Chapter 52

Chapter 26: I Refuse

"Very honored!" Ye Qi smiled and nodded, then pointed to his plate: "However, can everyone wait until I finish my meal? Wasting food is not what I want!"

"No problem!" The rangers readily agreed to Ye Qi's request: "We can wait for you to finish!"

Seeing that they had sat down in front of him and waited, Ye Qi continued to finish his lunch, chewing slowly as if to test the rangers' patience. As he ate, a faint look of satisfaction and happiness appeared on his face...

This expression was naturally interpreted by the rangers as Ye Qi mocking them. Their hands, gripping their knight swords, were already showing veins from the force. Despite this, the rangers still adhered to their word and did not interrupt Ye Qi's meal. However, from their increasingly fierce and angry looks, it was clear that they had decided to "teach" Ye Qi a lesson in the upcoming match.

"Gentlemen, I kept you waiting!" After putting the last golden fried doughnut in his mouth, Ye Qi patted the food residue off his hands and stood up with a smile. He then entered the main topic after a casual compliment: "The food here is really great! So, what do we need to compete in? If it's a horse battle, forget it. I just learned to ride today, and I'm far from your level!"

"Of course not!" The leader of these rangers stepped forward, slapped his chest armor, and said: "I'm Vivian! I now challenge Mr. Ye Qi!"

"As you wish!" Seeing Vivian give him a knight's salute, Ye Qi nodded and walked straight to the empty space nearby: "Let's start!"

"C-class mission: Competition. Defeat all challengers."

C-class?

Ye Qi looked at the mission prompt in surprise—not that he was underestimating Vivian, but after half a year of continuous training and random mission triggers in the Arena Tower, he had a general understanding of mission levels. Someone like Vivian, who relied solely on his own strength without any special abilities, should not be able to reach C- or above; even D+ would be quite impressive.

Defeat all challengers? Does it mean all the rangers in the camp?

Feeling puzzled, Ye Qi looked at the mission prompt again. When he saw the word "all," he was stunned—just dealing with the active rangers would be 150 people, and it would take a week to complete all the matches! If he included the reserves...

Thinking of nearly a thousand matches, even if each one was not difficult, Ye Qi shuddered—1,000 matches, he would be exhausted just from the sheer number! After all, in half a year, Ye Qi had only competed in less than 200 matches in the Arena Tower at headquarters...

"Are you underestimating me?" Vivian strode up to Ye Qi, looked at him without drawing his sword, and shouted: "Draw your sword!"

"A competition is also a battle! In battle, I never underestimate any opponent!" Ye Qi's hand remained on the hilt of the Yama blade, but his eyes were sharp as he looked at Vivian: "So, let's start!"

"Ha!"

Vivian held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. Although he was not on horseback, he still launched a thrust at Ye Qi in a very short distance, relying on his strong body.

Vivian's long sword was a specially made knight's sword—its blade was an acute isosceles triangle, about one meter long, with a handle that could be held with one hand. However, there was a special counterweight ball at the back of the handle, which allowed the knight to fully utilize the thrust's power without worrying about the horse's movement during a horse battle. If the sword skills were up to par, one thrust could pierce through heavy armor like plate mail! Therefore, any excellent knight's thrust on the battlefield would be a nightmare for all enemies!

Now, without the help of a horse, Vivian launched a thrust at Ye Qi. Although it lacked the momentum of a galloping horse, it was still sharp!

Facing Vivian's thrust, Ye Qi took a step to the left—although a knight's thrust was fast and powerful, it had a hard-to-compensate weakness—flexibility!

Perhaps a thrust could pierce through the front plate armor, but if the target moved quickly before being hit, the opponent would become a sitting duck. This might be difficult for others! After all, the thrust was too fast to grasp the timing—too early was useless, and too late would result in being hit. However, for Ye Qi, who had the battle perception granted by Blind Fighting and an agility of 16, it was not a problem at all.

Therefore, Ye Qi's step to the left perfectly avoided the thrust!

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

The Yama blade flashed out of the sheath, cutting through the shield in the left hand of the opponent without any resistance, and the blade steadily pressed against the opponent's throat. The cold chill of the Yama blade made Vivian dejectedly lower his long sword.

Vivian's face was bitter, but he admitted his defeat and did not give up: "I lost! I'm not as strong as you! But I won't give up..."

Vivian's voice gradually lowered, and even Ye Qi, standing opposite him, could barely hear it clearly.

Indeed, it's for Elise...

Vivian's mumbled words were enough for Ye Qi to make a judgment. Ye Qi just shrugged indifferently—there was no need to take seriously an opponent who clearly lacked the courage and was still in a crush. After all, Ye Qi was confident in defeating such an opponent.

Sheathing his sword, Ye Qi did not leave. The system had not indicated the completion of the mission, so he knew the competition was not over.

"I'll go!" As Ye Qi waited, the female cavalry captain, who had put on her knight's armor again, appeared in front of him and issued a challenge: "Elise, I now challenge Mr. Ye Qi!"

"I refuse!" Ye Qi shook his head and frankly stated his reason: "I find it hard to go against my will and draw my sword against a girl I have developed feelings for!"

"What? What did he just say?"

"It seems he has fallen for the cavalry captain!"

...

Ye Qi's words immediately caused a stir among all the rangers watching—after lunch was the designated rest time, so when they saw Ye Qi and Vivian about to compete, many rangers gathered around. Although not all the rangers in the camp were present, the female cavalry captain believed that this news would spread throughout the entire ranger camp within an hour, and even to headquarters.

Thinking of the consequences of this rumor, the female cavalry captain's face immediately turned red, but then she glared at the culprit—Ye Qi!