Mad King Longinus Takes the Stage

Bang!

Lu Ye kicked open the door to the luxurious private viewing box. Light streamed in from behind him, casting an imposing silhouette of Lu Ye and his group.

The Celestial Dragons inside the box all jumped in fright.

"Amin, Anan, weren't you going to introduce me to some friends? Where are my new friends?"

With half a cream puff in his mouth, Lu Ye swaggered in with the others.

He swept his gaze around. Besides Doffy and Rosy, who sat looking somewhat dumbstruck in wicker chairs by the viewing box railing, there were five more people dressed like dung beetles.

Each of the five dung beetles had guards and slaves attending them. In particular, the slave serving as a seat for the green-horned dung beetle even had fins.

"So this is Mad King Longinus of the Donquixote Family? You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you, but you seem even crazier...

"Doffy, is he having an episode right now? Hasn't he been taking his medicine like a good boy? Hoo ha ha ha ha!"

A powerfully built slave wearing a steel mask was on all fours, with a bearded, middle-aged Celestial Dragon sitting cross-legged on his back, a golden scepter in hand. His condescending manner made Lu Ye particularly want to go over and beat him up.

"Ya hee hee hee hee... But he looks very manly, and quite handsome too, Daddy."

A petite girl of six or seven held a pug in her arms and covered her mouth as she giggled. Though she looked sweet and adorable, Lu Ye still couldn't resist the urge to beat her up.

Probably because there was also a trembling slave beneath her, only a size smaller than the middle-aged Celestial Dragon's slave. Doffy's good friend Charlos sat beside her with an obnoxious grin.

In his past life, he'd run with the underworld in G City, worshipped Guan Yu, and associated with the heroes of Hongmen and the Green Gang. Loyalty came first as the foundation of his conduct, and overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming was the guiding principle of his actions. What he fucking hated most were Bannermen!

"Ptoo! This is a kids' get-together. What's a shut-in old geezer doing here? Do you make friends with just anyone?"

Having finished his cream puff, Lu Ye pulled a stalk of sugarcane from behind his waist and nearly spat its peel in the middle-aged Celestial Dragon's face.

"This is a pretty big private box. How come there isn't even a decent sofa?"

Before Sullivan or Hoffman could act, Lu Ye took matters into his own hands. He ripped a cushioned couch off the wall with one hand, dragged it noisily over to the viewing box railing, and dropped it with a thud.

"Fuffuffuffu..."

Doffy stood up and walked over with a strange laugh, swirling his glass of red wine. With two cushions beneath his backside, he threw an arm around Lu Ye's shoulders and gestured toward the colosseum below with the hand holding his glass:

"Longinus, you'll soon find out what you've been missing. As Celestial Dragons, we have many special pleasures that reading can't begin to compare with. This private box has the best view in the entire arena. Today, I'll show you something new."

Lu Ye pulled Doffy's wine-holding hand closer, sniffed, then immediately pushed it away in disgust:

"Red wine? Kids who drink won't grow tall, you know."

At those words, the expressions of the five young nobles swirling their wineglasses froze. Rosy's glass even slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor with a crash, and his little eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Hoo ha ha ha ha! You're worrying over nothing. We're Celestial Dragons. What difference does height make? Having fun is what matters most. Let's have a toast, little Doffy!"

The middle-aged Celestial Dragon laughed heartily and raised his glass for a gulp.

Lu Ye glanced at him and said unhurriedly, "I was one and a half meters tall at three. If you're less than three meters tall when you're grown up, how can you stay safe? I'm afraid I might accidentally step on you and kill you."

The middle-aged Celestial Dragon sprayed out a mouthful of red wine with a splutter, his face flushing red with anger.

He was 2.8 meters tall, and he felt singled out.

"Ya hee hee hee hee... What about a girl like me? Would you like a more petite girl, Longinus?"

The sweet-looking young Celestial Dragon sipped her wine and smiled sweetly at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye kept a straight face and said solemnly, "You should drink less, little sister. Drinking too young affects your development. Boys won't grow tall, and girls won't grow breasts. Petite or not, surely no one likes a washboard, right?"

Crack!

The girl crushed her wineglass in her hand.

What a powerful grudge.

Rosy pouted and hugged Lu Ye around the waist, on the verge of tears. "Longinus, is there still hope for me?"

"Don't worry!"

