CHAPTER 565 LUNA FROM THE APSARA PALACE

A sudden echoing of someone's admittance of defeat filled the battlefield with deafening silence.

Immediately, an exchange of confused looks and blank faces scattered all over the area. 'What on

earth happened?' they all wondered. In the blink of an eye, the duel had already concluded before

anyone could absorb how much strength the two rivals possessed. None of them was quite able to

grasp how intense the clash was.

But anyway, they wouldn't get surprised no matter who had won in the end. In everyone's eyes, both

Ricky and Garrett were skilled and powerful warriors.

"What the hell is going on?" "Seriously? The battle had just begun, and now it's over?" The warriors

finally shook off their stunned reactions and were able to speak. Then, everyone in the area, both

humans and beasts, began to whisper in disbelief.

"If we're not mistaken, it was indeed Garrett's voice just now. So Russell should be the winner," some

of the warriors then claimed with confidence.

When it was clear who the victor was, distraught filled the faces of those up on the platform of the

Spear Hall, including Josiah, Jim, and Keyon. The truth was, all of them already had an inkling of

Garrett's defeat. After seeing how overwhelmingly powerful Ricky could be, they knew the chances of

Garrett's winning the fight were slim. When this finally turned into reality, however, they found it hard to

accept that Ricky arose victorious.

"Ha-ha! That's my brother. Is Garrett truly the strongest one you have to offer? I hate to break it to you,

but my brother would win no matter how many strong warriors you have." Soar, on the other hand,

gloated over Garrett's defeat.

Not even Scar could contain how amazed he was with the battle that just concluded. 'No wonder he is

deemed an ace genius. This young man is truly beyond ordinary and could indeed live up to his name!

Maybe signing a bonding contract with him and serving him would turn out to be beneficial to me, ' he

couldn't help but think.

Scar wasn't the only one trying to absorb what just happened. 'I knew he would win, and my intuition

didn't fail me this time. But who on earth is this guy? And what are those fancy skills these two guys

have been using to fight for the Saber Hall? I have read none of them in the archive of the Apsara

Palace. How strange!' Luna thought with a frown as she stood on the platform of the Sword Hall.

As she watched Ricky reappear slowly, curiosity and a fighting spirit revealed themselves in her clear

and beautiful eyes. Totally ignoring Garrett, Luna poured all her attention on Ricky.

Despite their difference, Luna had one thing in common with other geniuses—only the winner would

intrigue them and catch their attention.

"Shall I take some actions, Garrett?" Jim asked Garrett using his telepathy at this point.

"Thanks, Master Jim, but there is no need. I have lost and we have to accept that. Besides, we

shouldn't make a fuss here. It will only hurt the reputation of our Garuda tribe," Garrett replied calmly,

like he didn't care about the result of this battle at all.

"Got it," Jim answered at once. He didn't try to argue seeing that Garrett had made his decision. The

raging energy in his body began to subside.

All the others from the Spear Hall took the hint of Jim's calm disposition. Now, both Keyon and Josiah

knew Garrett didn't want the conflict to escalate any further. The matter was never to be brought up

again. Despite Ricky's victory being a hard pill to swallow, they restrained any negative reactions

knowing fully well Ricky couldn't get away easily. Sooner or later, he would have to pay the price, one

way or another.

As the billow of energy and smoke faded, Ricky and Garrett could finally be seen floating in mid-air.

From what anyone could tell, Garrett emerged unscathed in this fight. Obviously, Ricky had stopped his

attacks once Garrett yielded. In fact, Ricky had mustered every ounce of self-control to pull his

punches. After all, it was difficult for someone like him to stop playing the game once his fighting spirit

was at its peak. Nevertheless, he knew that it was merely a trial, not a battle of life and death. If one

side had surrendered, the rules demanded that the other must spare his life. Otherwise, the completed

spiritual kings could take action and intervene.

"That was a brilliant strike, Russell. No doubt you're stronger than I am. Victory belongs to the Saber

Hall, and our Spear Hall admit defeat," Garrett said to Ricky with a smile.

Ricky nodded and bowed slightly with the same kind of smile as his rival, but he was not to be fooled.

'This is not the end, ' Ricky reminded himself. 'This Garrett is sure to start another duel in the future.'

Ricky had met many warriors who lost a fight. Truth be told, he despised the likes of Keyon, who would

easily be overcome by frustration and go mad. Even if they could recover and control themselves with

great determination, they were the real losers in Ricky's eyes.

Warriors like Garrett, on the other hand, were the kind Ricky appreciated. They would usually mask

their emotions when faced with defeat. Instead of going insane, they would turn failure into a driving

force for further progress. They were the kind to never give up, just like Ricky.

