Peerless Douluo: Blood of the Black King Nidhogg!

Chapter 118 The situation escalates; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! (4K)

"What do you mean? You want to kill Mo Yuan in the subsequent competition?" Xiao Hongchen asked, frowning.

"That's right, remember this, this competition is the closest our Sun Moon Empire has ever come to the championship. If we miss this one, we don't know how long it will be before we get another one. So for the glory of the empire, and for the development of the empire, we absolutely cannot let Mo Yuan, this great enemy, live!"

The words, filled with murderous intent, came from Ma Rulong's mouth.

Upon hearing this, Meng Hongchen immediately became anxious. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly.

"No way! Putting aside my affair with Mo Yuan, the mere fact that someone intentionally killed someone during the competition is a violation of the rules and is despicable!"

“That’s right, if we can’t beat them, we can’t beat them. I’m not going to resort to dirty tricks. Besides, my sister and I still have a trump card up our sleeves. It’s hard to say whether Mo Yuan can win.” Xiao Hongchen retorted.

However, apart from the two of them, the other team members did not think that way, as could be seen from their cold and resolute eyes.

Ma Rulong was not discouraged by the siblings' refusal; he continued,
"I'm not talking about underhanded tricks, but defeating him fair and square with a soul tool. Remember that thing?"

“You have all witnessed Mo Yuan’s strength. Using that thing against him is not considered bullying. Besides, we are only doing this to win the championship. If he dies, we can only blame his lack of strength and have no one else to blame.”

"It still won't work. Intentional and unintentional are two different things. If Mo Yuan becomes an enemy of the empire in the future, I will kill him by any means necessary without hesitation."

"That's right. It's impossible for me to kill Mo Yuan during the competition. On the battlefield, everything is for the benefit of the Empire."

The Hongchen siblings remained unmoved and rejected Ma Rulong's suggestion.

Seeing the two men's resolute attitude, Ma Rulong narrowed his eyes slightly, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. After a while, he seemed to have thought of something and changed his attitude completely.

"Alright, since you refuse, that's fine too. After we win the individual competition, we'll win the first two matches in a 2-2-3 format. In the final 3-on-3 match, you two siblings and another teammate will go together. I estimate that Mo Yuan will do the same, and settle everything in the 3-on-3 match."

Although the Hongchen siblings were puzzled as to why Ma Rulong had changed so much, since Ma Rulong had given his consent, they stopped asking and instead discussed the upcoming individual competition with their teammates.

Meanwhile, in the rest area of ​​Shrek Academy, although they had won the team battle, the atmosphere within the team remained tense.

The reason is simple: compared to the Sun and Moon team, they ultimately ran into an unexpected shortage of personnel.

It seems that the Sun and Moon team lost three members at once, but a closer look reveals that two of those three members were from the reserve team and would not be playing in subsequent matches.

As for Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, thanks to Ma Rulong's decisive surrender, the two of them suffered almost no loss, only losing a level seven soul guide shield.

As for Ma Rulong, his soul power was completely exhausted, but his injuries were not serious. In addition, they were from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, so they would never lack a soul tool like a milk bottle that could quickly restore soul power.

From this perspective, the Sun and Moon team doesn't seem to have suffered any substantial losses, while Shrek Academy is in a different situation. Apart from Mo Yuan, everyone else's soul power has been completely exhausted.

There was no good way to replenish soul power in the short term. Even though Mo Yuan, Ning Tian, ​​and Dai Yueheng contributed their level-seven healing bottles, it was still not enough.

Seeing this, Old Song, who had come here secretly to protect everyone after being voted on by the Sea God Pavilion meeting, originally intended to help, but after remembering Mu En's previous warning, he had no choice but to take back the milk bottle he had already taken out.

"What should we do next? Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi have only recovered half of their soul power and are still injured. As for Senior Sister Xiao Tao, it goes without saying that she will probably not be fully recovered until the later stages of the individual competition. Senior Sister Jiang Nannan is in better condition, but she is not good enough to face a level 5 soul master alone."

Ning Tian analyzed Shrek Academy's current situation one by one, "Besides, we were going to give up on the individual competition anyway, so should we just let Senior Dai Yueheng and Brother Yuan wear down the opponent, and do our best as well as the others, in order to prepare for the 2-2-3 match later?"

Wang Yan nodded, and was about to say something when Dai Yueheng stood up and spoke first, "No way! How can we give up without even fighting? Our opponent is the Sun Moon Empire! If we hand over victory without even trying for the sake of the bigger picture, I'm sorry, I can't do it!"

