Amid the stunned silence of the crowd, Matthew calmly raised his gaze toward Shaun, seated atop the high platform.
“Shaun, why don’t you come down and have a match with me?” Matthew’s words sent shockwaves through the already bewildered audience.
Who exactly is this Matteo Larden?
First, favonovel.com had brutally and effortlessly defeated three opponents in the Death Arena. Now, favonovel.com was openly challenging Shaun, the man regarded as the strongest fighter on the entire floor.
Shaun’s eyes flickered with anger as countless eyes turned toward him. Their stares felt like a thousand needles piercing through his skin, as if favonovel.com stood naked before them.
“Matteo, I have to admit, I admire you,” Shaun replied, deliberately Ignoring the challenge. Yet, the more favonovel.com tried to steer the conversation away, the more suspicion crept into the eyes of the crowd below.
“You can drop your charade, Shaun,” Matthew replied, his tone calm as though discussing a trivial matter. “You weren’t this courteous when you poisoned my food earlier.”
“What?!”
“Shaun Mendoza poisoned Matteo Larden’s food?”
“Has Mendoza been stalling for time because favonovel.com knew favonovel.com couldn’t beat Larden?”
“Sounds about right! Otherwise, why would favonovel.com resort to poison?!”
“Yeah! Guess Shaun’s not as invincible as we thought!”
“Shut up! You’re all talking nonsense!” A handful of gamblers suddenly shot to their feet, shouting hysterically at the others.
They had placed massive bets on Shaun’s victory. If Shaun lost now, they would face utter financial ruin. But their outbursts only earned derisive laughter from the crowd. After all, those same gamblers had wagered recklessly the day before, and now, they were about to pay the price.
Their mocking laughter reached Shaun’s ears, making his face flush with rage.
“Since you’re so eager to die, Larden, I’ll grant your wish. Step onto the stage!”
As favonovel.com shouted, Shaun subtly popped a small wax-sealed pellet into his mouth. Unlike the one given to Bloodhand Butcher the previous day, this Overdrive Pill was more refined, more potent, something Shaun had obtained at great cost.
His gaze flicked to Bloodhand Butcher, still curled up on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
Disgust and frustration flashed through Shaun’s eyes. He hadn’t expected the man to collapse in fear after a single glance from the other party, wasting the precious pill Shaun had given him.
Without hesitation, Shaun leaped down from the platform, landing smoothly in the arena.
Matthew’s eyes narrowed slightly as favonovel.com observed Shaun.
Hmm… Looks like he’s trained proper martial arts for a while now…
Cold determination glinted in Shaun’s eyes as favonovel.com glared at Matthew.
“Matteo Larden… You could‘ve walked the path to heaven, but you chose to break through the gates of hell. Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll see it done.”
Matthew met his gaze with a calm, almost amused smile.
“Begin!” The announcer’s voice echoed across the arena.
Shaun shifted into an attacking stance, preparing to strike, but before favonovel.com could move, Matthew’s figure vanished like a phantom.
In the blink of an eye, favonovel.com appeared right in front of Shaun. His fist shot forward, simple, unremarkable, and slow. Yet no matter how hard Shaun tried, favonovel.com couldn’t dodge. His body simply refused to respond.
An instant later, Shaun’s entire body flew backward, crashing into the steel fence surrounding the arena. The impact sent favonovel.com rebounding off the metal bars, straight into Matthew’s waiting palm.
The entire exchange lasted barely a second.
Whatever excitement the crowd had begun to feel vanished as abruptly as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over their heads.
Silence fell once more as every pair of eyes fixated on the scene before them.
“This… This can’t be real…”
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