novelA Natural Favorite 3
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Chapter 199: A Natural Favorite (3)
On the large arena, the rampaging Terror Lizard had begun its wanton slaughter of the remaining Ravager gladiators.
Because of Su Chen's modifications, not only could its use its tail in a sly manner, but even its strength and natural defenses had greatly increased, as had its intelligence.
The current Terror Lizard's strength was probably closer to that of a high-tier Demonic Beast's.
When faced with such a terrifying opponent, the twenty gladiators were basically completely swept aside without any resistance. Their owner felt his heart seize with pain, almost passing out.
Even so, the battle was not over yet.
After killing all of the gladiators, the Terror Lizard began charging madly at the defensive barrier. It seemed like one of the side effects of Su Chen's modifications was that the reptile had gone berserk, even wanting to challenge the light barrier. Powerful waves of energy pounded the Terror Lizard's body, causing it to howl madly. However, the intense pain didn't force it back; instead, it began to attack the light barrier even more ferociously.
The Ravager Nobility very rarely saw anything like this. Their interest was piqued as they all crowded forwards, thinking that this was a scene like a fish trying to vainly break out of its fishbowl.
However, they very quickly realized that something was going horribly wrong.
The Terror Lizard was still furiously attacking the barrier without slowing down at all, while the barrier seemed to be gradually weakening.
Finally, it used its sharp horn to fully penetrate the web of light. It was now outside of the arena stage, right in front of a couple of spectators. A few of the more cowardly noble females began to shriek and scream hysterically.
"Roar!" The howl of the Terror Lizard was much clearer now that its head had pierced through the barrier.
"Not good!" One of the generals by Anubi's side revealed a trace of distress.
But before he was able to make a move, the Terror Lizard's horn began to glow with light again.
The incandescence of the light this time was even more powerful than when it had used it against the twenty gladiators.
Boom!
An instant later, a massive beam of energy slammed into the spectator box. At least twenty Ravagers were caught in this attack; as for how many survived, it was unclear.
"AHH!" The arena was immediately plunged into a chaotic bedlam as screams and yells filled the air.
The bloodthirstiness and valiance, intrinsic characteristics of the Ravager race, had all been but wiped away from these nobles a long time ago. Their easy lives had made them cowardly and lazy, and when they were faced with such a sudden shock, not many actually knew what to do. The few Ravagers who were strong didn't immediately rush to attack the Terror Lizard; instead, they flocked to Anubi's side to protect him. Regardless of how powerful the Emperor was or how injured the Terror Lizard was, opportunities for them to express their loyalty were few and far between. If that lizard even managed to touch His Majesty, let alone wound him, they would have failed in their duties.
At the same time, the Terror Lizard finally charged through the barrier of light.
It howled as it bounded up the stairs, charging at the audience and opening its maw wide at a female Ravager who hadn't managed to escape in time.
Snap, crackle, pop.
The Terror Lizard continued to advance up the stairs, its jaw now stained with fresh blood as it continued to slaughter any targets within its reach.
The gladiator arena had devolved into total chaos by now.
Only Anubi remained sitting, calmly and attentively observing the situation as it developed. There was absolutely no trace of fear in his expression at all.
Conversely, his eyes were actually glowing with a kind of deranged excitement.
He stared at the enraged creature as he calmly said, "It seems as if there were some mistakes with your arrangements, my friend Lontu.
"Quite the opposite, Your Majesty. Everything is going exactly according to plan, " Su Chen replied coolly.
"Oh?" Anubi shot Su Chen a glance.
"What did you do!?" Kenwo stood up, totally enraged, and grabbed Su Chen by the collar.
"Release him, Kenwo, " Anubi said.
"But Your Majesty......"
"I said release him!"
Kenwo was dazed and could only helplessly relinquish his grip.
Anubi turned to look at Su Chen again."So are you saying that you planned for all of this to happen, that you planned for my subjects to die in order to please me?"
Su Chen replied, "No, Your Majesty. That part was just an accident. The Origin Formation used to support the light barrier has been in use for a long time now, and a few key components of the formation are damaged, making the light barrier unstable. If the barrier isn't stressed, this wouldn't be a problem; however, the improved Terror Lizard is an anomaly. Its ability to sense pain is greatly numbed, while its power is greatly increased. More importantly, it has been tormented constantly for the past three days by Ravagers, filling it with an intense hatred for any and all Ravagers. With this intense hatred and power coupled with the declining condition of the protective barrier, I believe that is enough reason to sufficiently explain how this tragedy came about."
