With a boom, the Dragon King Battle Axe, held high by the Lion King, and his own massive body, simultaneously crashed to the ground.
Along with the powerful impact and a huge shockwave, flames erupted from the axe blade, exploding outwards from where the Lion King landed, and the surrounding spectators had their vision obscured by the dust and flames that were kicked up.
He missed... This was expected; the Lion King never hoped to directly hit Xiao BuDian.
Such a flawed move, when initiated, was already a good opportunity for a counterattack.
So, as he jumped, he also used the martial skill Immovable Fortress to enhance his defense.
In fact, he was even hoping that Xiao BuDian would take the opportunity to attack him in his vulnerable state, so he could use his physical advantage and the defense of Immovable Fortress to forcibly ignore any damage she inflicted and crush her.
However, she did not do so, presumably having seen through his trick of deliberately exposing such a large flaw, but it didn't matter; even without a direct hit, the shockwave and flames generated by the Dragon King Battle Axe hitting the ground were enough to injure her!
"Hey! Big Cat!"
"!" The Lion King turned his head and was greatly surprised to find that Xiao BuDian had somehow gotten behind him and was so close!
"Bite down and bear it!" He then saw Xiao BuDian swing the iron shovel in her hand and smash it down...
Iri aimed fiercely at the Big Cat's nose bridge, swung the iron shovel, and smashed it down. The Big Cat had no reaction at all and took the full force of the blow. After hitting, the handle of Iri's iron shovel snapped directly.
"Bea...utiful!"
The Lion King, having taken the hit, swayed a few times, uttered that word, and then fell to the ground.
Phew! So that's what his axe was like. Her choice not to confront it head-on was correct. Iri glanced at the half-broken wooden stick still in her hand, shrugged, and discarded it.
This iron shovel had completed its mission. She had already felt that the wooden handle of an ordinary shovel wouldn't be able to withstand her strength, and she had even deliberately used Ice Aura to cover the shovel with a layer of ice to increase its hardness, but it still broke... This Big Cat's head was truly hard.
Even though Iri used Self-Time Acceleration to easily dodge the direct hit from that last attack, the subsequent AoE damage did cause Iri a tiny bit of harm. The last charge of the Guardian Ring was consumed, and a few strands of her hair were singed. So, how should she deal with this Big Cat, who was now seeing stars?
Seeing their leader knocked to the ground, some of the Beastmen behind him began to stir. Iri noticed this and decided to first scare off these Beastmen before dealing with the Big Cat!
So, Iri directly stepped on the Big Cat's head. Hmm... stepping on this furry Big Cat's head felt... really good!
"Your leader has been defeated by me! According to our prior agreement, shouldn't you all scram immediately?" Iri said.
The Ogres and Hill Giants in the front row looked at each other, stared for a while, and remained unmoved.
She had forgotten that these creatures were brainless. It seemed she would have to give them an Explosion Magic to teach them a lesson, but just as Iri had this thought...
"Retreat! Everyone retreat!" A Tiger-headed man roared, and then the Ogres and others obediently retreated. It seemed that the Middle Cat (Tiger-headed man) must also be some kind of minor leader!
Iri's gaze also focused directly on him. Seeing the other Beastmen gradually retreating, only the Middle Cat remained standing, staring blankly at Iri, occasionally glancing at the Big Cat under Iri's foot. It seemed he was worried about the Big Cat's safety!
Then the Middle Cat walked towards Iri, placing his hands on the two longswords at his waist.
Hmm? Still want to fight? The Big Cat is down, and you, a Middle Cat, still want to join the fun? Iri was a bit helpless. If you want to die so badly... then I'll grant your wish!
The Middle Cat drew a sword from his waist and threw it directly to the ground, an action that greatly surprised Iri.
As the Middle Cat walked towards her, he also pulled out the throwing knives hidden on his body and threw them to the ground. Then, he took off the simple, single-shouldered armor he was wearing and threw it to the ground. He then raised both hands and walked step by step, probably wanting to convey to Iri that he had no intention of fighting!
It's good if there's no fight. Who knows, we might need your Beast Kingdom in the future. Seeing this Middle Cat roar his troops away with a single sentence, he must be someone important.
The Middle Cat stopped at a considerable distance from Iri and did not approach further. He was truly sincere. After all, he was a Beastman, and even without weapons, he had the ability to kill ordinary people up close. So, to show he had no intention of fighting, he stopped at such a distance.
"Can you all step back first?" Iri turned her head and glanced at the soldiers and Adventurers who were trying to rush over, her eyes showing a fierce glint, and she spoke in a very displeased tone.
The reason she didn't want them to get close was that Iri herself was still stepping on the Lion King. This Big Cat was the culprit (on the surface) of the attack on the Dragon Kingdom. Could those soldiers and Adventurers let him go?
The Adventurers and soldiers obediently stopped. Draudillon and Bei Lu also came over, and they also obediently stood with the Adventurers and soldiers, no longer approaching.
"Hmm? Does that Middle Cat have something else?" Since he was so sincere, Iri decided to greet him first!
"Middle Cat! Damn... damn it." The Middle Cat reacted just like the Big Cat, his forehead immediately bulging with veins. Without asking, Iri already knew that the Middle Cat's name must be long and unpleasant, so there was no need to dwell on it. She just called him Middle Cat, but seeing his suppressed anger, he dared not speak out.
"I am the chieftain of the Claw Tribe of the Beast Kingdom, and also the supreme commander of the entire Beastman army, Shelput Trakan! I'm... I'm not some Middle... Cat." The Middle Cat first introduced himself. Good, his name wasn't that long, but calling him Middle Cat was still better.
"So, General, what do you intend to do? Surrender?" Iri saw him standing shirtless with his hands raised, looking as if he was surrendering.
"Damn... damn it... No! I didn't come to surrender! I am! I came to make an exchange! My life! For the Lion King's life!" The Middle Cat said.
This was quite unexpected for Iri. Although she had no intention of taking the Big Cat's life at all, she still wanted to hear what the Middle Cat had to say.
"Oh? The one under my foot is your Beast Kingdom's leader, right? That is, the King, right? Your life, a mere general, for the King's life... Wouldn't I be at a great disadvantage?" Iri said, while stepping harder on the furry Cat's head. She said this only to tease him and see if she could extract some information.
"Damn... damn it... I know my life is not as precious as the Lion King's! But I guarantee with my honor! Let me die in place of the Lion King, and the Lion King will not attack your Dragon Kingdom for the next few years!" The Middle Cat said, desperately suppressing his anger.
Upon hearing the Middle Cat say this, the soldiers and Adventurers behind Iri began to discuss.
Some said to ignore him and just kill the Big Cat to be done with it, while others questioned the usefulness of only a few years of peace! They insisted on completely eliminating future troubles by killing him.
Basically, most were inclined to eliminate the Big Cat. Of course... with Iri present, Iri would not allow those people to have any ideas about the Big Cat. In that case, allowing this Middle Cat to exchange was also an option, but doing so might cause dissatisfaction from both the Dragon Kingdom and the Beast Kingdom.
Ugh... I need to think of a good solution that satisfies both sides. The Middle Cat's life, honestly, doesn't really matter, but seeing how loyal he is, I'll try to save him if I can!
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