An Understated Dominance - Chapter 2331

**Chapter 2331: Bill Was Dead**

Bill was dead. Dustin’s single strike had turned him to dust. No amount of recovery skills or natural abilities could stand up to such strength. When fighting a human martial artist, Dustin usually wouldn’t kill unless there was a serious grudge. He preferred to leave his opponents a chance to escape.

But vampires were different. They were born enemies, and in the arena, it was always a fight to the death.

Bill saw humans as nothing more than pests, and he needed to be eliminated quickly.

When Bill shouted, “I surrender,” Oron could have stopped the fight. Instead, he hesitated, almost encouraging Dustin to continue.

After all, Jeremiah and George had shown no mercy to the Dragonmarsh martial artists. They even tortured their opponents’ bodies after they were defeated. This left many Dragonmarsh fighters filled with anger and a desire for revenge against those three foreign contestants.

“Great job! You did it!” “Dustin, you’re amazing! You’re making Dragonmarsh proud!” “Take that, vampires! You were so arrogant, and now you’re just dust!” The crowd erupted in cheers as Bill was crushed to nothing.

After suffering several losses to foreign fighters, the audience was frustrated. They felt like outsiders were stepping all over them. Anyone with pride would be angry. So, Dustin’s victory over Bill brought the crowd a sense of relief. Dragonmarsh martial artists fought fiercely among themselves, but when it came to facing foreign competitors, they united in their determination.

Despite their differences, the characters knew they had to come together for a common goal.

“I didn’t expect Bill to die like that. This human martial artist is no ordinary fighter,” George said, frowning as he looked at Dustin with caution.

Anyone who could defeat Bill so quickly was someone to be wary of. George realized he was nowhere near Dustin’s level, especially after seeing how easily Dustin took down Bill.

“This place is filled with hidden talents,” Jeremiah said, his eyes showing uncertainty. He had thought Bill would easily make it to the top eight, given his strength. But to his surprise, Bill was defeated in the first match. Losing such a strong ally made their chances of winning the tournament much slimmer.

“With Bill’s important status, the Coven of Blood Eclipse won’t ignore his death. They will probably team up with the Hall of Gods to confront the Dragonmarsh forces. But maybe this could work to our advantage,” George thought.

“The eighth match is over. Congratulations to contestant number eight for the victory!” Oron announced quickly.

The audience erupted in applause, even more excited than before. Dustin’s newfound fame caught the attention of several major guilds, especially the Dragonmarsh Mighty Three. They were in a fierce competition—both openly and behind the scenes—to recruit him.

At that moment, an elder from the Celestial Alliance stood behind Alloy and whispered, “Mr. Marshall, we’ve completed our investigation. The young man’s name is Dustin Rhys. His background is quite mysterious. He was the one who saved Ms. Alicia when she…”

Dustin had been poisoned and was in critical condition, but he later impressed everyone by being offered a position as a consultant for our guild. Alloy’s eyes sparkled with joy as he said, “Impressive! It’s amazing how heroes can be so young.”

He was excited to hear that Dustin had saved his daughter and joined the Celestial Alliance. It felt like a fantastic turn of events for Alloy, as he had gained a remarkable talent without much effort.

“Did you hear that?” Alloy said with a smug smile. “Dustin is already part of the Celestial Alliance, so you might as well give up.” Even though he had no sons, his two daughters were strong and capable, surprising him time and again.

Cyrus frowned at Alloy’s arrogance and was about to respond when an elder from the Sword Union came over and whispered in his ear. After listening, Cyrus’s frown softened, and he sneered.

Meanwhile, Penelope, sitting to the right, looked more relaxed after hearing her subordinate’s report.

“Mr. Marshall, don’t get too excited,” Cyrus said coldly. “A consultant is just an honorary title without any real power or responsibility. So, he doesn’t count as a member of your guild.”

“That’s fine,” Alloy replied with a sly smile. “Even though Dustin is just a consultant now, I’ll promote him to elder once the tournament is over. This should settle any objections you have, right?”

“An elder? Hmph! That depends on whether he’s interested,” Cyrus laughed.

He continued, “To be honest, Dustin is very close to several Sword Union members, to the point of having a life-and-death bond with them. I plan to make him my best student and teach him our secret techniques. How can you compete with that? Oh, and by the way, Dustin is a swordsman.” Alloy’s smile faded.

Dustin’s excitement slowly faded, and he squinted his eyes. He understood that being Cyrus’ top student was a dream for every swordsman.

If Cyrus offered Dustin his secret techniques, it would be hard to resist. It seemed like Cyrus was ready to invest a lot in bringing Dustin on board.