Chapter 65: The Felon

Perhaps others couldn’t tell, but Zhang Wen could sense from Sandel’s fleeting expression that he seemed unusually panicked—like a wild beast sensing it was about to be cornered. Moments later, a fierce murderous intent flashed in Sandel’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

“This matter seems to be getting more interesting,” Zhang Wen mused inwardly.

“Besides Titan, have you told anyone else about this?” Sandel glanced coldly at Reyna and asked.

“Not at all! You’re definitely the second person to know. Titan even paid me five thousand imperial shields for the information,” Reyna replied gleefully, proudly quoting a figure he considered staggering. At this point, Reyna was already lost in dreams of wealth, completely unaware of the danger looming over him.

“Good!” Sandel nodded in satisfaction, baring his teeth in a frightening smile. “Actually, I should thank you for coming to inform me so promptly. Whatever Titan paid you, I’ll match it exactly—down to the last coin. However, I’m afraid I’ll have to inconvenience you for a few days.”

“Eh? Sandel, Senior, what exactly do you mean?” Reyna finally sensed something was wrong.

“Hehe! Do you really think I’d let you spread such important news after I’ve learned it?” Sandel mocked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“This… this…” Reyna understood immediately—Sandel intended to detain him and suppress the news of the Kasares attack!

This realization nearly scared the wits out of Reyna.

Firstly, by informing Sandel of the Kasares attack without notifying other factions, Reyna had already committed a grave offense against them. Even if Sandel kept his promise and released him afterward, the other factions would certainly not spare his life.

But for Reyna, that wasn’t even the worst part!

Originally, Reyna thought since Sandel and the Longhu Association had long been at odds, he could use Titan’s name to intimidate Sandel, who wouldn’t dare verify the truth with Titan. As long as Reyna could relay the news to Titan afterward, Sandel would never discover Reyna’s lie. However, if Reyna were detained by Sandel, his grand deception would be exposed in no time!

At that point, how would the ruthless Sandel deal with him? That was what truly terrified Reyna.

“Sandel Senior, you can’t do this. You know the arena’s rules…” Reyna strained to keep a smile, desperately trying to persuade Sandel to let him go.

“Rules? You dare lecture me, Sandel, about rules?” Sandel sneered coldly, his fierce gaze sweeping over Reyna.

“No! No, that’s not what I meant… Even if I don’t spread the news, Titan will eventually reveal it anyway. So why not let me earn a bit more profit, Senior Sandel? At worst… at worst, I won’t take your money. I’ll just tell Titan I’ve already accepted payment from you. How about that?” Reyna rambled on, increasingly flustered, until he barely knew what he was saying.

“Hmph! Do you think I, Sandel, care about a few petty coins? Here, give him the five thousand imperial shields,” Sandel scoffed, handing Reyna a thick stack of bills from a hulking man behind him, forcing the money into Reyna’s pocket without giving him a chance to refuse.

“Sandel Senior… this… this…” Reyna’s face fell. He finally realized that what Sandel had stuffed into his pocket wasn’t money—it was a death sentence.

Seeing Reyna’s reluctant and dejected expression, and noticing the wary looks from Jim and Zhang Wen standing at a distance, Sandel’s eyes flashed with menace again. Yet, unexpectedly, he burst into laughter.

“Hehe! Reyna, no one who’s received money from me has ever dared to return it!” Sandel patted Reyna’s shoulder like an old friend. “But I’m not heartless. Since you brought up the arena’s rules, I’ll play by them. You’ve accepted my money, so now you have only two choices.” Sandel held up two fingers with a grin.

“First, obediently follow my instructions and go with these friends of mine to stay at my territory for a few days. Once the Kasares people are gone, I’ll naturally release you. Second, if you absolutely refuse to come with me, then we’ll settle this according to the arena’s rules—on the battlefield.”

“The battlefield?” Reyna swallowed hard at the word.

