The Miserable Allen

The Wyvern glared with vicious eyes, tilting its head to study the human for a moment as if it found this fellow more tempting than the fresh meat, letting out a low growl.

Athena's heart tightened, and she was about to rush out when she saw the Wyvern slowly lower its head, hesitantly approach the large chunk of fresh meat, and bite down to eat. Chen Rui's hand remained completely unscathed, and the crowd, which had been holding its breath, instantly erupted into a frenzy.

In truth, Chen Rui was also feeling a bit rattled. Through his Analytical Eye, he had been mentally reminding Kegu to bite precisely. Now that the performance had succeeded, he felt a secret sense of relief. The Devil Race respected warriors above all else, and the atmosphere in the arena reached a new peak.

Although Allen was extremely jealous of the support the human was receiving, he ultimately dared not imitate Chen Rui by risking a severed hand to feed this strange, terrifying Magic Beast.

Chen Rui seized the momentum and climbed onto the back of the Wyvern. The Wyvern let out a sky-piercing shriek and flapped its wings, taking to the sky. Allen, unwilling to show weakness, mustered his courage and mounted another one. As the two rose higher and higher, the third match finally officially began.

Allen pushed his Beast Taming Technique to its limit, struggling to control the flying beast beneath him as he reached an effective altitude, facing his hated romantic rival—at least in Allen's eyes, the human was his greatest rival in love.

"I have looked forward to this day for a long time," Allen thought, and as he imagined this rival dying by his hand, his suppressed mood became exceptionally jubilant. "I will make you into a pile of minced meat right in front of Athena!"

Chen Rui couldn't be bothered to waste his breath: this guy clearly had never studied relationship psychology. He truly wondered what was going on in his head; did he think that by killing a close friend of Athena's, she would grow closer to him? No wonder he was so disliked.

Wyverns were indeed not so easy to tame. Once the two beasts took to the air, they began to let out restless shrieks, resisting the riders on their backs. Had they been untamed, they would have bitten the heads off both men long ago.

Even Allen couldn't help but feel terrified amidst the violent shaking. The power he had been secretly accumulating was already triggered, and his entire body shimmered with a pale red light as he struggled to maintain his balance while suppressing the Wyvern's erratic movements. These two Wyverns were still in their juvenile stage; if they had truly grown to the level of a Greater Devil, Allen's meager power would never have been enough to hold them down.

On the other side, Chen Rui's situation was even worse. As a human with no power, he could only desperately cling to the Wyvern's neck, barely managing to keep from falling, letting out occasional screams.

When Chen Rui had bravely fed the meat and mounted the Wyvern earlier, Joseph had harbored some doubts. Now, seeing this pathetic display, his brow gradually smoothed out, and a look of contempt flashed in his eyes.

The hearts of Alice and the others hung in the balance. A flickering flame began to appear faintly on Athena's body, ready to catch Chen Rui at the fastest possible speed.

In the eyes of the audience, both sides looked like novices at beast taming, clumsily swaying and bobbing in the air, unable to launch an attack. Yet, no one mocked them, because they were riding the most powerful aerial Magic Beasts—Wyverns—and doing so without any auxiliary equipment!

Chen Rui appeared nervous on the surface, but in his mind, he was calling out the rhythm with Kegu: three circles to the left, three circles to the right...

After a long period of struggle, the time limit for the antidote Allen had taken passed. He felt the Wyvern's toxins beginning to erode his protective power. In his desperation, he struck his mount several times. The Wyvern shrieked in anger, and the opposite Wyvern let out a corresponding cry.

Immediately, Allen's Wyvern unexpectedly obeyed and flew toward Chen Rui. Allen hadn't expected this accidental success and revealed a look of joy. Although the antidote had worn off, his own power could still resist the toxicity, enough to sustain him until he killed this human.

Seeing this, Chen Rui desperately urged his own mount to flee, yet the Wyvern remained indifferent. The audience below grew tense.

A hint of bloodlust appeared in the smile on Joseph's face, as if he had already seen the human's mangled corpse.

Just as Allen's Wyvern approached, a strange thing happened. Mengda, Allen's Wyvern, which had been charging head-on at Chen Rui, suddenly slowed down, twisted its body, and exposed Allen on its back to its companion. Kegu didn't stand on ceremony and snapped its jaws. The turn of events was so sudden that Allen was shocked and scrambled to dodge, but the leather armor on his right shoulder was ripped away by Kegu's bite.

In the air, the two Wyverns coordinated to launch a fierce attack on Allen. The audience below stared in stunned silence at this unexpected development. In all the years of aerial competitions, such a bizarre scene had never occurred.

"That idiot!" Joseph's smile instantly froze on his face. He could no longer sit still and abruptly stood up. Although the event was incredible, he saw it clearly: the human apprentice hadn't used any tricks; he was simply clutching the Wyvern's neck in terror. It was clearly Allen who had been too eager for success, angering his own mount and causing it to summon its companion to join in the retaliation.

Red flames erupted from Allen's body as he struggled to resist for a moment, but he finally couldn't withstand Mengda's bucking and fell from the high altitude. After all, he was a Greater Devil; his form flashed in the air as he used a secret technique, vanishing instantly before reappearing on the ground.

