Jiaowa!

Sun Busong immediately turned his head to look. A woman, about half a head shorter than him, not even 1.5 meters tall, wearing a black veil hat, appeared in his sight.

She was dressed in a light blue Priest robe. Her slender body didn't show off any curves. She held a staff in her hand, which, from Sun Busong's perspective, should be a Blue Excellent grade. Her small feet were no bigger than Sun Busong's palm, and she wore a pair of exquisite cloth shoes embroidered with a pair of crows?!

Seeing Sun Busong observing her, the human woman took two quick steps towards him, arriving right beside him.

"I wanted to come here to play, but I didn't expect people to die here. I don't want to die, sob sob sob sob."

She started crying before she could even finish her sentence. Sun Busong could tell from her voice that she was definitely not an adult. Her small, tender voice suggested she was no older than 12.

"What are you crying about! You came to the arena to play when you have nothing else to do? Whose child are you, where are your adults?" Sun Busong knew immediately that this was a disobedient brat, so he raised his voice.

"Sob sob sob, don't scold me. I am the child of Nina Lightbrook, an Alchemist from Watcher's Keep in the Cursed Lands. My adults are at home, and they don't know I came out to play."

Sun Busong was stunned! She really answered whatever he asked? Didn't she have any sense of danger at all!

The little girl's crying softened his heart. He put away his hammer, shielded her with his body, and then lowered his voice, continuing, "Don't cry, it's okay, you won't die as long as I'm here. Make sure to stick close behind me later. If you get lost, it'll be dangerous."

"Mhm mhm! I'll be good!" Although she was still sniffling, her voice had become much quieter.

Sun Busong nodded at her. Just as he turned to face the others, a small hand from behind firmly grabbed his belt.

Let her grab it, she'll feel much safer holding onto my belt.

Sun Busong shrugged, preparing for battle. He would have to be careful this time, with a little tail behind him. He couldn't let his tail get cut off by someone else; it would tarnish his image of never losing!

"What's your name?" Sun Busong asked, observing the surrounding enemies before the battle began.

"My name is Lightbrook Jiaowa."

What a nice name, Jiaowa! Sun Busong's lips curled slightly.

Bang!

The signal flare fired!

The 100 people in Arena 14 instantly erupted into a chaotic battle. Sun Busong extended his shield-holding hand behind him to protect Jiaowa, retreating as he said, "Watch your back. If we retreat to the iron cage, no one will be able to hurt you."

"Mhm mhm!"

The battle was bloody. Less than a minute after it began, over a dozen people had already fallen.

Sun Busong was wearing full defensive gear, and he was at the very edge of the arena. No one had come to bother him yet.

However, as the battle progressed, the number of people remaining in the arena dwindled. A sign hanging in the air read: Remaining: 29!

Two Dragonmen, each about 2.5 meters tall, set their sights on Sun Busong and Jiaowa behind him. Both Dragonmen were Physical Warrior Professionals, wielding enormous gear-toothed blades stained with fragments of flesh and blood.

Jiaowa was trembling with fear. Sun Busong could clearly feel his belt shaking.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here!"

Since they had targeted Sun Busong, their arena careers were likely at an end. Sun Busong was kind-hearted, but if you put it another way, this guy was a demon. No! He was even more terrifying than a demon; he had killed over thirty thousand enemies!

"Are you guys fighting a tournament match or a deathmatch?"

Just as the two Dragonmen approached Sun Busong menacingly with their blades, Sun Busong spoke.

He spoke in the Dragonman language. Upon hearing his words, the two Dragonmen immediately stopped in their tracks. Their eyes, larger than Sun Busong's fists, stared intently at him, scrutinizing him.

"Big brother, is he a Dragonman?" the left Dragonman asked his older brother, who was only wearing blue leather shorts, likely made from dragon hide.

"He's probably not a Dragonman. Although we can't see his face, his appearance is nothing like ours. No tail, no claws, and look, he's wearing shoes!"

The younger Dragonman looked at his own toes, then at Sun Busong's shoes. "Then, big brother, should we kill him or not?"