“Exactly. You—and your two friends too—can all team up. If you can last ten minutes against my friend here, then I’ll consider myself defeated. I won’t stop you from making money ever again!” Sandel said casually, pointing at a muscular bald man behind him.

Reyna naturally understood that Sandel’s battlefield challenge was clearly a setup—his intention was for the bald man to kill Reyna and his companions on the battlefield, ensuring they’d never speak again. Thus, those ten minutes would certainly not be as easy as Sandel claimed. But if Reyna refused, he’d be forcibly taken away by Sandel, which would essentially mean his death sentence.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Reyna’s mind wrestled with the dilemma. Finally, his inner scales tipped slightly toward taking the risk.

“Ten… ten minutes?” Reyna finally looked up with difficulty.

“Ten minutes! I, Sandel, never go back on my word. Have you ever seen me break a promise?” Sandel smirked coldly.

“No, of course not!” Reyna hastily shook his head. “It’s just that we’re not arena fighters. To get on the battlefield…” Though he had resolved to fight, Reyna still hesitated, raising minor objections in hopes that Sandel might let him off.

But how could Sandel allow Reyna to escape so easily? Before Reyna finished speaking, Sandel had already slapped his chest and laughed.

“Don’t worry about getting on the battlefield! This is just a friendly match—no need to go through the hassle of registering at the arena. I’ll just give the referee in the main hall a heads-up, and they’ll set aside a battlefield for you to play on. I’m sure I still have that much face value.”

“Oh, really? I just worry that it might be too disrespectful for such a big name to compete with us small fry in the main hall.”

“No problem. He’s just a newly promoted honor warrior anyway. It’s not a big deal for him to play with you in the main hall. Right, Krull?” Sandel laughed heartily, gesturing to the bald man.

“Yep!” The bald man grinned stupidly, looking even more simple-minded than Jim.

At the mention of “newly promoted honor warrior” and seeing the bald man’s foolish grin, Reyna’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Sandel didn’t actually intend to kill him? Wondering this, Reyna suppressed his urge to immediately agree, cautiously pointing at Jim.

“Then… I need to discuss this with them first.”

“Go ahead,” Sandel said with a smile, sensing Reyna’s wavering resolve, and waved him off.

Filled with nervous excitement, Reyna practically sprinted toward Jim and Zhang Wen.

“Big Brother Reyna, how did it go?” Jim immediately asked anxiously.

“Jim, the situation is indeed a bit grim,” Reyna said nervously with a forced laugh. “Sandel wants to suppress the news we know and prevent the other factions from learning about it.”

“What? That’s basically signing our death warrants!” Jim nearly jumped up.

“Yeah, I know that too!” Reyna nodded vigorously. “So I fought tooth and nail, and finally got Sandel to loosen up just a bit.”

“Oh! No wonder you’re our Big Brother Reyna!” Jim reflexively flattered him.

“Hehe! Don’t rush to praise me yet,” Reyna waved him off, surprisingly humble this time. “Though Sandel did loosen up a bit, the chance he gave us is almost as dangerous as camping on a volcano.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sandel said that since we’ve accepted his money, if we still want to sell the news to other factions, we must abide by the arena’s rules—survive ten minutes against that bald guy over there.”

“What? Reyna Senior, you didn’t actually agree, did you? Sandel clearly wants to kill us!” Jim exclaimed without even looking.

“I know, I know! But what other choice do we have? If we go with Sandel, we’ll be dead by tomorrow at the hands of the other factions. We might as well take the risk! I heard Sandel mention casually that the guy is just a newly promoted honor warrior, so he can’t be that formidable. If we three team up, we should be able to last ten minutes!” Reyna clenched his fist, trying to boost his and Jim’s morale.

“Three people?” Jim blinked in surprise.

“Exactly,” Reyna nodded and turned to Zhang Wen. “Sorry, Sir. It seems we’ve dragged you into this mess. Even if I go to Sandel now and say you know nothing, he won’t believe me. So…”

“So, you’re saying I have to fight this big guy over there without any say in the matter?” Zhang Wen slowly curved his lips into a smile.

