The legendary warrior

Chapter 39 The Death Arena

There was no presence that could be felt; no obvious or physical tell-tale signs of something--or maybe, someone--so powerful about to strike. However, the mere existence of Dustin in the area was inescapable. As he was part of the top ten outer disciples, it would have been a foolish move for the other disciples to provoke someone who ranked much higher than they did. Moreover, they needed no further proof that Dustin was a being who was not to be messed with.

Just then, his eyes caught Watson's form rising from the battered floor, surprising the witnesses of the sudden battle in front of their eyes. Even Dustin, who acted rather aloof during the ordeal, raised his eyebrows in slight astonishment at the sight of Watson straightening up from his crumpled position on the ground.

As Watson was one of his subordinates, Dustin was well quite aware of his capabilities.

Closing his eyes and focusing on the auras of the individuals currently engaged in a clash, Dustin made a move to feel the level of power Ricky was exhibiting. With a hum, he blinked his eyes open and measured that Ricky was still under the ninth grade of Skin Refinement.

Now that he was fully standing up, Watson spat on the ground and shouted at his opponent. "Be ready to die!" The eyes of a brave and merciless warrior were reflected on Watson's face. It had seemed like at that moment, he was certain about his victory and was ultimately ready to risk it all for the fight. Running with all his might, Watson then brandished out his long and sleek steel sword from the scabbard hooked on his waist, poised to attack Ricky one more time.

As the onslaught of slashes was doomed to fail, it may have just been the first time he had brought shame on himself in front of numerous spectators ever since he had reached the ninth grade of Skin Refinement.

"Watson, it would be better for you to step down," Dustin stated coldly, choosing to step in the middle of the fight before his subordinate would lose any further than he already had. With heavy breathing,

Watson wiped the grime and sweat running from his temple to his chin and reluctantly stepped back. Direct orders from his superior were supposed to be followed no matter what the circumstances were. Primarily, it was best to obey even if acting against it tempted him. "Yes, sire." Watson replied dutifully and lowered his gaze.

Sheathing his sword, Watson turned back to Dustin and walked towards him. It was made obvious to everyone, most especially to him, that Ricky was much too skilled to compete with Watson. 'It was a losing battle, anyway, ' Dustin disgruntledly thought, watching his subordinate limp towards where he stood.

"Now, stranger," Dustin remarked in a frigid tone and shifted his stance to regard the other man. "I am not interested in who you are, or in who you think you are." At this moment, the other people surrounding the area had gathered rather closely and watched the exchange between the two with keen interest. "You have trespassed into my territory and destroyed my gate." With heavy and calculated steps, Dustin strode to the other's position and pointed at his face menacingly before speaking again. "Now you have to be destroyed too." The murderous aura surrounding Dustin rose with purpose that it had reached high and far which made the folks observing the scene widen their eyes with the sheer show of power.

There were many things that Dustin was not aware of during his rigorous training and preparation for the Outer Competition which had lasted for two months. Due to his dedication to succeed and accompanied by his pure concentration, he was not informed that Ricky had been appointed as an outer disciple of the Snow Sect.

"Are you certain that you do not want to know who I am?" Ricky sneered and crossed his arms across his chest. "I'll bet you will so desperately want to know my identity after what I am about to tell you."

Stepping even closer to stare directly into the cold and heartless eyes of the man opposite him, Ricky shrugged his shoulders and smiled ominously before he opened his mouth and spoke.

"Remember your dear brother, Luther? I was the one who killed him." With a startled grasp from the crowd, Ricky continued to torment the other. "I was the one who forced him to face the Saber-toothed Tiger and when he almost survived that," With a dramatic pause, Ricky faced the shocked and appalled face of Dustin and his eyes twinkled with malicious intent. "I broke his neck and finished the job."

Finishing his spiel, Ricky did not have to wait for the violent reactions from the crowd formed around them. Even Dustin's face had taken an ashy and pale hue, clearly astonished by the information just presented to him.

The disciples held their deepening fear and increasing anxiety in their hearts. Moreover, their spirits could not bear to face the man directly, as they chose to look anywhere but the mad man's eyes.

"It was him after all!" They all whisper-shouted surreptitiously. With a sudden realization, the disciples gasped as they connected their thoughts together. "Of course Luther was killed by none other than Ricky! It was naive of us to think Lewis was the one who fought him."

One of the disciples suddenly remembered a certain rumor going around in earlier moments and butted in. "Don't you think Ricky has come here for his revenge?" When the disciples have heard him, he gulped and continued. "It's just that.. I heard that Dustin attacked Lewis in the morning."

