Chapter 742: Section 530: Big Guy Crashes into the Dueling Field (Extra Chapters at Month’s End)
Snowbird Duel Arena.
The food duel between Ci Haishen and Da Dou continued, and it wasn’t interrupted even with the Death Soldiers attacking the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Upon hearing of the disturbances within the city, the bishop sought the opinions of the City Lord of Snowbird Port.
Facing him with a smile, the City Lord of Snowbird Port responded to the bishop, "Everything is under my control."
Since the attack began by the Death Soldiers, continuous real-time intelligence had been delivered to the City Lord.
It was clear that this attack was targeted at the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
After holding out for some time, the Mercury Cave’s Alchemy Workshop was also breached. The Death Soldiers paid a heavy price – one Silver Level and nearly ten Black Iron Levels – to destroy this place.
The city’s smaller alchemy workshops were also attacked. However, up until now, the highest Transcendents that appeared were only at Silver Level, with no Gold Levels appearing.
Thus, the City Lord of Snowbird Port wasn’t in a hurry or panic.
What he didn’t know was that Shuanglian had already made her move.
However, she utilized the Honey Snow Tower, causing the spatial fluctuations to be highly contained and undetected.
Yijiu suppressed his presence from the moment he joined the battle until he was captured into a half-plane, maintaining a Silver essence. Therefore, he wasn’t discovered by the City Lord of Snowbird Port either.
"As long as this duel isn’t disrupted, it’s a rare grand event," the City Lord of Snowbird Port thought to himself.
Such a heroic duel was unprecedented; if it were publicly disrupted, the prestige of the City Lord of Snowbird Port would suffer greatly.
In the next moment, the newest intelligence was handed to the City Lord.
A small team of Death Soldiers deliberately approached the Snowbird Duel Arena, leading a wild giant in pursuit behind them.
The identity of this giant was already verified – he was one of the members of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. Moreover, there was something off about the giant’s condition.
"These people deserve to die!" A cold light flashed through the City Lord of Snowbird Port’s eyes.
He knew the Death Soldiers were trying to divert the disaster eastward by luring the irrational giant to the duel arena.
"You fight your own battles, and that’s fine. But now, you seek to provoke me?" the City Lord of Snowbird Port sneered inwardly.
He had chosen to be an observer since the confrontation began.
On one hand, he was watching the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to see what kind of cards they and the mysterious force would play.
On the other hand, he was waiting.
Waiting for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to ask him for help!
To intervene prematurely didn’t offer much benefit and might disrupt the tactical arrangements of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, potentially causing resentment.
By having the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps ask for help proactively, they would owe more favors to the City Lord, and hence, the compensation to him in future would be greater.
A cup of drinkable water, presented in front of someone dying of thirst, holds more value.
As long as no Gold Level appeared, the City Lord of Snowbird Port wouldn’t make a move.
Previously, when the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps asked for help, he had already ordered the Peak Commerce to cooperate and covertly transport Dragon Power Riding Potions.
After all, the relation between the City Lord of Snowbird Port and the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was that of allies, not a caretaker.
Of course, if the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps didn’t seek help in time and suffered heavy losses, the City Lord of Snowbird Port would certainly take action.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port softly issued commands to deal with the situation with the giant, then turned his attention back to the Magic Image to continue enjoying the duel.
Inside the duel arena, a large number of Transcendents were lying on the ground.
With their hands on their swollen bellies, they smacked their lips in lingering taste.
"Ah, it was really delicious!"
"I had three large bowls of Yangzhou Fried Rice. I never thought that fried rice could be made so tasty."
"I’m so full, I can’t eat another grain of rice."
"The enticing scent of the food is still tempting me. But I can’t eat anything more..."
People’s expressions were complex, filled with the pleasure of being satisfied by gourmet food, the pain of overeating, and the helplessness of wanting to eat more but being unable to.
More and more people were being carried away.
These individuals had lost the ability to move freely and were being directly carried to the ranks of the Sea Bird sect to receive Divine Healing.
The bishop was pleased to see this scene. He knew that patients had to pay for Divine Healing.
Just this one duel had earned the Sea Bird sect a considerable amount of compensation.
Mei Landu stood behind the City Lord and the bishop, continuing to comment on the situation in the arena, "Everyone’s stomachs are nearly at their limits, but Da Dou and Ci Haishen’s points are still neck and neck. This Magic Chef duel has entered its late stages, and I believe it won’t be long before a result emerges."
