"Strange, if Boothill drove away the the IPC people who came to the Xianzhou for business, would the Luofu really be okay with that?" Chilchuck was quite confused. The the IPC could be considered guests of the Xianzhou Luofu, so why wouldn't the Xianzhou control Boothill if he was causing such a disturbance?

Although they both follow The Hunt, the operating styles of the Xianzhou and the Galaxy Rangers are completely different. Strictly speaking, they might not necessarily be allies.

"I'm afraid that from the Xianzhou's perspective, Boothill's actions are just a personal vendetta against the the IPC. After all, seeking revenge is also a form of The Hunt. As long as it doesn't affect other guests, the Xianzhou has no reason to stop Boothill from pursuing his vengeance," Marcille interjected. "Similarly, the Xianzhou won't stop the the IPC from putting a bounty on Boothill—I expect they've already prepared to send people to capture him by now, right?"

—

"Mr. Boothill, I don't know what kind of grudge you have with the the IPC... but I don't think we're that different. Don't we both want the attention of the entire galaxy!"

Boothill pulled out his revolver and aimed the pitch-black barrel at the center of Luka's forehead. "Fine, fine, fine, I'm not gonna argue with you. Since you want my bullets so bad, I'd feel bad turnin' you down, right? Heh, before I came here, I asked the Reignbow Arbiter for six lucky sticks at the Divination Commission."

"How about this... if my next six shots all misfire, you win. But if they don't... tsk tsk, the floor of this arena is gonna be a real fudge to clean up~"

Seeing how serious he was, Luka was momentarily frightened. "Uh, Mr. Boothill, this is just a sparring match. We should stop before anyone gets hurt. There's no need to fight to the Death..."

"Son of a nice muddle, some people might be playin' around with you, but I ain't! I'm gonna fight you to the Death. If you don't have the guts for it, what the fork are you doin' up here?" Boothill pulled back the smile on his face and stared intently at Luka. "Come on, look at my barrel. Walk over and punch me. You dare?"

"What are you doing?" Stelle also began to feel that the atmosphere on the stage was getting a bit strange.

"I'm talkin' to little brother Luka! Let him answer me himself! Luka! Walk over and punch me! You dare?!"

Boothill's repeated questioning was like a series of cannonballs, stirring up a storm in the depths of Luka's heart. Although he still tried to maintain his charging stance, his shifting eyes had already betrayed him.

"Speak up!"

Luka took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the fear in his heart, and gritted his teeth. "...Bring it on, Boothill. I will defeat you."

"Hahahaha! Son of a nice muddle, you got some spine! Bullets don't have eyes, so don't blame me for bein' heartless!"

—

Qin's Moon.

"This is bad. Faltering before the fight... this Luka... I'm afraid he will lose this battle."

Inside the bamboo pavilion of the Mirror Lake Medical Manor, Ge Nie held his sword, his gaze calm as he watched the changes in Luka's expression. Boothill's questioning was indeed quite oppressive, like a heavy hammer constantly striking at the weak points in Luka's heart, already carving out a faint crack.

"Faltering before the fight?" Tianming turned his head, his face full of confusion. "Uncle, you couldn't be wrong, could you? Big brother Luka doesn't look like he's scared. Isn't it just that Boothill guy asking those questions? It's pretty scary, sure... but if he doesn't give him two good punches, that guy will definitely think Luka was raised on scares!"

"No, Tianming. Boothill is the most unique opponent Luka has ever encountered." Hearing Tianming's rebuttal, Ge Nie only slowly shook his head. "The opponents Luka has faced before were all competitors in an arena—they usually stop before serious injury and don't fight to the Death. Although Luka is skilled, he has never truly fought a life-and-Death struggle."

Koyomi listened intently, seemingly understanding something. "Mr. Gai, are you saying that Boothill is creating a sort of 'psychological momentum'? He wants to use words to intimidate Luka and make him back down..."

"Exactly." Ge Nie gave Koyomi an appreciative look and turned his gaze back to the Celestial Screen. "Although Luka is still trying to act calm, his momentum has already collapsed. He is afraid... he is afraid that Boothill will truly kill him. In the subsequent fight, he will likely be hesitant. Even if Boothill has no intention of killing him from the start, the opponent will find a weakness to crush him."

"So according to what you're saying, Uncle, it's really useful to intimidate the opponent before a fight?"

"Yes, it is indeed very useful. Do you know why drums are beaten before two armies engage? To rouse courage with a single blast. The first beat not only stimulates the soldiers' courage, but the sound of the drums can also greatly weaken the opponent's morale. In a battle between two armies, 'momentum' is a factor that generals must fight for."

"But this doesn't mean Luka's defeat is completely certain. At the moment of life and Death, it is normal for a person to be afraid. Or rather, a person who isn't afraid is the one who is abnormal. But true bravery is moving forward even if your legs are trembling... If Luka can take that step in this battle, it will surely be extremely beneficial to his mindset in the future."

—

The hallucinations are back.

In Luka's eyes, Boothill had now completely transformed into a different shape. His limbs were twisted, morphing into an ugly and dangerous monster. Countless eyes were densely packed, covering every inch of that twisted body's surface without any pattern, and every gaze seemed to be speaking.

"Run away, Luka. Don't go over there, you'll die."

"I don't want to die..."

"He'll kill me..."

Luka's face was pale, his lips trembling. "I... no... I can't..."

"Oh? You don't even have the courage to walk up?" Boothill sneered. In his view, Luka remained motionless in his original position, not daring to take a single step forward.

The fear in his heart continued to mislead him: "You shouldn't be facing him, Luka! He will kill you!"

"Luka! Bullets don't have eyes! Do you really want to die?"

Luka shook his head. "I can't die here, I don't want to die yet... I don't want to die yet!"

The fear of Death: "Then just turn around and leave, and nothing will happen. Run away!"

"No, I cannot shrink back..."

Luka opened his eyes. He let out a long breath and walked straight toward Boothill. The latter's mouth curled into a slight smile, as if he finally felt things were getting interesting.

"Good lad!"