Chapter 734: Dorn Town - The Gambling Fighting Arena (Part 1)

From his brief contact with this Senior Steward of the Scott Merchant Guild earlier, Jier had already sensed that this man was not exactly a conventional fellow.

His frivolous words and actions, the powerful merchant guild backing him, and the current prosperity and importance of the metal forging operations primarily managed by the Burning Furnace Merchant Guild amidst the chaotic situation in the Southern Province.

For other merchant guilds, this period of time was likely quite a difficult one. But for the Burning Furnace Merchant Guild, it was clearly a time for vigorous development.

Therefore, this Mr. Scott, when faced with an opportunity—even a not-so-proper opportunity—was clearly willing to take risks.

Because for others, it might be a serious matter, but to this man, it was not so sensitive or dangerous.

Jier's second request earlier was actually just a setup for his third request.

As an important eastern trade node on the cross-provincial Shanglu to the west, it was clearly impossible for there to be no place here to handle black-market goods. Sure enough, faced with the request Jier proposed, Scott immediately invited Jier to enter the "Dark Side" section of Dorn Town, regardless of Jier's status as a Knight.

Since Scott could invite Jier to a place like the black market, then, doing something that the local church would not like—but which was clearly the most important thing Jier had saved for last—was something Scott would also be willing to try.

"Even so."

Mr. Scott continued from his previous words.

"Even so, you must promise me that the things you intend to stir up cannot happen within Dorn Town."

Jier raised his wine glass: "Of course, I swear by my heart, how about that?"

"Very good. I will go back and have people prepare the manpower and supplies, and tomorrow, after we finish touring the Underground Black Market, I will bring them to you. I will not interfere with what you specifically want them to do; therefore, what you return to me with will certainly not be something that can be dismissed with money."

Scott paced on the balcony, seemingly adjusting to a suitable angle; he raised his wine glass, letting the light shining from the banquet hall reflect precisely off the surface of the golden wine glass in his palm.

The reflected golden light shone right onto Jier's face.

But Jier only squinted slightly, feeling it was a bit dazzling, and had no other reaction.

This made Scott feel somewhat regretful; this was a method he had learned from big shots in the past to enhance the momentum of a conversation. It had always worked perfectly before, but today it had no effect.

"Monster Knight," he muttered under his breath.

Afterward, Jier leaned against the stone railing of the balcony and asked: "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Heh, a favor, but not to be used now, how about that?"

Jier thought for a moment and felt that a favor for the future—which he didn't know if it would even be used—was quite worth it to trade for a chance to reduce the hidden troubles on his person right now.

"Fine. Tomorrow I will give you a token. In the future, as long as someone comes to find me holding the token, I will help them take action. Hmm, anything is fine."

This "anything is fine" seemed to suit Mr. Scott's appetite, making him laugh immediately: "Very good. However, I am but a merchant, and I would not make you do anything that would make you feel troubled."

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The wine glasses clinked, and both fellows, wearing fake smiles, felt satisfied.

At this moment, the third piece of music also ended, and the banquet guests who were tired from dancing all sat down to rest. Seemingly to compete for the right to dance with the popular Bard for the fourth piece, two middle-aged ladies began to argue.

As the host of the banquet hall, Mr. Autosfiten had to interrupt his consultation with Mr. Bantuolisa to go and mediate the dispute.

Jier and Scott also walked out from the balcony and returned to the main seats of the banquet hall, where they shared a drink with Mr. Bantuolisa.

"Phew, our little genius is truly extremely difficult to deal with; he actually wants me to carefully recall and dictate things from so long ago."

Old Mr. Bantuolisa complained, then took a sip of Wine as if to moisten his throat.

He shook his head and kept saying: "I feel like I've said all I had to say for several days. Sigh, it's like I've shortened my life by several days."

Mr. Scott smiled: "He is just curious and loves the stories of your youth; such a feat is worthy of having a poem composed for it."

The old gentleman looked with a smile at the Bard below who was caught in a dilemma: "Our Bard probably has no spare time to write poems. Hmph, all his time is spent on how to please wealthy women. If it weren't for his good looks, his reputation would have long been overshadowed by other more talented Bards."

