"This Little Cat, now not only knows the fact that he is very cute, but also knows how to use it."
Watching Princess Ankang act cute and charm her teammates on the field, Li Xuan couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.
But if this could make General Jiang Ying and others let go of their grudges, it would be a beautiful thing.
Just as both sides were ready and the third match was about to begin, Duke Hu of Guo, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke:
"The warm-up is almost over. Let's change the third match to direct confrontation."
As soon as he said this, the young generals just nodded and accepted the order.
The Third Prince and the Eighth Prince's expressions changed slightly, looking a bit unnatural.
The next moment, soldiers had already come onto the field, drawing a circle in the middle of the two sides of the field, and then drawing a curved line to divide the circle into two, resembling a yin-yang fish.
"Eighth Brother, what does direct confrontation mean?"
Princess Ankang asked curiously.
It seemed that the rules of the match had changed.
The Eighth Prince immediately explained: "Qúc Ju matches are divided into three forms: direct confrontation, indirect confrontation, and Baida."
"Like the one we just played, where the goals are on opposite sides and the two teams only attack in their respective areas, that's a type of indirect confrontation."
"There's another type of indirect confrontation where a goal is placed in the center of the two fields, but the Fengliu Eye of that goal is twice as high, making it harder to score."
"Baida is more of a performance, where victory is decided by the number of tricks and the skill level, and there's no confrontational aspect between players."
Princess Ankang, after hearing about these two Qúc Ju match types, had already somewhat guessed what direct confrontation was all about.
"As for direct confrontation…"
The Eighth Prince was silent for a moment, looking at the yin-yang fish between the two sides of the field, and then continued: "It's still the same field, but now you can move freely between the two sides."
"This, of course, makes physical confrontation between players on both sides unavoidable."
The Eighth Prince was very knowledgeable about Qúc Ju, and naturally, he was extremely clear about these basic rules.
After the soldiers finished drawing the yin-yang fish, they quickly exited the field.
Duke Hu of Guo loudly announced: "The third match will adopt the form of direct confrontation. The official exchange matches will also be like this, so it's good to get familiar with it beforehand."
"As for the referee, I will take on that role."
The Eighth Prince looked at Duke Hu of Guo, then lowered his voice and instructed Princess Ankang beside him: "Ankang, you must be careful later."
"I've long heard that Qúc Ju in the army is particularly wild. This old man didn't even bring a whistle; he clearly didn't intend to officiate the match properly. We'll have to pray for ourselves later."
Princess Ankang gulped, nervously asking: "It wouldn't be that bad, would it?"
"Alas, although our identities are special, injuries are inevitable in Qúc Ju. As long as it's not serious, who can say anything?"
"Moreover, they are all soldiers of the Pioneer Army, about to go to war for the country. How can we make things difficult for them over such a small matter?"
Although Li Xuan was far away on the sidelines, he heard the Eighth Prince's words clearly.
His small brows furrowed slightly, and he looked suspiciously at Duke Hu of Guo beside him.
Although the cultivation of these young generals on the field was extraordinary, Princess Ankang was also physically strong, far surpassing ordinary people, so he wasn't worried about any danger.
It's just that if the Qúc Ju match changed to direct confrontation…
"Eighth Brother, won't fourteen people be coming after you later?"
"???"
The Eighth Prince was momentarily confused, looked at the opposite side, then looked behind him, and immediately showed a bitter smile on his face.
That's right, there were sixteen people on the field in total. Besides Ankang not attacking him, the rest of them naturally wouldn't go easy on him.
Especially General Jiang Ying and others on the same team, they would probably beat the Eighth Prince even harder than the opposing team later.
"Ankang, if Eighth Brother doesn't make it today, remember to take good care of Ah Xiang for me."
"Eighth Brother, woo woo woo~"
Watching the Eighth Prince begin his final entrustment on the field, Duke Hu of Guo, who was off the field, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye.
"This brat!"
Duke Hu of Guo didn't give the Eighth Prince any more opportunities to make a fool of himself and immediately announced the start of the third match.
For fairness, the ball possession for the third match would no longer be rotated. Duke Hu of Guo directly threw the ball to the center of the field, letting both teams scramble for it.
The moment the match began, the Eighth Prince turned his head and ran towards the edge of the field, wanting to stay away from this place of trouble and protect himself.
But he had only run a few steps when he was tackled from behind.
The one who tackled him from behind was, of course, only his teammate.
What was slightly absurd was that the Eighth Prince didn't even have the ball at his feet.
The intention to tackle was simply too obvious.
After being tackled, the Eighth Prince rolled on the ground like a Qúc Ju ball.
Clearly, that tackle was quite skillful.
