Novel Full Chapter 59 - The Longest Battle!
Chapter 59: The Longest Battle!
The sky lit up with the morning sun.
So far, the battle between Xia Fei and Chen Dong had been going on for 24 hours!
Before the second round of the assessment, the largest betting company in Endaro Star Region evaluated and ranked all 723 candidates by their strength, in which Xia Fei was ranked last.
However, the ranking was not static and would be adjusted according to the candidate’s performance.
In the first half an hour of this assessment round, Xia Fei’s rank had jumped by 50 places, taking the 673rd spot, and after 24 hours, the betting company had already bumped him up by a full 400! He was now ranked 323!
Chen Don’s odds were at 1:1.01, while Xia Fei was at 1:1000. That also meant that if Chen Dong were to win, anyone betting would get 1 star coin profit from the payout for every 100 star coins bets placed on him. But if Xia Fei were to win, a 100 star coins bet would end up with a total profit of 99,900 star coins.
The disparity in strength between both parties in the match was simply too huge. Everyone believed that there was no way for Xia Fei to win against Chen Dong in this match that exerted an overwhelming pressure on the candidates.
Although Chen Dong’s low payout rate was a little strange, it was seen as a 100% guaranteed bet, so it still drew the attention of many careful gamblers to the match. An ant was still flesh no matter how small it was; every bit counted.
Ten minutes after the opening, the betting company discovered that over a 100 million star coins had been pitched behind Chen Dong, while the bets on Xia Fei winning were a measly 50 star coins. The rumor was that the 50 star coins bet was placed by an old gambler who had accidentally pressed the wrong button when casting his bet.
The betting company acted quickly and immediately sealed any further bets for that particular match. Due to the stark contrast between the number of star coins behind the bets on either side, the market closed 10 minutes after the opening, which created a new record of the shortest opening bet period.
24 hours later, several veteran gamblers suddenly discovered that the bets for the match between Xia Fei and Chen Dong had reopened, and the odds for Chen Dong had been adjusted to 1:1.1 while Xia Fei’s victory payout had lowered to 1:50.
The shrewd betting company had not only reallowed betting for this match, but they had even added a whole new betting item for gamblers to guess when the match would end.
Starting from 25 hours, they were given options all the way to 240 hours.
When this information got out, the avid gamblers in Endaro Star Region all rallied, and in a few short days, four new records were created from Xia Fei and Chen Dong’s match in the gambling industry.
Aside from having the shortest opening bet period, they had also gotten the records of having betting reopened after being halted, the biggest adjustment in odds, and the first time the match’s duration was added as part of what could be bet on!
As such, the special match in this assessment had very quickly drawn significant attention from the many gambling enthusiasts all over the Endaro Star Region. In just the three hours after bets were reopened, the betting company announced once again that Xia Fei and Chen Dong’s match had already created a 5th record; it was the record of the fastest increase in bets!
In just 3 hours and 10 minutes, all 67 betting companies across the entire star region had accumulated 16.75 billion star coins in bets, making it an average of 88.1 million star coins every minute. This far outstripped the 57.12 million star coins worth of bets per minute record the Shuttleball Star Region championship had created years back.
…
72 hours later.
The second-largest television station in Endaro Star Region, Shell Television Station, in the largest and most luxurious live broadcast room No.1.
The number one female anchor Enya was wearing a beautiful red evening gown with her radiant smile, sitting on the hosting rostrum chair. Next to her were three special guests.
“A good evening to one and all, welcome to this special evening report here on Shell TV. We’ll be focusing on the Adjudicator Union’s Crisis grade assessment this time, and to be precise, it is one of the matches happening right now in the assessment.”
“I believe everyone already knows that the match between Xia Fei and Chen Dong had been going on for 72 hours. Several minutes ago, the Adjudicator Union had announced that this tournament had already broken the record as the longest tournament the Adjudicator Union had organized.”
Enya flashed an elegant smile as she turned to look at the aged elderly man with silver hair, “Esteemed Old Liu, you’re a top physiologist. Would Xia Fei and Chen Dong’s 72 hours of uninterrupted fierce battle with each other cause serious damage to their health? Why are they able to last so long? Would they not tire without getting any food or sleep?”
The elderly man chuckled, “Special Ability Users are still human, so of course, they would be exhausted if they do not eat or sleep. Actually, if you pay attention, the two men have been eating some high-grade food every half an hour throughout their fight to maintain their physical condition.”
“Presently, they are still maintaining their physical fitness at above 90%, but according to my calculations, they would soon be reaching their first physiological limit in 8 hours if they were to continue fighting like this. When that time comes, they would have to use much more medicinal ingredients to restore their lost vitality.”
“Furthermore, this fight is causing a lot of mental exhaustion. They would reach their second physiological limit at the 72 hours mark, where no matter how much medicinal ingredient they consumed, they would not be able to slow the decline in physical strength and energy. That is why I believe that this match would, at the most, end in 96 hours,” The silver-haired elderly man earnestly analyzed.
That was when the dark-skinned and well-built middle-aged man harrumphed with dissatisfaction as if he were dismissive of what the old man had just said.
“What you’re speaking is entirely theoretical. As a warrior, what I see is completely different from you,” The middle-aged man soberly commented. “No one should underestimate the determination a warrior possesses; warriors are innately born to fight. Without a doubt, Xia Fei and Chen Dong are outstanding warriors, possessing a tenacity that normal humans find unimaginable.”
“What decides the outcome of this battle or when it would end would most definitely not be their physical condition, but the details.”
Enya was slightly taken aback by that answer. “Details? What sort of detail would bring this match to an end?”
