"Wait!" Both of them were all set, but just before they could start, the skinny guy suddenly called for a halt. He looked at Cowell, and a really creepy smile appeared on his pale face. "This way of competing is boring. How about we make it more interesting?" The skinny man pulled a dagger from his waist. It flashed with a cold gleam and then he stuck it into the table. He said to Cowell, "This dagger is a level - one spiritual - light one. If you win, it's yours."
"A level - one spiritual - light dagger? Oh my! It's a spiritual - light level weapon."
"The Poison - thorn Mercenary Group is really wealthy. They can bring out a spiritual - light weapon so easily."
"Hmph! What's being rich got to do with it? When do the Poison - thorn people ever pay for what they want? They must have stolen this!"
When the skinny man took out the spiritual - light weapon, the adventurers around got all stirred up. For the adventurers in Mill Town, spiritual - light weapons were something they could only admire from a distance. Some of the adventurers were envious, some jealous, and their eyes showed greed. But Cowell wasn't as worked up as the others. He quietly looked at the dagger on the table and then coldly eyed the skinny man. "Put your thing away. This kind of bet is pointless. Even if you win, I don't have anything of equal value to give you."
"No, no, no." The skinny man shook his head with a laugh. "Since I've taken it out, I'm not taking it back. You've got nothing to bet? Fine. I'll just pick something as a bet." The skinny man looked around, and his eyes lit up when he saw a girl outside the crowd. "It's her! If you win, you get the dagger. If I win, that girl comes with me."
The girl he pointed at was Sasha. She was an adventurer too. When there were quests, she'd go on them. When there weren't, she worked as a cook in the tavern. She wasn't very pretty, but as someone with abilities, she had a nice figure. The skinny man had seen Sasha when he first came in and tried to chat her up, but Sasha rejected him flat - out.
"I can't do that," Cowell said, shaking his head. "I can only speak for myself. The others have nothing to do with me."
"Doesn't matter." The skinny man kept shaking his head, looking like he didn't care. He stared at Sasha, and licked the corner of his mouth. "Just focus on the match. We'll handle the rest, heh heh..."
The skinny man gave Sasha, who was not far away, a sinister smile. Sasha got scared and turned to leave, but two other members of the Poison - thorn Mercenary Group blocked her way.
"Everything's ready. Let's start."
"Three, two, one, go!"
"Ah!"
When the countdown ended, Cowell and the big man both shouted and put all their strength into their arms. The veins on their thick arms bulged. To everyone's surprise, Cowell and the big man were evenly matched. Their arms were stuck in mid - air, and neither could overpower the other for a while.
"Good grief! Look at that. Old Cowell's as strong as that big fella." A lot of people were shocked by Cowell's performance. Who would've thought this old, flirty, one - armed bartender could be this powerful?
"Kid, you shouldn't be so full of yourself. Today, I'm gonna teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" Cowell gritted his teeth and stared at the big man across from him. There was a fire in his eyes.
The old man got all fired up, like he'd become a dozen years younger. He roared a few times and pushed with all his might against his opponent. He even managed to bend the big man's arm back. When they saw Cowell was winning, the adventurers around started cheering like crazy. The tavern was going wild. In the adventurers' eyes, it was pretty much impossible for the big man to turn things around after being pushed back like this. In other words, this win was Cowell's, for the whole of Mill Town. But... just when the adventurers thought victory was in sight, something unexpected happened!
"Old man, I admit you're strong, but you don't think you can beat me with just this, do you? You're so naive. No wonder you lost an arm! Roar!!!" When the big man's wrist was almost at a 45 - degree angle to the table, he suddenly spoke. Cowell was shocked. A flash of red appeared in the big man's eyes, and his already huge body seemed to grow even bigger all of a sudden. The arm that had been bent straightened right back up!
"Berserk? You're a barbarian? Ah!" Old Cowell exclaimed in surprise, then let out a painful scream. The big man pushed his remaining arm hard onto the stone table. The force was so strong that it cracked the ten - centimeter - thick stone tabletop. But the big man wasn't done. He grabbed Cowell's arm, lifted his whole body, spun him around twice, and then threw Cowell, who weighed nearly two hundred pounds, like a sack. Cowell crashed into a table like a cannonball and couldn't get up.
This raging guy's power filled the adventurers with fear. Everyone backed away from the stone table. A few adventurers rushed over to help Cowell. The place was in chaos. In the middle of this mess, the skinny man suddenly screamed, "We won! Grab that girl!"
Sasha was a thief. She wasn't very strong, but she was fast. When she saw Cowell being thrown, she sped up as fast as she could and rushed towards the tavern door like a ghost. She was fast, but someone was faster. Of the two guys blocking Sasha, one with a goatee was also a thief. Before Sasha could get out of the tavern, he'd blocked the door with his body.
Seeing the door blocked, Sasha's heart sank. But she didn't give up hope of escaping. She'd heard all about how those sickos in the Poison - thorn Mercenary Group treated women. Once, there was a female warrior with Sasha. She got caught by the Poison - thorn Mercenary Group in Clun Town because of a conflict. Three days later, her body was found in the wild near Clun Town. Her tendons and ligaments had been cut, she had hundreds of wounds all over her body, and her lower body was a mess. It was clear she'd been tortured to death. Sasha didn't want to end up like that, so even if there was just a little hope, she wouldn't give up.
However, she was only a level - three ability user. The guys from the Poison - thorn Mercenary Group were at least level - five ability users. There was a big gap in their strength. What's worse, the tavern was small, and Sasha couldn't use her speed to her advantage.