Martial Online.

Chapter 157 Death Race

'That's basically a 2000 crown bounty.' Ambrose touched his neck as he felt a phantom feeling like he had a blade against his neck.

This was already a high enough bounty for countless players to come chasing after him.

Luckily, it was nearly impossible for anyone to find him.

He didn't know how long it would take for players to find Warhaven, but even if they did, he was confident enough to deal with most of them.

Ambrose even felt tempted to try to acquire the bounty himself, but he doubted they would allow that.

'This seems like a high bounty already. I wonder what I need to do to increase it even more...'

"You've got to be more careful now on the battlefield." The bartender said while cleaning the glasses. "Your bounty had a over 10,000 silver increase, which means the Inquisitors saw something in you.

"They might target you next time."

"I will keep that in mind." Ambrose raised the glass and downed the rest of the whiskey.

He would've said thanks, but he remembered to never say thanks to anyone in Warhaven.

"Planning to go to the battlefield tonight?" The bartender asked. "It's the night of the Crescent Moon. That is a very dangerous time for anyone in Warhaven."

"Why so?" Ambrose asked curiously.

"You've seen the mountain of corpses, right?" The bartender chuckled. "Well, during the night of the Crescent Moon, those corpses rise and join the battle once again."

"Huh, like zombies?" Ambrose asked with a bewildered tone.

"Yes, that's why you shouldn't leave Warhaven today. Even this place is not necessarily safe, as there are some corpses hidden in those narrow, twisting alleyways, waiting to rise again.

"That's why we force white-ranked servants to search for them and burn them."

"Why would anyone leave them there if they knew about that?" Ambrose asked.

"Because people are selfish." The bartender said bluntly. "The comradery and friendship have died here, but here are gangs, and they don't take it lightly if their members are killed.

"It would be piss easy to find out who reported the location of corpses. That's why, even if one finds a corpse, they won't report it in case those gangs think it was him who murdered their member.

"They simply memorize the location and stay away from that street during the Night of the Crescent Moon..."

"Jesus..." Ambrose shook his head and then nodded. "I'll keep in mind not to go to any alleyways tonight."

"Do you have any plans today, then?" The bartender asked.

"Not really." Ambrose shook his head.

He even thought about leaving early tonight, spending a few hours in meditation training, and finishing the night with some ForeverStream watching.

"Like I have said before, there are other ways to spend time than on the battlefield." The bartender said mysteriously.

"If you are done drinking and aren't in the mood to visit those used whores in the Street of Sex, you could think about going to the Street of Gambling.

"The House of Gambling there is either a good way of earning a fortune or a quick way to become broke."

"I am not sure if I feel like gambling," Ambrose said honestly. "I have never played card games nor done any gambling activities there."

"Not everything is based on luck there." The bartender said. "You can participate in a Fight Ring and bet on yourself to win. It's a risky option as you can't use any weapons there."

'Not any weapons... Isn't it very good for Brawlers then?' Ambrose frowned.

"If you are not fond of unarmed combat, there is also an option to join the Death Race. A horseback riding race with weapons available."

"A race?" Ambrose looked interested.

"The Death Race's location is, of course, the entirety of Warhaven."

"That means even those alleyways?" Ambrose wryly smiled.

"Haha, yes. That's why today's race will be especially thrilling." The bartender grinned. "I will close the bar earlier today and go watch it. The winning prize is even greater today because of the extra risks.

"There is a chance that none of the zombies appear in the race, but there is also as big a chance of them appearing." The bartender looked around the bar and then leaned closer to whisper. "I have heard rumors that the race's organizers had hidden corpses on the race track."

"Huh, they can do that?" Ambrose looked surprised.

"Of course, anything is allowed in here." The bartender grinned.

"Well, my interest is piqued." Ambrose said with a small smile. "House of Gambling was it?"

"Yeah. You should hurry; the time for registration ends in one hour." The bartender said.

"Alright, see you later." Ambrose stood up and left the bar to make his way to the House of Gambling.

'This might end up being a very eventful night.'

...

Pitter-patter—rain fell heavily on the streets of Yatagarasu, with small floods happening in the slum areas, where the sewer system wasn't nearly as advanced.

The sound of thunder echoed in the distance.

A young woman made her way through the rain with an umbrella in hand and a raincoat covering her petite figure. She hurriedly walked towards her home, hoping to avoid getting drenched.

'Why did the rain suddenly appear so suddenly?' Bella thought with a sight. 'It was sunny only a moment ago, but then the dark clouds appeared from nothingness.

'The food is also getting drenched.' She looked down at the grocery bag and tried to cover it with the umbrella.

Emma was waiting for her back in the bookstore.

They planned to have a nice dinner together, as they had done several times in the past.

Even though the food couldn't fill the bellies of their real bodies, the food was still amazing, and they enjoyed each other's company.

As she stepped on a small puddle, she walked by the public board that was under a shelter. Thus, none of the bounty posters got wet.

She glanced at it nonchalantly, like she had done a few times in the past few days when she had walked by.

There were already more bounties on players, most of them white-ranked with a few brown-ranked.

However, today there was a bounty poster she was expecting to see.

She stopped in her tracks and stared at the poster in disbelief.

"Wow..." Her smile soon blossomed as she tore the brown bounty poster from the board and hid it in her bosom so it wouldn't get drenched by the rain.

She then buttoned her raincoat again and left the shelter with an umbrella covering her.

As she ventured into the rainstorm, excitement glimmered in her eyes.

She soon returned to her bookstore—Whispering Pages.

The door had a "closed" sign, but there was still light inside.

As she entered the bookstore, she folded the umbrella and shook the rain off her coat, leaving a small puddle on the floor.

"Bella, you're back!" Emma rose from the sofa and approached her friend while hugging a book. "I was worried that the rain had drenched you completely!"

"Luckily, I had an umbrella and raincoat with me." Bella smiled, then unbuttoned her raincoat and took the brown bounty poster. "Look!"

"Hmm?" Emma took the brown bounty poster, and her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the face and name on it. "Wow, 19,999 silvers!"

"He has been making friends, it seems." Bella giggled, and then showed her the grocery bag. "I bought some extra. Let's have a celebration feast!"

"Mm, okay!"