Independent Mercenary Elliot
Looking at Tanya Star from the distant Sky Dome, the planet sparkles like a diamond, for it is rich in Christoph ore. Christoph ore, when illuminated, exhibits a diffuse white reflection. This is the main reason why Tanya fell in love with the planet at first sight.
Because of this characteristic, the planet became a tourist destination not long after it was discovered.
Of course, over the years, in addition to the brilliant minerals, a large number of tourist attractions have been developed here, making the tourism industry on this planet thrive.
After Tanya's Beauty Pirate Crew settled in, this planet quickly became one of the wealthiest planets under Tanya's jurisdiction.
When the Gu Ding Team saw this diamond-like planet outside Tanya Star's atmosphere, they were all amazed.
"It's so beautiful!" Liliath exclaimed, looking out the window at the planet. "If I could choose, I would live on this planet forever."
"If there's enough good food on this planet, I'd be willing to live here for the rest of my life," Elsa added, adding a condition.
The spaceship quickly docked at the port of Tanya Star. After disembarking, Gu Ding and his companions, with the help of the Sea Emperor, quickly found a hotel and checked in.
"We arrived two days early. Tanya's birthday party starts the day after tomorrow, so you can all take your time to explore the planet and get familiar with it," Sea Emperor reminded everyone.
"Are there any fun places on this planet?" Liliath asked.
"This planet has over a hundred scenic areas, but the most unique one isn't a scenic area, but a place called the Giant Stone Arena," the Sea Emperor explained. "Because Tanya loves watching arena matches, there are matches at the Giant Stone Arena almost every day. It's said that the annual champion is eligible to be received by Tanya and have dinner with her. They'll also be invited to her birthday party the following year."
"Of course, besides the competition, there's another related activity—gambling. This is a legal betting platform run by Tanya's subordinates. After registering, everyone participating in the competition receives an estimated odds, which naturally change depending on the number of matches. You can bet on the outcome of a single match, or on the monthly champion or the annual champion. If you bet on the annual champion, your stake could multiply dozens of times. This is quite unique on this planet; it's rarely seen on other planets."
"Let's go take a look!" Gu Ding also wanted to see what level this so-called arena competition was really at.
The Giant Stone Arena is not a naturally formed landscape on this planet.
If it were truly natural rock, it simply couldn't withstand the bombardment of a powerhouse at the demigod level or higher. A single ordinary strike would be enough to shatter it, let alone withstand the intense confrontation between two people. Moreover, those competing on this arena weren't just demigods; Low-rank God, Mid-rank God, and even High-rank God frequently appeared as well.
These arenas are said to be relics from Ancient Era, excavated from another planet by Tanya's subordinates and then transported here.
When Gu Ding and his companions saw these arenas, their first feeling was one of awe. The so-called arenas were actually twelve incredibly thick pillars, each a hundred meters in diameter and towering into the clouds.
The arena's audience seating was also built high in the clouds.
After buying their tickets, Gu Ding and his friends took the elevator up to the clouds and finally found their seats after quite some time.
On all twelve arenas, battles were already underway, creating a lively atmosphere. Gu Ding and his group had purchased tickets for Second Arena. This was the only arena with empty seats in the audience. A new challenger had just stepped onto this arena.
Information about the two was projected onto the seats in front of Gu Ding and his companion.
Challenger: Bartesby
Gender: Male
[Cultivation Level: Five-Star Low-rank God]
Odds: 2.31
[The challenger: Bodel]
Gender: Male
[Cultivation Level: Mid- Two-Star Mid-rank God]
Odds: 1.17
The odds, in this context, refer to the percentage of winnings a bet on a player's victory. Odds of 2.31 mean that if someone bets 100 million Universe Crystal, their winnings will be 231 million Universe Crystal. Odds of 1.17 mean that a bet of 100 million Universe Crystal will only yield 117 million Universe Crystal.
Of course, Gu Ding and his friends are just watching the show for now and have no plans to place bets.
"Gu Ding, what do you think of this match?" Liliath asked with a Gu Ding.
"The challenger named Bartesby will win," Gu Ding said without hesitation.
"Not necessarily. The one named Bodel is stronger." Dokter, standing to the side, didn't quite understand why Gu Ding would have this opinion.
"I'm not looking at cultivation level, I'm looking at aura." Gu Ding shook his head. "Bartesby's aura is very strong, like a ferocious beast. He must have experienced a lot of killing. As for that guy named Bodel, his aura is obviously much weaker, and his killing intent is not obvious. He is very likely to lose!"
