Chapter 79: The Dawn Arena

By the time Jeremy opened his eyes again, more than half the day had unknowingly passed.

As he looked at the familiar ceiling of the inn, Jeremy's face was filled with melancholy.

Earlier, in The Prison of All Souls, Jeremy had used a considerable number of soul crystals, but they could only heal a thousandth of Janna's injuries.

To fully recover Janna's wounds would require an astronomical number of soul crystals.

Relying on Jeremy alone to farm for them was absolutely unrealistic.

After some thought, Jeremy sighed and muttered to himself, "It seems I'll have to trouble old Heber again."

If farming couldn't gather the necessary soul crystals for Janna, then buying them was the only option.

In this regard, Heber was an expert.

Jeremy stood up, stretched his long-sitting muscles, and walked out of the room.

As he passed Bonnie's room, Jeremy naturally pushed open the door and glanced at Bonnie, who was still lying on the bed.

At this moment, Bonnie's body seemed to have fully recovered. Even the once black and purple wound on her left ankle had reduced to just a red mark.

However, Bonnie still had her eyes closed, resembling a sleeping beauty in a deep slumber, lying quietly on the bed.

Jeremy approached and checked her condition, finding that Bonnie was almost fully restored with no negative status effects. She really did seem to be merely sleeping, which put his mind at ease.

Heber's trading company was not far from the inn where Jeremy was staying. A short while later, Jeremy spotted a flag with a grinning hippo's face flapping in the wind.

Clearly, this was Heber's trading company.

However, it seemed that Heber's company was currently facing some issues.

A large group of intimidating sinners were gathered at the entrance of Heber's company. Even from a distance, Jeremy could hear the noisy commotion loud and clear.

"Heber, we heard you've encountered the new player this season. Where is he? Bring him out so we can have a look!"

"Heber, stop hiding him. Hand over the new player from this season!"

"That's right, don't think about hogging all the good stuff. Any intel you have should be shared with everyone."

...

Most of this group of people were actually here for Jeremy.

Seeing the undisguised malice on their faces, it was clear that if Jeremy fell into their hands, he would be in a living hell.

Heber, on the other hand, was genuinely loyal.

Even though he was sweating profusely from being surrounded, he still stood at the entrance of the trading company, angrily shouting, "This is Dawn City! What do you think you're doing? Murdering someone in broad daylight?"

"Let me tell you, even if that new player were here, I, Heber, would never hand him over!"

A sinner with a tiger's head and a broad-bladed knife in his arms sneered at Heber, "Heber, I advise you to be sensible. If you don't want to leave the starting cage, don't hold us back. Hand over that new player, or don't blame me for being rude!"

"If you don't hand him over today, then we'll settle this in the Dawn Arena!"

"If it comes to it, then so be it—fight it is!"

This declaration silenced those who had been chattering incessantly.

At this moment, the crowd's gaze towards Heber was filled with a mix of disdain, confusion, admiration, and pity...

Some even felt indignant on Heber's behalf, though they didn't dare to badmouth Blood Tiger Hansen. Instead, they directed their ire towards Jeremy, who had yet to appear.

"Where's that player? Just hiding and letting Heber take the fall—what a coward!"

"Such a cowardly display. This batch of players is really disappointing."

"Pathetic. Heber, you're pathetic for still being at level 50 after all these years, and that player is even worse! He doesn't even dare to show his face!"

...

Hearing this, the tiger-headed sinner's expression shifted from disdain to seriousness.

Nodding solemnly, he said, "I didn't expect you to be a real man. Alright, I, Blood Tiger Hansen, officially challenge you!"

As he spoke, Blood Tiger Hansen pulled out a scroll from his pocket. He bit his finger, wrote down his name, and tossed the scroll to Heber.

Without hesitation, Heber examined the scroll to ensure there were no hidden traps, then bit his fingertip and signed his own name.

Seeing Heber sign his name without fear, Blood Tiger Hansen's lips curled into a grim smile. "Good, you're straightforward. In honor of your bravery, I'll instruct Black Tiger David to give you a swift end!"

With that, Blood Tiger Hansen extended his hand to drag Heber to the Dawn Arena.

Heber had no power to resist Blood Tiger Hansen's grip and could only watch as Hansen's hand grew larger and larger in his vision.

A trace of despair slowly emerged in Heber's eyes.

At that moment, a voice, not particularly loud but somehow resonating in everyone's hearts, broke the silence: "I say, isn't this just bullying an honest man?"

Following the voice, everyone turned to see a man with a distinct appearance, unlike theirs, staring coldly at Blood Tiger Hansen.

Heber's face showed urgency as he shouted, "Jeremy, why did you come? Leave now, don't worry about me. As long as you're in Dawn City, they can't do anything to you."

With these words and Jeremy's unusual appearance, the crowd quickly realized that this was the legendary new player.

Instantly, greedy eyes turned towards Jeremy.

This was a living source of points! Accumulating 999 points would grant them freedom!

Moreover, Jeremy's value wasn't just in the points. To the sinners, the most valuable thing about him was the intelligence he held about the new batch of players.

Capturing Jeremy and extracting information from him would allow them to strategically massacre the new players!

Blood Tiger Hansen's eyes gleamed as he burst into laughter, "Hahaha, well, if I didn't come looking for you, you came to me! This is perfect!"

Heber shouted desperately, "Run, Jeremy, run!"

Seeing Heber still thinking about him in such a dire situation, Jeremy felt a warmth in his heart.

Jeremy nodded at Heber, signaling his understanding, and then turned to Blood Tiger Hansen, saying, "An arena fight, right? I'll take it!"