“Ah… sorry. But there’s no other way. If I could help it, I wouldn’t want to drag others into this either,” Reyna shrugged helplessly.

“Now that I’m dragged into this, shouldn’t you at least tell me what you know, so I can at least die knowing the truth?” Zhang Wen fixed his gaze on Reyna.

Reyna hesitated for a moment before finally gritting his teeth and nodding.

“Alright… fine,” Reyna muttered before quickly recounting to Zhang Wen how he had spotted Xiu Luo’s group on the street and recognized them.

“…Sir, I’ve told you everything I know! I’ll even give you a share of the money we earn from selling the news! And if you want to watch the challenge matches when those people arrive, I guarantee you’ll get the best box seat tickets. But please, keep this information strictly confidential. Otherwise, we won’t just miss out on making money—we’ll lose our lives too!” Reyna concluded with a mix of threats and persuasion.

“Hey! Reyna! Have you guys decided yet?” Sandel soon grew impatient as Reyna continued talking with Zhang Wen and Jim.

“Sir Kasares, what’s your decision?” Reyna gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with the desperation of a gambler risking everything, as he stared at Zhang Wen.

“Well, I guess I’ll do it—for the sake of those box seat tickets,” Zhang Wen sighed dramatically and nodded.

In fact, Zhang Wen had come to Babylon Arena specifically to test his skills against a few bounty warriors to gauge the arena’s overall strength. Originally, he had been somewhat worried about how to fight a bounty warrior without revealing his own identity as a Kasares bounty warrior. Unexpectedly, an opportunity had just fallen into his lap!

These two might actually be his lucky stars… Zhang Wen mused, glancing at the two scowling hooligans with a faint smile.

“Great!” Upon hearing Zhang Wen’s agreement, Reyna immediately exhaled in relief. He had been genuinely worried that this “Kasares Sir” might refuse to join him in this dangerous gamble.

After all, Zhang Wen was a guest at the arena, and even if he were to fall out with Sandel, Sandel couldn’t easily retaliate against him within the arena. And once outside the arena, Zhang Wen might have a good chance of escaping. If he could board a spaceship back to Kasares, Sandel would have no way of sending anyone to hunt him down there.

“We’ve made our decision!” After exchanging determined glances with Zhang Wen and Jim, Reyna finally turned around and firmly declared to Sandel.

“Oh? And what’s your decision?” Sandel asked with eager anticipation.

“We’ll fight against that bald brute!” Reyna shouted through clenched teeth.

“Ha ha! Excellent, excellent!” Sandel burst into hearty laughter, casting a meaningful glance at the three. “Preferring money over life—truly in line with Reyna’s style. So go ahead and ‘play’ with my friend here.”

As Sandel laughed, he casually walked over to the bald giant, patted his shoulder, and in the instant he turned his back to Reyna and the others, his lips curled into a cruel smile, and he whispered four words.

“Kill them.”

“Sure thing!” The bald giant, Krull, grinned even more innocently, his gaze firmly locking onto Reyna and his companions.

With Sandel personally intervening, the arena naturally couldn’t refuse the face of this gold-tier fighter from the TK group. In no time, the central battlefield in the main hall on the first floor was cleared for use.

“What? Reyna and Jim are actually going to fight on the battlefield?” The announcement over the arena’s public address system quickly drew the attention of every spectator still lingering on the first floor, all of whom turned their eyes toward the cleared battlefield.

As Reyna and Jim had previously mentioned, they had spent a long time scraping by in Babylon Arena. Many regular spectators and veteran bounty warriors who frequented the lower levels were quite familiar with these two slippery hooligans.

The seasoned arena-goers were well aware of Reyna and Jim’s reputation. In short, they were utter failures! Whether it came to martial arts or psychic techniques, neither of these two hooligans had any skill above the second tier.

Back when Reyna and Jim were still scraping by in the arena, many people had mocked them, saying that even an average passerby could knock them around until they were picking their teeth off the ground. Their presence in the arena was considered a disgrace to Babylon Arena itself.

