Chapter 31
Chapter 31
After Rao Lin and Luo Li entered, the Sika Deer said, “Those two have already come up with a name for their team. Would you two like to give your team a resounding name as well?”
“Although the team name will only be used for this one game, a resounding name might provide a unique boost to your morale.”
Advancing a step, the two looked at each other and said in unison, “Number One Demigod.”
The Sika Deer: “…”
“Haha,” the Sika Deer chuckled. “Resounding indeed.”
Then, “Number One Demigod” and “Coffee or Milk Tea, Which is Better?” successfully finished loading.
It was only when Ning Shuo heard the opposing team’s name that he understood why the Sika Deer had been so eager to persuade them to choose one.
It had wanted to use Ning Shuo’s resounding team name to motivate Rao Lin’s side to choose something even more impressive.
It hadn’t expected that Ning Shuo’s side would be so resoundingly chuunibyou.
As the Sika Deer walked a few steps while loading the scene for them, Ning Shuo noticed bells hanging from its legs behind the table.
No wonder it liked things that were “resounding.”
…
When Ning Wang opened his eyes, he found himself…
Locked in a cage.
Ning Wang: “…”
What kind of Script was this!
[Player Ning Wang, your identity: Prisoner Slave.]
[There are no tasks for this Script. You only need to follow the rules of the House of True Knowledge Journey and choose your companion.]
Just as Ning Wang finished reading, the cage door swung open, and a whip lashed down. “Move it!”
To stay in character, Ning Wang endured the strike and began walking out step by step.
Ning Wang felt utterly despairing; even his clothes were nothing but tattered rags.
Fortunately, the man’s subsequent lashes only hit the ground for show, allowing Ning Wang to retain a shred of dignity.
He walked out alongside several other Prisoner Slaves in similar straits, heading toward a noisy outdoor arena.
Many high-ranking officials and nobles sat in the stands. Ning Wang scanned the crowd but saw no sign of anyone who looked like Ning Shuo.
The Prisoner Slaves were driven onto a stage. Their bodies were covered in whip scars from being broken, and their expressions were hollow and numb.
Even when the guards untied their ropes, they showed no intention of leaving.
Or rather, they had no desire to.
Ning Wang frowned. Like the other Prisoner Slaves, he made no move to escape.
“Welcome, noble guests, to tonight’s Beast Arena!”
“The old rules apply! The last slave standing from this batch will be sent to the manor of any interested noble to serve as a personal bodyguard!”
“He will surely be the fiercest fighter and the most loyal dog!”
As soon as the words fell, accompanied by a wolf’s howl, several guards pushed a massive cage cart onto the field.
“Next, we will have the Prisoner Slaves enter the cage one by one. If you’re lucky enough to be the last one in, perhaps the hungry Little Eight will already be full! Hahahaha!”
Ning Wang heard someone shout, “Relying on a beast’s mercy? How pathetic!”
All the Prisoner Slaves looked emaciated and starved. None of them had the strength to fight a wolf.
He thought to himself that if he had a sword in hand, there would be no need for the wolf to show mercy. At that moment, the guard with the whip kicked him. “You there! What’s with that look? You go first!”
Ning Wang shot him a glance. The guard huffed, about to snap, “You dare glare at me?” but his whip was suddenly snatched away by the Prisoner Slave before him. Before the guard could react, Ning Wang wrapped the whip around his neck. “Open the iron gate.”
Ning Wang had to get out of this place.
The audience was startled by this sudden turn of events, and a heated discussion broke out.
“Is this slave trying to escape?”
“What’s the use of grabbing a guard? The guard only has the key to the cage door.”
Some guards moved to intervene on the field, but a person dressed in magnificent robes raised a hand to stop them. “Let’s watch a bit longer.”
The guard bowed his head. “Yes, Master.”
In the arena, the suffocating pressure instantly sapped the warden’s strength. Gasping for air, he fumbled for the keys at his waist. Ning Wang loosened his grip slightly, giving the man just enough room to unlock the cage door.
