"Of course, I am afraid of losing."
Grivon answered matter-of-factly. Gwan who is standing in front of the group was stunned. He expected Grivon to dismiss his claims and feeling offended. He wanted to provoke him into getting into this. But instead of that, he openly admitted.
Looking at his reaction, Grivon smiled and said.
"I am afraid of losing. Because everything I gained is something I gained with my life on the line. I don't want to lose it all on some gamble. Particularly not when I am getting threats from some big hidden figures."
"You were threatened?" Gwan was shocked.
"Of course, I got a few threats that I shouldn't gamble with you anymore and if I did, I better lose if I knew what is good for me.
I don't care about who they are and what they want. I don't care if they are stronger than me, but I have to keep my members safe and I can't just play and lose on my own. I don't like throwing fights no matter if they are some gambles or some fights that decide fates. So, I would rather avoid.
Now get out of the way and come and meet me only after you have big enough to balls to gamble with full stakes and no hidden and outer threats coming at me, just because I can win."
Grivon and the team were about to take a detour and leave, but Gwan once again blocked their way.
"Young master, you might really get your ass kicked if you keep blocking me. Trust me, the people that threatened me didn't say anything regarding beating the crap out of you. They only told me to not win any gambles against you."
"Who is that threatened you? Tell me. I will sort this out."
"Sort this out? If you really think you can sort this out, you would have done it already. Who knows how many victories you scored all these years because of these people. And here I was thinking that you are some highly skilled beast tamer and trainer."
With that Grivon didn't stop and went back to their residence.
The next day, Gwan came to his residence and this time, he brought the manager of the Den along with him.
"What are you doing here, Young master? I already told what I wanted to tell you. Now get out."
"I am here to make a deal. In all the future gambles that you and I have, there wouldn't be any of my clan members trying to sabotage the payment if you win and I will try my best to help you if they try to threaten you.
I will be doing the Gandharva Oath right here and record it. I will spread it all over the realm so that my clan wouldn't be able to deal with you."
"Are you sure you want to do that?"
"This will give you what you need. You can come and gamble. I will prove it to you that I am not a person who tries to renege on my debts."
"Sure thing."
Grivon grinned and accepted the oath.
He couldn't help but feel a bit ecstatic while he did that. He didn't expect that Gwan would take such extreme measures, but this helps him do things far easily.
"Okay now, lets go to arena, I would like to get my field back and much more from you."
"I am sorry. But I already sold your field."
"WHAT?" Gwan was stunned.
"You heard me. I already sold the field. I didn't bother to wait for you to win it back and I don't have any use for it."
"Who did you sell it to?"
"I don't know. Someone from the capital. A new merchant group."
"I need to look into it. The field is quite profitable. As he mumbled he walked out and Grivon followed him.
They both went to the arena and once again they started betting. This time, Gwan took a different type of beast. A Dual elemental beast.
A wolf with both wood and wind elements. The Grass Blade Wolf.
"Another undefeated contender of yours. I thought you would save this for a bit. I also have a wolf in my possession. Let's see who wins."
Grivon sent his beast pouch and gave the same offer as the day before. Twenty billion spirit stones for the bet.
The audience are looking forward to it as the announcer hyped up.
The wolf Grivon gave was revealed. This time, the size of the creatures is equivalent. They looked equally dangerous.
The wolf Gwan is using has the green mane with a single white patch on its crown, where as Grivon's wolf is of golden color.
Its mane had this metallic sheen that glimmered like it was just polished.
The Golden Wolf. A metal elemental beast.
The announcer created hype while Grivon and Gwan started discussing the wagers.
"I will need that energy barrier blueprint and I will also need that thunder mantis."
"Oh my god. You are really betting big. But do you really have enough capital? I mean, the worth of the mantis is a lot more than it just being a beast. Its worth is at least the same as the hectare of the land it won for me and even more.
Since I am feeling generous again, I will take a bet. But you need to place the wager of something that is twice as valuable as the Land."
"How about an orchard? The Flame Tangerine Orchard. The land has been fertilized with the fire elemental essence and the blood of the fire elemental beasts for centuries. Every year instead of decreasing the fertility, it is increasing rapidly.
I think it is a good deal. The tangerines are also on the verge of harvest. It would be enough."
"Sure, I will take that deal. I am pretty sure I can find a great buyer in no time."
"You wouldn't be able to, don't worry."
As they were talking. The battle started.
Grivon had a smile on his face as he looked at the green wolf running around. Every where it stepped there is a patch of grass appearing there and a swift wind carried the grass and it into literal blades of grass.
When the grass blades slashed the golden wolf, one could see a faint green mark left behind along with the small scar.
The wolf's special attack, poisonous grass blades. This is an attack that does a lot of damage as the time goes on and with the wolf's natural agility, it can drag on the fight as it liked and the constant pelting with the grass blades only makes it worse for the opponent.
But when the Golden wolf took the hits at the start, it winced in pain, but only for a second, the next moment its golden mane brightened up and the metallic sheen intensified.
The next barrage of grass blades were completely deflected from the skin and the Golden Wolf looked at the Grass Blade wolf before howling into the sky.
*HOWLING*
The Grass Blade wolf suddenly felt the shivers down its spine and stopped the attack. The Golden Wolf slowly walked forward and suddenly it body appeared to be larger in the eyes of the Grass Blade wolf.
"What the fuck is that mutt doing? Why is backing down?"
"A wolf is a canine beast Young master. They have some serious instincts when gauging their opponents and your wolf just realized that it is against a stronger opponent, both in terms of strength and hierarchy."
"What do you mean hierarchy? My wolf never mixed up with the rest of the tribe, it doesn't know any of these things."
"I knew you would think that. But instincts for beasts come through genetics. When there is an overwhelming power difference, you cannot make them fight. If you are doubtful, you can command it to fight. But beware that it would die."
"I don't fucking believe it."
As he spoke, he commanded his beast through the contract.
As soon as he did that the grass blade wolf tried its best to resist but for its owner, it made a move.
The Golden Wolf became angry and leaped forward. It disappeared like a golden flash and in one second, the Grass Blade wolf lay on the ground with blood all over its body dripping out.
The crowd turned silent again.
"What the fuck is happening? It was only one hit."
"I told you, the overwhelming power difference that comes from genetics. It is not easy to beat. Anyway, shall we talk about the transfer of the orchard? I need to find a buyer."
"We can go again. Right now."
"No, young master. I have an expedition lined up. I am going after a mine that was recently discovered and there are some problems. It is actually discovered by your organization. I just took the contract. So, I can't just abandon it."
"But…"
"Please young master. You just swore an oath that you would make sure that your family doesn't help you renege your debts, but now you are trying to avoid it by making another bet.. We can't just have all the fun in a single day."