"Of course."
Chen Ce smiled and placed the Resistance Army badge back into her still-smooth, delicate little hand.
"The conditions over there are better than here, and it's safer, too. I'm sure you'll be able to learn a lot there, ma'am. Please give some more thought to moving."
Chapter 49: Master Chen: I'll Take on Ten!
His fists clenched.
His fists were clenched.
Sett watched the young man, who was about his age. The resentment and fury in his eyes nearly became tangible—if only looks could kill.
Ever since he'd finished showering, he'd been listening to Chen Ce chat with his mother.
Their relaxed, cheerful conversation was nothing like one between an elder and a younger person. It was clearly the idle chatter of a man and a woman who were friends.
Damn it...
He shouldn't have made a deal with this guy. He'd practically invited a wolf into his home...
"Ma'am, please take a look at this bracelet. The color and style really suit you."
Chen Ce took an exquisitely crafted jade bracelet, obviously worth a fortune, from the cloth bag he carried with him. Then, under Lady Dadana's surprised gaze, he slipped it onto her wrist.
Their hands... had touched!
"No, no... this gift is far too valuable..." Lady Dadana waved her hands repeatedly. "This bracelet... Xiao Ce, you should give it to Ahri instead!"
"I've already given her a gift," Chen Ce said with a smile. "A pair of gorgeous gemstones—the gift she's always wanted."
"Ah, well..." Lady Dadana didn't know how to refuse such an extravagantly generous gesture.
Sett, meanwhile, knew exactly what gemstones Chen Ce meant: the pair of Imero Stones. The ones he'd taken from Sett. Damn it!
"It's all right. It's just a small welcome gift. It's not that valuable." Chen Ce gently held down the hand Lady Dadana was trying to use to remove the bracelet.
For a moment, its smooth, delicate feel made him think he was touching Ahri's hand.
"This... this..." Lady Dadana tried to refuse again, but her reserved nature made it difficult for her to say no.
Besides... his touch had left her a little flustered...
It had been many years since she'd touched a man's hand. Even if it had nothing to do with romance, there was still a proper distance between men and women. The feeling left her...
Ah... it's almost like being young again...
"Ahem!" At that moment, Sett, who'd been sitting silently beside them, finally made his move.
He grabbed Chen Ce by the wrist and used his brute strength to pull his hand away.
"Chen Ce meant well. Just accept the bracelet."
Rather than let Chen Ce keep touching his mother, Sett would rather have her accept Chen Ce's generosity outright.
"Mm... all right, then..." Lady Dadana lowered her hand, looking embarrassed. A blush even spread across her fair cheeks—she looked just like a young girl. "Then thank you, Xiao Ce..."
"You're welcome." Chen Ce smiled and nodded. Meanwhile, he silently struggled with Sett and soon managed to pull his hand free.
Then he glanced at the old clock on the wall and said, "It's getting late, Lady Dadana. I should head back."
"Oh, all right... Come visit again when you have time~" Lady Dadana waved with a gentle smile, her graceful demeanor utterly captivating. "Sett, see Xiao Ce out."
"I was just about to." Sett rose with a cold laugh, then "escorted" Chen Ce out of the house, practically pushing him along.
Chen Ce didn't mind and simply went outside.
In an instant, Sett's fake smile twisted into a grimace.
"I warned you... Don't deliberately get close to my mom!"
At that, Chen Ce only shrugged innocently. "I was just discussing serious business with Lady Dadana."
"Did you have to discuss business for that long?! You talked from seven in the evening until eleven thirty! Over four hours!!"
"I did it on purpose."
"Ah? So you admit it?!" Sett clenched his fists again.
Yet Chen Ce still looked innocent. "I only kept talking that long because I was waiting for you to come back."
"Waiting for me? What do you mean? You just wanted me to see how close you are to my mom and how good your relationship is, right?!"
"No. I needed to talk to you."
"Spit it out! Stop mumbling a few words at a time!"
"In short, I want to make another deal with you." Chen Ce's tone remained calm. "It concerns Lady Dadana's safety. If you're willing to work with me, I'll do everything I can to protect her."
The moment he heard that his mother might be in danger, Sett's anger immediately died down. A hint of worry appeared in his eyes.
But he still had his pride. "I can protect my mom myself!"
"Of course. I believe you're capable of it," Chen Ce said. "But an extra layer of security would be better, wouldn't it? Besides, this is only my first bargaining chip."
"What else do you have? Hurry up and say it!"
"I can help you look for... your father."
"...?"
At that moment, Sett finally calmed down completely.
More than twenty hours later, two familiar figures appeared once more in Ionia's Underground Fighting Pit.