“That’s right, we are the Shrek Seven Devils, carrying the glory of ten thousand years, how could we do such a thing!” Ma Xiaotao said excitedly.

Upon hearing these words, Wang Yan immediately felt a headache coming on. What should he do?
On the left is the glory of the champion, on the right is the glory of Shrek. It's a choice between the two, and neither option works.

Just then, He Caitou, who had been relatively unknown since the start of the competition, scratched his head sheepishly, stood up, and said with a smile.

"Teacher Wang, can I ask you a question?"

"It's okay, go ahead and ask. If I know the answer, I will definitely answer."

Wang Yan had a very good impression of He Caitou, one of the few team members who respected him. If He Caitou were more capable, he would have wanted to let He Caitou play and show his skills in every game.

He Caitou nodded and continued, "Is there a rule in the competition that if a player in an individual competition is seriously injured and unable to continue, can his spot in the second, second, and third place be taken by a player who did not play?"

"Hmm?" Wang Yan paused for a moment, then thought about the question carefully. "The rules don't explicitly say this. Wait a minute, I'll go ask someone from the Star Luo Empire."

After speaking, Wang Yan got up and went to the high platform not far away. After a while, having received the results, he returned to the lounge.

During this time, someone asked He Caitou curiously why he asked this question, but He Caitou just scratched his head as usual, smiled憨厚ly, and did not answer.

Only Mo Yuan seemed to see something in He Caitou's smile. Looking at this young man with a rather complicated background, a smile slowly appeared on Mo Yuan's face.

Back in the lounge, Wang Yan said to He Caitou, "I asked the referee team in charge of the competition, and they said that if the individual contestant is seriously injured, then the next two-two-three round will be considered as having a vacancy, and there will be no substitute."

"Oh, by the way, why are you asking this?"

He Caitou looked a little disappointed and was about to shake his head and say nothing more when he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder. He turned around and saw that it was Mo Yuan.

"Go ahead and do it, I'll cover for you." Mo Yuan said this puzzling thing.

He Caitou paused for a moment, then looked deeply at Mo Yuan, a smile returning to his face. He turned to Wang Yan and said.

"Teacher Wang, what I was thinking was that if a serious injury in an individual match allows for a substitute, then I would risk a serious injury to significantly wear down my opponent. As long as I am seriously injured, it won't affect the subsequent 2-2-3 sequence. In this way, I can wear down the opponent, buy time for everyone, and not affect the subsequent matches. It's a win-win-win situation."

"Unfortunately, this path is not feasible, but with Senior Mo Yuan as my backup, I have another way. That is, I will directly sacrifice myself to force one of the opponents to be replaced. Even if I cannot replace him, Senior Dai Yueheng, who will be the next to appear, can severely injure him."

"In that case, it's like trading my level 4 Soul Master for a level 5 Soul Master on the other side. It's a sure win."

Upon hearing this, everyone except Mo Yuan, who already knew He Caitou's thoughts, and Dai Yueheng, who also sensed something, was shocked by this idea.

"Are you crazy?!" Wang Yan slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and roared, "Do you know what the consequences of a serious injury are! The injury is the least of your worries; a slight mistake could seriously affect your future cultivation!"

"A triple win? A one-for-one trade with the other side? Why don't you mention the cost of doing this?!" Despite being reprimanded, He Caitou wasn't angry; his smile faded slightly, and he became somewhat serious.

“I know Teacher Wang, but so much time has passed since this competition and I haven’t been able to help at all. Shrek Academy has been kind to me, and my teacher treats me like his own son. Now that the academy is facing a problem, how can I not step forward?”

"I think if I can help the college win the championship in the finals, even if it's just by doing my best, the teacher will definitely be very happy."

Wang Yan's expression froze, and he was speechless for a long time. After a while, he looked at He Caitou seriously and said.

"You really think about it?"

Without hesitation, He Caitou said, "I've made up my mind."

"Well... alright then." Wang Yan waved his hand helplessly, as if he had lost a lot of strength.

Just then, Huang Jinxu, the Heavenly Fiend Douluo, began to let the players from both sides participate in the individual competition. Upon hearing this, He Caitou stepped out of the lounge under the watchful eyes of everyone.

"Well done, that's a real man." Dai Yueheng's eyes showed appreciation, and he didn't hold back his praise.

Looking at that strong, steady figure, Mo Yuan was filled with emotion. If it weren't for his words, He Caitou would not have been so badly injured.

