Adam struck first, but in the end, it was he who took the hit, not Zin. The palm strike to his stomach was painful, and a slight cut remained on his left ear.
Moreover, only now was Adam beginning to realize just how lucky he was that the Silver Weaver had warned him in ti, allowing him to dodge.
In different territories, simple objects like rocks or trees had varying levels of durability. This depended directly on the energy density and, more often than not, accurately reflected how dangerous a given area was.
Thus, the simple pebble in Adam's hand turned out to be one of the most durable things he had ever held.
"I can't even make it crack!" Adam exclaid inwardly as he turned toward the wall to examine the damage once more. "Still, it took him just a single flick to do that!"
If Zin's sound bullet had hit Adam directly, in the head, neck, or heart, their fight would have ended right then and there.
It seed like a complete failure on Adam's part, but that wasn't quite the case.
Kaerno smirked, resting his hand on his hip.
"Hah, so that's how he decided to play it."
Then, he raised his arm as his energy ford three white cubes with transparent walls.
"I'm placing three land cubes on Adam Vinter's victory!" Kaerno proclaid, his voice echoing throughout the arena.
Silence.
There was a mont of silence until Leerna's first assistant, the girl to her left, nodded and added his na to the list. To do so, she rely needed a few strokes of her pen across the stone board.
"W-What? He bet on that Phantom?" the young man muttered, taken aback.
The woman sitting next to him smirked. "Huh, he believes in him too much! Though I don't mind, it's a good chance to get more land!"
She raised her hand as a white cube identical to the one above Kaerno ford above her, though there was only one. For Kaerno, even three land cubes weren't significant, but he was a Finger. Others didn't have as many resources as he did.
"I'm putting one land cube on Zin's victory, Silence of the Abyss!"
" too!"
" too! Two land cubes on Zin!"
"Don't forget about ! I'm betting my land cube on the second fighter!"
Leerna, as the judge, watched the proceedings, which brought a slight smirk to her face. Her assistants hurriedly filled out the stone boards, recording the nas of everyone who had placed a bet.
The erald clock showed that the spectators had three minutes left to place their bets.
'Well, well,' Leerna muttered to herself, turning her gaze to Zin. 'So it looks like the first round goes to your opponent, right?'
Kaerno and many others shared her thoughts.
Sure, Adam had been wounded in two places, one missed strike and a light cut, but the issue now wasn't about wounds.
Zin didn't want anyone but himself to profit from their fight, but Adam had a different opinion. He didn't care what others got as long as he achieved his goal, in this case, securing a bit of land for himself in the Hollow Lands.
Because of Kaerno's first bet, the others decided this was their chance to make so good money.
They bet on Zin because they decided to take a risk and didn't believe in Adam's victory. On the one hand, this was foolish and illogical since it was the first clash between the fighters, but if they turned out to be right, then Kaerno's land cubes and many others from future bets would go to them.
The land cubes, as the na implied, were land, a cubic ter in size, and could be located anywhere, next to the pillar, at the Bone Lakes, or inside the pillar.
After all the bets were settled, the judge's assistants, the winners, and the losers would decide who would receive which specific territory. For now, the bets were only on the space. This system allowed for quick, flexible betting and helped avoid disputes during the fight, given that spectators had only five minutes while the fight was in progress.
These were unusual bets, but the rules weren't standard either. At the Citadel, everyone always placed bets before the fight began. That was a common rule, but the Grim Court operated differently.
Kaerno narrowed his eyes, watching Zin's expression. Zin was trying to hide it, but the muscles in his face betrayed his inner irritation.
'Everything went exactly as Adam wanted, not as he did. Still, that wasn't enough to make Zin lose his composure.'
For a mont, Kaerno's smirk turned into a wide grin.
'In the end, he'll have to fight, brutally and bloodily, if he wants to hear the blood of Queen Elisa flow!'
Es'aha noticed Zin's expression as well, and Kaerno's reaction frightened her.
'B-Bastard! Why the hell is your grin so wide? Zin is one of us! You should be cheering for him, not for that human!'
Es'aha clenched the fabric of her robe tightly, but she didn't place a bet.
"Ghah."
Suddenly, a deep growl sounded a few rows behind her, causing her to turn around.
The man with crimson hair set his beer bottle aside and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Although he wore nothing but a loose black shirt and brown pants, he sat in the large stone chair reserved for the Fingers, and unlike Kaerno and Sarka, who had switched places, he sat exactly where he was supposed to.
"Alright, I think I understand what's going on here." The man raised his hand as a bright flash of light illuminated his row.
The six white cubes hovered above him as his voice bood:
"I'm betting six land cubes on Adam Vinter's victory. Record my bet."
The first assistant nodded, silently going about her work.
"GARZO!!!"
Es'aha exclaid, rising from her seat.
"What the hell are you doing? How can you place such a big bet on that... on that fighter!!!"
In response, Garzo leaned forward, his amber eyes flashing.
"What do you an? I'm doing the sa thing he is."
He looked at Adam, who caught his glare across the arena.
"I'm going to win. Am I right, Adam?"
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