Chapter 200: A Match Made in Heaven
"Hyah!" Rayan suddenly jerked the reins, silently instructing Emerald Fire Thunder to unleash all its wild nature. Emerald Fire Thunder immediately neighed loudly, raising its front hooves high, and green fire quickly spread to all four legs.
The high temperature emerged instantly, but for Rayan, who had a fire spirit affinity, this flame was nothing at all. In fact, not only could he communicate with Emerald Fire Thunder mentally, but most importantly, he could also adapt to Emerald Fire Thunder's flames. No one else could achieve both simultaneously.
He and Emerald Fire Thunder were simply a match made in heaven.
When the hooves landed, Emerald Fire Thunder shot out like a green lightning bolt from the shadows of the passage, rushing straight towards the ten Oath Knights standing in the center of the arena.
The ten Oath Knights were smiling and waving at the audience a moment ago, but when they turned and saw a giant black horse ablaze charging towards them, they were all struck dumb with fear!
Even the usually composed Imperius couldn't help but panic a bit, exclaiming in shock, "What on earth is this kid trying to do!"
Emerald Fire Thunder's neighs and the thunderous sound of its hooves were louder than the cheers of the audience, causing the entire arena to fall silent. Everyone's eyes were fixed on this rampaging fiery horse.
Everyone knew it was a horse, yet no one could believe it was a horse. It was simply... astonishing!
Emerald Fire Thunder left a trail of green fireprints behind it as it galloped wildly, showing no intention of stopping. The stunned Oath Knights finally cried out in alarm and tried to flee on their horses, but their steeds were so frightened that their hind legs went limp, unable to move a step.
Imperius involuntarily tightened his grip on his spear, secretly gathering his Battle Qi, preparing to counterattack.
Just as Emerald Fire Thunder was about to collide with the terrified Oath Knights, it suddenly twisted its head, skirting around the cowering knights at an almost parallel angle to the ground. It circled them, its fiery hooves kicking up the sand in the arena, heating it until the pebbles started to burn, drawing a green fire ring around the Oath Knights.
Inside the fire ring, the warhorses whinnied in agony, seemingly at their limit, and the Oath Knights were sweating profusely, at a loss. The only thing they knew was Rayan's notorious reputation and strength, so they didn't dare to step out of the fire ring to face him.
Only Imperius quickly regained his composure, shouting angrily at Rayan, "Lord Rayan, enough! This is Stonerock City's arena, not some countryside horse track!"
Rayan laughed heartily, continuing to gallop until he was truly satisfied. Only then did he mentally command Emerald Fire Thunder to stop. Emerald Fire Thunder obediently slowed down, trotted around proudly a few more times, and finally came to a complete stop.
The Oath Knights sighed in relief but still didn't dare to move—the faint green fire was burning right under their feet, and a slight movement could get them burned.
Emerald Fire Thunder snorted, its saliva dripping onto the hot sand with a hiss, turning into wisps of white smoke.
Rayan sat coldly on Emerald Fire Thunder's back, looking down at the ten Oath Knights inside the fire ring.
The arena, which could hold tens of thousands, was now dead silent; you could hear a pin drop.
Imperius's anger flared, and after urging his warhorse several times to no avail, he had to dismount in a huff and walked straight up to Rayan with his spear in hand.
"Lord Rayan, what is the meaning of this?"
Imperius demanded angrily, "Do you not know that this time slot is reserved for the Oath Knights of the king's group?"
"So what if I do?"
Rayan turned to the other cowering Oath Knights and asked, "Do any of you have any objections?"
"No, no! Lord Rayan can do whatever he wants; we have no issues!"
The terrified Oath Knights just wanted to avoid embarrassment and wouldn't dare provoke Rayan's wrath.
Rayan then looked at the spear in Imperius's hand. "Lord Imperius, do you want to fight me now?"
At the mention of "fight," Imperius's mouth twitched slightly as if there was something difficult to explain, but he quickly covered it up, retracting his Battle Qi from the spear.
"Lord Rayan, you're out of line."
He said darkly, "If you want to fight me, you need to defeat the Copper-edged group, the Silver-edged group, and—"
"I understand all that."
Rayan rudely interrupted Imperius, "I can defeat you first and then the others. It's just a matter of sequence."
