrawn. When the spectators saw Rayan enter, they immediately responded with thunderous applause and cheers.

In the midst of the cheers, Rayan couldn't help but feel a bit agitated, but he quickly suppressed this feeling, focusing his attention.

Challenging all the king's group Oath Knights alone was clearly impossible. The strength of the king's group Oath Knights was almost at the level of Apprentice Heroes or higher, and they definitely had good equipment and battle experience. The fat knight with the Oak Frost Shield earlier was only a supplementary entry due to the slots, his strength couldn't compare to the real king's group knights.

Most importantly, there was Intermediate Hero Imperius among them. Even in a one-on-one fight, Rayan had to give his all. Therefore, if he were to challenge, it would only be against the other eight king's group Oath Knights, excluding Imperius.

Although the Battle Qi consumed in previous matches had not fully recovered, challenging one group was more energy-efficient than a one-on-one duel. Relatively speaking, it was worthwhile. This way, he could avoid being worn down by the king's group Oath Knights in a relay battle.

"I'm going to challenge—"

Before he could finish saying "challenge," Imperius shouted loudly, "Hold on—"