Silent Crown

Chapter 209 Life or Death is Determined by Fate

The next day at noon, they stood at the entrance of the field. Ye Qingxuan could hear the raucous spectators inside. The noise felt solid, like a tangible sound wave. Ye Qingxuan had never thought that such a big noise could be produced when so many people sat together.

It resounded in all directions and one could not describe it. It was like a cheer, but also like a growl. One could not tell if it was in anticipation or spite. It was just a declaration. It was as if the entire world was urging him onto the battlefield.

He sucked in a deep breath and looked behind himself. "Are you all ready?"

"Yes!" Charles pounded his chest with a serious expression, producing clangs.

Ye Qingxuan was suddenly felt out of character. "Uh…you really prepared well, huh."

Behind him, Charles was covered in heavy football gear and pads, making him look stuffed. There was a knight’s helmet on his head and a mask on his face. The cheap, mass-produced instruments that filled his back stuck out messily. He looked like he was going onto the battlefield, rather than the soccer field.

"Can you even run with all that?" Ye Qingxuan was suspicious.

Charles smiled secretively. "I made this entire set. It’s really light and…it’s upgraded too." He lifted up his sleeves to show Ye Qingxuan the steel auxiliary bones hidden underneath. This was the battle armor he had produced by staying up late. It was not as good as a musician’s robe, but with his creativity and weird techniques, it was pretty useful.

"What do you think?" Charles struck an impressive pose, but he clanged whenever he moved, like a peddler trying to run away from the police.

"Senior, I have the urge to hit you." Ye Qingxuan sighed, then scanned his teammates. When he realized that only Bench Guy seemed reliable, he really wanted to cry. They would be hopeless without Bench Guy. "Let’s go."

Ye Qingxuan felt powerless with these teammates, no matter how enthusiastically the spectators cheered. This time, their life and death would be up to fate! He gritted his teeth and walked out of the shadows into the light on the field.

"Let’s go!"

-

"This game uses the revised international rules released three years ago. I hope both teams have prepared well and won’t try to find any loopholes. Do you have any questions?" The referee grasped the special soccer ball and stood on the midline, gazing at both team leaders. "If yes, we can revise it now."

"No need," Ye Qingxuan replied first. It seemed that the school board had filled every loophole to stop him from doing anything weird. Thankfully, he did not put his hopes on that.

Across from him, Banner nodded slightly, showing that he had no objections either. But just as the referee was about to announce the start of the game, he opened his mouth. He shot a challenging look at Ye Qingxuan and said, "Mr. Referee, I request changing the game system!"

"Huh?" The referee was shocked. "What do you want to change?"

"To be honest, one thousand points per victorious game is no longer attractive," Banner stated. "Why don’t we link the points to the goals? One thousand points per goal. I’m willing to bet half of my points on the winner. What does the history department think?"

Off-field in the stands, the drowsy principal opened his eyes wide. He straightened and smiled. "It’s getting interesting…"

The faculty and spectators’ stands were also quiet as everyone stared at each other, wondering if they had heard incorrectly. Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows; he knew what Banner meant.

It was one of the tricks that the students liked when they bet on games in private. Other than official soccer games, the academy also allowed the students to form teams and play in private. But unlike the academy’s conservative style, the students were much more open minded.

No matter if it was the official game or players, no one would refuse playing in private. After all, everyone needed more points, so the stakes grew bigger and bigger. The strong preyed on the average, the average preyed on the weak, and the rankings changed dramatically. Many teams had already lost all their points and were forcefully eliminated. Some other teams had used their foresight and skill to move forward many places.

Compared to them, the history department was continuously passed over. Now, they had fallen to sixth place with fourteen-thousand points. Banner was different though. His team was the most powerful. After two days of chaotic battling, he had returned to first place with twenty-six thousand points.

If he bet half of his points, it would be practically half of the history department’s points. This was a difficult choice for Ye Qingxuan. If he won, he would have twenty-seven thousand points and would jump from sixth place to first. But if he lost, his points would be completely wiped out.

The winner would win all, the loser would be eliminated. It was a difficult choice.

"Banner, if you have this idea, you can talk about it privately, but our school will not recognize this type of bet," the referee announced. He had seen enough of these suggestions throughout the past two days, but the academy’s attitude has always been neutral. They would not approve of, refuse, support, or forbid it. They just let the students do whatever they pleased.

