Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 79
The man sprawled on the ground was carried away by a cursing dwarf, and even after the “show” officially began, no one approached the girl within two steps.
Initially, the atmosphere was chillingly eerie, but after two warm-up fights, the room gradually heated up, and the girl remained standing in the front row closest to the ring, creating a subtle contrast with the room’s ambiance.
But seemingly, no one cared about that.
Erica didn’t squeeze to the front, but the man with the big nose who had first spoken to her found her and cryptically asked if she wanted to place a bet—this was where the real money in underground fighting was made. However, he treated Erica like an ignorant rich lamb, enthusiastically persuading her to bet on a fighter called “Death Alex”, who he claimed had specially high odds due to his connections.
The big-nosed man was quite pushy, forcing Erica to spend some time dealing with him. While they were still entangled in discussion, a commotion suddenly arose upfront, involving some cursing in low voices, but most people looked on eagerly for entertainment.
“Why not?” the conspicuously noticeable girl tilted her chin up, ignoring the whispers around her, and stared directly at the middle-aged man in front of her. “I want him.”
Behind the middle-aged man stood a boy, no more than thirteen, with a half-bruised face, messy black hair clumped with sweat and blood, appearing rather disheveled but standing erect.
“Ah, guest, he’s not fully trained yet. He’s only here for a trial today.” The middle-aged man spread his hands with a look of difficulty. “This boy is highly talented… I wouldn’t let him go just like that.”
“Even the best gem cannot shine in the hands of a poor craftsman,” the girl bluntly said. “If you plan to hoard him, better give up that thought soon. His bones are already deforming.”
The middle-aged man looked slightly displeased.
It was common for the wealthy to scout talents in underground fighting rings, and smart individuals wouldn’t offend a bidder—but the girl was being rather impolite.
Though she spoke truthfully, this boy could now hold his own against opponents who were sixteen or seventeen years old. He was truly reluctant to let him go so soon. By the age of fifteen, the boy could have made a name for himself, and by then, he wouldn’t worry about fetching a high price.
“How about it?” The girl twirled a money bag in her fingers, shimmering under the light. “I offer twelve gold coins, enough for you to buy two boys of the same age.”
The middle-aged man shook his head. “Miss, that price might buy you hunting dogs, not a wild wolf.”
“I’ll offer fifteen gold coins,” a voice interjected.
The girl turned sharply, seeing a young man wrapped in a headscarf watching them.
A smile appeared on the middle-aged man’s face. His continuous haggling wasn’t solely because the price hadn’t reached his expectations but also because, with only one bidder, the chance for a markup was small. But if these two could drive the price up, what difference did it make whether he sold in spring or autumn?
The boy behind him remained expressionless, seemingly unaware of the dispute he had sparked.
“Eighteen gold coins,” the girl said, narrowing her eyes as if trying to see through the other bidder’s headscarf—he was standing just where light met shadow, half of his face obscured, highlighting the frightening brightness of his visible eye.
“Twenty gold coins,” Erica called out.
The girl looked displeased.
But such bidding under the table was common practice here, and everyone who entered knew the rules. She had no reason to react.
However, the big-nosed man who had been chatting with Erica looked agonized. He knew that fellow must be a wealthy young master but hadn’t expected him to be so lavish.
“Twenty—Five—Gold—Coins.” The girl enunciated each word.
That was already above the average price during the peak season, when foot traffic was highest.
She glanced again at the boy behind the middle-aged man, then shifted her gaze to the man trying to intercept the bid.
He looked young, dressed without any distinctive decorations or rare fabrics, yet he was very decisive in his bidding.
Generous yet cautious—a bit of a challenge.
Erica stepped fully into the light. She was taller than the middle-aged man and the boy, and as she moved, both seemed almost overshadowed by her.
Twenty-five gold coins were nearly reaching the girl’s breaking point. Bidding was essentially a psychological game. Erica could tell her opponent wasn’t well-versed in it.
“Twenty-seven gold coins,” Erica stated.
The girl glared at Erica. “Twenty-nine gold coins.
