Hero of Darkness

Inside the main office where the elected official handled the management of this particular battle arena, a dense and tangible aura filled the entire room as the dwarven saint released his killing intent on the young swordsman in front of him.

Kahn who was on the receiving end of this intense and deathly aura was forced to kneel on the floor for the first time in his new life.

His veins pulsated rapidly and popped out his face while the bones in his body felt like they'd shatter if this predicament carried on for a few more minutes.

[Stay inside! I'll handle this!!] Kahn yelled at Rudra & Blackwall, both of whom went awry inside his shadow and wanted to come out as they too felt the unshakable threat to their lives.

He himself didn't dare to use War Dominance either. Because that skill could barely make him stand pressure from a 1st stage saint. But this dwarf was a second stage, even 5 times stronger than Kahn's current max capacity.

Blood leaked from both the nostrils and his eyes almost popped out as Kahn struggled to move a muscle and almost couldn't breathe.

In nearly a year of his new life in this world.. Kahn had felt this feeling three times so far.

One was when he fought Ajak, the Dark Summoner who literally killed Kahn in the dungeon. The second time was when Kahn had been facing Arkham & Solomon alone in a battle to life and death inside the restriction barrier and the third was this exact moment.

The last one was far more terrifying than the first two incidents because at this moment, the dwarven saint had Kahn's life was in the palm of his hands and if he wanted to, the young man would die from suffocating from this aura alone.

The dwarf quickly retracted his aura and Kahn finally regained control over his body.

Blergh!

He puked blood out of his mouth and coughed spontaneously.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" asked the dwarf. His tone felt like a mountain looking at a small pebble.

"Y.. Ye.."

Cough!

Cough!

"Yes.. Yes sir." spoke Kahn while he was still struggling to breathe. Beads of sweat covered his face as he barely gathered the strength to stand up.

"Good. Now go and prepare for your next match. Your opponent is someone who belongs to one of the influential clans from the three factions.

Just put up a good show and lose with some dignity. That should be enough to entertain the crowd.

And remember…" spoke the dwarf as he continued in a threatening tone.

"Don't try to pull some sort of stunt. Or only your corpse will leave this arena." warned the second stage saint.

Kahn clenched his fist tightly and nodded in affirmation. It took every inch of his being to control his anger and not do something reckless at this moment.

There was a time to attack while there were also times where one had to take a step back.

After Kahn left the room, the dwarf called out for his secretary.

"Keep an eye on that human. If he tries to pull something during the match… You know what to do." commanded the dwarven saint as he gave a deathly glance to Kahn's back.

[[Author : Reference Art for Dwarven Saint in chapter comments.]]

Kahn, who returned to the resting area was covered in sweat and breathing heavily felt like being born anew.

The happenings of a few minutes ago felt like he had been forced at death's door only to be brought back.

Compared to the time when God of Darkness killed him thousands of times for being rude and brought him back to life in microseconds.. This experience was hardly worth mentioning.

But now, it was his body that could hardly stand such pressure and he needed immediate rest.

Any blunder back in the main office and Kahn would be lying dead on the floor. And this time, there was no coming back to life for real.

He kept panting and spoke to himself..

"So that's how it was.. This whole competition itself is a scam!

Even I had a feeling that they'd rig the matches where only their chosen combatants from the top three factions would win both the matches and progress to the next round while the rest would be disqualified by either fixing the matches or forcing the participants to forfeit.

I'm sure many other fighters with no background or backing are subjected to the same threats throughout the empire.

So in the end, the quarter-finals will have only their chosen representatives from the three factions and the winner will always come from their circle of the top brasses." spoke Kahn as he finally regained control over his body and leaned on a chair.

"Who's going to ask for justice when the entire system is rigged."

[This… why are you so weak human?! This humiliation.. I shall never forget it!!] shouted Rudra inside Kahn's mind.

"Yeah.. As if you were any help either." retorted Kahn.

[Ronin, can you hear me?] he telepathically contacted the rogue subordinate.

[Yes, master.] replied Ronin who was mixed in the crowd.

Kahn gave him a particular instruction and explained his situation.

There were only two options now.. Either win and die a fool's death or lose and multiply his wealth by betting on his loss.

But there was still the slap in the form of humiliation he received today. The current Kahn knew when to retreat but this was something he just couldn't swallow down.

[Yes, master. I will need only an hour.] replied Ronin.

After 2 hours, Kahn's turn came and his opponent was an intermediate rank grandmaster of the young generation who was an heir of one of the top 100 most powerful influential clans in the whole empire.

And naturally.. Kahn's odds were 80:20 because of the opponent's popularity.

[Master.. I have gathered the information. But you'll be gambling your life if we do this.] spoke Ronin and reported the key information Kahn asked him to gather.

[Good. Proceed as we planned.] he relayed the command and entered the battle ring before the betting counters were closed off.

"Begin the fight!" shouted the referee.

BOOM!!

Kahn's aura suddenly erupted, his bloodlust fully released and his angry face made him look like a berserk beast as he stared right in the eyes of his opponent and spoke in a grim voice..

"Oye.. My hands are itching today. So be prepared." he said and approached the enemy with wrathful eyes.

"Because I'm gonna use you as my punching bag!"