Chapter 208: The Phoenix Ring

Lady Spring Rain seemed to sense Rayan's fiery gaze and her body involuntarily tightened. However, she was not angry and meticulously tied her skirt's sash, only relaxing her toes and stepping back after ensuring it wouldn't easily slip off. Her slender hands anxiously covered her neckline.

Rayan's lips moved slightly, nodding towards Lady Spring Rain in gratitude, "Thank you, Spring Rain. With your token, I will be unstoppable. Wait here for a while; I will plant the Pisces banner at the pinnacle of the arena!"

Lady Spring Rain cautioned, "Rayan, be careful in everything. Don't overexert yourself. As long as you return safely, that's more important than anything."

Rayan felt a warm surge in his heart. Similar words had been spoken by Laurel Madam to the fat knight before, and he had felt envious then. He didn't expect Lady Spring Rain to say the same to him now.

He nodded heavily, promising, "With the token on my shoulder, I am a god—no one can defeat me."

Lady Spring Rain wanted to say more but feared Rayan would find her nagging. In the end, she merely bit her lip and nodded at Rayan.

Rayan didn't linger any longer. He urged Emerald Fire Thunder towards the edge of the stands.

Holy Light envoy Eileen took the opportunity to approach, looking at Rayan and Emerald Fire Thunder with a vigilant expression and said in a strange tone, "Lord Rayan, that's quite a mount you have there."

Emerald Fire Thunder sensed the hostility of the light power and immediately let out an angry roar, completely opposite to its previous docile state in front of Lady Spring Rain.

Eileen quickly stepped back, hiding her palm behind her back and secretly preparing a Palm Thunder. This way, if Emerald Fire Thunder charged, she could strike instantly and knock both Rayan and Emerald Fire Thunder off the ten-meter-high noble stands.

Although Rayan still had value, if he threatened her life, she would not hesitate.

Rayan, however, gently patted Emerald Fire Thunder's neck, glanced indifferently at Eileen, and then said to Emerald Fire Thunder, "Thunder, let's go."

Emerald Fire Thunder let out a low growl, clearly still hostile towards Eileen, but it did not disobey Rayan's order. It turned around, leaped, and ran down the high stands' wall. To it, the vertical wall was as flat as the ground.

After safely landing, Rayan did not return to the center of the arena but waited for the match to truly begin.

The nobles who had given tokens to their Oath Knights had mostly left the center of the arena, their instructions to their Oath Knights were roughly the same: hide your good equipment to avoid being "robbed" and don't provoke Rayan.

Imperius arrived late, carrying a flaming long spear that didn't belong to him. Seeing Phoenix Lady waiting, he felt guilty and wanted to dismount and salute but was stopped by Phoenix Lady raising her hand.

"You are the strongest in the king's group; don't dismount easily."

"Yes, Madam." Imperius nodded, straightened his chest, and regained some confidence.

Since he had brought the slightly injured Phoenix Lady back to the Firebird family early this morning, Imperius had been in torment.

Phoenix Lady wanted him to lose to Rayan and lose convincingly to gain Rayan's help in dealing with Holy Light envoy Eileen. Imperius proposed that he could kill Eileen, but Phoenix Lady was afraid it would implicate her, so she firmly refused.

Despite his repeated assurances that he could kill the Holy Light envoy without leaving a trace and without implicating Phoenix Lady, she still disagreed.

He remembered her words at the time, "Imperius, you're old."

—She wasn't rejecting him; she was pitying him.

Old...

Indeed, but even old dogs have a few teeth left.

Encouraged by Black Armor Commander Trevor's words, Imperius mustered the courage to bring up his request to his mistress again, "Madam, please agree to my previous request."

Phoenix Lady sighed slightly. She had originally thought Rayan would agree or refuse outright, but what she didn't expect was that Rayan said nothing to her. If Rayan didn't act, she would have to rely on Imperius, and using Imperius to deal with Eileen was a last resort.

Damn Rayan, how dare he leave her hanging...

Phoenix Lady bit her lip, "Give him a hard time."

Imperius's sturdy body trembled, "Madam, do you mean?"

"Make him lose, make him bow his head."

Phoenix Lady glanced arrogantly at Rayan in the distance, "I want to see him dejected so that he understands how precious my favor is."

Imperius breathed a long sigh of relief, thumping his chest armor with his fist, "Rest assured, Madam, I will do my best this time to make him suffer."

