Northeast, US!
The Beaver Stadium was located past Washington, DC, in Pennsylvania to be exact. In the past, this stadium was used as an outdoor football stadium. After renovations, it was now an arena where disciples could have matches.
The stadium had a seating capacity of around a hundred thousand. And right now, the numerous spectators in the stadium were screaming.
[Do you hear the cheering?]
[The atmosphere is different from usual! It’s on another level!]
The United States was the Leo Saint’s territory and was famous for being the holy land of arenas. As expected of a territory under a battle-type Saint, each of its states had a large arena. The arenas were used for sparring and battle simulation.
<The Texas Arena Zone currently has a 30 consecutive win streak!>
<The Neyland stadium is holding a match between the Generals. The scalped tickets are worth 23 thousand dollars.>
The Leo Saint’s arena system was famous around the world. Awakened beings from everywhere took part in the weekly sparring matches.
It wasn’t just the Leo disciples. Disciples from other temples also participated in the matches to test their abilities. They also joined the betting pool.
Enormous amounts of money were exchanged in the Leo Saint’s arena system.
<Just the matches between the generals generated a ticket revenue of over a hundred million dollars>
<Which disciple this week has the highest winning?>
<If the Scorpio Saint VS Leo Saint happens, it will have a spread of +12.7!>
Naturally, the regular disciples and the civilians bet on the matches. It had become commonplace now. The most popular matches were the fights between the generals, of course.
A star general’s appearance turned the site of the match into a festival.
On top of that, broadcasting stations had channels dedicated to the fights. Famous fighters were plastered all over the media around the world.
However, the most anticipated match had yet to take place in an arena. It was a match everyone wanted to see.
“Saint VS Saint!” The world had only twelve Zodiac Saints. A match between them would be a match between superhumans. Of course, the number of Saints had expanded to thirteen now.
That was why the current situation in the stadium was understandable.
Wahhhhhhhhh!
The cheers came in waves. They were deafening. Reporters from various news stations and even commentators had to block their ears because the stadium was too loud.
“This is amazing! I never expected this much excitement from the crowd!”
“In the history of the arena circuit, the most legendary match was the match between two members of the Ten Stars. Is that correct?”
“That’s right. It was a fight between the Leo temple’s ‘White Lion’ and the Gemini temple’s ‘Black Thorn.’”
“Ah! In my opinion, Chun Yooha’s match was the most legendary one!”
“You do have a point. At the time, it wasn’t a battle between two members of the Ten Stars. It was a battle between two S-ranks. Anyway, a match between the Saints is on a different level!”
“This match will spit on any arena legends to come in the future!”
The sound of the audience’s roars rang out once again.
In truth, people had requested a match between Saints numerous times, but in the end, this never came to pass. Why?
A match between Saints could ruin the temples. On the surface, the reason given for never conducting the match was the worry that the arena might not be able to withstand the clash of powers between the Saints. However, the real reason was that the win or loss would create problems. A political fallout would ensue from the results. So, of course, the Zodiac Saints declined to participate in these matches.
“The opponent is none other than Lee Gun! Ever since he has returned after twenty years, he’s the talk of the town! As if that wasn’t enough, he has become the Saint of a new Zodiac!”
“That's correct! He’s the thirteenth Saint! Currently, he’s inside the waiting room. Now, he’s incredibly charismatic! His body is much smaller, but his physique is on par with the Leo Saint!”
“However, Lee Gun lost twenty-three years ago. Didn’t a single punch from the Leo Saint send him flying?”
“Yes! However, he might have been grinding his teeth for the past twenty-three years! Or maybe the Leo Saint became his role model!”
“Ha ha! What do you think will happen today? Will it be the same result?”
“Don’t turn your channel away! The match will start in ten minutes!”
The stadium was becoming vociferous.
“Ha! Look at this bastard.”
Stevens anxiously sat on the other side of Lee Gun. Reporters were everywhere with their cameras, and even Leo disciples stood outside in their armor.
Yes, the Leo Saint had suddenly barged into Lee Gun’s waiting room. Stevens said that he wanted to pay his respects before the fight, but the reporters stuck close to him.
Sitting on the other side of the table, the Leo Saint had said some strange words.
“I’m visiting you because I was worried. Before the match starts, I just want to make sure that you’re unhurt. Are you hurting anywhere?”
“No!”
“You… You never know. You might be fine right now, but you might suddenly have a stomach ache later. What if you’re unable to leave the restroom later…”
“Don’t worry about me! Why don’t you go take a dump in the restroom?”
“I’m just worried about your body. You were very ill in the past. You fell all the time. You don’t have to participate in this event…”
“There is no problem! I’m fine. I’ll see you later. It has been twenty-three years. I’m looking forward to it.”
“…”
Although the Saint had tried hard not to show it, Stevens’s face was a sight to behold.
“As expected of Saint-nim! He’s thoughtful enough to think about the health of his old comrade!”