The chaos around the arena grew and grew with the sudden revelation of what Dustin and Ricky had done.

With the confirmation of Ricky himself to the vicious murder of Luther, as well as the conspiratorial murmurs of the people around him, Dustin felt something incomparably hot settle in his chest as anger flowed through his very being and his vision went red.

"You will not go out of here alive!"

Yelling those words, Dustin charged at him with the whole force of his pent-up rage and frustration. Akin to lightning, Dustin aimed to deliver a sharp and powerful punch at Ricky's side.

A thunderous sound echoed throughout the place as a strong jab intercepted his own. Another loud thump followed the loud noise as both fighters managed to collide their fists when Ricky attempted to block the attack with his own punch.

Following their assault came a third well-aimed jab and block. Both Dustin and Ricky stepped back, chests heaving, their eyes alight with alertness and utmost resistance. There, in the ground, was shallow footprints proof of their short yet intense scuffle.

"How could this be?" The crowd gasped with awe and confusion. The air sparked with tension; heavy enough to be suffocating. "How strong really is this Ricky?" They murmured against themselves, unbelieving of what they just witnessed in front of their eyes. "How could it be possible that Ricky and Dustin are equally matched?" Some of them added and blinked their eyes in bewilderment. Disciples around the two held their breath in anticipation of what was to come next as they could not comfortably predict the outcome of the battle at all.

Despite the mere fact that Ricky had easily overcome and defeated Watson, it was still a shock that he was currently competing with Dustin.

"He... he has arrived at the ninth grade of Skin Refinement?"

"Was it not a popular rumor that he had no spiritual meridian?"

The crowd mumbled endlessly, getting more and more antsier as the two faced off.

A self-deprecating chuckle was heard from Dustin, then the man took a fighting position and faced Ricky. With a glint in his eye, Ricky responded to the obvious challenge by beckoning him with his fingers. "Very well! It has been a long time since anyone has provoked me like you just did. You have

also admitted to killing someone I loved!" Growling, he pushed his hair back and widened his stance, prepared to showcase his incredible skills after having witnessed Ricky's power.

"As I have killed your brother mercilessly and with no regret, I shall end you in the same way!" Replying to Dustin's taunt, Ricky grimly declared in an unnerving tone.

"Why don't we finish this on the Death Arena? I will be waiting."

After turning back and leaving with those words, his clothes billowed behind him as the atmosphere grew thicker with tension. All the swarming disciples could do was to make way for Dustin and watch with rapt contemplation as they waited for him to make a move. 'Is it really about to go down like this?' Some of them pondered, with bated breath.

"Only one of us is going to survive." One could cut the thick silence with a knife. Asserting to the man walking away from him, he continues, "And it is going to be me." With a concentrated glare at the back of his foe, Dustin followed Ricky onto the field.

….

The Death Arena became deafening as soon as word spread about the battle about to commence. Moreover, the once quiet grounds were now filled with chatter and anticipation.

Due to the continuous talks of the outer disciples, the news had reached even the inner disciples and their intrigue had increased.

Within an hour, more and more people had gathered below the Death Arena to witness the fight. Murmurs of who could possibly win and live surround the field and some bets were even placed from the troublesome disciples.

Among the sea of faces, some of the people directly involved with both fighters clamored to the front, desperately trying to view what exactly was going on. Displeased with the bodies squirmed together, Vivian panicked and shouted, "What was Ricky thinking?! He just said he was going out for medicine and next thing I know he's fighting to the death! With Dustin of all people!" The loud voice carried over to the other women next to her despite the noise.

Beside her, Agnes arrived at the arena with just as much confusion and displeasure.

"Do any of you know why he has such a deep resentment and anger for Dustin?" she inquired, apparently not present for the revelation just an hour before. "Is it so necessary that they fight to the death?"

Glaring at Ricky who was preparing on the arena, Agnes thought with worry and resignation, 'Is he overestimating his capabilities or is he just confident to propose such a battle?'

Because of the endless talk and gossip among the people spectating the event, Agnes eventually discovered what happened prior to the death match as well as everything that had been revealed about the two.

The crowd below the arena waited in trepidation as Dustin and Ricky were about to face off.

The wind howled and the skies marginally darkened as if the nature, too, was aware of what was about to happen. An anxious girl bit her lip and scanned her eyes on the grounds before settling on the woman in front of her. "Master Grace! Do you not think that this man is too impulsive? Should I not call him down and call off this nonsense?!"

With her words, Heather once again looked at Ricky who was on the arena, distressed and agitated.

Both women were strolling around the Snow Sect before all the commotion occurred and they had heard of Ricky and Dustin determined to fight on the Death Arena. Running all the way to the supposed

match, their minds were filled with thoughts of why they chose to settle their dispute this way and of who would eventually triumph over the other.