And now, these two failures were actually going to fight on the battlefield?

Driven by intense curiosity, every spectator familiar with Reyna and Jim rushed to the battlefield where the two were to appear. Those unfamiliar with them, out of sheer love for the spectacle, eagerly inquired from others and then joined the crowd with laughter.

Before long, the battlefield where Reyna, Jim, and Zhang Wen were to face off against Krull had gathered nearly half of the first floor’s audience. Even many fighters who had been engaged in battles on other platforms abandoned their fights and eagerly joined the crowd.

“Hey! Reyna, you idiot, why are you back at the arena? And now you’re trying to fight on the battlefield? Are you trying to become a bounty warrior?”

“Haha! Bounty warriors don’t fight three against one! But if Reyna actually wins, maybe the arena will make an exception for him!”

As Reyna and Jim actually stepped onto the battlefield, flexing their arms and legs, those familiar with Reyna immediately began jeering loudly from below.

The unusual commotion on the first floor even caught the attention of many bounty warriors on the upper floors.

“What’s going on? Has someone famous come to Babylon Arena?” Several bounty warriors chatting in the lounge couldn’t help but look at the battlefield surrounded by a sea of people on the screen and ask each other curiously.

“Who knows?”

“Maybe we should go check it out? It’s been a long time since Babylon Arena had such a lively event.” The bounty warriors, filled with interest, stood up and headed toward the main hall on the first floor where the fight was about to begin.

Just as several honor warriors from the second floor arrived at the first-floor hall, Reyna and Jim’s other companion, Zhang Wen, and their opponent, Krull, also stepped onto the battlefield.

Compared to Reyna and Jim, Zhang Wen and Krull were far less well-known on the first floor of Babylon Arena. In fact, when Zhang Wen first stepped onto the battlefield, many spectators initially mistook him for one of Reyna and Jim’s opponents. It wasn’t until Zhang Wen stood beside Reyna and Jim that the audience realized he was actually on their side.

“Three against one—truly worthy of the eternal failures Reyna and Jim!” Seeing the rare and ridiculous sight on the battlefield, many spectators couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

However, Zhang Wen, dressed in battle gear and unfazed by the audience’s laughter, calmly stretched his limbs. His real focus, though, was already on the several bounty warriors descending from the second floor.

Zhang Wen had keenly noticed that the moment those bounty warriors appeared on the first floor and saw Krull, their faces suddenly turned pale in unison.

Since Reyna had just said that Krull was also a newly promoted honor warrior, those several bounty warriors who also seemed to be honor warriors should naturally be quite familiar with Krull. Their sudden pallor upon seeing Krull seemed to suggest that Krull, who appeared even more simple-minded than Jim, was not as simple as he seemed!

“Damn! Isn’t that Krull? How come he’s fighting on the first-floor battlefield?” Several pale-faced bounty warriors didn’t even dare to push into the crowd. They stood at the very edge, frantically discussing in hushed tones.

“Hey! Who are those guys fighting against Krull? Reyna and Jim? I vaguely remember hearing about those two back when I was on the first floor.”

“Aren’t they just two nobodies who haven’t even reached the third tier? Why are they fighting Krull? Krull is that madman the TK group brought from the Prisen maximum-security prison! Even the lightest charges among the prisoners there are mass murderers!”

“Ah! I once watched a match of Krull’s. Even ordinary planetary warriors could only be torn apart by him! How could such a guy…”

“Who knows! Probably because they offended some big shot from the TK group, so Krull was sent to kill them!”

“Maybe… Anyway, let’s not meddle in this business!”

“Right!” The bounty warriors nodded in unison with cold sweat, ending their brief but intense discussion.

“Hehe! Today’s trip to Babylon Arena is turning out to be more and more interesting…” Zhang Wen withdrew his focus from the bounty warriors, glanced at the bald giant Krull in the distance, and couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth lift again.