“Your threats don’t scare me, Gale! There are many lynchpins here who have highly skilled assassins and bodyguards in the area! Don’t tell me you can defeat them all!”

Gale mockingly retorted back to Dylan.

“Instead of barking orders like a dog over there, why not come right here and fight me, you coward!”

Dylan was astonished that Gale had the guts to interrupt the match. Millions of dollars were lost because many criminal syndicates and their lynchpins had huge bets at stake! If they were angered, Gale would’ve been on the top of their ‘to kill’ list.

However, Gale was not perturbed in the slightest. He held his head high, and he looked straight into Dylan’s eyes with confidence, while everybody in the arena could feel Gale’s immense killing aura.

“Either you are a fearless idiot or a big fool, Gale! Be prepared to die like the dog you are!

Guards! Come in!”

At that moment, a dozen men appeared beside Dylan. Dylan gained confidence as he had reinforcements on his side, so he immediately gave a command.

“To those who can take Gale’s head, I offer a twenty million bounty — ”

Sunny suddenly unsheathed her daggers from her hidden scabbards beneath her skirts and tried to stab Dylan in his stomach! However, a mysterious lady who wore a beautiful black dress emerged from the shadows and saved Dylan by parrying the daggers away with her black umbrella. Sunny was thrown back by the impact, and she knew she had lost her chance.

The lady looked at Sunny menacingly while she rebuked Dylan.

“That’s way too careless, Dylan! Did you forget Sunny can fight very well?”

Sunny tried to back away and join Gale and Zeel at the fighting floor, but the men that were beside Dylan promptly surrounded her and blocked her path. Zeel stared at the new adversary and shouted towards her.

“Who’re you?!”

The lady did not respond but instead turned her head towards Dylan.

“…You are right, Dylan! Zeel is uncouth and vulgar! That’s so rude to someone like me!”

Gale took his [Five Elemental Wooden Sword] and pierced the ground. Even though the [Five Elemental Wooden Sword] was made of wood, it cut the ground as though it was butter.

Gale channeled his [qi] through his sword, into the ground and aimed his energy towards the men. Suddenly, stone swords began thrusting upward at where the men stood! Their feet were all impaled by the swords at where they were standing, and they were unable to move!

In the midst of the confusion, Sunny sprinted to Gale and Zeel and reunited with them!

The lady in black analyzed Gale’s technique and could not contain her surprise.

“That’s the [Sudden Stone Strike] from the [Ten Thousand Elemental Skill]?! I have read about the technique, but I have never seen it before!”

Dylan could not believe his ears too.

“[Ten Thousand Elemental Skill]?! That’s the power to manipulate all kinds of elements and bend it to the user’s will! How does Gale know that?!”

Gale didn’t like the fact that the lady in black mocked Zeel, so he retaliated back.

“…What an unrefined woman! Those clothes don’t suit her at all! She’s ruining her dress with her face!”

Zeel and Sunny laughed, and the mysterious lady seethed with anger.

“Y…You! How dare you?! A boy like you should be seen and not heard!”

“You need mouthwash, woman! Your breath stinks!”

The lady immediately charged towards the fighting floor in an attempt to attack Gale, but Zeel had sneaked some chains in the ground, and he immediately pull those chains up to attack the lady from a blind spot.

However, the lady somersaulted in midair and parried all the chains that targeted her blind spots. The lady then held the bracelet on her arm and began to chant an incantation.

“From the depths of hell, I call upon the power of the Knights Of Carmel! Cloak me with your Order’s strength, and burn down my enemies into dust!”

Her bracelet started to ooze out a black magical substance and enveloped the lady. The substance then took shape and form of a knight’s full body armor. On her hands were gauntlets while her feet were black boots, and her face was covered by a helmet as well. Her black umbrella transformed into a black sword.

Her eyes became like red dots which were hidden in the helmet, and it was apparent to Zeel, Gale, and Sunny that this lady in black had become a black knight by magic.

Zeel was in utter amazement as he had never seen such a transformation before.

“…I have never fought against a magic caster, Gale!”

“I don’t have much experience against a magic caster as well. How about you, Sunny?”

“…If both of you guys don’t have experience against magic casters, I wouldn’t know anything either!”

The black knight took her blade and began another incantation.

“Bring death, darkness, and doom onto my blade, Doom Guard of the Abyss! [Hell Fire Blade]!”

