Chapter 60 |
“So, what do you think? If you went up against those two, how much chance of winning would you have?”
Mick leaned back on the comfortable fur sofa and asked lazily.
Baruk sat cross-legged on the thick wool blanket, grabbed a fruit the size of an adult’s fist and stuffed it into his mouth, then spoke while chewing:
“Hard to say. From the way that lizard warrior performed just now, I’d probably be about fifty-fifty against him…”
“——Hah?!”
Mick sprang up from the sofa at once!
Baruk was also startled by Mick’s sudden outburst, and his ears twitched.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re sure you could go fifty-fifty with him? You can keep up with his speed?”
“As long as he gets caught by me in close combat, I’m absolutely confident I can make him lose his ability to fight. But if he keeps kiting the whole time, then it’s hard to say.”
Mick felt that he had truly underestimated this old bear. He suddenly regretted not making this guy participate in the tournament. Maybe he really could have gotten a pretty good ranking…
“Then what about that merfolk priestess?” Mick asked impatiently.
“I’m not sure about that one, but my ‘Giant Bear Roar’ should be able to blast her straight out of concealment. But I don’t know whether I’d be able to catch her. Her speed moving through that ice mist really is fast enough.”
Mick covered his face with one hand. This time, he truly regretted it.
He had exaggerated the combat strength of the previous tournaments a bit too much. If this old bear really was as strong as he said, then he absolutely had a chance to fight for the top ten. With that kind of ranking, the road ahead in Coral Thorn City would be much easier!
“How old are you this year?”
Mick gripped the fur on Baruk’s arm tightly and looked at the old bear with hope.
“Sixty-nine. Why?” Baruk asked in confusion.
Mick’s vision went black, and he nearly lost his footing.
This old bear was actually over fifty years younger than him!
A high-stage Grandmaster at sixty-nine years old! In any race, that was a genius among geniuses! And he had let that level of combat strength sit uselessly in the audience seats!
What had he been thinking at the time? Would it have killed him to ask a few more questions? Right now, Mick wished he could go back in time and slap himself a few times across the face!
“Wait here!”
Mick released his grip and ran straight toward Mills’s VIP room. He had to see if there was any chance to salvage this!
Ai~ What a miscalculation, what a miscalculation~
“Eh? Where are you going?”
“To see if I can squeeze you into the list!”
“Bang! Bang!” The VIP room door was violently thrown open and shut again!
……
Mills, who had been chatting with O’Brien and Dean about the match just now, raised a brow when he heard the attendant’s message.
Looking for him at this time, in this place?
Naturally, Mills had a very deep impression of Mick. The other party was absolutely not someone who failed to understand priorities. For him to ignore etiquette and come looking for him like this, something extremely urgent must have happened.
But……
“It’s fine, go handle it.”
O’Brien saw his hesitation and waved a hand, indicating that it was no issue. He then continued explaining the battle details of the previous match to Dean.
At this level of battle, Dean’s eyesight simply could not see things clearly. O’Brien had to carefully break it down bit by bit, explaining both sides’ combat methods and styles, as well as the ways to deal with them.
For Dean, this duel tournament was a rare opportunity to increase his transcendent knowledge. Over the next month of matches, O’Brien would still carefully choose several more matches to bring Dean to watch.
With O’Brien nodding his approval, Mills no longer hesitated, excused himself, and left the VIP room.
“I’m very sorry to disturb you at a time like this, President Mills.”
When Mick saw Mills come out, he was the first to bow and apologize. At a time like this, the other party had certainly been entertaining important guests, but he truly could not wait. After all, the longer this kind of matter was delayed, the less hope there would be.
“No matter. Tell me first what urgent matter you have.” Mills’s tone was calm, and it was impossible to tell whether he was pleased or displeased.
The two of them entered an empty VIP room.
To ensure they could provide service at any time for distinguished guests who might suddenly appear, every tournament kept quite a few empty VIP rooms in reserve just in case.
“It’s like this……”
Mick quickly explained Baruk’s situation clearly, especially emphasizing his age and estimated combat strength.
Mills, who had originally been somewhat dissatisfied inwardly, began to improve in attitude as well. If that bearman really was as strong as Mick said, then this was also a rare high-quality prospect!
“I understand. Elder Mick, don’t worry. This is only the first match, so there is still every chance to remedy it. Originally, one participant was supposed to get a bye. Now if we add one more, it will just fill that spot perfectly. It’s only that persuading the other organizers will take a bit of talking.”
Mills directly took the whole matter onto himself. Helping at a time like this would surely make the other party owe him a huge favor. This was the best possible chance to build ties.
After hearing Mills’s promise, the heart Mick had been holding up finally dropped heavily back into place.
“President Mills, I won’t speak empty words of thanks for such a great kindness!”
Mick let out a long breath, then solemnly gave Mills a bow of the foxfolk race.
“If there is ever a place in the future where our two races are needed, as long as it does not violate the bottom line of our tribes, feel free to speak!”
“There is no need for such courtesy, Elder Mick. For something mutually beneficial, there’s no need to be polite.” Mills smiled and sidestepped the gesture.
“There’s no time to delay. I’ll go handle Elder Baruk’s participation first. Just wait for my news.”
Mills returned the courtesy crisply and strode away.
The polite words Mick had wanted to say next were stuffed straight back into his mouth. He opened and closed his lips, then also returned by the same route to inform Baruk to prepare for the match.
This matter was handled very smoothly. Temporarily adding a slot was itself one of the organizers’ privileges. As long as it was not cheating, adding a few slots during the preliminary stage was hardly any problem at all. Mills only needed to notify the other organizers.
Such things were seen everywhere in tournaments all around the world. Who would be stupid enough not to give face to a young Grandmaster?
A high-stage Grandmaster at sixty-nine! Even Mills had not expected this old bear to be so young! Only a few years older than him!
By the time Mills finished the formalities and arrived at the VIP room where Baruk was, only about two ke had passed. There was still quite a lot of spare time before the second match even began.
“I have not failed my mission, Elder Baruk. Because you were a temporarily added participant, your first match will be the day after tomorrow, as the final match of the first round. I look forward to your performance!”
Taking the participation certificate Mills handed over, Baruk’s eyes shone brightly. He eagerly flipped through the participant benefits written on it, excited beyond measure.
“Thank you so much, President Mills. Our two races will surely repay this favor in the future!”
After exchanging a few more polite words, Mills did not stay long. He absolutely could not forget the real guests he was supposed to be entertaining!
“Since your slot’s already been confirmed, make your preparations properly. I’ll also check how well you’ve recovered. Don’t let it affect your performance when the time comes!”
Without allowing any argument, Mick pressed his staff against Baruk, who was still busy carefully reading through the benefits, and began examining his body.
Baruk only sat there grinning foolishly, letting Mick do as he pleased.