"You didn't know?" Athena looked openly anxious. "I just got back from outside and heard people all over the city saying that the human apprentice who stood out in the last Master Challenge Tournament would represent Darkmoon City in tomorrow's Aerial Battle at the arena. With your abilities, you'd be going to your death!"
The name of this competition sounded strangely familiar to Chen Rui. Remembering what had happened at the magic shop a few days ago, he immediately understood: someone had set him up! A devious scheme like this was too much for the reckless, witless Allen to come up with. It had to be the smiling tiger, Joseph!
After Chen Rui told her what had happened that day, Athena frowned. "Joseph? Wasn't it Allen? I heard Allen was the one who spread the news."
Alice spoke up. "Athena, don't let Joseph's usual good manners fool you. He even sends us presents all the time, but he's the truly sinister one. Allen's just a fool being used."
Chen Rui nodded to himself. The little princess seemed like she loved taking advantage of people and messing with them, but she was sharp as a tack.
"Then why do you accept his presents every time?" Athena glanced at Alice. "I don't like Joseph, so I never accept anything he gives me."
Alice's big, watery eyes sparkled like stars. "Athena, the presents are innocent."
Her expression, her tone, that look in her eyes—it was all so convincing. Compared with before, the little princess's acting had reached a whole new level. Chen Rui suddenly thought of a line straight out of a melodrama, and his whole body shuddered. Sure enough, Athena couldn't withstand that piercing gaze and finally caved.
So the little princess cursed the schemer and accepted his presents anyway. No wonder she was the leading light of the devious schemer school.
Chen Rui gave Her Highness the little princess an admiring look, then asked, "What exactly is this Aerial Competition?"
"It's a wager between Joseph and me," Alice said, pouting. "Each side sends out one person to ride a flying magical beast and fight in the air. Whoever hits the ground first loses. You're not allowed to attack personally—you can only direct your beast. And you're responsible for your own life. It's extremely dangerous, so it's also called the Aerial Death Match."
Chen Rui frowned deeply. "How did you end up making a wager like this with him?"
"It was an 'inheritance' left to me by my late father. Back when the Regent was pulling the strings, that Lord Chiyou Zhuo Qie sent people to compete against Darkmoon City every year. It was meant to undermine the already pitiful prestige of Emperor White Night's direct descendants."
Alice spoke lazily. "My father insisted on standing up for his pride, so he always sent someone to compete at full strength. Things calmed down after my sister took over Dark Moon, but Father's dying wish still had to be honored. My sister didn't have the time to deal with it, so I had to take over the wager.
As she spoke, the little princess put on a mournful expression and stared straight at Chen Rui. "Tell me, why should the next generation have to bear the grudges of the last?"
Chen Rui was at a loss for words. Unable to watch any longer, Athena cut in. "Stop it, Alice. You get all worked up whenever you make a wager. I've helped you win money twice already. Think about how we can get Chen Rui through this. If he competes, he'll die, and it'll also be a blow to Darkmoon's morale. The news has already spread, and even Chiyou Territory sent a magical message saying they'd send someone to watch. Even the Eldest Princess can't order them to call it off. But if Chen Rui backs out, he'll become a laughingstock throughout Darkmoon Territory."
"What else can we do? Better to be called a coward than lose your life. I just feel sorry for my wager," Alice said listlessly. "I already made a fortune in the last Master Challenge Tournament. This time, I'll just take the loss and buy my way out of trouble."
"What do you need so much money for?" Chen Rui had only just learned that she'd made a fortune in the last tournament, and he asked disapprovingly, "What's the point of being a fabulously rich princess in Darkmoon City?"
Darkmoon City's economy was depressed, with hardly anywhere to spend money. It was like a little country town where even if you had money, you could hardly find anything good to buy.
"I'm not fabulously rich at all," Alice said, hanging her head. "Every time I manage to get a little money, my sister takes it away. She says she can't let me waste it."
Chen Rui finally got to enjoy someone else's misfortune. It was true what they said: there was always someone worse than you.
"But that shop idea you taught me last time seems to be working," Alice said, her eyes brightening as she smiled sweetly. "Looks like my human brother is much cleverer than me. This competition concerns not only my precious wealth but also Darkmoon's prestige. Could you think of a way to save your own life and preserve Darkmoon's reputation—and, while you're at it... help me win some money?"
The sugary-sweet "human brother" made Chen Rui's scalp tingle, but he had already begun to piece things together. The last Master Challenge Tournament had lifted the spirits of Darkmoon City's soldiers and civilians. This competition was almost certainly meant to crush their morale. It was probably the work of Chiyou Territory, or even the Regent, Heiyao.
That was why Joseph had first sent people to spread the word and highlight Chen Rui's performance in the tournament, building him up before knocking him down hard. In a way, Chen Rui was just a tool Joseph was using to slap Darkmoon in the face. As for Allen, who had spread the news, he was exactly what Alice had said: a fool being used as a weapon!
Chen Rui began seriously weighing the pros and cons of the competition. Joseph had clearly planned this in advance. Rumors about Chen Rui competing had already spread throughout the city, and people were even coming from Chiyou Territory to watch. In the Demon Realm, nothing was looked down on more than cowardice. If he avoided the fight, things would become difficult for him in Darkmoon and everywhere else, and getting spirit energy would only become harder. Besides, keeping a low profile didn't mean being a coward. Constantly retreating would only invite people to push him around. Since the smiling tiger wanted to use Chen Rui's life to strike at Shea and Darkmoon City, then Chen Rui would make him fall flat on his face.
