Chapter 303

Chapter 303

* * * * *

“The third duel of the quarterfinals to determine the third quarterfinalist! I’d like to invite the two who will be dueling, Count Mingfu of the Helioca Empire and Count Yakuran of the Multhan Kingdom, to step onto the arena!”

Jumbled

Ming Hu, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, heard the knight’s shout from above and began to run up the stairs.

‘I’m sure…’

Soon, Ming Hu was back on the field, walking toward the center, watching the expression and mood of Count Yakuran as he approached from the other side.

“I’m not going to run away.

I could sense the speculation in Count Yakuran’s eyes. He didn’t seem to be backing down or running away as expected.

Swoosh swoosh

Arriving at the center of the arena, Ming Hu and Count Yakuran turned to each other and bowed slightly in greeting.

“Let’s get started!”

As Ming Hu and Count Yakuran arrived for the duel, the knight finished speaking and walked down the arena.

“Good luck.”

As the knight descended, Ming Hu smiled and opened his mouth to speak.

“I wish you the best as well.”

Count Yakuran smiled in response to Ming Hu’s words. And with those words, Count Yakuran drew his sword.

Ta-da!

As Count Yakuran drew his sword, Ming Hu leapt out as if he had been waiting for it, reaching for Count Yakuran.

“Boom!”

Unlike the others, Count Yakuran did not back down as the Emperor’s hand approached. Count Yakuran roared in triumph and swung his drawn sword at the Emperor’s hand.

Boom!

Count Yakuran’s sword struck Ming Hu’s hand with a loud crack, but that was all. Ming Hu’s hand didn’t stop, and he was still able to grab Count Yakuran by the collar.

Sigh

Grabbing him by the collar, Ming Hu yanked his hand away. Count Yakuran strained his legs to keep from being dragged and grabbed Ming Hu’s arm to fight back.

“Huh?”

But Count Yakuran couldn’t help but exclaim in dismay; it would do him no good.

I tried to force myself not to be dragged, but it was too natural, and I grabbed Myung-hoo’s arm, but I couldn’t do anything.

“Thank you.”

Ming Hu walked to the end of the arena and spoke to Count Yakuran. I am grateful that you did not run away like the others.

“…”

Count Yakuran had no words for Ming Hu’s words. Count Yakuran thought as he watched Ming Hu gently drag him to the end of the arena.

“…That’s ridiculous.

I couldn’t believe it.

“Where does this power come from?

Ming Hu wasn’t small, but he wasn’t big either, and he didn’t understand where this power came from.

‘Is this what the prince was talking about…’

Count Yakuran remembered Devan’s words about not getting caught. At the time, he hadn’t thought it meant this.

But that didn’t matter now; I was already caught, and thinking wasn’t going to get me out. I had to do something.

“…Really.

Count Yakuran soon realized, however, that he could not help but frown; there was nothing he could do about it, even if he tried.

Realizing that he could do nothing, Count Yakuran looked at the back of Ming Hu’s head and then opened his mouth to say, “I’m sorry, but I can’t.

“You lost.”

The arena was enchanted with amplification magic. Count Yakuran’s words were amplified and carried to the farthest reaches of the bleachers.

Stop

Ming Hu, who had been walking toward the end of the arena, stopped in his tracks when he heard Count Yakuran’s words. He turned and looked at Count Yakuran.

“That’s great.”

Count Yakuran continued as Ming Hu stared.

[Increased intimacy with Yakuran, Count of the Multhan Kingdom].

[Increased rewards for the quest “Journey to the Aman Empire”].

A message appeared at the end.

“…”

Ming Hu, stunned by Count Akuran’s defeat, glanced at the message and then back at Count Yakuran.

Dada Dada

In the meantime, a knight who had heard Count Yakuran’s admission of defeat rode up to the arena, and quickly opened his mouth to cry out.

“The quarterfinalist is Count Ming Hu of the Helioca Empire, congratulations!”

[You have won the dueling competition].

[Gains 100,000 prestige].

[You’re in the quarterfinals].