"En~~~"

After thinking for a moment, the older Dragon brother shouted at Sun Busong, "Hey! You can understand us, right? Surrender. If you surrender, no one will kill you."

Sun Busong had been observing them since he spoke that sentence. He hadn't expected these two Dragonmen not to attack him and even suggest surrender. Sun Busong decided to let them live.

The number on the sign in the air had changed to 19. Because of the Dragonman brothers, no one else had come to trouble them. Their blades looked formidable, and it was clear the two Dragonmen were together.

The Dragonman brothers didn't say anything else about Sun Busong surrendering. They just silently watched the remaining people. Soon, the battle in Arena 14 concluded.

Excluding Sun Busong and the Dragonmen, 12 other people survived. Six had surrendered, and those who surrendered were not counted among the ten survivors.

"Be more careful next time. You got lucky this time because we were here, but you won't be so fortunate next time," the younger Dragonman said specifically to Sun Busong after leaving the arena.

Sun Busong just smiled faintly at him. This time, he had taken off his helmet. After speaking, the younger Dragonman left.

"Boss! Haha, I'm back! I took down eleven of them by myself this time. In the end, no one dared to come near me, hahahaha."

Heavy Fist's booming voice could be heard from afar.

Sun Busong had nowhere to go after leaving the arena, so he stood near the exit, the small hand still clutching his belt behind him.

"Huh? Who's this?" Heavy Fist came up to Sun Busong and suddenly saw someone behind him.

"Picked her up in the arena, a little brat who thought this was playing house," Sun Busong said irritably.

"Wow! You can do that? Boss, you've got good luck lately. If this keeps up, we'll have a whole legion in just a few years, hahahaha moo~~~"

Sun Busong kicked out. The movement was too large, and the brat holding his belt behind him was immediately thrown to the ground.

"Wuwuwu~~~~" The child started crying again.

"Hey! Don't cry, we're safely out of the arena now. You can leave. Do you have money for an airship? If not, I have some here, take it!" Sun Busong quickly turned around and helped up Jiaowa, whom he had accidentally knocked over.

When Jiaowa got up, the black veil hat she was wearing fell off, revealing a stunning, tear-streaked face to Sun Busong.

Her large eyes, bright and clear as the starry sky, had long, curved eyelashes still dotted with tears. Her innocent gaze made Sun Busong's heart feel as though it had stopped.

Her nose was small and upturned, her nostrils twitching slightly with her sobs. Her small lips were very sexy, making one feel hungry just looking at them. The Cupid's bow was well-defined, suggesting she was a woman with a strong personality.

This was likely the most beautiful woman Sun Busong had ever seen; he was mesmerized.

Jiaowa, her voice choked with tears, weakly nodded and agreed, "Mhm, I want to go home. It's not fun here at all."

Sun Busong hadn't snapped out of his daze yet. Heavy Fist, seeing Sun Busong's state, looked confused and nudged him with his hand, "Boss?"

"Huh?"

After being nudged by Heavy Fist, Sun Busong finally returned to his senses.

"Uh, well, you can't leave yet. It's just that, well, umm~~~ I still have something to do and can't leave. It's too dangerous for you to go home alone. Wait until I finish my business, and I'll take you back, okay?"

Sun Busong was developing impure thoughts!

Jiaowa had stopped crying. Her innocent, large eyes stared at Sun Busong, and she nodded vigorously.

Sun Busong suppressed his poker face and quickly turned around, leaving Jiaowa with only his trembling back.

"Holy crap! This peerless beauty fits all my requirements for a woman! I can't believe I met one of my future wives before I even turned eighteen, hahaha, I'm so lucky!"

Sun Busong's facial muscles twitched from his laughter. He desperately tried to keep himself from laughing out loud, but his body couldn't stop shaking.

After a long while, he let out a sigh and regained his composure.

"Jiaowa, why did you choose to team up with me in the arena earlier, with so many people there?" Sun Busong asked, having forgotten to inquire earlier.

Jiaowa looked at Sun Busong with her beautiful, large eyes and said earnestly, "My profession is Priest, and I have a family inherited Skill. It allows me to distinguish whether a person is righteous or evil. I saw only evil in the others there."

