Chapter 162: Chapter 116: The Goddamn Knight

As Remedios was lost in thought, more people began taking their seats beside her.

It was a family. They were well-dressed in what looked to be high-end fabrics, all of them excitedly looking around the arena as if searching for something.

Remedios gathered from their conversation that they were looking for Allen, the Demon Hunter who had defeated Gray and Gawain and had fought one against six.

When Miss Triss asked out of curiosity, she learned that Allen was actually their son.

Through their back-and-forth, an image of Allen formed in their minds: ungrateful, two-faced, selfish, utterly shameless...

The gist of the story was that the parents had scrimped and saved, enduring countless hardships to support him in becoming a Demon Hunter. But after he succeeded, his appearance had somehow changed, and worse, he refused to acknowledge them as his parents, insisting that he wasn’t Allen.

As they spoke, the couple burst into tears, and "Allen’s" siblings—Simmons, Amway, and Wade—chimed in with expressions of grievance and sorrow.

In their minds, the heroic filter through which they saw him quietly shattered.

Miss Triss was filled with righteous indignation after hearing their story. "This Allen is just inhuman! They’re his own parents, the ones who raised him! There’s no reason for him not to acknowledge them."

Remedios wanted to reason with her friend. ’There must be a reason for all this,’ she thought. ’You can’t just listen to one side of the story.’

But Miss Triss was already puffing out her chest and promising, "I will stand up for you!"

"But... someone like us could never get an audience with the man Allen is now," the woman said, her expression troubled.

Miss Triss snorted, but she retained enough sense not to reveal her own identity. Instead, she said, "We have our ways."

The competition in the arena was fierce. Soon, the seven Demon Hunters below Baron were eliminated during their matches against the Knights.

In truth, the skills of most of the Knights who entered the arena this time were nothing special. Six of them were defeated by the time they reached the fourth Demon Hunter, a man named Andre, leaving only a single Knight named Jangalel Tristan.

At one point, the odds against him even reaching Baron were a staggering 1-to-7. No one believed he could replicate the previous success of Sun Knight Gawain or Barbarian Bear Knight Gray.

Besides, hadn’t even Sun Knight Gawain ultimately been defeated by Baron, the final winner for two consecutive days?

Thus, people had extremely low expectations for this Knight. Never mind whether he could even face Baron; they doubted he could even defeat Andre, the Demon Hunter who had already won five matches in the competition.

Like most bettors, the Allen Family naturally placed their wagers on the Demon Hunter’s side—the side with Baron, whom they claimed was their son "Allen."

However, the Allen Family watched as Miss Triss and her companion, when approached by a betting Attendant, unhesitatingly placed several Gold Coins on the Glorious Knight, Jangalel.

In response to Allen’s Mother’s confusion, Miss Triss’s female companion replied, "That’s what makes it a gamble, isn’t it?"

And the final result was just as Miss Triss and her companion’s bet had implied. The Glorious Knight was victorious, and it was a landslide.

One Demon Hunter after another fell before him. The one who lasted the longest only managed to hold on for a little over ten breaths.

Just like Sun Knight Gawain before him, this was an absolute rout in terms of skill, completely genuine and undeniable.

The victor continues.

The loser is out!

Down in the stands, Maguire stared blankly at Jangalel on the stage. "Are all the guys from the Glorious Knight Order fucking monsters...?"

First there was Gray, then Gawain, and now this Jangalel. Ever since he got on stage, he hadn’t stopped spouting cheesy lines like, "You all need victory in the arena, but I only need one person’s heart." The words made Maguire sick to his stomach, even as the women in the crowd swooned.

Every last one of them, despite their eccentric personalities and violent methods, was just so damn strong.

Finally, as Jangalel defeated the last Demon Hunter, the odds for him to challenge Baron successfully opened at 1-to-2.

This meant that the public and the bookmakers behind the casino, while not completely sold, at least rated his chances highly.

Many people who had learned from their previous mistakes weighed the pros and cons and, adopting a "fortune favors the bold" mentality, placed their bets on Jangalel.

Then there were those who never seemed to learn. They gritted their teeth and, with the mentality that "a small profit is still a profit," chose to put their money on Baron.