Chen Rui's thoughts raced. "Little princess, is your competition with Joseph a single match?"
Alice had only been joking before and hadn't wanted to send him to his death. But now, seeing how he looked, she realized he might really have come up with a plan and quickly answered, "No, it's best of three. Athena's Beast Taming Technique is the best in Darkmoon. She's helped me win two years in a row, and last year even Joseph himself lost to her."
Chen Rui mused that Athena had won repeatedly for three reasons. First, her father was the First General of the Empire. Second, the competition hadn't meant as much in previous years. And third—and most importantly—the smiling tiger had been hiding his true abilities all along, deliberately using the competition to keep them concealed.
After thinking it over carefully, Chen Rui had the beginnings of a plan. "Little princess, I do have an idea, but I can't guarantee we'll win. It might end in a draw, though we could win if we're lucky. The question is, do you have the nerve?"
"If I have the nerve, I won't lose money—and I might even... win some?"
Alice enunciated the word "money" with unusual precision. Seeing Chen Rui nod confidently, she immediately puffed up with confidence. "There's no such word as fear in the Lucifer Royal Family's dictionary! I, Alice Lucifer, fear nothing!"
The little princess's overwhelming presence sent a shiver down Chen Rui's spine. He quickly explained the general outline of his plan.
After hearing Chen Rui's plan, Athena frowned with concern. Alice waved away her worries, took charge of everything, and rose onto her tiptoes to pat Chen Rui on the shoulder. "I knew I could trust my judgment. You're even more cunning than old Gauss, who works for my sister. From now on, you can work hard for this princess!"
Chen Rui was embarrassed by such high praise. Suddenly remembering something, he played along. "I have a delicious candy pill here, my liege. Please try it."
"I'm a princess!" Alice corrected him, snatched the candy pill, and ate it. Then, without the slightest hesitation, she criticized it for tasting ordinary and not living up to her expectations.
Athena's eyes lit up. She realized Alice had eaten the antidote and silently admired Chen Rui's quick thinking. "There's not much time left. Chen Rui has never ridden a flying magical beast, so he needs to learn some basic riding skills right away."
"All right, I'm going to check on the shop. Business has been a bit better lately, and I need to be there to keep things under control," Alice said with a mischievous grin. "Athena, I'll leave Chen Rui in your hands. It's his first time, so when you do it... be gentle, okay?"
"Since it's his first time, he needs special training," Athena said, bewildered. "What good would being gentle do? He won't learn anything if he doesn't work hard!"
Chen Rui was sweating profusely. Afraid Alice would find another way to twist their words, he quickly tugged at Athena and said, "Since we're short on time, let's hurry!"
After escaping the little princess's clutches, Athena found a Horned Wing Beast and took him to an open field outside the city.
The Horned Wing Beast was a fairly common flying magical beast, with the head of an eagle and the body of a beast, covered in feathers and possessing enormous wings.
Horned Wing Beasts were bad-tempered and combative, but had relatively poor stamina. In conventional battles, they were generally used as surprise attackers. The kings of aerial combat were the Wyverns: powerful and venomous, they could take off and land vertically, making them like combat helicopters. Their riders were honored with the title of Dragon Rider. However, very few Wyverns could be tamed. An empire was lucky if it had one or two Dragon Rider units.
As for the true overlords of the skies, the Dragons—there were fewer Dragons in the Demon Realm than in the Surface World, but they were even fiercer and stronger. Forget riding them; practically no one dared provoke them.
"Riding a magical beast that's already been tamed isn't difficult. Usually, the best way is to earn its trust, but there isn't enough time for that now. You just need to make it understand what you want." Athena gently patted the Horned Wing Beast's head and uttered a low note. The eagle head, which had seemed restless, immediately bowed obediently.
Chen Rui asked in surprise, "Why aren't we using 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 rules require you to reach an altitude of one hundred meters before the competition can begin."
One hundred meters up! And with no equipment to help him! Chen Rui was startled. This wasn't a plane, nor was it like a Triangle Rhino bus. One wrong move and he'd plummet straight down. Even with the Star Body he had now, he wouldn't survive.
It looked like he really needed to learn about the Demon Realm's air force.
"Don't be afraid in the air. The more frightened you are, the more dangerous it becomes. In fact, as long as you get the rhythm and feel of it, riding a magical beast can be easy."
As Athena spoke, she climbed onto the Horned Wing Beast's back and patted its neck. It ran forward to build up speed, then beat its wings and took off.
Chen Rui watched enviously as Athena flew through the sky on the Horned Wing Beast. In the world he had come from, people had always dreamed of soaring through the heavens, and airplanes had been invented to make that possible. Once, when he'd traveled with his university to take part in a competition, he'd been lucky enough to fly in a plane. The feeling of soaring above the clouds and looking down at the earth had been wonderful, but flying on the back of a magical beast like Athena was clearly much more thrilling.
Athena kept the Horned Wing Beast at a steady altitude, then stood up on its relatively narrow back. They were flying fast and high, making the difficult stunt look terrifying.
Athena remained calm. Her purple hair streamed wildly behind her in the powerful wind, and her short robe flapped fiercely. Her feet stayed firmly planted on the beast's back until the Horned Wing Beast finally landed.
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