As everyone expected, General Jiang Ying was triumphantly getting up from the ground.
Li Xuan, watching the match, felt a wave of speechlessness.
The previous indirect confrontation had already made the Eighth Prince suffer so much; with the current rules, how could the Eighth Prince possibly fare well?
Li Xuan silently glanced at Duke Hu of Guo, wondering how much hatred this old man had for his grandson.
"Eighth Brother—"
Princess Ankang called out sadly to the Eighth Prince, who was rolling like a ball.
The Eighth Prince rolled on the ground, dizzy and disoriented. He finally managed to stop, only to find something extra in his arms.
"Hmm? What is this?"
The Eighth Prince felt the round and elastic object in his arms, and for a moment, he didn't react.
When he looked closely, he was immediately scared out of his wits.
In the Eighth Prince's arms, of all things, was the Qúc Ju ball that everyone on the field was fighting for.
Swish, swish, swish…
A strange sound suddenly exploded in the Eighth Prince's ears. When he looked up, he only saw countless smoke dragons sweeping towards him from all directions, surrounding him without any blind spots.
"It's over!"
The Eighth Prince only had time for one thought before he was attacked by countless feet the next moment.
Bang bang, poof, squeak, meow…
After a flurry of sounds, the smoke cleared, leaving the Eighth Prince covered in footprints, lying on the ground, unable to get up.
As for the Qúc Ju ball and the other players, they had long disappeared.
Seeing this scene, Li Xuan couldn't help but lean back slightly, pressing himself tightly into Yu'er's embrace.
"Is this the so-called military Qúc Ju?"
The moment Duke Hu of Guo announced the start of the match, the atmosphere on the Qúc Ju field suddenly changed drastically.
Those young generals were like awakened beasts, making the Qúc Ju field full of murderous intent.
And the first victim was clearly the Eighth Prince.
"Eighth Brother, Eighth Brother!"
"Oh, my dear Eighth Brother~~~"
Princess Ankang rushed forward immediately, shaking the Eighth Prince's body and beginning to sing a dramatic tune.
"This girl…"
Now, it was Li Xuan's turn to twitch at the corner of his eye.
They had watched a few plays outside the palace before, and he hadn't expected this girl to have learned the essence of it.
If Li Xuan hadn't been able to feel that the Eighth Prince was still alive and well, he would have truly thought something had happened to the Eighth Prince.
Duke Hu of Guo's expression wasn't much better.
He had heard that Princess Ankang and the Eighth Prince got along well, so he guessed that they might have something in common.
However, the last time he saw Princess Ankang at the Chongyang Banquet, she was still dignified.
He hadn't expected her condition to be comparable to that of his grandson.
"Alas, what is all this?"
Duke Hu of Guo shook his head with a smile, but he didn't take it too seriously.
After all, Princess Ankang and the Eighth Prince were still young, and there were always some childish aspects to them.
As long as it didn't affect others too much, Duke Hu of Guo had no intention of interfering.
Princess Ankang shook him a few times, and the Eighth Prince immediately couldn't take it anymore.
"Ankang, go easy."
The Eighth Prince weakly tried to stop her.
Princess Ankang saw that her method was effective, immediately stopped singing, and giggled.
"And your singing is too awful."
Princess Ankang stopped giggling and started shaking the Eighth Prince again, making his brains feel like they were being scrambled.
The Eighth Prince had been kicked so many times just now and hadn't felt as uncomfortable as he did now.
You really can't say, being shaken by Princess Ankang to the point of almost vomiting actually made the Eighth Prince feel less pain in his body.
Princess Ankang saw the Eighth Prince rolling his eyes, looking as if he was about to foam at the mouth, and only then did she stop.
"Is my singing still awful?"
Princess Ankang asked seriously.
The Eighth Prince used his last bit of strength to shake his head, saying weakly:
"Good, good…"
"That's more like it!"
Princess Ankang stood guard over the Eighth Prince on the ground, then looked at the others.
After kicking the Eighth Prince to the ground, they actually started playing seriously.
However, without Princess Ankang and the Eighth Prince, General Jiang Ying and the others were at a disadvantage, only able to defend with all their might, completely lacking the power to counterattack.
Seeing that they had no intention of attacking the Eighth Prince again, Princess Ankang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Eighth Brother, if you stand up, I'm afraid the general sisters will come to kick you again."
"What should we do?"
The Eighth Prince took a few breaths, then regained the strength to speak:
"In this situation, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to step forward."
"So, you put me in a safe corner to rest for a while, and then you go lead General Jiang Ying and the others to play well."
"Once everyone ignores my presence, I'll launch a surprise attack and take it in one fell swoop!"
