chsdbacks Page 457
Page 457
Latis walked around the arena and discovered that in addition to the high walls that could be climbed, there were many traps that seemed to be activated during battle. This meant that the battles in the arena were not just a contest of combat strength, but also tested the challenger's control over the environment.
He spent half an hour surveying the area, and was just about to go back and discuss tactics with his teammates before the first battle of the day when he suddenly heard a strange knocking sound. He scratched his head and followed the sound to a cage, where he found Zote locked inside, frowning as he hammered on round metal objects.
"Huh? Zote?" Latis couldn't help but ask, "Why are you locked up?"
"...Oh, it's you, you evil human."
Zote didn't seem to be in good spirits. He only muttered a curse before continuing to hammer the round metal, saying:
"The great Zote was penniless and had no money to pay the entrance fee to the arena, so he kindly paid the fee by working."
"Hiss." Radist frowned immediately and asked, "Then can you still participate in the battle?"
"Of course! I can join the battle during my work breaks!"
"Zoth shouted loudly, patting his chest and saying confidently:"
"Once I finish making a thousand Ji coins, I can move freely in the arena! You evil human, don't be so arrogant. When Lord Zote comes out of seclusion, you'll be in for a world of hurt!"
Seeing Zote start banging on the metal on the table again, Latis scratched his head, glanced at it, and then turned and left after a moment of contemplation.
For some reason, he had a feeling that Zuo Te was being exploited by Manager Rat, which made him a little unhappy.
Zuo Te Cai is indeed a novice, but at least it made its way to the arena through numerous difficulties, yet it still has to be forced to work.
Latis felt that he might need to adjust his strategy. If Zote was mistaken for a Japanese by the Colosseum, he would probably have a hard time helping Dream Nail regain the power of the Divine Kingdom.
Moreover, the strange powers permeating the Fools' Arena might also be what the Dream Nail wants to retrieve, but he hasn't yet received any instructions on how to deal with them.
Latis quickly returned to the suite and found that his teammates had already woken up and were warming up. After explaining the various details of the venue to the girls, he led his teammates to the waiting area of the arena, helped the girls put on their weapons, left two great knights as midfield instructors, and then went to the audience seats alone.
The girls' first battle on the ladder was against a two-headed dragon slime, a hybrid monster of the second ring. It was said to be the offspring of a dragon and a slime, but such a combination was somewhat difficult for Latis to understand. Perhaps this was the free dragon.
Chapter 443 The Underdog in the Betting Market
"Next up is the three girls from the Latis Squad! I'm sure most of the audience witnessed the arrogance of those humans from the surface yesterday, right? These outsiders, instead of keeping a low profile, came to our Fool's Arena and acted so aggressively?! Well then, let's see for ourselves and see just how capable they really are!"
"Please welcome the trio's opponent—the two-headed dragon slime! Slime, it's your turn now!"
"Roar!"
Tear them apart!
"Damn you brat!"
"The monsters will prevail!"
……
"It's so noisy... What are they saying? I can't understand a word of it without my master's translation magic..."
Leafa stepped out of the waiting area, glanced at the slime opposite her in the blinding light of the surrounding lights, and couldn't help but twirl the round shield in her hand, whispering:
Does that mean it has already started?
"It seems like they're still in the stage where the challengers are receiving praise from the audience. Look, that slime is dancing over there... I have to say, it's a bit disgusting." Geeta frowned, patted her chest, took a deep breath, and looked at the audience above, saying uncertainly:
"Judging from how excitedly they are barking at us, are they cheering us on?"
"That seems unlikely..."
Leafa muttered something, glanced up at the claws of some monsters that resembled the middle finger, shook her head and sighed:
"I always felt like they were a very impolite group of monsters..."
“That’s true.” Gita slowly drew her longsword from behind her back, turned to look at the quiet Snyder, and asked with a smile, “Snyder, this must be your first time fighting a monster head-on, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Snyder nervously rubbed the cuffs of his white robe and said, “I don’t know anything about combat techniques either, I hope I won’t cause you any trouble…”
"It's alright. In battle, as long as you have a stable mindset, even a village girl like us can defeat the enemy."
