Chapter 158: 158 Bloody and Cruel Colosseum

Chapter 158: 158. The Bloody and Brutal Colosseum

Although Ronin had not participated in formulating every single segment of Princess Blanche’s itinerary, as her companion, he was well aware of what each part would specifically entail.

Here at the colosseum, watching the gladiators perform, they were merely pure spectators, and there was no segment for any special introductions.

The sudden spotlight made Ronin harbor a subtle vigilance, which was why he reminded Maken to watch their surroundings lest any unexpected emergency arise.

However, it seemed he had been overthinking.

Across the stands, the master of ceremonies turned off the spotlight and, waiting until the atmosphere in the arena cooled down slightly, resumed introducing tonight's beast-fighting event, gradually drawing the audience's attention back.

This particular show had been publicized for a very long time, and almost all the spectators who came knew that this time, the gladiators needed to defeat a tier-three magical beast—the Green-Skinned Troll.

This kind of magical beast possessed the form of a primate, but it also boasted long arms and massive soles, with webbed fingers and toes, making it highly proficient at both climbing and swimming.

According to the introduction, the Green-Skinned Troll grew a pair of sharp horns upon its head, possessed long fangs within its mouth, and had red eyes, making its appearance exceptionally hideous.

Many people had come to watch with an attitude of seeking novelty; after all, some who lived in the cities rarely had the opportunity to witness a magical beast with their own eyes.

"Next, let us use our most enthusiastic applause and exclamations to welcome tonight's protagonist onto the stage!"

Accompanied by the host's loud cry, the massive stone door on the eastern wall of the colosseum slowly opened, exposing a colossal iron cage before everyone.

Instantly, those who beheld the monster within the cage could not help but gasp, and some faint-hearted women could not restrain themselves from shrieking in terror.

Contained inside the cage was a giant monster nearly three meters in height; its angrily roaring fangs and its basin-like palms gripping the iron cage fiercely struck a chill into the heart.

"This kind of creature should be rare in the Wushan Mountains; perhaps it was captured from over by the Mist Mountains."

Blanche had clearly witnessed a Green-Skinned Troll before. "It looks like the organizers put a lot of effort into this end-of-year performance, no wonder the price to watch is so expensive."

"You understand this creature?" Ronin asked in surprise.

He did not possess many memories regarding magical beasts.

Blanche nodded. "This kind of creature generally moves in groups of three to five, and the strongest individuals can rival a human Bronze Knight. They possess a certain degree of intelligence, but it is not high."

As they spoke, the door at the front of the iron cage was already being slowly hoisted by men through a gap above the stone gateway, and the trapped Green-Skinned Troll rushed out like a mad thing.

It roared toward the sky, its eyes, which were already red, now becoming exceedingly bloodthirsty as they were bolstered by rage.

Particularly after it caught sight of the spectators in the stands, it actually rushed toward the wall with an angry roar, leaping two or three meters high and then climbing another two meters along the wall, scaring the spectators above into cries of alarm as they retreated backward repeatedly.

Fortunately, the stands were over ten meters higher than the performance stage, and no matter how adept at climbing the Green-Skinned Troll was, it could only fall back onto the performance stage in frustration.

The startled spectators recovered, and this scene did not make them timid; on the contrary, it made them even more excited, and they became even more expectant of the upcoming beast fight, with many breaking into cheers.

Blanche glanced at the troll that had fallen back and continued, "This kind of creature is irascible and murderous, fond of feeding on humans. Historically, there seem to have been times when trolls overran lands, and during those eras, incidents of humans being eaten were ubiquitous."

Ronin nodded slowly and gave her a thumbs-up. "One is never too old to learn. Blanche, you truly are a scholar."

Blanche was slightly embarrassed. "It is nothing, I have just read quite a variety of books, that is all."

While the two were conversing, the host had already placated and ignited the audience's emotions. "Now, please welcome our first gladiator; he is the Wolf King, the God of War who has remained undefeated for a hundred matches in the intermediate arena!"

*Clatter~*

A small door on the western wall slowly opened, and a stalwart knight clad in heavy armor and wielding a knightly longsword walked in with measured steps.

