Lord of the Magical Beasts

The building’s use sunk in as Yang Ling took in the building’s magnificence, and heard the shouts and fanfare from within. After forking over more than a hundred Purple Crystal Coins, he followed the black-robed man into the building, and was seated in an unremarkable interior room.

Many others were present in the room, but there were masses seated outside. When Yang Ling looked out, there were heads as far as he could see, with people packed in tightly, watching two warriors in the arena’s center, fighting to the death.

Yang Ling overheard one onlooker say, with glee in his voice, “The one in the black shirt, Anbachek, is definitely going to win this round. I am adding another thousand Purple Crystal Coins to my bet!”

“Anbachek has already won three successive rounds and is covered in injuries,” replied another. “He is no match for the warriors in red this time around!”

…

The crowd cheered cacophonously as they watched the intense battle unfold at the center of the arena, many continuing to up their bets. It turned out this was not only a massive arena, but also a functioning casino, and business was booming.

The black-robed man brought a tray of food to Yang Ling, and seeing that Yang Ling showed no interest in betting, he began filling Yang Ling in. “The arena’s fiercest fighter, the Galapagos Tortoise Warrior Ashnamov, is battling next. He will be leading a few Beastmen in a fight against a group of Magical Beasts under the spell of the Bloodthirsty Frenzy. It is a fight not to be missed!”

According to the rules of the arena, the black robed man who had brought Yang Ling in would earn a commission as long as Yang Ling made a bet, whether or not Yang Ling won. The more Yang Ling wagered, the greater his commission would be.

On the Tailun Continent, Spellcasters who owned Space Rings were either rich or of noble descent, and were often both. In the eyes of the black robed man, Yang Ling was no exception. What he managed to earn from Yang Ling might be several times more than what he could earn from the average man on an ordinary day, and thus he worked extra hard.

An excited murmur rippled through the crowd as the previous fight ended. “It is finally time for the Galapagos Tortoise Warrior Ashnamov’s turn to battle! This is great!” one onlooker squealed excitedly.

The onlooker’s companion responded, “Ashnamov managed to tear a Violent Earth Bear in two with his bare hands the last time. He sure lives up to his reputation as the once-fiercest warrior in the Rossi Empire. He is even more ferocious than a rampaging Magical Beast. I wonder what Magical Beasts the arena will pit against him this time?”

The people in the room erupted in excitement when they heard that the Galapagos Tortoise Warrior Ashnamov was about to appear, talking excitedly about his past feats of battle.

Yang Ling began to understand as the black robed man explained.

As it turned out, Ashnamov was a Galapagos Tortoiseman that lived on the border of the Rossi Empire. He had been born with immense strength, and was hailed as the greatest warrior in the Rossi Empire. He had powerful battle capabilities, and he possessed both brains and brawn, so he was the most exceptional leader of the Rossi Empire’s navy forces in their history.

Ten years prior, he had led a team of elite navy soldiers and engaged in an intense battle with the Sea Tribe and their immense numbers on the Carribean Sea, successfully forcing them to sign an agreement which ensured the Rossi Empire’s sea cargo smooth passage. He managed to leave his name behind in the history of the battles between the humans and the Sea Tribe.

Ashnamov had achieved many things, but he was still treated unfairly because he was a Beastman. Just as he was leading the army and fighting the battle against the Sea Tribe, his family was being persecuted by the nobles. There was even an earl who flirted with Ashnamov’s beautiful wife from the Foxmen race in public.

When he returned to the capital of the Rossi Empire after his great victory, he came across the earl once again flirting with his wife by accident. Even more tragically, his wife had chosen to kill herself, having seen no other way out. Even after he had become the greatest warrior in the Rossi Empire, Ashnamov had been one step too late to save his lover, who committed suicide by poison in shame.

Heartbroken and furious, he gathered a team of soldiers and went after the earl, who was always heavily guarded, and destroyed his castle. But after he managed to kill the detestable earl, he was charged with attempted rebellion. He had been framed by a group of elite nobles. After they captured him, they demoted him to the position of servant, stripping him of all authority.

The Livenza Alliance had built their country with their merchants, who then spread all over the Tailun Continent, spreading a wide web of intelligence. After they knew that Ashnamov had been demoted to the role of lowly servant, they spent an exorbitant amount of money to buy him as a brawler in the arena. In the end, the powerful Galapagos Tortoiseman once again made an impact on the entire continent, earning the arena many human patrons and countless funds from gambling.

Yang Ling could feel his interest in the fallen warrior grow as he learned more of the Beastman’s history. The highly praised Ashnamov was powerful indeed, to have led a successful battle against the Sea Tribe on their home territory.

Yuna broke through Yang Ling’s reverie. “Brother Yang, I can feel that my clansman is in this arena somewhere, but I cannot find his specific location no matter how hard I try. What should I do?” She shook her head in frustration after closing her eyes and sensing the ripples in the air. The atmosphere in the arena was too chaotic. The continuous shouting disrupted her senses.

“Yuna, you need not be too nervous. There will be a way to find your clansman as long as you know the general direction!” Yang Ling consoled Yuna softly. The ability to recognize a fellow clansman by proximity was a special ability inherent to the Heavenly Fox tribe. Even though Yang Ling’s mental energy was strong, he could not help Yuna with this task.

