Chapter 29: This is a Tricky Situation!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At that moment, Undine, who was being judged as a conceited person by Baiyi, did not find the whole situation dull at all. Instead, she was starting to feel slightly excited now. It did not mean that she liked Baiyi's previous performance... Erm wait ... That was not what she meant... Well, she actually liked the previous match but with her level, of course she did not fancy those flashy type of swordsplay. Instead, what she liked was the calmness and composure that Baiyi showed when faced with an Advanced Level Fighter. It did not only proved that Baiyi's strength was actually higher than his rank but it also meant that he could be the one to provide her with a breakthrough.
Why would a strong fighter join the Intermediate Level category? And why did he let his opponents off the hook so many times when he was about to win the match? Did he enjoy torturing his opponents for fun? Or did he just want to please the spectators as much as possible in order to earn more reward? Undine could not help but wonder as she gave another three gold coins infused with Chi Prowess to the attendant and ordered him to place them in three separate plates.
Even with such an arrangement, the three gold coins were quickly discovered and the Chi was erased completely by Baiyi. That had proved that the first discovery was not by chance or luck, he was indeed the person she was looking for who meets her requirements of being prudent and cautious. The discovery surprised Undine and she was filled with an immense sense of relief . Lazily and charmingly lying back down on the sofa, her pair of slender and tight legs that was a result of regular training, assumed a particularly sultry posture. Along with the distinctive and sexy charm of a pair of black stockings, she exuded an enticing allure that was to die for.
That was the power of being a true and natural beauty. There was no need for extravagant or flashy clothings. Just mere everyday movements could bring out and show off a true natural beauty. The Butterfly Saint of Swords, Undine, was obviously a beauty of such level.
Unfortunately, the only person who could admire such beauty was only a black-colored Soul Armature. Faced with such a mature beauty, all he did was simply appreciate it courteously. With seriousness that was rarely shown on his face, he said, "Undine, it's better if you relax more. You'd be much cuter, you know." Without giving his practitioner any opportunity to reply, he went back to his usual self and proclaimed proudly, "How about that? I DID tell you we're going find the man we're looking for here, didn't I?
"Well, this is just the first step. We are still far away from our plan," Undine calmly replied. "Opening up the pathway for the North Commercial Route Development Plan is the most important thing in the family right now. One could even say that this is related to the life and death of our family in the future. We really have to act with caution. Everything should be exercised with the utmost discretion." As her words became more serious, the unobtrusive beauty from a moment ago disappeared again. Instantly, the elegant and laid-back Undine once again turned back into the meticulous Butterfly Saint of Swords.
The black Soul Armature quietly shrugged his shoulders. He could not help but cursed the head of the Dole family for putting such a heavy burden like the survival of the whole family onto a woman, straining her beautiful and soft shoulders.
Undine Dole, was the second daughter of the Dole family. She was neither like her older brother who liked to play the piano, recite poems or even fooling around with other aristocratic ladies nor was she like her younger sister who was addicted to aristocratic salon. At the age of 27, with her amazing innate capabilities, she managed to become The Buttefly Saint of Swords, entering the league of powerful beings and became the most dazzling and brilliant pearl in the Dole family. It was because of this that the head of the Dole family dumped the heavy responsibilities of the North Commercial Route Development Plan on her while he was busy making more siblings for her at the side.
Therefore, Undine had been trying her very best to find qualified candidates that could assist her in the plan. She had managed to get some good results but more often than not it was mostly disappointments. Developing the Northern Wasteland was not something that could solely be achieved by relying on money. Even if the entire family worked hard for the preparation, there would still be plenty of opening in the project.
What gave Undine the most headache was a wandering sorcerer named Andrew who suddenly appeared out of nowhere at that crucial moment and created more problems for her. Asking money was one thing but to actually hurt her follower? Although he was not the one who took the initiative to attack first but he had caused a Master Level Sorcerer to be subjected to a whole month of bedrest. That young man, who was the disciple of the Immortal Level Sorcerer Ferguro, was the backbone of the Wasteland Reclaiming Unit. She even had to endure the disgusting looks from that dirty old man before she managed to win the young sorcerer over.
And did you think that the story ended right there? Of course not! When the young sorcerer woke up from his slumber, instead of feeling angry or aggrieved, he actually could not stop telling the story of how powerful that wandering sorcerer was with a look of worship on his face. Not only did he feel that he was the one to blame for his injuries, he even encouraged Undine to find this guy, to the extent of patting his chest and guaranteeing that the wandering sorcerer was the BEST candidate for the Wasteland Reclaiming Unit.
Don't you think it was a disgrace?! How could the second lady of the Dole family not get angry? It was because of this that she finally agreed with her Soul Armature to come to this Arena of Blood and Glory. Although she said it was a search mission to look for that wandering sorcerer, but in fact, there was a part of her that actually wanted to come to relax. She just didn't want to admit it.
