Chapter 361: Chapter 215: Underground Duel at the Onion Tuna Tavern_2
[Observing carefully, you see guests of all sorts, including ronin, sailors, and Ashigaru...]
[The ’Fire Worshiping tavern owner’ rushes to meet you as he sees you approaching, bowing repeatedly in respect.]
[He sneaks a bag of coins into your hands and whispers, "Honorable warrior, this is this month’s ’protection fee’. All thanks to you, business at the dueling arena is booming."]
[As the warrior responsible for maintaining peace in the city, you accept the protection money offered by the tavern owner.]
[You’ve gained 30,000 spiritual points!]
[The ’Fire Worshiping tavern owner’ sees your nod of approval and quickly invites you to a private room...]
[In just a little while, the tavern waiter brings you exquisite dishes and two cups of sake, while the tavern owner reports about the duel arena’s business, reminding you of related information...]
[Under the ’Ceasefire Order’ issued by the lord general, even if daimyo have disputes, they dare not use the flames of war to settle their differences.]
[Under the influence of the ’Ceasefire Order’, the lord general uses a simple method to resolve conflicts between daimyo―the duel ceremony.]
[Daimyos will train their trusted warriors or recruit skilled samurai to defend their honor and interests through the duel ceremony.]
[A duel between warriors, just two men with two swords, both decides the winner and settles life and death.]
[During a duel, usually, a group of nobles is invited to watch. The winner naturally dominates the stage, while the loser not only loses face but often ends up losing his life.]
[However, only warriors can participate in the ’duel ceremony’. Even the nobles invited to watch are usually important figures. Lower-ranked nobles cannot even watch the ’duel ceremony’, let alone ordinary citizens...]
[Lord General’s martial spirit has a huge influence. Even if commoners and rich businessmen are not warriors themselves, they enjoy watching bloody duels between warriors. But because the threshold for watching ’duel ceremonies’ is so high, they can only yearn for it...]
[In the long run, some people secretly opened underground dueling arenas to entertain civilians and rich men... and to gamble.]
[Authentic samurai value honor, typically avoiding participating in underground duels. Participants in the underground dueling arenas are usually ronin, wild swordsmen, and Ashigaru who lack the identity of a samurai.]
[The ’protection fee’ comes from the underground duel arena’s bets and viewing fees. The 30,000 spiritual points the tavern owner gave you is to bribe the authorities and cover the costs of the underground duel arena...]
[...]
[The ’Fire Worshiping tavern owner’ sighs heavily, "This month I was able to give the ’protection fee’ of 30,000 spiritual points, but next month, I’m afraid it’s going to be greatly reduced."]
[Hearing this, you are greatly annoyed and slam the table, demanding to know why.]
[The tavern owner explains that the main income of the dueling arena comes from manipulating the duel result to win bets. Of course, the bets lost by small nobles who occasionally come to the dueling arena are returned in full, the rich businessmen and civilians are the actual cash cows.]
[But recently, an extraordinary swordsman emerged in the dueling arena. He has never been defeated, which makes the duel result a foregone conclusion, greatly reducing the arena’s revenues.]
[The tavern owner has operated the duel arena for many years and used numerous underhanded tactics. But mysteriously, the usual dirty tricks don’t work on this swordsman.]
[The tavern owner suspects that this swordsman might have been sent by another duel arena in the city aiming to ruin his own.]
[Speaking up to this point, he bows down to you, crying, begging you, a highly skilled warrior, to step in and defeat this swordsman, eliminating a threat to the dueling arena!]
[Should you manage to eliminate this swordsman, the tavern owner is willing to give an additional 30,000 spiritual points!]
[Being a member of the warrior class, you are naturally aware that participating in an underground duel could harm your reputation as a samurai, leaving you somewhat hesitant.]
[Apostle who cherish their feathers, what will you do?]
[1. ’He’s just a wild swordsman. What rank does he have to stand on a dueling platform with me?’ Firmly reject the tavern owner’s plead.]
[2. ’He’s just a wild swordsman. I can capture him with ease.’ Firmly agree to the tavern owner’s plead.]
[3. ’He’s just a wild swordsman. There’s no uncertainty about the result. Not only will I step on, but I will also place a bet!’ Firmly agree to the tavern owner’s plead and earn extra bet money.]
"Isn’t this an opportunity for easy money?"
Lin Xun immediately presses the third option.
[You put your hand on your samurai sword at your waist, murderous intent flickering in your dark eyes. You nod slightly.]
[The ’Fire Worshiping tavern owner’ was delighted, about to take you out of the private room, but you stop him.]
[Tossing the money bag back to him without touching its content, you coldly say two words: Bet!]
[The ’Fire Worshiping tavern owner’ hurriedly accepts the money bag, bows again and again, then leads you out of the private room, heading towards the back door of the tavern...]
[His face is lit up with excitement. As he leads the way, he murmurs softly, "With your extraordinary martial skills and confidence, you can surely slay this wild swordsman."]
[Connected to the back door of the tavern is a large courtyard. The ’Fire Worshiping tavern owner’ leads you to the corner of the yard, lifts a camouflaged stone slab revealing the steps underneath it.]
[An uproar of voices comes out from the tunnel, which indicates the large number of people in the underground dueling arena.]
[You walk down the steps and quickly enter a spacious basement.]
[The strong scent of alcohol and sweat hits your face. There are layers upon layers of seating, all filled with moving figures. A wooden dueling platform is set up in the center of the basement.]