At this moment, Allen looked utterly miserable. His body was covered in shocking wounds, his flames had long since vanished, and his armor was torn to shreds—there was no trace of his usual might. He stumbled a few steps, but the toxins from his wounds began to take effect, and he finally collapsed.

After the Wyverns landed, Chen Rui could no longer maintain his balance on Kegu's back and tumbled off. He fell to the ground, looking as if he had been terrified out of his wits, his face pale and his legs weak, unable to stand for a moment. Athena and the others rushed over.

The two Wyverns still refused to give up and wanted to continue attacking Allen. The Servant Demons hurried forward to intervene, and under their soothing, the anger of the two flying beasts finally subsided, and they obediently returned to their iron cages. Seeing this, Joseph became even more certain that it was Allen's poor handling that had angered the newly tamed beasts. His hatred for this idiot who had ruined his grand plan was beyond measure—a sure-fire draw had actually turned into a loss!

Allen was backed by the Kalon Family, a powerful faction under Heiyao, so Joseph couldn't simply ignore him. Gritting his teeth, he ordered his subordinates to carry Allen away for treatment.

"I'm fine..." Chen Rui stood up with the help of Athena and Alice. As he lowered his head, a flash of triumph, hidden from everyone, crossed his eyes: he had originally only intended for Mengda to buck Allen off, but he hadn't expected Allen to be so cooperative as to anger the beast, allowing him to use that to make Allen suffer greatly. How pathetic, poor kid!

After Alice settled Chen Rui, she walked to the center of the arena and shouted excitedly into the amplifier: "In this aerial competition, it is our Darkmoon Territory that has achieved the final victory!"

The result of a home-field win naturally brought the atmosphere of the entire arena to its peak. Zack the blacksmith excitedly shouted to the Devil beside him: "Do you know? That human is a friend of mine, Zack!"

If he had said this before the competition, everyone would have surely looked at Zack with disdain, but now, there were many nods of agreement. Although Chen Rui's victory relied on luck, the courage he displayed was indeed commendable. This match had won an important victory for Darkmoon and had gained the recognition of the vast majority of the Devil Race.

Alice said with high spirits: "Joseph! According to the agreement, besides the original bet, these two Wyverns now belong to this princess, along with one hundred pieces of the highest-quality Vine Stone. Remember to have them delivered to the palace as soon as possible!"

"First, congratulations to Darkmoon for this victory. The competition is just a formality; its purpose is to witness the friendship between our two territories. Chiyou and Darkmoon are as close as brothers... As for the bet, please rest assured, little princess, the Alvin Family values its promises above all. It's just that our stock of the highest-quality Vine Stone is limited, but I guarantee they will all be delivered to the palace within a month."

Joseph's straightforward attitude won him the favor of many. In reality, the finance officer's heart was bleeding. Two Wyverns! One hundred pieces of the highest-quality Vine Stone! Such a loss could not be ignored even by the wealthy Chiyou Territory. This was the first time in recent years he had suffered such a defeat. His father, Lord Zhuo Qie, would surely be furious, but for now, he had no choice but to accept the loss.

The special envoy who had come specifically from Chiyou Territory looked very grim. He refused Old Gauss's invitation, walked up to Joseph, snorted coldly, and turned to leave. A cold light shot from Joseph's eyes, but he said nothing more.

Alice couldn't be bothered to listen to Joseph's pleasantries. She directly ordered the guards to push the cages containing the Wyverns away, then led Athena and the others to leave in a swagger amidst the deafening cheers.

As they walked out of the arena, Alice was suggesting they go to the laboratory to eat Hot Pot to celebrate, when Old Gauss suddenly stepped forward and whispered a few words to the little girl.

Alice nodded in surprise and said to Chen Rui: "Big sister wants to see both of us. Let's hold off on the celebration for now."

Summoned again? Ever since the fright in the garden last time, Chen Rui hadn't seen Shea. Hearing that the eldest princess was summoning him again, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Old Gauss led Alice and Chen Rui all the way into the palace and to the council chamber before bowing out. As soon as Alice saw Shea, she excitedly boasted about the victory they had just achieved. Shea nodded, a trace of faint softness appearing in her icy gaze.

"This victory was all thanks to Chen Rui," Alice pointed at Chen Rui. "I've already promised him fifty pieces of Vine Stone, so big sister doesn't need to reward him extra."

"He only won the final victory because of luck, and he is not a mage, so the Vine Stone is useless to him." Shea shook her head, crushing the human's original hope with a single sentence. "Alice, you did very well today. Not only did you win many Black Crystal Coins, but you also obtained the Wyverns and the Vine Stone. Keep ten pieces of Vine Stone and five hundred Black Crystal Coins for yourself; the rest must all be handed over to the palace treasury."

Chen Rui was furious inside: How ruthless! The tyrant! She had actually swallowed ninety percent of the winnings in one go! All his hard work had been for nothing! What pained him most was the Vine Stone that should have been his—that was a massive amount of spiritual energy!