Book 19, Metamorphosis – Chapter 5, Sudden Emergence
Linley and Bebe walked forward, shoulder to shoulder. Linley had a rare hint of a smile on his face. There, in the restaurant within Flamebone City, Linley and Bebe decided that their target would be the Redcliff Lord, and also carefully reviewed the detailed reports regarding this Redcliff Lord, and also viewed his scryer recordings.
Seeing the scryer recordings, Linley sighed in amazement...
The speed of this Redcliff Lord was indeed monstrous. Linley had never seen anyone as fast as this individual. However, Linley was still completely confident. Those who specialized in speed, upon encountering the Blackstone Space...even if they were originally as fast as a hare, they would become as slow as a tortoise!
“Battles are forbidden within the cities. Only in the Bloodbath Arenas are battles permitted.” Linley and Bebe quickly arrived outside the Bloodbath Arena.
The Bloodbath Arena, in size and scope, was comparable to the arenas which Linley had originally encountered at Miluo Island. However, this Bloodbath Arena was round; even standing outside of it, Linley could sense powerful energy ripples emanating from within this Bloodbath Arena.
“Whaaaaaaaaaa!” A wave of excited roars rang out.
“It’s quite lively here.” Linley laughed. “Bebe, let us go take a look.”
“Right.” Bebe’s eyes were shining. “I can sense the atmosphere from all the way out here. It’s even livelier than Miluo Island’s arena.”
Similarly, to view the battles in the arena, one had to pay a fee, but the cost was lower than Miluo Island’s. Each person only needed to pay ten netherstones. Linley and Bebe paid the fee, then followed the corridor and quickly arrived within the Bloodbath Arena. But just as they drew near, they felt a surge of heated calls ring out.
“Hm, there should be nearly a million people here.” Linley stared at the viewing platforms.
The viewing platforms were occupied by a large number of spectators. Because the platforms took up a very large amount of space, from Linley’s current position, what he saw was a tight cluster of people, like countless ants. There was an extremely high number of people here. The viewers included muscular men, callous and skinny youths, as well as some ancient-looking old people, along with icy ladies or energetic lasses.
They were either calling out in excitement or just watching calmly and appraisingly.
There were humans, as well as quite a few other races with strange appearances. There were three-eyed figures, four-eared individuals, six-armed people...etcetera.
“It really is lively! The battles in the Bloodbath Arena should be the most exciting things in the entire Tartarus.” Linley understood that virtually everyone who came to Tartarus loved to do battle and wanted to pursue perfection. In addition, the Bloodbath Arena just so happened to be a necessary route for challenging a Tartarus Lord.
This caused the Bloodbath Arena to have a very special status within Tartarus and thus have many spectators.
Only now did Linley look towards the center of the Bloodbath Arena.
Two figures were battle in the air above the Bloodbath Arena. A streak of red flame slashed through the air as a blurry saber flashed through the skies, slamming against the body of the black-robed man in front. The black-robed man was knocked backwards by the blade chop. Blood splattered everywhere, and then his head exploded into tiny fragments.
The black-robed man landed heavily on the ground, not moving at all.
“Dead.” Linley frowned.
“Raaaaaaawr!” The red-haired figure landed on the ground, revealing his form. This was a youth with a head of unbound black hair. His fists waved in the air as he howled excitedly, then shouted with confidence, “Next, next!”
The entire Bloodbath Arena was filled with joyful calls as well, although there were also many spectators who howled, “Kill him, friend! Go kill him!” Linley, watching this, smirked slightly. The atmosphere in this Bloodbath Arena really was explosive. And indeed...the Bloodbath Arena was perhaps one of the few entertainment areas in the entire Tartarus region.”
“That person’s power isn’t bad.”
Bebe turned to glance at Linley. Laughing, he said, “Boss, you preparing to make him your first?”
“Bebe, wait here. I’ll go register.” Linley rose.
“Right.” Bebe nodded repeatedly. He was completely confident in Linley.
