Chapter 634
Chapter 634 - 614: Arrogance
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9 min read
Silver-armored and gold-armored Knights simultaneously stepped onto the duel field’s stage.
The whole arena was trembling, as countless Heroic Spirits and spectators cheered and jumped with excitement, each rooting for their own favored warrior.
Facing the audience, Lu Ping’an calmly raised his right arm, his palm facing inward, and slowly clenched his fist.
That gesture, reminiscent of a victorious pose, aroused even greater cheers.
This was to express gratitude to those who had supported him all these days and to show confidence in his destined victory.
At this moment, under the gaze of the Heroic Spirits and the ancient city’s audience, Lu Ping’an appeared neither as a challenger nor as a weakling.
His opponent, the thrown black spear, blasted out a big pit in front of Lu Ping’an, heralding the opening of this duel.
Two Knights, well-aware of their steeds, began to slowly speed up.
Though they could already be regarded as acquaintances, and even mentor and disciple in some sense, both sides still had no intention for pre-war banter...Just like their previous encounters, they chose to communicate through the fights themselves.
One round, two rounds, like two beasts clashing and staring each other down.
During the circling, they observed each other’s equipment and disposition, looking for weak points and strengths.
As they circled, their speeds gradually increased, as did their momentum and power.
On Lu Ping’an’s end, the flames began to gather. As Little Flame passed by, the eerie yet powerful purification flames made the Heroic Spirits feel an instinctive coercion.
On Hannah’s side, she was unusually calm. She just quietly watched and appreciated Lu Ping’an’s changes, predicting his progress...This sort of confidence, as if victory was already in hand, made Lu Ping’an even more uncomfortable.
But in fact, she had taken things much more seriously than when she first invited him.
From the beginning, Hannah, who once reached the pinnacle of the Wave-Cutting Axe school, had absolutely no comparison with Lu Ping’an.
When she invited Lu Ping’an over, even introducing him to peer Grandmasters and partners for his training, during the first three days, she even watched Lu Ping’an’s cultivation with a smile, occasionally offering pointers.
This, in fact, was an "insult" or at least "contempt" for a challenger about to enter the battlefield.
Normally during duels, whether it was no holds barred or a gentlemanly skirmish, there would be at least some effort to avoid suspicion before the fight.
Even if you painstakingly collected information about your opponent, being so forthright as to watch their training...then no matter who wins or loses, you’d be at an opinion-disadvantage and wouldn’t pass your own standard.
Hannah following and occasionally offering pointers could only mean one thing...
"From the beginning, she never thought I could win...And others, too, thought the same."
When the gap is so crushingly large, when the actual combat power of both sides is obvious to others, there is naturally no need to adhere to these unwritten rules.
"So because ’I’m sure I’ll win’, there’s no need to avoid suspicion...That’s too arrogant."
And the other Heroic Spirit Warriors were simply taking all this for granted.
"What tier are you, roughly?"
Having experienced the Foreign Domain journey, Lu Ping’an knew that not all worlds had Earth’s clear professional system and tiers, but some key checkpoints still had similar descriptions.
For example, "Truth-level" in Silent Mountain Range World and "Rule-level" on Earth referred to ridiculously powerful beings who could semi-permanently distort reality.
𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
After Lu Ping’an asked, Hannah smiled, that mouthful of big white teeth genuinely creepy.
"I have a bit of bad luck. Before my death, I still haven’t broken through the Rule-level."
This statement was as good as not answering...But Lu Ping’an understood that she might not be at the Peak Commandment Level, but she shouldn’t be far off.
However, by now, Lu Ping’an had learned that tier wasn’t everything, and that the combat power of those at the same tier could differ enormously.
If he were to go all out now, dealing with a newly-promoted fourth-tier was child’s play.
But if it were a strongman stuck at a bottleneck for a long time...It’s basically unlikely to be weak.
"Has no one thought I could win from the beginning? That generous guidance, even the most optimistic Heroic Spirit Mentor, only meant for me to perform better...To lose in a more dignified manner."
The only consolation was that in the last few days, after Lu Ping’an’s Martial Arts Awakening, Hannah had unconsciously left...Did this mean that Lu Ping’an’s chances of winning were no longer zero? Or was it simply a final show of respect and preparation time?
Lu Ping’an had repeatedly overestimated Hannah’s combat power, but upon arriving on the battlefield, he realized he had underestimated her once again.
"...I might not be able to beat her mount."
From the same mount, Lu Ping’an’s Little Flame barely reached a length of three meters, like an oversized "warhorse," or more accurately, a raptor.