The middle-aged man’s smile was nearly impossible to hide—by the gods above, he never imagined that this not yet fully trained whelp could fetch such a price during the dry season’s warm-up matches!
Now he had completely forgotten how he had cursed this disrespectful girl just minutes ago. He merely tried hard not to look too pleased.
Erica, not even glancing at the middle-aged man, was about to speak when she was interrupted by the girl.
“I can still raise the bid,” she said, “but there’s no need—”
She tilted her head towards the man, implying clearly.
Continuing this would only benefit him.
“What would make you back down?” she asked.
Erica wasn’t riled by her attitude, instead asking in what could almost be considered a gentle tone, “What if I asked you to back down?”
If there hadn’t been children involved today, it would have been different, but since there were, Erica was determined not to leave empty-handed.
The girl looked Erica up and down, then suddenly smiled.
Erica watched as she unfastened an obsidian necklace from around her neck, stuffing it into her pocket.
“Let’s settle this with a fight. The loser backs down,” the girl suggested.
The room briefly fell silent, then suddenly buzzed with murmurs.
“There’s never been such a thing!” A man in a white headscarf exclaimed loudly. “That’s never happened here—”
“Oh come on. It might be fun.” Another man ogled lecherously at the girl’s now-bare neck.
“Don’t joke. Not everyone is so barbaric as to resort to fists…”
“You’re joking. Why come here if you don’t like fists?”
“It might be possible. That young man is quite tall.”
“But it’s not clear if he’s solid…”
“A punch scared you? She’s a woman after all…”
The two central figures ignored the surrounding noise.
“How about it?” The girl, only reaching Erica’s shoulder, kept her chin up to maintain eye contact, looking both stubborn and adorable.
But Erica knew that being deceived by this appearance wouldn’t lead to a pleasant outcome.
“Sure,” Erica said.
Before she even fully finished speaking, a fierce gust of a punch was already speeding towards her face.
Most of the room hadn’t expected her to act so quickly. The crowd scattered, instantly clearing a large circle.
Erica stepped back half a step, leaning back just enough to dodge the punch, but saw her opponent quickly pull back, drop to one hand on the ground, and sweep her leg towards Erica’s knees!
The girl appeared slender, but her kick stirred up a gust of wind indoors. If her opponent had fallen, she could have quickly followed up—a simple yet effective close-combat killing technique familiar to any trained warrior. But misled by the first feint punch, it was hard to react in time. The girl had relied on this move to remain undefeated across the continent until now.
But today, for the first time, she missed.
She widened her eyes, watching as her opponent flipped mid-air from the leaning back position, landing with a leg kicked out, mirroring her own move!
Unable to get up or retreat in time, the girl felt a sharp pain in her leg as she was hit, her vision blurring from the intense light, causing her to instinctively squint. In those two seconds, she was flipped onto the ground, her neck and hips firmly pinned.
Erica looked down at her. “So we have an agreement?”
Some could tell that Erica hadn’t used her full strength.
When the girl was knocked down, Erica could have forced her to lie face down and used her knee to pin her waist. By grabbing her throat and pulling backwards, it would have been possible to break the girl’s spine right there.
The girl understood this too.
She didn’t struggle, just tried to adjust her eyes to the light.
Despite her growing anger inside, her face remained eerily calm.
Because her neck was clamped, she raised her hand to make a “consent” gesture.
Erica slowly let go but didn’t stand up immediately—her judgment was correct, almost as soon as she removed her hands from the girl’s neck, the latter suddenly raised her hand towards Erica’s face!
But it wasn’t the punch Erica had anticipated, so her dodge was in vain, making the girl’s pull on her scarf even smoother.
Standing up, Erica couldn’t help but laugh as she watched the girl triumphantly clutch her scarf, unabashedly staring at her face. “What’s your name?” she asked with intense curiosity.
Erica didn’t respond right away, but she extended her hand.
This time, there was no sudden attack. The girl took the support and stood up, still scrutinizing Erica’s face under the light, more and more pleased with what she saw.
This was the most attractive man she had seen so far—tall and handsome, without the off-putting delicacy or the crude roughness of a carnivore, everything was just right.
