Chapter 21 Knuckleball

In the third round, only Jin Zhenhuan and the wardens were left. The others had already withdrawn from the trial, including Bandit. As an ordinary trial-taker, the only one who didn’t leave was Rhode.

Jin Zhenhuan and the wardens happened to make an even number, so they could team up in pairs. Only Li Xiu and Rhode were left, and they were forced to form a team.

Li Xiu had already ended with a tie twice. If he fought Rhode to a draw again, the next trial would be a mandatory life-and-death battle.

He only had one chance. It would be fine if he was a pitcher, but if he was a batter, the probability of him dying was very high.

Moreover, Li Xiu’s next opponent was probably Jin Zhenhuan. As the batter, he was almost certain to lose.

Therefore, no matter how one looked at it, victory was the only answer for Li Xiu. A tie wasn’t even an option.

“Brother, your standards aren’t bad. Were you also a professional in the past?” Rhode came to Li Xiu’s side and chatted with him as if they were friends.

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“No.” Li Xiu closed his eyes and rested, waiting for his trial to begin. “It’s rare for a non-professional pitcher to control the ball so well. It’s not difficult to throw a forkball, but most people can throw a similar forkball after practicing for a period of time. However, that kind of forkball is useless. The speed is slower than the average pitch to begin with. How to increase the speed and precise control of a forkball is a key question. For example, the guy who threw the forkball from before nearly missed the strike zone. That kind of control isn’t worthy of being called a forkball…” Rhode continued.

“What are you trying to get at?” Li Xiu interrupted Rhode.

“What I’m trying to say is that we’re all skilled players, so there’s no need for us to kill each other. If we really want a winner decided, it’s very likely that both parties will suffer and nobody will survive.”

“Do you think I can trust you?” Li Xiu looked at Rhode and asked.

“Of course you can. You can only trust me,” Rhode said.

“Why?” Li Xiu looked at Rhode with interest. He wanted to know what gave Rhode his confidence.

“Other than forkball, I’m also good at knuckleballs,” Rhode whispered to Li Xiu.

He thought that Li Xiu knew what knuckleballs were, but Li Xiu had no idea. Therefore, he could only look at Rhode without saying a word.

Faced with Li Xiu’s silence, Rhode imagined that Li Xiu was weighing the pros and cons, so he continued, “You should know very well that even a pitcher doesn’t know where the knuckleball will fly to. It flits left and right randomly. Although it has a nice name, it’s a nightmare for professional players. Not only must the batter guess blindly, but even the catcher can only rely on a lucky catch. If you insist on having a victor emerge in our match, I’ll throw a knuckleball. Let’s leave it to fate.”

“It sounds fun. I’m looking forward to seeing that knuckleball of yours,” Li Xiu said to Rhode.

Rhode was a little stunned. He believed that Li Xiu-as a professional baseball playerwould understand what he meant. He never expected Li Xiu to say that.

“Do you think I’ll chicken out? Do you know that other than being a professional player, I’m also a gambler? I love gambling.” Rhode’s eyes turned sharp.

“That’s for the best. I’m looking forward to seeing you throw the knuckleball.” Li Xiu meant what he said. He really wanted to see what a knuckleball was.

“Alright, let’s wait and see.” There was no need to continue the discussion. Rhode turned around and left, sitting on the steps on the other side.

Soon, the third round of the trial began. There were only a few groups left, and they each scored one point. Soon, it was Li Xiu and Rhode’s turn.

Li Xiu stood in the pitcher’s position. Standing in the batter’s position, Rhode shouted at Li Xiu, “Think about it again. I can let you score first.”

“There’s no need to consider it. Let’s leave it to skill.” Li Xiu exercised his joints and prepared to pitch.

What kind of ball will he throw? A forkball? A curveball? Or a high-speed straight ball? Rhode stared at Li Xiu, who was in a throwing pose, and made a judgment.

Although he was known as Eagle Eye and had dynamic vision that ordinary people couldn’t reach, it was one thing to be able to see. Making a timely judgment was a whole other matter.

The moment the other party threw the ball, one had to determine what pitch the other party was throwing and swing the bat in time. It wasn’t easy.

Especially when facing someone like Li Xiu who was good at various breaking balls and had incomprehensible confidence, Rhode couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

What gives him his confidence? He doesn’t even want the point from me and insists on fighting me to the death. Although that’s just nonsense to fool him, where does his confidence come from? Be it the forkball or the curveball, I should have a chance of touching them with the speed of the ball he throws. However, his confidence makes it seem like he’s 100% confident of victory. What kind of pitch can give him that confidence?

As he thought, his eyes suddenly lit up. Could it be that he also knows how to throw a knuckleball? He wants to bet on his luck?

The more Rhode thought about it, the more he found it reasonable. Other than that, he couldn’t figure out why Li Xiu was so confident.

Their physique was about the same, but Rhode possessed extraordinary dynamic vision. Other than the unpredictable knuckleball, there was nothing he wasn’t confident in hitting.

Right, it has to be a knuckleball. Rhode had made up his mind.

Li Xiu had already thrown the ball over. The ball was a little slow in the air, and the knuckleball was considered the slowest way to pitch a ball. This made Rhode even more certain of his judgment.

Faking a forkball? It’s useless. I’ve already seen through you. Since you want to bet with me, let’s take a gamble. The gambler in Rhode flared. He knew that the knuckleball’s trajectory couldn’t be predicted, so it was useless even if he had eagle eyes. He could only take a gamble.

Rhode suddenly swung his bat and chose to hit the ball down. Since it was all a gamble, aiming lower could guard against the possibility that Li Xiu was throwing a forkball instead of a knuckleball.

Rhode felt something amiss the moment he swung the bat. This was because the baseball that flew over didn’t shake violently or randomly. It didn’t look like a knuckleball.

It doesn’t matter. Even if it’s a forkball, it’s useless. I can still hit it. He had already swung the bat, so it was useless to think about anything else. All he could do was swing the bat with all his might.

But when the ball reached him, his entire body seemed to turn to stone, and his face was filled with shock and incomprehension.

y is it such a slow straight ball… There’s no variation at all… Rhode watched helplessly as the ball flew over the bat and hit the square frame.

From a spectator’s point of view, it was as if Li Xiu had thrown a weak ball, but Rhode had deliberately missed.