Chapter 125 - 111: Iron Hand Lin En

"Since it’s a request from such a lovely girl, I’m more than happy to oblige, I am Lin En, Iron Hand Lin En." Lin En finally opened his eyes, his smile faded considerably.

Little Zi giggled, then let go of his hand, and said, "Actually, it doesn’t matter if you don’t tell me. I was just asking casually. We’re not that interested in what we call you."

Lin En withdrew his hand. Two of his fingertips had lost all sensation, and his whole arm had become incredibly stiff due to the cold. This was the first time he’d felt this way since his fingers had become metalized. He quickly used his Fighting Aura to dispel the cold, and his arm gradually regained its flexibility, but his fingers started to hurt severely.

Frostbite?

Lin En couldn’t believe it! Frozen in such a short time!

This was ridiculous! Lin En had been focusing on training his hands. He was proud not to use weapons and had been ridiculed for his weak appearance since childhood. Thus, he was driven by a need to strengthen himself. He thought that only the human body itself was the ultimate weapon, and those who relied on external weapons would eventually face limitations. To him, the strength of a body trained hard was limitless!

In fact, he had silenced those who had ridiculed him with his strength. He didn’t pursue glory, but rather money. To become stronger, he needed money to buy enough resources. Thus, with his strength, he could serve in the military and should not have become a small steward in a so-called commercial aristocratic family.

He didn’t need power, all he needed was money.

Up until just now, there were few obstacles in his pursuit. Just with a handshake, he had crushed many people’s hand bones. But just now, Little Zi had innocently caused frostbite to his fingers!

That was not ordinary cold! It was the deadly coldness from a Female Demon, mingled with Mana! He was in trouble! Caught off guard! He couldn’t utter a word about it. If he did, the young master who regarded him highly would be affected!

Damn it!

Although Lin En still maintained his smile, he had already started cursing inwardly. He wasn’t cursing Little Zi, but Long Yi.

In Lin En’s view, as a Female Demon, Little Zi must be Long Yi’s servant. And since she was a servant, she naturally obeyed Long Yi’s command. It must have been Long Yi who did not dare to shake hands with him earlier, so he had Little Zi do it instead.

However, Lin En was really wrong about Long Yi. Regarding this handshaking game, Long Yi had never chickened out. He had always faced it head-on, even more so now. In fact, if just now Lin En had really shaken hands with Long Yi, a fight would have started by now. This was something Long Yi regretted. He was a grown man, and he did not enjoy seeming as if he was hiding behind a little girl.

In essence, Long Yi never really saw Little Zi as a Female Demon. Even though he possessed the knowledge of this world, essentially he was still an alien. He had a hard time ordering Little Zi as if she was a servant. In fact, he had never touched the Servant Contract since the start, nor had he even bothered to check it. As for ordering a little girl to fight, Long Yi was simply not interested. Rather, he was totally okay with having Little Zi prepare meals.

Ai Lin had once told Little Zi that Long Yi had a good nature, was easygoing when not engaged in a fight, took great care of those around him, and was genuinely kind. However, there was one thing, he was a typical male chauvinist. Although it wasn’t extreme, the tendency was clear.

No one is perfect. Compared to his virtues, this trait of chauvinism was not only unobjectionable, but rather made Ai Lin and Little Zi felt they were overly cared for.

"So, Lin En, why don’t we find a new place and get to know each other... deepest sense?"

Long Yi didn’t intend to let it slide. He had always been the one causing trouble! When did it become your turn, some idiot who just popped up from nowhere to show off?

As for Lin En’s name, Ai Lin and Long Yi had some impression. The brochure that Wesley gave to Long Yi also mentioned Joseph, and naturally it would mention Lin En. Iron Hand Lin En, Earth Dragon Knight with one Dragon Mark. Among the Earth Dragon Knights, having one Dragon Mark was incredible. He was mostly renowned for his Iron Hand. His defining battle was when he caught the Dragon-slaying Sword of a Dragon Knight, also with one Dragon Mark, with his bare hands.

Essentially, Long Yi didn’t believe that anyone of equal power could catch the Dragon-slaying Sword barehanded, not even Iron Hand. The Dragon-slaying Sword was a specially created weapon. As its name suggests, it could slay even dragons, so how could his bare hands catch it? If there was such a powerful training method, why not promote it throughout the entire empire? Letting the Emperor present him with a special contribution award would probably make him even more money.