And his skills were formidable, though perhaps a bit too soft-hearted.
Actually, she had no qualms about losing. She had chosen her opponent herself, and the battlefield always spoke through strength—it was normal to be outmatched, and making a fuss about it would have been the true embarrassment.
There was unwillingness and a sense of humiliation, of course, but curiously, after seeing her opponent’s face, her anger and frustration had almost completely dissipated, and even the rare talent she occasionally encountered had been forgotten.
It was a good thing she wanted to see what the man who had beaten her looked like.
Holding her scarf, she asked again, “What’s your name? I’m Sasha.”
Erica nodded. “Erica.”
Sasha turned to the middle-aged man, who was still watching. “Twenty-seven gold coins. Bring him over.”
The fight had begun and ended so abruptly that most people hadn’t quite grasped what had happened. However, the merchant nature of the middle-aged man made him cautiously ask, “But you went up to twenty-nine coins.”
“I lost, he’s his,” Sasha stated plainly. “His last bid was twenty-seven. Cut the chatter.”
Though Sasha had lost, it didn’t mean she wasn’t formidable—everyone remembered how she had knocked a man down at the start.
The middle-aged man, his heart in agony over the loss of two or more gold coins, dared not object, as he knew too well he couldn’t afford to offend either of them.
He had been involved in the underground fighting scene for nearly twenty years. Others might not know, but he was very aware that the techniques used by these two were genuine killing moves, both in action and in force. He had never seen anyone in the Lababata fighting pits who could match them.
Comparatively, the “highly talented” kid he held seemed insignificant. Twenty-seven gold coins was already an extraordinary price, and besides, he couldn’t afford to provoke either of them.
Erica, not wanting any more complications, walked out with the boy, and Sasha reattached her necklace and followed through the low door.
The boy silently followed Erica, his rigid back indicating he wasn’t as calm as he appeared, unsure whether his wariness should be directed at Erica, who had bought him, or Sasha, who followed.
The mantis-like clerk was still dozing behind the counter. Erica woke him and bought a plain blanket to temporarily wrap around the boy, paying with copper coins this time.
His bulging eyes followed them hatefully.
Sasha’s camel was still outside. Erica nodded at her as she was about to leave, but Sasha stopped her.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
Erica, clearly not a local, was obviously just passing through Lababata.
Erica smiled. “Goodbye.”
Sasha wasn’t like the delicate noblewomen from the capital, who might faint at a slightly harsh tone. In such an environment, Erica didn’t want to give her any illusions… but this polite rejection clearly had little effect.
“I’ll give you thirty thousand gold coins,” the girl suddenly said.
It was undoubtedly a massive sum—enough to buy a portion of land and a manor in any kingdom of Doran, living a life of high society. In a more corrupt royal court, even a noble title might be purchasable.
But Erica just raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“I’ll give you thirty thousand gold coins,” Sasha repeated, looking at her. “Come with me.”
The author has something to say:
Shiloh: “The Duke actually revived that bird. I need to write to the captain!”
Hasting: “That’s not a bird. Isn’t it a Pluto Owl?”
Eugene: “Isn’t it a dragon? But it looks like a black lizard to me.”
Hall: “The Pluto Owl is a kind of dragon. For heaven’s sake, haven’t you ever read a book? That thing is very rare, definitely worth a lot of money…”
Shiloh: “Isn’t the point that the Duke can actually keep a small animal alive?”
Hall: “After all, the Pluto Owl is no ordinary animal. It can even rehydrate from being a mummy. The Duke’s little issue is nothing in comparison.”
Eugene: “Hmm? What’s the problem with the Duke?”
Shiloh: “He’s never managed to keep any animal or plant alive since he was a child. His previous pets were quickly found and rescued by the captain and then moved to Miss Priscilla’s care, after which he stopped keeping any.”
Hasting: “After all, it’s a dragon.”
Everyone: “Dragons are indeed different.”
Charlie: “They say behind your back that you’re a jinx. Everything you keep dies.”
Dwight (smiling): “That’ll be a deduction from everyone’s salary.”
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