One was Sett, the most popular new gladiator at the fighting pit in recent days.
The other was the "God of Gambling," Chen Ce, who'd turned a small bet into a fortune of more than five hundred gold coins in the betting pool a few days earlier.
The moment the two walked in, the fighting pit manager, who'd been nearly dozing off, perked right up.
The war had taken a toll on business at the fighting pit lately. He was counting on these two "big names" to drum up publicity and bring in a crowd.
"Quick, quick, quick! Give them the best service!"
The manager kept urging his staff to look after the two distinguished guests, afraid they'd leave if anything displeased them.
He'd even gone out of his way to bring in more than a dozen female attendants, all beautiful and well-built, each with a different style, to take care of them. If they wanted a little extra service, that could be arranged, too.
"Put the 'God of Gambling' aside for now. It's fine to have him sit in the VIP section, but make sure the fighter gets taken care of!" The manager was so frantic he looked like a miser who'd just seen the god of wealth.
But his employees were slow to move, as if they'd run into some sort of problem.
He grew so impatient that he kicked one of them in the rear. "Are you all deaf?! Get moving!"
"We want to... but..." The employee clutched his bruised backside, looking aggrieved. "But the 'God of Gambling' and the fighter are the same person today..."
"Huh? You little punk, have you been drinking too much today?"
"You can see for yourself..."
At that, the manager turned toward the ring, simmering with anger.
The next moment, all his anger turned to shock.
The young man standing in the ring looked far from muscular—in fact, next to the other fighters, he could even be called skinny...
He held a long spear, his back as straight as the weapon in his hands.
He pointed toward the lights overhead, his voice loud and clear:
"I'll take on ten!"
Chapter 50: Sett: You're Showing Off Now, Huh?
The fighting pit manager stared at the young man in the ring, eyes filled with shock and confusion.
Wasn't that Chen Ce just a gambler who bet on fights? Why was he getting in the ring himself? And he was holding a spear, looking surprisingly convincing, too?
"What's going on here?" The manager shoved the employee away from the desk and personally checked tonight's fight card.
The first match...
Chen Ce?
It really was him?
He was actually going to fight?
"Is he crazy, or have I had too much to drink?" Even now, the manager thought the whole thing was too surreal to be real.
But his employees weren't overthinking it like he was.
"What do we do now?" one of them asked. "Do we really send ten gladiators out to fight him?"
"Fight your head!" The manager smacked the employee on the back of the head. "He must be doing this because he's unhappy with something at our fighting pit. Take a few people over there and talk him down!"
"Oh, all right..." The employee scurried off.
The manager irritably lit a cigar, preparing to rearrange tonight's matches.
But before he could take more than a few puffs, the same employee came scurrying back.
"Um... he said he's not unhappy with the fighting pit. He just wants to fight..."
"Huh?" The manager was so startled that he crushed his cigar, nearly burning a hole in his precious coat. "You useless fool! Can't you even talk someone down?"
"No... He really wants to fight... He's not making trouble..."
"Tsk..."
The manager turned again to look at the young man named Chen Ce, still standing proudly in the center of the ring like a king surveying his territory.
At last, he understood. The man wasn't throwing a "tantrum." He was genuinely confident in himself and really did want to fight.
As for his arrogant claim that he'd take on ten...
"Damn it..."
The manager stared at that figure and cursed, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.
"If he wants to wreck the place, then break his bones!"
Inside the fighting pit, Sett should've been standing in the ring, waiting for his match to begin. Instead, he was standing below it.
He tugged hard on the cage at the edge of the ring, drawing Chen Ce's attention.
"Hey, are you sure this is a good idea...?"
"Don't worry. It'll be fine." Chen Ce smiled.
"You're even crazier than me... Even if I'm confident I can become the strongest fighter here, I wouldn't pull something like this."
"So, you're showing off?"
"No."
"I really want to punch that smug face of yours, Chen Ce."
"Then you might have to get in line." Chen Ce smiled again, then turned toward the other side of the ring.
A large group was heading their way.
There were somewhere between ten and twenty people. Some might've been attendants, but the remaining hulking brutes—with muscles bigger than their heads—were definitely gladiators.
That's right. Tonight, he was going to take on every strong fighter in this Underground Fighting Pit by himself.
This was his second gift to Sett: helping him quickly rise to become Ionia's "Underground Emperor."
It was the second reward in their deal with Sett, and it would help Chen Ce—or rather, the Resistance Army, too.
Once Sett accepted this gift, he'd have to use it to work for the Resistance Army.
He'd either work for the Resistance Army or help them bring down the warband Samira's intelligence had mentioned.
It was a form of recruitment by another name.
A fair deal.
Before you continue