"Come on, a little faster." In many corners of the arena, fighters were intensively cultivating, refining their Fighting Energy on the spot to help themselves digest the energy inside their bodies.
They practiced Fighting Energy techniques without fear of exposure.
Because the majority of the lower-level parts of Fighting Energy techniques are already circulating outside, the highest level present here is only Silver Level.
Moreover, Fighting Energy techniques need to match one’s Bloodline.
So even if an enemy learned the Fighting Energy techniques, without the corresponding Bloodline, they couldn’t use them, making it a pointless endeavor.
"This is such a rare opportunity."
"Normally, such a meal would cost several Gold Coins at least, and I could never afford it!"
"Now I’m enjoying it to the fullest without paying a cent, and the two Magic Chef lords should really be thanking me."
With this mindset, fighters digested their food and hurried back to the arena to devour the Transcendent delicacies.
Many people were entering the arena for the second or third time.
"I—I can’t do it again."
"I just ate one dish, and I’m stuffed. Damn, I need to cultivate quickly."
The Transcendents were overstuffed mainly due to the energy in the Transcendent meals, not because of the physical food burdening their stomachs.
Each meal’s energy met specific standards.
A dish only counted as a gourmet meal if the guests consumed it completely, allowing the corresponding Magic Chef to earn points.
A large number of staff were calculating the points for Ci Haishen and Da Dou, with even the Mage Tower at the docks helping to run the numbers and fill in any gaps.
"What a waste!" Observing more and more people collapsing unable to eat anymore, Ci Haishen cursed under his breath.
In terms of points, he was still slightly behind Da Dou.
But the margin was very, very slim.
Ci Haishen constantly monitored the diners in the duel arena.
In a contest of capacity, the scales and levels of the Transcendents were crucial reference factors and largely determined the Magic Chefs’ tactical strategies. For example, when all the Bronze Level Transcendents could eat no more, there was no point for the Magic Chef to keep making Bronze Level dishes.
Besides, Magic Chefs also had to observe each other. For instance, if an opponent had established an absolute advantage in Silver Level dishes, one could strive for Black Iron Level to win points from those diners.
However, throughout this duel, Da Dou had been consistently making Yangzhou Fried Rice, covering everything from Normal to Silver Level.
This was a rare occurrence.
Generally, in a capacity contest, Ci Haishen’s approach was mainstream. He created various delicious dishes to attract diners.
Different dishes and flavors could stimulate the diners’ appetite more.
The same dish had a much smaller advantage in this aspect.
However, by now, Ci Haishen had also recognized the advantage of Da Dou’s strategy, "He sticks to one recipe, from low-level to high-level, and he has a unique approach. His Silver Level cooking is much more efficient than mine."
"Although he doesn’t use that many Silver Level ingredients, he produces much more Silver Level fried rice."
"He does have a Silver Level iron pot with spatial efficiency, but just storing Silver Level ingredients in it and using them clandestinely doesn’t fit Da Dou’s personality and habits."
"He wouldn’t do something so pointless."
Despite his many negative emotions towards Da Dou, these never interfered with Ci Haishen’s judgments.
Meanwhile, outside the duel arena.
"He’s almost catching up."
"Snowbird Duel Arena is just ahead, let the Snowbird Port City Lord have a headache!"
"Hurry up!!"
Boom boom boom.
The Death Soldiers threw out alchemy tools, creating a thick smoke.
The big guy roared like a wild bull with bloodshot eyes and charged into the smoke.
He quickly burst out of the smoke and saw the "Death Soldiers" fleeing ahead.
The big guy continued the chase and a few dozen steps later, the "Death Soldiers" collided with the doors of the dueling field during their run, turning into thick smoke and dispersing immediately.
Their real bodies hid in a corner, glaring hatefully as the big guy continued towards the Snowbird Duel Arena.
"If we had known it’d be this easy to mislead him, we could have deployed better tactics!"
"There wasn’t enough time, what good is wearing him out? It doesn’t deal a critical blow to the enemy. Remember what our goal is."
"Let’s move, we need to support the battle inside the city."
But in the next moment, the City Guard appeared and surrounded this group of Death Soldiers.
The City Guard had previously received orders from the Snowbird Port City Lord—to kill this reckless group of Death Soldiers without leaving any survivors.
