200: Chapter 200 It's me! What's wrong? Speak!

Cui Jingming was stunned for a moment.

He could actually understand that language, and then it clicked—it must be the effect of the potion the other party had just drunk.

Gray tilted his head and looked at him, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

He had also come out, and since Cui Jingming was the leader of the humans, he asked the question that had been weighing on his mind.

In the previous stage, they were clearly competing with the Star-Gazing Clan on the right until the critical moment, and they were just a hair's breadth away from winning.

Yet, in the end, this human race had beaten them to it.

And now, in this round of Assessment, their performance wasn't even that great...

This only made him more confused; he couldn't figure it out.

After listening, Cui Jingming gave a confident smile. "That was because of me, of course."

"Just you?" Gray's eyebrows twitched, his face showing undisguised disbelief.

He couldn't see what kind of ability this guy had that would allow him to clear the stage.

"Is there a problem?" Cui Jingming asked back.

"Heh." Gray gave two cold laughs. "Then how did you clear it?"

Cui Jingming ignored the other's attitude. In the next instant, his body moved; he gripped his greatsword tightly, exerted sudden force with his feet, and took the lead in charging toward Gray.

Gray reached out to touch the several gemstone orbs floating in front of him and gave a light flick of his finger.

In the next moment, several elemental spells of different colors erupted from the gemstone orbs, erecting a barrier between him and Cui Jingming.

Fire, frost, and lightning intertwined, forming a dense web of attacks.

Gray took this opportunity to start retreating, wanting to create distance.

His fighting style had always been like this: using long-range spells to pin down the opponent, keeping them at a suitable distance, and then slowly wearing them down to death.

But this time, the situation was a bit different.

He had only retreated a few steps when he saw Cui Jingming charge directly out of that cluster of elemental spells.

The flames burned charred patches onto his body, and the frost exploded into bloody gashes on his skin...

But he simply didn't stop.

Gray's expression changed slightly.

He didn't have time to think. He raised his hand to summon several gemstone orbs in front of him, preparing to block.

Cui Jingming's greatsword had already arrived.

He swung the sword down with a whistling sound of wind.

Gray used the gemstone orbs to block, but the force was too great. Several gemstone orbs were directly sent flying, scattering across the ground.

Cui Jingming did not pause; the second strike followed immediately, hacking straight toward Gray's head.

Gray squeezed his hand, and an Ice Soul Spike shot out from his palm, heading straight for Cui Jingming's chest.

That was an instant-cast spell he practiced often. At such close range, the opponent shouldn't be able to dodge it.

However, Cui Jingming had no intention of dodging.

The Ice Soul Spike stabbed directly into his chest, exploding into a cloud of blood mist.

Yet Cui Jingming's greatsword still came hacking down.

Gray rolled to the side in a disheveled manner. The blade grazed his shoulder as it swung past, leaving a deep, bone-deep wound at the back of his shoulder.

Blood instantly gushed out, staining half of his body red.

Gray clutched his wound and stumbled back several steps, his face filled with nothing but shock.

He looked at Cui Jingming as if he were looking at a madman.

Is this guy suicidal?

He didn't dodge that cluster of elemental spells just now.

And he just tanked that Ice Soul Spike too.

Is he really just going for the kill while tanking all the damage?

Gray grit his teeth and reached out to recall the scattered gemstone orbs.

His expression became serious, and the ease he had shown earlier completely vanished.

But before he could adjust his state or catch his breath, Cui Jingming charged again.

The greatsword swung in a wide arc, accompanied by the whistling wind.

Gray dodged the strike by sidestepping, while simultaneously controlling a gemstone orb to release two ice cones.

The ice cones stabbed into Cui Jingming's abdomen, exploding into two bloody holes in his skin, with blood pouring out from the wounds.

But Cui Jingming didn't even twitch an eyebrow. He countered with a horizontal sweep of his sword. The blade grazed the tip of Gray's nose, forcing him to leap back several steps in a panic.

Blood flowed down from his abdomen and dripped onto the ground, but Cui Jingming didn't even spare it a glance.

He pushed off the ground and lunged forward again.

The battle that followed completely exceeded Gray's expectations.

Every move of Cui Jingming's was a desperate gamble, and every swing of his sword left him no path for retreat.

No matter what attack Gray used, as long as it wasn't enough to eliminate him directly, he wouldn't dodge at all, giving Gray no chance to breathe.

That kind of fighting style wasn't like a battle at all; it was like a wild beast tearing at its prey.

Gray's responses became increasingly frantic, and his rhythm was completely disrupted.

He had never encountered such an opponent—someone who completely disregarded logic, didn't defend, didn't dodge, and had only one thought: to kill you, no matter the cost to himself.

Under these circumstances, a flaw appeared in his spellcasting.

Cui Jingming seized the opportunity and slammed directly into his chest.

The two were pressed together, the distance so close that Gray's spells couldn't be deployed at all.

Gray struggled desperately, even wanting to open his mouth to bite the other man.

But by now, it was completely too late. Cui Jingming gripped his greatsword, turned the blade sideways, and hacked viciously toward Gray's neck.

Blood sprayed out, and Gray's body stiffened, his eyes wide.

In the next second, there was a flash of white light.

He was sent off the arena.

Cui Jingming stood where he was, gasping for air, his chest heaving violently.

He was covered in wounds—countless cuts and gashes of all sizes, his clothes soaked through with blood.

His face was also covered in blood, which dripped down from his chin onto the ground.

But at this moment, he stood very straight, his spine unyielding.

He lowered his head, staring at Gray who had landed below the arena, and suddenly let out a roar.

"It's me! So what!"

"Weren't you asking how I passed? Speak!"

Gray clutched the wound on his neck as he was helped up by several clansmen. His face was as pale as paper. He looked up at him, his lips trembling.

"Madman..." was all he could say.

Cui Jingming ignored him, turned his head, and shouted toward his own people.

"We won!"

This was the first time they, the humans, had won a direct confrontation.

They were not weaker than these two races!

Below the stage, the members of the adventurer teams were stunned for a moment, and then a roar of cheers exploded, loud enough to make one's ears ache.

"Alliance Leader is awesome!"

"We won! We won!"

The gloom and frustration from losing several matches in a row were all vented out in their shouts.

Cui Jingming stood on the arena, listening to the cheers, and grinned.

Yes, he truly was the Child of Destiny!

...

After his fatal injuries were treated, Gray clutched his bandaged neck and walked toward Horn with his head lowered.

He stopped in front of Horn, his face filled with guilt and his eyes darting away.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty... I wasted a slot."

Horn looked at him without any expression of blame.

He reached out, patted Gray's shoulder, and comforted him, "Didn't you already win two matches?"

Gray wanted to say more, but Horn patted his shoulder again. "Rest for now."

Gray gave a soft grunt of affirmation.

Then, Horn's gaze moved away from him and turned to the person standing by his side.

It was a male with leopard ears, lean of build with smooth muscle lines. He stood there motionless, yet exuded an intense sense of pressure.

"Wellen, you're up next," Horn said.

Hearing this, Gray followed Horn's gaze and looked at the man.

His eyes flickered.

Wellen.

The Captain of the Palace Guard.

Gray knew his strength—a solid A-rank combatant, and a veteran of the battlefield. His strength was the real deal, without a drop of exaggeration.

Was their side finally going to get serious?