Actually, without the school’s guarantee, the losers could renege on their bet, but if they did that, they would never be able to erase their shame.

Hearing the referee’s words, a smile appeared on Banner’s pale face. There was a ruminative shade in his eyes. "Don’t worry, Mr. Referee. He’ll agree."

Ye Qingxuan was silent under everyone’s eyes. He was lost in thought, as if weighing his choices. But to everyone else, there was nothing to think about. Why would he bet on something that he would definitely lose?

The failures of the history department against the expert fighters of the school council… That was a joke! If they fought face to face, the history department would not even last three minutes.

Of Banner’s nine-member team, there were two Musician level students of the four graduate students. Banner was also a well-known genius. There were three musicians in total. The other six were specifically chosen by the student council from each school, including the School of Royalty’s cream of the crop.

Play against them? It was impossible!

It was already a miracle that the history department lasted until now. If they quit now, they could still squeeze into the top ten with their remaining points. This had been Ye Qingxuan’s goal this entire time—to break even and keep his accumulated points during this disadvantageous game without losing much.

From that perspective, he had already succeeded and had no need to take the risk, but then he would put the pressure on the third round of "graduation product demonstration" and lose the initiative. One side was breaking even. The other side was hitting jackpot. Which one should he choose?

"I’ll do it," Ye Qingxuan suddenly raised his head and said, breaking the silence. The crowd booed and jeered.

Well, why not? The one who had nothing feared nothing, was that not right?

Ye Qingxuan smiled at Banner, who squeezed out a cold smile in reply. They seemed friendly. The referee looked at Ye Qingxuan as if he was a lunatic and revealed some pity.

The teammates that should have had the biggest reaction were actually calm. As foreign aid, Bench Guy had no opinion. Bai Xi did not care at all, and Charles…he had not expected to graduate anyway. He was just here to have fun and it was more interesting this way. The remaining player was a dog…and dogs did not care what stupid humans did. He was just responsible for protecting his three followers.

"Hope you won’t regret it," the referee murmured. Then he raised his voice and said, "Shake hands. One minute countdown!" He set the ball down and exited.

Under everyone’s eyes, the two team leaders walked forward with smiles. They studied each other across the field’s midline. They both seemed confident and polite, but no one knew what they were thinking inside.

This was the first time they were so close. Ye Qingxuan finally realized that he had never even talked to this guy who had caused so much trouble for him. They had not even spoken to each other before and had become enemies. The world was so laughable.

Ye Qingxuan broke the silence and asked with a smile, "I heard that you don’t like me? Are you jealous?"

Banner could not help but laugh. The joke was so funny. He shook his head slightly. "You’re more powerful than I imagined, but it’s in terms of luck. You shouldn’t be so arrogant."

"Really?" Ye Qingxuan arched an eyebrow. "But I’m still the concertmaster."

"Does that title give you the illusion of being better than us?" Banner sneered. "It’s supposed to be mine, but you stole it while I was busy with Deva sensing. Now, this joke will end."

"Really?" Ye Qingxuan shot back. "It must be difficult to be so confident, since you’ve never beat me before."

Banner fell silent. His already-pale face turned even paler. It was white enough that it seemed to exude cold blood. As if he had been pierced by that sentence, his emerald eyes darkened. Even his voice grew hoarse. "It will happen today and I promise it’ll happen again in the future. Someday, you’ll get used to failure."

"To be honest, I’m already used to it." Ye Qingxuan reached out and grasped his hand with an enthusiastic smile. "Did you know? The day I came back to Avalon, I was already prepared to completely lose to someone one day. But unfortunately, that day is not today, and that someone is not you."

Banner’s expression changed because Ye Qingxuan’s hand tightened like a vice and brought waves of pain. He did not even have time to become angry before he was thrown into shock.

The scrawny youth closed in, but he changed suddenly. He was still smiling warmly, but there seemed to be a burning mine in his eyes. They were as aggressively bright as fire.

"Shut up now," he murmured in Banner’s ear. "Let’s start the game. I can’t wait."

In the youth’s shadow, Banner clenched his jaw. His pupils constricted into a small black dot, radiating with heart-chilling coldness.

"Then, as you wish!"