Death Arena! The Smiling Tiger's Conspiracy

"You don't know?" Athena's face was filled with undisguised anxiety. "I just got back from outside and heard everyone in the city talking about how the human apprentice who performed so well in the Master Challenge Tournament will be representing Darkmoon City in tomorrow's Aerial Battle at the arena. With your strength, you're basically going to your death!"

Chen Rui felt that the mention of an arena competition sounded familiar. Recalling the scene at the magic shop a few days ago, he immediately understood—he had been set up! Such a devious scheme would be difficult for the brave but brainless Allen; it must have been cooked up by that smiling tiger, Joseph.

After Chen Rui finished recounting the events of that day, Athena frowned and asked, "Joseph? Could it not be Allen? I heard it was Allen who released the news."

At this moment, Alice spoke up: "Athena, don't let Joseph's usual polite demeanor and the gifts he often gives us fool you. He is the truly sinister one; Allen is just a fool being used."

Chen Rui nodded inwardly. This little loli might seem like she loved taking advantage of others and playing pranks, but she was actually sharp as a tack.

"Then why do you still take his gifts every time?" Athena glanced at Alice. "I don't like that guy Joseph, so I never accept anything he sends."

Alice's watery, large eyes sparkled with bright stars: "Athena, the gifts are innocent."

That expression, that tone, and that gaze were simply too perfect. Compared to before, the little loli's acting skills had undergone a qualitative sublimation. Chen Rui suddenly thought of a common line from a romance drama and his body shuddered. Sure enough, Athena could not withstand such a sharp gaze and finally admitted defeat.

So, the little loli cursed the person while still accepting the gifts; she was truly a leader in the art of being black-bellied.

Chen Rui gave the little princess a look of admiration and asked, "What exactly is this aerial competition?"

"It's a bet between me and Joseph," Alice pouted. "Both sides send one person, riding two flying Magic Beasts to fight in the air. Whoever falls to the ground first loses. The rules state you cannot fight yourself; you can only command the beast. You are responsible for your own life and death. This kind of competition is extremely dangerous, also known as an Aerial Death Match."

Chen Rui frowned deeply: "How did you end up with such a bet with him?"

"This is an 'inheritance' left by my late father. Back then, under the instigation of the Regent, Lord Chiyou Zhuo Chi would send people every year to compete with Darkmoon City, using it to strike at the already meager prestige of Emperor White Night's direct descendants."

Alice said lazily, "My father insisted on saving face and would always go all out to send people to participate. It became much calmer after my sister took over Darkmoon, but my father's dying wish had to be respected. My sister doesn't have the energy for it, so I had to take over this bet."

As she spoke, the little loli put on a resentful expression, staring straight at Chen Rui: "Tell me, why must the next generation bear the grudges of the previous one?"

Chen Rui was immediately overwhelmed. Athena couldn't stand it and interjected: "Stop messing around, Alice. You get excited every time there's a bet; I've already helped you win money twice. Let's think of a way to get Chen Rui through this. If he participates, he won't just die; it will also be a blow to the morale of Darkmoon. The news has already spread, and even the Darkmoon Territory has received magic messages saying they will send special guests to watch. Even the Eldest Princess cannot order it to stop. But if Chen Rui avoids it, he will become the laughingstock of the entire Darkmoon Territory."

"Then what else can we do? Being called a coward is better than losing your life, it's just a pity for my bet," Alice said listlessly. "Anyway, I already made a fortune during the last Master Challenge Tournament, so this time I'll just consider it a loss to avoid disaster."

"Why do you need so much money?" Chen Rui only just realized she had made a fortune during the last tournament and asked with dissatisfaction: "Is there any point in being a super-rich princess in Darkmoon City?"

The economy of Darkmoon City was depressed, and there were too few places to spend money. It was like a rural town where it was hard to buy good things even if you had money.

"I'm not some super-rich person," Alice said dejectedly. "Every time I get a little money, my sister snatches it away, saying I can't be allowed to squander it."

Chen Rui finally felt a sense of schadenfreude; this was what they called a villain being dealt with by another villain.

"But the shop-opening method you taught me last time seems to be a bit useful," Alice's large eyes flashed, revealing a sweet smile. "It seems the human brother is much more capable than me. This competition isn't just about my precious wealth, but also about the prestige of Darkmoon. Human brother, can you think of a way to save your own life in this competition, preserve Darkmoon's reputation, and... help me win some money while you're at it?"

That soft, sweet "human brother" made Chen Rui's scalp tingle, but he had gradually sorted the matter out in his mind—the victory in the last Master Challenge Tournament had boosted the morale of the Darkmoon City military and civilians. This competition was most likely an attempt to suppress that morale, and it was very likely the intention of the Darkmoon Territory or even the Regent Heiyao.

Precisely because of this, Joseph had first sent people to promote and highlight Chen Rui's performance in the tournament, lifting him high only to let him fall hard. In a sense, Chen Rui was just a tool used by Joseph to slap Darkmoon in the face. As for Allen, who released the news, he was just a fool being used as a gun, just as Alice said!

Chen Rui began to seriously weigh the pros and cons of this competition. Joseph had clearly planned this; the rumors of his participation had spread rapidly throughout the city, and people from the Darkmoon Territory would even be coming. The Demon Realm despised cowards most of all. If he avoided the battle, it would be difficult to move forward in Darkmoon or anywhere else, and obtaining spiritual energy would certainly be even harder. Moreover, keeping a low profile did not mean being a coward; retreating blindly would only make others push harder. Since Joseph wanted to use his life to strike at Shea and Darkmoon City, he would let this smiling tiger take a massive fall.