The moment the door swung open, the pressure on the warden’s neck finally vanished, followed immediately by a searing pain across his back.
Ning Wang lashed out twice, returning the earlier strikes with even greater force before ignoring the man entirely.
Facing the glowing green eyes of the wolf, he tightened his grip on the whip.
Well, wasn’t this a coincidence?
Aside from the sword, he had practiced more or less with the saber, spear, staff, and whip.
Even more conveniently, the whip was Ning Wang’s second-best weapon, favored for its range.
He flicked his wrist, the whip snaking out to coil around the wolf’s neck. The other Prisoner Slaves scrambled back, clearing a space for Ning Wang.
The Black Wolf let out a roar and lunged at Ning Wang with blinding speed.
Ning Wang could have dodged easily, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught the remaining prisoners watching him with green-tinted glints in their eyes.
Moreover, the corners of their mouths were beginning to curl upward in an unnatural way.
…What kind of normal person’s grin stretches all the way to their ears?
Realizing that his sudden display of martial prowess was breaking character, Ning Wang decided to feign a mistake. He deliberately left an opening, pretending to let the whip slip from his hand.
The moment the Black Wolf sank its teeth into his arm, he slammed his palm repeatedly against the wolf’s neck, each strike infused with internal energy.
As the green light in the wolf’s eyes faded, Ning Wang clutched his bleeding arm and kicked the wolf’s carcass away.
The arena fell silent for a heartbeat before a roar of cheers erupted.
“Good!”
“He took down a Hungry Wolf single-handedly!”
“It’s a waste for him to just be a Guard. He’d make a fine Shadow Guard!”
As Ning Wang stood there panting, people in the crowd began shouting bids.
Suddenly, a bell chimed from the second floor. Startled, Ning Wang looked up and realized the curtains on the upper level weren’t just for decoration; behind them sat nobles and wealthy elites of even higher status.
Once the bell stopped ringing, the first floor fell silent.
A lazy voice drifted out from behind a curtain: “No matter how much anyone here bids, the Xie Family will offer ten taels more.”
The Xie Family.
At the same time, hushed whispers broke out below.
“Is that Young Master Xie Ning of the Xie Family? Why would he come to a dark place like this to buy a Guard?”
“The Xie Family? The one known as the Capital’s Richest?”
“Hmph, they say Young Master Xie is as pure as the moon and wind, but I don’t see it. Why only ten taels more? How stingy.”
Ning Wang’s toes instinctively turned toward that direction before he suddenly froze.
A figure dressed in red brocade, trimmed with black mink fur, sat with one hand propping up his head while casually waving a folding fan. His expression was one of idle indifference. “In that case, no matter how much the Xie Family offers, I shall bid one mace more than them.”
Ning Wang: “…”
He didn’t even have to guess who it was.
This level of stinginess was exactly the same as the person who hadn’t left a single drop of broth behind after learning a bowl of noodles cost fifteen hundred pieces of silver.
Another uproar broke out in the crowd.
“Has the Field Master gone mad? Buying back his own Prisoner Slave with his own money?”
“…If the Xie Family gives him silver and he just spends it back, doesn’t that mean he’s only actually spending one mace?”
“Rules are rules. Once you enter that Beast Arena, you must use silver to buy them out before the Prisoner Slave can truly be yours.”
Ning Wang frowned.
If one were to talk about following rules, Xie Ning was clearly the most lawless of them all.
Years ago, although the Xie Family were merchants, their status as the Capital’s Richest had earned Xie Ning an exceptional spot in the Imperial Academy.
Who would have thought that Xie Ning wouldn’t attend a single class? Instead, he spent his time drinking and racing horses, or finding opportunities to pluck the flowers in the courtyard of the Grand Tutor who was supposed to teach them.
The Grand Tutor had spent a great deal of effort raising those flowers. There were many such incidents-all harmless enough, but enough to cause quite a headache.