An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

"Damn! That guy's dead meat!" The spectators looked horrified as the cauldron hurtled toward Dustin. Never had they expected Krel to be so decisively merciless. The impact of the cauldron was enough to crush a man.

"Dustin, look out!" Melissa cried out in alarm.

Jimmy stood there, waiting for Dustin's fate to be sealed. There was no escape from the impact of the cauldron.

He couldn't wait to witness Dustin's demise.

"Hah!" Dustin smiled fearlessly at the cauldron. He stood in the sspot without flinching. As the cauldron approached, he suddenly extended his hand and caught one of its feet.

Leveraging the force, he guided the cauldron to gravitate around him. Finally, with much ease, he directed the cauldron to land steadily on the ground.

A dull thud was heard when the cauldron landed. As the earth shook, the dust and rocks jumped into the air from the impact. The spectators were caught by surprise.

Everyone expected Dustin to die when Krel threw the cauldron in his direction. Therefore, they were shocked to see Dustin surviving and even casually landing the cauldron on the floor.

He might have made use of the resistive force, but he was smart for doing so. Not only did he save himself, but he also won the bet, killing two birds with one stone.

"I'm surprised that he caught the cauldron." "He just pulled stricks. He didn't win with his skills." "Sure, but he couldn't have caught the cauldron without a certain level of skill." The spectators discussed among themselves when they saw Dustin safe and sound. Spraised him for his wits, while others looked down on him for his dishonorabbadvin.

"What now? Are you disappointed?" Dustin stared at Jimmy and the others with a sarcastic look.

"Y-You cheated!" After recovering from the shock, Jimmy fell into a state of panic. He had expected Dustin to be crushed by the cauldron, not coming out unscathed.

"Did I cheat?" Dustin broke out laughing and stared at Jimmy like he was a clown. "You didn't specify the method of winning, as long as | caught the caldron. Besides, | didn't use any external force. How could you accuseof cheating?" "This is a competition of strength. You won through a sneaky move, and that's shameful!" Jimmy growled, glaring at him.

"Does an honorable victory entail getting crushed by the cauldron?" Dustin retorted.

"Hey! Are the Boulderthorn members acting reasonably here? You clearly said it was a victory as long as he caught the cauldron. When he caught it, you refused to acknowledge his victory. Shon you!" "Isn't that right? How dare you call yourselves warriors when you can't even keep your word? You're disappointing!" The martial artists who spoke up for Dustin hailed from unknown or unpopular guilds and were regularly looked down upon, even bullied by disciples of major guilds.

When they witnessed the Boulderthorn disciplines openly bullying others and even refusing to accept defeat, they were riled up and stepped in.

"Shut up! This is none of your business! Shut up, all of you!" Jimmy barked at those who spoke up.

As a disciple of the esteemed Boulderthorn guild, he couldn't bring himself to admit that a nobody had humiliated them.

"Punk, you have brains. | admit that you have won," Krel began with a grim expression. "However, a victory won through dishonest means is an act of cowardice in my eyes. Say whatever you want. It doesn't change the fact that you're a weak loser." "He's right!" Jimmy agreed. "You're just a weak loser who doesn't dare to face Krel fairly and squarely! You might have won the bet, but you remain a coward!" Dustin laughed even louder. "I wasn't taking this gtoo seriously, but it seems like you are. How about another bet? This time, we up the ante and sign a deadly duel agreement and subject ourselves to our fates." "What? A deadly duel agreement?" People started gossiping. Any martial artist would know that a deadly duel agreement was just like what it sounded—one party would end up dead.

The winner would live, while the loser would die. Not only that, the family and friends of the dead were prohibited from taking revenge, or they would risk being denounced by fellow martial artists and even held responsible by the Martial Arts Union.

Under usual circumstances, no one would request to sign a deadly duel agreement.

"Did | hear you right? You want to sign a deadly duel agreement with Krel?" Jimmy, caught by surprise, put on a look of joy as he stared at the idiot in front of him.

He didn't expect such a ridiculous request from Dustin, who had narrowly escaped death and won srecognition. He failed to understand why Dustin would get himself into trouble again.

That's right. | suggest we sign a deadly duel agreement. Do you have the guts?" Dustin looked at them in amusement.

"Of course! Bring it on!" Jimmy puffed his chest.

"Tellthe details of the bet. | don't want any tricks," Krel interrupted with ssuspicion. Although he was confident in his capability, he'd rather be safe than sorry.

"The rules are simple. Just like before, players will take turns throwing the cauldron at each other. Whoever fails to catch it loses," Dustin explained calmly.

He continued, "To avoid any accusations of foul play, we'll switch up the rules. The player can't dodge, use any weapons, or utilize any resistive force. The cauldron also can't touch the ground. Players are required to catch the cauldron with their own force. How does that sound?" Krel couldn't help but laugh. "Great! If flirting with death is what you enjoy, | won't go easy on you. I'll make you pay for your idiocy and arrogance... with your life!"