Chapter 145: Fortune Comes Knocking

  Poke it?

  Philip's hair stood on end, the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitching wildly. How could he possibly agree to this? It was absurd! He had seen it with his own eyes that day - this guy had pierced the magician's defensive magic shield with just one sword strike!

  "You're pushing me too far! I, I, I'm going to fight you!!"

  Philip was also a high-ranking warrior, and at this moment, he was forced into a corner with no room for retreat. With a burst of ferocity, his killer instincts were ignited.

  The current situation is either you die or I perish! As Xia Ya stepped closer and closer, he gritted his teeth, let out a loud roar, raised the Silver Cross Sword, and a silver aura descended. With both hands gripping the hilt, he struck at Xia Ya with all his might.

  This sword can be said to have used up all his life's energy, and the aura that arrived at the place where the fight was taking place, a half-moon-shaped light blade burst out, and the degree of the aura, actually in the desperate situation, exceeded the standard performance!

  Xia Ya's eyes locked onto the incoming attack, a gleaming blade slicing down towards him. Despite his slow pace earlier, he had been secretly on guard, holding his breath in anticipation. As the blade reached his face, he swiftly raised his fire-tipped spear and struck back with ferocity.

  With a loud crash, the light blade was struck into four or five pieces. Wen Xia's body shook and his heart retreated two steps back. His right hand grasping the fire fork trembled from arm to fingers! Philip's strength was not ordinary after all. When he really went all out, his momentum was naturally astonishing. This guy had already crazily pounced over, his long sword trembling, one wave after another of sword light and air like crazy stabbing over, instantly countless silver lights enveloped Xia in them!

  The stands around them erupted in thunderous applause, and in the preliminary round, they could see a high-ranking warrior exerting his full strength, stirring up the blood of these spectators. Especially looking at Xia Ya, who was shrouded in silver light, it seemed that they would soon be able to see the scene of being slaughtered by chaotic blades. How could these spectators, who were eager to see a brutal and thrilling scene, not be excited?

  Suddenly, Xia Ya appeared there, a flash of red light in his eyes. In an instant, Xia Ya's line of sight was straight, and the speed of the incoming silver light slowed down, as if it had become several times slower!

  Originally, the Dou Qi light seemed to be shot at the same time, but in Xia Ya's eyes, it suddenly separated into before and after, slowly coming. In a piece of light, a clear gap appeared one by one, and originally dense sword net, in Xia Ya's view, was actually full of holes and gaps!!

  The toad let out a loud, maniacal laugh and took a step forward, advancing instead of retreating! He then crouched down low, transforming into what seemed like a mountain cat or leopard, his body somehow squeezing through the dense sword energy.

  It was as if the dense sword lights that seemed to have been launched at the same time had all missed him! At this moment, Xia Ya's body in the eyes of the tens of thousands of spectators in the stands was like a ghost, and although he was under the scorching sun, he suddenly became so imperceptible. With just a few light steps, a twist and a turn, he transformed into a residual shadow that flashed past through the sword lights!

  Philip had completely let go, his entire body's aura bursting out, the sword's edge slashing out like a stormy rain, the aura surging wildly, with one heart intent on cutting down this guy under his sword. In the eyes of the surrounding crowd, he was going crazy with his hacking and slashing, but clearly saw Xia Ya step by step approaching! Those countless sword auras and auras, however, were always dodged by Xia Ya's strange movements, and finally after getting close to within several steps, Xia Ya made her move!

  The fire fork was still a black line that surged out, and with a few loud noises, the nearby Dou Qi light was directly shattered by him! Finally, it rushed to Philip's face, Philip exerted himself to hold up his sword and stabbed, but Xia Ya held the fire fork horizontally in front of his waist, and with a forceful collision... With a "ding" sound, Philip's white silver cross-shaped sword instantly broke into two pieces! Xia Ya's elbow directly collided with Philip's chest.

  That originally magnificent silver chest armor was suddenly smashed out of a dent, and the fragments of the silver armor burst forth amidst the sound of metal shattering, accompanied by a series of "cracking" sounds of bones bursting!

