Chapter 670: Riding Battle
Half of the people had been eliminated in the previous individual battle. Those who were eligible to partic.i.p.ate in the second category were not weak. After these people had pa.s.sed through another round of screening in the riding battle, the rest could be regarded as the elite level of this selection contest.
Now Chen Rui and Paul would be facing this kind of opponent. This kind of riding battle was no easier than the first individual battle. Partic.i.p.ants couldn’t attack outside of the chariot or they would lose. In addition to their own strength, controlling the mount and commanding the battle were indispensable.
Within the specified time or in the case of running out of javelin, the side that shot the opponent’s chariot the most times would be the winner. If both sides failed to strike the opponent, they would be eliminated at the same time.
Aside from Paul, most people chose the Light Knight prepared by the organizer. A small number of partic.i.p.ants chose their own servants to control the mount. These servants should be good at riding; they work together more tacitly because of mutual understanding.
Paul’s first opponent was a B-level Warrior named Tamm who chose the Light Knight to ride. If it was a 1-to-1, the victory or defeat would be determined in just the blink of an eye, but this kind of long-range battle was completely different. First of all, the chariot was specially made like the magnets of the same polar that repelled each other so that the 2 chariots could maintain about 50 meters distance. Then the magic javelin was also specially made so that it would not cause harm to the contestants. It could greatly absorb the power of the user as well as greatly reduce the speed and power of the throw. This would balance the strength of both parties. Although there were still differences between strengths, the gap had been narrowed a lot, and the outcome would become more unpredictable.
Paul’s game began. The 2 sides rushed out of the opposing channels in a huge ring-shaped field and began a long-range battle.
Each chariot had 4 horses. For Chen Rui with the [a.n.a.lytical Eyes], these finest thoroughbred horses were much easier to communicate with than the thunderbirds and others. He quickly got full control.
The opponent knew that Paul’s strength had already entered Saint, so he didn’t plan to fight face-to-face recklessly. In the beginning, he commanded the carriage to turn around and kept away from Paul. Because of the limited time, they would be eliminated at the same time if both sides did not make a shot. Of course, no one wanted to be eliminated. Therefore, 1 party would definitely make a move first. Mistakes were p.r.o.ne to occur when there was urgency for success,. This way, he had the opportunity to seize the opportunity to fight back and defeat the strong opponent.
Tamm’s combat experience and scheming were good, and his plan was also very precise. However, when the chariot rushed forward, he suddenly noticed something. The opponent was getting closer. He couldn’t help but frown.
If the horses are going at full speed now, the horsepower will be unavailable later. It seems that the opponent has no patience to fight for a long time and wants to end it quickly. It’s just the right time to take advantage of this psychological delay. He immediately ordered, “Speed up! Keep your distance from them!”
Light Knight controlled the horses according to his words, but although the chariot’s speed greatly increased, Paul was still approaching quickly behind, and the distance was shortened again. He was secretly shocked as he hurriedly shouted, “Hurry up!”
“Faster”
“Quick!”
The Light Knight’s answer sounded, “It’s already the fastest!”
“Huh? Wait, how can they be so fast?” Tamm was taken aback. When he saw Paul’s figure standing on the chariot while holding a magic javelin in his hand, he exclaimed, “Turn right immediately!”
However, it was too late. Seeing the light flas.h.i.+ng 1 after another, Paul actually threw out 20 javelins in an instant, and the golden javelins lined up in a continuous arc. In an instant, Tamm felt his vision slowed down. Then, in the blink of an eye, everything became dozens of times faster. Before he could react, there was a series of bombing sounds from the chariot.
All 20 strikes. .h.i.t the target, and Tamm was eliminated.
The first reaction of Tamm who was defeated was to appeal, questioning Paul’s horse speed. After careful inspection by the chief examiner, they unanimously ruled that the horses of both sides were the same, and they didn’t use any tricks. The reason why Paul’s horse could perform at super speed was because the rider used his brilliant beast taming skill.
This complaint made Chen Rui, who was originally unremarkable, quickly enter the sight of the contestants. Everyone knew that Paul had a subordinate who was proficient in beast taming. In the next compet.i.tion, Chen Rui perfectly demonstrated the ‘brilliant’ beast taming skill interpreted by the chief examiner and s.h.i.+ned brightly.
The most antic.i.p.ated battle occurred in the semifinals where Paul and Stanwell played against each other.
Stanwell’s power was close to the peak stage of the Demon Emperor. He was the champion of the first individual battle category. He easily defeated Paul in the final stage of the individual battle. However, in the riding battle, when he met his defeated opponent again, he encountered a result beyond his expectation.
Due to the characteristics of the javelin, the strength difference between the 2 sides was narrowed. After a dazzling round of long-range battle, Paul and Stanwell each struck each other with 7 shots. On the surface, the results were equal, and Paul’s seventh throw was still ahead of Stanwell which had a time advantage. However, Stanwell still had 5 javelins in his hand, and Paul did not have any more javelins. As long as Stanwell struck Paul with once, Paul could be eliminated.