Fortunately, God was kind to her today and she managed to discover the presence of this Sven the Rogue Knight who was cloaked in black during the Intermediate Level round. Although he was dressed up in that despicable all-black cloak, Undine did not associate him with the wandering sorcerer Andrew at all. Based on the description by the young sorcerer, that damn wandering sorcerer had been depicted as somebody who was majestic and honourable . How could he possibly join this Intermediate Level match that was considered as a proleterian activity? And look at that exquisite sword skills! It was impossible for such a person to exist!
Well, it was natural that Miss Undine did not know about the existence of the Voidwalkers therefore it was normal for her to have that sort of thinking. While she was watching Baiyi's performance, she wondered what kind of tactics she would need to employ to make this peculiar person willingly submit to her. Without noticing it, Baiyi had already managed to win another two rounds smoothly with a thrilling performance. As the cheers were getting louder, more and more women were throwing themselves all over him. Even the host was so excited that he could not stop yelling all sorts of killing chants into that magical microphone of his.
Undine was so absorbed in her thoughts that she actually forgot to reward him with some gold coins...
As for Baiyi, he felt a little disappointed that he did not receive the peculiar coins for the previous two matches. It was not that he was concerned about a mere Legendary Level person but he just wanted to receive more gold coins. After those two matches, the total of the rewards came up to almost 1500 gold coins.
Whoa! This is a really effective way of earning money! Baiyi was extremely delighted. He even thought of earning more money to invest in an alchemist or blacksmith workshop. With the techniques and knowledge from both the Blacksmith and the Alchemist, he would not have to worry about money anymore.
But then again, all these thing could only exist in his fantasy. With his identity, he was destined to remain modest and he would not be able to maintain his low-key existence if he started a workshop. An alchemy workshop needed way more than a few thousand gold coins anyway. Not to mention that there were people out there who did not want him to continue winning the next few matches so easily.
His fifth opponent was actually a summoner whose strength was close to being the Elite Level. That no doubt would bring some pressure to Baiyi who was presently stuck at the Intermediate Level. The problem did not lie in the fact that his opponent was at the Elite Level but it was because a fighter was the weakest against a summoner. As an Intermediate Level fighter, it would be not easy to win against an Elite Level summoner and show off those extravagant moves at the same time.
However, those unreliable Voidwalkers were not aware of this at all. Instead, they were busy making fun of the conceited name that the opponent used to call himself--- Stigma the Summoner!
"Why do these blockheads have such a cool name? Look at ours! Don't you think it's unfair?"
"Gee, it can't be helped can it? The First Walker named himself with such a common name--- Archmage, what can we do about it?"
"Previously one of us named himself 'The Cocky Mad Tyrant of the Dragon City', don't you guys remember? And then he was teased so much he had to change his name to Thane instead. Well, as for who that person is, I'm just gonna let you guess for yourself."
Erm.... Didn't you just name that person? AND BESIDES! I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE RIGHT HERE NOW! CAN'T YOU GUYS BE MORE QUIET AND SERIOUS?
Only the Thane whose dark past was inadvertently exposed, reminded Baiyi out of kindness in order to allay his embarrassment, "Be careful, Sir Hope. The hyenas that your opponent has summoned is now circling you."
I know... Baiyi replied with a sigh, at the same time he nimbly dodged the attack of the hyenas multiple times. Seizing the opportunity, he stabbed his sword twice and he managed to send two hyenas back to the realm that they were summoned from.
However, the summoner standing across him seemed to be quite well-prepared. He was obviously trying to stop Baiyi's winning streak and actually shamelessly began to drink the magic potion that he had brought along into the arena! With the gurgling sound of the potion in his stomach, a few more hyenas were summoned and continued to move forward to circle Baiyi. As they gradually narrowed the circle, Baiyi was forced to the corner of the stage.
Even the host began to say in a slightly sympathetic tone, "Ah! Oh my god! Looks like our Rogue Knight is having some trouble now. The summoner has been restraining the movement of the fighter too much. It's meaningless if you keep attacking the summoned beings and not the summoner, you know... OH! LOOK AT THAT! The only escape route had just been blocked! Ahh, our Rogue Knight is completely surrounded! If he doesn't want to get hurt then I suggest that he surrenders now... Fierce and ferocious beasts like the hyenas are literally the devil's creation! I guess, his miraculous winning streak is going to come to an end now.
The host was not the only person who had that same thoughts, even the spectators could not help but let out regretful sighs. Of course, there were also the cursing voices of the people who had bet heavily on Baiyi. Even the black Soul Armature in the VIP box said, "I guess this is it. Seems like he's not that adept in dealing with such beasts."
Undine also shook her head in disappointment and did not utter a single word at all. This type of hyena was the most commonly found beast in the Northern Wasteland. If he could not even deal with that kind of situation then this person would never be able to meet her requirements at all.
It appeared that the trip was ultimately still a waste of time. Undine secretly sighed in her heart.