[200,000 prestige].

[Increased rewards for the quest “For the Honor of the Empire”].

The message appeared again.

“…Thank you for your efforts.”

Ming Hu wondered if he should tell Count Yakuran that he was Moorish, but then he glanced at the message and opened his mouth to speak.

“No, sir, I’m afraid not.”

Count Yakuran was about to say something, but then remembered that the arena was enchanted with amplification magic and shut his mouth. He smiled and continued.

“May I invite you to dinner next time?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Count Yakuran continued, and Ming Hu nodded in response.

“I’ll see you soon, but I need to…”

At Ming Hu’s reply, Count Yakuran said with a satisfied expression and raised his hand to point to the collar of Ming Hu’s robe.

“Oh.”

Realizing that he was still holding onto his collar, Ming Hu quickly released his grip and let Count Yakuran go.

“I’m going to need you two to go downstairs.”

As soon as he released his collar, the knight called out. At the knight’s call, Ming Hu gave a slight bow to Count Yakuran, then walked down the stairs and out of the arena.

“Thank you.”

When we got to the bottom, the waiting driver said.

“Are we done?”

Ming Hu asked the driver.

“Yes, I’ll walk you to the bleachers.”

In response to Ming Hu’s question, the knight took the lead and started walking. Following the knight’s lead, Ming Hu was soon able to reach the grandstand.

“Thank you.”

When they reached the bleachers, the guide spoke again, turned around, and began walking toward the waiting area. The driver left and Ming Hu climbed into the bleachers.

“Great job!”

“Thank you.”

When Ming Hu came up, Jie Yi and Revil, who were at the front, opened their mouths and spoke.

“Congratulations on your fourth place finish!”

“Looks like you’re going to have a great time, congratulations in advance!”

Then the nobles behind him rose from their seats and said, “Let’s go. Ming Hu smiled and returned to his seat.

“Minghu.”

As soon as I sat down, Delay called out to me in a quiet voice.

“Huh?”

At Delay’s call, Ming Hu turned his head and looked at Delay with a questioning look in his eyes.

“Time…”

At such a glare, Jie Li said.

“Time? Ah.”

Myung Hu, who had questioned Delay’s words, quickly realized what they meant and let out a gasp before continuing in a quiet voice.

“Is it time to update already?”

“Yeah, I think we should start getting ready.”

[The update will begin in 30 minutes, please log out from a safe place before the update begins].

As he finished speaking, a message appeared.

’30 minutes. That should be enough.’

Realizing that he had 30 minutes before the update was due to start, Ming Hu thought enough was enough and turned to look at Revill.

“Mr. Revill.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“I’m tired, but I’ll go first.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for your service, may you rest in peace.”

Hearing Revil’s words, Ming Hu rose from his seat, and with Jie Jie following him, he descended from the bleachers and headed for his quarters.

“But the only thing being updated is the interface change?”

“Yeah, as far as I saw yesterday, it was just an interface change, but I’ll check it out one more time, in case there’s a fix.”

“Hold on, let me check for assassins.”

Minghu and Jianyei chatted and were soon able to reach the inn. Once at the inn, Myung-Hoo tells Ji-Yeon to open the door and start checking for assassins, but after scanning every room, there are no assassins in sight.

‘Nothing… It’s really over.’

I was expecting a single-digit assassin, but seeing it take this long, I figured it was probably over.

“No?”

When Ming Hu returned to the living room, Jie Li asked.

“Nope, I don’t see him. That’s good, it’s not like catching him will boost the quest rewards.”

Catching the assassins didn’t increase the quest rewards. In fact, I was glad they weren’t bothering me. Of course, there was one disappointment.

“I thought we could get some bodies.

I immediately regretted the lack of assassin corpses, as I was looking forward to getting them, but they never came.

“I’ll get back to you when I get out.”

Ming Hu decided to ignore the assassins and turned to Jie Li.

“Yes! I’ll go first!”

Delay replied with a wide smile. And then she was gone. Ming Hu logged out just as Jie Jie logged out.