“I’ll think about it,” Jiang Ke’er said.
Hearing Jiang Ke’er’s response, Si Lian’s expression dimmed.
Many people had told her they needed time to think, but once they’d thought about it, they’d never contacted her again…
To consider usually meant there was no hope.
After all, it was an utterly absurd choice. Once calm, anyone could see that joining the tournament was like leaping into a fire.
Some decisions could only be made in a moment of impulse.
“You really do need to think it over carefully,” the Bear Demon Man finally let out a sigh of relief.
He’d been afraid Si Lian would use a few words about racial honor to stir Jiang Ke’er up, and in a rush of hot-blooded excitement, she’d agree.
Young Demon Race members were easily swayed.
As soon as Si Lian brought up the fate of the race, eighty percent of the youth couldn’t resist the temptation to become Heroes.
“How many teams have you led?” Jiang Ke’er asked Si Lian.
Si Lian hesitated for a moment, but facing Jiang Ke’er’s firm gaze, she could only sigh and admit, “Fifteen.”
“And the results?”
“The best result so far was making it past the Town Arena Tournament, reaching the semifinals…”
“…But the whole team was wiped out. In the very first match of the semifinals, they were all killed, clean as a whistle!” the Bear Demon Man ruthlessly exposed her flaws.
“So far, she’s already gotten fifty-one elite Demon Race members killed, and those lucky enough to survive the arena have been left severely traumatized, both physically and mentally!”
Si Lian gripped her glass tightly, the glass crackling under her fingers.
“Yes, he’s not wrong.” Si Lian had already closed her eyes, giving up any resistance.
After hearing all this, she knew no fool would ever want to join her team again.
“Then why do you still keep going?” Jiang Ke’er asked.
“I’m not willing to give up.”
“Just because of your own unwillingness, even if it means dooming so many young Demon Race elites, you don’t care?”
“I don’t want to harm them,” Si Lian’s eyes were like a dead, still pond, “But I’ll still keep going.”
Jiang Ke’er studied Si Lian’s expression carefully.
It was a face completely devoid of vitality.
She was no longer young, her blood and passion from youth long gone, leaving only numb, aimless struggle.
Si Lian stood up.
She knew Jiang Ke’er wasn’t one of those young people who’d feel proud to die heroically.
Jiang Ke’er was too calm, had her own values, and wasn’t a child.
Her real targets were those who’d fall for a few words and sink into Hero fantasies—those stubborn, naïve fools.
She needed to use deception to lure those fools willingly into the meat grinder.
“One last question,” Jiang Ke’er called to Si Lian.
“Hmm?”
“You came to find Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn—was it to persuade her to join your team?”
“No, I just came to see her,” Si Lian shook her head, “I won’t drag her into this again.”
Si Lian left the Tavern, twisting her ankle on her way out the door.
Her drinking capacity wasn’t nearly as bad as Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn’s—she was just distracted.
She hobbled back to her dark, cramped room. In the faint light through the curtain’s gap, Si Lian took several Badges from her pocket, and gently wiped them clean.
With each Badge, she murmured softly to herself.
“Xiao Li, we’re so close to winning…”
“A Shan, you did great…”
“Xiang’er, trust me…”
Jiang Ke’er returned to the Hotel.
Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn was awake, though still not fully sober.
Her cheeks were flushed red, and she absentmindedly threw her arm around Jiang Ke’er’s shoulder, teasing, “Little sister, why are you so cute? Wanna come with your big sis… hic… and… heheh… go fight someone?”
Jiang Ke’er knew that when this one talked about fighting, she really meant it—no ambiguity whatsoever.
Still, she kindly advised, “You’d better not say things like that. If a certain someone hears you, you might not survive the night.”
“Who’s afraid of who…”
Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn muttered a few more words, then collapsed onto the bed with a thud, snoring away without any semblance of decorum.
Jiang Ke’er shook her head, sat at the bedside, closed her eyes, and began to meditate in silence.
She needed to think things over about Si Lian.
She did need a team, and she did need a coach, but not the kind who had led fifteen teams to their deaths.
Personal feelings aside, Si Lian’s team was a giant pit, no matter how you looked at it.
Early the next morning, before Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn woke up, she headed back to the Tavern.
At a glance, she spotted Si Lian in a formal cheongsam dress, looking nothing like the sentimental mess from yesterday.
She now appeared sharp and professional.
Sitting across from Si Lian was a young man.
A ferocious knife scar ran across his right eye, and the wolf ears on his head were filthy and greasy.
“That’s right! I’ve always thought the Demon Race should have a team of our own!” the man banged the table passionately, downing a big mug of beer.
“Finally met a kindred spirit today! Sister Si Lian, don’t be afraid! With me, Jie Shui, around, this year we’re bringing home the big trophy and using it as a chamber pot!”
“……”
It seemed this time Si Lian had really found her target—a little too much so.
Si Lian smiled, wanting to speak, but couldn’t find a chance to cut in.
Her face was flushed from holding back, as she kept trying and failing to interrupt.
“Hey, let me tell you, Sister Si Lian, you really have a discerning eye! Picked the right man! Heard about that Jiang Ke’er? She used to be my cook! Hic—”
Jie Shui let out a beer burp that could kill a rat, so excited his feet were up on the table.
He rattled off, “Those Divine Spirit Team, Wasteland War Team, they only made a name for themselves because I didn’t join! When they meet me in the Finals this year, they won’t even last a round!”
Si Lian’s face turned green—she was starting to regret even talking to Jie Shui.
To be fair, she hadn’t even invited him. She’d only exchanged a few words, and Jie Shui had latched on to her.
In over a decade, she’d met all kinds of people, but never someone this eager to join.
“Say no more! When are we hitting the arena? Give me a date!” Jie Shui thumped the table hard.
“Bang—”
He knocked the table twice, but three dull thuds echoed out instead.
He reached behind his head in confusion, and found a big, bleeding bump.
He turned around to see Jiang Ke’er holding a bloodied bottle.
Jie Shui shivered.
“Ah! I’m passing out!”
With a wail, Jie Shui clutched his head and crawled under the table.
“Sorry, I’ve made up my mind.” Jiang Ke’er looked at Si Lian.
Si Lian nodded, smiling, “Everyone has their own aspirations. I understand, my request was indeed too much for you.”
Jiang Ke’er nodded.
“There are always people in this world who think they’re extraordinary and want to accomplish great things. But those people always overestimate their own strength, even dragging the innocent around them into the abyss. In the end, they can only comfort themselves with unfulfilled dreams and unforgivable mistakes… Their sins cannot be pardoned!”
Si Lian lowered her head.
She’d heard this kind of criticism countless times, and never knew how to defend herself… But this was her first time being scolded by a child.
“Only those naïve fools who know nothing of the world, who are overly confident in their talents, and crave to show off, would choose to trust you, join your team, and stake their lives for the beautiful lies you’ve spun.” Jiang Ke’er said, dragging Jie Shui out from under the table and bashing another bottle over his head.
“Like this idiot…”
Si Lian clenched her teeth in silence.
Jiang Ke’er poked her own nose. “And me.”
Si Lian looked up in astonishment.
“I’ve made up my mind. I’ve thought about it for a long time,” Jiang Ke’er looked into Si Lian’s eyes and smiled helplessly, and finally realized, “I’m not that much smarter than they are.”