Cameras flashed as everyone assumed the Leo Saint was trying to give a heartwarming talk to Lee Gun.
“You can have one.” The Leo Saint pushed a stick of gum toward Lee Gun.
Of course, the reason for him pushing the gum was obvious. Lee Gun’s suspicion was proven true when he unwrapped the gum. The gum wrapper had words written on it.
[I’ll give you ten million dollars! Let’s make a deal!]
Lee Gun’s eyebrows rose. The reporters were on the other side, so there was no way they could see the words written on the gum paper.
When Lee Gun looked at Stevens, Stevens let out a bright smile. But…
Crackle crackle!
“?!”
Lee Gun ruthlessly crumpled up the gum wrapper and tossed it in the trash. Then, he chewed on the gum as if it was delicious.
However, Stevens wasn’t someone to give up just from that. “Ah! I’ll give you more. This is a specialty product from my holy ground. It’s called the Leo gum.” He sounded a bit more desperate this time.
Two words were written on the gum wrapper this time.
[Thirty million!]
Really? The dumbfounded Lee Gun laughed.
This time, Stevens pushed the entire box of gum toward him.
[Fifty million!!!]
Idiot!
“Ptooey!” Lee Gun spat out the gum into the gum wrapper.
“?!”
Then, he threw the entire box of gum into the trash can. Stevens’s expression was a sight to behold.
However, Lee Gun nonchalantly got up. “Ah! I’m getting hungry. I should eat something before the match starts.”
Suddenly…
Tuhk!
As if he had expected this, Stevens desperately put something in Lee Gun’s hand. It was bread, and words were written on its packaging.
[I won’t ask you to make me a weapon!!! Please!]
This bastard was pushing it. Lee Gun ripped apart the bread packaging and threw it to his slime. The slime ate it up as if it hadn’t eaten for a while. It enjoyed its meal.
Stevens looked at Lee Gun in despair, wondering why his deals weren’t working.
Lee Gun let out a cold laugh. Deal? Bullshit!
‘Fuck off! I can get that money by claiming ad revenue for the past twenty years.’ How much interest should he tack on for the past twenty years?
Lee Gun’s laugh made Stevens nervous! Stevens decided to bring out his last card. He was about to take something out of his pocket, but…
Kwahng!
Lee Gun put his feet up on the table. “You know I noticed it.”
“!”
“I noticed the lineup of the fights before mine. They are all fighters from other places.”
Surprised at his friend’s words, Hugo quickly checked something. He looked at the fight schedule.
A close look revealed that the fight schedule was two hours long. Basically, Stevens and Lee Gun weren’t the only ones fighting.
Stevens was the highlight! Disciples from other temples were going to fight in matches beforehand. It was pretty obvious these were mercenaries Stevens had gathered in haste. Of course, they weren’t normal mercenaries.
‘The arena’s strongest fighters!’
If needed, Stevens wanted to tire out Lee Gun before fighting him.
Lee Gun let out a bright smile. “You’re trying really hard to tire me out.”
Stevens expected Lee Gun to get angry, but the man said something unexpected. “Don’t get cute with me! Send all your disciples too.”
“…?!” The Leo Saint wondered if he had heard wrong. However, Lee Gun tossed his phone toward him!
Toohk!
When Stevens saw the phone, he reared back in shock.
‘This is…’
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The phone screen was showing pictures. They were the personnel files of his disciples.
Lee Gun looked unconcerned as he laughed. “Cut out the bullshit! Send out the guys I checked off.”
Stevens started sweating when he realized who Lee Gun had picked out. Unfortunately, Lee Gun had picked out the elite disciples, whom Stevens treasured.
‘Of all the people he could pick…!’
They weren’t just his first-rate troops. The list even included someone with great potential.
In the end, Stevens glanced at the reporters, then opened his mouth. “What are you going to do with them?”
Lee Gun grinned. “I only have one disciple right now.”
“!”
“I want to take anyone who looks useful.”
The one to get surprised this time was Hugo.
‘This guy…’ Was this why he had accepted the match request? Was this his original intention?
Stevens was truly taken aback. His first-rate troops aside, how did Lee Gun find out the abilities of his young trainees!
Lee Gun let out a light-hearted laugh. In truth, he had received a new mission when he arrived in the US.
[Disciple Mission]
- Please make weapons and gears for your disciples.
- Please add more disciples.
(Battle Saint Bonus: +200%)
And this was the place where Lee Gun could satisfy both requirements. He could make the weapons’ bodies with no problem, but the data was a problem. The difference between data’s presence and absence was equal to that between a day and night.
‘All the data I’ve accumulated until now isn’t great for raids.’
Moreover, he had used up a lot of the accumulated data in conducting many experiments.
‘Of course, I still haven’t used the important ones.’
The Leo was a Zodiac that specialized in fighting. Fighting its disciples will give physical-attribute-related data in spades. Lee Gun would benefit no matter what happened.
