"In short, you just need to remember our agreement. In return, I'll keep my promise and give Mrs. Dodana a safe and beautiful place to live."
After finishing his last sentence, Chen Ce loosened up his joints and assumed a fighting stance.
Over by the ring, a group of gladiators came over under the fight pit manager's lead.
Each of them was a "star fighter" who had won honors in the pit before. They all had their own special skills, and their strength was not to be underestimated.
"Mr. Chen Ce, you really want to fight ten people at once?" The portly manager tightened his belt, his tone rather unfriendly. He had already decided that Chen Ce was here to cause trouble.
"Please let me confirm one last time—you have one final chance to change your mind."
At that, Chen Ce smiled amiably. "Thanks for the concern, but I've made up my mind. I'm going to fight ten people."
"Very well, very well..." The manager's expression darkened. "Then I'll grant your death wish. Tonight's your show, Mr. Chen Ce—a ten-on-one gauntlet, with no more than three minutes' rest between bouts!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a buzz of conversation rose from the stands, mixed with a few jeers.
The gamblers Chen Ce had embarrassed earlier were especially delighted. Every last one of them wanted to see him get beaten to a pulp tonight—and dead would be even better.
"Is that so..." Chen Ce thought for a moment, then said, "I don't think that's quite appropriate."
"Scared now?" The manager sneered.
"No." Chen Ce shook his head, then said something that would really make them eat their words:
"I just think taking them on one at a time would be a waste of time. How about you all come at me together? I'm in a hurry to get home and feed my fox a late-night snack."
"..." The manager fell silent.
The people in the stands looked at one another in disbelief.
Even Sett, who had come with Chen Ce, stared wide-eyed.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed...?" Sett muttered. "You don't have to go that far just to show off! I know you're strong, but don't let your guard down and get caught off balance!"
Chen Ce smiled without a word, then gestured for the gladiators to come at him.
That was enough to push the star gladiators—men accustomed to being the big shots—over the edge.
With the manager's tacit approval, they immediately grabbed all sorts of weapons and climbed into the ring.
The stands erupted with cheers. They had never seen anything like this before.
The pit wouldn't even take bets under these circumstances, but the thrill of watching the spectacle far outweighed the fun of betting on a fight.
The pit was in an uproar.
The gladiators didn't waste any time. As soon as the referee rang the bronze bell, they charged. Weapons of all kinds came down in a dizzying array of attacks.
All the spectators could see was the group surrounding Chen Ce and beating him. Their bulky bodies blocked the view of what was actually happening.
But one thing was clear: not a single gladiator was hurt. Every one of them was attacking relentlessly, piling on the blows—it looked like a one-sided slaughter.
"Boo!" The stands let out another wave of jeers.
They'd thought they were in for a good show tonight. No one expected Chen Ce to win, but surely he could at least put up a fight?
He'd been pinned in a corner and beaten senseless right from the start. Wouldn't it be over in no time?
He wasn't even trying to evade them.
All that swagger, and this was it?
What a letdown. What a total letdown.
The crowd booed him mercilessly.
Only Sett, whose keen eye for the ring caught something others missed, noticed a tell. The gladiators seemed to have an absolute, overwhelming advantage, but on closer inspection, their attacks were growing more and more frantic.
As if they'd lost their nerve.
A few of them were even sweating nervously.
The sight brought back memories of the "fight" between him and Chen Ce the night they first met—a "fight" where Chen Ce had toyed with him like a child.
Sure enough, after a brief moment of being surrounded and attacked, the situation in the ring suddenly turned around—almost in the blink of an eye.
Thud, thud, thud, thud...!
The sounds of people being hit over the head with a heavy club rang out in quick succession.
Then a man noticeably smaller than the other gladiators fought his way out of the crowd.
There wasn't a single mark on his face or body.
He held his trademark spear in his left hand and a longsword he'd just taken from an opponent in his right.
"Now it's my turn."
Chapter 51: Sett: My Head Itches a Little o.0
The people in the pit erupted all over again. The fight in the ring had been one twist after another.
They'd clearly seen the young man who should have been badly injured or even killed by the gladiators' beating emerge from the encirclement without a scratch.
He'd even casually stolen a longsword from one of them.
It was a weapon like a long saber, single-edged and slender. Its blade was forged from Ionian Steel, and its hilt was made of some kind of unusual wood.
"This sword's not bad. It's mine now."
Chen Ce weighed the newly acquired longsword in his hand. It felt decent enough. The star gladiators' weapons were all impressive, finely crafted, and worth a fortune.
"To be honest, this is my first time using a sword... So I hope you won't laugh at me if I'm not very good."
"Damn you..." The gladiator who'd lost his weapon was furious, but the dizziness that spread from his head through his entire body was even more overwhelming.
He wasn't the only one. The other nine gladiators were in the same state.
Chen Ce's Counter Strike had nearly knocked them all unconscious on the spot—and that was only because their bodies were far stronger than an ordinary person's.