Anubi turned back to the Terror Lizard. A few of his powerful generals had personally made a move, quickly suppressing the rampaging lizard. They then came over personally to request forgiveness, but Anubi shook his head, indicating that he didn't care."So you're telling me that everything is completely unrelated to you?"
Su Chen replied, "What I'm saying is that everything that happened today was an accident. There are all kinds of accidents; there are tragic ones...... and there are pleasant ones."
One of the less perceptive nobles savagely accused, "You bastard, what are you saying? What does this have anything to do with pleasant surprises? You killed so many nobles that you deserve to die!"
"Stop!" Anubi put him in his place.
All of the Ravagers present watched as Anubi's body began to tremble.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if he was...... laughing?
A wild laughter that he could not suppress.
Then, he tilted his head back and began to guffaw unstoppably, "Hahahaha! This is simply too interesting! An accident! Yes, an accident leading to a pleasant surprise! Do you not feel that this is the case?"
All of the Ravagers said in a daze, "Your Majesty......"
"Shut your mouths!" Anubi howled loudly."I've had enough of your inflexibility and your incompetence. Everything is always arranged, arranged, arranged, used by you to lie to me. Do you think that I'm an idiot? Do you think that I can't tell that you've arranged everything? Everything is done according to the rules, according to a plan. There's no creativity or spontaneity involved! That's not interesting in the slightest! I detest people doing things like this!"
As he howled, a wave of powerful energy began to surge forth, sweeping across the stands. All of the Ravagers were forced to retreat; only Su Chen remained standing by Anubi's side, seemingly completely unaffected. He had no question about Anubi's incredible strength.
Anubi continued to howl, "A pleasant surprise! I want pleasant surprises! I want something to happen outside of my expectations! Something different that wasn't planned, just like a smoking piece of meat that came off of the bonfire! I want it to be fresh, new. See this? This is......"
Yes, this was precisely Anubi's taste!
Su Chen had managed to see through this crazed monarch a long time ago.
He hated rules more than anything, especially convoluted and over-elaborate ones.
The reason why he was so crazy and insane sometimes was because he hated any form of restriction.
He enjoyed things that he did not anticipate happening.
He enjoyed things that exceeded his expectations.
No matter what the outcome was.
An accident!
Unexpected!
Groundbreaking!
Unfettered!
That was exactly what Anubi wanted. If anyone was able to fulfill those requirements, he would like it!
Su Chen, who had managed to perceive this, had carefully arranged such an accident for Anubi.
As expected, Anubi had appreciated the scene a lot.
One of the Ravagers said, "But Your Majesty, so many died......"
"I said shut your mouth!" Anubi grabbed the Ravager by his head."Who cares about a few nobles? I can just raise some more in their place. Are you afraid that not enough people will want to be a noble?"
As he spoke, he closed his hand, and the Ravager's head shattered.
Anubi withdrew his grip, and a servant handed him a white towel to clean his hands with.
Anubi nonchantanly wiped his hands and stared at Su Chen."I enjoyed your arrangement very much, Lontu. However......"
"Your Majesty!"
The sound of military boots on the ground could be heard off in the distance. A Ravager general walked over from a distance and seemingly impolitely interrupted Anubi.
This Ravager was a middle-aged, masculine Ravager. He had quite a handsome appearance, which was rare for members of this race, a stalwart expression, and a pair of extremely piercing eyes.
His name was Averigus, the Inferno Tribe's Iron and Blood Commander-In-Chief.
Averigus was actually a mixed-breed between Ravager and Demons.
The Demons were a small race that relied on the Ravagers for protection, similar to how the Golems relied on the human race. The most unique characteristic of this race was that all of the males and females were quite attractive.
Averigus had inherited his mother's traits, so his appearance was handsome enough for any human woman to fall for him, and he was known amongst the Ravagers to be quite the lover.
However, what had earned Averigus his position as Ravager general despite his mixed-blood status wasn't his appearance, but rather his uncanny talent for commanding.
