Chapter 156: The Sacrifice to Establish Authority

Chapter 156: Chapter 156: The Sacrifice to Establish Authority

The first to react was the other person at the center of this drama.

Knows Nothing went on a frantic spamming spree, unleashing a torrent of profanity and even starting to make death threats.

[Knows Nothing]: @Blacktiger Ford! Who the fuck do you think you are, acting all high and mighty! Let me tell you something, I have a Challenge Certificate now! From the system! You see that? It’s a deathmatch! If you don’t give me water, I’ll see you in the arena! I’ll take all your supplies! We’ll see how arrogant you are then!

[Knows Nothing]: Scared now? If you are, then hurry up and trade me some water! I want food! I want runes! Or else I’ll use the certificate right now!

Seraphina Sinclair watched these blustering roars and a slight smile touched her lips.

’All bark and no bite.’

’If he really had the guts to challenge her to a duel, he would’ve used the Challenge Certificate by now.’

Fear and despair could turn a person into a monster, but more often, they turned them into stupid, vicious hyenas who thought barking loudly was enough to snatch meat from a lion’s mouth.

She replied directly, "Go on, use it. Need me to show you how?"

The mockery in that statement alone was palpable.

She then added, "Enter my ID: Blacktiger Ford. I’ll be waiting."

After she sent the message, the tirade in the local channel abruptly ceased.

Knows Nothing went silent, as if a hand had clamped around his throat, cutting off all his curses and threats.

In the local channel, everyone else was stunned by this turn of events.

"Holy shit... Is Master Blacktiger always this badass?"

"She just challenged him outright?"

"@Knows Nothing, come on out! Don’t be a coward! Weren’t you running your mouth off just a second ago?"

"LMAO, he really just picked a fight with a brick wall. Did he seriously think the person in first place got there by luck?"

"Master Blacktiger is a fucking legend! (voice crack)"

But the most incredible part was yet to come.

Seraphina Sinclair retrieved her long blade from her Silver Moon Earrings. In her other hand, she pinched the Challenge Certificate the system had just issued, slowly raised it, and selected "Use."

’He can’t possibly be stupid enough to think staying quiet now will save his life, can he?’

A notification panel immediately popped up in front of Seraphina Sinclair, displaying a single line of text:

[Player "Blacktiger Ford" has used a "Challenge Certificate." Please enter the target’s ID.]

Without a moment’s hesitation, Seraphina Sinclair entered the pathetic clown’s name.

[Challenge Target: "Knows Nothing".]

[Generating Absolute Sealed Arena... Teleportation countdown: 10, 9, 8...]

The use of a Challenge Certificate was announced in real time on the bulletin board next to the local channel chat. It didn’t take long for someone to notice that Seraphina Sinclair had used one on Knows Nothing.

The local channel absolutely erupted.

"Here we go, here we go! She really used it!"

"Master Blacktiger used the certificate herself! Oh my god!"

"@Knows Nothing, get out here! Stop playing dead!"

"You think he has the guts? Hahaha, he’s probably pissed himself already."

The instant the countdown finished, Seraphina Sinclair felt an irresistible force envelop her as the world before her eyes twisted and blurred.

After a brief moment of weightlessness and vertigo, she found she was no longer in her mobile cabin.

In its place was a pure white, square space roughly the size of half a basketball court. Above, below, and on all sides was a boundless void of white light. This was the so-called "Absolute Sealed Arena."

The environment was reminiscent of a waiting lobby before entering a dungeon.

Just as she found her footing, a figure staggered into view a short distance away.

He was a young man, likely in his twenties, with greasy, unkempt hair and a pallid complexion. His eyes were sunken, his lips chapped and peeling from dehydration. His gaze was a mixture of panic, terror, and the frantic desperation of a cornered animal.

It was "Knows Nothing."

He clutched a rusty machete, his body trembling slightly. He scanned the enclosed space with a look of bewildered terror before his eyes finally locked onto Seraphina Sinclair.

"You... You actually fucking dared..."

His voice was a hoarse, trembling whisper.

The long blade in Seraphina Sinclair’s hand glinted coldly. She watched him, her expression serene. There was no anger in her eyes, no contempt, not even any discernible emotion. It was as if she were looking at...

...a piece of trash about to be swept into a dustbin.

To her, this was simply about completing an objective.

’Kill him, and then truly establish her authority in the local channel.’

This utter calm was more suffocating than any blustering threat could ever be.

"Isn’t this what you asked for?"

Seraphina Sinclair’s quiet voice broke the arena’s oppressive silence. "I’m here."

"I... I..." Knows Nothing’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He took an instinctive half-step back, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his machete tighter. "Give me the water! Give me the food and the runes! And I’ll... I’ll surrender! The system—right, the system must have a way to surrender!"

He sounded as though he were grasping at his last straw, his voice suddenly rising in a tone filled with a bizarre mix of hope and menace.

’He seems to be losing his mind.’

’This guy probably hasn’t had a single drop of water since he entered the Path, has he?’

’But what did that have to do with her?’

She tilted her head slightly, the barest hint of a smile playing on her lips.

"Surrender?" she repeated, a trace of almost imperceptible mockery in her voice. "The prompt said, ’a fight to the death.’"

The color instantly drained from Knows Nothing’s face.

’That’s right, the system had stated it clearly—a fight to the death!’

’There was no option to surrender!’

’Either he died, or Blacktiger Ford died! Or... they both died!’

"No... impossible! You’re lying!"

He screamed, completely breaking down. He waved his machete around like a madman. "You forced me into this! It’s all your fault! I just wanted a little water! You have so many supplies, what’s wrong with sharing a little?! By what right do you get to live so well?! By what right?!"

Despair and fear completely devoured the last shreds of his sanity.

Roaring, he raised his machete and charged recklessly toward Seraphina Sinclair.

But his footwork was unsteady and his movements were clumsy, leaving him wide open.

Seraphina Sinclair stood her ground, perfectly still.

He charged into the attack range of her long blade, the dark gray steel whistling as it swung down—

SWISH!

Knows Nothing’s forward momentum came to a dead stop.

He froze, his eyes wide with disbelief.

A second later, blood sprayed from his neck.

CLANG!

The rusty machete clattered to the ground.

He futilely clutched at his throat, a wet, gurgling sound escaping his lips. His body went limp and crumpled forward, hitting the pure white "ground" with a thud. He twitched twice, then fell still.

Blood spread rapidly beneath him, a glaring crimson stain on the pure white floor.

[Duel Concluded]

[Victor: Blacktiger Ford.]

[Tallying Rewards... Transferring the Deceased’s Supplies...]

The cold, mechanical voice of the system rang out.

Seraphina Sinclair gazed expressionlessly at the corpse on the ground. With a flick of her wrist, she shook imaginary droplets of blood from her long blade before storing it back in her Silver Moon Earrings.