Chapter 4451 — Wheel Tactics

"Chief Escort Hai, those words are quite mistaken. If it were a fixed number of one-on-one bouts, then defeat would of course leave nothing to argue about. But if someone with the means to do so wears an opponent down by sending challenger after challenger, then even the strongest will eventually tire. When even the most basic fairness cannot be guaranteed, what meaning is there in holding such a contest at all?" Qi Mingyuan said with a cold laugh.

Watching the crowd below nod in agreement, Hai Wuliang was taken aback for a moment. He looked Qi Mingyuan up and down anew. He had never expected that this fellow, a fighting man born and bred, could turn such a sharp phrase.

"Oh? Chief Escort Qi is rather worked up. Could it be that your own interests have been harmed—that you fear the Golden Core seniors of your Qingtian Escort Agency will become someone's breakthrough point? For one of the five great agencies, to show so little confidence?" Hai Wuliang asked with keen interest, answering a question with a question.

"Chief Escort Hai reads too much into it. I am simply speaking of the matter at hand. I must fulfill my duty as a judge," Qi Mingyuan replied with a stern face.

"Fine. Since Chief Escort Qi puts it that way, I too will speak of the matter at hand. Every contest of the Southern Continent Escort Grand Gathering exists to test and raise the strength of the great agencies. Whatever circumstances might arise in the actual course of an escort run may become part of the gathering's trials—that is the principle, and I trust Chief Escort Qi has no objection?" Hai Wuliang said with righteous eloquence.

"None," Qi Mingyuan said with a shake of his head.

"Then let me ask you. When your Qingtian Escort Agency runs an escort, do pirates and bandits not wear you down with one wave after another? Surely they never sit down so reasonably with your escorts, agree on one-on-one bouts, and settle it all in a single round?" Hai Wuliang said with a glance of mockery.

The crowd below roared with laughter. Whoever heard of a pirate who played fair? Forget settling it in a single round—even one-on-one was nonsense. They always ganged up, many against few!

"That..." Qi Mingyuan was momentarily stuck. He paused before saying, "Even so, since this is a contest of fairness and justice, the rules cannot leave such an obvious loophole. Would that not let people farm points in broad daylight?"

"Heh heh. Chief Escort Qi, it is 'loophole' this and 'farming points' that—aren't you feeling a little guilty? Afraid your Qingtian Escort Agency cannot measure up?" Hai Wuliang said, making no effort to hide his mockery. "The waters of the Southern Continent have always belonged to the strong, who prey upon the weak. Leaving aside whether such a loophole for farming points truly exists—even if it does, everyone may put the rules to reasonable use. In the end it produces only one result: the weak grow weaker, the strong grow stronger, and everyone sees more clearly who is strong and who is weak. There seems to be nothing wrong with that, does there?"

Qi Mingyuan glanced at the crowd's reaction and saw no small number nodding in agreement. His heart sank, and for a moment he did not know how to rebut.

Elsewhere, such words might have been denounced as a failure of justice. But in these Southern Continent waters, they happened to be the very code of survival that all had always followed. Everyone did the same themselves, so naturally no one would object.

"Of course, nothing can be done without rules. The order of challenges in this contest of agency helmsmen will be decided by drawing lots. Let all compete fairly on their own strength. Chief Escort Qi, do you have any other objection? Or shall we, before everyone here, have the other judges raise their hands and vote on it?" Hai Wuliang said, eyeing Qi Mingyuan sidelong.

"No need." There was no point in even asking the attitude of Zhao Bufan and the others; their earlier acquiescence had already made it plain. Even an open vote could not change the outcome—it would only lend the rule more authority. Still, Qi Mingyuan could not bring himself to give up so easily, and said instead, "I wish only to add one last point. Surely the agency seniors who take the field deserve a chance to catch their breath during the contest?"

The situation was now entirely in his opponent's grasp. To overturn this challenge rule outright was out of the question—Qi Mingyuan knew even a simple amendment was wholly unrealistic now. Matters having come to this, he could only chip away at the edges and fight for one last concession.

"A chance to catch their breath?" Hai Wuliang's brows rose, and he retorted offhandedly, "Are the pirates and bandits your agency meets so understanding? Will they give you a chance to catch your breath?"

"And why not?" Qi Mingyuan shot back. "In real circumstances, pirates and bandits indeed will not reason with us. But in real circumstances, several escorts go out to meet the foe together. If one man is spent, he can naturally fall back and rest. Is that so strange?"

The crowd below nodded one after another. After all, this contest of agency helmsmen had a single Golden Core senior fighting alone. If he were challenged in succession and given no chance to catch his breath, that would be unreasonable by any measure.

"That does have some slight sense to it." Hai Wuliang took in the crowd's reaction and knew he must not push too far; conceding a small step was of no great consequence anyway. So he said, "A chance to catch their breath is permitted, but the rest cannot be endless. After all, should one truly meet pirates and bandits, a man can rest only a short while before he must go back up, or his companions will all be dead."

"Then how much time does Chief Escort Hai consider fitting?" Qi Mingyuan said, staring at Hai Wuliang.

"One stick of incense. No longer than that," Hai Wuliang declared flatly, looking down his nose at Qi Mingyuan. "Does Chief Escort Qi have any further questions?"

Qi Mingyuan had wanted to press for more, but sensing Hai Wuliang's ill intent, he gave a sudden start. He feared the fellow would not bandy words with him further but would straightaway call for the judges to vote by a show of hands—or even pin some grave charge on him—and then it would truly be over. He had no choice but to settle for what he had.

"Very good. Since there are no more questions, everyone make ready. The fifth round of the Escort Agency Championship begins at once." Hai Wuliang smiled smugly and cast Qi Mingyuan a glance that made no secret of his contempt. A fighting man is a fighting man—to think he would try to cross words with me in public. He ought to look at himself in a mirror: has he the brains for it?

The crowd below fell into animated discussion—not of the coming Escort Agency Championship, but of the exchange just now between Hai Wuliang and Qi Mingyuan, thrust and parry, point against point. The implications behind it were all too thought-provoking. (To be continued..) R527