Ricky knew that Garrett was a formidable opponent. A great deal of difficulties awaited if another brawl

between them happened in the future.

'Now, it seems a lot of troubles wait for me if I want to refine the Quintessence of Heaven and Earth, '

Ricky couldn't help but think secretly. What was more, he didn't think that Garrett and Keyon would give

up so easily. After all, this was a rare opportunity that no one could afford to lose.

"I won't forget about this fight, and your name of course, Russell." Garrett went on to say those polite Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

words in a rather aggressive manner.

"Then, I should say thank you. I believe not many people would deserve to be remembered by

someone like you. I enjoyed the fight very much, too. Thanks again," Ricky replied calmly.

"I hope I can learn from you again soon," Garrett said, still with that faint smile, before heading back to

the platform of the Spear Hall.

Ricky was certain there was more behind Garrett's strange smile and courtesies. He couldn't put it in

words, but he somehow felt uncomfortable talking to him. It was a feeling that aroused Ricky's fighting

spirit and energy.

'Maybe I'm right about this guy, and this is not the end, ' Ricky thought to himself.

He temporarily put things about the Spear Hall aside, took a deep breath, straightened himself up, and

looked into the Sword Hall's direction.

Whoosh!

A figure flew towards Ricky's direction the moment his eyes fell on the platform of the Sword Hall. It

was no one else but Luna. When she met Ricky's gaze, she took the initiative and quickly came to the

square without hesitation. She had done it in such an elegant way like a fairy descending into this

world.

"Wow, that is my goddess!" many exclaimed when Luna came into sight. It was no exaggeration to say

nearly all the male creatures present were attracted to her. Some perverts even viewed her with lustful

eyes, without any intention of hiding their lasciviousness.

Keyon was among this pool of lewd men. The moment he set his eyes upon her beauty, greed filled his

eyes. He must have her and that was the only thing in his mind now. As for Garrett, he did find Luna

pretty and attractive. Unlike Keyon, however, appreciating her from a distance was enough for him.

"Nice to meet you, Russell. My name is Luna Ling, and I'm joining the fight on behalf of the Sword

Hall," Luna greeted first in a sweet and magnetic voice that could only add to her charm.

"So you're Luna, the talent from Apsara Palace? I'm sure I've heard a lot about you," Ricky replied

politely. "Well, in most cases, I won't fight with a talented beauty like you.

But you're invited by the leader of the Sword Hall. I'm trusted by the leader of the Saber Hall. So please

forgive me if anything happens in the coming fight. I wouldn't want to be in bad terms with you."

"Of course. But I think it's a bit unfair that you seem to know so much about me yet I know so little

about you. Could you introduce yourself a bit? Honestly, I've got interest in you, pretty boy. I wonder

which organization in this world is so lucky to have two amazing talents like you and your friend," Luna

asked in a soft and alluring voice.

It was apparent that Luna was setting some honey trap for Ricky to lure him into telling more about his

background.

"Like I said, I'm merely a nobody from a faraway corner of this world. It's not worth mentioning at all,"

Ricky responded, as humble as he could.

Luna had misjudged him, for he was never the kind of man who would be captivated by any beauty.

Ricky was immune to honeyed words from a woman.

Seeing that Ricky refused to talk more about himself, Luna didn't persist. She was clever. She knew it

would be hard to fish out any secrets from someone as strong as Ricky. Simple sweet talk would

definitely not do the trick. After all, the man in front of her had brought Garrett down. One should not

expect to get to the bottom of who he was before beating him in a fight.

"Well then. Do pull your punches next, please." Luna then nodded to Ricky with a smile. "Oh, sorry, I

forgot. Do you need some more time to rest? Or shall we begin now?"

"Thank you, but we can just begin right away. Let's say we all bring out our best and finish this game

with a single strike, shall we? We're about the same level, so I think it's fair enough," Ricky suggested.

"Time is precious, don't you think?" He looked at Luna with a meaningful smile.

"Sure!" Luna agreed without hesitation. Her voice was still mild and soft, but there was confidence in it

now.

"But I've got another suggestion, and I wonder if it's okay with you," Luna suddenly proposed.

"Oh? What is it then?" Ricky asked with a positive smile.

"Strictly speaking, I'm an array deployer. So setting and controlling all kinds of arrays are what I'm good

at," Luna explained.

"Ah, an array deployer. That's interesting," Ricky said, the smile slowly disappearing from his face.

A frown replaced where his smile used to be. He knew how powerful an array deployer could be.