“Oh?” The two spectators seated next to Linley and Bebe, hearing these words, turned to stare at Linley in surprise. Clearly, they knew that Linley was going to fight in the Bloodbath Arena.
“Hey, you are bold.” Immediately, a nearby woman with black hair and red eyes stared at Linley, her eyes flashing. “Fight a few extra battles. I, your Big Sis, will support you!” Linley glanced at the surrounding figures, and instantly, quite a few people began to call out towards Linley, most of them supporting and encouraging him.
Just because Linley had chosen to sit around them, they all supported Linley.
But of course...
In the end, what mattered in the Bloodbath Arena was how strong a person was.
Registering for the Bloodbath Arena was free, but the manager still looked at Linley in surprise. “Mr. Ley, what did you say? Ten battles in a row?”
“Right.” Linley nodded with a smile.
“You can’t do this in a rush. You can’t just arrange for ten battles in a row. After you win one battle, you can choose whether or not to continue with the next.” The manager said. This was a rule as well. If the challenger died during the first challenge, how could the other nine challenges be carried out?
Linley glanced at the manager. “Then just watch and wait.”
However...quite a few people would go participate in the arena.
Linley had to wait for his turn. By the time Linley’s turn came, seven or eight more battles had already occurred. That red-haired youth had left long ago. He had already won ten consecutive battles. As he walked out from the corridor, he even swept Linley’s group with an arrogant look.
Linley just laughed calmly.
Suddenly...
An ocean of jubilant roars swept out from within the Bloodbath Arena, while a thunderous voice echoed out: “Our expert, ‘Wood’ [Wu’te], has already won three battles in a row. Now, please allow the challenger, ‘Ley’, to step forward!”
Linley’s eyes lit up.
‘Ley’ was the name he had used to register himself.
“Mr. Ley, faster.” The managerial staff hurriedly called towards Linley, who just laughed. With a flicker, he appeared within the challenger’s corridor, passing through and arriving at the Bloodbath Arena, still reeking of fresh blood.
The many people in the spectator platforms at the Bloodbath Arena all called out in celebration. They saw a person dressed in a long, sky-blue robe, who looked like an ordinary neighborhood youth, emerge from the tunnel and arrive at the Bloodbath Arena. He slowly rose into the air, and his opponent...was a man with two scarlet eyes, dressed in a black uniform and wielding a long whip. They stared at each other.
The entire Bloodbath Arena was filled with an explosive atmosphere.
But Linley maintained his calm, as though he didn’t feel anything at all.
“Boss, kill that kid!” Suddenly, a clear sound rang out, echoing throughout the entire Bloodbath Arena.
Linley couldn’t help but grin as he turned to look. It was Bebe.
Just as Linley turned his head, a hint of disdain flashed through the crimson eyes of the black-robed man. “He dares to be distracted during a life-and-death battle!” At the same time, he moved. “Swish!” He arced out through the skies like a ray of black light, instantly appearing in front of Linley. Linley had yet to react, and the black-robed man attacked without showing any mercy...
A ray of dark light sprang out from the black-robed man.
“Rumble...”
Suddenly, an earthen yellow light instantly sprang out. “Ah!” The black-robed man, caught off-guard, uncontrollably descended. “BANG!” He slammed hard into the Bloodbath Arena, sending shattered rocks flying everywhere.
“Swoosh!” Linley descended lightning-fast.
The black-robed man, trapped within the Blackstone Space, wasn’t even able to stand stably. Linley kicked out at his chest, sending him flying into the air. “I admit defeat!” His voice rang out, echoing throughout the entire Bloodbath Arena. Only now did the black-robed man stare towards Linley in amazement. Having felt the Blackstone Space, he was terrified.
“I am almost at the Six Star Fiend level of power, but I’m not even able to control my speed.” The black-robed man was nervous. “So this fellow wasn’t being overconfident; he was prepared early on...that kick of his, if it was aimed at my head, I’m afraid I’d be dead already! This person is too strong, too strong!”
But he had no idea...