"It's only a matter of time."

Jier added.

"Yes, young Knight, it is only a matter of time. I see you have been talking very well with Scott and Deripari; what were you two discussing?"

It was quite interesting that this Senior Steward of the "Golden Sickle" Merchant Guild did not intend to have any contact, acquaintance, or trade with Jier, an outsider Knight who had hundreds of people under his command.

Thinking of this, Jier even shared a tacit look with Mr. Scott. Both seemed to realize at the same time that this old fellow was likely setting a trap tonight, and the target was the Senior Steward of the "Wealth & Treasure House"—Autosfiten.

Perhaps it was not aimed at the person himself, but at the "Treasure House" Merchant Guild, which was also one of the joint merchant guilds.

However, Jier was not interested in this, and after Mr. Scott figured this out, his reaction was also very interesting; he even sat back in his chair.

Clearly, he did not want to get involved in this matter.

Because although the Burning Furnace Merchant Guild had gained great benefits in the chaotic situation caused by the war, as the main personnel of the merchant guild had all been taken away by the various Caravans running long-distance trade, he actually did not have many reliable or usable people under him.

No matter what Bantuolisa wanted to do, he did not want to get involved.

"Oh, just now on the balcony, I smelled a scent of blood, so I asked Mr. Deripari about the direction the scent was drifting from. He told me it was a fighting arena where the poor in the town gamble?"

The old merchant smiled: "Oh, that. That is a place managed by one of my subordinates. Why, Knight Jier, are you interested in going to take a look? Although I believe you will certainly be disappointed by that place."

"That's right, it's just some brawling tricks of farmers. There's nothing worth seeing there. If you want to see something, you can go to Monta Valley City, or the largest city nearby, Borisfa City. There are formal arenas there, with performances by trained professional fighters, as well as wild beasts and Monsters! I guarantee it will satisfy you."

Mr. Scott clearly looked down on this little thing in Dorn Town, but his words made Mr. Bantuolisa somewhat dissatisfied.

"Little Scott, how is my place just farmer tricks? If you want to talk about wild beasts and Monsters, I have those too. Although there are fewer, Goblins are Monsters too! Jackals and plains wolves count as wild beasts, right? Not to mention I recently acquired a batch of long-haired lynx Beast-men who volunteered to participate. Although they are a bit small, they are quite capable when it comes to dealing with wild beasts."

"As for professional fighters, pfft, Little Scott, don't you know that compared to their fighting skills, their performances are more significant? They even manipulate matches in the arena to earn large sums of money for the bookmakers behind the scenes. Hmph, they are even better at performing than the actors in the city's theaters."

"Although my place is a bit small, those who go up to fight are all debtors who can't even take out a single Iron Coin. Those people fight very fiercely in order to have all their debts cleared in one battle!"

Mr. Bantuolisa started by refuting, but later he became quite proud.

And Mr. Scott clearly could not argue back, so he had to raise his wine glass and admit defeat: "Alright, old man, I admit defeat. I take back that previous sentence. Your gambling fighting arena is indeed more bloody and cruel than the arenas in the city. Knight Jier, now that these soft spring songs and dances have been enjoyed, shall we go to the old man's place and take a look? Watch a few matches?"

Jier had had this intention before, so as soon as Scott said this, he immediately agreed: "Alright, I'm full and satisfied, let's go over and walk around to digest the food."

"Then just don't go over there and vomit all over the place."

Mr. Scott teased.

But this tall and thin middle-aged merchant did not know that Jier, who had already killed hundreds of people, was not as young and naive as he appeared in his banquet attire.

Mr. Bantuolisa then spoke up: "Since that's the case, let's wait for Aolier and Autosfiten to come and meet up, and then go over together. As for here, leave it to the young people who still want to dance and be entertained."

His words once again made Mr. Scott laugh: "Old man, these slow dances and music are more suitable for people like us, right? For the young Knight Jier, I reckon he's long been bored, isn't that so?"

