Chapter 216: I Want a One-on-One Duel

"Hold on!"

Before Rayan could utter his challenge for a duel, Imperius urged his horse to the center of the arena.

Rayan frowned slightly, coldly staring at Imperius, thinking that this battle-hardened old man would definitely not let him have his way. If Imperius didn't allow him to duel other Oath Knights one-on-one but instead forced him into a series of exhausting fights, things would get tricky.

Imperius flicked his chain cloak, dismounted, and arrogantly said to Rayan, "Lord Rayan, although your status is higher than mine, in the arena, I am still an Oath Knight of the king's group. According to the rules, I should speak first."

Rayan pondered for a moment before ultimately giving the central position to Imperius. According to the rules, the higher-ranking person should indeed speak first, though previously none of the knights dared to speak out.

The audience held their breath, waiting for Imperius to speak, curious to see how this most formidable Oath Knight would deal with Rayan.

Seeing Rayan step aside, Imperius' mouth curled slightly, his weathered face showing faint smile lines that quickly vanished. He walked to the position where Rayan had stood, his armor's scales clinking rhythmically with his firm steps.

After standing still, he first scanned the crowd majestically, then slowly raised his flaming long spear and declared decisively, "I want a one-on-one duel."

The entire audience was stunned.

These were supposed to be Rayan's words, but why was Imperius also…

"One-on-one duel?"

Rayan pressed his lips tightly together, knife-like wrinkles forming on his brow. "Lord Imperius, what do you mean? Do you want to duel me?"

If that were the case, it would save a lot of Battle Qi. But, would Imperius be so kind? Rayan couldn't believe it.

Imperius scoffed at Rayan's doubt, shook his head coldly, and said, "No, I'm not going to duel you. I'm going to duel them—"

Saying this, Imperius raised his hand and pointed at the eight king-level Oath Knights in the resting area.

The eight Oath Knights, who had been laughing and joking a second ago, were now dumbfounded when they saw Imperius pointing at them. They had planned to help Imperius exhaust Rayan's Battle Qi, but Imperius was now challenging them directly, which was…

One of the king's group Oath Knights stepped forward, puzzled, and asked, "Lord Imperius, are you sure about this?"

Imperius glanced at him, "I'm sure. I'm challenging all eight of you."

The king's group Oath Knights shouted angrily, "Imperius, are you out of your mind? We're on your side!"

"Hahaha!"

Imperius laughed three times, then hammered his long spear on the ground, shouting sternly, "Even if I'm old, I can still handle dueling all of you. If you have the guts, face my flaming long spear in a few rounds. If you don't, cut down your patriarch's banner yourselves and get out of the arena!"

The eight king-level Fighters were dignified figures, how could they tolerate such provocation from Imperius? Before he could finish speaking, they were already rolling up their sleeves and saying, "Fine! We accept your challenge. Let's see if you can still laugh when we dismantle your old bones!"

"Then come on!"

Imperius brandished his flaming long spear, heroically declaring, "I'm waiting for you to come and meet your death!"

As the challenge match was set, the eight king-level Oath Knights aggressively surged towards the central area, but Rayan remained in the arena, showing no intention of leaving.

A Black-armored guard cautiously approached Rayan and whispered, "Lord Rayan, this is not your challenge match, so you must leave the arena. If you don't, you might be charged with obstructing the match and be removed…"

Rayan ignored the Black-armored guard's words and stared intently at Imperius. "Why are you doing this? You could easily conserve your strength."

Imperius coldly laughed, "I'm not doing this for you, but for myself. I'm old. This might be one of my last battles, and I want to win honorably."

"Well said, honorably." Rayan nodded in admiration. Despite their conflicts and disagreements, mostly due to differing positions, if Imperius hadn't been a loyal servant of the Firebird family, they might have become lifelong friends. Unfortunately…

The Black-armored guard reminded softly again, "Lord Rayan, you must leave."

Only then did Rayan turn and follow the Black-armored guard out of the arena.

As soon as Rayan left, the eight king-level Oath Knights rushed at Imperius simultaneously. Among them, three were Apprentice Heroes, and the other five were at least Ninth Tier or Tenth Tier Fighters. The combined attack power made Rayan feel a chill down his spine.