Imperius said, "But you should wait for the nobles to take their seats and announce the start of the match, shouldn't you?"
Rayan sneered, "I'm here to challenge and win the championship, not to be a spectacle for the nobles."
Imperius opened his mouth but found himself speechless. He too wished for a good fight, but as an Oath Knight of the Firebird family, many things were beyond his control.
As they were at a stalemate, the stands opposite started to fill with people, and the nobles of Stonerock City finally made their entrance.
At that moment, the flames trapping the Oath Knights burned out, and the audience, recovering from their shock, began to talk amongst themselves noisily.
The nobles, unaware of the arena's abnormality, swaggered to their seats and settled in.
The central main seat was clearly reserved for the Lion King, but since he had long stopped attending tournaments, the Firebird family left it vacant out of respect.
To the left of the main seat was Phoenix Lady. She wore a sky-blue gown today, embroidered with a phoenix rising from the ashes, with no trace of a lion emblem. She held a black silk lace fan in her delicate hand, smiling and nodding at the people beside her, chatting gracefully. It seemed as if the events of the early morning had been completely erased from her memory.
To the right of the main seat sat Holy Light envoy Eileen. For members of the Holy Light Sisterhood, it was customary to wear their Holy Light robes to represent their pure and inviolable status, but Eileen's robe had been torn by the Lion King, its hem stained with her virgin blood. Although this could be used to taunt Phoenix Lady, it wasn't something she could bring up in public.
To better provoke Phoenix Lady, Eileen had chosen a red dress matching her family colors, with a front-clasp bodice that exposed much of her ample bosom, making her look like a plump red rose with a white heart. She instantly became the focus of other nobles' attention.
Rayan paid no attention to Phoenix Lady's or Eileen's attire; he raised his head, searching for Lady Spring Rain among the nobles.
Lady Spring Rain sat behind Phoenix Lady, still wearing the same simple green dress as the day before, trying to hide her beauty, but it was futile. To Rayan, she was like a pristine lotus in a sea of flowers.
He also noticed that Marquis Hart was sitting beside Lady Spring Rain, speaking to her with a fawning smile, while she listened absentmindedly, her beautiful eyes gazing elsewhere.
She hadn't seen Rayan yet—because she never expected her Oath Knight to enter the arena so early and already make her Pisces banner a force that could shake the entire ancient arena.
Rayan wasn't in a hurry to disturb Lady Spring Rain; he quietly sat on Emerald Fire Thunder, calm and composed.
It was Eileen who first noticed the anomaly in the arena. As a Holy Light envoy, she immediately recognized Rayan's mount as a Magical Beast. Even though she had expected this, she couldn't help but be shocked by Rayan's audacity. If someone linked the missing demon skull to this demon steed, she wouldn't care about Rayan's life, but her perfect plan would be ruined—
"Huh?"
Phoenix Lady glanced at Eileen and said with a smile, "Why does Miss Eileen look so pale? Do you need some of the pearl powder our Lion King gifted to Kiana to freshen up?"
Such veiled sarcasm! Eileen smirked coldly. After yesterday's incident, she no longer trusted anything Phoenix Lady handed her. "Oh, Phoenix Lady is stunning and naturally needs to pay attention to her complexion, but ordinary women like me don't have that need."
"The more ordinary you are, the more you need it."
Phoenix Lady shook her fan, placing the powder box on the main seat between them, and said with a smile, "I consider Miss Eileen a dear sister; surely you won't disdain my gift."
Eileen's round face twitched. In private, she could use Palm Thunder to knock Phoenix Lady down, pull her hair, slap her face, and do whatever she wanted. But in public, she was just a female mage and couldn't show any disrespect towards Phoenix Lady. If she outright refused Phoenix Lady's kindness, it would arouse suspicion.
She silently chanted an electric spell, using electromagnetic force to lift the powder box into her hand. Just as it was about to reach her, she deliberately released her hold, letting the box fall.
The exquisite powder box shattered, and the pristine calm sea pearl powder spilled everywhere.
Eileen saw that the box didn't contain poison powder and was slightly surprised, but she quickly put on an apologetic smile. "I'm terribly sorry, Phoenix Lady. I was so tired last night that I couldn't hold onto your precious pearl powder. Should I pick it up and return it to you?"