Chapter 875 - 106: The Mighty Hiech’s Wind and Su Li’s Victory (Part 4)

But in any case, the slight edge Edwin had in combat technique was nowhere near enough to change the all‑around gap in absolute strength.

And the longer the fight went on, the more the Gold-Burning Hammer adapted to his fighting style, and that edge kept shrinking. You could say the longer they fought, the lower Edwin’s chances of victory became.

So when the referee announced the end of the match, Edwin’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. Perhaps he was indeed dejected inside—no one could stay indifferent after losing the title of Champion—but as a Knight of the Sun Goddess, he could calmly analyze the situation and make the most rational choice.

He stood openly in front of everyone, and toward those gamblers who were still roaring overbearingly and demanding a rematch, he asked, "We can fight again, that’s fine—but you will bear all the costs of this irrational decision, including all Potion losses, ransom payments, and every bit of stamina recovery consumption."

As soon as they heard this, the gamblers’ voices instantly fell by more than half.

After all, some people can shamelessly demand others risk their lives for their own benefit, yet would absolutely never agree to be the ones paying that price themselves.

Besides, there were now a great many vested interests here; they had just made a huge haul of wagers and coin off the Gold-Burning Hammer’s victory. There was simply no way they would allow the result to be overturned again.

Only at this point did Su Li finally take off the mask from his face, walk up to Edwin, and say, "My Knight, your performance and your courage are astonishing. You must understand, in this kind of setting, choosing to wisely avoid battle and reduce meaningless losses is far harder than bowing to pressure and fighting to the death. In this world, death is far from the most terrifying thing. Throw away your brain and go mad in a desperate gamble— even the lowest Armed Attendant or a slave can do that. But commanding an army, knowing when to advance or retreat, understanding trade‑offs—only a perfect follower of the Goddess can do that."

Edwin’s whole body jolted. When he saw the face Su Li revealed, he was utterly stunned. He hurriedly dropped to one knee and saluted, saying, "Lord, it was actually you!"

No wonder he was shocked; in everyone’s impression, the Lord’s combat strength had always been close to nonexistent.

Yet this Gold-Burning Hammer standing here now possessed a battle power that had amazed everyone. He was simply a Monster among Elite Knights, pressing Edwin so hard he could barely breathe.

This enormous contrast left countless people slack‑jawed.

But immediately, thunderous cheers erupted all around the arena. The citizens were naturally overjoyed at this turn of events—no one dislikes having a Lord with overwhelming combat strength to protect their Territory.

What’s more, Su Li’s unparalleled combat power smoothly attracted a massive swarm of fanatical new fans.

Bear in mind, many people had previously revered Su Li because of his outstanding talent in tactical command, assuming he was a brilliant general of the age.

And now that Su Li’s martial strength had also shot up notably, his image clearly matched people’s expectations even better.

Su Li immediately pulled Edwin back to his feet and said, "Enough, you don’t need to kneel again—after all, you’ve already knelt to me many times today. You did very well; if you hadn’t run into me, you would’ve taken the title of Champion. Come see me at the castle later. I believe you at least deserve the runner‑up reward."

The runner‑up prize was 50 Golden Crowns and one Light-Scaled Fish. With this reward, Edwin’s chances of breaking through to Champion Level would obviously rise significantly.

Su Li planned to directly promote him to a Captain in the Provincial Legion. Whether in courage, martial prowess, or rational judgment, he was more than qualified to take on a higher post.