Rayan couldn't help but think that if Imperius hadn't stepped in to challenge these king's group Oath Knights, he would have had to expend more than half of his Battle Qi. If Sola were here to help him recover with fire spirit, it wouldn't be a problem, but since Sola was already gone, he had to calculate his Battle Qi usage carefully.

Imperius let out a low roar, and the orange Battle Qi on his body instantly concentrated on the flaming long spear. With one sweeping strike, the air trembled, carrying intense heat that pressured everyone in the arena.

Rayan couldn't help but gasp. This was his first time seeing Imperius in action, and he hadn't expected him to be so powerful.

Imperius' Battle Qi also contained gang power, which was even purer than Rayan's sword gang power. Clearly, he had also passed the Demon Heart test. Considering Imperius' age and experience, such achievements were not surprising. Rayan relaxed slightly and focused intently on the match.

The eight king-level Oath Knights involuntarily took several steps back after Imperius' strike. Although their Battle Qi defenses were intact, they were deeply shocked.

"Old man, are you serious?"

Imperius spat on the ground, "If I wasn't serious, I would have been torn apart by you just now. Stop pretending. Show me what you've got, and let me warm up!"

The eight Oath Knights glanced at each other, then simultaneously gathered their Battle Qi, shouted, and charged at Imperius with their weapons raised.

Imperius faced them calmly, his flaming long spear glinting coldly, sometimes like blooming red flowers, sometimes like writhing orange dragons. His coordination of Battle Qi and gang power was perfect, almost seamless, mesmerizing even Rayan, who was watching intently.

Stabbing, thrusting, sweeping, spinning—just a few basic combos, without using any finishing moves, and the eight Oath Knights were already at a disadvantage. But Imperius was not in a hurry; he fought steadily and methodically. One Oath Knight couldn't resist using a finishing move, but the experienced Imperius seized the opportunity, piercing the opponent's Battle Qi defense with his heavy spear and throwing the Oath Knight out of the battle area.

Another Oath Knight tried a finishing move and met the same fate. The remaining six Oath Knights were under immense pressure, afraid of being targeted by Imperius and having their Battle Qi broken, so they all became cautious.

Imperius, however, grew more vigorous as he fought, forcing the six Oath Knights to retreat step by step, looking utterly miserable. Someone couldn't stand it any longer, dropped their weapon, raised both hands, and shouted loudly, "I surrender, I give up!"

Imperius stopped attacking those who surrendered and focused more intensely on those who stubbornly resisted. Within a few minutes, the remaining Oath Knights also raised their hands, admitting defeat.

Judge Trevor rode to the center of the arena and declared Imperius the victor.

Only then did Imperius put away his flaming long spear, his breathing steady, with only a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

Despite his victory, Rayan could tell that Imperius had still expended some of his Battle Qi. It wasn't an easy win. In fact, Imperius had an easier way to win, but to ensure a fair fight, he deliberately used some of his Battle Qi and showed Rayan his basic moves and techniques—this was something Rayan was well aware of.

In the noble stands, Lady Spring Rain looked anxious. Imperius was so formidable; she worried that Rayan might get hurt.

Phoenix Lady leisurely fanned herself with a black silk fan. "My dear Spring Rain, the betting hasn't started yet. You can choose not to bet all your gold coins on Lord Rayan."

"No."

Lady Spring Rain firmly shook her head and smiled serenely. "Rayan will definitely win; I believe in him. I'm just worried he might get hurt, but then I think, what man hasn't been injured before? If he gets hurt, I'll heal him."

A fleeting, barely noticeable trace of jealousy crossed Phoenix Lady's face but disappeared quickly. She turned to ask the other nobles, "The War God match is about to start. Have you all decided who to bet on?"

The nobles called for their servants, some betting on Rayan, some on Imperius—regardless of who they bet on, the stakes were exceptionally high, each bet exceeding ten thousand gold coins.

"Lady Eileen, what about you?" Phoenix Lady asked with a smile, "Who are you going to bet your hundred thousand gold coins on?"

"Why don't you go first, Phoenix Lady," Lady Eileen replied uncharacteristically.

"As for me…"

Phoenix Lady smiled gracefully and dragged out her words. "This is a very difficult choice. In a sense, both Lord Rayan and Imperius belong to my Firebird family. Lord Rayan is young and capable, while Imperius is experienced. They both have the qualifications to compete for the title of War God and the Holy Light artifact. My choice is—"