Chen Rui's thoughts raced as he asked, "Little Princess, is your competition with Joseph a single-round winner-take-all?"

Alice had originally been joking and didn't want him to go to his death, but seeing Chen Rui's expression, he seemed to have really thought of a way, so she quickly replied: "No, it's best of three. Athena's Beast Taming Technique is the best in Darkmoon; she has helped me win for two years in a row. Last year, even Joseph lost to her when he participated personally."

Chen Rui mused that the reason Athena had won consecutively was, first, she had a father who was the empire's top general; second, the competition hadn't been as important in previous years; and third, the most important reason was that the smiling tiger had always been hiding his true strength.

After deep consideration, Chen Rui had a rough plan and asked: "Little Princess, I do have an idea, but I can't guarantee a win. It might be a draw, or if we're lucky, we might win. I just don't know how much courage you have."

"If I have courage, I won't lose money, and it's even possible to... win money?"

Alice emphasized the word "money" very precisely. Seeing Chen Rui nod firmly, she immediately shuddered, her aura becoming domineering: "The word 'fear' has never existed in the dictionary of the Lucifer Royal Family. I, Alice Lucifer, am fearless!"

The little loli's powerful aura made Chen Rui shiver, and he quickly explained the rough plan.

After hearing Chen Rui's plan, Athena frowned, looking a bit worried. Alice waved it off, indicating it was fine, and stood on her tiptoes to pat Chen Rui on the shoulder: "I really didn't misjudge you. You're even more cunning than old Gauss by my sister's side. From now on, just follow this princess and work hard!"

This high praise made Chen Rui sweat. He suddenly thought of something and played along: "This subordinate has a delicious candy pill here, please taste it, my Lord."

"It's Princess!" Alice corrected him, snatched the candy pill, and ate it, then unceremoniously criticized the pill for tasting ordinary and falling far short of her expectations.

Athena's eyes lit up; she understood that what Alice had eaten was the "antidote." She secretly praised Chen Rui for his wit and said: "There isn't much time left. Chen Rui has never ridden a flying Magic Beast before; he needs to master some basic riding skills immediately."

"Alright, I need to go to the shop to check on things. Business has been better these past two days, and it won't work without me holding down the fort," Alice laughed strangely. "Athena, I'll leave Chen Rui to you. It's his first time, so remember... be gentle."

"It's precisely because it's his first time that he needs special training," Athena said blankly. "What's the use of being gentle? How can he succeed without enduring some hardship!"

Chen Rui was covered in cold sweat, fearing that Alice would derive other ambiguous meanings. He quickly pulled Athena and said: "Since time is tight, let's go!"

After escaping the little loli's clutches, Athena brought over a Horned Wing Beast and took him to an open space outside the city.

The Horned Wing Beast was a relatively common flying Magic Beast with an eagle's head and a beast's body. It was covered in feathers, and its wings looked huge when spread.

The Horned Wing Beast had a grumpy and combative temperament, but its endurance was relatively poor. It was generally used as a surprise attack force in conventional warfare. The ace of aerial combat was the Wyvern, which was powerful, poisonous, and capable of vertical takeoff and landing—like a combat helicopter. Its riders were honored as Dragon Riders. However, the number of Wyverns that could be tamed was extremely small; it was good enough for an empire to have one or two units of Wyvern riders.

As for the true masters of the sky, the Dragons—they were relatively rare in the Demon Realm compared to the surface world, but they were even more ferocious and powerful. Let alone riding them, basically no one dared to provoke them.

"It's not difficult to ride a tamed Magic Beast. Gaining its favor is the best way, but there's no time for that now. You just need to make it understand your intentions." Athena gently patted the Horned Wing Beast's head and let out a low note. The eagle head, which had originally seemed restless, immediately bowed down submissively.

Chen Rui asked curiously: "Why don't we use a saddle or reins?"

Athena shook her head and asked in return: "If we used those, would it still be called an Aerial Death Match? Besides, the requirement for the aerial competition is that you must ascend to a height of one hundred meters before you can begin."

One hundred meters high! And without any auxiliary tools! Chen Rui was startled. This kind of "plane" wasn't a bus like a Triangle Rhino; if he were even slightly careless, he would become a free-falling object. Even with his current Star Body characteristics, he couldn't withstand that.

It seemed he really had to learn some knowledge about the Demon Realm's air force.

"Don't be afraid in the air. The more afraid you are, the more dangerous it becomes. In fact, as long as you master the rhythm and the feel, you can ride the Magic Beast quite easily."

As Athena spoke, she sat on the back of the Horned Wing Beast and patted its neck. The beast ran forward quickly for a distance, flapped its wings, and took flight.

Chen Rui watched with envy as Athena flew in the air on the Horned Wing Beast. In his original world, humans had always dreamed of soaring through the sky, which was why airplanes were created. When he represented his university in a competition, he had the good fortune to fly on a plane once. The feeling of soaring above the white clouds and looking down at the earth was wonderful, and Athena's flight on the back of a Magic Beast was clearly even more thrilling.

Athena controlled the Horned Wing Beast to maintain a certain altitude and actually stood up on its not-so-wide back. This was during high-speed flight at high altitude; such a high-difficulty move looked quite terrifying.

Athena's expression was calm, her purple hair blowing wildly behind her in the strong wind, and her short robe fluttering. Her feet remained firmly planted on the beast's back until it landed on the ground.