Beast Arena

The Beast Arena had expanded over several centuries until it was as large as more than a dozen football fields, divided into several sections.

It was one of the largest buildings in the Royal Capital, capable of holding over a hundred thousand people at once.

Admission ranged from a few silver coins to several hundred gold coins, with two utterly different passageways.

One was decorated in dazzling gold and jade, open only to nobles and wealthy merchants, and connected to private rooms throughout the venue. The other was the commoners' passageway. Though it was decorated decently enough, it was ultimately far plainer by comparison.

"What a wonderful place..."

Orsaga followed behind the attendants, a smile on his face as he strolled through the passageway.

The sin in the air made him feel sincerely at ease.

Hearing him, the Housekeeper following behind him smiled faintly. "If you like it, you can come here often in the future."

In her view, this place was decorated so luxuriously, and those who came and went were mostly nobles and powerful figures. There was no harm in coming a few more times. On the contrary, it would allow her master to mingle more with people of high society.

Watching the passersby, each carrying more or less sin and resentment, Orsaga nodded. "We'll see about that later. Still, this place truly breeds outstanding people in a land of spiritual excellence. It reminds me of my hometown."

Orsaga was not the only one observing others; others were observing him as well.

His flawless figure and features, along with his never-before-seen hair color and eyes, drew many strange looks.

There were plenty of red-haired people, but they had never seen anyone whose hair was as purely red as Orsaga's, as if it had been dyed with blood.

His crimson eyes with golden pupils were also exceptionally eye-catching. They possessed an unusual beauty, as well as a majestic air that drew the eye, as though they could gaze straight into one's heart.

Coupled with his attire and bearing, which made his extraordinary origins obvious at a glance, quite a few noble ladies and young noblewomen cast peculiar looks his way. If the occasion had been more suitable, he would have received quite a few invitations on the spot.

Though he had little interest in that...

It was not as though Orsaga could not conceal his physical traits and make himself look more like an ordinary human, but he had no such thought whatsoever. Why should he care what others thought?

The fact that he was even using Human Form was already out of consideration for adapting to local customs!...

Before long, the two female attendants leading the way stopped before a pair of doors engraved with numerous local myths and legends of the Duchy of Maldon. One on each side, they gently pushed the doors open, stepped aside, and respectfully allowed Orsaga and the others to enter first.

The room was spacious and extravagantly decorated, with virtually every kind of furnishing one could need. It also had a huge balcony, from which they could look down upon the center of the Beast Arena and the countless common spectators surrounding it.

At that moment, a group of beautiful maidservants entered carrying large quantities of fruit and wine, arranging everything neatly in symmetrical rows.

The lead maidservant glanced sidelong at the Housekeeper beside Orsaga and the two maids brought along with her. With a seductive smile, she thrust out her ample chest. "My lord, if there is anything else you need, you may tell us. We will do our utmost to fulfill it."

The implication was self-evident.

The Housekeeper and the two maids immediately showed displeasure, though they did not dare reveal any dissatisfaction. Their master's wishes were not something servants like them could interfere with.

However, Orsaga had little interest in either her proposal or her insinuation. He merely sat calmly in his chair and waved a hand, signaling for them to leave. He had no intention of having them serve him in any way.

Though unwilling, she did not dare say anything more and could only withdraw with a smile.

Looking at the bustling crowd below the balcony, Orsaga felt an oddly familiar sensation. He casually picked up a piece of fruit he did not recognize and took a bite, then asked the three beside him, "Have you watched performances here before?"

Though the Housekeeper did not know why Orsaga was asking, she thought for a moment before answering, "Only a few times. But I mostly entered as a commoner. This is my first time in a high-class private room."

The answers from the two maids were much the same.

Orsaga nodded and began carefully observing the venue.

After a long while, his eyes lit up. He lightly tapped the armrest of his chair and finally understood why the place had felt familiar the moment he entered. He then extended a slender finger, forced a bead of blood out from his body, and flicked it into the arena.

In an instant, it seeped into the ground like a drop of water merging with the sea, leaving behind not the slightest trace.

Several dozen meters beneath the very center of the arena, several people in black robes were using candlelight to paint a massive Magic Ritual with pigment made from blood. In design, it was extremely similar to the Magic Circle that had summoned Orsaga before, but many small details had been refined. Unlike Orsaga's, it was not simply an all-inclusive invitation package.

While everyone focused on their own tasks, no one noticed that a drop of blood had somehow seeped from the originally smooth marble ceiling of the underground chamber. It slowly fell onto the most crucial point of the Magic Circle, merged into it, and vanished without a trace.

Hm?

What was that?

Only one black-robed person sensed that something seemed to have flashed through the corner of his eye. He instinctively turned around to glance behind him, but found nothing. He could only lower his head and resume his work in earnest.

There could not be even the slightest mistake in drawing the runes, or unforeseen accidents could occur.

