Show Me the Money

Chapter 189 - Duel

It wasn't clear what the Golden Scale guild members did, but, after they fiddled around for a while, the gate surprisingly creaked open.

"Money Grubber?" Upon seeing the carnage surrounding Fatty and a bunch of Spirits of Misfortune, Golden Scale TheMighty immediately understood what had happened.

Fatty was surprised. "Huh? You guys were actually able to open the gate?"

"O mighty God of Misfortune, your believers have followed your directions here in order to serve you." Golden Scale TheMighty shot the elementalist a fierce glare before approaching the illusion and kneeling.

"Very good," the illusion rumbled. "Did you bring the relic?"

"Yes. The Staff of Misfortune is here." Golden Scale TheMighty took out a magic staff made of white bones with billows of hazy white smoke coiling along it. Atop the rod sat a skull that held a magical black gem between its teeth.

"Good, very good. When you complete the last mission, you may inherit my legacy." The illusion pointed at Fatty. "Go. Your last mission is to kill him and take back the Heart of Malediction."

"This…?" Golden Scale TheMighty was dumbstruck. Everyone from the Fat Squad immediately surrounded Fatty to protect him.

"Brother Grubber, under what condition would you help me complete this mission?" Golden Scale TheMighty asked Fatty; as a quick thinker, he'd instantly devised a solution.

"If you want the Heart of Malediction, fine. But, you have to exchange the Misfortune Equipment for it." Fatty's condition was the same.

"The Misfortune Equipment? Impossible," Golden Scale TheMighty swiftly refused. "Pick another one."

Grinning, the elementalist sagged against TheFugitive. "Negotiations end here then."

As they realized Fatty's condition, the squad was appalled. "Fatty, how did you get like this?!"

"No biggie. I can still recover anyway." Fatty patted his inventory pack with a smug face. "We've struck big this time!"

"What did you get? What's this heart?" TheFugitive peered at the pack, and his hands itched to pull the item from Fatty's inventory.

"How about 500,000 gold coins? That's enough to buy a Celestial item," Golden Scale TheMighty finally offered after a moment's hesitation.

"No way!" The elementalist shook his head. "This thing is more important than even a Divine item."

Golden Scale TheMighty's face sank, and the members of the Golden Scale Guild prepared to charge.

HeadofGod laughed coldly. "What? Wanna fight?" The eleven members from God Familia took a step forward in unison.

"I've gone through difficulties to gain this hidden class, guys. I sincerely ask that you make this easier for me." Staring fixedly at Fatty, Golden Scale TheMighty's expression was gloomy.

"We only need the Misfortune Equipment." Fatty dug in his heels and refused to budge.

Golden Scale TheMighty bellowed, "Attack!" Taking the lead, he drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and fired at Fatty.

Swish! The members of the Golden Scale guild here were all elites. The moment their leader gave the command, everyone cast skills together and directed their attacks toward the elementalist.

"Hahaha!" Fatty laughed loudly. He turned his body while promptly summoning the Skeletal Dragon at the same time, directly hiding himself behind the massive mount. With a cacophony of collision noises, the majority of the attacks were blocked by the dragon, blowing puffs of white bone dust from its body instead. When an attack did manage to get through the skeleton's frame, Fatty easily dodged it.

Golden Scale TheMighty halted his attack after his single arrow and yelled out, "Money Grubber, I don't want to make this hard on you. Name terms that we can accept!"

"I only need the Misfortune Equipment!" The same old words form Fatty nearly made Golden Scale TheMighty cough up blood in anger.

"Guild Master Golden Scale, remember what you did last time when Fatty wanted the skill book for the hidden class from you?" HeadofGod inquired coldly, yet his feet didn't stop moving as he approached the opposition alongside his rogue comrades.

The previous bet between Fatty and Golden Scale TheMighty was pretty well-known. And, God Familia often did business around Azure Dragon City, so they knew the details. They had praised the elementalist's strength and declared him an expert until they heard Han Shen call him "master." It was then God Familia truly understood the circumstances of the duel.

"Stop!" Golden Scale TheMighty hastily called a cease-fire upon hearing HeadofGod's words. After some consideration, the guild master said, "Last time, I didn't make it difficult for you; so, I hope that you won't make it difficult for me now. Let's duel again to settle this."

"Alright." Fatty instantly nodded in agreement. "What're the rules?"

Clenching his teeth, Golden Scale TheMighty swept a glance at the members of his team. To his dismay, he discovered that, regardless of whether it was a group fight or a 1v1 duel, his team was no match for their opponent.

"How about a duel between you and me?" Golden Scale TheMighty looked at Fatty. "If I win, you give me the Heart of Malediction, and I'll give you payment as thanks. If I lose, I'll lead my people away and won't bother you anymore."

"Despicable!" Qian Xiaoqian furiously blurted. In Fatty's current condition, he certainly was not up for combat.

"I think we should just pounce and send them on a free trip outta here." Xiao Jian's tone was sinister as he brandished his longsword.

Han Shen wordlessly stepped forward with his dagger in hand, ready to attack at any moment.

To everyone's surprise, Fatty actually agreed to the terms. "Fine."

"Bro!" Qian Xiaoqian stomped her feet.