The backgrounds of gladiators were rather complex; some were free knights, while others were captured professional knights sold by slave owners to the colosseum specifically for performances.

The former earned money if they won, while the slave owners earned money if the latter won.

However, whether they were free knights or slave knights, dying in the colosseum meant dying in vain; neither their families nor the slave owners would receive any compensation whatsoever.

As this gladiator entered the arena, the furious Green-Skinned Troll seemed to find a target for its venting; it roared angrily at the human gladiator nicknamed the "Wolf King" and then rushed over like a madman.

The Wolf King let out a furious roar, a powerful battle aura erupting from his body, condensing a brilliant sword glow upon his knightly sword.

He cleaved out with a single strike, the sword glow shooting forth violently, and his entire person also charged toward the troll, prepared to deliver a finishing blow.

Setting aside the power of this move for a moment, at the very least, the Wolf King’s imposing aura had been fully unleashed.

This naturally drew continuous exclamations from the ordinary spectators in the stands, who thought the Green-Skinned Troll was about to be cleaved apart by this single strike; some were even shouting the Wolf King's name.

But the ending is always unexpected.

The Green-Skinned Troll neither dodged nor evaded; it raised a single palm, a yellow light flashing across its center, and then slapped down fiercely, shattering that sword glow just like that.

Following this, it extended its thick, long arm, reaching directly across two or three meters to pinch the Wolf King's neck.

*Snap!*

The piercing sound of snapping bone rendered the entire colosseum utterly silent, and only when the longsword in the knight's hand dropped to the ground with a clatter did the crowd finally react, some jumping up in fright as if suffering a stress response.

The troll had slain the human, and its rage seemed to have found release, causing the bloodthirsty light in its eyes to dissipate somewhat.

It emitted a gurgling sound from its mouth, then sat flat on the ground, pulling the Wolf King's corpse over before the eyes of all the spectators, crushing the skull, scooping out the brains inside, and beginning to enjoy its meal.

This scene made one's scalp tingle, and a wave of exclamations arose across the stands.

Ronin could not help but furrow his brows; he had never seen a magical beast devour a human right in front of him.

This scene looked far too cruel, far too bloody.

Yet looking at the surrounding spectators again, amidst their exclamations, there was a look in their eyes that indicated they were extraordinarily stimulated.

And at this moment, the host's voice rang out at just the right time.

"It appears that a single intermediate knight is incapable of defeating this crazed magical beast!"

He paused for a moment, then shouted loudly, "Then next, let us invite three gladiators from the intermediate arena to challenge this monster simultaneously!"

Sure enough, as soon as these words fell, they immediately drew applause and cheers from the spectators.

"These three gladiators all possess the astonishing record of ten consecutive victories in the arena; their physical stamina and their strength have reached an astounding intensity!"

"Let us applaud and welcome them!"

The small door on the western side was opened once more, and three gladiators attired in an identical fashion to the Wolf King just moments ago walked inside.

They exchanged glances, then cautiously separated their positions, preparing to coordinate an attack from three directions to slay this magical beast.

Holding onto the railing of the stands, Ronin looked at the scene below. "This troll is clearly a tier-three magical beast. Why allow intermediate knights to challenge it?"

Blanche said, "Because only in this way can the beast fight become exciting."

In truth, Ronin knew the answer even without her saying it.

It was just that such an answer was far too bloody, and Ronin had once again experienced another corner of this world's darkness and cruelty.

Human life here was merely a prop used to amuse others, receiving not the slightest bit of respect.

He glanced at Blanche; there seemed to be a hint of excitement in her eyes as well. Sure enough, the people in this world were all nurtured by this kind of atmosphere.

She might feel it was cruel in her heart, or perhaps she possessed some mercy, but it amounted to nothing more than that.

Although Ronin would not betray his own interests, he was a person who had been nurtured by socialism; having come to this foreign world, he ultimately still harbored some thoughts of his own, some things he wished to do.

"What is it that I want to do?"

Holding the guardrail, Ronin watched the three knights below launch their attack on the Green-Skinned Troll from three directions.

That green monster cast aside the headless corpse of the previous gladiator and began to howl with excitement; facing the three men, it still did not display the slightest hint of fear.

(End of Chapter)