Kofi clearly hadn’t expected that Lu Xia would stand up for Grace, who was considered a ‘defective product.’ In his view, even if Grace had resumed work, he would definitely not fare well in Duke Lu Xia’s Mansion.
Few males who served as Husband-Attendants ended up with good outcomes, let alone Grace, who was the Empire’s lowest-grade ‘defective product’ male.
He even suspected that Grace’s appearance in the First Military District must have been achieved through some means to force Duke Lu Xia’s agreement. Otherwise, given Duke Lu Xia’s reputation in the Empire, how could she allow him to continue appearing in public after becoming a Husband-Attendant?
He simply couldn’t stand Grace’s attitude—clearly just a low-grade ‘defective product,’ yet acting so arrogantly, as if he never cared about his low status. What gave him the right!
“Of course I have the courage. What does Duke Lu Xia want me to do?” Kofi slightly raised his chin, putting on an unyielding expression.
Seeing him agree, Lu Xia smiled and said, “Then if you lose, you must shout 500 times that you are an idiot.”
As soon as Lu Xia spoke, everyone present was stunned. Then, some couldn’t help but curl their lips, clearly struggling to suppress their laughter.
Duke Lu Xia was indeed quite ruthless!
Kofi was also taken aback, clearly not expecting Duke Lu Xia to make such a demand.
This request seemed harmless on the surface, but in reality, it was extremely insulting, especially for a proud male like Kofi.
Even without the earlier proposal that the loser of the duel would leave the First Military District, this alone would be enough to make Kofi unable to stay and force him to leave the First Military District.
Duke Lu Xia was clearly planning to squeeze every last bit of value out of Kofi if he really lost.
Was this to protect Grace as her Husband-Attendant?
Wasn’t she worried that Grace might be the one to lose?
At this moment, everyone began to worry for Grace. If Grace lost the match, would Duke Lu Xia blame him for being useless?
Lu Xia didn’t care about what others were thinking. Instead, she looked at Grace and asked, “Are you confident?”
A simple question, carrying a hint of superficial concern, but for Grace at this moment, it was enough.
Even Lu Xia’s sudden appearance here today was a great reward for Grace.
He nodded, “I will do my best and not disappoint you.”
Lu Xia smiled, “Don’t worry about the outcome. Winning or losing isn’t that important to me, but don’t get hurt.”
“Alright!”
The location for their duel was set in the training ground. At this moment, everyone on the training ground had already cleared out in advance for the duel.
When they learned that Grace was going to duel Kofi, everyone exclaimed in surprise—
“No way, what’s going on? Colonel Grace is going to duel Colonel Kofi? Is this a joke?”
“Has Colonel Grace gone mad? He actually wants to duel Colonel Kofi?”
“Colonel Kofi is a Gene Fusionist. What is Colonel Grace thinking?”
“Although, Colonel Kofi’s Gene Fusion Degree is only 33%, which isn’t very high either, so maybe Colonel Grace can win?”
“Even though I have a good impression of Colonel Grace, I still have to say that Gene Fusionists and defective products are not the same. Even if Colonel Kofi’s Gene Fusion Degree isn’t high, he is still a Gene Fusionist. His body has been enhanced, completely incomparable to a defective product. I still think Colonel Grace is being too irrational!”
“I agree. Honestly, for Colonel Grace to rise to his current position as a defective product is absolutely not easy. How could he not know to cherish it? I can’t bear to watch this duel. The outcome is already predetermined; nothing will change.”
“I heard Colonel Grace’s female master happened to come to visit, and then this happened. How unfortunate for Colonel Grace. I can’t help but start to sympathize with him!”
…
Amidst the whispers of the crowd, the duel between Grace and Kofi began.
Both Kofi and Grace removed their jackets and prepared for battle.
The bull horns on Kofi’s head were exceptionally conspicuous, a symbol of his identity as a Gene Fusionist. Although his 33% fusion degree hadn’t granted him many changes, his physical strength far surpassed Grace’s. He firmly believed that today’s duel would end with his victory.
He couldn’t wait to see Grace’s miserable defeat.
Thinking this to himself, he immediately launched an attack on Grace.
Grace’s tall figure appeared less robust than Kofi’s, but he showed no panic at their disparity. Instead, he remained calm from start to finish.
Facing Kofi’s assaults, he handled them with what could even be described as ease.
He didn’t confront Kofi’s attacks head-on but skillfully dodged each one, then landed a strike on a specific part of Kofi’s body.
At first, everyone instinctively felt that Kofi was chasing Grace all over the arena. But as time passed, many noticed that Grace deftly evaded every one of Kofi’s moves, while Kofi bore the brunt of Grace’s attacks each time.
Even though his body had been enhanced by Gene Fusion, it couldn’t withstand the cumulative damage. Before long, the crowd observed that Kofi’s attack speed and force had diminished.
“Grace is doing great! Keep it up!” The old butler standing beside Lu Xia noticed this and couldn’t help but raise his fist, excitedly cheering for Grace.
Lu Xia glanced at him, somewhat surprised by the old butler’s enthusiasm.
Belatedly realizing what he had done, the old butler’s sheep ears involuntarily flattened against his head. He looked at Lu Xia awkwardly and said, “Apologies, Your Grace. I couldn’t control myself for a moment.”
“It’s fine. You’re right—he is quite impressive.” Lu Xia curled the corner of her lips. This duel made her realize that the gap between Gene Fusionists and so-called defective products wasn’t as vast as imagined. Perhaps it had to do with the level of Gene Fusion Degree, but overall, Gene Fusionists merely possessed an additional skill—animal transformation—compared to defective products.
However, no Gene Fusionist capable of complete animal transformation had ever appeared within the Empire. Thus, those who could achieve semi-beastification likely only had slightly stronger physiques than defective products.
Could this truly be considered evolution? Lu Xia thought not necessarily.
If anything, she felt these so-called Gene Fusionists were more like unfinished products.
Just as Lu Xia was thinking this, a sudden uproar erupted from the training ground—
“He won! Colonel Grace actually defeated Colonel Kofi! My god, how on earth did he do it?!”
“What an upset! Colonel Grace actually won. Is he really a defective product from a failed Gene Fusion?”
“I feel a bit sorry for Colonel Kofi now. How is he going to get by in the First Military District from now on, if he can’t even beat Colonel Grace?”
…