“Brother Yang, I sense that the ripples of mental energy from my clansman is not normal, as though he is in distress. We have to find him quickly! What should we do, oh, what should we do?” She cried, more anxious by the moment. Her eyes reddened with worry.

Yang Ling tried to calm Yuna’s thoughts. It was foolish to rush around in the arena: there were thirty thousand people out there! It was impractical for her to check every single person. It was better to wait at the exit when the events were over and hope for the best.

“They are out. Oh my god, they are a group of Giant Komodo Battle Beasts!” an onlooker cried.

“One, two… Fifteen! Oh Yiblis, this is madness! To think that they sent out fifteen famished Giant Komodo Battle Beasts at once!”

As Yuna’s anxiety was reaching its peak, a victor emerged in the battle between the two warriors. Just as the victor took his leave, a group of massive creatures, each with a cruel-looking black horn on its head, charged thunderously into the arena. The crowd broke into frenzied commotion.

As level five Magical Beasts, the Giant Komodo Battle Beasts were possessed of great strength. They were also born with wind element magical spells. Even though they had massive bodies, their movements were exceptionally agile. They were harder to handle than an average level six Magical Beast when encountered on a vast plain.

The crowd knew enough to expect some scary Magical Beasts to be provided as the Galapagos Tortoiseman Asnamov’s opponents. But nobody could have seen the Giant Komodo Battle Beasts coming. That the arena unleashed fifteen at one go was unprecedented!

A whole team of elite heavy cavalry might not be a match for fifteen Giant Komodo Battle Beasts together, and a handful Beastmen wouldn’t stand a chance. The people could not imagine how horrifying the destructive power of fifteen Giant Komodo Battle Beasts might be, nor how Ashnamov would be able to face off against these bunch of hungry ferocious beasts!

After making their way around the arena, the massive Giant Komodo Battle Beasts roared in unison. Their powerful limbs, glinting fangs, eyes red with bloodlust, and their massive frames caused the spectators’ collective skin crawl.

Yang Ling nodded in appreciation of the creatures as they roamed the arena.

These giant creatures are not bad. I would be able to form a powerful team of infantries and use them to crumble my enemy’s formations if I managed to tame a few hundred of them some day!

According to the Unicorn’s memories, creatures such as them did not inhabit the Terras Forest anywhere. Yang Ling did not know where to look for some to tame for himself. He made a mental note to find out where to get some.

“I will bet a hundred thousand Purple Crystal Coins. Ashnamov is powerful, but there’s no way he can beat this bunch of Giant Komodo Battle Beasts!” said one excited spectator.

Another replied, “The results are hard to predict until the last moments. Forget it, I’ll first bet ten thousand Purple Crystal Coins on the complete victory of the Giant Komodo Battle Beasts!”

The crowd began to place their bets. Even though the Galapagos Tortoiseman Ashnamov was powerful, no one believed that he would be able to overcome this obstacle.

Now, it was rumored that Ashnamov’s enemies had bribed the person in charge of the arena fights some time ago, pressing him to arrange for Ashnamov’s disposal as soon as possible. Most people didn’t believe that this arranged assassination existed, preferring to ignore the rumors. They found it hard to believe that the arena manager would snuff out his own meal ticket. But watching Ashnamov square off with fifteen terrifying beasts at once made some in the crowd wonder if the rumors were true, after all.

Perhaps the person in charge of the arena thought that Ashnamov could not generate any more value, or perhaps he had already obtained sufficient rewards from Ashnamov’s enemy!

“Sir, look, Ashnamov has finally appeared!” cried the man in the black robe, who had been hovering at Yang Ling’s elbow the whole time, looking for opportunities to press him to bet. Yang Ling looked where the man pointed, and set eyes on a near three-meter-tall, dark skinned man walking into the arena. His hands and feet were bound by heavy chains, rendering his steps sluggish and his progress slow. The Beastmen that followed him were similarly chained.

The leader’s face was expressionless, his muscles bulging. On his back grew a heavy black shell, scarred and pitted as it was, having been with him since birth. Perhaps this was the key characteristic of a Galapagos Tortoiseman.

Just as Yang Ling was closely inspecting the once-greatest warrior of the Rossi Empire, Yuna pointed excitedly at the Galapagos Tortoiseman and said, “It’s him, Brother Yang, the energy I’ve been feeling is coming from the Galapagos Tortoiseman leading the group!”

Yuna had sensed the energy’s origin the moment the Galapagos Tortoise Warrior Ashnamov came into view. Despite the howls in the arena, the cheers and shouts of the crowd assaulting her senses, Yuna was certain that Ashnamov was the one she was looking for. If she closed her eyes, she could sense them clearly.

Was it possible that the Galapagos Tortoiseman was not a Tortoiseman at all, but a Heavenly Fox instead?

Yang Ling was perplexed. Ashnamov the Galapagos Tortoise Warrior’s appearance was so different from that of a Heavenly Fox. Either something was wrong with Yuna’s senses, or Ashnamov was hiding something.