Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 244: Fingers and armies

And he did. Chief Eamon Rikon pretended to enjoy the fighting while he sat there and snacked on dried fruits, but his eyes kept flickering to Atrox and the people behind him.

The way the seats were arranged, Atrox sat alone at the front while others sat behind him. He leaned back into the plush cushion, the appearance of uncaring, occasionally raising his hand to eat dried fruits.

It soon got to the chief, who had been expecting Atrox to inquire about the reason he wasn’t taken to the castle but instead to the fighting place.

Finally, Eamon turned to Atrox. "How are you enjoying the place, my lord?"

Atrox decided to be truthful. "Not bad, but the fights are boring. It’s almost mechanical in a way. I take it the fighters are used to each other’s fighting style."

The smile on Eamon froze. He had to force it to continue. Although Rikon City did not have many guests often, the people who did visit always complimented the fighting pits scattered across the city.

It was something that Eamon particularly enjoyed, and what made it worse was that Atrox was speaking the truth—and he knew it.

"Of course, of course. With the current situation, we don’t see many guests coming into the city. Before, we invited famous fighters from all over to partake, but now..."

He trailed off, and Atrox could almost taste what was coming next. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Chief Eamon Rikon nodded downward. "I’ve been saving a fresh fighter just for you. He hasn’t fought much, and so most of his powers are unknown. He won’t be boring, for sure."

Atrox smiled and played into it. "Then it’ll all depend on his opponent."

"Exactly! How about this—we place a bet. Send in anyone to challenge my fighter. He’s Knight rank too," the chief said.

Atrox pretended to think about it. He shifted on his seat and turned back. Others were seated far away from his place, and behind them stood their guards.

Atrox met Slya and Tiber’s eyes. They were the only ones at Knight rank. He smiled. "I have just the person in mind. Tiber, will you fight for me?"

Tiber stood and bowed. "Of course, my lord."

Atrox turned back to Eamon Rikon, who was studying Tiber as he moved closer to them. "My subordinate—he will fight in my name. You mentioned something about a bet earlier, chief."

The chief smiled. "Yes. How about this—you tell me what you want, and I will tell you what I want in return."

That suited Atrox fine. "What I want from you is the truth. If I win, you will tell me the truth of whatever questions I ask you."

Eamon was taken aback again. He raised his brows. "The truth? That’s all you want? Interesting. Well, I’ll tell you what I want—give me your army when I win."

Atrox shrugged. "Sure."

"But, my lord!" Lieutenant Patel shouted from her place. She leaped to her feet, and the skin of her face ripped as if another layer was about to burst out. Her eyes flashed.

Chief Eamon Rikon shook his head, and his smile blossomed. "Easy, Lieutenant. You don’t want to assume that your lord would go back on his word. That’ll only smear his name—you should be careful."

There was steel at the end of his voice, a sharp warning that everyone in the room heard. Tension descended into the room, cracking slightly.

Everyone turned to Atrox to see his reaction, but he was still seated with his legs spread and his hand in the bowl of dried fruits.

"There is no problem. You want my army if you win? Then you can have it. All you have to do is make sure I don’t win. I only want the truth—and your fingers for the number of times you lie to me if I win."

That made Eamon do a double take. "My fingers?"

"Yes," Atrox’s smile widened. "Or how else do you think it’s going to go if you don’t tell the truth?"

Eamon tensed. His dark eyes grew darker, and a small light lit in them as he gained a calculating edge. He turned slowly to study Tiber and saw nothing remarkable about him—but that didn’t mean anything. He had heard how strong Atrox was. Surely, his subordinate would be strong as well.

But then, what was at stake was the army—and a little bit of truth.

He came to his decision with a smile. "Very well. I agree."

Atrox finished what was in his mouth before he turned to Tiber. "Alright then. You should win."

One of Eamon’s guards, who was against the wall, moved away from it and led him down a secret door that connected to the underground hallways.

Tiber followed silently behind, his black eyes calm, but his heart was beating a little faster than normal. This was the first time in his life that he had been thrown into the spotlight where everything was hanging on his shoulders.

’...So this is how Slya felt then... I wonder what opponent I will get to fight...’

With the war fast approaching and the fact that they might need to fight anytime, Tiber had made sure that he always had a fresh nightmare he was digesting. This way, he would always be at his fighting peak.

Finally, he was led into a shadowed room that smelled of sweat and blood. He waited there, overlooking the arena and the fighting ground through a huge door.

There were lots of people in the room, all Knights and dressed ready for fighting. They looked at Tiber in his simple black clothes and promptly dismissed him.

They were all watching the fighting through the doorway. Once the battle was done and the fighters were either dragged away or walked by themselves, the door opened—and Tiber walked outside.

The shouting of the audience lowered at once when they saw him. He was an unknown face because they had been expecting someone else. The moment of silence was broken as they began to curse him out.

To get out of the place before, they had placed bets—but now, the bulky man was going to ruin it.