Work Prophet
Chapter 519 - 137: A Performance

Chapter 519: Chapter 137: A Performance

Ireya had indeed won four rounds, and had also become the hot favorite to be the champion, but she hadn’t completely shifted her mindset yet.

She was always thinking about how to make a quick buck and escape, and unlike Golden Fly, Crow at least came from a noble family.

If such an under-the-table deal were to be exposed, as the one who provided the money, his reputation would have been permanently ruined. Moreover, the money wasn’t even for winning the martial arts tournament, it was just to buy a less embarrassing loss.

This kind of thing, if leaked, would definitely ruin his chances of blending in at the Royal Capital, not to mention, the Royal Knight Order wouldn’t want a squire knight with such a stain on his record.

So initially, Ireya hadn’t even considered that Crow would use such tactics to trick her.

Miss Rabbit was immediately shocked, "We don’t have a huge grudge, do we? It’s just someone beat him up once. Does he really need to sacrifice his own future just to kick me out of the tournament?"

"And this guy hid his intentions too deeply. Before, he even tried to frame me through Golden Fly. If it weren’t for my heartache... no, it was my keen insight, wouldn’t I already be out of the competition now?!"

"I actually think that Lord Brian might have been manipulated as well," Ruby said, "Because as you said, this kind of exposure does him no good at all."

"So is this another dirty trick by the Life Church?"

"This... I’m not sure, but I think the Priest of Cornelia would still prefer that you face the Earth Bear, so she can use the Earth Bear to eliminate you once and for all."

Lady Ireya was confused once more upon hearing this, "If it’s not the Life Church, then who could it be? I haven’t offended anyone else in the Royal Capital, except for Geoff... but that swindler shouldn’t have this much capability, right?"

"Forget it, the tournament is about to start," Ireya said, temporarily setting aside these issues, and grasping Ruby’s hand sincerely.

"Thank you for reminding me, Charlene. I’m really lucky to have met you!"

Ruby felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this.

Because she knew very well that her meeting with the Lady wasn’t "by chance," she was protecting Ireya secretly on Li Yu’s orders.

Just last night, Li Yu had another chat with her. With powerful supporters like Jude and Thomas, along with Wild and the motion sensors and recent firepower support from the Rabbit, Li Yu wasn’t too worried about Ireya’s personal safety. However, this was Lion Heart Castle, the center of the Empire’s politics and power, and what was more dangerous were the hidden conspiracies and schemes.

Against such threats, all of Jude and the others combined were not as useful as a single Ruby.

As the Lady was about to reject the servant of Brian, who was anxiously waiting for a response at the side, she was stopped by Ruby, "Lady Ireya."

"Yes?"

"Actually, there is a way. Even if we cannot identify the mastermind behind this, we can make them pay a higher price, and you can continue to participate in the tournament,"

"What way?"

"Accept the money, agree to Lord Brian’s request," Ruby thus spoke.

......

As the martial arts tournament was about to begin, Crow was pacing back and forth inside the tent, appearing restless.

He glanced occasionally towards the entrance of the tent, and just as he was losing patience, he finally saw his servant returning from outside.

But the latter’s expression was somewhat odd, seeing his state, Crow’s heart also sank, "She didn’t agree, did she?"

"Agreement was made, but..." the servant hemmed and hawed.

"But what?"

"Lady Ireya suddenly tripled the price."

Crow was stunned upon hearing this and couldn’t help but rage after a moment, "Four thousand golden lions, and I’m buying my own defeat?!!! Does she think I’m a fat sheep, ready for slaughtering?"

After speaking, Crow’s anger hadn’t subsided, but he saw his servant hesitating to speak again.

"What is it, did she make any other demands?"

"Not really, Lady Ireya just guessed that you might find it expensive. She said you don’t have to pay this amount."

"Really? Is there such a good deal?" For a moment, Crow even felt a bit guilty, thinking he might have wrongly accused the Lady.

But then he heard the servant continue, "She said if that’s the case, then you should just fight normally, hoping you’d surrender soon. Otherwise, you might lose a leg."

Upon hearing this, Crow burst into laughter in extreme anger, "Good, good, good, she really is as fond of money as the rumors say."

"Shall I go reject her offer?" The servant also felt the demand was too steep.

However, upon hearing this, Crow fell silent again and after a moment he said, "Four thousand golden lions is indeed a lot of money, but it’s not as important as my leg."

He gritted his teeth, "Accept her offer, but tell her I only have a thousand now, the rest will have to be owed. I can write her an IOU and pay her in a few days once I gather the money."

The servant nodded, seeing that Crow had made up his mind and didn’t say anything further, then hurried off with the money to find the Lady.

Shortly after the two parties finalized the deal, the duel began.

Crow was somewhat tremulous at the start and to show his sincerity, he even took off the armor he wore outside, only wearing cloth armor, definitely unable to withstand the terrifying weapon capable of killing invisibly on the other side.

Fortunately, the Lady didn’t pull out the flintlock gun right away; she just stood there, smiling cryptically at him.

Perhaps it was psychological, but Crow always felt there was a hint of mockery in the young girl’s smile, and thinking about the four thousand golden lions he was bilked out of made his heart ache even more.

Having lost much of his fighting spirit, he drew his sword and made a few half-hearted probes. The moment he saw the Lady’s hand move toward her waist, he couldn’t help but shudder and quickly backed off.

After a few tries, Crow perhaps found it pointless and charged forward, allowing Ireya to summon that Divine Artifact which could call down thunder, striking him down to the ground.

Crow tried to get up several times, but each time he barely got halfway up, he had to endure another shock and fell back to the ground, then struggled to stand up again. After several attempts, even the spectators couldn’t help but respect Crow.

They felt this young man, although his Martial Arts were mediocre, had a strong will and a fierce determination to never give in.

Crow felt he had played his part well enough and then he deliberately fell to the ground, pretending to have passed out, and didn’t get up anymore.

The referee immediately declared Ireya the winner.

Afterwards, Crow was carried off for treatment. While the crowd was expressing their admiration for the Lady’s close combat prowess, an incongruent voice rang out.

"I must report, Sir Irelia and Lord Brian had a financial transaction before the fight."

Upon hearing this sentence, the crowd was instantly in an uproar.