A sigh escaped Grace's rosy lips and she stared at the arena with acquiescence. "We would merely waste effort in trying to stop him. He has already decided for himself, as he is ultimately the only one responsible for himself." "Besides-" Grace sighed forlornly and eyed Ricky with pity. "Even if I did try to stop him, I do not believe he would do as I asked."

…..

A resonant and ear-splitting sound could be heard as a gong was hit to commence the fight.

As the two opponents struck the gong simultaneously, the crowd had gotten considerably quieter. The solemn sound created by the two of them was sobering the cacophony of noise the spectators were making.

An Elder could be seen entering the field, a previous one, who had officiated death matches and arranged the formalities of whoever was entering such a brutal competition.

Although the Elder was incredulous about the fact that Dustin was standing upon the Death Arena, he was more taken aback at the presence of Ricky. Just like the people who came to watch both men, many did not still believe their eyes in seeing Ricky be brave enough to fight the powerful Dustin.

After all, the Elder was familiar with Ricky; all his capabilities, his personality, and his background.

The Elder's name was Elder Abbott, and he was the ninth Elder of the Snow Sect. Along with this impressive position was the fact that he was also a demi-immortal.

Despite his confusion at the match-up of the death match, he straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat. As both of them looked up, he did not see it fit to ask unnecessary questions and proceeded

to confirm if Ricky and Dustin had both wholeheartedly agreed to the conditions of the fight and what the consequences were for whoever was going to lose. At their grim "Yes, I agree," Elder Abbott nodded in finality.

Gathering his thoughts on whoever was to lose and die, the old man mulled on the fact that the man on his right, Dustin, only meant little to a demi-immortal Elder such as him. Looking to his left, he was just as displeased at Ricky, who had not really mattered much to him and was usually a nuisance to his duties.

The Elder stared straight ahead with an indifferent expression, not even a single shred of regret in his body as he felt no concern for both of them.

"He must die by my hand!"

A ferocious shout by Ricky suddenly cut through the arena, and the uproar of the crowd fueled his passion and intent to kill.

"I will mourn for my brother," Dustin then pointed at Ricky with his finger before continuing. "By removing his head."

The other man replied with just as much ferocity as Ricky.

With the clear challenge from Dustin, Ricky grins maliciously and steps into place. Then came the Elder Abbott's pronouncement, "Well you may begin now!" As the rules of the Death Arena were made well- aware for everyone situated in the area, there was no mistake to be made: the winner would live, and the loser would die. There were no exceptions to the rules and no one was above it. Breathing deeply, Elder Abbott practically sensed the intense amount of rage building up inside the two fighters, as well as the oh-so desperate intent to kill and to shed blood upon the ground of the arena. With the rising tension between the two, the Elder made a move to exit the arena for the deadly match to finally begin.

Another disorienting sound came from the main ground, which signalled that the fight had indeed started.

Without further ado, the two daring combatants aimed for each other in an instant to decapitate the other.

"Go!"

"Go!"

For a moment, only a flurry of movement could be seen from both men due to their agile and magically fast attacks. The audience below cheered even louder, clearly enjoying the battle between two highly- skilled individuals in their attempt to overpower the other.

"Fierce tiger power! Whiz Fist!" Ricky yelled, engaged with his power.

Confidently carrying an effective move, Ricky discharged his strongest punch as he was now expectant of the skills of such a formidable opponent like Dustin. Furthermore, he held nothing back from his attack, the intent to hurt and kill was high on his priority list when it came to the other man. As Ricky was impulsive and often showed recklessness, the idea of reservation was a foreign concept to him.

Amidst the chaos of his assail, he tried his best to land a punch directly on Dustin's face, which was just about to make the other groan in pain. An observable aura of tiger shadows from his spiritual energy completely surrounded his body and he felt as if he was invincible.

On the other hand, Dustin was just as focused on crashing his attacks on Ricky. The spectators could be heard gasping and shouting loudly at the match going on, for the two showcased spectacular skill in combat battle, as well as being able to defend their bodies from the onslaught of offensive magic.

"Bone Crashing Palm-----three palms in one!" Dustin howled while he deployed his special move.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

In that moment, Dustin wielded three dark hand prints that hovered above the air ominously. With a victorious smirk, the three hand prints merged right in front of their faces, glowing with dark energy.

With their attacks happening simultaneously towards each other, a heavy bellow was heard which brought the battle to a momentary standstill. The crowd went silent before getting louder than they had ever been. The two fighters resumed to duel, with seemingly no end in sight.