"Don't worry," Fatty assured her. He then looked at Golden Scale TheMighty. "No matter what, I owe you a favor for last time. Thanks to you, I got the Metalwalk skill book. I'll give you this chance now, whether you can grasp it or not will depend on your own ability."

"Great! No matter the outcome, after we leave this place, I'll invite you all to a meal at Celestial Home Tavern in Azure Dragon City." Golden Scale TheMighty was overjoyed.

Everyone here could tell that Fatty was in horrible condition at the moment. As far as they were concerned, any random person could defeat him in a fight.

"Don't be so happy. You might just lose in the end," Han Shen muttered.

"LittleLi's FlyingDagger, considering you chose to side with another, our Young Master has been unnecessarily respectful to you!" ISteal&IRob shouted. He felt angry whenever he looked at Han Shen.

"'Respectful' my ass! You helped me once; I helped you three times in return! I've already paid back the favor, so what the f*ck are you shouting about?!" Han Shen instantly objected with utter contempt. He angered ISteal&IRob so badly that the man's hands trembled with the urge to nearly draw his weapon and fight it out.

"Uncle Liang," Golden Scale TheMighty curtly called out. ISteal&IRob quickly calmed down before bowing his head with a "Yes" and stepping back in silence. Ignoring Han Shen, Golden Scale TheMighty said to Fatty, "Let's begin."

The elementalist mounted his Skeletal Dragon, summoned Wheat, and moved toward the middle of the yard. The parties' members stood guardedly behind their respective leaders. High in the sky, the illusion of the God of Misfortune remained floating, gazing down at the events impassively.

Due to the nature of the map, Fatty was already at a disadvantage. In the Paradise of Misfortune, everyone was tracked by a red spot; so, a rogue's Stealth was basically useless. Moreover, he'd suffered numerous permanent curses and was in the worst state of his game life.

Everyone was anxious for Fatty.

"Brother Grubber, I hope you won't blame me for taking advantage of you when you're already in trouble. This hidden class is very important to me. I'll personally apologize to you after we leave this place," Golden Scale TheMight promised with his bow in one hand and an arrow in the other.

Fatty jeered, "You're that confident you'll win for sure?"

"Any other day, I wouldn't be. But, for now, I'm sorry, Brother Grubber." Dispensing with the courtesies, Golden Scale TheMighty let out a battle cry and fired an arrow.

"Wheat," Fatty called out, easily sidestepping the shot.

Bam-bam-bam! Over ten stalagmites shot up from beneath Golden Scale TheMighty's feet. Then, Wheat's huge body vanished without a trace.

Swoosh! Fatty leaped off the Skeletal Dragon and Stealth-ed as well. His red spot was still there on the map, but the elementalist went prone in order to make it difficult to attack him.

"Explosive Shot!" Golden Scale TheMighty fired an arrow covered in a red glow. Landing next to Fatty, the arrow violently exploded and forced him out of Stealth.

"Brother Grubber, let's end this," shouted Golden Scale TheMight as he took in Fatty's weakened form. With a series of twangs, nine arrows flew through the air in quick succession.

"Then use your true power." Fatty smiled and disappeared, and the nine-arrow combo failed.

Golden Scale TheMighty hastily checked the map and discovered there was no longer a red spot indicating Fatty's location. "What? There should be a mark even if he's in Stealth." The guild master was confused and anxious.

Whoosh! Appearing behind him, Fatty swung the Elemental Sword at his back. Golden Scale TheMighty rapidly sprang forward, but the sword still drew a bloody scratch across his back.

Teleportation?! Golden Scale TheMighty gasped in shock. However, he was much more reassured now that Fatty had reappeared.

An archer's Dexterity couldn't be much lower than a rogue's. Not to mention, Fatty's stats were greatly reduced at the moment. As long as Golden Scale TheMighty tactically employed long-ranged attacks, he was confident he could wear Fatty down.

"Go!" Golden Scale TheMighty commanded his pet, a bizarre green, three-eyed anaconda over a meter long and as thick as an arm. With tongue flicking, the creature shot toward Fatty like an arrow.

Rumble! More than a dozen stalagmites flew up from beneath the anaconda, sending it flying upon collison. A Howling Bullet immediately followed to strike the creature on its head.

"Wheat's skill is formidable." HeadofGod repeatedly nodded with approval. Looking back at his incompetent pet, his eyes ached so bad that he seriously wanted to just choke the creature to death.

"Brother Grubber, if you're gonna rely on a pet, then you really don't have much hope." Golden Scale TheMighty laughed and kept attacking.

Fatty dodged left and right, barely managing to evade the combo with difficulty.

"I wouldn't be so sure." The elementalist cackled as well. "I'll let you see just how awesome my Wheat is!"

Schwoooom! As if confirming Fatty's words, one Howling Bullet after another whizzed through the air and slammed into Golden Scale TheMighty. Despite the 50% damage decrease due to Wheat attacking from underground, which should have made it far less a threat to Golden Scale TheMighty, the series of attacks were enough to stop him from focusing on Fatty.

Fwiish! The green, three-eyed anaconda had snuck up to Fatty and soundlessly slithered around his body. Baring its two fangs, the creature launched toward his neck.