Chapter 104: Chapter 83: The Next Contestant

Sure enough, just as Zod had said, Gray’s breathing faltered on the tenth blow, revealing an opening.

Gray, his strength seemingly spent, also noticed this momentary opening. He halted his axe and retreated, apparently intending to catch his breath and recover his energy before attacking again.

But at that moment, the Silver Demon Hunter, Andre, looked up, his gaze sharp. He clearly realized this was his only chance.

The moment Gray pulled back, Andre charged forward, closing the distance! His blade shrieked as it sliced through the air, its glint reflecting the look in both their eyes.

Both equally sharp, equally shrewd.

Andre realized something was wrong and hurriedly tried to retreat, but it was too late!

The Barbarian Bear Knight pivoted, dodging the blade flashing toward his face, and swung his giant axe in a wide, horizontal cleave at Andre!

’The opening in his breathing was just a trap! He still has plenty of stamina!’

Andre spun around and, with a flick of his wrist, brought his long saber up to block the brutal edge of the giant axe.

The deadlock lasted only for a moment before Andre was sent flying from the platform like a kite with a snapped string!

He crashed to the ground, coughing up a spray of blood!

A Wizard was already on standby with a Healing Magic Card to treat his injuries—all at the City Government’s expense.

"The match is over! The winner of this round of the Hunting Competition is the Glorious Knight Order’s Barbarian Bear Knight, Gray!

This is his seventh consecutive win! The overall score for the Hunting Competition is now 34 to 25, with the Demon Hunters trailing slightly."

As the announcer’s voice rang out, Gray stood on the platform, triumphantly raising both arms. His powerful, heroic posture elicited a roar of cheers from the entire crowd.

Some cheered, while others did not.

The ones cheering had won money; the ones who weren’t had lost.

The combined screams of men and women were so deafening they could have knocked a sparrow right out of the sky.

Gray roared on the platform. He swung his giant axe, stirring up a whirlwind, then planted its haft on the floor. He provocatively jerked his chin toward Amel’s pavilion, where the Demon Hunters were gathered, and bellowed, "Who’s next!"

But when he saw Victor frowning in disapproval from under the canopy, he quickly turned his head to roar and beat his chest in another direction.

As the son of the Knight Commander of the Barbarian Bear Knight Order, he certainly had the capital to be arrogant.

Unfortunately, Victor was simply too strong to beat. Moreover, Victor was a model Knight Commander who took his duties seriously. Thus, even someone as proud and pig-headed as Gray could only wholeheartedly submit to his authority.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen! It looks like not even our own ’Mysterious Hunter Andre’ could stop the victorious momentum of the ’Barbarian Bear Knight Gray’!

But today’s competition isn’t over yet! According to the rotation system from registration, the opponent our Barbarian Bear Knight Gray will face in the final match is...

The First Hunter Association’s Intern Demon Hunter... Allen?"

The announcer’s expression was odd as he read this, as if he thought he’d misread the contestant’s description.

He thought he might have mistaken a Black Iron or Bronze rank for ’Intern,’ but a closer look confirmed it: the word was, indeed, ’Intern’.

After confirming with the officials off-stage that there was no mistake, the announcer simply omitted the "Intern" prefix—which would only drive up the betting odds—and began to loudly call out Allen’s name.

"Let’s have a round of applause for Demon Hunter Allen! Allen!"

But no matter how hoarsely the announcer on stage called for the Demon Hunter named Allen, the audience below—including the high-ranking officials and tycoons on the sidelines—remained thoroughly uninterested. Some spectators even began to leave.

They probably thought the fight had lost all suspense.

If even Andre, the deputy leader of the Rose Hunting Group with a five-win streak, had lost to Gray, what could a freelance Intern Demon Hunter who wasn’t even in the official registry possibly do?

"Will contestant Allen please come to the stage!"

The announcer shouted again.

This caught the attention of some of the spectators.

The Intern Demon Hunter still hadn’t appeared on the platform.

’Did he get scared and run away?’

’Or maybe he forfeited without a fight?’

Everyone in the audience, sharing the same thought, craned their necks to look at the iron gate of the contestants’ entrance.

Gray crossed his arms and sneered. "So this is all Fude City’s Demon Hunters amount to."

"Is he afraid?" Victor said, frowning. "If he didn’t want to fight, why did he register? The Demon Hunters of Fude City are so rude."

Although he knew Victor meant no harm—the man simply said whatever was on his mind—Lewis suddenly understood how Ferdinand felt.

’When this guy says something that leaves you speechless, it’s impossible to find a good comeback.’

Lewis frowned and asked an attendant, "What’s the deal with that Intern Demon Hunter? If he doesn’t want to get on stage, he should have said so earlier. The betting has already started—what is he trying to pull?"

"Is he deliberately trying to make Fude City lose face in front of Mr. Stephen and the noble guests from Amel Country?"

The attendant quickly jogged over to the contestants’ area to ask the attendant there. He received the reply, "Allen is in position," and hurried back to inform Lewis.

The announcer on stage, who had also been informed that the contestant was in position, once again began his introduction, straining his voice:

"Let’s once again give a warm round of applause to welcome Gray’s next opponent: the First Hunter Association’s Intern Demon Hunter, Allen!"

As if to vent his frustration with how long the contestant had kept everyone waiting, the announcer, far from avoiding the topic, deliberately stressed the word "Intern."

The iron gate of the contestants’ platform was pulled open by a steam engine. As a great cloud of steam billowed out, a dark figure shot through the mist like a low-flying swift and rushed onto the stage.

Once the figure stood firm on the platform, the stands erupted in a roar like a tidal wave, with the screams of the noble ladies being the most piercing.

Lewis was just about to say something to defuse the awkwardness from the contestant’s delay when he turned his head and saw Amel beside him, her red lips parted in disbelief.

Behind Ferdinand, the expression on a burly Demon Hunter’s face darkened, and a strange light flickered in his eyes.

Outside the canopy, the Demon Hunters under Amel’s command, including Andre who was still on the ground being treated by a Wizard with a Magic Card, all lifted their heads.

Zod, mid-drink, was so stunned he didn’t even notice his flask spilling onto the ground. Maguire’s mind went completely blank, his knuckles digging unconsciously into the block of ice behind him.

Just then, a female attendant in a black silk dress happened to pass by. Zod grabbed her arm, heedless of whether he was hurting her.

As the attendant cried out in pain, he pulled all his worldly possessions—a handful of Silver Coins—from his pockets, shoved them into her hands, and pointed at the black-clad young man on the stage.

"Bet on him! L... no, Allen! The odds are one to four right now, right? I’m betting on Allen to win!!!"