217 Not bad at all, you were only a hair's breadth away from beating me! [Two-in-one, please subscribe!]

Everyone understands the logic.

But... you are Goliath's captain? Is there really a man in this world who can make Goliath bow down? Even the notorious Lady August couldn't control her!

The arena fell into dead silence. The Black Knight froze in place, his desire for revenge instantly extinguished by half, forcing him to take a serious look at the armor before him.

Above the one-kilometer-wide combat arena, a cubic floating balloon with giant screens on all four sides provided the spectators in the stands with clear close-ups of the battlefield. Hanging beneath the balloon was a commentary booth. The commentator was a Level 50 Wind-type Mage, wearing exaggerated sunglasses and a robe-style black suit, looking exceptionally cool.

"Speaking of that foolish woman... it reminds me of two years ago when the Black Knight defeated Goliath. Back then, Goliath jumped the gun on the starting whistle and had her right arm severed by a sword, resulting in a loss. It’s very similar to the match just now, though this time Goliath was careful about the whistle. She didn't jump the start, but there is suspicion of concealing her cultivation level and intentionally injuring the head referee. Based on the Black Knight's words, the pilot of this 'Yellow-Faced Hag' armor seems to be the captain Goliath has been serving under since she set sail. One shouldn't judge armor by its appearance; let me check."

"Original Star Dome Adventure Group, Lu Chen, Captain Lu, still over a month shy of twenty years old... a bit too young. Wow! He earned 120,000 adventurer points in just a month and a half at sea, rocketing to 18th place on the Annual Rookie Ranking. That’s not simple. Wait... he is also a recipient of the Imperial Hero Medal, the Federal Medal of Freedom, and the Crownless Nation's Idealist Medal. He just destroyed an entire planet in the Ancestral Saddle Nebula and obtained the Azure Winged Dragon's core. They call him: Star-Breaker Lu Chen. These five-to-one odds are a bit hasty."

"Let me check the physical and armor inspection reports... The reports are normal. A Level 35 Spirit-Mech Technician, piloting a Level 40 scavenged-combat hybrid armor he assembled himself. His only standout trait is his hacking ability, which earned him an A-grade rating in the preliminaries, qualifying him to face the Black Knight. Let's look at the official betting odds. They’ve already dropped from one-to-five to one-to-four... Still not very optimistic about Captain Lu. Personally, I think dropping to one-to-three would be more reasonable. Of course, one can't rule out inside information in the Cyber Tavern that I’m not privy to."

Shan Pao and Ban Yue, who had already placed their bets, breathed a slight sigh of relief. But only slight. Now that Lu Chen’s identity and legendary adventure history had been exposed, the official odds had only been slightly lowered, indicating a firm belief that the Black Knight would still win.

In this interval, Lu Chen made a call to Ellie. Naturally, he wasn't using a wristband; he was calling from his armor.

"Ellie, how is Goliath?"

"Captain, Goliath and I are at the Cyber Tavern headquarters. Her cultivation check results are out; there are no issues."

"What about the half-demon constitution?"

"That was checked earlier. As long as she doesn't manifest her demonic flames, it doesn't count as a violation."

"When will she be released?"

"She’ll be released soon, but the match is still considered a personal vendetta intended to persecute the head referee. The result won't be changed; Goliath lost again."

"It's fine. Tell her for me: well done."

"Understood."

"Oh, and one more thing: the prize money she couldn't win, I, her captain, will win it back personally."

"Ah, Captain, are you participating in the combat tournament too?"

"Not 'too,' I’m already in the arena. It’s about to start. The odds are one-to-four, one-to-five... I’m going to make a killing. You can take your private savings and bet it all on me!"

"Wait, didn't you say you don't recommend gambling, Captain?"

"I'm not gambling; I'm winning money through sheer strength."

"Alright, then I’ll take out my two thousand spirit stones and bet them all on you, plus Goliath's..."

Lu Chen quickly stopped her. "No, hold on. Don't bet her money. If she bets, I’m doomed."

