Chapter 304: Crawl between my sister-in-law’s legs.
Tressa’s expression turned utterly bewildered.
She couldn’t understand what had just happened.
Not only had every one of her attacks been intercepted flawlessly, but she hadn’t even been able to keep up with what should have been nothing more than beginner-level techniques.
How was that even possible?
She had practiced swordsmanship for years.
She had competed in —and won —numerous tournaments. Her reputation had been built through countless battles and relentless training.
Yet today ...
She had lost to a mere actress who had supposedly trained for less than a month.
She stared at Adelyn, unable to comprehend what she had just experienced.
Part of her wanted to blame Adelyn —to accuse her of deception, of deliberately misleading everyone.
But the more she replayed the duel in her mind, the more confused she became.
Every movement Adelyn had used ...
Every strike.
Every defense.
Every transition.
None of them belonged to advanced swordsmanship.
They were all basic techniques.
Simple.
Foundational.
Exactly the kind every beginner learned first.
And that was exactly what humiliated Tressa the most.
She was an accomplished swordswoman —a tournament champion.
Someone who had devoted years to mastering the blade.
Yet she had been defeated by beginner techniques.
"...How?" she finally asked, staring straight at Adelyn. Her brows remained tightly knitted, confusion clouding her eyes. "How did you do it?"
Adelyn remained perfectly calm, as though the outcome had never been in doubt.
"It wasn’t particularly difficult," she answered lightly. Then, after a brief pause, she added, "And you only made it easier for me."
"...Me?" Tressa frowned.
She didn’t understand.
Adelyn merely smiled.
She had no intention of explaining further.
If Tressa wished to discover her shortcomings, she would have to find them herself. Guiding Talon’s disciples wasn’t her responsibility.
Nor was she obligated to help them improve.
Lowering her sword, Adelyn took a step toward her and extended a hand.
Tressa glanced down at it. For several silent seconds, she remained still. Then she slowly stood up on her own.
"I lost." She took a slow breath. "I accept my defeat."
Without another word, she turned and walked out of the ring.
Adelyn watched her leave for a brief moment before lifting her eyes. Coincidentally, they met Steve’s.
He had been watching her all along.
His gaze was far sharper than before, and a faint crease had settled between his brows.
Unlike everyone else, he wasn’t looking at her as though she had merely won. He was looking at her as though he had just encountered a question he couldn’t answer.
As Tressa approached him, Steve never once looked away from Adelyn.
"Senior, I ..."
Before Tressa could continue—
Steve interrupted her. "Go receive your punishment." His tone remained calm, but the disappointment within it was unmistakable.
Tressa lowered her head.
"...Yes, Senior."
Denis and Pete exchanged helpless glances, but neither of them spoke. They merely patted her shoulder gently before silently asking her to leave first.
Their expressions carried obvious sympathy.
Adelyn understood exactly what they were thinking.
In their eyes, Tressa had simply been careless. She should have won easily, yet she had somehow lost to beginner-level techniques.
That humiliation didn’t belong to Tressa alone. It reflected on Talon as well.
However ...
That wasn’t the truth.
Adelyn’s techniques might have looked ordinary, and her movements might have appeared simple. But hidden beneath every basic strike was control that bordered on perfection.
Her timing.
Her precision.
Her understanding of distance.
The force behind every movement.
Those seemingly ordinary techniques had been executed with a level of mastery that was difficult to attain even after years of practice.
It wasn’t that Tressa had fought poorly.
Nor had her techniques weakened.
It was that every angle, every ounce of force, every bit of momentum had been redirected by Adelyn with flawless precision.
Tressa had actually performed remarkably well.
But unfortunately, her seniors simply couldn’t see where she had truly lost.
Adelyn looked at Steve one last time. Then calmly shifted her attention elsewhere. Her eyes landed on Zeke, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"What?" She raised an eyebrow. "Regretting the switch now?"
Zeke’s expression darkened instantly. His jaw tightened.
Adelyn’s smile widened just a little.
"That’s unfortunate." She shrugged lightly. "Even if you regret it now, there isn’t much you can do. I won the bet."
"That’s right!" Karl’s excited voice rang through the arena as he hurried onto the platform.
By the time Adelyn turned around, he was already standing proudly beside her.
"We won!" He folded his arms before glaring triumphantly at Zeke. "So? What else do you have to say now?"
Pier quickly joined them, naturally taking his place on Adelyn’s other side.
Zeke clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
He regretted it —more than anything.
If only he hadn’t agreed to change opponents ...
If only he had insisted on Steve fighting ...
Maybe ...
Maybe things would’ve been different.
But now—
Backing out would only make him an even bigger laughingstock.
His eyes settled on Karl. That smug grin on the latter’s face only twisted his stomach further.
All he’d wanted was to humiliate Karl Warren.
Why ...
Why was that so impossible?
First it was his family he couldn’t dare offend. And now, this woman ...
After a long silence, he finally spoke through gritted teeth. "...Fine."
"I admit defeat. I lost."
He inhaled deeply before forcing the next words out.
"You can leave."
Karl had been so focused on Adelyn earlier that he’d almost forgotten everything else. He only remembered that he needed to take Adelyn out from there safely.
So, the moment he heard Zeke asking them to leave, relief immediately appeared on his face.
He turned toward Adelyn.
"Sister-in-law, let’s—"
Before he could finish—
Adelyn repeated Zeke’s words.
"Leave?"
There was quiet amusement in her voice.
"So ..." She tilted her head slightly. "We’re simply supposed to leave after winning?"
Karl blinked.
Then he immediately frowned and turned back toward Zeke.
"... That’s right." His eyes narrowed. "Why should we leave first?"
Without waiting for a response, Karl strode forward until he stood directly in front of Zeke.
"Zeke Carte." His voice turned cold. "You insulted us earlier. We’re not leaving until you properly apologize for every word you said."
He pointed toward Adelyn.
"Apologize to my Sister-in-law. Now."
Adelyn watched him from behind, her lips pressing together faintly.
This brat...
Did he really just want an apology now?
What about the bet?
Had he already forgotten the actual terms?
About how close he was to the humiliation himself?
Zeke, however, immediately saw an opportunity. If he apologized now, it would save him the shame later.
So ...
Without any hesitation, he bowed his head slightly toward Adelyn and said,
"I’m sorry. I apologize for everything I said earlier. Please forgive me."
Adelyn raised an eyebrow at the other shameless one. Then with a knowing curl on her lips, she said,
"I appreciate the apology. But ..."
Her smile remained calm.
"That was never part of our agreement. So I think it’s better if we simply follow the terms of the bet."
Karl blinked.
Then realization suddenly dawned on him.
"Oh yes! Sister-in-law, you’re right! I almost forgot!"
Adelyn shot him a sideways glance. She barely resisted the urge to smack his head again.
"Of course you forgot."
She sighed.
"With that tiny, unreliable brain of yours, storing too much information must make it stop working every few minutes."
Karl instantly caught the sarcasm.
Scratching the side of his head awkwardly, he laughed sheepishly.
"Hehe ..."
Then he abruptly turned back toward Zeke, his expression becoming serious once more.
"Right. Don’t think you can dodge your responsibility. You lost. So ..."
He confidently pointed toward Adelyn before declaring,
"Now hurry up ... and crawl between my Sister-in-law’s legs."