That was absolutely not something he could bear...

"Welcome, everyone, to our Beast Arena! Today's combatant is a warrior from the Saiya Tribe with the strength of a Great Knight. After committing more than ten Murder Cases in the duchy, he was only captured after half a year. He is the Butcher—Ottok!"

"And his opponent is a Qiya Demon Lion from the Qieke Wilderness, a ferocious and cruel high-level Magic Beast! Its running speed far surpasses that of a warhorse, its body is covered in scales that ordinary people cannot pierce, and its sharp teeth can tear through ordinary metal three fingers thick. Without hundreds of elite Soldiers carrying specialized equipment, it would be impossible to capture it!"

"Today, these two shall..."

Aboveground, Orsaga leisurely drank the wine in his cup as he watched the host standing at the very center of the Beast Arena's combat zone, enthusiastically drumming up the atmosphere. Though it was all meaningless drivel, Orsaga's mood remained above the waterline, considering that people underground were working for him for free.

He casually instructed the two maids beside him, "Come massage me. One of you do my shoulders, the other my legs."

The host at the center of the arena finally finished his nonsense and began withdrawing, allowing the contestants to enter.

From the passageway on the left emerged a human. He was a burly man with a fierce gleam in his eyes, at least two meters tall, carrying a long-handled battleaxe and a one-handed shield. His armor was an enlarged version of the standard armor of the Duchy of Maldon.

From the right passageway came a Magic Beast resembling an enlarged African lion. Its body was visibly packed with powerful muscles. Including its tail, its streamlined body was over seven meters long, while its shoulder height exceeded two meters even on all fours. Its entire body was covered in black scales that reflected the sunlight. At a glance, it was clearly an extremely ferocious predator!

The moment it emerged, it let out a resounding roar at the spectator stands. Raising its head, it glared furiously at every audience member present, as if it might pounce at any moment and bite someone, whipping up a storm of blood and gore.

It made people wonder whether the arena's twenty-meter-high stands could stop its leap and keep it from pouncing into the crowd.

Many spectators close to it immediately shrank their necks, like dumb geese that had been kicked, no longer daring to jeer.

Only after they discovered that the Magic Beast could not gain purchase on the walls no matter how many times it lunged, and could only remain helplessly in the arena, did they regain the mood to make a racket. They shouted loudly and even threw all kinds of rubbish down below.

This made the Qiya Demon Lion bare its teeth and roar without pause.

What they did not know was that if the walls around the arena had not been smoothed regularly and coated with special grease, this Qiya Demon Lion really could have climbed up in just a few moves and taught them a lesson!

Once grown, this kind of Demonic Beast could casually leap seven or eight meters high. As long as it kicked off the wall once or twice midair to borrow momentum, it could easily vault up.

It was not as effortless as drinking water or breathing, but it would be no more difficult than taking a few extra steps.

After venting its impotent rage, the Qiya Demon Lion turned its gaze toward Ottok on the opposite side. If possible, it did not want to deal with the little runt before it. Its beastly instincts told it that the runt was dangerous, a predator as well, capable of threatening it. He was on an entirely different level from the numerous but meaningless weaklings atop the high walls, whom it could slaughter at will.

However, though reason told it that the target before it would be difficult to handle, prolonged hunger had already become unbearable. Moreover, the beast-luring powder scattered by the Beast Arena over Ottok and his armor had begun to take effect, causing an irresistible fragrance to continually waft from him toward the Qiya Demon Lion.

"Damn it..."

Watching the killing intent in the beast's eyes grow ever stronger, Ottok did not act rashly. Instead, he assumed a defensive stance specially intended to counter a beast's pounce. He knew very well that high-level Magic Beasts such as the Qiya Demon Lion not only possessed strength far beyond ordinary animals, but also intelligence comparable to that of a human child. One slight mistake, and he would die on the spot.

Fortunately, he had a set of armor and weapons. Otherwise, facing such a vicious creature barehanded, he would have no chance of survival. Even so, he had only a thirty to forty percent chance at most.

When humans faced opponents larger, more agile, and stronger than themselves in direct combat, they generally had to rely on their brains. Brute force was truly not advisable. But standing in this open gladiatorial arena, he clearly had no other option.

Though he had already begun mentally greeting the ancestors of everyone in the Beast Arena!

Still, strictly speaking, he ought to thank the people of the Beast Arena for pulling him out of prison.

Otherwise, as a condemned prisoner, he would certainly die. The only difference would be whether he died sooner or later.

Only in a place like the Beast Arena did he have some chance of surviving. The rule here was that if one survived thirty consecutive battles, all crimes would be wiped clean!

This rule had even been acknowledged by the King!

Of course, in the several centuries since this damned place had been established, fewer than ten people had survived all thirty battles. But at least there was a chance...

It gave Ottok hope.

He silently decided that if he got out alive, he would definitely twist off the head of whoever ran this damned place and use it as his thanks.