Chapter 48: Duel with the Hellhound
The Level-Four gladiator was strong — no doubt about that.
But he lacked one crucial thing: the will to charge forward without hesitation. Or rather, he hadn’t truly accepted that this was a fight to the death. From the moment he faced the Hellhound, his aura faltered.
The Hellhound, a Level-Five zombie, was not something an ordinary fighter could handle. Its strength far surpassed that of a human gladiator. So from the very start, the man was forced backward, retreating again and again beneath the beast’s relentless assault.
When two strong forces collide, victory goes to the fearless side.
The gladiator was neither brave enough, nor strong enough to face the Hellhound. He was forced to retreat every time the Hellhound attacks.
By the time his back hit the iron bars of the arena cage, there was nowhere left to run.
A sickening crunch followed. The Hellhound clamped its jaws around his left arm and tore into flesh. Blood sprayed.
“Whoa—”
“Gods above!”
“He’s done for! That bite means infection — he’s finished!”
“But the duel’s not over! If he kills the Hellhound, his family still gets the payout. If he dies first, he dies for nothing.”
The crowd erupted in murmurs. Chen Ning frowned. From their chatter, he learned the brutal truth — even after being infected, the fight had to continue.
Chen Ning turned his head, squinting as he surveyed the crowd around him. These people were all dressed impeccably—clearly, even within Vermilion Phoenix City, they were wealthy.
These members of high society lived lives of abundance, completely untouched by the apocalypse. Compared to the majority of residents in the slums, they were practically living in paradise.
The coming of the apocalypse hadn’t stirred any guilt or reflection in them.
Even as humanity faced the threat of extinction, they continued to live in indulgence and excess.
Chen Ning wondered what this so-called arena truly offered, aside from satisfying these people’s twisted tastes and bloodthirsty desires.
A victorious gladiator earned fifteen silver coins. One silver coin could buy a hundred loaves of bread. Meaning this Level-Four War Officer was risking his life for barely one thousand five hundred loaves — just to entertain these noble scums.
Whether it was because of his own integrity, or because he had grown up in the slums, Chen Ning’s gaze toward the wealthy spectators grew cold and distant.
Beside him, LiewRuyan noticed. Her voice softened.
Liew Ruyan, sitting next to him, keenly noticed the unusual expression in Chen Ning’s eyes. She realized he was sympathizing with the gladiator. After a brief pause, she spoke softly.
“You’re feeling for that gladiator because you’re hesitating about whether to fight the Hellhound yourself, aren’t you?
Actually, you’re a reserve officer of the Phoenix Legion with a promising future. Considering your good relationship with Bai Yuhao, I think if you just ask him for the money, he’d be more than willing to lend it to you.
You don’t need to personally go down and challenge the Hellhound.”
Chen Ning didn’t answer. His eyes stayed locked on the fight below.
The gladiator was doomed. Infected, bleeding, half-dead — his fate was sealed. And maybe because he knew he was already a dead man, something inside him snapped. All fear and hesitation vanished. With nothing left to lose, he finally unleashed his true strength.
Perhaps he just wanted to leave his family a bit of compensation before dying, he start to fight like a possessed man. His roar echoed through the arena as he slashed wildly, driving his weapon into one of the Hellhound’s eyes, then hacking clean through its rightmost head.
The crowd gasped.
But that only enraged the monster.
As a zombie, the hellhound’s central head was its main head, the only head with the zombie core. And zombies felt no pain.
After having its rightmost head severed by the gladiator, it went into a frenzy. It swiftly threw the gladiator to the ground and bit off both his hands and feet.
However, instead of delivering a fatal bite, it toyed with him like a cat playing with a mouse, slowly torturing him to death…
The hellhound bit down on the gladiator’s head again, clamping onto his left ear and tearing it off in one brutal motion.
“AAAHHHH!”
The scream was inhuman. Even the spectators flinched, covering their ears.
A wave of anger suddenly emanated from the VIP section. Bai Yuhao instinctively turned his head and saw Chen Ning, not far away, his face filled with fury.
“Enough,” Chen Ning said coldly.
In one smooth motion, he drew the combat knife from his belt and hurled it.
SHHK!