The black knight’s blade began to glow with black flames, and she dashed towards the fighting floor to attack the trio. Gale stepped forward, unsheathed his [Black Sky] and parried her attack immediately.

The entire arena was shaken by a shockwave because of the impact of the blades, and the ground cracked as Gale experienced the impact from his sword to his legs!

“Her strikes are heavy! Avoid a contest of strength and attack her blindspots!”

Zeel unleashed a tsunami of chains from the back while Sunny attacked the black knight from the front. To both of their amazement, the black knight did not block nor avoid Zeel’s chains on her back, and she immediately parried Sunny’s daggers instead.

The chains crashed itself against the black knight’s armor, but she seemed unperturbed nor hurt by Zeel’s attacks! Zeel sends a huge wave of electricity through his chains, but the black knight didn’t faze one bit.

“She’s abusing her armor’s advantage to the fullest! I can’t seem to hurt her at all!”

Sunny did not expect Zeel’s attacks to fail so spectacularly and she found herself in a contest of strength as her dagger was the black knight’s blade was at odds with each other. As she began to lose in strength, she uttered her incantation.

“[Steel Maiden Technique]!”

Sunny’s blue hair turned crimson red, and her eyes became red too. Her skin hardened like steel and her strength increased by several folds as a result of her technique. Sunny slightly outmuscled the lady’s strength for a moment, and she managed to push her away.

The lady wanted to launch a counterattack, but Gale was already above her in the air from the front and unleashed his [Crescent Moon Slash]!

[Crescent Moon Slash] emits a crescent-shaped energy projectile and enhances a user’s slash by multiple folds! The black knight had no time to dodge or parry the attack, and her armor was cut through by Gale’s slash from the front! However, the wound across the lady’s chest was not deep, and she poised herself to counterattack!

However, Gale was faster, and he immediately pierced her palm which was holding her sword with his [Black Sky] sword. She yelled in pain as blood dripped from her hands, and Gale twisted his sword to give a deeper wound. Eventually, the black knight could not hold her blade, and she was forced to let go.

Gale unleashed another [Crescent Moon Slash] horizontally, and the black knight crashed into the flight of stairs behind her back as she received another slash across her chest by Gale.

The black knight grew angrier and angrier as she mustered all her strength to pick herself up. Her wounds were not deep because of her armor, but it was evident that she could not afford to take Gale lightly.

“How careless of me! I severely underestimated Gale and allowed him to taunt me into taking the first strike! That blasted Camelia and Celinda should have given me an indication of his strength!

Reforge!”

Immediately, the damaged parts of the armor that were sliced by Gale repaired itself, and the black knight’s armor was whole.

“Ivy! The Four Abominations have arrived, and they are ready to help you!”

Gale, Zeel, and Sunny turned and saw four women standing beside Dylan. Each of them emanated an ominous aura about them, and the trio knew that it would take a mammoth task to escape this arena alive.

Dylan started to gloat with glee, and Ivy retreated into the shadows and disappeared.

“You fools! We have the Glutton, the Drunkard, the Bewitcher and the Scrooge with us! You will never escape this place alive!”

The Glutton was a woman who could eat any amount of food she wants and not be skinny. She was born with fifty times the metabolism rate of an average human! She often emptied restaurants of their food, and she would leave without paying.

The Drunkard was always intoxicated, and could not be found without a wine bottle. Often, she would visit clubs and bars to drink to her heart's content, and she would start brawling against others when she was bored.

The Bewitcher often enslave handsome men, tortured and raped them to their deaths. She couldn’t get by a single day without satiating her lust, and many husbands were found missing in areas where she roamed.

The Scrooge was a compulsive gambler and a sore loser. She often loses her bets, but she would beat the dealers into a pulp to get back every penny she lost! Scores of gambling dens had to close down because they would assume that she was a harmless and pretty girl, but it led to the demise of many men.

All four of them had special traits and were very competent fighters in the underworld. Zeel had heard about them because he often rescued delinquents from trouble, and they would relate stories about them.

“Gale, these women are trouble. My guys told them that they are all ‘A’ ranked assassins and they are not easy to beat!”

Gale took a moment to observe the Four Abominations in the timing of their breaths, their body structure and muscles to estimate their strength.

“The Glutton takes long, deep breathes, and clearly she is a [qi] master. She specializes in energy attacks or projectiles and has an impressive defense. Wounding her will be tough.