  Philip threw his head back, a mouthful of blood shooting up into the air as he flew backwards and fell out!

  At this moment, Xia Ya suddenly accelerated his movements! His footsteps were like lightning, and he rushed forward. Just as Philip was about to fall backwards, his body parallel to the ground, Xia Ya flew up and caught up with him! Before Philip could even hit the ground, a punch landed squarely on his shoulder!

  The tortoise's heavy punch was again in the state of destroying the crimson killing intent, how terrifying is its power?! This punch went down, and the fist wind even brought a faint red light, directly tearing Philip's shoulder armor, hitting Philip suddenly spinning around, spinning several times, heavily crashing into the ground!

  In the martial arena, the ground was originally covered with yellow earth, but Philip was directly punched by Xia Ya and deeply embedded in the soil, with more than half of his body buried! After falling to the ground, the armor on his body had lost its shape, and blood spurted out of his mouth nonstop!

  At this moment, the whole audience fell into a dead silence!!!

  It seemed that in an instant, tens of thousands of people in the entire arena widened their eyes and held their breath, staring fixedly at Xia Ya and Philip in the martial arts arena!

  No, didn't you see it wrong?

  A high-ranking martial artist, defeated with just a few moves? That's not some stray cat or dog! But a genuine, authentic high-ranking martial artist!!!!!!

  After a while, the whole field suddenly burst into cheers! Countless people stood up and applauded wildly, shouting and screaming, while others pointed at Xia Ya and cursed - this man was furious and tore up the betting slip in his hand, probably all the gamblers who had bet on Philip's victory, Xia Ya's several heavy punches directly blasted Philip away, also making these gamblers' money all turn into flowing water...

  The whole field was shouting and scolding, some cheering and others cursing, amidst the thunderous noise, Xia Ya walked up to Philip.

  At this moment, Philip can't even stand up straight.

  Xia Ya grabbed his hair and pulled Philip out of the pit, holding him high in the air. He was originally taller and larger than Philip, and now he was holding the other's hair aloft, with Philip's feet dangling in mid-air, unable to even struggle.

  Xia Ya deliberately did not make a move, but turned around and looked up at the surrounding viewing platform.

  Finally, something is happening on the podium!

  Countless people, whether cheering or jeering, and many gamblers who had bet on Philip, hated him for not fighting back. Some of them had previously placed bets on Philip's opponent and were furious that he had caused them to lose money. At one point, almost half the crowd raised their handkerchiefs, and the stands were a sea of white as countless voices shouted:

  "Kill! Kill him!!"

  "Kill him!!"

  "Cut off his head!!!" Amidst the rising and falling cries, Xia Ya's face was filled with cold smiles.

  It was these people who, just a moment before, had cheered Philip and extolled him as a hero, but now that Philip was defeated, he was like a dog or a chicken to be slaughtered in their eyes.

  Philip, although already battered, still had a clear consciousness. He saw the fluttering handkerchiefs in the stands and heard the thunderous cries of "Kill!" from the crowd. His heart was filled with horror and despair as he struggled, choking on blood, and begged desperately: "No, don't kill me! Please don't kill me... I'll give you money! A lot of it... a lot, a lot of money!"

  He no longer had any semblance of arrogance at this moment, coughing non-stop, with blood gushing out wildly.

  If it were just after the battle, Xia Ya had made up his mind to kill this Philip with one blow. He was ambushed on the road and the turtle's temperament is not what it used to be, his idea is to have revenge for past grievances!

  But at this moment, looking at those distorted and twisted faces on the platform, it's as if they were the same faces that just a few minutes ago cheered and shouted for this dying man...

  Suddenly, a kind of irrepressible disgust arose in his heart! He only felt that the surrounding faces were twisted and distorted, and the shouting "kill" sound was so piercingly disgusting to his ears!

  He looked at Philip who was on his last breath in his hands and suddenly picked up the fire fork...

  Ahh!!

  Dark light flashed by, blood splashed up!

