Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
In the end, Lize was not able to accomplish five winning streaks.
This was not because she lost, but after seeing the Ranger’s fate, the remaining two people immediately chose to forfeit without hesitation…
Their choice wasn’t ridiculed by their companions because at this moment, all the mercenaries were eager to discuss a method to fight Clerics. Even though they weren’t unfamiliar with the Cleric, but after seeing today’s two battles, they found that it was different from what they had thought. Before, they thought that Clerics weren’t good at fighting, but now it seemed that they could be very tricky.
They had two defensive spells—Guardian Shield and Protective Shield—and could also control the opponent easily. There didn’t seem to be any movement when they released the spell, which made it difficult to guard against. Damn it, how come they never knew that Clerics were this difficult to deal with?
Because of that, the mercenaries had completely abandoned the battle and began to start discussing.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of; just rush over and smack her into a pulp,right?”
“Fool! Can’t you see what happened to Nancy? Do you want to rush over? Rush to die? Moreover, it’s not like the opponent would you the chance to hit her. Just based on your strength, I don’t think you can even break the Guardian Shield!”
“How about a sneak attack! I think it will be troublesome unless we attack her when she’s unprepared.”
“But how are you going to break her Guardian Shield? Can’t you see just how many layers of Guardian Shield she cast? If you rush over like that, she’ll certainly notice.”
“She will not be able to do anything even if she notices it; her reactions don’t seem to be very fast.”
“That’s true, but… what if she doesn’t make a move? Can you guarantee that you won’t fall into her trap?”
“Nonsense, who do you think I am…”
“If you have guts, go and fight her. What’s the use in shouting here?”
“It’s not like that; I’m not feeling well today…”
“See, you are afraid. You are actually afraid of a little girl. It is really embarrassing.”
“Tch, at least our mercenary group is better than yours. Can he even be called a vice leader? Can’t you see that he was beaten by her like a dog? That girl is a Cleric! How come you guys are still lost?”
“What did you say? Say it once more if you dare!”
A group of people was debating with each other and it almost sparked out into a fight. Seeing that the situation wasn’t right, the leader of the mercenaries lightly coughed and stopped this commotion. Seeing that no one came up to challenge her, Lize helplessly stepped down.
Compared to before, there were a lot of crisp and beautiful female voices cheering in the crowd. There were not many Clerics in Deep Stone City, which was why they all knew each other. After hearing that Lize was going to fight in a match, the Cleric girls immediately assembled to cheer her on. However, there was also a trace of doubts inside all their hearts. After all, as a Cleric, they knew themselves the best. No matter how they saw it, they didn’t have any combat skills. But now, after seeing the scene in front of them, they jumped out in excitement. Although they were accustomed to being protected in the rear and had no interest in fighting in the forefront, seeing a Cleric who was able to defeat elites from two mercenary groups still made them feel somewhat excited.
“Sister, can we also do that?”
A young girl said with excitement. She was looking at Lize who stepped down from the ring with sparkling eyes while clenching her hands on her chest
Hearing her inquiry, she was perplexed and bitterly smiled.
“Perhaps we can… We are also a Cleric, and… since Lize can do it, then we should try it too, right?”
On the other side, Sereck and the Old President also seemed to be awestruck.
“Where did that kid get so many bad ideas?”
The Old President looked at Rhode in disbelief. He didn’t expect that Lize could improve to this point. As the president of the Mercenary Association, he understood his mercenaries quite well. Although Lize was a little bit better than other Clerics who only stayed at home all day because she had more experience in adventuring, but look at her now! Ordinary mercenaries might not be able to see it, but Old President and Sereck certainly could see that Lize had the control of the situation in the ring from the beginning to the end. Whether the first or the second challenger, they weren’t able to do anything to her. It was true that the way she fought was strange and eccentric, but that wasn’t the issue here. It was the way Lize controlled the entire situation in the ring that caused Sereck and the Old president to be totally shocked. The old her absolutely wouldn’t have been able to do this kind of thing. If Rhode hadn’t done anything, they wouldn’t have believed that Lize was able to do something like this.
“I don’t know, but I have to admit, he did bring us a lot of surprises.”
Hearing the Old President’s words, Sereck wryly smiled and shook his head. In fact, right now, he was also thinking about the same thing as the other mercenaries: a way to fight the Cleric. He still had no clue how to. Of course, Sereck also noticed that those skills were only useful in a match and not in an adventure.
But now was a match and not adventure. Perhaps Cleric had other new skills for adventuring?
Sereck rubbed his chin and sank into deep thought once again.
No one noticed that at this moment, in the crowd, a white-bearded old man quietly stood there, watching the ring below with pleasant and satisfied expression. He smiled and nodded as he saw the girl who was walking toward Rhode. Then he suddenly disappeared from the crowd without a trace.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Rhode…”
The reason she apologized to Rhode wasn’t because she was unable to meet Rhode’s expectation. It was because the battle was so time-consuming that it took nearly one hour for the two matches to end. The fighter might have felt nothing, but it was boring for the spectator. In addition, the way Clerics fought was relatively covert and not as brilliant as the way a Mage fought. Everyone was just looking at two people standing there innocently. Something happened inexplicably, and someone suddenly lost. This kind of battle wasn’t wonderful nor fun to watch. Moreover, it was boring and very strange; naturally, there was nothing to be appreciated. Lize was ridiculed and mocked even after she walked out from the stage, which made her feel a little bit unhappy. However, Rhode’s expression did not change. He just nodded, patted her shoulder, and said nothing.
Although she didn’t hear Rhode’s consolation, after seeing Rhode’s same old indifferent expression, Lize suddenly felt relieved and a lot more relaxed. The ridicules and mockery sounds had become blurred.
After the two consecutive battles, the remaining elite team had also begun to get spirited. The opponent was able to achieve five winning streaks in two consecutive battles. They were even able to make three people scared enough to forfeit on their own. This made them feel somewhat gloomy. Fortunately, the Cleric had stepped down. According to the order, the next one coming up didn’t have a strange job. At least, they didn’t have to worry about being disgraceful.
“Lea, leader… is it my turn now?”
Joey rubbed his hands and looked up at Rhode. His face was pale and tense. His originally agile hands were trembling. Although Marlene and Lize’s victory made him feel braver, a Thief wasn’t really hot-blooded in the first place, so there was no way he would say something like “Very well, I shall fight!”
“That’s right. Do you have any problem?”
“There’s no problem, it’s just that… I’m still a little unprepared.”
Hearing Rhode’s inquiry, Joey only wryly smiled. At this moment, another person couldn’t hold it anymore and quickly spoke up.
“Joey isn’t ready yet? Then Leder, let Anne go first, let Anne go first!!”
“Stop it.”
Rhode grabbed Anne’s collar. Apparently, she was really excited about this and couldn’t wait anymore. Rhode pulled her back and looked at Joey.
“It’s your turn.”
“Yes, leader.”
Seeing Rhode’s cold eyes, Joey subconsciously swallowed his saliva. He recalled his childhood memories when he was stealing for the first time. At that time, his boss told him to steal someone else’s purse. However, Joey was unwilling to do this kind of thing. Although he cried, his boss didn’t respond and coldly said, “It’s time for you to do it.”
His gaze was exactly the same as Rhode’s. There was no killing intent or anger, but it was enough to make people obey and follow his order.
Joey himself was not sure about what was going on either, but after seeing Rhode’s gaze, he immediately lowered his head, bit his teeth, and walked to the ring.
And now, the cheers suddenly got louder.