Princess Ankang listened to the Eighth Prince's plan, stared at him in silence for a long time, then asked bluntly: "Eighth Brother, are you going to play dead?"
"If you do that, the general sisters will look down on you even more."
The Eighth Prince choked and coughed a few times, hastily defending himself: "Nonsense, I'm preserving my strength, enduring hardships, waiting for the opportunity, and then it will definitely have a miraculous effect!"
"Alright, don't waste any more time with me, hurry and help them."
As the Eighth Prince spoke, he repeatedly pushed Princess Ankang, telling her not to bother with him and to quickly go help General Jiang Ying and the others.
"Oh—"
Princess Ankang reluctantly agreed, then trotted over and joined General Jiang Ying and the others in defense.
With Princess Ankang's addition, the team's defensive pressure immediately eased considerably.
The opposing team, seeing that they could hold on for so long despite being short a player, became a bit impatient.
The Eldest Prince and the Third Prince launched wave after wave of attacks, but they were all blocked by Princess Ankang and her team.
This made the two princes lose a lot of face.
If they were still to draw the match while being one player up, wouldn't that mean they lost?
Everyone on the field, except for Princess Ankang, cared immensely about winning or losing, and naturally, they couldn't accept such an outcome.
But as the match grew more intense, everyone also discovered that Princess Ankang's strength was extraordinary.
This seemingly cute little princess seemed to be no less inferior to them in speed and strength, and was even stronger than some of the people on the field.
This discovery further ignited the young generals' competitive spirit, as even the other three princes' strengths were not as good as many of theirs.
But if they were to be outshone by an even younger-looking princess, this made it even harder for these young generals to accept.
However, Princess Ankang on the Qúc Ju field seemed omnipotent, appearing wherever she was needed.
Her movements were agile and swift, far surpassing everyone present.
Li Xuan couldn't help but nod with satisfaction.
In terms of physical strength alone, it would be difficult to find anyone in the Middle Three Ranks who could contend with Princess Ankang's current state.
A martial artist's physical quality continuously strengthens as their cultivation realm increases, being nourished by Qi and Blood Power and True Qi.
But it still falls within the scope of ordinary martial artists.
However, the way Princess Ankang's physical body strengthened was somewhat special.
After Li Xuan absorbed the coldness from her, her body would rapidly strengthen in a burst of heat, and the extent of the strengthening became more absurd with each time.
If this continues, Princess Ankang's physical strength will soon be comparable to Li Xuan, this authentic beast race Little Cat.
Now that he thought about it, Li Xuan and Princess Ankang had swapped roles: the beast race practiced Qi cultivation, and the human race practiced body tempering, going against the usual path.
Not only that, but the paths of the one person and one cat were getting wider and wider.
General Jiang Ying and the others on the same team were also startled to see Princess Ankang frequently making exaggerated movements to save the ball.
But besides being startled, their morale was also boosted.
They hadn't fallen so low that an entire match had to be supported by a little girl.
"Change formation, assist Princess to counterattack!"
At General Jiang Ying's command, the young generals on the same team immediately took action.
Originally, their formation was purely defensive, but now a subtle change quietly appeared.
General Jiang Ying came to the back position, shoulder to shoulder with Princess Ankang.
"Your Royal Highness, the offense depends on you."
General Jiang Ying and Princess Ankang looked at each other at close range, seeing that perfect face and unique light blue eyes, and for some reason, suddenly felt her cheeks flush.
General Jiang Ying didn't dare to think too much, immediately grabbed Princess Ankang's wrist, and then flung her forward.
Princess Ankang's agile body immediately flew over everyone, soaring towards the opponent's empty backfield.
"Not good!"
Someone immediately realized something was wrong.
But at this moment, General Jiang Ying, under the cover of others, had temporarily controlled the Qúc Ju ball.
She didn't hesitate either, immediately kicking the ball forward, chasing directly after Princess Ankang's retreating figure.
Princess Ankang was originally thrown into the air in a daze, but when she looked back and saw the Qúc Ju ball catching up to her, her body instinctively swayed in the air.
Seeing the posture Princess Ankang struck, the Eighth Prince, who was playing dead in a corner of the field, suddenly widened his eyes.
"Overhead Kick · Rainbow Bridge!?"
Bang—
The moment the Qúc Ju ball touched Princess Ankang's toes, a rainbow bridge was instantly drawn in the air, piercing through the opponent's goal.
Princess Ankang elegantly curled and spun, floating down to the ground like an immortal.
Everyone seemed to have their mute buttons turned on, silently watching Princess Ankang's back.
Finally, it was Duke Hu of Guo's voice that broke the silence.
"One to zero!"