Just Want to Fight

At this moment, the scene was set: on the flat expanse of ground, the Xiongzanli Splinter Faction and the Huaxia Front formed two opposing battle lines, while the ten thousand fighters of Stream Vanguard were arrayed along the raised grassy slope on the flank. Han Qingyu turned around near the base of the slope. Standing several paces behind him were Wu Xu, Rusty Sister in her iron armor, and Wen Jifei holding his gun, while farther back stood the ten-thousand-strong formation from the City of Iniquity. This formation was currently pressing forward in disciplined unison. From the feel of it, one would realize that those ruffians from the land of exile seemed to crave a super brawl beyond measure. As they advanced, Theodore's figure flickered as he arrived ahead of the rest, falling into position beside Wu Xu and the others. With his blazing speed, he made it known to the entire field that he was a super. Just as the rumors claimed, Stream Vanguard truly possessed three super combat powers... More than thirty thousand people formed a three-sided standoff. In truth, Han Qingyu had not spoken at the top of his lungs, but because everyone was drawn by the blue starlight column sword, all eyes were on him, waiting to see what he would do next. And so, when the words were spoken, a good number of people still heard him. The interpreter at Mosorijin's side had not yet had time to tell him what The King had specifically said, but Mosorijin himself had already sensed that something was wrong. Across the way, smiles had broken out across the front ranks of the Huaxia battle formation—smiles born of sheer absurdity, surprise, bewilderment, and then profound relief, welling straight from the heart. Some of them even looked like they were grinning like fools. At the same time, a surge of fierce, high-spirited morale seemed to rise throughout their ranks. Tu Zi, standing in the clearing between the three army formations, was caught off guard for a second as well. Then he suddenly activated his device and leapt into the air, soaring high. "The King wishes to battle Ivan!" Tu Zi bellowed in Xiongzanli as he ascended. "Major The Qing wishes to battle Ivan!" he twisted his head around and shouted in Huaxia language. With the aid of source energy, his raspy, throat-shredding shout echoed across the entire battlefield. Now everyone heard it loud and clear. At this moment, the Splinter Faction's ranks descended into utter agitation and turmoil... This was clearly not how things were supposed to go. Mosorijin froze, dumbfounded, before ducking his head and coughing violently. Meanwhile, the Huaxia formation across from him should have erupted in cheers of deep emotion. Everyone present understood that the linchpin of the Xiongzanli Splinter Faction's entire plan was Butcher Ivan leading two supers on a suicide charge capable of threatening Chen Buer's life—and Azure, Huaxia, and indeed the entire world could not afford to lose Chen Buer. Now, the person Major Qing had called out by name to fight was Ivan. He had picked the most dangerous one of all. Some things no longer needed to be stated aloud, even though just minutes earlier, he and the commander-in-chief had been tearing into each other. Huaxia's Major Qing had just declared that he would never return, would never fight for Azure again, and would never fight side by side with Azure's forces... Yet here he stood, sword in hand, preparing to take matters into his own hands. He was like a headstrong child who still cared and fretted deep down, yet stubbornly refused to admit it out of pure spite. The soldiers had not immediately burst into cheers because of an overpowering sense of absurdity... "How could he just turn around and say that in such an ordinary voice? Like it was the most natural thing in the world." "Yeah. Looking back, it's as if he only did all that earlier just to get Miss Milla back safely." In their hearts, the soldiers thought it felt almost like an act of fraud. "He was chatting so nicely with Mosorijin just a moment ago... Well, Mosorijin must be crushed right now. The warrior on the Dome Leaderboard he envisioned—The King of legendary renown—probably wasn't supposed to be like this." "Uh, the one in my mind... wasn't like this either." The soldiers murmured in low voices. Almost all of them had heard the legends, but for the vast majority, this was their very first time laying eyes on the famed Major The Qing. He seemed a bit different from what they had imagined. Tu Zi didn't think so, because he was very well-acquainted with Han Qingyu—and shared a long-standing debt with him. *Brother Qingzi really is still Brother Qingzi!* the little interpreter thought with deep feeling as his feet hit the ground. *Still just as shameless as ever. Acting so calm and matter-of-fact as he completely tosses away all shame... Cough, cough.* "This brat... Hmph!" Around the same time, Chen Buer turned his head aside and blew out a breath. Getting all emotional and touched over something was far too soft and womanly; the great commander-in-chief would have none of it. The invincible man under heaven couldn't act like that. Even if he had, in truth, reached the age where one might indulge in such sentiments. *He picked Ivan!* *So this is out of worry, out of concern... Is he looking down on me?! Bah, like hell this old man needs your help!* The old man fumed inwardly. *If it's Ivan, the kid probably can't take him!* As rank five on the Dome Leaderboard, Ivan was someone whose strength Chen Buer understood well enough. Before coming here, even the old chief of staff had cautioned him about the ferocity of Ivan's blade and told him to be prudent. Yet Chen Buer did not speak up to stop Han Qingyu. Because he was right here on the field. Besides, Han Qingyu's crew had never been the well-behaved, rule-following sort; if he truly found himself outmatched, the two supers behind him and that gun wouldn't just stand by and watch. Mosorijin finally caught Han Qingyu's gaze. "Th-this..." he stammered, all trace of his earlier calm, ruthless confidence when holding all the cards and threatening Huaxia and Chen Buer entirely gone. "Miss Milla was injured," Han Qingyu said, and Tu Zi translated his words across. It seemed The King was willing to offer an explanation after all, even though he had no need to explain himself if he truly wished to do something. "B-but was she injured? That young lady?" Mosorijin hesitated, a sharp glint flickering in his eyes before he steadied himself and said, "Due to the clash that night, quite a few among the captives were inevitably injured." This served as both a strained explanation and a subtle threat; Mosorijin glanced toward the crowd of captives as he spoke. Han Qingyu ignored him and didn't bother looking over. He simply continued, "And as you may know, I intend to go kill Alphonse." "Yes!" Mosorijin grew agitated at once. "Then I believe Major Qing has even less reason to stand with Azure! The man you intend to kill is their hero! Those you help today might very well be the ones standing in your way tomorrow..." "No, this has nothing to do with Azure." Han Qingyu paused, then said, "I just want to fight, that's all." Tu Zi relayed Han Qingyu's words, mimicking that serious tone. The entire battlefield went silent. "Since Mr. Ivan's ranking on the Dome Leaderboard is roughly comparable to Alphonse's, I want to seize this opportunity to exchange moves with him," Han Qingyu continued in all seriousness. Once again, total silence fell over the entire field. "Suddenly that sounds awfully reasonable. What do you guys think?" Wen Jifei asked. Beside him, Rusty Sister and Wu Xu both nodded. In truth, everyone felt the logic held up quite well, but facing the consequences it might bring, Mosorijin could not agree. He was about to scramble for another way out when— "I agree." It was spoken in English with a Xiongzanli accent. The speaker appeared, descending from the grassy slope on the opposite side. Butcher Ivan glanced at Mosorijin as he spoke, but he clearly had no intention of consulting him. He appeared to be in his forties, with a face that bore the classic, menacing cast of a Xiongzanli warrior. By rights he should have been quite tall, but because of his immense breadth, his thick, high-set shoulders, his short neck, and his large, gleaming bald head, he did not look tall at all. He walked down the grassy slope, dragging a long blade along the ground. The blade was broad, thick, and long—no less imposing than a column sword. "It should have been like this from the start. Let me hack you to death first, and then I'll see how many strikes it takes for Chen Buer to hack me down." So spoke Butcher Ivan, his device roaring to life in the very same breath.