Chapter 600: Colosseum

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Today, rain continued without pause.

On the twilight hills, a white iron stream of some twenty soldiers slowly rolled across the springtime hills.

Formed in a loose wedge: scouts, standard-bearers, soldiers.

Chainmail and spears rose and fell with the slope.

After marching for half a day.

They dismounted, fearing the heavy hoofbeats would alert their target buried underground.

"About ten li left."

Grand Tuanzhang Carter turned back, his voice gravelly as a whetstone.

Beneath his rain-pattering helmet, his gaze fixed on Luo De, unreadable.

"Mr. Luo De, Miss Lily, are you well?"

Luo De and Lily wore the same attire as always.

Golden sword, black cloak, minimal leather; red breastplate, broken-blade shortsword.

Clearly distinct from these giant iron cans.

Luo De nodded at him.

Glancing around, he spotted Sain, who had "borrowed" the 【Tremor Blade】, and couldn't help laughing.

Sain met his gaze from afar, gripping his ceramic white sword at his waist, sneering coldly.

Grand Tuanzhang Carter's gaze drifted, lingering on the halfling girl beside Luo De.

"Since this is a dangerous expedition, why didn't Mr. Luo De bring more reinforcements?"

"Unnecessary. Myself and Lily are enough."

Lily crossed her arms, pouted, shot him a glare, her cool expression tinged with annoyance.

"Hehehe—youth is wonderful, so confident. I like it. Interested in joining the Aethelon army?"

"No."

"What a pity."

Carter looked genuinely disappointed.

Gazing at the faint 【Blood-Stained Mark】 on the man's body, he couldn't help thinking of his son Levi's wounds.

Yet despite the hatred he felt, the regret on his face was not feigned.

The Yigo Cult is corrupting the court.

How could he not know?

His Blood Horse Battalion being dismantled and reorganized into a conscription unit was not his wish—but eighty percent of Aethelon's ministers have sided with the Yigo Cult.

Once factional strife surfaces, it becomes a fight to the death.

The opposing side opposes every proposal, right or wrong, blindly; their own side supports every absurd, nation-destroying suggestion with blind, fervent zeal.

Crystalline sickness, crystal-core-driven hollow warriors, conjured spiritual constructs via linked spells, war with the Heavenly Court's Flower Nation.

What choice does a battalion commander of a mid-sized force have?

Survival, that's all.

But right now.

On instinct, Carter saw a glimmer of hope in this man before him.

Save the nation?

He shook his head.

Even if the throne changed hands, the kingdom would still need men like me. Entering the vortex is meaningless.

Carter glanced at the Hunter of Shadows' leader, Eve, disguised as a common soldier, and the tooth-fairy elf named Rosalia.

He remembered last night's secret report on the Hunter of Shadows.

Are they Marco's men?

Doesn't matter. What if they have a chance to win?

Carter, Carter, you're a fence-sitter.

He steadied himself.

He turned and ordered the mages to cast spells masking their forms and footsteps.

Clearly drawn from the mana web's spell slots—no incantation needed—within moments, a pale blue magical veil enveloped them all.

They advanced only a short while longer.

Arriving at a small lake.

Then, each of them either cast a spell or swallowed a magic potion to gain underwater mobility.

Soon, under Grand Tuanzhang Carter's lead, they found the secret ritual passage beneath the water and entered one by one.

Along the way.

Lily fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly: "I never told you about my family, did I?"

Luo De glanced at the halfling girl beside him, barely reaching his waist, head bowed, her reddish-brown hair cut past her ears and tied into a wolf-tail ponytail.

Cute. Sharp.

"I want to hear."

The girl's words were not a question.

So he did not answer directly, but expressed his willingness to listen.

Lily smiled faintly.

"There's a fool eavesdropping on us right now. I'll tell you after we're out—then you'll have to help me."

"Of course. Between you and me, no need to state what kind of relationship we have."

The entrance was narrow at first.

Then it widened gradually, finally opening into a vast square beneath a rock dome.

It should have been dark and silent.

Then—crackling, popping—colorful light spells flared suddenly across the dome, focusing intensely on Luo De and Lily.

The conscription troops had prepared in advance and swiftly withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the center of the square.

"Here we go."

"Whoa—so direct. I thought they'd put on a show."

Lily exclaimed.

Luo De drew the 【Sacrificial Blade】, shaking his head with a smile: "We all know the score. I won't openly oppose Aethelon, and they don't want to expose their ties to the Campbell family."

He looked up.

Around the edge of the square, he saw several gray dwarves, and vast numbers of gnolls, goblins, and serpentfolk surrounding them.

This must be the Campbell family's standard roster—among them were a few humans, of high rank and status, all wearing insect masks of various kinds, concealing their true faces.

At the very rear, a man nearly three meters tall, clad in a gray-white mage robe, stood out strikingly.

Looking back.

The conscription troops, led by Grand Tuanzhang Carter, had firmly blocked the entrance.

Luo De felt the 【Cruel Mark】 on his chest grow warm.

His battle spirit surged; he stepped forward two paces.

"Will you all attack together, or one by one?"

"Guardian Luo De, are you so confident? You knew this was a trap, yet walked right in?"

One of the Campbell faction members, wearing a dragonfly mask, spoke coldly.

"Worms trading filth underground—why should I respect you?"

Luo De chuckled.

The dragonfly-masked man, enraged, laughed bitterly, and his hand glowed as a key, rusted crimson, activated.

The ground suddenly trembled.

From slow to violent.

The dome above shattered spatial limits, rising upward; the ground beneath them sank downward.

The edges where the conscription troops and the Campbell faction stood remained utterly still; both sides watched coldly as Luo De and Lily fell.

With a flash of brilliant spiritual light.

The scene before them transformed utterly.

The rock dome became a blue sky with white clouds; the circular square's edges became tiered spectator stands.

The conscription troops and Campbell faction took their seats, arrogant and smug.

Luo De and Lily remained in the center, gazing up at the stands—repeated blinding suns pierced their eyes, casting everyone into shadowed backlight.

Luo De raised an eyebrow as a new message appeared on his panel.

【【Treasure Addiction】activated successfully!】

【Found treasure: 'The Colosseum of the Blood Lion's Spine'!】

【Details:

1. Spatial Lock: Forces all living beings within a 30-meter radius into the arena.

2. Audience Frenzy: Based on the number of cheers and support, the gladiator may choose corresponding buffs.】

3. Escape Restriction: Flight and invisibility skills are prohibited; wounds cannot be healed by conventional healing techniques.

4. Home Advantage: Gladiators appearing as the artifact side are home gladiators; upon death, they may respawn in the spectator seats (once per gladiator only)!

5. Honor Ladder: Home gladiators gain "Honor Points" upon landing a hit on an away gladiator!

Consuming 50 Honor Points ensures the next strike is a critical hit; consuming 100 Honor Points grants 1. seconds of invincibility; consuming 200 Honor Points triggers "Audience Riot," causing all spectators to throw weapons imbued with curse properties!

6. Blood Lion Legacy: Consume all Honor Points to make attacks ignore defense; duration depends on the amount of Honor Points consumed.

(End of Chapter)