He was responsible for defending against the Astrals' attacks on the western front. As soon as he had been dispatched there, the Ravagers, who were typically heavily suppressed and disadvantaged, had actually began to turn things around.
This was an extremely rare occurrence across all of Ravager history.
Even under Averigus's command, they only won about half of their battles. Despite this, that was already an incredible record against the Astrals. Every time they battled, he would do his best to limit the number of casualties. It was these efforts of his that had greatly decreased the pressure on Ravagers from the western front.
This was why he had been promoted to an Inferno God of War.
Yes, he was one of the three Gods of War from the Inferno Tribe.
Among the Gods of War, his battle results were the least glorious.
Even so, this did not diminish his prestige in the slightest. Instead, it gave Averigus a reputation for being extremely stable and calm.
In comparison to the God of War Sachar, the God of War Averigus was even more masculine. He was like a sun that had descended on the Inferno Tribe, and was the one in whom the Inferno Tribe had the most faith.
Only an existence like him could face Anubi directly without fear of his imperial might.
He was originally stationed at the western border, but because of the sudden expansion of the Beast Wave, he had temporarily been moved from the western border back to the central region to prevent the Beasts from moving further in.
Averigus walked over to Anubi and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the blood of these nobles should not be used to please you. You went too far this time."
"Oh?" Anubi turned to look at Averigus."Then what should it be used for? They are the ones eroding my country like pests as they steal from my storehouses, ruining our society, are they not?"
It had to be said that even though Anubi was crazy, his worldview was quite clear.
His dispassioned view of the nobility was not merely because he didn't care about lives but also because many of those nobles had indeed fallen corrupt a long time ago.
Anubi was more than happy to see them die because they were corrupted, especially given the fact that he was not the one who had caused it, so there was even less pressure on him.
However, Averigus didn't back down."I know that much of the nobility has fallen, but that doesn't mean that you can ignore their right to live. All things must be done in an orderly fashion. This Lontu was too aggressive, daring to use the lives of the nobility to amuse Your Majesty. He should be taken out and beheaded on the spot!"
"Oh, that is somewhat reasonable I suppose. Lontu, what do you think?" Anubi glanced at Su Chen.
Su Chen chuckled dryly."Iron and Blood God of War Averigus, I am afraid that you are mistaken on one matter. I never used the lives of the nobility to amuse His Majesty. This incident had nothing to do with me, from start to finish."
"What did you say?" Averigus said angrily.
"I said that it's just an accident, " Su Chen replied."An accident caused all of this, so why must you insist on placing the blame on me?"
"Were you not the one who gave that Terror Lizard the medicine, resulting in all of this?"
Su Chen nodded."That was me, but so what if I used some medicine? The Terror Lizard is a low-tier Demonic Beast, and even after the aid of the medicine it is barely strong enough to fight a high-tier Demonic Beast. Is the God of War trying to say that the gladiator arena's defensive abilities are only enough to defend against the attacks of a mid-tier Demonic Beast?"
"This......" Averigus was rendered speechless.
The defenses of the gladiator arena should have been able to defend against Demonic-Lord-level beasts under normal circumstances.
As such, Su Chen's elevation of the Terror Lizard's level to that of a high-tier Demonic Beast did not necessarily mean that the blame for this incident could be pinned on him.
Averigus said, "Are you trying to say that the barrier's malfunction had nothing to do with you?"
"Of course." Su Chen shrugged."I already said that the barrier has been in use for a long time, and that some wear and tear has naturally taken place. It can no longer withstand as much force as it used to. However, that is the responsibility of the arena manager, not me."
"So how did you know about it?"
"I came to the gladiator arena to search for a way to entertain His Majesty. As I was modifying the Terror Lizard, I discovered a safety flaw, so I wrote up a special report and handed it to the manager of the arena. It's only natural that I would know about it."
"Where's the report?"
"In the arena manager's office. If you go and look for it now, you should be able to find it. But only if you are fast enough that no criminal can destroy the evidence."
Averigus turned around, and a few soldiers charged in that direction.
Averigus knew, however, that more likely than not they were going to return to him with disappointing information.
He stared at Su Chen and said, "So how would you explain the matter of the Terror Lizard's rampage?"
Su Chen calmly replied, "An accident? A coincidence? Or perhaps a pleasant surprise. It depends on how you want to look at it, sir."
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