But this would also deprive a man of the opportunity to prove his self-worth. It all depends on He Caitou's own choice; I'm just giving him a choice.

……

On the Sun and Moon team's side, a level 5 Soul Master was still on the field. After He Caitou arrived at the arena and the two were ready, Huang Jinxu gave an order, and the two seemed to be in sync, both of them used the artillery tactic on the spot.

In an instant, the entire arena resounded with continuous, deafening roars, and the sound of artillery fire continued unabated.

This scenario should have been expected by everyone, but as the match continued, Shrek suddenly noticed something was amiss.

In order to wear down his opponent as much as possible, He Caitou attacked with all his might without dodging or avoiding. Logically speaking, after learning that He Caitou was only a level four Soul Master, the person from the Sun and Moon Team should have known that as long as he performed normally, he could win.

Unexpectedly, a member of the Sun and Moon team suddenly revealed a faint killing intent. The killing intent was not strong, but it was exceptionally pure.

Upon realizing this, Mo Yuan, Ma Xiaotao, and Dai Yueheng immediately sensed something was wrong.

Sure enough, the next moment, the member of the Sun and Moon team spared no effort, forcibly exhausting all the soul power in his body. Facing the ball of light that He Caitou shot at, he did not dodge or avoid it, and then fired a soul guide ray at He Caitou.

He actually wants to exchange pieces too!
But this is completely illogical.

He Caitou did this because he was not strong enough, and he had no choice but to use his strength to gain an advantage. So why did the Sun and Moon team members, who had the advantage in strength, also do the same?

They were even willing to suffer heavy losses to attack He Caitou?

But if you combine that with the faint killing intent from that person earlier, everything seems clear!
This member of the Sun and Moon team came on stage specifically to kill He Caitou!

"Damn it! Have the Sun and Moon Team gone mad?! Is this how you beat someone strong?! He clearly wants to kill He Caitou!" Dai Yueheng roared angrily.

Not only were Shrek Academy members furious, but the Hongchen siblings from the Sun and Moon team were also stunned by the scene, clearly unaware of what had happened.

"What on earth are you doing?! A level 5 Soul Master fighting a level 4 Soul Master and still trading blows? This is clearly aimed at killing your opponent! And you're even willing to risk your own lives for it!" Xiao Hongchen angrily rebuked.

When confronted with questions, Ma Rulong and all the other team members responded with those indifferent eyes.

"Just because you two siblings aren't willing to win the championship this way doesn't mean everyone else is. For the glory of the empire, we are willing to give everything, even our lives," Ma Rulong said calmly, as if life were just an ordinary word to him.

The other team members then spoke up to the bewildered Hongchen siblings.

“That’s right. For the sake of the empire and the family, our lives are not that important. If our deaths can bring prosperity to the family in the future, what is there to fear about death?”

“We don’t have the family background that you two siblings have. A championship might just be something you talk about in the future, but for us, it’s the key to upward social mobility.”

"..."

Listening to their teammates' calm yet resolute words, the Hongchen siblings finally understood that, apart from the two of them, the other team members were now determined to win the championship even at the cost of their lives.

All they wanted was the benefits the championship could bring to their families, since they didn't have a grandfather who was a Title Douluo or a Level 9 Soul Master.

The Hongchen siblings were speechless for a moment. They had no reason or right to reprimand their teammate. After a long silence, Xiao Hongchen could only mutter curses under his breath.

"They're a bunch of lunatics!"

……

Just as they were arguing, the result of the match was announced. Facing the all-out attack of a level 5 Soul Master, He Caitou was seriously injured. Fortunately, Huang Jinxu intervened in time, otherwise he might have lost his hands or feet.

The opposing level 5 Soul Master fared no better; after being bombarded by artillery fire, he was eventually carried off the field by medical personnel.

In the lounge, looking at He Caitou lying on the bed, badly injured, the Shrek team members felt a burning desire for revenge. They realized that the Sun Moon team member from earlier was definitely not an isolated case; most likely, the entire Sun Moon team shared this mentality.

They wanted to wear them down by trading blows for kills, or even killing them in return, in order to seize the final victory.

Xu Sanshi clenched his fists tightly, looked at his teammates around him, and asked softly, "What do you mean?"

Upon hearing this, Dai Yueheng listened to the referee's voice outside, ripped off his coat, and revealed a chilling, sinister smile, his sharp tiger teeth gleaming coldly.

“Blood for blood, tooth for tooth.”

"Their Sun Moon Empire wants to kill people? Then we'll fight them to the bitter end!"

(End of this chapter)