Chapter 4472 — Who Will Take the Field
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Cheng Haonan stood on the platform looking proudly upon the scene, the corner of his mouth curling in a smile so faint none could mark it. For the sake of keeping a low profile, however, he refrained from any boastful talk; otherwise all his earlier effort would have been wasted.
Throughout the entire process, Cheng Haonan displayed no overwhelming strength whatsoever. To all appearances he was merely an ordinary late-stage Gold Core expert, with nothing heaven-defying about him. And no wonder—he simply did not want to frighten Ling Yi.
"Heh, quite a performance. If I hadn't known beforehand that he leads the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps, I might well have been fooled," Wei Zhao said with a smile.
"But he didn't play it out completely. If the two of them were truly so evenly matched and locked in such a bitter struggle, how could that final kick have been so crisp and clean, not even leaving the man a breath?" Qi Wenmo curled his lip dismissively.
"Let's see what they intend to do next. I rather think it's about time I took the field," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.
"Huh?" Qi Wenmo blinked, then caught on and hurriedly said, "Brother Ling, Cheng Haonan is no ordinary foe. If they really mean to challenge us, let me go up instead."
"You're a match for him?" Wei Zhao asked in return.
"Er..." Qi Wenmo was struck dumb. He would have liked to put on a show of toughness, but in the end he could only answer honestly, "No. I've never fought him directly, but I know my own limits well enough. It would take my father himself to handle him."
"There you have it." Wei Zhao smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "If they're coming for me, then your going up would accomplish nothing except to throw your life away. Rest easy. I won't boast of much else, but this much I can be sure of."
"But..." Qi Wenmo wanted to say more, yet seeing the resolve in Wei Zhao's expression, he knew persuasion was useless. He could only close his mouth in reluctance. "All right then. Brother Ling, be careful. The moment things look bad, jump down off the platform. At worst we lose a few points. Everything the agency has achieved so far is thanks to you, and we're already more than content. Even if we lost it all back, it wouldn't matter. Your safety is what counts most, Brother Ling."
"I know," Wei Zhao nodded.
Meanwhile, thanks to Cheng Haonan's victory, the right to challenge had fallen as wished into the hands of the Dragon Boat Escort Agency. Without a moment's hesitation, Long Kuiba stepped forward and announced, "The Dragon Boat Escort Agency challenges the Qingtian Escort Agency!"
The whole assembly erupted in an uproar. The atmosphere, which had been somewhat tepid until then, blazed to life all at once. The real drama had finally begun.
The Dragon Boat Escort Agency had ranked eighth to begin with. Having just seized a hundred points from the Blackwater Escort Agency, they had shot up two places to sixth, overtaking the South Gate Escort Agency. If they now took points from the Qingtian Escort Agency as well, they would break straight into the top five—a historic advance into the ranks of the great five escort agencies!
"I knew this would happen," Wei Zhao said with a smile. After exchanging a glance with Qi Wenmo, he at once strode up onto the platform. Whoever the other side sent out, he had to win this match—for reasons exactly the same as those that had just driven the Dragon Boat Escort Agency.
Seeing Wei Zhao take the stage, Cheng Haonan and his companions were overjoyed. They had been wondering whether to kill Qi Wenmo first, never dreaming that the prize would come to them without the slightest effort—the fellow had walked up and presented himself on the platform. A fool who did not even know he was standing at death's door.
"Strategist, I leave the boy to you!" Cheng Haonan said with a savage grin. In his eyes, Wei Zhao was already a corpse. (To be continued...)
...R1071