Chapter 281: One Hundred

At 3:30 in the afternoon, Li Mochen once again stood on the ring of Storm Stadium, while the stands on both sides were filled with a sea of people, even the aisles packed. However, compared to two weeks ago, the composition of the audience had changed somewhat. Nearly a quarter were women, and they seemed to have organized themselves. A large group of men and women in blue clothing occupied three sections on the left, very conspicuous in the stadium, creating quite a stir.

But at this moment, Li Mochen's opponent, Brood Carroll, was extremely excited. He was launching a continuous offensive with his sword and shield, skillfully executing various combat techniques.

This was already the ninety-ninth round, and Carroll saw hope of defeating his opponent. In his eyes, the defense of this Andre Lee Wiltonstein was on the verge of collapse.

But in the next moment, when Carroll's sword once again struck at Li Mochen's neck with the warrior skill 'Power Slash', his sword clashed with the 'Holy Thunder Judgment' in Li Mochen's hand.

With a flash of lightning, Carroll felt his right hand go numb, and then his sword spun out of his hand after a few rotations. His left arm, holding the round shield, failed to block Li Mochen's heavy strike at an extremely tricky angle, hitting him squarely in the chest.

"Heavy frontal strike, five points!"

As the referee waved a red flag, Brood Carroll frowned deeply, looking at his opponent with unconcealed dissatisfaction. He felt he had been careless, not guarding against the opponent's lightning magic.

The second bout began quickly. Carroll had switched to dual swords, launching a storm of slashes before Li Mochen, continuing his oppressive offensive.

Earlier, he had felt that he was just a little short of breaking through Li Mochen's defense and winning this individual match, but in the end, the weapon factor had caused his failure. This time, with dual swords, he was sure he could cut through Li Mochen's turtle shell and even the score.

But contrary to Carroll's expectations, after eighty consecutive heavy slashes, Li Mochen's 'Holy Thunder Judgment' remained firmly in the center, his sword speed unhurried, his sword style unremarkable, with nothing outstanding. His defense seemed on the verge of collapse, just one breath away from being forcibly broken. Yet no matter how Carroll exerted himself, no matter what combat techniques he used, he was ultimately thwarted by his opponent.

This situation made Li Mochen's supporters in the stands anxious and tense, while the rest of the audience was filled with excitement and anticipation, but they never saw the dam break, allowing them to vent their emotions.

At this time, the people in Box No. 4 had a different perspective.

"Unbelievable. He's been using only the abilities of a fourth-level magic swordsman to fight this Carroll."

"Perfect. It looks ordinary, but in fact, every sword's effect, timing, force, and angle are optimal. Given the speed and strength Andre is using, there couldn't be anything better."

"That poor guy. I think even if his strength increased fivefold, he couldn't break through Andre's defense. I mean, under the condition that the latter still uses only fourth-level power."

"But Andre is already seventh-level, right? From now on, his opponents can only be those monsters from the East and West Coasts. But given his age, even those monsters might not be able to match him."

"No, it might not be just seventh-level. I suspect he already has a Dragonblood Sorcerer兼职."

"You're still underestimating him, everyone! This is a coaching match. If that Carroll could calm down, he would realize that Andre is teaching him swordsmanship—how to exert force and choose angles."

In the middle seat, Edward Jeffries's lips curled slightly, showing satisfaction.

"So, Ms. Lillard? I think my client should satisfy you?"

"Of course."

She was a woman with white hair, elegant in attire and demeanor: "The several consultants I hired gave high praise. But Edward, the contract term you can accept is too short. Two years is hard for me to accept. You must know that if our Edward Jewelry Company signs him, how many resources we'll have to invest in him. I've investigated; this kid faces many troubles. Just his security costs alone will be a considerable expense. This isn't a small contract, Edward. If something happens to him, our tens of millions of gold shields will go up in bubbles."

"You're investing resources, yes, but you'll also gain more returns. Andre has already shown his appeal with the Lucky Bracelet product, and he's beginning to fulfill his talent."

Edward Jeffries's lips curled slightly: "Ms. Lillard, a longer term is impossible. But how about a right of first refusal? Just like with Nathan Group. After two years, you'll have to bid with other jewelry companies. At the same price, Andre can only choose your company. However, our contract amount needs to increase by another five million gold shields per year."

"Barely acceptable."

Ms. Lillard tapped the armrest with her finger: "But the price is a bit high, and I hope to increase the number of appearances at events. With this number of events, I can't justify it to the board. They don't know what kind of talent Andre is, nor do they understand his significance. Edward, we're old friends—"

Meanwhile, on the ring, Brood Carroll suffered another setback. He finally came to his senses, standing again before Li Mochen, filled with anger.

"Are you humiliating me? Shit! My coach told me you could knock me down easily. You shit, you did it on purpose."

The referee beside them couldn't help but smile. This guy's coach wasn't completely incompetent.

"No such intention. It's just the needs of the TV station and advertisers."

Li Mochen, sword in hand, spoke truthfully: "If you, classmate Carroll, feel this is humiliation, then I'll try to defeat you as quickly as possible, like James Lanster and Cadio Rhode. But I must mention that in the future, all my matches will be like today. I won't knock down my opponent until at least a hundred rounds. So, Carroll, have you decided that I should go all out?"

In the end, Brood Carroll hesitated for a while, then honestly launched a fierce attack for a hundred rounds as before. This time, however, he calmed down and finally noticed Li Mochen's intention to guide him. The opponent indeed had no intention of humiliating him, only sparring with a condescending attitude to teach him swordsmanship. Yet this made Brood Carroll even more disheartened. After the match ended, he didn't want to say a word to Li Mochen.

Li Mochen understood his feelings well. No one wants to make a fool of themselves in front of the TV. And this classmate Carroll also had a sponsorship contract. But everyone has self-respect, and classmate Carroll was no exception.