"Hahahaha, so only I was righteous?" Sun Busong felt a little happy.

"No!" Jiaowa pouted her tender lips as she said this, and Sun Busong swallowed.

"It's just that your evil was much weaker than theirs, and you were wearing defensive Equipment. If we cooperate, we can definitely survive."

Sun Busong's smiling face twitched.

The second match was scheduled for three hours later. Sun Busong, Jiaowa, and Heavy Fist left the arena and found a nearby stall to eat. During this time, Sun Busong gathered a lot of information about Jiaowa.

She was a level 28 Priest. Her secondary profession, or professional Skill, was Intermediate Alchemist. In World of Warcraft, everyone could have up to two secondary professions, even commoners.

Jiaowa's mother was a Priest Professional from Guard and Watchtower. Her secondary profession was High-level Alchemist. Her husband had died many years ago, and the mother and daughter depended on each other.

This time, Jiaowa had argued with her mother and run away from home. She had taken a Gryphon to Treasure Bay. Although she had brought all the gold coins she had saved over the years, a dozen gold coins wouldn't last long in Treasure Bay.

So, she was tricked into signing up for the Arena Tournament for ten gold coins. After spending all her money, she realized that people could actually die in the arena!

Although she was short and slender, she was already 15 years old and an adult! Her professional talent was Holy Priest. While she only had an A-cup, her healing output was substantial. This meant Sun Busong's plan to take Crystal Mine Cave was no longer an issue.

"You can follow us for the next few days. Don't worry, we're not bad people. Although he's a Tauren, he grew up in the Alliance. He doesn't even know the Tauren language. Hahahaha."

Sun Busong wasn't good at deceiving women or coaxing them. He only had one thought: to stall, to keep Jiaowa by his side.

Doesn't everyone say that feelings develop over time? Sun Busong thought that as long as he didn't let her leave, Jiaowa would eventually fall for him. Such a beautiful woman could only be his!

The afternoon matches were much more brutal than the morning ones. This was because Elite Professionals had appeared in the level 31-40 combat, and they could easily crush ordinary Professionals of the same level. Their health bars were longer, they had more Skills, and their attribute points were double that of ordinary Professionals.

After these Elite Professionals eliminated those ordinary players, they began to attack each other in pairs. The combat style in the arena immediately shifted to dispersed one-on-one matches. Especially for the healing Professionals, unless they were out of mana, they were difficult to deal with.

By the afternoon, the level 41-50 combat was even more spectacular. The various flashy Skills and powerful magic made the ticket-buying audience exclaim with delight.

It wasn't until evening that all the matches in the arena concluded. After the organizers' post-event statistics, over 4,100 people had died in this Stranglethorn Vale Arena Tournament. These were all contestants who had paid 10 gold coins to sign up for the death matches. Some lucky individuals had also survived today.

Those who survived each received a reward of 500 gold coins. If they chose to continue participating in the competition tomorrow, they would receive 1,000 gold coins for each match they won.

The arena needed these fearless individuals. Their battles were the most bloody and brutal. Although they were poor, lacked good Equipment and Weapons, and didn't have flashy combat Skills or magic, the audience loved to watch them.

They would stop at nothing to win, gouging out opponents' eyes, biting through opponents' throats, sneak-attacking their nests, and so on.

Tomorrow's matches were already set: a 100-person free-for-all. In the end, only 30 people would remain in each level bracket. These thirty people would participate in the final competition the day after tomorrow, which would be a 1v1 format.

When Sun Busong and his companions rushed back, the auction was reaching its climax. Epic Weapons and Equipment were being brought onto the auction stage one by one.

They entered a private room on the second floor. Finn reported the morning's auction situation to Sun Busong. Jiaowa, standing beside them, listened to Finn's report with wide eyes. Sun Busong listened to Finn while admiring Jiaowa's cute, stunned expression.

How could she be so adorable! Why was she so incredibly cute! It was unreasonably cute! He wanted to hold her in his arms!

Sun Busong felt like he had found true love!

He had been drinking all night yesterday and didn't even know what to type with his hands on the keyboard!

It was past five o'clock, and he had finally finished today's chapter.