Chapter 4453 — How to Challenge

He had prepared for the worst. Even knowing full well it would do no good, he was determined to be the first into the ring; even if it meant trading life for life, this young master of the escort agency would make certain everyone knew that the men of the Qingtian Escort Agency were not to be provoked or bullied by anyone!

"No buts!" Wei Zhao cut him off without hesitation, then went on: "Rather than fretting over troubles that may never come, Brother Qi, you would do better to settle your heart and start thinking hard about the upcoming Escort Agency Championship. That is what you ought to be doing."

"Uh—well, all right. This business can wait until the championship is over." Qi Wenmo's attention was promptly diverted. However perilous the challenge from the agency's helmsman might be, it was a matter for later; how to handle the championship here and now was what mattered most.

Setting aside this final, highly contentious extra challenge, the fifth round of the Escort Agency Championship was the true centerpiece of the entire Southern Continent Escort Grand Gathering. It would not only decide the point standings, but would also lay bare before everyone the true strength of each agency.

"Five against five—the rules are essentially the same as the first round's escort-ambush response, except there's one less escorted item, and the scoring works differently." Qi Wenmo quickly fell into an analytical frame of mind.

"Correct. Though the time limit is likewise one stick of incense, this round doesn't count individual kills. It's decided by which agency has more people left standing on the field at the end; the victor takes a hundred points directly from the loser. At first glance the difference seems minor, but in terms of concrete strategy it's actually worlds apart—we'll have to adjust accordingly," Wei Zhao nodded.

"Right, right. Brother Ling, you're an old hand at this sort of thing. Whatever you think we should do, I'll follow your lead!" Qi Wenmo hastened to ask for guidance with an open mind.

"An old hand? I'm nothing of the sort—just luck." Wei Zhao burst out laughing. He had only been acting as an impromptu on-the-spot coach on a whim, and now people were treating him as some kind of expert...

"Brother Ling, don't be so modest. Your record speaks for itself—irrefutable proof, solid as iron. Modesty won't do you any good now; everyone's seen it with their own eyes. Isn't that right?" Qi Wenmo called out loudly to the assembled escorts nearby.

"Right!" the crowd chorused in agreement. They had no choice but to concede: Wei Zhao's on-the-spot guidance in the first round's ambush battle had been remarkably effective, and his record spoke volumes—especially when set against the defensive battle overseen by the young master Qi Wenmo. Placed side by side, the difference in skill was plain at a glance.

For these men, this was no mere flattery—it bore directly on their own vital interests. Judging by the performance in the first round's ambush response, if Wei Zhao were in command, at least the greater half of them would survive; but if the young master Qi Wenmo were in command, at least the greater half of them would die.

The gap between the two was enormous—for these escorts who would actually take the field, it might well be the difference between life and death!

"Ha... all right, all right!" Faced with the eager, excited gazes of the crowd, Wei Zhao could only surrender. "I will do all within my power to plan and devise for everyone. Will that satisfy you?"

The escorts erupted in cheers, drawing sidelong glances from bystanders. The onlookers exchanged bewildered looks—had these Qingtian Escort Agency fellows taken the wrong medicine? The fight hadn't even begun, and they were already celebrating in advance?

"Brother Ling, quick, tell us—how should we handle this round of the Escort Agency Championship?" Qi Wenmo asked impatiently.

"There are two sides to it: the on-field matchup is one, and the off-field scheming is the other. In a sense, the latter may be even more important than the former, because the former is merely tactics, while the latter is strategy." Wei Zhao, setting aside all further prevarication, took it upon himself to lay it out for them.

The crowd looked at one another. Some nodded with the vaguest glimmer of understanding; others were utterly lost, with no idea at all what Wei Zhao was talking about.

"Brother Ling means that making good use of those two challenge rights and two for-rights is what matters most?" Qi Wenmo grasped the point at a single word.

"Exactly. The off-field scheming determines the whole grand picture. If those four opportunities can be used well, we'll get twice the result with half the effort and seize the initiative; otherwise we'll be in some trouble," Wei Zhao nodded.

Only then did the rest belatedly understand. The championship rules stated only that each agency had two challenge rights and two for-rights, but placed no restriction whatsoever on who could issue a challenge first, or whom one might challenge—meaning all of it was left to each agency to decide for itself.

That made the waters very deep indeed. For their own Qingtian Escort Agency, there was nothing much to be said about the two for-rights—they could only respond passively, with little room for choice. But how exactly to use those two challenge rights would require careful deliberation.

"Whom do we challenge? And when do we issue the challenge?" Qi Wenmo immediately seized on the crux of the matter.

"Correct. Handle those two key questions well, and everything else will naturally fall into place," Wei Zhao said approvingly.

Qi Wenmo sank into thought. The two questions looked simple enough; following his own line of thinking, there were only two strategies—one conservative, one aggressive.

Take the conservative path, and naturally one picks the softest persimmons: challenge only those weak, small agencies. With the Qingtian Escort Agency's strength, two victories could be all but assured. As for the remaining two for-rights, all they need do is go all out—win whatever they could, one bout at a time.

That way, with two victories already banked as a cushion, even if both later matches were lost outright, they could at least guarantee no loss of points in this round of the championship.

And thanks to the enormous lead accumulated over the previous four rounds, even if the second-place Shenfeng Escort Agency won all four of their matches, they would gain at most six hundred and seventy points—just enough to draw level with the Qingtian Escort Agency. In other words, the worst possible outcome after five rounds would be a tie for first with Shenfeng—nothing they couldn't accept.

That was the most conservative strategy. Beyond it there was another, more aggressive approach: instead of challenging small agencies, go straight after the great houses that posed a threat to them—Shenfeng Escort Agency, ranked second, for instance. Win that, and they would be firmly and indisputably in sole possession of the top seat, no suspense left at all.

Of course, every advantage brings its drawback. Should such a move fail, they would bear the risk of being overtaken in points by the great houses—not only failing to hold first place, but even struggling to cling to second or third. (To be continued...)