Of course, the Death Soldiers wouldn’t just surrender.
An intense battle erupted.
Loud explosions and shouts didn’t make the big guy look back even once.
He had gone berserk, focusing only on what was ahead, thinking the enemies had probably hidden inside the doors.
Bang!
The big guy slammed into the doors fiercely, regardless of how the gatekeepers shouted.
The impact’s loud noise, like thunder, quieted the Duel Arena for a moment.
Most of the attention was drawn. Countless gazes turned toward the door.
"Did you hear that just now?"
"What’s going on?"
Bang!
Another loud noise.
"Stop or we’ll have to take drastic measures!" The gatekeepers were clearly anxious.
The big guy beat his chest, shouting "Aaa Aaa Aaa."
The loud shout was heard clearly by everyone inside.
"What exactly is happening?"
"Does it seem like someone is attacking?"
"Could it be remnants of the Saber Gang?"
"No way, would someone be so foolish to attack here at this time? There’re at least four Gold Level chefs inside."
The Duel Arena started buzzing.
"Sigh..." the Snowbird Port City Lord sighed deeply.
The magic image in front of him had changed, no longer showing a culinary duel, but the big guy pounding his chest with his fists.
The City Lord and the bishop realized immediately: the big guy was not in his right mind, obviously berserk, having lost his rationality. Perhaps he had used some method to temporarily boost his fighting energy, like going berserk?
The Snowbird Port City Lord could decisively strike against the Death Soldiers, but it wasn’t clear he should act against the big guy, especially with so many eyes watching.
More importantly, why oppose the big guy? Helping him clearly reaped more benefits!
The Snowbird Port City Lord shifted his thoughts, looking at the bishop: "This is a member of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, but to stop him, your sect should intervene."
The bishop chuckled and immediately issued an order.
A Silver Level priest took the command, augmented by Divine Arts, and flew out.
The Sea Bird god excels in Flying Technique. Reflecting on his clergy, the same holds true. The lower-level Divine Arts of the Sea Bird sect often grant significant advantages in real combat.
The priest swiftly reached the big guy’s side and dismissed the attacking gatekeepers.
He applied Divine Healing to the big guy, "Come back to your senses!"
The big guy: "Oooh ooh ooh..."
"No effect?" He applied Divine Healing to the big guy again.
The big guy: "Aah aah aah..."
The priest, aware that he might be under the bishop’s observation, took on a serious expression and fully deployed Divine Healing.
The big guy: "Ow ow ow..."
He kept striking the doors. Under such ferocious assault, the metal doors finally reached their limit and collapsed with a loud crash.
Now, the big guy’s view was completely clear.
Inside the Duel Arena, the sea of people also saw the big guy.
Numerous gazes focused on him.
Normally, given the big guy’s timid character, he couldn’t withstand so many people watching him and would have hidden behind others.
But now...
The big guy beat his chest and yelled at the multitude of enemies: "Aaah aaah, cough cough cough..."
He hit himself so hard that he kept coughing and even spat blood.
His frenzied state surprised everyone.
"A Black Iron Level giant?"
"Where did he come from?"
"He actually broke the Duel Arena’s doors, how reckless?"
"Be careful, his state seems off!"
People were generally curious and cautious, but no one felt fear.
No exaggeration.
At that moment, the Duel Arena was definitely the place with the strongest force in all of Snowbird Port. To participate in this rare culinary battle, most Transcendents had gathered there.
Including the two Magic Chefs, there were at least four Gold Level chefs!
So even though they saw the big guy, these people made no move.
Even though many could easily suppress a Black Iron Level like the big guy effortlessly, none of them moved.
Because many were humming with full bellies—they were too stuffed from eating.
Why bother tangling with a simpleton?
They’d rather focus on refining their Fighting Energy.
A few people also noticed the priest beside the big guy. They had seen the priest flying out earlier and immediately guessed that the bishop had sent someone to handle this incident.
Considering these people’s restrained behavior, the big guy gradually calmed down.
The priest’s earlier Divine Healing was indeed effective!
Ps: That’s it for today. Updating has been quite tiring recently. I planned to finish the backlog this month, but given my age, I’ve tried my best.
Since there was a break this month, according to the rules, there will be extra updates at the month’s end. This large Chapter counts as extra, not part of the backlog.
Don’t worry, I’ll do what I promised!