When Collin heard Gu Mengmeng, his first reaction was not touched but distraught.
He carelessly wiped away the blood on his face and explained urgently, "I'm only a little injured and will be fine after one or two days. I won't become a crippled beast."
Gu Mengmeng was taken aback for a moment. Understanding Collin's intention, she became anxious and stepped forward from behind Lea, forgetting about her fright. She walked towards Collin and explained, "I didn't mean it like that, I was just..."
"If you don't have the intention to take him in as your partner, do not randomly care for him." Lea clutched onto Gu Mengmeng's wrist, pulling her back into his embrace in just a light tug after she walked one or two steps away. Then, he looked up at Collin whose face was filled with expectations and said, "If you want to become Gu Mengmeng's partner, you have to defeat either me or Elvis. Or else, you would not be acknowledged by us."
Collin furrowed his brows. He was aware of his own abilities and also knew Elvis's and Lea's. It was impossible to defeat them just on his own. But, he also could not give up on Gu Mengmeng. Thus, he breathed in deeply and stepped a large step forward into the Challenge Area, announcing with due care and respect, "Lea, I, Collin, challenge you."
Lea nodded leisurely, as if Collin's decision was within his predictions.
Lea handed Gu Mengmeng to Elvis and tilted his neck slightly to both sides to warm up his body. He moved in slowly step by step on Collin, stretching his slender fingers one by one. His nails lengthened visibly under the naked eye. As Lea inched closer with each step gracefully, the blood on Collin's face was replaced with perspiration.
Supposedly, his armed skills were almost on par with Lea but his innate crisis consciousness was clamoring out continuously, warning him that battling with Lea was not a wise move.
But as he saw Gu Mengmeng who was being hugged by Elvis behind Lea and after meeting eyes with her worried and concerned pupils, Collin could not submit to his internal fear. Whatever happens, he could not run away in front of Gu Mengmeng.
Since a battle was necessary, then he would take on the battle!
However...
"Where are your eyes looking at?" Lea squinted his long and narrow eyes, his tone mild but slightly furious. Clutching onto Collin's neck with his sharp nails, he easily lifted the male who clearly looked burlier than him, "You actually dare to be distracted while battling with me? Am I being looked down by you? Huh?"
Collin held onto the hand that Lea used to clutch his neck with his both hands but could not move the fingers that were as hard as steel and iron by a single inch at all. The words 'unwilling to be defeated' were written all over his red face despite him being helpless. His blood-streaked eyes looked at Gu Mengmeng in reluctance to part with her, not wanting to shift away for a moment.
"You should rejoice over the fact that you are a member of Saint Nazaire." A graceful light smile was maintained on Lea's face but upon a closer look, Collin could clearly see the coldness in his smiley eyes.
Lea's angry, he's really angry.
Collin did not have the time to see Gu Mengmeng again when he felt his whole body leaning backwards after losing balance and he fell from the two-stories tall wooden pagoda like an abandoned doll.
The last sound Gu Mengmeng heard was a mere loud "Bang". That was the sound of Collin hitting the ground.
But in this situation, this sound did not attract the slightest attention from the other males nor did it reduce their enthusiasm.
Making it to the top of the pagoda meant that they would challenge Elvis and Lea and this kind of result was within expectations. What they were fighting for was just a possibility. Despite how low this possibility was, they would never give up!