Bbee-bbee-bbee-bbee!
As the alarm notifying the start of the event echoed, cheers rang out.
“Lee Gun! Lee Gun!”
“Stevens! Stevens!”
The Leo Saint froze.
* * *
At this moment, Lee Jaewon and Goat were running somewhere with flustered expressions. They had caught sight of someone at the arena.
‘The Scorpio Saint!’
That wasn't all.
“Hyung-nim! Wasn’t that the Libra Saint too?”
“Yes. Unless she changed her face while I was asleep, that was her.”
Both women had hidden their faces, so no one seemed to notice them. However, the Archer disciples were savants at tracking and surveillance. The Eagle Eyes of the Archer couldn’t be evaded.
The eyes of the Archer disciples could almost see through items, so they were sure of it. They had seen the two Saints carry the premium betting tickets one could buy only on site.
‘Did they come here to bet?’
‘That’s odd.’
At that moment.
“My god! The viewership today will be insane!”
“!”
Lee Jaewon and Goat looked at the reporters heading up the staircase. One of them seemed to be a producer in charge of the broadcast.
“Lee Gun will fight the Leo disciples and the arena champions!”
Of course, the tastiest meal had to be put off until the end. Lee Gun’s match against the Leo Saint was the second round, but the people were excited for the first round too.
“This guarantees people will watch the whole two hours!”
“No way, producer! There’s no way it’ll be two hours.”
“What?”
“We’ll have them watching for two and a half hours!”
“Ha ha ha! You are right!”
Lee Jaewon and Goat looked at each other. What? It’d take Lee Gun two and a half hours?
Oblivious to everything else, the producer excitedly yelled, “Let’s hurry up. We don’t want to miss anything important!”
“We don’t need to hurry. The first match just started.”
“I guess you’re right. Isn’t Lee Gun’s first opponent the arena champion of this stadium?”
“Yes! He should need at least twenty minutes to defeat him—”
Kwahng!!!
Suddenly, the sound of an explosion rang in the stadium.
“What… what the hell? What’s that sound?”
“Is it a terrorist attack?”
No, it didn’t seem like a terrorist attack. When the flustered producers entered the arena, they froze. The mouths of the audience and the reporters had fallen open as well.
Lee Gun was dusting off his hands inside the arena ring as the arena champion lay on the ground outside the ring.
“What the hell is this bastard? He’s the champion? The fight ended before I could even check his stats.”
The match that everyone assumed would take twenty minutes had ended in a minute.
When the first match ended in a K.O., cheers rang out.
“Lee Gun- Lee Gun!”
“That’s right! He has to be of that caliber if he wants to stand a chance against the Leo Saint!”
The announcer was taken aback, but he yelled out those words in excitement.
[Ah! That’s right. A Saint should be on this level! However, the next match won’t be as easy! The next participant has won thirty matches consecutively! He’s an undefeated powerhouse!]
At that moment, Lee Gun wagged his finger toward the announcer as if he wanted the man to shut up. “Hey, you’re being too noisy.”
[What?]
“It is annoying to fight one by one. I want you guys to send out everyone.”
[What?! Everyone?]
“You might be able to make this last a little longer if they attack all at once, right?” Lee Gun let out a cold smile. “What? At the very least, I want there to be enough footage to air for five minutes.”
“…!”
Stevens was sweating as he watched the fight. He was restless. His reaction was understandable. ‘It didn’t even tire him.’
Oblivious to his Saint’s reaction, Oliver furrowed his brows. The SS-rank said, “As expected of one of the first awakened beings. He’s pretty skilled. However, he’s practically nothing in front of you, Saint-nim.”
Stevens’ eyes shook. Practically nothing in front of him! Bullshit! Has he lost his mind?!
The Leo Saint’s face had turned pale, and only one thought occupied his mind. He had to run away. If he didn’t, he would die.
What? Everyone was surprised because a match estimated to take twenty minutes had ended in a minute?
‘Don’t make me laugh.’
Lee Gun wasn’t using his real power right now. He was taking it easy because he was checking the stats of the disciples! Lee Gun wanted to scout disciples for his temple!
“Saint-nim?”
In the end, Stevens discreetly got up from his seat, trying to get outside. “Saint-nim? Where are you going?”
“Restroom!”
“Yes. Take your time.”
Grinning in triumph, Stevens headed toward the door. However…
“Hey! Where are you going?”
The bone-chilling voice hit his ears.
Bbah-gahk!!!
In a flash, someone instantly punted him toward the stage.
Kwahng!!!
The people in the arena screamed!
“Kyahhhk! What the hell!”
“Saint-nim?!”
Stevens was about to get up from the broken stage when the sight in front of him surprised him. The champions who were supposed to tire out Lee Gun in the first round lay defeated in front of him.
Lee Gun slowly walked down the staircase. “Where are you going, bitch? You’re next.”