Chapter 139 Confrontation

Chapter 139: Showdown

Alutai stared at Batur's corpse on the ground, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably.

He slowly raised his head, his eyes blazing with insane fury: "Zhou people! How dare you—"

"Your Highness, watch your tongue." Cheng Ge suddenly interrupted him, his voice as light as a feather brushing against a blade's edge. "In a sparring match, life and death are up to fate."

He bent down to pick up the gilded wine cup that Alutai had dropped, his fingertips gently tracing the gems along its rim.

Turning his body slightly, he raised an eyebrow and looked at Alutai: "What, can't you Beidi folks take a loss?"

"You're—courting—death!" Alutai suddenly drew the curved blade from his waist, its tip pointing straight at Cheng Ge's throat.

Alutai moved like a sudden storm, swift and fierce, leaving no time for anyone to react.

In a blink, Alutai was on him, swinging his blade down.

This strike carried the force of thunder, as if it would tear the very space apart.

In that instant, everyone's hearts leapt into their throats.

Time seemed to freeze in that moment, and even breathing became a struggle.

Zhou Mingqi's heart lurched. He shot up from the dragon throne, his pupils constricting sharply.

The air seemed to vanish, and the faint sound of a heart screaming through the chest cavity could be heard.

Just when everyone thought Cheng Ge was about to get drenched in blood!

"Clang—!" A deafening clash of metal rang out.

Alutai's curved blade collided with the teacup in Cheng Ge's hand, sparks flying in all directions!

No one expected Cheng Ge to parry the prince's full-power strike with a teacup!

The teacup didn't break, but the blade hummed and quivered. Shock flickered in Alutai's eyes.

He stumbled back, eyes bloodshot, muscles bulging like iron.

He raised his curved blade again and swung it down with mountain-splitting, stone-cracking force!

Before the blade even came, the fierce wind sent Cheng Ge's robes flapping noisily.

A cold glint flashed in Cheng Ge's eyes, and instead of retreating, he advanced.

His right hand slammed hard into the weapon rack, and a twelve-foot spear with red tassels shot up in response.

The spear shaft trembled, the bowl-sized red tassels billowing like blood waves, the spearpoint exploding with cold light, carving a brilliant, sorrowful arc in the air.

"Clang—!" The spearpoint clashed with the blade edge, sparks bursting like fireworks.

Alutai felt a tremendous force transmitted through the blade, numbing his hand.

Before he could switch up, Cheng Ge's spear attack came like a raging storm.

Spear shadows piled up like a dragon bursting from the sea.

Cheng Ge's spear technique balanced hardness and softness, sometimes as deadly as a viper's strike, sometimes as fierce and unmatched as a tiger descending a mountain.

Alutai was forced to retreat repeatedly, his curved blade barely parrying, completely dominated.

"Roar!" Alutai suddenly let out a fierce shout, veins bulging all over his body.

He gripped his blade with both hands, his blade style abruptly turning wild and frenzied—a reckless, life-or-death gambit! Blade light poured like a waterfall, each strike carrying the will to die together.

Cheng Ge's eyebrow lifted slightly, and his spear technique suddenly shifted.

He flicked his wrist, and the spearhead coiled around the blade like a viper, straight for Alutai's throat!

This strike was as fast as lightning. Alutai lurched back, and the spearpoint grazed his neck, leaving a trail of blood.

He hissed, sucking in a cold breath. Before he could steady himself, Cheng Ge's spear shaft swung around like an iron bar!

"Bam!" It hit Alutai square in the side.

Alutai grunted, stumbling back, each step leaving deep prints.

"Zhou dogs!" Alutai roared furiously, suddenly pulling a poisoned dagger with a faint blue sheen from his boot.

He darted low like a ghost, stabbing the dagger straight at Cheng Ge's heart!

At the last second, Cheng Ge's body abruptly dodged backward.

With his right hand, he blocked the dagger with the spear, while his left hand whipped out a blood-red flash from his sleeve!

"Clang—!" The two daggers collided in midair, erupting with blinding sparks!

Alutai's pupils contracted sharply, his face full of disbelief—that was unmistakably Wuliji's dagger!

The moment Alutai was distracted, Cheng Ge's spear struck like a thunderbolt.

The spearhead shot out like a viper's tongue, instantly piercing through Alutai's right shoulder!

"Ah!" Alutai screamed in agony, his curved blade clattering to the ground.

Cheng Ge twisted his wrist and drove the spear shaft into the back of Alutai's knee.

"Crack!" The sound of bone breaking was loud.

Alutai crashed heavily onto both knees, blood gushing from his shoulder, staining the floor scarlet.

Cheng Ge pulled back his spear and stood tall, the spearpoint slanting toward the ground.

He looked down at the kneeling Alutai, a cold glint flickering in his eyes: "So much for Beidi warriors."

The entire arena fell into dead silence.

Only the red-tasseled spear tip, a single drop of blood slowly falling, splashing into a vivid crimson blossom on the arena floor.

Cheng Ge stepped closer, his toe dipping into the pool of blood, looking down at his opponent.

"Who killed the deer? The game's not over yet."

With that, Cheng Ge lightly raised his bloodied toe and pressed it against Alutai's forehead.

With a loud thud, Alutai's mountain-like figure crashed down off the arena.

He lay on his back, hands propping him up, struggling twice to rise, but finally ended up lying beside the dead deer. Cheng Ge: Tsk... I suddenly feel kinda handsome. What's up with that?

The Beidi delegation immediately erupted into chaos. Dozens of burly men roared and drew their curved blades, charging toward the martial stage like a pack of wolves.

"Zhou people! You go too far—"

Blade-light glinted in the setting sun, and a murderous aura filled the air.

"Protect His Majesty!" The Imperial Guard commander bellowed, and hundreds of golden-armored guards immediately formed a battle formation.

Shields clashed with a dull thunder, and spears bristled like a forest, pointed directly at the Beidi people.

Zhou Mingqi slammed the table and rose. As his dragon robe flapped, he even knocked over the imperial table.

Teacups shattered on the ground, but he was oblivious to it all. His eyes were locked on the figure on the stage, standing tall with a spear.

Yet, at this critical moment—

Cheng Ge's pupils constricted. On the distant ridge, a flash of cold light pierced the twilight.

Like lightning, he grabbed the nearest Beidi warrior and yanked him in front of himself to use as a shield.

With a "whoosh," three poisoned crossbow bolts struck the warrior's chest in a triangular pattern, the fletchings still quivering.

"Protect the Emperor!" Cheng Ge roared, his figure already darting like a ghost to Zhou Mingqi's side.

Without a word, he wrapped his arm around the emperor's waist, rolled them to the ground, and shielded the back of the emperor's head with his hand.

Three dull thuds followed as three more bolts embedded themselves deep into the very spot where they had just stood. The bluestone slabs sizzled and corroded under the poison.

"Northwest ridge!" Cheng Ge snatched a nearby guard's sword with his free hand and deflected a fourth incoming bolt with a sharp clang. The arrowhead scraped along the blade, sending sparks flying.

Screams erupted all around, and the people below fled in panic.

The Imperial Guard archers immediately pivoted, and a hundred bows were drawn fully.

"Loose!" At the command, a rain of arrows poured down, blotting out the sky, toward the ridge.