But that sub-dragon... Was a T-Rex!
As they circled the arena, it was both a war rehearsal and a time for Hannah to show Lu Ping’an the gap between them.
The ground trembled incessantly under the footsteps of the giant beast. It was far heavier than it appeared, its light blue watery glow revealing that it was not just a simple physical behemoth.
Most of its body floated above the ground; otherwise, its limb structure would not be suitable for land mobility.
Even just having its fin-like limbs glide above the ground caused a shocking earthquake.
Perhaps it was slightly inferior to the Mother of Stone Dragons, a True Dragon, but the difference shouldn’t be too massive... From the beginning, the gap between them was several orders of magnitude.
Lu Ping’an took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, he was devoid of sadness or joy.
How formidable was the enemy? It did not matter; the only thing to do was to fight.
The one to initiate the charge was actually the flame beast, which was like a "little guy."
The golden blaze transformed into lethal high temperatures, and atop it, the knight raised the black Death Lance, gathering the power of storms and death within it.
Having seized the initiative, Lu Ping’an had been charging for several seconds before Hannah adjusted herself and the dragon-beast slowly turned around...
However, accompanied by a bee-like droning, the land-dwelling water dragon eerily floated by, its speed surpassing the accelerating Lu Ping’an.
The behemoth and the flame creature, the huge dragon and the knight—an utterly mismatched charge met in the middle of the line.
A knight’s lance duel in a charge? Little Flame and Lu Ping’an were not up to the task!
The watery blue shield blocked Little Flame’s impact, and the next moment, the water dragon’s body fiercely collided with Little Flame, directly sending the knight and his mount flying.
Lu Ping’an was sent flying too. The combined attack of physical and elemental forces caused him to lose balance.
For a moment, before the enraged Little Flame charged again, Lu Ping’an restrained it... Confronting such an opponent, a reckless charge was tantamount to suicide.
The female knight merely looked at Lu Ping’an in silence—no pity, no hesitation. The only reason she hadn’t launched an attack was that Lu Ping’an hadn’t exposed any flaws, and he was always on guard against Hannah.
The two sides were still testing each other.
Meanwhile, the water dragon cried out again, but this time with a trace of emotion in its voice.
The part of it that had collided with Little Flame had turned "golden"... Purifying Holy Fire burned fiercely atop it.
Though the summoned water elemental power was apparent in suppressing its injury,
the quickly extinguished flames revealed that the energies of both parties were not on the same level.
But this also meant that in the first tentative clash, Little Flame wasn’t the only one hurt.
Perhaps the wound was like a human being scalded on one finger, but the injury was real, and likely painful.
"Ao ao ao!"
Little Flame roared excitedly, flames spurting from its body’s orifices. The powerful enemy that had sent it flying only served to ignite its fighting spirit and desire to kill.
Wounds? Exhaustion? Fear? To this monstrous creature that knew nothing of pain and fatigue, such things were not issues at all.
Once again, it transformed into a golden fireball, about to pounce... Lu Ping’an held back Little Flame while using his power to sense the intensity of its flames with his other hand.
"...Fortunately."
Checking on Little Flame’s condition while calming its carnal desire to attack, Lu Ping’an breathed a sigh of relief when he found that it was faring well.
Little Flame’s evolution was evident. If this had happened to its previous form, it might have been severely injured, but now most of its body was partially transformed into Sacred Flames. The damage wasn’t too severe... If Little Flame had been killed instantly, the battle would have been unconquerable.
At this point, looking at Hannah’s still-indifferent face, Lu Ping’an felt her silent dissatisfaction... Discontent?
Discontent with what? His own weakness? No, she was not that kind of person.
She would watch with joy as Lu Ping’an practiced his clumsy martial arts while pointing out its flaws, occasionally cracking jokes. When recalling her cherished memories of her past self’s learning experiences, her face was always filled with nostalgia and happiness.
She had never viewed weakness with contempt.
Hannah had always been able to smile and guide Lu Ping’an for every improvement and every mistake he made no matter how basic or absurd...
"Oh, I understand now. She’s unhappy with my... arrogance."
Of course, it was arrogance. Even now, even facing such an overwhelming opponent, Lu Ping’an still harbored a glimmer of hope.
"...I was thinking of defeating her with only martial arts. Ha, I should give up on that idea. I get it, Hannah. Don’t glare at me. I’ll put forth my full strength."
So, Lu Ping’an’s legion appeared in the arena as well.
— End of Chapter 634 —