Ek's Dilemma

The next day.

By the fourth day, Ailin had easily achieved forty consecutive victories.

Over the past two days, even more people had come to the Blood Battle Stage to watch.

There were even more people challenging Ailin. Although his winning streak still could not compare to Bens's, his reputation was no less than Bens's now.

Outside the Blood Battle Stage passageway, when the Silver-haired Woman saw Ailin come down, she stepped forward with a smile. "Mr. Ailin, will you be watching the matches today?"

For powerful fighters on a winning streak at the Blood Battle Stage, as long as they had achieved ten consecutive victories and continued challenging others, the Blood Battle Stage would arrange an exclusive viewing area for them. This also prevented them from causing "disorder" in the regular viewing areas.

"No need."

Ailin did not stay to watch.

For the previous two days, he had chosen to watch after finishing his matches, mainly to observe Bens.

Unlike him, although Bens took the stage every day, few people actually challenged him. In three days, Bens had fought only eight matches. Of course, all eight challengers had been killed.

Although Bens had not made many appearances, compared to those who had challenged Ailin before, Bens was indeed quite capable. He was perhaps worthy of Ailin taking him a little more seriously, so Ailin was looking forward to meeting him.

The only thing that surprised Ailin was that the Blood Battle Stage had never arranged for him to challenge Bens, nor had it arranged for Bens to challenge him.

It seemed the Blood Battle Stage wanted him to extend his winning streak further. They were not afraid that he might suddenly lose.

After leaving the Blood Battle Stage, Ailin returned directly to his residence.

Before long, Ek came to Ailin's residence again.

Upon seeing Ailin, Ek spoke first. "Congratulations. You've reached forty consecutive victories now."

As he spoke, Ek took out a large pile of Nether Stones and placed them before Ailin. "These are the Nether Stones you earned from the bets you asked me to place the day before yesterday. With five thousand Nether Stones as principal, repeatedly betting over the past two days has earned fifty thousand Nether Stones."

After deciding to rely on the Betting Ring at the Blood Battle Stage to earn Nether Stones, Ailin had sought out Ek among the spectators after the Blood Battle Stage matches on the second day and asked him to bet on Ailin's victory.

It was not that Ailin did not want to place the bets himself. He had discovered that this Betting Ring was actually "underground," and ordinary God-level beings did not even know such a thing existed. Only those with considerable strength or sufficient wealth knew of it.

Although the Betting Ring had the Blood Battle Stage's influence behind it, it was not officially part of the Blood Battle Stage. The ones truly supporting it were the great families and major powers within Blood Nether City.

I was only able to get this much because I bet directly on your winning streak.

As if worried that Ailin might think he had pocketed too much of the difference, Ek explained through divine sense, You've been winning continuously these past few days, so the odds on you winning individual matches are very low. Only your winning streak had any worthwhile odds. But after you reached forty consecutive victories today, even the odds on your streak dropped. Betting further would barely make any money.

"Fifty thousand is not a small amount."

Ailin nodded casually. Although he had not traveled through the Netherworld for long, the Mid-level God bandits he had encountered on the road had paid such a great price merely to rob a Mid-level God Divine Spark worth ten thousand Nether Stones. That alone showed how difficult it was to earn fifty thousand Nether Stones.

Yet here, it had taken only two or three days.

"Oh, right."

Ek suddenly seemed to recall something. Looking at Ailin, he said directly, "If you continue challenging tomorrow, you'll most likely face Bens."

Ailin looked at Ek. "Oh? You can know that in advance?"

"You can infer some things from the odds."

Ek did not elaborate. "The Blood Battle Stage won't let the odds remain so stable forever. Whether it's you or Bens, betting on either of you no longer makes money. The Blood Battle Stage won't remain idle. Besides, Bens is nearly at sixty consecutive victories. Even without you, the Blood Battle Stage would most likely arrange for one of its own powerhouses to step forward."

Ailin, if you face Bens, how confident are you?

Ek still could not help asking through divine sense.

Ailin glanced at Ek and chuckled. He could understand this fellow's "dilemma."

"What would you do if I said one hundred percent?"

Ailin's expression did not change, and his tone remained easygoing.

Hearing Ailin's answer, Ek's expression became conflicted. Over the past two days, he had not missed a single one of Ailin's matches or Bens's battles. Yet he still had not been able to discern much, mainly because none of the people challenging them had been particularly strong. They had not forced either of them to reveal many of their techniques.

He had no choice but to suspect that this was also the Blood Battle Stage's doing—intended to prevent people like him from trying to determine the outcome in advance.

Should I take a gamble?

Ek did not know whether he should trust Ailin. After all, he had known Ailin for only a few days. They could hardly be considered familiar.

Even when he finally left, Ek did not answer Ailin's question.

Watching Ek leave, Ailin shook his head and looked at his Nether Stones. "A little regrettable. Still, it's not bad. It's enough."

Originally, he had planned to bet these fifty thousand Nether Stones on his own winning streak. However, Ek had told him that ordinary winning streak bets were unprofitable and even incurred fees. Betting on the possible outcome between him and Bens had a minimum stake of one million Nether Stones.

It could be said that bets at that level were merely private wagers among "acquaintances."

After Ek returned to his residence, he remained conflicted. If he won the bet, he would not have to worry about Nether Stones for even tens of thousands of years. But if he lost, the Nether Stones he and Glass had earned through their past adventures might be completely wiped out.

Yet if he did not bet, he was unwilling to accept it. After all, who knew how long it would be before he encountered such an opportunity again?

Glass had been "recovering" at the residence. When he saw Ek return, he stepped forward. "What? Still conflicted?"

Naturally, he understood Ek's thoughts perfectly.

Ek sighed and nodded. "Yes. This opportunity is rare, after all. Unfortunately, Ailin doesn't intend to admit defeat. That makes the outcome uncertain."

"You still couldn't see their true strength after watching these days?"

Glass asked.

Ek shook his head. "None of the challengers over the past two days were real powerhouses. There was no way to tell anything."

"What did Uvaldo say?"

Glass asked again.

"That fellow only said the two of them would face each other tomorrow. Bens is about to reach sixty consecutive victories, after all, and even the City Lord is paying attention."

Ek spoke softly. "However, Uvaldo favors Bens."

"That fellow is from the Blood Battle Stage. Maybe he understands the two of them better. If he favors Bens, then Bens should have a strong chance."

Glass said.

"It would be nice if that were true. Uvaldo is originally from the Blood Battle Stage, so perhaps he deliberately released that information to make us bet on Bens, while Ailin is actually stronger."

Ek said directly. Clearly, he did not fully trust Uvaldo either.

"If that's the case, then just give up. The Nether Stones we earned last time are enough to last us for a while anyway."

Glass was somewhat helpless about this as well.

Ek had always been responsible for their betting. Glass merely cooperated with him.

After struggling for a long time, Ek finally nodded helplessly. "Let's give up."

He truly did not want to take the risk.