Chapter 236 - Challenge at the Banquet

That night, Han Wu and Qin Shuang attended the banquet alongside a gathering of high-ranking palace officials.

From the conversations drifting around the hall, Han Wu picked up a few things about Luo Wulei. The latter had been stationed there for three years and was due for a promotion according to palace regulations. Yet, for reasons unknown, he had not received it. Anxious, Luo Wulei frequently hosted banquets, inviting influential officials to drink and soothe his nerves. On the surface, it looked as though Han Wu had been invited simply because one such banquet happened to fall on this day.

Han Wu and Qin Shuang sat side by side, quietly savoring a rare sweet unique to the palace. They watched the officials carefully, sensing strange, probing looks aimed their way.

Qin Shuang whispered, “Han Wu, they’re watching us like something’s about to happen. It feels like we’re the only ones in the dark.”

“Stay alert. We must be ready to leave the moment danger arises,” Han Wu replied calmly.

They were strong, but they knew this was not the Divine Civilization, so caution remained essential.

Luo Wulei entered a short while later, dressed casually, and raised a glass to toast the crowd. Han Wu, disinterested, quietly drank his tea instead of wine and showed no regard for Luo Wulei’s presence.

Luo Wulei looked insulted and winked at his deputy. The deputy general caught the signal and raised his cup to toast Han Wu and Qin Shuang. “You two are outsiders who have traveled far to be here. Let me toast you in celebration.”

Han Wu raised his cup with lazy indifference and took a light sip of tea. Many officials nearby bristled with anger at his behavior.

“You’re an outsider! How dare you act so disrespectfully!”

“I say we chase them out and save ourselves the trouble.”

Han Wu paid no attention and continued eating peacefully. He even picked some of Qin Shuang’s favorite dishes and passed them to her.

At this point, the deputy general’s patience had worn thin. “I’m offering you wine, and you respond with tea? Don’t you think that’s a bit arrogant?”

“I prefer tea. If you think it’s rude, you can stop toasting me,” Han Wu replied flatly.

The deputy general grew more agitated. “So you refuse to drink wine with me because you look down on me?”

Han Wu waved a finger dismissively. “No. I’d still be looking down on you even if I were drinking wine.”

The deputy general snapped and drew his sword, ready to strike down Han Wu. In his ten years of service, he had never been so thoroughly humiliated. Yet, Han Wu and Qin Shuang remained composed as if the man before them posed no threat at all.

At that moment, Luo Wulei rose to his feet. “Outsiders, aren’t you being a little too arrogant, humiliating my subordinate like this?”

Han Wu glanced at him. “You’re only realizing that now? I assumed you already knew we looked down on you.”

Luo Wulei fell silent. He finally understood that arguing with Han Wu was pointless. He turned to violence, pointing his weapon at Han Wu. “I see there’s no use talking. Come, fight me for 300 bouts.”

Han Wu scoffed. “Three hundred? That won’t be necessary. I could beat you in just a few. Haven’t you already experienced that firsthand?”

Luo Wulei growled at the memory. “Fine. Since you’re so confident, fight me one-on-one and prove who is stronger.”

At last, he revealed his true motive for inviting Han Wu to the banquet. He had planned to provoke him into a public duel and use his strength to kill him.

Han Wu was at a loss for words.

He invited me all the way to this banquet just for this? Clearly, I overestimated Luo Wulei’s cunning.

Han Wu sighed and decided to indulge Luo Wulei’s game. “Fine. I just ate, so some exercise will help with digestion.”

Suddenly, Luo Wulei spoke up. “Wait, I have one condition. You can’t use that black Skull Guillotine during our duel.”

He still remembered how the Skull Guillotine had appeared without warning the last time, killing him instantly. He assumed Han Wu’s victory had relied on that deadly item. Now, he felt confident he could defeat Han Wu in a fair fight.

“Fine,” Han Wu agreed.

The others quickly cleared a space, their eyes fixed on the two combatants. A drumbeat echoed through the hall, signaling the start of the duel.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Luo Wulei was the first to transform, shifting into his Lancer caste, the Yellow Lightning Lancer. Flickering yellow lightning crackled across his body with every movement.

Han Wu followed suit. Instead of summoning the skeletons he usually relied on or his core race, the Dark Cursed Bug, he transformed into one of the powerful Lancer half-dragons he rarely used. In this form, he wielded a lance wrapped in bluish-white lightning.

The two clashed in battle. Each time their lances struck, yellow and white lightning flashed before exploding like the fury of sworn enemies.

Their weapons matched in quality, but Luo Wulei’s battle experience far surpassed Han Wu’s. He pressed the attack relentlessly until he flicked Han Wu’s lance aside. Excitement surged through Luo Wulei as he saw Han Wu defenseless. Without hesitation, he summoned a massive ball of yellow lightning at his lance’s tip, ready to obliterate his opponent.

Unexpectedly, Han Wu chuckled.

Does he really believe that half-dragons are helpless without their weapons? The lance is no longer their strongest asset.

Ever since the half-dragons had mastered Primalize, their weapons had become secondary. Just as Luo Wulei prepared to strike, Han Wu transformed. His half-dragon body swelled explosively, and he turned into a Great Dragon.

While experimenting with new Skills in his transformed state, Han Wu had realized something. If his units could learn the same Skills he acquired, then he could also gain new abilities when they did. His hunch had proven correct. Now, as a Great Dragon, he wielded the power of lightning itself.

Facing Luo Wulei’s charged lance, Han Wu opened his enormous jaws and unleashed a torrent of lightning-infused dragon breath. It swallowed Luo Wulei whole and hurled him through the air. He landed several meters away, his body charred black. No one could tell if he was still alive.

The guests watched Han Wu’s Great Dragon form with a mixture of fear and awe.