The Drunkard has strong arms and legs. Clearly, she’s good at brawling.

The Bewitcher has nimbleness and lightness in her footsteps. Her fingers look especially strong and dangerous, and she probably would use them like a claw technique, or as she might be an expert in sealing acupuncture points.

The Scrooge is a mysterious all-rounder. She is standing behind the other three Abominations as though they are protecting her so she might have hidden tricks or schemes under her belt.

And why are they all women?! I can’t fight women!”

Zeel and Sunny looked at Gale for a moment and realized that he had a weakness against girls!

“How did you manage to fight that black knight?! Apparently, her name is Ivy, and it should be a girl!”

“Well, she didn’t look like a girl! All I see is a black knight with a sword!”

Sunny realized that Gale’s weakness had to do with his perception. If he didn’t perceive his foes as women, his weakness would not surface!

“Don’t you have countermeasures for this sort of situation?!”

“Well, I have special chocolate that allows me to fight girls for five minutes!”

“That clearly isn’t enough, is it?!”

Gale paused for a while and heaved a deep sigh.

“If I induce myself into a near-death state, I will be free of my weakness.”

“…What do you mean ‘near-death’ state?”

“It means if I am injured to the brink of death, I will be able to fight to my fullest without any handicap.”

Sunny could not fathom what Gale just said, and she wanted to inquire more, but the Four Abominations came from the spectator stands and stood before them on the fighting floor.

The Bewitcher stood forward and tried to seduce Gale.

“Hey, sugar, the one with the dual swords! If you submit yourself to me, I will make sure you will have so much fun in bed with me, you will experience paradise!”

Before Gale could speak, Sunny stood forward.

“He’s not going to bed with you, you slut.”

“Jealous ain’t ya? Your breasts look like oranges while mine is like melons!”

The Bewitcher massaged her breasts with her hands alluringly towards Gale, and the trio looked disgusted with her antics. The Scrooge could no longer stand her antics and knuckled her comrade on her head.

“Stop fooling around with your prey, Porneia! Dylan wants that girl and her brother alive, but that man is not to leave this arena alive!”

“Cheh! Who cares about Dylan?! I will capture Gale and play with him all week!“

Zeel was bleeding from his side as he took a hit from Yan Kun earlier. Thus mobility was an issue. Gale silently whispered to Sunny.

“Take Zeel and escape in his motorbike! He has a broken left arm, and he is bleeding, so he can’t continue in this fight any longer!”

“What about you?! I’m not leaving you here!”

“I will cover for the both of you! Head for the exit immediately!”

Sunny realized it was an impossible situation, and obeying Gale’s instructions was the best choice. With tears at the corner of her eyes, she backed away and pulled Zeel to escape.

“W-What’re you doing, sis?!”

“We’re leaving! We are interfering with Gale’s fight!”

“N-No way! How can he fight the four of them?!”

“Just go already!”

As Sunny pulled Zeel away and moved to the nearest exit, the Scrooge sprinted forward to give chase, but Gale sliced the ground with his [Five Elemental Wooden Sword] and a wall of concrete arose from the ground and blocked her path!

“Where do you think you are going?”

Holding his wooden sword in his left hand, and his [Black Sky] sword on his right, Gale rested his wooden sword on his shoulder and poised his black sword in a combat position. The air in the room was swirling around the wooden sword, and the Four Abomination didn’t dare to move forward.

The Drunkard took a gulp from her wine bottle and licked her lips.

“This boy looks like a decent fighter.”

Everyone in the room could feel the breeze that was circulating from the wooden sword. As the [Five Elemental Wooden Sword] could control the wind, Gale made everyone focus their attention on him instead of the Zeel and Sunny.

Once Gale knew that Zeel and Sunny were out of sight, the wind that was surrounding Gale sliced his body in all directions and Gale spewed out blood!

Startled, the Four Abomination gazed in shock and could not believe what they were seeing! The Scrooge then yelled at Gale!

“Are you committing suicide to buy time for Sunny and Zeel?!”

Gale raised his head and burned his gaze into the Scrooge! The entire arena was enveloped by his murderous aura, and everyone’s skin felt a tingling sensation of fear with a sudden force of weight resting on their shoulders!

“…I fight best when I’m in a near-death state. This is what I call, ‘near-death state level 1’. I have one hour to play with you before I bleed to death!”