Chapter 105: Fairness (Releasing Tomorrow, Please Support and Subscribe!)

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With a sharp crack, Russell immediately took out some kind of potion to drink as he saw Colin swallow his medicine, but suddenly a whip struck his back. The potion he had just put to his lips sprayed out in a puff. Too slow... Russell reached behind, feeling the sting, and withdrew his hand to find blood seeping out. Yet, compared to the pain from the lash, his gray eyes looked down at the spilled liquid with a twinge of pity. This was no match for the shabby item the opponent held. "What a pity..." But Russell remained calm, knowing this would only slightly narrow the gap between their strengths—he still had a significant advantage. However, there were two more rules to consider. He fixed his gaze on Colin, determined to mimic his every move this time, unlike before when he missed the opportunity.

"I promise, in this duel, I will forgo the use of any mysterious items; for fairness, my opponent shall also be barred from using mysterious items."

Hmm? If you’re giving up using mysterious items, then what exactly are you relying on to make this promise? Russell felt as if this so-called "Knight’s Shield of Justice" was being ridiculously unfair and double-faced. But it didn’t matter—his personal attributes and combat experience far outmatched the other. Besides, he realized he could still use his "skills." Unexpected, right? I still have skills to use! Russell chuckled to himself, convinced these newcomers had such little exploration time that they must have no skills at all.

At the same time, he kept a close eye on Colin while stashing a blue dagger, a yellow coin, and a blood-stained white cloth into his backpack—just in case he got beheaded. At that moment, he heard Colin utter the last rule, and a chill ran down his spine.

"I promise, in this duel, I will accept the blessing of a designated priest; for fairness, my opponent may also accept the blessing of one priest."

What??? Where the hell am I supposed to find a priest to bless me? Russell was stunned. Meanwhile, at the edge of the arena, a female figure became visible.

"Courage Blessing."

"Light Shield."

"Weapon Blessing."

"Wind Blessing!"

"Light Shield!"

"Light Shield!"

Her voice rang out swiftly, and no matter the effect, she cast every blessing she knew on Colin. Except for Light Shield, all other blessing spells had their effectiveness halved when cast on others. Still, this was an incredibly strong support skill. With numerous buffs stacking, Russell gawked as he witnessed Colin’s overall power surge.

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Layers upon layers of shield spells piled up, making Colin look as if he were clad in armor forged from light, radiating a blinding brilliance. Wait... as Russell stepped back from the strange aura of those shields, a sudden realization struck him—the mysterious level of that shield must be incredibly high! Because the second rule forbade the use of mysterious items, and such a ban could only be enforced if the shield possessed a sufficiently high mysterious rank. Everyone had mysterious items, and if they could just declare them off-limits, wouldn’t that be embarrassing? But the result was that with one command, the use of mysterious items was restricted. This meant the shield wielded a terrifying power capable of suppressing all the mysterious items on Russell’s person.

"No worries, I still have the advantage..." Russell thought of the three skills he had mastered and felt somewhat reassured. He drew a pitch-black hammer from his backpack. "Hey," he muttered, "the ban is on mysterious items, not weapons." Yet, at that moment, Colin silently pulled out a row of cannons, grasped their lanyard, and Russell’s expression stiffened. Half a minute remained.

Colin’s protective light shields had already stacked into the double digits, though each additional layer offered diminishing returns. Despite her sweating brow, Shana kept tirelessly reinforcing his shields. Finally, with the words "Let the duel begin" spoken, Shana’s figure blurred again—she was no longer permitted to intervene. After all, Colin’s third rule was a borderline manipulation of the basic rules; it was impossible to maintain the priest’s blessings indefinitely.

At that instant, Colin pulled the cannon’s lanyard; flames burst from the muzzle, and three cannonballs hurtled forward. "Heh," Russell smiled, suddenly vanishing from Colin’s direct line of sight and reappearing right behind him. Yet, in that moment, he sensed something off about Colin’s aura. No matter—Russell’s hammer burst into roaring flames as it came crashing down on Colin’s shoulder.

This was also a skill, capable of exploding with massive damage in an instant, relentlessly suppressing and shattering those fragile light shields. Still, Russell had no intention of killing Colin; he felt it hadn’t come to that yet. Maybe during the mid-stage struggles for resources, he’d be ruthless, but now, when survival itself was a challenge, his murderous instinct had faded, and he was calm. Of course, giving this disrespectful junior a lesson was inevitable. Looting him thoroughly was also unavoidable. As for the servants—especially the white-robed, gold-trimmed, exquisitely featured female priest—he certainly wouldn’t dare touch her. Not out of kindness, but because he knew there were complicated issues involved. Everything else, however, was fair game.

In that instant, Russell was already contemplating how to divide his spoils. But then, suddenly, he saw a faint smile tug at the corner of Colin’s mouth, and in a flash, Colin turned his head sharply. Their eyes met—black and white, gleaming with amusement. Damn! Before he could think, Russell’s muscles froze, his mind blanked out.

Skills!

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He was hit... The moment he realized it, a tidal wave of searing pain surged from his eyes to his brain, making it impossible to think. At the same time, he felt a heavy kick to his abdomen, and he flew backward, crashing hard to the ground. After rolling several times, Russell barely recovered enough clarity to know one thing—he had lost. In this kind of "semi-mortal" combat, whoever seized the initiative held the upper hand. The one with the upper hand made it nearly impossible for the other to turn the tide.

Now, not only was he at a disadvantage, but his brain was throbbing and scrambled, making it difficult to use his skills. His face was pressed and rubbed against the ground. Even if he wanted to activate a skill, he needed at least three seconds to recover. But his opponent wouldn’t grant him that time. Three seconds was enough for many things to end. There was no chance to turn the tide.

Before the barrage of relentless blows resumed, Russell decisively said, "I surrender." He knew that if Colin’s mind was sound, he wouldn’t kill him. Besides, he was curious about the outside world; otherwise, he wouldn’t have risked his life to come out. Living alone was just too... dull. But what he hadn’t expected was that even after surrendering, Colin’s fist, as big as a sandbag, kept pounding him.

"Please, don’t hit my face..." After six or seven minutes, Colin finally ceased, calming his inner urge to fight. He tossed the shield into his backpack, and the buzzing voices in his mind shouting "Kill him! Kill him!" gradually quieted. They returned to their original positions. Russell’s face was bruised and swollen; he struggled to open his puffy eyes and saw his horse again.

Finally, someone more miserable than me... Li Chou smiled at the scene, regretting he had no phone to capture it. Seems like next time, no matter what, he must not use that item continuously for an entire hour again... Colin sighed deeply. Using the "Knight’s Shield of Justice" continuously within an hour only fueled his dueling urge, making it increasingly troublesome.

Then Colin approached Russell without rushing to confiscate the spoils, saying, "Now we can have a proper talk..." "About what?" Russell asked. "The system," Colin replied.

At these words, Russell’s expression stiffened, his body tensed.

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PS: Scheduled to go live around noon tomorrow...