Terry shook his head with a smile. “Don’t tell me you’re trying to use me to make a name for yourself.”
It wouldn’t be the first time someone did something like that. Terry had encountered many who challenged him in hopes of using their victory to boost their reputation, just like Vardant Phantom. Still, all those people eventually lost to him.
“Let me make this clear. I’m not interested in making a name for myself. I decided to challenge you to save myself the trouble by settling things with your family once and for all,” Dustin answered calmly.
“Settle things with us? And how do you intend to do that?” Terry had a small smile.
“Simple. If I defeat you today, you and your family have to stop meddling in my life,” Dustin answered straightforwardly.
“Defeat me? Pfft!” Terry was surprised by Dustin’s words and burst out laughing. The audience also laughed mockingly along with Terry.
It would be a miracle if Dustin could come out of this battle alive, but to think he could defeat
Terry? What an idiot!
“He’s an interesting fellow, but he’s too arrogant.” Phil was unbothered by Dustin’s words.
“Insolent fool. Even Verdant Phantom was easily defeated, so what makes him think that he stood a chance against Terry?” Maggie humphed scomfully.
“I’ve done what I could to stop you, but you wouldn’t listen.” Claudia shook her head. She had only advised Dustin because of Sheila, but Dustin refused to listen and even dared to see his challenge through after watching what happened to Verdant Phantom, so he must be an idiot.
“Sir Paul, do you think Dustin has a winning chance?” Hector asked out of the blue.
“We’ll find out soon.” Paul smiled but didn’t give a straight answer.
“Mr. Harmon, you must be joking. That brat is just a nobody. There’s no way he could win.” Phil
smirked.
“Just because he’s not famous doesn’t mean he’s not capable. Since he dared to challenge your son, I’m sure he’s confident in his skills.” Hector protested.
“Since you seem to have faith in him, why don’t we have a bet?” Phil wore a smile.
“What are we betting with?” Hector didn’t refuse.
“I’ve been eyeing your antique pottery for some time now. Let’s go with that.” Phil got straight to the point.
“I must say, you’re quite greedy, my friend. The treasure you picked is worth over three billion dollars. But what will you put on the line?”
“I’m not a narrow-minded person. Even since our family’s founding, we’ve kept an ancient manuscript called the Tempest of the Eighteen Swords’. I’ll bet that. What do you think?”
“But that’s your family heirloom. Are you sure?” Hector was astonished.
“Tempest of the Eighteen Swords” was a book that contained information about a top-grade martial arts sword technique and has existed ever since the Doyle family was established. Usually, only the leader and his heir had the right to read it, while others in the family couldn’t even catch a glimpse of it. In fact, an internal conflict had happened before just because of this book, so it was easy to guess how valuable it was.
“Of course. So, do you agree to the bet?” Phil smiled. He had dared to bet his family heirloom since he was confident that his son would win. And since the winner was certain, he didn’t mind betting on something so valuable when there was no way it would fall into Hector’s hands.
“Since you put such a precious item into the bet, I’ll agree to it. Let’s see who wins.” Hector agreed. readily.
If Dustin lost the battle, Hector would merely lose an antique. However, if Dustin did win, Hector would finally get his hands on a rare sword technique manuscript that could vastly strengthen the shadow guards, thus fueling his entire family’s overall martial arts force.
There was no way Hector was going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.