“Any detail. From the beginning of this match, Chen Dong has been depending on the advantage of having a higher grade special ability and cultivation rank to hold the upper hand. In contrast, Xia Fei has always been passively defending himself. In such a situation, it requires Xia Fei to never make any mistake. Even the slightest mistake caught by Chen Dong would be fatal for Xia Fei.”
The difference in terms of their rank is simply far too large. There was absolutely no way for Xia Fei to win against Chen Dong. The only question here was when Xia Fei would make a mistake, as even the slightest slip would instantly end the match,” The dark-skinned man rumbled deeply.
“All those so-called physiological limits apply to a normal human, but as long as a warrior had undergone severe training, their physical condition would also be much stronger than the average human. There’s no need for us to pay attention to this, as warriors do not rely only on their physical condition in combat. Instead, it was more important for them to depend on their tenacious willpower. Even if their strength has been depleted, as long as their willpower is strong enough to allow them to carry on fighting, they will break through the so-called limit!”
“Indeed,” A pale-skinned bespectacled young man laughed lightly. “I agree with your assessment, though I do not think Xia Fei is guaranteed to lose.”
The black-skinned man wrinkled his brow and asked, “Do you know how frighteningly sturdy is the defense of the Freeze Ability? There’s absolutely no way for Xia Fei to penetrate Chen Dong’s defense. He has no hope of ever achieving victory.”
“That’s true if we are taking into account how the state of things are standing. But I’ve noticed that Xia Fei has been making steady improvements throughout this battle. From the initial one-sided mauling that put him on the passive till now when he can execute a counterattack every two bouts. If the match continues in this trajectory, God knows how crazy Xia Fei’s standards will be,” That young man mused.
The black-skinned man laughed uproariously, his tone completely dismissive. “Crazy standard? He’s just a Speed Ability User at the Intermediate Star Base rank. Even if he improves, just how much can he improve?”
The bespectacled young man was unfazed, “Don’t forget, he is the same Intermediate Star Base ranked youth who is still in a deadlock with an Advanced Star Domain Chen Dong after 72 hours of fighting.”
“That’s because he has been evading and not fighting! He is solely focused on evasion this entire time!” The dark-skinned man was evidently hot-tempered, slapping the desk violently as he cried out.
“Evasion is also a skill. What about those who could not even dodge the attacks at all?” The bespectacled young man adopted a 4 figure sitting position as he said this matter-of-factly.
“You!” The dark-skinned man glared with anger, his complexion turning somewhat purple.
…
Earth, Australia. The Adjudicator Union’s Crisis grade assessment venue.
Xia Fei very deftly spun around as he slid past Chen Dong’s ice drills, his body nearly coming into contact with the ground.
However, Xia Fei’s left hand very conveniently reached the ground and gave himself a light push. His entire body immediately rebounded back up as the Chasing Light in his right hand slashed at Chen Dong’s leg three times in succession!
*Ching Ching Ching!”
Xia Fei clearly felt that the strength behind his three stabs was weaker than what he could pull off several days ago. Every time he retaliated in the last few days, his counterattack would be able to score an obvious gash on Chen Dong’s frost armor. But now, all he was leaving were just some light scratches, which clearly proved that his strength was on the decline.
The two men had very tacitly retreated to their separate sides of the ring, stopping their attacks simultaneously. Xia Fei pulled out two Snake Eye Berries from his spatial ring and shoved them in his mouth, while Chen Dong directly grabbed a large bundle of fruit that could replenish his strength and shoved it in his mouth.
Though these fruits could replenish their lost energy, they could not ease the feeling of hunger lurking in their abdomens.
Actually, that was not exactly a bad thing. Humans would easily feel lethargic after eating their fill, while hunger would let them maintain a sort of vigilance.
Humans tend to become more tenacious with their own survival when the danger they were in was greater. Xia Fei had gone down a size after the last few days, and there were a pair of prominent black circles around his two eyes, yet he still persevered.
With constant battle and repeatedly dancing with death, Xia Fei’s understanding of the Crafty approach grew every day, every hour, and every minute.
Chen Dong swallowed all the fruits and intrepidly barked, “Satisfying! I’ve never tried fighting with someone for seven consecutive days and nights before. This is such a great feeling!”
“I do want to see just how long can you hold out under my assault! Come! Let us fight for another seven days and nights!” Chen Dong had already entered a state of extreme zeal. Maintaining and controlling his Freeze Ability had caused an even severe depletion of his physical condition than Xia Fei, but he was not the least bit afraid or hesitant over his decision.
Xia Fei pulled out a bottle of mineral water and drank everything, loudly calling out, “Sure! You’ve got a deal!”
Without another word, the two men began a new round of outrageous combat once again.
In the past seven days, neither Xia Fei nor Chen Dong had viewed each other with animosity. Instead, they shared a feeling of fellowship toward one another. Though the two of them were of different rank, they shared the same temperament.
And that was their tenacity!
Neither was going to give up until the last moment!
The bald man by the side of the ring was still waiting for the fight between them to come to a close, yet seven days had passed, and things were still undecided.
That bald man decided to bring along a sleeping bag and directly slept right by the ring.
Hearing the two of them talk, the bald man groggily opened his eyes and looked up to the ring.
He saw that Xia Fei and Chen Dong were still entangled, so he helplessly sighed as a worried frown etched across his face.
“Oh heavens, when will the two of you be done? Can the two of you just call it quits? I’m begging you two, quickly decide the outcome of this match already!”
At the moment, ring no. 21’s match between Xia Fei and Chen Dong had already been going on for 170 hours!