Just when Stanwell, who thought he was winning, launched an attack, Paul’s chariot suddenly made incredible moves: S-shaped and Z-shaped dodging, sudden braking, and even unprecedented ‘drift’… In the midst of the series of incredible actions, Stanwell’s all 5 javelins actually missed, and the final result was 7-7. As Paul’s striking time was before Stanwell, Stanwell was eliminated.
This battle caused a sensation in the audience. Almost everyone was talking about the chariot’s amazing moves and ‘Richard”s wonderful beast control. There was not much suspense in the finals on the second day because Paul’s advantage was too obvious. He only needed to focus on the offense. His most helpful servant, ‘Richard’, would take care of riding or commanding.
This way, Paul won the first place in the second category of riding battle. The top 3 would be listed as the seeded players and would directly enter the finals of the third category of team battle. After the elimination of the first 2 battles, the third category had only 48 partic.i.p.ants in total. In the round robin, Paul could become one of the final 20 winners with just 1 victory. The t.i.tle of Divinity Temple Knight was almost certain.
After Paul won the riding battle, he immediately received the olive branch thrown by the Divinity Seal Hall and the Stars Hall. If it was before going to the Garden City, perhaps Paul would hesitate to join which faction, but now he had chosen Holy Blessing Hall and even met the Holy Lady. If he was still hesitant, he would offend both sides, so he didn’t hesitate at the moment to politley reject 1 by 1.
In the afternoon, Holy Lady no doubt summoned Paul and Chen Rui again. This time it was not Eliza who took them up the mountain, but the half-elf Miranda. Because of the made-up elf story, Chen Rui had to show considerable enthusiasm for Miranda in order to avoid being regarded as a h.o.m.os.e.xual. Fortunately, the half-elf lady seemed extremely disgusted with ‘Richard’ and completely ignored his flattery. Chen Rui just appeared to be ‘embarra.s.sed’ in response. Paul saw this and thought of himself being rejected by Joanna in the same way. The depression hidden in his heart was inexplicably relieved, and he patted the frustrated subordinate in consolation.
After pa.s.sing the strange angel statue, several people entered the Holy Blessing Hall. Chen Rui saw Holy Lady Eudora again.
“Miranda, you go down first.” Eudora said faintly. Miranda bowed and retreated. Although Chen Rui bowed his head respectfully, the corner of his eyes secretly stared at the graceful back walking away. He controlled his heartbeat to be somewhat quick.
Eudora’s blue eyes flashed a faint light as she noticed this scene. She spoke up, “Paul, congratulations on your winning in the riding battle. Now you are only 1 step away from the Divinity Temple Knight, but don’t let your guards down. I hope you can win the final champions.h.i.+p this time if possible. This will also be the glory of the Holy Blessing Hall. Perhaps you will get the attention and appreciation of a certain sir.”
Paul was overjoyed at the last sentence, and he quickly spoke up, “Your Holiness, I will definitely try my best to win.”
Compared with individual battles and riding battles, the final team battle was about command. Partic.i.p.ants, as commanders, were not allowed to fight in person. Therefore, opponents with super personal power such as Stanwell couldn’t unleash the talents, but Paul was quite confident of his own military strategy.
Eudora nodded approvingly and asked, “Did you give that item to your teacher last time? Did he say anything?”
“I have handed it to teacher in accordance with Your Holiness’s instructions. Teacher seemed to be lost in thought and asked if I had made a decision. I said yes.” Paul lowered his head and took out a bottle. “Teacher didn’t say much after keeping the item. He just took out another item and let me forward it to Your Holiness with a message… Call it even.”
Eudora pondered for a moment. When she waved, the bottle flew into her hand, “I see. Go back first. Richard, you stay.”
Paul was a little surprised that the Holy Lady asked Chen Rui to stay alone, but he did not ask more questions and left after bowing.
After Paul left, Eudora walked slowly to Chen Rui, “Richard, is this your real name?”
Chen Rui didn’t know why Eudora made him stay by himself. He rapidly thought about it, and replied, “Your Holiness, frankly speaking, this is not my real name. It’s just 1 of the many names I’ve used. I came from a big family of an empire and was forced to leave because of failure in some compet.i.tions. I once swore a heavy vow that I will just be an ordinary wanderer before taking back what belonged to me.”
“So you chose Paul to use his power to regain everything?”
“Yes.” Chen Rui knew that Eudora must have investigated his details, and ‘Richard’ was not existent before in Town Gudam, so he deliberately said that ‘Richard’ was just 1 of the pseudonyms used.
“So, strictly speaking, you are a person of unknown origin, but judging from what you just said, whether it is emotions or heartbeats, there are only 2 possibilities. First, you are telling the truth. Second, you have an extremely terrifying mind and power that can deceive my senses.” With that said, Eudora’s eyes stared scorchingly on Chen Rui’s face.
Chen Rui was secretly relieved. Fortunately, he deliberately controlled the mood swings with spirit power just now. He immediately put on a surprised look on his face, then he smiled bitterly, “I would rather be the second one if I can.”
Eudora smiled slightly behind the veil, “As long as you join the Holy Blessing Hall and help me accomplish 1 thing, I will fulfill 3 of your requirements. Whether you want to become a powerhouse, have power and authority or others, it will not be a dream.”
TL: What does she want from Chen Rui as a ‘beast tamer’? Did she already know the ident.i.ty of Arthur?