"One-on-one! Let's go one-on-one!" The Big Cat repeated, seeing Iri unmoved.
A one-on-one proposal was exactly what Iri wanted, but... she couldn't just agree to him like that.
"Allow me to refuse..." Iri feigned a conflicted expression, then declined.
"Hah! As expected, you humans are all cowards!" The Big Cat said with disdain, but he didn't turn and leave; he remained frozen, glaring at Iri.
Indeed... the Big Cat understood. The reason Iri refused him directly was to test him. If he had turned and left immediately, it would have shown that the Big Cat was a fool.
In this terrain, with Iri, a mobile artillery platform, present, abandoning the chance to eliminate the biggest threat and instead choosing to have his subordinates confront her head-on, meant that even if Iri annihilated them, he would have an excuse to explain to Xiao Di... Such a foolish Beast King was completely useless; better to kill him and replace him with a new one.
Of course... he could also directly ignore Iri's wishes and ambush her. In that case, Iri could beat the Big Cat into a pig's head in front of his many subordinates and then discredit him as a despicable sneak attacker who refused a duel.
After resolving the issue of the second city, during a break, Iri inquired about the Beastmen's 'characteristics' from the local garrison. Although they were no different from ants in front of Nazarick, understanding their 'characteristics' might help in future plans.
Thus, she learned that most Beastmen were a race that highly valued honor, almost never resorting to underhanded methods like ambushes or assassinations. Even in war, they mostly relied on their physical prowess for direct confrontation, rarely employing tactics.
In that case, their leader should also be someone who prioritizes such matters, right? Although earlier, when Iri called him Big Cat, he was so enraged that he immediately attacked.
"Hmm! Thank you for the compliment. If there's nothing else, I'm going back now. You shouldn't stand here either. I'm going to bombard this area with magic soon, and I don't want to accidentally blow you up." Iri deliberately said this, then pretended to turn and leave.
"Wait! Wait a moment!! Aren't you angry that I called you a coward?! You must be angry!! You should be angry enough to jump over and challenge me to a duel!" The Big Cat looked anxious, seeing Iri about to leave.
"No, I'm not angry at all. I won't fall for such a simple provocation," Iri replied.
"Don't you humans have any sense of honor?! You hide behind city walls like cowards all day, casting magic! If you're so brave, come out and fight me one-on-one!" The Big Cat roared.
"Isn't this what you 'forced' upon us? If humans also had the physical prowess of you Beastmen! I think they would also choose to confront you head-on, but humans don't have bodies as strong as yours.
So humans can only choose to resist you in a way that seems cowardly in your eyes. I don't think there's anything dishonorable about it; after all, in a battlefield, there are only winners and losers." Iri retorted to the Big Cat.
Iri knew very well why the Big Cat wanted to challenge her to a duel. He understood that as long as Iri was defending, his troops could not conquer the city.
Hadn't the Big Cat mentioned earlier something about tiring out two flying dragons and capturing her? It was likely that the Big Cat had rushed over from a previous battlefield.
Moreover, in their recent conversation, the Big Cat had repeatedly brought up Iri's magic, which already indicated he knew how terrifying Iri's Explosion Magic was. Forcing his troops to continue the assault would be utterly meaningless, only increasing casualties.
But if he were to retreat in such a disgraced manner, his subordinates probably wouldn't agree, would they? The Beast Kingdom also had sub-tribes, meaning... the judgments or orders made by him, their leader, might not necessarily be obeyed by the chiefs of the subordinate tribes.
So... the best way was to pull Iri out and propose a one-on-one. If he could use this opportunity to eliminate Iri, it would directly remove a major concern for the Beastmen. If he lost, he would also have a reason to withdraw his troops.
Basically, it was a situation where the Big Cat stood to gain without loss. Of course... if he lost, the Big Cat might have to make a personal sacrifice, either losing face... or even losing his life here. Thinking about it this way, the Big Cat was surprisingly a "good person"!
"Hmm..." The Big Cat was momentarily speechless, appearing unsure of what to do.
Seeing his conflicted expression, if this continued, he might be 'forced' to ignore his own wishes and directly attack, which wouldn't be fun at all, though it made no difference to Iri.
"Then! Then! What will it take for you to fight me one-on-one..." The Big Cat said in a lowered voice, sounding somewhat like he was humbly begging.
"Uh... there's no benefit... If I fight you one-on-one, nothing changes if I win, and if I lose, the city behind me and Her Majesty the Queen will suffer. You wouldn't agree to that, would you?" Iri said.
"Ah... is that all?! If I lose, my troops will immediately withdraw, will that work? Hey! Lads!! If I'm defeated later! You all retreat quickly! Understand?!" The Big Cat's expression brightened, then he turned and roared at his subordinates.
The Beastmen responded in unison.
