Expose William's Identity

Seeing Valentina look away, Bruno stopped Luke who wanted to approach her, and said, "Let's not rush." The Dueling Competition commenced promptly. On the final day, everyone's enthusiasm visibly surged. Below, the victor from yesterday appeared in the ring, flexing his arms and setting his gaze on the layers and layers of spectators above with an air of dismissive contempt. It seemed that he wanted to see who would dare to challenge him. Bruno subconsciously looked at Valentina, thinking if she would go down and fight. But Valentina exhibited the same casual posture as everyone else. Bruno scanned the crowd again and noticed that everyone refrained from making a move. He couldn’t figure out whether they were scared or just choosing to wait and see. The previous day's victor was a strong black man with thick lips. He waited for half a day without seeing anyone brave enough to challenge him, so he became very arrogant and even flipped them off. Just then, a mercenary came down amidst cheers from the crowd. "It’s John." Luke was shocked watching this mercenary into the ring. "Has he lost his mind?" Luke grasped the railing tightly, very emotional. "He's in no way a match for that guy. It's seeking death!" Seeing this, Bruno and the others also looked worried. John used to be part of their Blackwater Mercenary Group. But for various reasons, he left the Blackwater and joined another group. The gaze of the entire crowd was focused on the two individuals in the duel arena. John was very cautious, not daring to make a move hastily. Instead, he maintained a guarded defense. The black mercenary sneered at John before launching a swift and ferocious attack. His fist aimed directly at John's face, moving at an extremely fast speed. John only narrowly dodged, but he was tricked by the black mercenary's feint and was subsequently struck with a heavy blow to his abdomen. There was a clear disparity in their strengths. The black mercenary's punches rained down like a torrential downpour, rendering John virtually defenseless. One punch followed another, every blow hitting flesh to the point where one could distinctly hear the sounds of bones breaking. The black mercenary was decidedly ruthless; his fists directly aimed at John's face. After receiving several punches, John's originally handsome face was beaten beyond recognition, and smeared with blood. The mercenary group the black mercenary belonged to had a terrible reputation. Nevertheless, he provoked everyone just now. This scene left many spectators filled with righteous indignation. "Damn it!" Luke clenched the fence tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging prominently. "Does nobody care if he ends up killing his opponent?" Valentina propped her hands on the fence, looking at the situation below, and unexpectedly spoke up. Hearing her, William turned his head toward her. He remained silent for a moment before responding, "In the Dueling Competition, a life-and-death agreement is automatically generated for anyone who steps on stage. Life or death is up to fate. No one can interfere, and no one needs to take responsibility." There were few cases where someone was actually killed but, for these desperados who fought for a living, instead of taking their opponent's life, they preferred to beat them to the brink of death, leaving them half-dead. Unless there was a personal grudge involved. And the black mercenary in the ring was clearly fighting with lethal intent. Of course, Valentina knew the rules. She had purposely posed this question to William. She didn't pick up the conversation. Instead, she suddenly asked, "It's the last day. Isn't your God Armed Alliance going to show something? Such a large group of elites, aren't they going to be wasted?" Upon hearing this, William's pupils suddenly shrunk. Valentina, who had been watching the field below, also turned her head at this moment and looked at him with a faint smile. Their eyes met. Keeping a straight face, William said, "In the interest of fairness, it is not appropriate for us to participate." "What a pity," Valentina said. William stared at her and asked, "When did you find out?" What he should have asked was when did she confirm his identity. Valentina smiled and said nonchalantly, "I forgot to tell you that I can also speak the language here quite well." So it was indeed the day they met with Isaias. It meant that she had overheard his entire conversation with Isaias. William's initial guess was correct. Valentina approached him to find out about his real identity. And now, he also figured out who Valentina really was. Valentina no longer bothered to pretend. "The odds for the next few matches will be very high." With that, she looked down again. John was lying on the ground, being violently hit by the black mercenary who was grasping at his collar. The atmosphere of the mercenary group John belonged to was extremely depressing. Meanwhile, the mercenaries of the black man's group were cheering ecstatically. Many mercenaries who enjoyed watching a spectacle were shouting loudly, calling for John to stand up and continue the fight. “I've been drinking a lot of your wine these past days and the cost of accommodations isn't cheap. I know you wouldn't mind the expenses, but I'm not used to owing others. So, remember to place a bet, Mr. Felton." Valentina's speech quickened, and once she was finished, she vaulted over the railing with one hand without waiting for William's response, leaping directly from the second floor. The black man raised his fist, planning to smash John's nose bone. With this punch, even if John would survive, his face would be ruined. Luke finally couldn't stay still. He wanted to go down and rescue John, but Bruno held him back and said, "Let me go." Bruno had previously ended up with scars all over from a fight with the Hurricane who had provoked them near their tent. Badman wanted to say that he would go, but before he could open his mouth and before Bruno could move, a petite figure was seen leaping down from the second floor. After landing lightly on the ground, she took a few quick steps, moving at an astonishing speed that was difficult to catch. The black man smirked, with his huge fist about to land on John's face. But a delicate hand appeared out of thin air, precisely gripping his wrist. The black man's wrist was thick, making her hand look overly delicate, but what was hard to imagine was that she was able to effortlessly catch his punch. The punch stopped just in front of John’s nose, unable to advance even half an inch more. Leonard was watching the combat seriously without paying attention to the conversation between Valentina and William. He was feeling pity for John when he saw a figure dart down. Leonard jumped in fright and was about to shout "Miss Ricardo has fallen down" to alert William. But before he could get his words out, he witnessed this bizarre scene - "Did she catch it?" he muttered in disbelief. The black man frowned, but before he had a chance to see who was so brave to come out and help, a fierce punch quickly approached him. Valentina was able to grab his wrist with one hand, halting his punch. Meanwhile, she lifted her other arm to give him a counter punch on his face. Feeling her speed, the black man was forced to retreat quickly, pulling back his punch and taking a few steps back. His reactions were fast, and his speed was also extremely quick, but his nose was still hit. An instant sour pain ran up to his brain as his eyes welled up with tears. No one managed to see clearly what had occurred; all they witnessed was him retreating. The black man's face looked brutal. An instant surge of murderous intent was visible. He looked up and when he saw that his opponent was merely a girl, his expression contorted in disgust. Remembering who this girl was, he sneered. Valentina stood up, glanced at John on the ground, and yelled towards the top, "Little Luke, come down and help John." Luke regained his senses and immediately jumped down to assist the immobilized John back up. He glanced at Valentina who had her back to him, feeling some indescribable complex emotions in his mind. He quickly put those thoughts away and carried John away. After Luke and John left, Valentina looked at the black man again and said. "Although life or death is up to fate in the fighting ring, you should know when to stop."