The Young Count wasn't going to fight to kill for the first time, and this situation reflected in his body language whether he wanted it to or not. The five people who confronted him also fell under the influence of this change; they took their weapons in their hands and assumed an attack formation.
"Three melee attackers, one archer, and one assassin. Not bad, but let's see how you fight?"
As soon as Jashua finished his words, he accelerated towards his opponents; the move of the hulking youth who said he wouldn't do anything was met strangely in the spectator rows.
"I thought he wasn't going to do anything? Look, he is attacking!"
"He tricked the fools; he will turn them into mince!"
While the audience reacted like this, the state of those in the arena was thoroughly miserable. Due to panic, they were tripping over their own feet. Meanwhile, Jashua touched each of their shoulders once and appeared on the other side.
"You're dead!"
"You're dead!"
"You're dead!"
"You're dead!"
"You're dead!"
Speaking while pointing at them one by one amidst their bewildered gazes, those who came out to measure themselves against him would have been dead if this were a real battle.
"Your time is running out!"
He made his last warning by raising his voice; meanwhile, the five opposite him were looking at each other. However scared they were when Jashua came at them, only now did they seem to have come to their senses.
"It's our turn!"
While the three people rushing forward approached the Young Count from different directions, arrows passing over them were opening the way for them. Instead of retreating, Jashua lunged forward; immediately after the arrows passing over him, he jumped into the air, surpassed the three people, and headed towards the archer.
At that moment, the assassin approaching him from his left side attacked using throwing knives. The knives, two fingers thick and one finger long, targeted every part of his body.
Jashua jumped back, escaping the attack, but he saw the three people left behind him turning towards him and swinging their weapons. With throwing knives in front of him and the others closing off three directions behind him, Jashua seemed trapped.
The Young Count proceeded towards the only exit path; jumping into the air, he made a move backward. He reached a height where the weapons of the three people couldn't reach. Everyone thought he had escaped the trap, but an arrow progressing while whistling in the air was about to pierce his body.
"It's over!"
"There is a big difference between running away without attacking and crushing the enemy!"
Three friends were watching the battle side by side, and two of them were sure the struggle had ended.
"No way!"
When the third person shouted, they froze silently as if they had fallen into wells of astonishment. A breath before the arrow pierced his waist, Jashua almost folded himself in two and escaped this attack.
When he landed on the ground, he staggered a few steps; the gaze he now directed at the five looked different.
"What are you waiting for?"
The five were expecting Jashua to come at them as before, but the Young Count had no such thought. There was a big difference between someone coming at you even though he couldn't attack and someone running away to avoid being attacked.
"The battle is over, the winner is Jashua!"
Jashua, who stayed away from his opponents for the remaining time, easily won the bet; the five, who were out of breath, were as merry as children.
"Count Jashua, thank you for the lesson!"
They bowed and greeted Jashua, and a voice echoed inside their minds.
"If you want more, come to the Garbage House tonight!"
The five people first looked at each other and then rapidly left the battlefield; Jashua, who got what he wanted, walked with slow steps towards the low wall, but his steps were cut short by a voice coming from the spectator rows.
"I left the sect for a short while, but look at what I see when I return? The Blood Arena has turned into a playground; brats are having fun with each other!"
Jashua found the speaker at a glance; a man with his muscular arms, which his fur-collared vest couldn't hide, crossed on his chest was looking at him.
"Ralf has returned!"
"Isn't this the person who walks to the summit of the Volcano to hunt wild creatures!"
"It is said that he is one of the three strongest disciples receiving training!"
While voices rose from around, the man named Ralf was descending the steps one by one; the tip of the huge sword hanging on his back hit the ground each time, creating a rhythmic sound. The tips of his thick black beard and hair of the same color were trembling; every step of his muscular body shook the ground he stepped on.
"Since when has the Blood Arena become a showground for dandies; can anyone with blood crystals put on a show with five people they bought?"
His voice shook the whole arena; due to his self-assured attitude, no one came out to answer. Disciples in the spectator rows could only discuss among themselves in whispers.
"He hasn't been around for almost six months; what an interesting coincidence that he appears here now!"
"Do you think the clan representatives sent him?"
"Don't be stupid; everyone knows what kind of madman he is, no one can buy him!"
While some people thought he was sent by the clan representatives to cause trouble, others were talking about another subject.
"He is running his mouth because he doesn't know what happened in the last three days!"
"Let him talk; we will watch a magnificent battle in a bit!"
Whatever they thought, everyone's common expectation was for Jashua and Ralf to start a battle to the death, and the coarse-bearded man stepping on the short wall with one foot was adding fuel to the fire.
"Since you are a tough guy who can fight with five people at once, fight with me too if you have the courage!"
Jashua did not break his silence while looking at the man who had just appeared.
"What happened, or did the cat get your tongue out of fear? Be a man of your mold and fight with me!"
Ralf was speaking without restraining himself; despite this, Jashua did not seem affected.
"I am keeping someone waiting whom I shouldn't keep waiting; with your permission!"
Shrugging his shoulders, Jashua stepped onto the low wall from the side where Lareina was; now the two men stood on the same plane.
"Are you running away? At least you should have tried to offer me some blood stones too, coward!"
Ralf, who finished his words, turned his back, but at that moment, as if feeling the claw of a wild creature on his nape, he leaped a few steps forward.
"Did the days run out; why don't you come again tomorrow!"
While Jashua walked to the exit with rapid steps, Lareina started running to catch up with him; the duo went out a few breaths later, but a laughter that horrified people followed them.
"I will wait for you right here!"
After the laughter, Ralf's roar shook the earth and sky; Jashua heard these words clearly, and the affectionate smile on his face was replaced by a murderous one. Jashua relaxed as if taking off a tight garment; the Young Count, who fought to kill all his life, was going to get what he wanted.
Without saying a single word, with Lareina following him, they came in front of the portal opening to the library; the Library Guardian, sitting on his chair and drinking a cup of tea, was there to welcome them.
"Library Guardian Anticuado!"
Jashua greeted by bowing his head slightly; the man in red clothes, answering in the same way, extended his hand to the side and opened a portal from nothingness.
"One day for ten points, do you accept?"
Jashua looked at the sky; the sun had almost come to the zenith, and this actually meant he had almost half a day for ten points.
"Yes!"
Receiving the answer, Anticuado turned his black eyes shining like flint to the girl with the strange haircut.
"Lareina, where would you like to go?"
"Wherever Jashua goes, I want to go there too!"
The tough-looking man's single eyebrow raised, but it came back down just a breath later.
"Then you can use this portal too. There is no time restriction for you; you can stay as long as you want!"
"Thank you, but when Jashua's time is up, I will leave with him!"
There was no other conversation; the two young people stepping into the portal found themselves inside the large library where Jashua had come before.