"Uh..." Iri still feigned an unsatisfied attitude towards the proposal, constantly appearing conflicted.
"How about this? Even if you lose, my troops won't attack immediately again. We'll give you a week to evacuate the city! I promise my troops won't pursue you! Does that work?!" The Big Cat tried his best to lower his voice, probably not wanting his subordinates to hear these words!
"Alright then... I'll reluctantly agree to your proposal." Only then did Iri accept the Big Cat's proposal.
"Ah hahahaha!! Xiao BuDian, you finally agreed! Then come on!! A fair and square duel!" The Big Cat burst into hearty laughter upon seeing Iri nod in agreement, as if he had planned it all along.
"Then I'll go back and prepare first." Iri merely spread her hands and turned to go back.
"Don't go back on your word! It's a deal! I'll wait for you right here!! If you don't come, I'll keep waiting for you here!!" The Big Cat even said words that could be easily misunderstood.
Their voices had been relatively low during the previous conversation with the Big Cat, so the group behind Iri didn't know what they were talking about. Then they saw the Lion King laughing and talking about a duel, and everyone worried for Clementine.
Although they knew she was a very powerful magic 'caster', her opponent was the warrior-type Lion King. A magic 'caster' was inherently at a disadvantage when dueling a warrior.
Seeing Iri stroll back leisurely, Draudillon approached her with a worried expression.
"What were you two talking about? Are you really going to duel the Lion King?"
"Of course... Seeing how pitiful he was, I agreed to him." Iri replied nonchalantly.
"Your opponent is the Lion King, though? How about I go instead!" The loli-con pervert approached. Iri and Draudillon quickly retreated several steps, fearing the pervert getting too close.
"No... no need to worry. I don't care if he's the Lion King or a Cat King. There are no words for defeat in my dictionary. Oh, by the way, Her Majesty the Queen... I just agreed with that Big Cat that if I win against him, the Beastmen's troops will retreat." Iri said.
"But what if you lose? Should I hand over this city?" Draudillon looked very worried.
"Don't worry, even if I lose, the Big Cat promised to give us a week to evacuate from this city. It seems the Beast Kingdom's invasion of your Dragon Kingdom this time isn't solely for food!" Iri said.
When the Big Cat proposed that condition, Iri was already certain that the Big Cat had been instigated by Xiao Di. It wasn't just for food, otherwise, he wouldn't have let go of the entire city's people so easily. She just didn't know what Xiao Di's entire plan was, so for now, she could only proceed with her own plan.
"He? He agreed to such a condition?" Draudillon was very surprised. This meant that regardless of the outcome of this duel, only the Dragon Kingdom would benefit. Losing Clementine, who came from the Ainz Ooal Gown Magic Kingdom, perhaps Norman could still hold out for a long time relying on the Steel Rank Adventurers' team, Crystal Tears, and the inherent terrain advantage.
However, for Norman, losing supply lines meant that its fall was only a matter of time. Once the city fell... the citizens within would become food for the Beastmen's feast, just like the previous three conquered towns.
"He had no choice but to agree, right? After all, he was the one begging me for a duel. How could he not make some concessions? Alright, I came here just to tell Her Majesty the Queen about this. Also, no matter the outcome later, none of you should come closer. This is for your own good." Iri said, then once again walked towards the city gate.
"Hey! Are you looking down on me?! Not even bringing a weapon?!" The Big Cat, seeing Iri approaching empty-handed from afar, immediately raised the long-handled axe in his hand and roared, pointing it at Iri.
A weapon? He needs a weapon? Not bringing a weapon means looking down on him? Your Beastmen's duels are really troublesome. If I really used a weapon, would you still be alive? Iri thought, quite helplessly. A hammer was out of the question; she still needed to leave him with his dog life... no... cat life.
"Beru... please find me a blunt weapon." Iri called back.
"Coming! Coming right away!!" Beru looked around, seeing that the swords, spears, and maces handed over by the soldiers were not the "blunt" weapons that Clementine wanted. Anxious, Beru's gaze fell upon the pile of debris that had just been cleared from blocking the city gate.
"Ah! I found it!" Beru scurried over, picked up an item from the pile of debris, and ran out.
"Is that child... serious?" A group of people stared dumbfounded, Draudillon looked utterly bewildered as she watched Beru run out clutching that thing.
"Clementine! Your blunt weapon!" Beru ran over. Iri, without turning her head, simply extended her hand gracefully to Beru, and Beru placed the blunt weapon she had just found into Iri's hand.
"Hmm?" Only then did Iri notice what kind of "blunt weapon" Beru had brought her.
"Xiao BuDian... you're..." The Big Cat's veins bulged again, showing that the item in Iri's hand greatly angered him.
After all, the "blunt weapon" Beru had found for Iri was a shovel...
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