Ellie suggested again, "Alright, what about your seventy-thousand-plus in savings and thirty-thousand in cash, Captain? Should we put that in too?"

"...Well, let's not take too big a step."

Judging by Goliath's history, Lu Chen had to believe in a bit of metaphysics now. His constant "air force" (zero luck) was a major problem; he couldn't afford such high-risk moves. Besides, his "Risk Aversion Guide" was primarily for self-protection through early warnings; it couldn't necessarily protect his armor, nor could it guarantee a win one hundred percent. The reason he was certain he would win was simply his confidence in his current strength.

"Take care of Goliath. Wait for my good news."

"Understood."

Just as he hung up, he was called out by the commentator.

"Captain Lu? Captain Lu, what are you doing? Captain Lu, please answer if you can hear me."

Lu Chen hung up. "I'm here."

"Captain Lu, were you just making a call outside the arena? We just detected a communication signal."

"Sorry, I didn't see the rule forbidding calls, so I just called my teammate to report that I’m safe."

"But the combat arena blocks all networks!"

"Then I suggest you fire your network engineer and pay me double to help you upgrade your network blocking system. That way, I wouldn't have to earn enough money to buy a ship through dangerous fighting tournaments. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

The commentator’s voice choked; he wanted to say something but feared being docked pay by the company, so he immediately regained his composure.

"The match is about to begin. That wasn't funny at all."

Lu Chen replied calmly, "It wasn't a joke."

The stands were silent, everyone frantically searching for news about this "Captain Lu." Right, the stands had internet access.

...

The match began. The Black Knight was truly shaken by Lu Chen’s hacking ability. Before the match even started, he had switched to manual piloting. The commentator also said with regret, "Although the Black Knight’s pilot, Darksys, has Level 42 cultivation, manually piloting ten-meter-class armor is a massive drain on stamina. Before the match has even begun, the Yellow-Faced Hag has already gained a range advantage."

The combat arena was not a smooth surface but filled with gravel and weeds, having been plowed over by previous matches and only simply repaired before being reused. A breeze blew, causing the weeds to flatten and dust to fill the sky, adding a murderous atmosphere to the scene. The Black Knight held his light-saber hilt, slowly walking toward the Yellow-Faced Hag through the dust, radiating immense pressure.

"Since we are both equipped with light-sabers and both have ties to that foolish woman, let us decide this with swordsmanship!"

Does having one's hand cut off count as a connection? Lu Chen raised his hand and fired a laser cannon, striking the Black Knight’s right wrist. Then a second shot, a third! Lu Chen retreated and circled, maintaining maximum distance from the Black Knight while firing precision shots with his laser cannon.

"I’m powered by spirit pools—twelve whole spirit pool units. Do you think I’m stupid enough to engage in melee with you?"

Although these laser blasts couldn't directly break the Black Knight’s defenses, they caused continuous damage to his defensive arrays and armor plating, draining the opponent's spiritual energy bit by bit. The commentator noted, "It seems the Yellow-Faced Hag came prepared, successfully turning a hacking skill into a concrete battlefield advantage. Let’s see how the Black Knight responds."

No sooner had he spoken! The Black Knight revealed his ranged weapon. He pointed his sword hilt at the Yellow-Faced Hag. In the gap between Lu Chen's laser shots, he suddenly fired a beam of black light hundreds of meters long, stabbing toward the muzzle of the Yellow-Faced Hag's laser cannon. It didn't look like a sword; it looked like gunfire.

Ashina Cross? American-style Iaido?

Fortunately, Lu Chen had received a risk-aversion prompt in advance and, in the split second before the Black Knight fired, dodged the attack perfectly. A gasp swept through the stands. Even the commentator was shocked: "It seems Captain Lu has a deep understanding of the Black Knight; he was actually able to dodge that attack in advance. The timing was masterful. Is this the intuition of an adventurer?"

Failing the sneak attack, the Black Knight grew irritable. He retracted the three-meter black blade and slashed at the Yellow-Faced Hag five hundred meters away. The black light flame cut through the air and struck Lu Chen’s armor!