"No, no, not at all. This is my first time coming to the Southern Province. Being able to experience your banquet here, especially this wonderful banquet hall, and the fragrance of spring flowers, I am already very satisfied. If I were a Bard, I might have been able to write a poem or two tonight."

Jier said with a grin.

At this moment, Mr. Autosfiten, having finished mediating the dispute, walked over with small steps: "I heard someone was praising my banquet hall? How is it, my friends? Although it is a bit simple, how is the banquet tonight? I have also arranged a chess competition later for those who wish to test their wits. Is anyone interested in participating? The players are not limited by gender, and the winner can receive several days of usage rights for one of the side halls here. For family gatherings or trade negotiations, the side halls on the three floors here are all very suitable."

Mr. Scott interrupted Mr. Autosfiten's smugness: "Oh, my friend, it is a pity, but everyone has decided to go play at old Bantuolisa's gambling Fighting Arena in a while. Our distinguished new guest, the young Knight Jier, he clearly prefers things that are a bit more bloody."

"Is that so? What a pity."

Clearly, Mr. Autosfiten, who had a good upbringing and superior intelligence, had not anticipated this.

He coughed lightly: "Although the road is a bit far, I will still accompany you all. It just so happens that I have some questions that I need Mr. Bantuolisa to answer for me."

Mr. Scott and Mr. Bantuolisa both rolled their eyes, because that gambling Fighting Arena was just on the other side of the banquet restaurant's wall; although one had to take a detour, it was only a distance of a few dozen meters. Could this really be called a long road?

And Mr. Bantuolisa also felt some regret, because the story he told was not made up, but rather something he had truly experienced when he was young. The fatal part was exactly this: if it were a made-up story, he could rely on his rich life experience to fabricate things at will, but for a true story, the details were not easy to fabricate, because he only vaguely remembered the generalities of many things.

Being questioned in detail tonight, he had to struggle to trace his memory, which was truly a massive effort.

After a while, Mr. "Lean Aolier" sent his youngest daughter home and walked back up.

Seeing his friends gathered together, he approached and said: "What is everyone talking about? Are there any other arrangements after the banquet?"

"Don't ask, just come along."

Mr. Scott patted Mr. "Lean Aolier" on the shoulder and said loudly.

Mr. Autosfiten gave instructions to the deputy of the banquet hall, who was also a Steward of the "Treasure House" Merchant Guild, regarding the procedures and activities after the banquet, and then brought people to follow along.

At this time, Jier and the others had already bypassed the banquet hall area from the side and were walking downstairs.

After arriving downstairs, there were naturally Shop Assistants here who brought over their respective horses. This was mainly out of consideration for Mr. Autosfiten's physical condition, so for this short distance, everyone rode their horses over.

Interestingly, Mr. Autosfiten rode a rare pony; this type of southern hill horse, which looked very much like a donkey, although it could not be used for combat, was very stable and safe for short-distance riding.

After all, a low horse that only reached a person's shoulder height could not throw a person off.

The other Merchants rode more docile grassland mares; compared to Jier's tall Tianxuecao, although they were inferior, the difference was not too great.

However, it seemed that Tianxuecao had bullied the other horses in the stable earlier, as the horses being led over now all kept a slight distance from Tianxuecao, unwilling to get too close.

Jier saw the fear of the other horses, so he vigorously smoothed the hair on Tianxuecao's face and criticized it a little. But this fellow clearly did not take it to heart, holding its head high and smiling to show its teeth, looking quite proud of itself.

After everyone mounted their horses, the accompanying subordinates and guards of the other few Merchants followed on foot. On the quiet street, it was quite imposing.

However, after everyone just walked a little way out of the street that led directly from the town center to the banquet restaurant, and turned into a road leading to the slum area, the thick stench and the dried, caked mud on the ground both brought a very bad experience.

"It's fortunate that we rode horses, but this smell is still so unpleasant. Can't the people here just walk two extra steps every day to dump their excrement and trash into the river outside the town???"

Autosfiten covered his nose, seemingly regretting having followed them.

