“A fair and just duel huh...” Hearing this, Terrestrial Horse could only calm herself and focus on the problem before her.
No matter how the field had been transformed, and regardless of whether anyone would hold her accountable, her first priority was to deal with this batch of participants. Losing all the game’s facilities while letting them leave unharmed would be utterly inexcusable.
‘I did not lose the {contraptions}... Vermilion Bird will surely forgive me...’ Terrestrial Horse slowly moved her fingers and drew a second ball from the bamboo tube beside her. ‘As long as I kill everyone as usual... he will forgive me.’
From a distance, the sphere in Terrestrial Horse’s hand appeared to be ordinary, just a common wooden ball.
Everyone exchanged glances. The track now lay completely free of {contraptions}. If they could withstand the {balls} Terrestrial Horse pitched, this game would be won.
Geographic Reference
But who on the field could resist the {balls} she threw?
At that moment, all eyes turned simultaneously toward Qiao Jiajin.
“Let me.” Qiao Jiajin narrowed his eyes slightly and gestured to those behind him. “This Big ol’ Horse has attacked only once so far. I’ve just not used to it yet—”
Psychology
“So, sooner or later, you will.” Bai Nine nodded. “Then I can rest assured.”
“Hah...” Qiao Jiajin forced a wry smile. “Let’s hope so.”
The few surviving participants had now placed all their bets on Qiao Jiajin. If he succeeded, all lived; if he failed, the rules would mete out a {sanction} to every last one of them.
Terrestrial Horse weighed the wooden ball in her hand, then slowly raised it above her head and, with a sudden sweep, hurled it toward the others.
{Boom}!
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
What no one had anticipated was that Qiao Jiajin swung almost simultaneously with Terrestrial Horse. Before the ball had even left her palm, he had already brought his bat into motion.
He tried to predict the landing point of the ball based on Terrestrial Horse’s movement. Due to the extreme speed of the wooden ball, it was impossible to defend against it without an early swing.
Qiao Jiajin felt like a goalkeeper standing before the goal, waiting for a penalty kick—the role of luck far outweighing skill.
Fortunately, Terrestrial Horse was a complete novice at throwing. She made no feints, no misleading movements, and did not utilize her body to add power. The ball was hurled as casually as one would throw trash.
Yet even so, the ball was incredibly fast, faster than any human could normally react to.
Qiao Jiajin leaned to the right in advance and swung his bat toward his lower right.
Much to everyone’s astonishment, the ball seemed aimed at Qiao Jiajin’s lower right; with the right timing and luck, he might be able to intercept it.
But how was he capable of predicting it so perfectly?
Gritting his teeth, Qiao Jiajin swung the bat. He could not see the trajectory of the ball; this attack was purely a gamble.
{Clang}!
In the blink of an eye, Qiao Jiajin’s bat collided with the wooden ball. The impact of wood against metal even produced a faint wisp of black smoke.
Everyone assumed the ball had been fully blocked, but only Qiao Jiajin knew he had not struck it squarely; he had merely grazed the edge of the wooden sphere.
Yet for an object moving at such incredible speed, even a slight graze could completely alter its trajectory.
{Boom}!!
A tremendous crash reverberated through everyone’s ears. The wooden ball struck the ground far from the {Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse}, instantly cracking the ice, and at that moment the ball shattered into flying splinters of wood.
It was only when the sound fully subsided that those nearby gradually came back to their senses.
In less than a second, Qiao Jiajin had, though mere sheer force, blocked an attack from a {Terrestrial-grade}.
This was likely unprecedented in the entire {End Point}.
“Q–Qiao ge...” Bai Nine looked at him in disbelief. “You’ve... adapted?”
Qiao Jiajin let out a cold laugh and raised his eyes to Terrestrial Horse. “Just as I thought... First you target Star gal, the second, at Flash gal... You puk-gaai monster, all you know is to attack the wounded, huh?”
Only then did everyone realize that had Qiao Jiajin not blocked this wooden ball, the already-leg-wounded Feng Seventeen would have been impaled.
“Ha.” Terrestrial Horse laughed from a distance. “And what of it? The wounded are nothing but dead weight. You ought to be thanking me for releasing your team from such a burden.”
“What!?” Qiao Jiajin gritted his teeth. “Who dared to say that a companion in battle is a dead weight?”
“Drop the act already." Terrestrial Horse shook her head. “All of you feel this way in your hearts, though none dare say it. After all, speaking the truth goes against the {humanity} you cling to. I am truly helping you.”
Qiao Jiajin slowly took three steps forward, closing the distance to Terrestrial Horse.
“I am glad I liberated {Monetary Affairs} in your arena.” Qiao Jiajin said. “Now I can no longer hear the wails of that star.”
Terrestrial Horse frowned at him, puzzled as to why he dared advance under such circumstances.
She paused, then glanced at the bat in his hand and noticed a streak of deep red blood slowly flowing from Qiao Jiajin’s palm, spreading along the length of the metal bat from bottom to top.
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