Thus, he wanted to test Iron Hand’s real strength to see if it was as formidable as the rumor.

Long Yi directly invited him. He didn’t care about Iron Hand or the so-called Hagrid Family at all. If he wanted a fight, he would thoroughly teach him a lesson, so that he would remember not to cause trouble in the future!

Upon hearing Long Yi’s invitation, Lin En naturally couldn’t refuse. The smile returned to Lin En’s face again. He looked back at Joseph to find a smile on his face as well.

"In that case, let’s find a quiet place, get to know each other more... in depth."

Just when Lin En was worried that his visit would be fruitless, he hadn’t expected that Long Yi, the fool, would come right to his doorstep. When else would he get such an opportunity?

Long Yi turned around and handed the Fairy Dragon in his arms to Ai Lin, saying, "Ai Lin, you and Little Zi rest here for a bit. I’ll be back soon."

Little Zi immediately pouted and said, "I want to go too!"

Long Yi laughed: "If you go, this uncle might be so scared that he won’t be able to fight."

Since Long Yi praised Little Zi, she was naturally happy. Although she was slightly annoyed that she couldn’t go, she decided to respect Brother Long’s plan. After all, the contract binding Little Zi was on Long Yi. If he really needed her, he could summon her immediately.

Little Zi glared at Lin En. The threat in her big eyes was clear. Lin En’s smile faltered slightly, but he didn’t let it show. Truth be told, he was quite afraid of Little Zi. If this elusive Female Demon ever intended to kill him, he feared he might not be able to dodge it. Furthermore, a Demon’s spiritual power is the true menace - often it strikes before anyone notices.

Ai Lin, however, was not as nonchalant as Little Zi. She had paid closer attention to Iron Hand Lin En’s background than Long Yi. She believed that Lin En certainly had his tricks and was not as careless as he appeared. His claim of catching the Dragon-slaying Sword with his bare hands couldn’t be entirely baseless.

However, Ai Lin was acutely aware that along the journey, Long Yi had given her many opportunities to fight. As a combat enthusiast, he must be itching for a fight. How could he pass up such an opponent?

Thus, Ai Lin softly said, "Be careful," but didn’t say anything else.

As soon as Long Yi and Lin En left, the tavern erupted into chaos. Two young men took over as the bookies and started placing bets, disregarding the earlier wager on who would strike first.

"Is there any question? It’s Iron Hand Lin En! That kid named Long Yi might be big, but how could he match Lin En’s combat experience? Here, I bet a hundred gold coins!"

"Damn, you talked all that just to bet a gold coin? Come, look at me, I also bet on Iron Hand Lin En, I bet a thousand gold coins! Haha, this is my little gold treasury, I am counting on you to make a profit for me today!"

"In that case, I am also betting on Iron Hand Lin En! Just a small bet, eight hundred gold coins."

Everyone placed their bets, mostly for the excitement. However, not many people were rooting for Long Yi. Despite his fame, he was only well-known in the small circle of the Dragon Rider Academy, while Iron Hand Lin En’s reputation had spread wider.

"Then, can I play too?"

The sound of Joseph’s voice quieted everyone down. The two young bookies looked at each other and laughed, "We’re hosting the bet, why would we turn away a guest?"

Joseph sneered: "Heh, in that case, I’ll wager thirty thousand gold coins on Lin En winning!"

Joseph said this while untying a short knife from his waist. The knife was beautifully designed. Once drawn, a hazy aura flowed out and the blade was covered in elf script.

"This is an elven short knife, with a rapid wound healing magic spell. It’s from the Shining Silver shop in the Imperial City, selling price fifty thousand gold coins, but worth thirty thousand."

The crowd gasped at the sight of the knife. To be honest, many people present had heard of Shining Silver. The shop’s reputation not only came from the mystique of the elves but also the expensive merchandise. A small knife without much attack power would be sold for fifty thousand, so who knew how much a long blade would cost.

Indeed, anyone who would spend fifty thousand on such a weapon was most likely showing off. What real warrior would buy a short knife, especially one with an impractical spell like rapid wound healing?

Joseph glanced at the crowd, thinking, "Country bumpkins, I can’t wait to see how you’ll make up my loss!"

But Joseph noticed that people weren’t looking at the elven knife in his hand, but rather behind him. He hurriedly looked back to see Ai Lin also standing there.

"Can I place a bet?" Ai Lin asked.