Chapter 367: A Great Battle

I glanced at Qiao San's cricket and thought, "Not good."

Because Qiao San's cricket is a big blue-headed one. The saying goes: white is not as good as black, black not as good as purple, purple not as good as yellow, yellow not as good as blue.

In the cricket ranking, blue is the highest grade.

In the few matches I've participated in, I've never seen a blue cricket; the best I've seen was yellow.

Yellow crickets are truly brave and good at fighting; such a big blue-headed one needs no further comment.

Qiao San placed his cricket into the fighting bowl.

Including Ma Lie Ren's face, everyone showed a solemn expression.

He Zuming even lay prone in the fighting bowl, closely watching Qiao San's cricket,

"Big blue-headed one, how many years has it been since I last saw one?"

"Yes, this is the finest of crickets," Hongguo Li also exclaimed.

Qiao San was smug. I said, Qiao San dared to make such a big bet because he held a heavy weapon in his hand.

Qiao San looked at me and sneered, "Zhao Laoban, shall we still fight? If you withdraw now, it's still in time. I can ask for a little less money from you.

You're also a straightforward person; maybe we could become friends."

"A gentleman's word is hard to retract. Since we've said we'll fight, we'll fight to the end; lose if we lose." I said indifferently on purpose.

Hearing me say that, Qiao San clapped his hands and applauded: "What grandeur. Zhao Laoban, you don't seem short of money, alright, then let you lose convincingly."

My heart had already prepared for losing.

Now there's no retreat; we can only fight.

I just hope my cricket doesn't lose too badly.

Hongguo Li asked me, "Zhao Laoban, what's your cricket's name?"

"Blackskin," I replied offhand.

"And what about Mr. Qiao's cricket?" Hongguo Li then asked Qiao San.

"Blue-faced Beast," Qiao San said loudly.

"Good name. Then I announce the match has begun.

Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet,

Our match is about to start, with Mr. Zhao's Blackskin challenging Mr. Qiao's Blue-faced Beast. This is the biggest event of the year at our Cricket Fighting Hall.

During the match, please don't smoke or make loud noises, lest they affect the crickets' performance.

"I declare the match started," Hongguo Li said, holding the stick.

After Hongguo Li finished speaking,

He took the stick, reached into the bowl, and first flicked my Blackskin's antennae.

Blackskin is very sensitive to the stick,

As soon as Hongguo Li touched its antennae, it immediately raised its head and wagged its tail.

Then Blackskin, using the stick, flicked Qiao San's Blue-faced Beast.

This cricket is too big; it's the largest cricket I've ever seen.

Hongguo Li's stick only touched its antennae once,

It made a squeaking sound from its mouth and bared its teeth at Hongguo Li's stick.

Indeed, it was extraordinarily fierce.

He Zuming sighed, shook his head, and actually covered his eyes, not daring to look.

Ma Lie Ren stared intently at the bowl, saying nothing.

I was thinking, if we lose the cricket fight, I'll beat Qiao San again today.

Damn, give him a good beating. Let his mom be even more arrogant.

I absolutely cannot let this brat off easy.

I glanced over; Ding Li and Shi Yong, using the pretense of watching the cricket fight, leaned left and right against Qiao San.

Good.

At worst, we'll turn hostile here.

Wait, Qiao San; don't look so smug now—you'll have your time to cry.

Today I'll not only beat him, but also have him tied up. I'll deliberately cause trouble here and let Wen Han clean it up.

I was calculating in my mind.

At this point, the fight in the bowl had already begun.

The two crickets quickly engaged.

The Blue-faced Beast used its bulky body to suppress Blackskin.

Blackskin nimbly jumped about in the bowl, trying to escape the Blue-faced Beast's suppression.

The Blue-faced Beast's body is overly bulky, lacking agility.

What Blackskin has is speed, and it darts up and down in the bowl.

It lets the Blue-faced Beast lash out everywhere, but the Blue-faced Beast can't bite Blackskin.

The Blue-faced Beast went berserk,

Its two forelegs rose up, like a boxer's left and right fists swinging in the air.

As long as the Blue-faced Beast's forelegs swing, Blackskin can flip over and fall to the ground right then.

If Blackskin falls to the ground, it has no chance to win.

Blackskin is very clever, dodging the Blue-faced Beast's forelegs in the bowl.

Everyone's eyes in the shed were drawn to the crickets in the bowl.

Nobody dared to speak loudly, afraid their voices would affect the crickets' match.

Some people didn't even dare to breathe.

In the warm shed, time seemed to stand still, leaving only the two crickets fighting.

Hongguo Li held the stick, motionless,

Qiu Xi's eyes stared as if they wanted to pop out,

Qiao San clenched his fists, his face flushed red, like he was constipated.

He Zuming covered his eyes with his hand, peeking through his fingers.

The horse hunter said nothing, staring intently into the basin. His fingers moved back and forth above it, like a boxing coach directing a boxer.

Only I, watching these people, also watching the surroundings outside.

In my mind I thought, if we lose the match, how to abduct Qiao San and where to retreat.

Suddenly, an emergency occurred in the basin,

namely, Blackskin's large hind leg was bitten by the blue-faced beast's sharp teeth.

One must know that the crickets entirely rely on the strength of their large hind legs to jump, dodge, and pursue.

The large hind leg supports all the fighting strength.

Blackskin's large hind leg was seized by the blue-faced beast.

This is like a boxer being hit by a heavy punch on the boxing ring.

It's over, it's over.

I thought to myself.

I saw the blue-faced beast lift its head and actually tear off Blackskin's large hind leg directly.

Too terrifying, the blue-faced beast's strength is too great.

Blackskin missing one large hind leg is as crucial as a boxer missing an arm.

I thought Blackskin would surrender its weapons.

I never expected that Blackskin, missing a hind leg, would choose to keep fighting; it seems it will fight to the death in the arena.

I greatly admire this cricket.

Qiao San, seeing this, broke into a smile, as excited as if he had just defecated.

At this moment I saw the horse hunter's hands clasped together above the fighting basin.

Blackskin also raised its forelegs in the basin, a declaration of war against the blue-faced beast.

The blue-faced beast shook its head and spat Blackskin's large hind leg to the side.

Then it raised its head again,

opened its mouth to reveal its large teeth,

preparing to deliver a final blow to Blackskin.

Blackskin did not dodge; lacking its large hind leg, it could not jump.

Blackskin directly launched an assault on the blue-faced beast.

This was a suicidal charge; everyone thought so.

The blue-faced beast lifted its body, watching the charging Blackskin,

it should have pressed down Blackskin's head with its forelegs,

then used its large teeth to snap the neck.

But it felt winning like that would be too easy.

It wanted to bite Blackskin's back, killing it by biting from the back.

That would be more thrilling.

It passed up attacking Blackskin's head.

It prepared to stab Blackskin's back with its large teeth, straight into the back.

But Blackskin gave it no chance,

Blackskin struck the blue-faced beast's abdomen with all its strength.

I clearly saw the fighting basin and the table tremble.

With a bang, the blue-faced beast fell into the basin.

Speaking of slow, it was fast—Blackskin immediately climbed onto the blue-faced beast's abdomen and, with its large teeth, drove them hard into the beast's belly in one motion.

I heard a puff; Blackskin's large teeth pierced into the blue-faced beast's abdominal cavity.

Blackskin then quickly withdrew its sharp teeth and bit again into the blue-faced beast's abdomen,

and then actually dragged it along.

At this point the blue-faced beast had completely lost its fighting ability.

It lay in the basin, gasping its last breath.