I am the Holy Poisoner, the Empress advised me to calm down

As a new round of adventure is about to begin, everyone is pondering the answers they truly desire. And this exciting journey has only just begun. The road ahead is still long, and countless unsolved mysteries are waiting for them to uncover one by one...

"Okay, the most important thing now is to get into the ruins as soon as possible. Who knows what surprises are waiting for us inside?" Lina said, waving her arms excitedly.

"I hope this cooperation will benefit both parties." Fred nodded in agreement.

Just as everyone was about to step into the entrance shrouded in mysterious fog, a sudden sound broke the brief peace:

"Wait a minute, are you so sure you can get through this smoothly?"

Everyone stopped and turned towards the direction of the sound, only to see a figure in silver armor and holding a long sword slowly approaching. He carried a huge shield on his back, and his eyes were sharp and full of confidence.

"Excuse me, warrior, what can I do for you?" Zhao Yan asked politely while remaining highly alert.

"Heh," the silver-armored warrior sneered, "I'm here to seek treasure too, but since everyone wants to get in, how about we have a competition? Only the winner will be able to enter the depths of the ruins."

"So..." Lucy hesitated and looked at her friends beside her.

Genos rubbed his hands and said, "Well, why don't you just show us what you can do!"

“Haha, great!”

As the silver-armored warrior's proposal slowly faded into the air, the atmosphere in the forest grew tense. The surrounding trees seemed to be quietly awaiting the impending skirmish. From time to time, birdsong could be heard in the distance, as if even the small animals sensed the impending tension.

"Let's put it this way," Zhao Yan calmly looked at the challenger in front of him. "We can accept this competition, but I hope you can explain the specific rules. After all, we don't want to ruin our relationship."

"Clever!" The silver-armored warrior nodded in appreciation. "It's very simple. I have two gold coins here—one with the sun engraved on it, the other with the moon. Your team will choose one mark, and the remaining one will automatically belong to me. Then we'll flip a coin to determine the order of attack, and each person will take turns to attack in a one-on-one duel. Whoever incapacitates all members of the opposing team first wins."

Hearing this, Lina immediately became eager to try: "It sounds interesting, I agree! I hope you won't be unhappy because of such a small thing~"

Fred nodded in agreement. "Since we've come this far, why not have some fun? And test each other's abilities at the same time? Why not?"

Shortly after the two sides reached an agreement, a shining gold coin appeared in the hands of the silver-armored warrior and was thrown high into the air. Everyone held their breath and watched it spin and fall, finally rolling to the ground at their feet.

Lucy bent down to pick it up and took a look. "Oh, it's a moon pattern! Does that mean... we should go first?"

"Yes, you can choose the performers first." The other party replied.

Genos stood up, ready to fight. "Well, if that's the case, I'll kick things off! Who wants to fight me for the first round?" Before he even finished speaking, many people present had already started whispering:

"Wow, I heard this guy is a power-type warrior! And he can even unleash lightning attacks!"

"Hmph, although he looks quite strong, it seems his opponent is no pushover either..."

At this time, a slightly thin boy walked out from the side of the silver-armored warrior: "Captain, let me play with them first!" After saying that, he winked at Genos mischievously.

The two of them quickly entered the center of the battlefield, surrounded by their companions who were watching the fun and the occasional passing traveler.

At the beginning of the game, Genos showed amazing explosive power and rushed forward quickly, intending to get rid of the young man opposite in one go; however, what he didn't expect was that the opponent was extremely flexible, and after dodging several times, he even took the opportunity to counterattack and punched him a few times.

This scene made the people around them exclaim with excitement:

An old hunter exclaimed in amazement: "What the hell, are kids these days so fierce? In the past, moves of this level could only be mastered after adulthood!"

The other young men muttered to each other, "Oh my god, this is so exciting. Do you want to bet on which team will win?"

At the same time, on the other side of the venue, Alvin and Leon also began to discuss the current situation:

"It looks like we need to change our strategy," Ivan said, carefully analyzing the situation. "We won't be able to hold out for much longer if we continue this way."

-Leon nodded thoughtfully: "That's true. But we can't just give up. Maybe we can disrupt the opponent in some way to buy Genos some time?"

Just as they were about to take action, something unexpected happened on the battlefield. The young warrior, who had been at ease, suddenly became a little anxious - it turned out that he had accidentally been injured while using some special skill!

After realizing this, Genos immediately seized the opportunity and launched a fierce attack. Finally, after a series of thrilling moves, he successfully knocked down his opponent and won the first victory for his team.

Looking at the young man lying on the ground, the silver-armored warrior sighed helplessly. "Well, you guys are lucky. Now it's my turn... Is there anyone willing to challenge me?"

Everyone fell into silence after hearing this. Only Lucy stepped forward firmly and said, "I think I can give it a try."

Her teammates behind her all gave her looks of encouragement or concern—because they all knew the enemy before them was far more powerful than the young man from before, not to mention the fact that he was the leader...

Lucy took a deep breath, steadying herself, and stepped into the battle circle, facing everyone's gaze. Her eyes were filled with determination, as if to declare to the world that she was not someone who could be easily defeated.

"Your courage is commendable," the silver-armored warrior said slowly, "Since you have taken the initiative to stand up, let us have a fair duel."

The crowd around suddenly became lively, and they all showed great interest in the upcoming battle.

-An old woman carrying a basket of herbs whispered, "The little girl is quite courageous. I hope she's okay."

Another young traveler said excitedly, "Wow, this is going to be interesting! That Knight in Silver Armor is said to be quite powerful. I wonder how this lady will handle it."