  Philip's whole body trembled, and he let out a loud cry of despair. He saw that the thumbs on both his left and right hands had been severed at the root, and two short fingers lay in the yellow earth, with fresh blood flowing profusely, a shocking sight to behold.

  Xia Yashan let go of his hand, and Philip was thrown to the ground. Amidst the surrounding cries for killing, he coldly said: "Your thumbs were cut off by me, don't think about using knives, swords, bows or guns again in this life. Your breastbone was exploded by me, your shoulders are also broken, from now on... just be an ordinary person!"

  Philip wailed in agony, his body curled up into a ball on the ground, while Xia Ya ignored him and walked directly to the edge of the martial arena.

  His actions instantly sparked the entire audience's **, and for Xia Ya's merciful approach, those enthusiastic spectators were not buying it at all. Instantly, they triggered thousands of people to curse loudly, a cacophony of shouting and screaming.

  Xia Ya stood at the edge of the arena, gazing coldly at the circle of frenzied spectators above, her heart filled with contempt.

  Millions of insults and provocations were thrown at him, but Xia Ya stood there, coldly laughing, looking around with his head held high, and suddenly raised the fire fork!

  He raised his pitchfork high, pointing it at the shouting crowds in the stands, and let out a loud, arrogant laugh. Even if there were tens of millions of people jeering, they couldn't suppress his wild laughter.

  "Want to kill someone? Come down and do it yourself! If you're not satisfied with Laozi, come down and deliver your own death!!"

  His action was simply against the tens of thousands of spectators in the audience, and as the crowd's emotions reached a boiling point, with curses and boos pouring down like a tide, Xia Ya remained calm and unruffled.

  He stood there for a whole minute, and those on the platform scolded him, but after all, no one dared to jump down like Xia Ya before.

  Xia Ya's face gradually revealed a scornful smile: "I don't care!"

  He leaped onto the platform, and the densely packed crowd around him gazed up at him. The people who were originally shouting insults suddenly retreated in fear, hiding behind others, before regaining their courage to continue jeering. Xia Ya paid no attention to them and walked directly towards the platform. Wherever he went, although the curses continued unabated, the people beside him retreated one after another, clearing a path for him.

  He walked up to Afreca's side, Xie Ya glanced around with a slanted gaze: "Let's go! This place is full of cowards!"

  Xia Ya and Afreca's departure was just an interlude for the tens of thousands of spectators in the arena. They had long since grown fond of standing in the "safe zone" of the stands, looking down at the warriors fighting to the death, watching as flesh flew and heads rolled, and then applauding with delight.

  Standing by and watching, shrinking in the crowd, that courage is greater than anything, but to take the lead, it's too late to dodge. Such behavior is laughable and pitiful.

  Xia Ya and Afreeca left the arena, but in an instant, the audience's attention was diverted to another duel stage. A warrior wielding an axe chopped down his opponent, creating a bloody scene that triggered wave after wave of frenzy... As for Philip, who had been defeated and carried away earlier, and Xia Ya, who had "offended everyone", who would still remember them?

  What life-and-death battles, what warriors' glory, what heroic courage... For these spectators, it's just a matter of tossing a few coins, watching a lively show, and getting some conversation material for after dinner.

  Who would really care?!!

  Out of the arena, the streets were still crowded with people, and the warriors came and went in an endless stream, all rushing towards their holy land - the arena. For these warriors, the arena was where they made a name for themselves, it was where their hopes for survival lay, if they succeeded, they could win both fame and fortune, but if they were defeated... then they would be dead!!

  Looking at the people on the street, although those walking warriors and civilians were all excited and agitated, but in Xia Ya's eyes, these people were numb and ruthless, with disgust and contempt filling their dull eyes.

  Afureka beside Shaya noticed the emotional change, and softly sighed: "Sir, you don't have to be disgusted by such things... For thousands of years, on this arena, countless warriors have fallen. Endless fighters came one after another, just for a fleeting reputation."

