The Countess's Chief Swordsman had barely announced the start of the quarterfinals when "Whale-Slaying Sword" Kang Si'ang leaped impatiently onto the arena and challenged Arthur.
His rudeness displeased the spectators in Earta Square.
Arthur's "instructional match" yesterday had earned him considerable goodwill among the audience.
Besides, Arthur himself was from South Los, while "Whale-Slaying Sword" Kang Si'ang came from overseas.
Immediately, people began shouting insults-
"You ill-mannered lout!"
"Lord Credos will teach you a lesson in a moment!"
"You overseas savage!"
The stream of curses left Kang Si'ang feeling deeply wronged.
I didn't want to do this either!
Arthur arranged all of this!
Originally, Kang Si'ang had intended to simply concede if the draw paired him with Arthur, but Arthur had refused.
Arthur wanted the match to be "more exciting."
After a moment of surprise, Kang Si'ang had understood what was going on.
The Swordsmanship Tournament had brought not only a large number of vendors to the area around Earta Square, but also some inconspicuous little tents.
Most of these little tents were used to store goods.
Others, however, were...
Casinos!
These tiny casinos, scarcely big enough to deserve the name but fully capable of taking wagers, mingled with the vendors in a semipublic fashion, accepting bets from anyone.
Quite a few of them belonged to the Lady of the Long Night.
Who in South Los didn't know about Arthur's relationship with the Lady of the Long Night?
Before pledging himself to Arthur, Kang Si'ang had already investigated all of this thoroughly.
Naturally, the Whale-Slaying Sword assumed Arthur was helping the Lady of the Long Night rake in money.
The Whale-Slaying Sword had no sympathy whatsoever for those gambling addicts.
Those gambling scum all deserved to die!
With that simple conviction, and with himself about to fly the