"I also think Bartesby will win, but unlike Gu Ding, I'm judging based on his soul strength," Liliath added. "Although Bartesby's cultivation is only at the Five-Star Low-rank God, his soul strength is almost at the level of Four-Star Mid-rank God, far exceeding Bodel's Two-Star Mid-rank God. It's obvious that Bartesby soul-related secret techniques, and his soul strength is two minor levels higher, so it's unlikely he will lose."
Dokter's soul strength was also considerable, and he quickly realized that what Liliath said was true. "It seems I misjudged her."
The match ended quickly in the ring, and as Gu Ding and Liliath had predicted, challenger Bartesby won. A chorus of curses erupted in the ring, as many had bet on Bodel to win. They had initially thought this bet was a sure thing, but an upset had occurred.
Of course, a few people who specialized in buying niche items made a fortune and were secretly overjoyed.
After winning this fight, Bartesby became the ring champion.
Several Mid-rank God who were not convinced of the challenge went up on stage, but they were all defeated.
After watching for a while, Gu Ding and the others found the competition at this level rather uninteresting and were just about to get up and leave when a young man suddenly appeared on the arena.
The boy's presence immediately caught Gu Ding's attention.
Seeing that Gu Ding had suddenly stopped, Liliath asked, "Aren't we leaving?"
"After watching this match," Gu Ding shook his head. He could sense that the young man was only at the Demigod Realm level, just like himself, but his aura was much stronger Bartesby, and the intensity of his aura was extremely close to that of High-rank God.
Gu Ding quickly opened his message:
Challenger: Elliot
Gender: Male
[Cultivation Level: Demigod]
Odds: 4.87
Odds of 4.87. These are practically impossible to beat, as there's a maximum odds limit of 5.00 for this type of single-match game. Not only are the odds for this young man's challenge as high as 4.87, but even the odds for Bartesby have dropped to 1.12.
This time, Gu Ding didn't just sit and watch the game like before. He grinned and said, "Sea Emperor, bet 100 million Universe Crystal on me. Elliot wins."
"Gu Ding, do you know him?" Liliath asked with some surprise. She had examined the boy but hadn't found anything unusual about him.
"I don't know him, but I found him to be very strong, not much weaker than I was before I underwent the tribulation," Gu Ding said with a smile.
"This Elliot is the thirteenth strongest demigod on the Demigod Prodigy Ranking, and an independent mercenary. He is a descendant of the Ancient Era Moon Worship Clan. At night, his Combat Strength can be enhanced dozens of times." The Sea Emperor's explanation resonated clearly in the ears of Gu Ding and the others. "He is also on Tanya's invitation list."
"In that case, we should place our bets too," Liliath said, placing a bet of 10 billion Universe Crystal. As a result of her outburst, the odds dropped from 4.87 to 4.21.
"Do you have to be so ruthless?" Gu Ding said, somewhat speechless.
The drop in odds didn't affect Liliath much, because when she bet on the win, the odds were 4.87, and the final trades would be based on that. However, later bettors would only be able to bet on the win at a ratio of 4.21.
"You don't usually have many opportunities to earn pocket money, so what's wrong with taking this opportunity to make a quick buck?" Liliath looked at Gu Ding with a smug expression. "Who told you to be so stingy and only buy 100 million?"
The fight between Elliot and Bartesby ended very quickly and unexpectedly.
Bartesby's demonstrated Combat Strength had convinced many of his strength, but Elliot's appearance completely overturned everyone's expectations. He brought Bartesby down with a single blow, delivered with just a finger.
Some angry spectators in the audience accused Bartesby deliberately losing the match. In fact, deliberately losing a match does happen occasionally, but this time it was not a pre-arranged match. It was because Elliot's strength was so great that she defeated Bartesby with just one blow.
"My allowance is in my hands." After receiving the transfer notification, Liliath held up her wristwatch and glanced at Gu Ding with a showy expression.
"Very good, you'll be in charge of all the snacks for Tagore and Blue during this time." Gu Ding glanced at her indifferently, but secretly chuckled to himself.
Liliath glared at Gu Ding, somewhat speechless.
Elsa, who was standing nearby, immediately cast a sympathetic look at Liliath.
On the arena, Elliot's gaze was fixed on Gu Ding from afar. He stood there and suddenly spoke, "Gu Ding, I challenge you!"
The sound was like a thunderous roar, not only clearly reaching Gu Ding's ears, but also reaching the other eleven arenas and stands, startling everyone.
~~~
[Updates have been a bit inconsistent these past two days because I've been experiencing some health issues. I have a persistent low-grade fever and other symptoms, so I've been spending most of my daytime at the hospital, and I can't stay up late at night... I have one last check-up tomorrow, but I should be fine by then.] (To be continued...)