Can he actually do that? Lu Chen was dumbfounded. The commentator said excitedly, "It’s here! The Black Knight’s super signature move: manifesting sword qi from an industrial light-saber!"

Lu Chen thought to himself, no wonder the Black Knight didn't bother with laser cannons. He didn't need them! This ranged light flame was more powerful than Lu Chen’s laser cannon. There was a reason for his ten-match winning streak. Fortunately, while Lu Chen’s armor was battered, it was solid beast-bone alloy and equipped with a lightning-repelling field. Ranged light flames of the same level could only wear him down; they couldn't break his defenses. However, Lu Chen felt that if he took a hit like that at close range, the Yellow-Faced Hag’s armor wouldn't hold up.

On the dust-filled arena, the battle quickly devolved into a heated exchange between laser cannons and black flame slashes. Many in the stands were cheering for the Black Knight. Lu Chen didn't believe this dark, hulking brute had any fans; these people must have bet on the Black Knight. The odds for the Black Knight were low, usually requiring a larger wager for a decent return, so if he lost, they would be ruined—hence why they were screaming their lungs out.

The commentator remained relatively calm: "On the surface, it’s an evenly matched fight, but the Yellow-Faced Hag’s beast-bone alloy armor is more defensive than imagined. The Black Knight is piloting his armor manually; if his tactics don't change, he will eventually lose due to exhaustion. He has to force a close-quarters engagement. Soon, it will be a game of cat and mouse. The Black Knight is twice the size of the Yellow-Faced Hag; this will test his footwork."

The commentator was quite professional; before he had even finished speaking, the Black Knight was already doing exactly that. Abandoning his ranged light flames, he held the empty hilt and sprayed black flames from his feet. Accelerated by the black flames, his movement speed soared. With a few flashes, he was close to the Yellow-Faced Hag.

However, just as he closed in, brandished his light-saber, and swung—the Yellow-Faced Hag seemed to have predicted his pattern in advance and dodged it easily. Calling it "easy" would be an understatement; it was, to be precise: elegant. The footwork the Yellow-Faced Hag used to dodge the Black Knight’s light-saber was like a yellow leaf dancing in the wind—it was incredibly graceful. All the while, she continued to fire laser blasts at the Black Knight at close range.

Even the commentator couldn't help but exclaim, "Elegant! Absolutely too elegant!"

In reality, Lu Chen found it strange: the timing of his risk-aversion prompts was too early. Often, as soon as he entered the Black Knight’s hundred-meter radius, he would get a prompt. Could it be that the Black Knight was still hiding a trump card?

Gradually, the Black Knight’s footwork slowed, unable to maintain continuous, high-speed maneuvering. The Black Knight was bewildered. His movement was clearly a cut above the Yellow-Faced Hag’s, but for some reason, it was as if his patterns had been read, and he kept missing. After several rounds, the Black Knight was continuously bombarded by laser fire, his stamina draining rapidly. The commentator also noticed that the Black Knight’s endurance was less than half. "The Yellow-Faced Hag’s tactics are too insidious; the Black Knight’s situation is not looking good... could this be an upset?"

The audience in the stands couldn't take it anymore and started shouting, "Cheat! This is absolutely cheating!"

"This kid must have hidden his cultivation level. Goliath is already Level 58; could her captain be lower than Level 60?"

"Investigate! We must investigate!"

The Black Knight, however, knew that his opponent was truly only Level 35; otherwise, there would be no need for such meticulous tactics. This Captain Lu had a very sharp spiritual sense and an extreme understanding of his footwork and swordsmanship, allowing him to predict every move. He needed a powerful technique that even if predicted, could not be avoided. He decided that even if it meant exposing his secret, he could not lose to that foolish woman’s captain.

"You forced me to do this!"

The Black Knight’s spiritual pressure suddenly surged. He used his final reserves of spiritual energy, slowly raised his hand, and reached out toward the Yellow-Faced Hag's armor.

The commentator asked, "What is he doing?"