Lu Ye rubbed Rosy's head and undid his dung-beetle hairstyle while he was at it, transforming his silly second brother into a little blonde loli with long hair. He was much easier on the eyes now.

Lu Ye said mildly, "Height isn't what drinking affects most in children. It's the brain. Drinking makes you stupid."

Rosy's pupils trembled, and he immediately burst into tears. "Am I really beyond saving? I'm still so young. Is my life over just like that?"

Lu Ye hurriedly pressed a hand against Rosy's forehead. Even if you're a loli now, you can't wipe your snot on my beloved floral shirt!

After thinking it over, Lu Ye said, somewhat against his better judgment, "Well... drinking more milk might help."

"Really?"

Rosy instantly stopped crying.

"Bobo beast milk works even better!"

Lu Ye confidently gave him a thumbs-up.

"Moo-"

At the Holy Land's ranch, a certain spotted dairy-cow-shaped Sea King suddenly shuddered. It looked up and saw that the sun was still shining brightly, then breathed a sigh of relief. Clutching the little bit of fat it had worked so hard to put back on over the past two years, it felt that this spring was full of hope once again.

Doffy repeated "Bobo beast milk" to himself twice, then cleared his throat:

"Longinus, these are all friends of mine and Rosy's. Let me introduce you."

Doffy pointed at the green-horned dung beetle riding the fish. "This is Mjosgard. Like us, he belongs to the Donquixote Family. He's ten years old and prefers slaves of the Fish-Man Race. If you're interested, you can visit his palace."

Mjosgard had a square head. He nodded and said:

"If you like them, Cousin Longinus, I can take you to the Sabaody Archipelago to catch some. When we Celestial Dragons capture slaves, no matter what race they are, we just have to knock them down and put collars on them, and we can take them back to the Holy Land. You don't need to spend a single Beli!"

Lu Ye's eyes lit up. "Really, Cousin? Then give me some collars later. I think... I should be very good at catching slaves!"

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the dung beetles one by one.

Jinbao scratched his head in midair:

Isn't that how catching works in Pokémon? Beat them first, then capture them. That's so Pokémon!

Seeing how eager Lu Ye was to give it a try, Jinbao felt as though he were watching a Dragon-type Elite Four member rise.

Doffy then pointed to the gray-horned dung beetle in the corner who hadn't spoken yet and introduced him:

"This is Freck. He's twelve.

"Augustus, the owner of this colosseum, known as the Gladiator King, is his father."

Freck had a gaunt face and a pale, frail look. He bowed gracefully. "Longinus, welcome to the North Star Colosseum. I hope the gladiator show to come will satisfy you."

He's involved in shady business, but he acts elegant?

Lu Ye curled his lip. I hate this kind of refined scum most: white shirt, raw beef, impeccably dressed with the heart of a beast. Someone should check whether he has dirty Anglo-Saxon blood! You don't do a single decent thing, so quit fucking pretending to be a gentleman!

Doffy pointed at the middle-aged Celestial Dragon, Charlos, and the young female Celestial Dragon beside him:

"This is Rosward, Charlos's father. He keeps many ship captains as slaves. This is Shalria, Charlos's younger sister. She's six."

Rosward gave a cold laugh, while Charlos sniffled and waved at Lu Ye.

Shalria, meanwhile, smiled sweetly and said:

"Handsome little Longinus, when you choose someone to marry in the future, you can consider me!"

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow and said with devastating bluntness, "Lady, I'm three and a half..."

Shalria immediately puffed out her little cheeks and turned away in a huff.

In terms of looks, the three Doffy brothers ranked quite highly in the Holy Land.

Lu Ye was handsome as if he were cheating, with a standard protagonist's face, though Jinbao kept complaining that he looked like a villain.

Lu Ye didn't care: Being infamous is still being famous...

Doffy and Rosy also had fine features, at least on the level of supporting male characters or elite monsters.

As for the other male Celestial Dragons, they either looked like a car crash or had the faces of extras who wouldn't last two episodes.

His daughter had proposed to a blond right in front of him. Lu Ye had thought Rosward would jump with rage, but to his surprise, the man merely laughed.

Lu Ye himself was a little angry instead. Old geezer, with my blindingly handsome face and this flashy blond hair, you're telling me I don't intimidate you at all?!

"Excuse me... are you Saint Rosward?"

Jessica clutched the hem of Sullivan's clothes and timidly peeked out, showing half her little head as she asked.