A smaller group still had either already lost all their money or were simply watching the competition for entertainment.

People in the stands began to chant Jangalel’s name, just as they had previously cheered for Gray, Gawain, and Allen.

Listening to the cheers, Maguire nodded silently. ’L was right,’ he thought. ’These people are like NPCs you’d find at any competition.’

Even if Maguire himself had no idea what the word "NPC" actually meant.

At the host’s announcement, "Please welcome Intern Demon Hunter Allen!" the surrounding stands once again erupted in enormous cheers.

On the stage, the incomparably handsome Jangalel tightened his grip on his spear. He watched as the iron gate was pulled open and the Demon Hunter leaped onto the stage from within a cloud of mist.

’Participating in this competition was a last-minute decision,’ Jangalel thought. ’My only real motivation is curiosity about how this Demon Hunter before me managed to defeat Gawain.’

’And then there’s my agreement with Remedios.’ (He unilaterally considered it an agreement.) ’I have to defeat this Demon Hunter in front of everyone to prove my strength.’

With these thoughts in mind, Jangalel silently sized up Baron. ’He’s a little handsome, but I don’t feel the oppressive aura Victor described. Has he not deigned to project his presence since the match hasn’t started yet?’

As these thoughts flickered through his mind, Jangalel said, "You’ve come."

Baron faltered for a second, then replied in a deep voice, "I have come."

"Do they know each other?"

Maguire was standing rather close to the front this time, so he could clearly hear their conversation.

Zod just smiled noncommittally. "Who knows."

Jangalel looked directly into Baron’s eyes and murmured, "So you’re the one who defeated Gray and Gawain."

"If you read the news," Baron shrugged.

Jangalel faltered, but then said in earnest, "I did. I can understand you beating Gray, but I still can’t figure out how you won against Gawain. Can you tell me why he knelt three times?"

’Tell you?’

’He’s a Dragon Knight, and I’m connected to a Dragon. I let out my big boss aura, and he knelt. What’s not to get?’

’To put it more elegantly, it was like a blind squirrel finding a nut.’

’He just so happened to be a Fire Dragon Subspecies, and I just so happened to have a contract with a Red Dragon. Status Suppression within the Dragon Race is a huge deal. So, one thing led to another, and it was only natural for him to kneel.’

Baron said, "Trade secret. No comment."

Jangalel nodded. "I suppose so. A flower doesn’t need permission to bloom, just as your strength needs no explanation to me."

He sighed. "In the end, just like her, it is not meant for me."

’Bro, what the hell are you even saying? Are you having an edgy teenager phase or just being emo? And that last line was a little... out there. Are you sure you don’t have some designs on my ass?’ Baron thought.

The host coughed, raised his microphone, and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final match of the Hunting Competition! The odds between Demon Hunter Allen and Knight Jangalel have now reached a very close one-to-two! For any ladies and gentlemen who have not yet placed a bet, be sure to seize this final opportunity.

After all, today’s match might be your only chance this year to change your fortune!"

The crowd below erupted into thunderous applause and cheers. Miss Triss gripped Remedios’s hand tightly. Remedios, her face hidden behind a light veil, couldn’t help but feel her own palms sweat.

Miss Triss said, "I threw in my entire allowance for the month—300 Silver Coins! Tristan absolutely has to win."

’He will.’

Remedios, too, was swept up in the atmosphere of the stands, her own nerves fraying.

"Furthermore! The final victor of this match will receive a prize of 1,000 Silver Coins, provided by the City Government! The final victors of each previous day have all been awarded 100 Silver Coins! And every contestant will receive Ten Silver Coins!"

This time, the cheers erupted from the Demon Hunter candidates’ area. They were ecstatic, absolutely overjoyed. The ones who had already taken the stage bumped fists, slapped shoulders, and whistled.

In contrast, the Knight candidates’ area was deathly silent, completely unmoved.

"Fucking pretentious bastards. These son-of-a-bitch Knights."

Handel, Andre’s subordinate, muttered unhappily. He was the brute who had once killed the Dream-eating Beast in Mundra alongside Baron.

The host announced that all bets were closed. After a brief silence, the countdown began.

"Ten!"