The blade whistled through the air and sank into the gladiator’s chest, where his heart is. The gladiator, tortured beyond recognition, finally found release in death.
The arena fell silent. Then chaos erupted.
“Who did that?!”
“Blasphemy! He interrupted the sacred duel — seize him!”
Armed guards rushed in, led by a mustached man in a black suit — the arena’s manager.
His expression was grim, but when he saw Chen Ning’s Phoenix Corps uniform — and recognized him as Bai Yuhao’s guest — his confidence wavered.
The surrounding spectators’ protests grew louder, demanding that the staff severely punish Chen Ning, or else they would demand refunds for their tickets.
The manager turned nervously to Bai Yuhao. “Young Master Bai… your friend has violated the rules…”
Bai Yuhao gave him a lazy glance. “Rules exist to be broken.”
The manager froze. He knew Bai Yuhao’s father — General Bai ZhongShan — commanded the Imperial Army Breaking Legion. This wasn’t someone he could afford to offend.
Grinding his teeth, he prepared to issue an order to refund all tickets.
Bai Yuhao waved a hand. “No need. Tell me the total amount. My steward will compensate you.”
The manager’s eyes lit up with relief. Problem solved.
But Chen Ning frowned. Letting Bai Yuhao pay for his impulsive action? Impossible!
There were two thousand spectators here — counting both the VIP and regular seats, that refund would run six or seven hundred gold coins.
Though Chen Ning regarded Bai Yuhao as a brother, he couldn’t just let him take the fall like this.
Without hesitation, he cut in and said: “Hold on.”
The manager blinked in surprise.
Chen Ning’s voice was calm. “That gladiator already lost. Forcing him to continue served no purpose.”
A few spectators overheard and scoffed. “No purpose? We were enjoying it! Watching the zombie rip him apart was part of the entertainment! What’s next, you gonna go fight the Hellhound yourself?”
They were upset with the sudden turn of events, those words were meant as a taunt.
But Chen Ning slowly stood up.
“Thats right,” he said coldly. “I’ll fight it myself. Manager, that shouldn’t be a problem, right?””
The entire arena went silent.
The manager stared, dumbstruck. “According to the rules, you can challenge the beast… if you win, you’ll earn fifteen silver coins. But if you lose — you bear the consequences.”
Su Luo and the Luo brothers tensed, whispering urgently: “Chen Ning, don’t be reckless! That’s a Level-Five Hellhound! Even with one head gone, it still has the strength of a Level-Four — it’s too dangerous!”
Chen Ning’s voice was calm. “I’m not level-two anymore. I’m level-three.”
That stunned them. They were happy for him — but still terrified.
“Even level-three can’t match a Hellhound!”
Bai Yuhao opened his mouth to speak, but Chen Ning cut him off.
“You don’t have to stop me, Young Master Bai. I’m doing this for one reason — to kill that beast, and give that gladiator justice. That’s all.”
Beside them, Liew Ruyan rolled her eyes. Justice, huh? she thought. You just want to win and pay me back, don’t you?
No one could dissuade him.
In the end, the manager excitedly announced.
“Ladies and gentlemen! This distinguished guest present here, Mr. Chen Ning, has decided to personally step into the arena to challenge the Hellhound!
What’s even more astonishing is that he only possesses the strength of a Level-Three. There’s no need to doubt this—our staff have personally verified it. Chen Ning’s martial nodes in reality have indeed only lit up three points.
A Level-Three Phoenix Legion War Soldier challenging a Level-Five Hellhound—who will emerge victorious?
Let’s wait and see! Moreover, everyone is welcome to actively place bets and participate in our on-site gambling!”
The arena exploded with excitement.
Almost everyone bet on the Hellhound. Chen Ning’s odds skyrocketed — two hundred to one.
This is all because Bai Yuhao placed a bet of 100 gold coins on Chen Ning; otherwise, the odds would have been even higher.
Liew Ruyan, following Chen Ning’s quiet instructions, bet three gold coins on his victory.
After hesitating for a moment, she also placed ten gold coins of her own on Chen Ning to win.
She thought to herself: Hmph, since you’re this arrogant, I’ll gamble these ten gold coins. If you lose, the debt you owe will probably be irrecoverable, and I’ll be at a huge loss!
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