However, those most dissatisfied with this were the Shop Assistants and guards following behind the group. These fellows walking on the street were fortunate to be wearing merchant boots and leather boots, otherwise, some suspicious ground substances would have had an intimate encounter with their feet.

It was even possible they might contract some strange disease because of it.

Mr. Bantuolisa smiled and said nothing. The expenses that the Merchant Union invested in various areas of the town every quarter were all discussed and decided by the various Merchant Guilds.

Since Autosfiten had clearly signed his name on the spring expense usage, did he still have the face to complain about this now?

However, the old Merchant had overestimated the tolerance of Mr. Autosfiten, who had received a good upbringing since childhood; for this young, successful Merchant in his twenties, this was the first time in his life he had been so close to such a dirty and chaotic street.

The others just smiled and said nothing.

But fortunately, the destination was very close; they had only walked less than fifty meters on the street covered with a layer of feces and trash when they arrived at the gate of that gambling Fighting Arena, which looked like a burial mound.

As Jier had seen from afar during the day, this building was constructed of rock. Because Duoen Town was close to the north-south mountain range on the west side, the cost of mining and building with rock here was not very high. As a result, a sturdy building with the defensive power of a rock fortress could appear among the large area of simple and chaotic wooden buildings around it.

It stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens.

The streets of the Duoen Town slum area were empty at night; not only was there no lighting at all (the cost of night lighting was not something the poor could afford), but in the dark corners, there were always rustling, tiny sounds, as if some small animals were lurking there, taking advantage of the night to feast on the various life byproducts of humans.

And at this moment, the only light source on this street was the two fire basins standing at the gate of this rock building.

The gate was wide open, and inside the dimly lit building passage, there was a clamor of voices, extremely noisy.

Two burly, fat thugs were originally standing with their arms crossed in the dark area inside the gate; hearing the sound of hooves and footsteps coming from the entrance, they walked out to check.

These gatekeeping thugs naturally recognized Mr. Bantuolisa, who was riding in front; after all, the direct manager of this place was just one of Mr. Bantuolisa's subordinates.

Seeing that the two gatekeeping thugs recognized him and had already respectfully knelt on one knee on the ground, Mr. Bantuolisa waved his hand, letting the following deputy go up to give instructions.

That deputy Steward, who was in a bad mood from walking over, stepped forward and said: "Have Rosa, who is in charge here, come out to welcome us. Mr. Bantuolisa is bringing other Senior Stewards of the Merchant Union to accompany the guest, Knight Qiao-Jier, to watch and have fun tonight. Have him come out to receive us and bring out the best viewing platform and service you have here."

The two thugs looked at each other after listening; one of them immediately stood up and agreed, then ran into the interior of the gambling Fighting Arena. The other hurriedly called over a companion who was resting in a hidden small room inside the gate, letting them all come out to help guard the horses of these big shots.

Fearing that these people would be rough, Jier jumped off his horse and tied Tianxuecao's Jiansheng to a stone hitching post that was rarely used at the building's entrance.

The others also dismounted with the help of their respective subordinates; among them, Mr. Autosfiten had the most difficult time dismounting, actually needing two people to support him on either side, otherwise, the weak man would not even have been able to dismount safely.

Even though he himself was riding a low southern hill horse.

After everyone gathered at the building entrance and scraped the suspicious, foul-smelling mud that had inevitably stained their soles off on the stone steps at the door, the local manager finally arrived late.

Before the person arrived, a shrill voice came through the low and narrow Shitou Tong Dao first.

"Mr. Bantuolisa, Mr. Bantuolisa! It is truly wonderful that you could come to watch the fighting performance! I have prepared the best viewing platform here for you, along with Maids and fruit! I have brought my own private collection of wine and drinks!"

By the light of the sparse Oil Lamps on both sides of the Shitou Tong Dao, Jier saw a round, low figure "roll" out from the corner of the passage.

If it weren't for the fact that the thing was speaking in a shrill voice, Jier would have even suspected that it was a wine barrel that had become a spirit, rolling over along the ground.