Leafa habitually twirled her short sword a few times in her hand, mimicking Jennifer's gesture, then smiled and said, "I've heard that priests generally don't go to the front lines. I'm afraid you'll have to work hard from now on."
“No way,” Snyder shook his head and laughed. “Even Lord Latis is busy in this chaotic world, how could I possibly stand behind everyone else all the time?”
"That's true. Even a young lady like me has to fight tooth and nail for a single egg tart these days. Damn you, Lord Latis..."
Geeta raised her longsword, slashing it along the crook of her armored arm, and held it diagonally at her side. Looking at the slime charging towards them, she calmly said:
"Enough with the small talk, let's begin the battle."
……
……
"Dear viewers! The first ranked match of the day has begun! Look, on the monster challenger side, is the powerful two-headed dragon slime! Although it is only a second-ring monster, as a hybrid, it possesses powerful regenerative abilities and a tough skin completely different from other slimes. It even has dual-attribute magic attacks that ordinary monsters do not have, making it a strong contender for the top ninety in the ranked ladder!"
The host enthusiastically introduced the competition, then paused, glanced at his hand, and shouted:
"The current odds are 1.1 to 3.0, and the dog is the trio of girls! The odds will be locked in 30 seconds, so please put your bets into the coin slot in front of you as soon as possible!"
"Let's get back to the battle. The slime has launched the first attack, at a speed far exceeding that of a normal slime. If the trio of girls let their guard down, the first casualty will occur in less than five seconds! Let's wait and see..."
Latis sat discreetly in the audience, glancing around at the increasingly excited crowd as the host announced the news. He frowned slightly, pressed down on the Dream Nail, and quietly activated his ability.
With the aid of the Dream Nail, Latis clearly saw a faint halo emanating from each spectator: the monsters shouting venomous words had a red glow, the ones with greedy expressions considering how to profit from the odds had a yellow glow, and the ones lurking sinisterly in the shadows, preparing to steal other people's lucky coins, had a green glow...
These halos dynamically emanated from the monsters, and were then pulled by some thread-like things towards the interior of the arena, seemingly in the direction of the offices of the managers and other high-ranking officials.
"As expected, it's now confirmed: they are using the power of the Radiant Divine Kingdom to manipulate and exploit these ordinary demons!"
Latis clenched his fist and shouted this in his mind, but after confirming this fact, more questions arose in his mind.
First, how did the higher-ups of the Colosseum control the divine power of the Radiant Kingdom? How was the light of the Radiant Kingdom broken down into different colors of light to guide these demons?
Second, what will the Colosseum do with the power drawn from the monsters?
Third, why is it that with so much divine power being exploited here, the Dream Nail's target is still Zote?
Latis fell into deep thought amidst the surrounding noise.
He recalled what he had seen in the Mossy Land, where plants were also parasitized by the light. However, after the light of the sacred tree was withdrawn, the entire Mossy Land was instantly cleansed again.
Could it be that the immense divine power of this vast arena is concentrated in a single, insignificant figure like Zote? That's incredibly strange; Zote only arrived at the arena last night…
Latis rubbed his chin, recalling Zote who was still working to pay the entrance fee, and rubbed his temples with a headache.
To be honest, he still didn't know why Zote, who clearly had little strength, was so determined to win the championship. Was there some unknown secret story behind it?
Suddenly, a chorus of hisses rang in my ears.
"Go, slime! Smash her with the two-headed dragon! No, I didn't tell you to smash her with the sword! ...You're useless!"
"Rise up! Oh no, it's not falling anymore... Rise up again! Damn it, it's falling again..."
"Right, right! That's it, a surprise attack on their support from behind, how come you can't hit them even once... you hit them! Hmm? Where did that flying shield come from? Someone ambushed us!"