Phoenix Lady said sternly, "Win, but don't cripple him; I still have use for him."

"Yes, Madam."

Imperius prepared to leave, but Phoenix Lady called him back:

"Come back; you haven't received my blessing yet."

Imperius smiled apologetically, "I was too eager to defeat Rayan, so I got a bit impatient."

Phoenix Lady nodded, taking out a ruby ring. The gem was as bright as pigeon blood, with a faint phoenix bathing in fire inside.

"You should recognize this item, right?"

Imperius's eyes widened in surprise, "This is the Phoenix Ring—your father's personal belonging!"

"Yes."

Phoenix Lady smiled, "Indeed, this is my father's personal treasure. Before he died, he put it in my hand, telling me to find a suitable person for this ring. You know, this ring is a genuine Enchanted-level treasure, completely different from the ridiculous Oak Frost Shield that appeared earlier in the arena. Therefore, this ring has a Battle Qi level restriction; only someone who has reached the Hero level can use it effectively—"

"Unfortunately, among my Firebird family's current descendants, there's never been a Hero Level person. It's a pity that despite my wisdom, I can only fight alone for Firebird."

Phoenix Lady smiled bitterly, shook her head, and threw the ring to Imperius, "Here, take it."

Imperius exclaimed, catching the ring in a fluster. After confirming that the hot Phoenix Ring was in his palm, he looked up at his mistress in astonishment:

"Madam, this is really—"

He said uneasily, "I appreciate your great kindness, but this item is too precious. Only heroes like your father are worthy of wearing it. I—I... oh right, Madam, don't say the Firebird family has no successors; I think the Second Prince—"

Before he could finish, Phoenix Lady waved her hand, "Remember, the Second Prince is not a member of the Firebird family."

Imperius took a deep breath, remembering Phoenix Lady's sore spot—the Second Prince could never bear the name Firebird; his surname was Lionheart.

"My mistake, Madam—"

Phoenix Lady interrupted him, "No need to say more. The food and gold are about to be distributed; we can't waste too much time. Wear the ring and defeat Rayan for me—"

She paused meaningfully, lowering her voice, "Then, find an opportunity to kill that woman."

"Yes." Imperius fully understood whom his mistress was referring to, nodded firmly without saying more—with the Enchanted-level Phoenix Ring, dealing with Eileen would be much easier.

After Phoenix Lady returned to the noble stands, the arena cleared out again.

The Gold-edged group's Oath Knights entered, formally saluting the nobles and the audience. Next, the Silver-edged group's Oath Knights entered, giving a hasty salute, and finally, the Copper-edged group's Oath Knights entered, not much to see.

After the official procedures were completed, Phoenix Lady immediately announced the start of the competition.

First, the Copper-edged group's Oath Knights competed. The top ten Copper-edged Oath Knights would be placed in the Silver-edged group for another round of drawing and matches; the top ten Silver-edged knights would then join the Gold-edged group for another draw and matches; the final ten would challenge the king's group knights until a champion, the "War God," was crowned.

Rayan drew the eighth position in the Copper-edged group. Although this was already a relatively early position compared to others, he couldn't help but frown as he held the lot.

The first pair of Copper-edged Oath Knights fought fiercely on the field. Battle Qi flew around, and all kinds of dirty tricks followed one another. After five full minutes, the stronger Oath Knight finally won the first victory.

The audience gave him sparse applause, clearly unimpressed after seeing Rayan's spectacular performance earlier. This street thug-like fight couldn't excite them, and even the gamblers were uninterested—they were all holding a gold coin, eagerly waiting for Rayan's appearance to place their bets.

The second pair of Copper-edged Oath Knights' fight was equally lackluster, dragging on for five minutes until both lay on the ground, refusing to get up. Finally, Trevor, the tournament judge, announced their disqualification for passive competition, and the Black-armored guards carried them out of the arena.

Rayan was supposed to be the fourth pair to appear, but he couldn't wait any longer. Urging Emerald Fire Thunder, he charged into the central arena before the third pair could start.

Emerald Fire Thunder's roar instantly enlivened the dreary atmosphere, with the audience standing and cheering for Rayan.

"Lord Rayan, it's not your turn yet," a cautious Black-armored guard reminded.

"I know."

Rayan calmly surveyed the Copper-edged Oath Knights and then said, "This kind of fighting is a waste of time and not exciting at all. Let's change the rules—"

"I'll take them all on in a single challenge."