  "It's all just a bunch of nonsense." Xia Ya sneered: "Real martial valor is about going to the battlefield and fighting for your life. Here, you're nothing but a clown in the eyes of those who pay to watch. This kind of thing is no different from me spending money to drink and listen to some chick sing 'Eighteen Touches' - it's all just a waste! What honor is there in being a warrior? It's just a fancy way of saying prostitute!"

  Afule Kartte, after all, also came from a competitive sports background. After hearing what Xiaya said, his face couldn't help but become somewhat unnatural. Xiaya turned her head to look at Afule Kartte and coldly said: "If you think I'm wrong, there's nothing beautiful about it. In any case, things that make me unhappy are still unhappy. From now on, if you're willing to follow me and do things together, then let's get these words clear! Those who have the qualifications to stand by my side as a companion, regardless of their abilities being high or low, must first be a person! A dignified and upright person! Not someone who hangs onto some dogshit warrior honor and goes around doing prostitute-like things!"

  Afreca's face turned gloomy, and he let out a sigh. He spoke calmly: "Sir, I'm not ignorant of these words. How many warriors have fought to the death in the arena, risking their lives, suffering severe injuries, just to earn the scornful laughter of those in the stands... Do you think I don't understand this logic? It's just that this is how the world works. If it weren't so, what would all these millions of warriors in the empire do for a living? Would they all become bodyguards or mercenaries? At least in the arena, one can gain a brief moment of glory... But how many warriors are forced to live in poverty, struggling to survive?"

  Xia Ya said nothing more, patted Afreca's shoulder to show understanding. Immediately the two men didn't say much more, Xia Ya also lost interest in playing, and his intention to seek out a famous archer for guidance also faded away. In his heart, he really didn't think much of these so-called "glorious warriors" who had abandoned their dignity to go to the arena and fight for the amusement of the crowd. How could there be any true strongmen among such people?

  A true strong person would never allow themselves to be humiliated like this! A true strong person, how could they let their martial skills become a circus show for the masses?!

  Two people rode horses back home, as soon as they entered the door, they suddenly heard someone outside coming to visit.

  Sui Cong followed Suoyi out of the door and welcomed him, and soon people came in with him.

  Xia Ya stood in the courtyard and saw a horse carriage stopped at the entrance of the street outside the gate. The horse carriage was nothing special, just an ordinary commercial horse carriage with a certain merchant's emblem hanging on it.

  Among the visiting guests, the one walking in front was a middle-aged man with a long sword. This middle-aged man had an ordinary appearance, wearing a warrior's robe and long leather boots. As he walked into the courtyard, he directly bowed his head and waist to Xia Ya, but the salute he gave was not a warrior's salute, but rather the etiquette of paying respects to nobility.

  "Who are you?" Xia Ya frowned.

  The middle-aged man smiled and pointed to his mouth, opening it wide. The tongue in his mouth had been cut off by half! Xia Ya took a look and frowned tightly.

  The middle-aged man's face was calm and unhurried, he turned around and pointed behind him. Behind him, two servants in plain clothes were carrying a trunk together, the trunk wasn't big, but the two of them carried it with great effort, looking very strained.

  The box was placed in front of Xia Ya, the middle-aged man bowed again and made a respectful expression, but suddenly pulled out his sword. His movements were also agile and sharp! Afureika on the side saw that his opponent had pulled out his sword and immediately raised an eyebrow, with his hand on the hilt of his own sword. However, Xia Ya quickly grabbed Afureika's arm, a cold smile spreading across her face.

  Achoo!!!!!

  The middle-aged man slashed the wooden box with one sword, and his swordsmanship was surprisingly fierce. With one slash, the wooden box was split open and suddenly collapsed with a crash!

  All that can be seen is a dazzling array of gold, and the Byzantine Empire's gold coins are revealed one by one from the broken boxes!! At a rough glance, there are probably over a thousand or two!!

  The middle-aged man quickly put away the long sword, pressed his hand to his chest, and bowed deeply to Xia Ya. He then slowly backed away until he reached the door, turned around, and left with two servants. The sound of carriage wheels could be heard outside, and they didn't even stop for a moment.