To be honest... if Chen Ce had attacked them with the tip of his spear while they were still dizzy, those few seconds would have been more than enough for him to take out several of them.
"Recovered, have you? Then let's continue." Chen Ce deliberately waited for the gladiators to come around. Then...
He tossed away the longsword in his hand.
He'd won everyone over with his superb spear technique, yet now he voluntarily put the spear aside.
He wasn't showing off. He wanted to completely shatter the star gladiators' confidence and make them understand what a real difference in strength looked like.
A difference that couldn't be bridged by willpower or anger.
The vast disparity between a mantis trying to stop a chariot and a mayfly trying to shake a tree.
"From now on, I'll use only a sword, and only one hand."
Chen Ce held the sword in his right hand and clasped his left behind his back.
In an instant, the stands erupted with cheers unlike any the Underground Fighting Pit had heard since it was established.
No one dared underestimate the seemingly "frail" young man anymore. Everyone was eager to see what he'd do next—even though the pit wasn't taking bets.
"That brat..." The fight pit manager's face darkened with rage. He didn't care whether his gladiators could win or not. He immediately gave the order to kill:
"Kill him! You useless freeloaders!"
At his command, the ten gladiators charged again, risking their lives. Chen Ce's arrogance had wounded their pride, and they were all furious.
Unfortunately, they couldn't even touch Chen Ce now.
When he'd used Counter Strike, they'd at least felt as if they were landing hits. Now it was like putting all their strength into punching cotton. Chen Ce was as slippery as an eel, impossible to catch.
He darted and weaved among them, and all the spectators could see was a silver sword flashing through the air.
No... there was something else, too...
A whirlwind.
A strange whirlwind that suddenly swept through the enclosed ring.
It seemed to carry Chen Ce along, making him incredibly fast and nimble.
He looked like a gust of wind.
[Sweeping Blade]
That was Press E Aatrox.
"Is this all the strongest gladiators in the Underground Fighting Pit can do?"
Chen Ce darted among the ten men, his blade striking and thrusting now and then with effortless ease. He even seemed to be toying with his opponents.
One man, toying with ten.
"Useless! You're all useless! Can't ten of you even catch one man?!" The manager roared furiously from below.
The gladiators were already frustrated at being unable to catch Chen Ce. His yelling only threw them into further disarray.
Before even one round in the ring had passed, they were all panting with exhaustion. Every seasoned fighter knew that throwing your full strength into swinging at empty air was exhausting.
Especially when most of them were carrying heavy weapons.
Finally, just as they were about to collapse, Chen Ce stopped playing around.
In an instant, sharp swordlight filled the entire ring. The fierce wind even knocked over several spectators standing close by.
The ten gladiators gave up hope and waited for death to come.
But to everyone's surprise... Chen Ce didn't kill them.
He'd struck them with the flat of his blade.
Clang, clang, clang, clang—the bronze bell rang, and the first round was over.
The gladiators had no desire to continue. They all sat or lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
They knew better than anyone that if Chen Ce had wanted to, he could have taken their heads at any moment.
The overwhelming difference in both strength and skill was more than they could withstand...
And so, with the first round over and not a single casualty, all ten gladiators left the ring of their own accord, effectively surrendering.
"Useless! Useless!" The manager rushed over and kicked them wildly. Unfortunately, his untrained body couldn't hurt gladiators hardened by years of fighting.
They didn't even bother to respond. They only shot the manager a resentful glance before walking off on their own.
The pit was filled with cheers. Chen Ce simply pressed a hand down to quiet the crowd.
Then he pointed straight at Sett, who stood beside the ring looking just as stunned as everyone else:
"Only Sett in this pit can fight me. The rest of you... are too weak."
Some people were annoyed, others glowered, but most of the audience screamed themselves hoarse. What a show-off! An unbelievable show-off!
But one who could back it up!
After all that, Chen Ce picked up Doran's Spear from the ground and headed down from the ring.
Just then, another fight pit manager stepped in front of him—but not aggressively. He was almost fawning.
"Mr. Chen Ce, our boss would like to meet you. Do you have some time now?"
At that, Chen Ce smiled as if everything had gone exactly as he'd expected.
Then he turned him down without hesitation.
"Sorry, I'm busy."
"Huh...?" The manager froze.
But before he could try to persuade him, Chen Ce had already strode out of the pit.
Sett was utterly confused, but he still hurried after him.
After leaving the Underground Fighting Pit, the two soon started down the quiet, deserted road home.
Sett finally couldn't hold back his question. "Why did you call me out earlier, then refuse to meet the Underground Fighting Pit boss? If you want to help me rise through the ranks quickly, wouldn't going straight to the boss be the fastest way?"
"It would be fast." Chen Ce nodded. "But only in the short term. The ceiling's too low."
"What do you mean?" Sett asked, puzzled.
"What do you think would happen if you met the boss?" Chen Ce asked in return.
"What would happen...? I'd negotiate with him or something. Wouldn't that be a good thing?"
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