"Watch out for traps! Hmm? Oh no! That girl's light is blinding the slime! Watch out for a sword falling from the sky!"
"Damn, I'm done for! I've lost another hundred gold coins..."
Hey, you're done playing?
Latis straightened up, glanced at Geeta below who was sweating profusely as she stepped on a slime and drew her sword, and at Snyder and Leafa who were panting heavily beside her, and immediately showed a relieved smile.
Although it's only a second-ring monster, this kind of head-on battle is different from small-team battles in the wild. These three little guys need to make their own battle decisions and can no longer rely on the adults to command them.
However, this is only the first battle on the ladder. Among the total of one hundred challengers, the girls have not yet reached the top ninety. There will be many strong opponents to be encountered later. If they win consecutively and skip ranks, the pressure may increase exponentially.
Latis stroked his chin and nodded. His idea for the girls was simply to focus on participation and let them do their thing. He would be happy with whatever results they achieved.
...He seems a bit like an old father. No, I can't let this happen! He's still young!
Latis quickly shook his head to dispel the strange sense of déjà vu, looked at the coins gradually returning from the coin slot in front of him, and reached out to catch the coins that emerged one by one.
This is a device that is set up in front of each audience seat in the Colosseum, in order to make it convenient for the audience to place bets on each match. Latis naturally trusts the girls in his team, and as soon as he arrived, he readily stuffed all his lucky coins into the small coin slot.
Of course, he didn't have many lucky coins on him, only ten lucky coins in total, which would only amount to thirty when he returned.
Just treat it as a side project, something to do casually.
Latis chuckled, flicked the coin in his hand, and glanced around at the monsters around him.
After the match ended, an extremely strong halo emanated from them, so much so that Latis felt for a moment as if he were dancing in a bar under ambient lighting.
However, the halos were quickly absorbed into the arena, and the monsters gradually calmed down from their excited state, with only a few faint halos still surrounding them.
It seems they've already gotten into the swing of things; they're practically a perpetual motion machine! Just a few battles and the endless supply of coins in the arena are enough to keep the audience excited...
Latis shook his head, then suddenly noticed the expectant expressions on the monsters' faces, as if the brief excitement just now was merely an appetizer, and the main course was yet to come.
He raised an eyebrow and looked down at the coin slot in front of him.
The odds began to shift in favor of the next challenger, and during this brief pause before the challenger was revealed, the live odds were temporarily set at 30:25.
Latis's eyes widened immediately.
To take away, to take away a smaller percentage of the odds?!
……
……
"Well done, little guys."
Jennifer waved a beam of light, invigorating the three girls, then pulled them down to sit, smiling as she said:
"Hornett and I just watched your battle. Your reactions were very sharp, but your overall decision-making at the beginning was not firm enough. Leafa probed, Snyder supported, and Geeta roamed to decide the outcome. Although this choice seems fine, it is more suitable for fighting enemies in the wild, not for use in the arena."
"Eh..." Leafa put down her sword and shield, scratched her head in confusion, and asked, "Master, what does that mean?"
"In the wild, even if you encounter hostile monsters, they will assess the situation, first test your overall strength, and then launch a full-scale attack, while reserving some strength to escape at any time."
Jennifer shook her head and said:
"In the arena, even if the opponent is a monster with low intelligence, they will strike with deadly force the moment they make contact, and may even try to deceive your judgment before suddenly attacking. This is because they have no way out here; it's either victory or defeat, so every battle is a fight to the death."
The girls' expressions gradually became clear, and they lowered their heads in embarrassment, whispering:
"We understand, and we will go all out from the very beginning in the battles to come."
"Yeah! Good luck!" Jennifer chuckled, then thought for a moment and joked, "Your captain is watching you intently from the stands!"
"Ah...!" Snyder immediately looked nervous and whispered, "Oh no... they saw how pathetic I looked..."
"Master!" Leafa shook Jennifer's hand with a pained expression and complained, "Don't put pressure on us, it's so awful!"