vrcanaries Chapter 20 The Arena
Chapter 20 The Arena
Relatives are the eyes of the gods.
The place where relatives set foot is the place covered by divine power.
As the shrouded in black cloth was carried through the city gate, Liang Jiu's gaze finally pierced through the fog of war, giving him the opportunity to project his divine sense into the heart of this city-state.
The scene unfolding before him shocked Liang Jiu, prompting him to reassess the value of this divine realm.
Extremely high building density, planned brick and stone streets, complete production technology and social culture, and an astonishingly large dependent population. This level of reproduction and civilization is unique among the third-level divine realms.
In the city, numerous temples occupy the most central area of the city-state. On the streets, kobold monks wearing neat robes can be seen everywhere, and there are even kobold mages of higher status carrying ritual implements as they walk among the crowds.
If the original gods of this land had not fallen, this divine realm could have instantly assembled an army of extraordinary beings capable of overwhelming any other being of the same level, along with a complete logistical support system, simply by relying on its rigorous religious system and vast mortal population.
Liang Jiu's gaze followed Xin Zang's movements, extending into the heart of the city-state.
After passing rows of low-rise houses and several temples, a massive circular building came into view.
That's... the Roman Colosseum?
Among the clusters of Buddhist and Taoist temples, this rugged, circular stone structure stands out starkly. Judging from its unified load-bearing structure, it is no ordinary kobold could have built it brick by brick.
It appears to be a creation directly generated by the gods using "building cards." It belongs to the same category as Liang Jiu's [Pioneer Monument].
How ironic it is to place a gladiatorial arena filled with bloodshed as a landmark in the center of a city where Buddhism is the dominant culture.
It is estimated that the original owner of this divine realm enjoyed sitting on a high place and watching his subordinates fight like crickets for amusement.
After the god died, the indigenous people not only did not abandon this place, but also naturally packaged it into the so-called "Avici Hell" mentioned by the kobold.
The perverse tastes of those in power eventually festered into the distorted customs of those in power.
Liang Jiu declined to comment, saying that everyone has their own path to godhood, and the path itself is not important.
With his gaze passing over the Colosseum, Liang Jiu attempted to continue exploring the most central area of the city-state, the magnificent main temple located high above.
But just as his gaze was about to cross the edge of the inner city, a distinct sense of stagnation suddenly came to his mind.
A detection mechanism specifically designed to detect external divine power was quietly operating above the inner city. Just like water touching a fine filter, if Liang Jiu forcibly tried to penetrate with his divine sense, it would immediately trigger the defenses from the divine power.
Liang Jiu decisively stopped looking deeper.
Indeed, there was an underlying mechanism in place to prevent the gods from spying on them.
Although this divine realm has lost its master, its defense mechanism is still functioning. It is probably powered by the immense faith power generated daily by the millions of kobolds within the city-state; even with such immense strength, it has managed to hold him back.
If it weren't for this countermeasure built upon a massive population base, the city's secrets would probably have been thoroughly investigated by the previous batches of students who came here for training, relying on their own divine power reserves. Liang Jiu wouldn't have had a chance to take advantage of the situation.
Fortunately, there was still enough time for exploration.
It will take time for the main force of the Xin Clan to cross the wilderness and advance to this place, so the focus of breaking the deadlock naturally falls on Xin Zang.
With a slight thought, Liang Jiu's figure traversed space and appeared on the highest vantage point of the arena, quietly awaiting the start of the first match of the night.
On the yellow sand below, a dog-headed man draped in a bright red robe was shouting hoarsely, introducing the two sides about to fight.
On one side was a minotaur covered in heavy chains and riddled with wounds; on the other side was a giant rhinoceros clad in heavy black armor.
"Fellow believers! Behind me stands a demon from beyond the heavens—the Minotaur! It has already withstood three battles in the Avici Hell! And its opponent today is our guardian beast, the Armored Rhinoceros!"
"The Buddha once said that by winning five deadly battles, a heretic sinner can cleanse himself of his sins and convert to Buddhism! Let's see if this demon can redeem his freedom from the true Buddha today!"
Minotaur?
Liang Jiu rested his chin on one hand, looking down at the giant beast below.
The pool of species in this unclaimed divine realm was even more diverse than he had anticipated.
It's unclear whether these were fighting beasts specially collected by the original owner before his death, or if they were the lost and forgotten companions of the students who came in earlier to investigate.
but……
The two sides, who were catching their breath and facing off off the field, were both emanating clear first-order extraordinary fluctuations from their bodies.
Liang Jiu was somewhat curious about how the group of kobolds outside, whose highest level was only pseudo-transcendent first rank, managed to capture these behemoths alive and transport them all the way into this "infernal hell".
Unable to reach a conclusion, the deadly battle below had already begun.
The armored rhinoceros was clearly a regular at the arena. As soon as the gate was raised, it smelled the blood in the air, which aroused its ferocity. It then charged straight through the yellow sand.
The minotaur, relying on his remaining fighting instincts, sidestepped to avoid the attack.
As both being at the first level of the Extraordinary Realm, and as a race with higher intelligence, the Minotaur should have had an overwhelming tactical advantage when facing pure beasts.
But its condition was really bad.
The exhaustion from winning three consecutive matches, coupled with prolonged hunger and the torment of heavy shackles, had left it nearly exhausted.
Once reason is destroyed, the intelligent species are no different from wild beasts, yet they still retain their instinctive fear.
After just a few rounds of tug-of-war, a slight slip of the wrist cost the minotaur its life. Its sharp horn mercilessly tore open its belly, knocking it to the ground.
Its massive body crashed down, twitched a few times in the yellow sand, and then fell completely silent.
Amidst the frenzied clamor of the kobolds, the victorious armored rhinoceros did not charge around, but instead lowered its head and began to devour the flesh of a fellow superhuman.
They feed and devour each other's corpses.
What kind of monsters will be spawned at the bottom of the arena by this barbaric method of raising venomous insects?
Liang Jiu looked at the center of the field, waiting for Xin Zang to appear.