Lu Chen panicked a little, thinking the opponent was about to unleash a massive palm-thunder technique. Instead, the Black Knight used a ranged Force-choke, lifting the Yellow-Faced Hag into the air. Lu Chen’s feet left the ground, his entire armor locked by a powerful Mage’s force. He could still move his body, but the armor could not. To be precise, every metal component was immobilized.

Damn it, this sci-fi battle just turned into fantasy!

The entire audience stood up, the stands erupting. "Ten-win streak! Ten-win streak!" "The Black Knight is the god!" "Invincible!"

Even the commentator didn't know the Black Knight had such a move, shocked: "My god, the Black Knight is actually a Metal-type Mage! No wonder he was able to achieve a nine-match winning streak; he always manages to utilize his movement advantage at critical moments. It turns out he was secretly locking onto the opponent's armor while closing in."

The commentator was indeed professional! Lu Chen understood: if he had been locked down at close range by the Black Knight earlier and followed up with a light-saber slash, the Yellow-Faced Hag would have been breached. A Metal-type Mage genius participating in an armor combat tournament... this guy had hidden so deep, it was absurd. But thinking about it carefully, it really did have its benefits—armor was basically all metal. Everyone’s attention was on his black flame light-saber, and since he only secretly locked onto the enemy while tracking them, no one ever discovered he was a Metal-type Mage. He relied on this to complete his nine-match streak and make a fortune!

Unfortunately, the Black Knight’s journey would end here today. Along with his own Yellow-Faced Hag.

Lu Chen immediately pushed his power to the limit, attempting to break free by force. As a result, he still couldn't escape the Black Knight’s lock. The stands were shouting, "Crush the Yellow-Faced Hag!"

Lu Chen thought to himself, I might be tired of the Yellow-Faced Hag, but she was once a comrade-in-arms; how could I let her be humiliated? He could use his resonance power to forcefully shatter the Black Knight’s Mage lock... but that would be too gentle. Dare to humiliate my Yellow-Faced Hag? Lu Chen was going to fight fire with fire!

At this moment, under the Black Knight’s spiritual lock, the Yellow-Faced Hag flew slowly toward him, gathering speed. Seeing that the Yellow-Faced Hag was completely out of control and about to enter the range of the Black Knight’s horizontal slash, Lu Chen tossed his own light-saber hilt into the air. Then, he triggered the ejection device and launched himself from the top of the armor.

Lu Chen leaped into the air, reached out to grab the light-saber, ignited the crimson flame, and slashed toward the Black Knight. At the same time, the Black Knight also ignited his black light-saber. Now, the Black Knight was faced with two choices:

Slash the person. Or slash the armor?

If he slashed the person, the opponent had a light-saber, and the force fields would collide; he would only be able to knock him away, unable to deal lethal damage. Meanwhile, the Yellow-Faced Hag armor might take the opportunity to initiate a self-destruct sequence or use some hacking program to forcibly hack into the Black Knight’s armor at close range. Slashing the armor was the better choice: once the armor was destroyed, Lu Chen would be left with a single light-saber, posing no threat to the Black Knight. Even if he stepped out of the armor to duel him, the Black Knight would win.

And so, in that split second!

The Black Knight slashed at the Yellow-Faced Hag. The Yellow-Faced Hag was cut in half at the waist. Lu Chen, stepping on the severed upper half of the Yellow-Faced Hag, flipped through the air and slashed off the Black Knight’s head.

It was as if the outcome had been decided in a flash of lightning. A chorus of boos rose from the stands. Even the commentator said with a hint of regret, "My god, what a terrible choice. The Black Knight’s head is just a decoration..."

With three clangs, the upper and lower halves of the Yellow-Faced Hag and the head of the Black Knight fell to the ground in succession. A ripple of energy emitted a strange humming sound from the Black Knight’s headless inner cabin. The ripple quickly retracted, gathering inside the cockpit.

Outside the Black Knight’s armor, Lu Chen landed gracefully, sheathing his light-saber with supreme elegance.

"Not bad. You were only a billionth of a bit away from winning."

As he spoke, a column of blood sprayed from the Black Knight’s headless neck.