Linley had only exerted a tenth of the power of the Blackstone Space. If he had used it full force, even Seven Star Fiends wouldn’t be able to take it, much less him, a kid who wasn’t even at the Six Star Fiend level yet.
“Thank you.” The black-robed man bowed gratefully, then immediately chose to depart through the tunnel.
Linley continued to hover there in the air above the Bloodbath Arena. He had no grudge for that person. As Linley saw it, for him to be here in the Bloodbath Arena...was already a case of him bullying his lesser. If he were to kill them, that would be going too far. Fighting to kill...should be done against those who were at roughly the same level of strength, as there would be no way to hold back.”
“Ley!”
“Ley!”
Immediately, the entire viewing platform exploded with cheers, especially those Demigods and Gods who had grown up in Tartarus. Their cheers were the loudest. For Linley to be able to so easily trample that opponent...his power was easy to behold.
“Our expert, Ley, said earlier that he wants to fight ten in a row. I didn’t believe it at first, but from the looks of it...he really is going to fight ten in a row. The next battle begins. Reed [Lei’te], step forward!” That ringing voice once more echoed throughout the entire Bloodbath Arena.
Upon hearing that Linley wished to fight ten battles in a row, the spectators who had managed to maintain their calm and silence also called out in excitement now.
Only this sort of expert would cause people to be truly excited.
The second battle!
One exchange. The Blackstone Space was spread out, and Linley kicked the person down, embedding him into the Bloodbath Arena’s ground. Linley won!
The third battle! Still just one exchange. Linley won!
The fourth battle...
The Blackstone Space, even at 10% power, was still very powerful. And these challengers weren’t even at the Seven Star Fiend level. All of them were easily defeated by Linley.
“Bang!”
The adamantine heavy sword struck heavily against a silver-haired man’s chest. Instantly, with a ‘boom’ sound, cracks in space appeared and the silver-haired man was knocked backwards, a large hole in his chest. In midair, before he even landed, he hurriedly called out, “I admit defeat!”
The difference between them was too great!
“You aren’t bad.”
Linley laughed calmly, looking at him. “You forced me to use my sword.”
Linley had decided long ago that in the Bloodbath Arena, even if he had to use a weapon, he would just use his adamantine heavy sword or Bloodviolet. As for his godspark weapon, ‘Mirage’, that would only be used against the Lord of Tartarus.
“A victor of ten battles!!!” The officiator for the Bloodbath Arena called out in a high, clear voice. “Ley said he would fight ten in a row, and he has indeed won ten! Ley’s power is indeed very great. As I see it, perhaps he will win a hundred battles!” It was much harder to win a hundred battles in a row. After all, many experts normally couldn’t even be bothered to fight.
Only after meeting other experts would they fight.
Quite a few people throughout the massive viewing platforms howled jubilantly and excitedly.
“Ley!”
“Ley!”
Their jubilant cries rose up and crashed down like waves, but Linley just chuckled.
“Tomorrow, we continue.” Linley said calmly to himself, then turned and left through the challenger’s tunnel.
The Bloodbath Arena was a place which the experts of the Redcliff Region paid very close attention to. Within the Redcliff Region, generally speaking, it was rare for even a single expert to win a hundred battles despite the passage of many years. This was because, each time, after a challenger won a few dozen battles in a row, some true experts would feel their hands get itchy and they would come to participate in the battles. These experts wouldn’t just come singly; often, they would come out in succession, causing the end result to be that very few would win a hundred successive battles.
As time moved on...
The name ‘Ley’ began to be known to quite a few truly powerful experts of the Redcliff Region.
One day after yet another day of consecutive victories.
On the fifth day, he still won ten victories.
On the sixth day, he still won ten victories!
Linley’s successes clearly didn’t require too much effort. This caused quite a few people to understand that ‘Ley’ definitely had to have more power than just this! Thus, the past few days, a very large number of people came to watch at the Bloodbath Arena. Many of them had come to watch Linley! Many of them waited eagerly...hoping that Linley would to be able to continue and cause some truly powerful experts to come and battle him.
And finally...an expert whom Linley would take seriously appeared.