Chapter 53

Chapter 27: Patrol

"I told you, if you want women, there are plenty in the Shaker Central Square!" The female cavalry captain glared at Ye Qi, who was smiling at her, and raised her knight's sword: "Here, there is only Captain E尔斯, not the woman E尔斯! If you can't make a move on the E尔斯 you have feelings for, then make a move on Captain E尔斯!"

"E尔斯, I suddenly realize that your stubbornness is also incredibly charming!" Ye Qi said with a smile, in a voice only he and the female cavalry captain could hear. Then, he nodded and raised his voice: "Alright! I accept Captain E尔斯's challenge!"

The female cavalry captain, who had been flustered by Ye Qi's smiling words, immediately swung her sword at Ye Qi upon hearing his acceptance.

Although he had feelings for the female cavalry captain, after accepting the challenge, Ye Qi immediately returned to his combat state. Seeing the sword thrust, Ye Qi did not hold back—since he had accepted the challenge, he had to complete it. This was good for both him and her; holding back out of affection would only hurt her pride!

Of course, not holding back and going all out were different. Ye Qi would naturally grasp the balance well.

"Clang!"

The attack from the Yama blade was blocked by the opponent's shield! The sharp Yama blade was actually ineffective! This made Ye Qi carefully examine the shield in her hand.

It was a typical knight's shield, about 1.5 meters long, with an oval top and a pointed bottom, similar to other kite shields. The only difference was the engraving on the kite shield—a griffin with outstretched wings. After clashing with the Yama blade, the griffin pattern was emitting a faint golden light!

A holy artifact? Indeed, as the leader of a camp, she has her exceptional qualities!

Ye Qi was surprised by the fact that she possessed a holy artifact, but then he smiled and intensified his attack on the female cavalry captain—grasping the rhythm of her attacks, Ye Qi easily dodged the thrust again. The Yama blade pressed down on her sword, which she was trying to pull back, and at the same time, Ye Qi kicked her knee from behind.

"Screech... Clang!"

The female cavalry captain's knight's sword was not a holy artifact. Under Ye Qi's deliberate force, the knight's sword, which was screeching under the pressure of the Yama blade, ultimately broke. Moreover, the female cavalry captain, whose attention was focused on the struggle between the blades, did not notice Ye Qi's hidden kick. The joints of the knight's armor, for ease of movement, were not covered in steel but protected by softer inner armor. The material used for the inner armor was usually soft cowhide, sewn with fine iron plates. Although it provided decent protection, it was far from enough to withstand Ye Qi's kick, especially since the knee joint is a vulnerable part of the human body. Therefore, after being kicked, the female cavalry captain immediately knelt down, her body tilting.

But even so, the female cavalry captain did not forget to counterattack—she slammed her holy artifact shield into Ye Qi's chest with her left hand. A knight's weapon is not just a knight's sword; the shield, as defensive equipment, can also have considerable power when necessary! Although it cannot cut or pierce like a knight's sword, it can still crush bones! Moreover, the female cavalry captain's shield was a holy artifact, and it was hard to say whether it had any special abilities!

Therefore, Ye Qi had to step back to avoid her counterattack. However, Ye Qi did not give up on pursuing victory. A cone of scorching flame was instantly released—although the female cavalry captain was protected by armor, the current flames of the Burning Hand could not cause substantial damage. However, it was not without any effect! After all, metal armor has good conductivity, whether it's electricity or heat...

The cone of flame quickly disappeared, and Ye Qi immediately rushed forward, removing her helmet: "E尔斯, are you okay?"

"I lost!" The female cavalry captain, who had been suffocating, struggled to stand up from Ye Qi's embrace: "But, just this time! I will work harder in the future! Next time, I will definitely win!"

"I'm always ready to accompany you!" Looking at the stubborn female cavalry captain, Ye Qi smiled and nodded, then shouted to the surrounding rangers: "Find a doctor in the camp! You don't want your beautiful cavalry captain to have burns, right? Of course, the doctor should preferably be a woman!"

The slight teasing immediately caused the rangers to laugh kindly, and the female cavalry captain blushed...

"C-class task completed; gained 3,000 experience..."

...

The midday break ended quickly. After a female doctor examined the female cavalry captain and confirmed she was fine, Ye Qi returned to the stables—working hard to master riding a warhorse!

Of course, the female cavalry captain's urging also played a significant role.

Sitting on the black horse, Ye Qi followed the instructions from the strange wolf in the morning—trying to familiarize himself with the horse's up-and-down rhythm while running, finding the point of coordination. Although blind fighting is a combat skill, it was equally effective in finding the black horse's rhythm. Just like in the previous match, Ye Qi always grasped the opponent's rhythm. Therefore, relying on his foresight and premonition of the rhythm, Ye Qi quickly improved his coordination with the black horse. The Riding skill also increased to 4 after several increments.

"Groning!"

Ye Qi lightly patted the black horse's neck. The black horse, which had already developed some coordination with Ye Qi, immediately ran out of the stables according to Ye Qi's will—once out of the stables, the black horse became unusually excited, carrying Ye Qi around the entire camp in a playful manner. Fortunately, Ye Qi already knew how to coordinate with the horse's rhythm; otherwise, he would have been jolted to the point of vomiting after one lap.

Due to his victory in the midday match and his "frank" words to the female cavalry captain, Ye Qi quickly became familiar with the rangers and earned the respect befitting his strength. Therefore, many people greeted Ye Qi as he rode the black horse, and Ye Qi smiled and responded to each one.

When the black horse had run more than half the camp, it finally slowed down. By then, they were far from the stables and had reached the entrance of the entire camp, where a small group of rangers was about to leave.

"Mr. Ye Qi!" The leader was the deputy of the female cavalry captain. Upon seeing Ye Qi, he greeted him politely and extended an invitation: "Mr. Ye Qi, would you like to join us on patrol?"