r18novel Page 456
Page 456
"Anyway, we'll just take a break here. You three little guys can't let your guard down, keep up your form for the competition... By the way, don't come into contact with those spectators, they have some issues."
In the extra-large suite arranged by the Colosseum, Latis stood in front of the coffee table and addressed the crowd:
"Anyway, Zote will be here soon. When it appears, let you guys have a chance to meet it. After you have a deeper impression, you should be able to appear closer to it next time you enter the dream."
"Yes, Master."
Leafa nodded obediently, glanced at the other two girls sitting beside her, and suddenly asked with some curiosity:
"Speaking of which, what if we don't run into that Zote?"
“It shouldn’t be that bad,” Latis shook his head and said, “You all start from the lowest rankings, and you both have zero wins. It should be easy for you to run into each other, unless you win too quickly and your rankings rise all the way up…”
"that is……"
The girls exchanged amused glances and asked:
"What if Zote's ranking keeps rising?"
"What are you guys talking about!"
Latis reluctantly bent down and flicked each of their foreheads. Amid the girls' cries of pain, he crossed his arms, about to continue discussing the next steps of the plan, when suddenly his expression froze, and he pinched his chin, muttering:
"No, now that you mention it...it might actually be true..."
Chapter 442 Zote as a Laborer
"Fool's Arena..."
Latis sat on the sofa, examining the Dream Nail in his hand, lost in thought.
In fact, aside from retrieving the power of the divine kingdom from Zote, the desire to learn about Radiance and the Moth Warriors was just a side note. However, it wasn't until after a conversation in Manager Rat's office that he realized the Fool's Arena might itself be related to the power of the divine kingdom.
Furthermore, the divine power here seems to have fallen into the control of the arena's higher-ups, directly affecting the sanity of the audience...
Although he didn't know exactly how the Rat Manager and his companions manipulated the power of the divine realm, it wouldn't be long before he was able to observe it from the audience.
Those monochromatic lights, such as red, green, and yellow, seemed somewhat similar to the monochromatic lights they had seen when they met the Pope in the Holy City of Romnia. Could it be that the Pope was also using similar methods to manipulate the White-Robed Disciples?
Latis frowned slightly. If that was the case, then he really needed to keep the Pope in check when he got back.
He stroked the Dream Nail and looked around at everyone in the suite.
The three girls were already asleep, huddled together on the floor, with the Void Ray lying on their packs like a security bag. Beside them, Holnet's shadow was cast on the shelter's tent, seemingly still busy checking her various weapons, while Jennifer sat by the window, looking down at the monsters roaming the arena.
Latis stroked his chin, tiptoed up from the sofa, walked to Jennifer's side, and put his arm around her waist.
"Hey, Lazi."
Before she even touched him, Jennifer had already sensed Latis's approach. So when she was hugged, she just chuckled and snuggled comfortably into Latis's arms before continuing to look out the window.
"What are you looking at, Jennifer?" Latis leaned close to Jennifer's cheek, his gaze passing over a sharp-beaked raven gliding by in the distance, and landing on the ground below, asking curiously:
"Are these the monsters in the audience?"
"should be."
Jennifer stared at the monsters, subtly nudging Latis's leg with her toe. Seeing Latis show some interest, she smiled slightly, gently pressed his hand down, and said calmly:
“Look, those monsters are clearly from different races, but in this Fools’ Colosseum, they seem to exhibit many similar characteristics. Generally, these monsters either gather in groups of their own kind or are scattered in isolation, but this situation is rare.”
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Latis also felt a surge of curiosity. While lifting Jennifer's leg and stroking it against his waist, he turned his gaze to the direction Jennifer was pointing.
In the outer area surrounding the arena, many different kinds of monsters were mixed together in a chaotic manner. Strangely, not all monsters of the same kind gathered in groups; instead, they were scattered and active with monsters of similar personalities, even those of opposing kinds...
Latis pondered for a moment, then activated the power of the Dream Nail to take a look. Sure enough, those similar monsters were all surrounded by a halo of the same color, but they were too far apart to sense the atmosphere between them for the time being.
"It must be that the Colosseum's higher-ups used some kind of power to guide or control these spectators. We must proceed with caution and not be influenced by these strange forces."
Latis drew this conclusion for the time being, then looked at Jennifer and asked with a smile:
"It's getting late, time to go to sleep, right? Tomorrow we can also train Leafa and the others. In an arena full of powerful monsters, they should be able to grow even further."
"I don't know how far the road ahead is."
Jennifer wrapped her arms around Latis's neck, lifted her other leg, and wrapped it around Latis's waist. Feeling his large hand instinctively supporting her buttocks, she chuckled and said:
"This adventure has taken me quite a distance, more than I've walked in the last six months."
Latis picked Jennifer up, pressed her against the window, and gently bit her lip, teasingly saying:
"My stay-at-home girl has been working so hard lately. What games have you been playing? How about I top up your account with two 648 RMB top-ups when we get back?"
"Tch, you second-rate gamer, I'm a console gamer at the top of the hierarchy."
Jennifer shook her head, feigning displeasure, then winked and whispered in Latis's ear:
"Dealing with these monsters all day is too stressful. When we get back, I want you to make it up to me and play with me for a week or two."
Latis nodded nonchalantly and smiled:
"No problem, where are we going? We're going to take Serfal to your house to treat his mental disability spell after we get back, so how about we just hang out at your hometown?"
"On...your bed in the city lord's mansion."
Jennifer bit Latis's ear, then sat up, looked at the dazed Latis, raised an eyebrow, and asked:
"What, Your Majesty, are you afraid?"
"Hey, you little knight." Latis took a breath, looked at Jennifer's serious expression, and snorted, "Looks like you've already thoroughly studied the strategy guide? Fine, come on in, don't leave after school!"
Jennifer chuckled and deliberately squeezed Latis's waist with her firm thighs. Just as she was about to say something more, she suddenly noticed that Holnet, who had finished checking the weapons, was leaning against the shelter door with his arms crossed, watching her with great interest. Her face immediately turned red, she coughed lightly, released the puzzled Latis, and jumped off him.
"Hey, what's wrong? I haven't seen enough yet."
Holnett lowered his arms, changed his posture, put his hands behind his head, sat cross-legged against the wall, and said with a chuckle:
"You can continue, don't worry about me. It's late at night, after all, I won't bother you."
"Damn." Turning around, Latis realized he'd been being watched by his teammates the whole time. He scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Um, sorry..."
“Captain, you don’t need to do that.” Holnett shook his head, gave a thumbs up, and smiled, “We’re all adults, we all understand.”
"Hey, you guy."
Jennifer wiped her bitten, red lips, took a few steps forward defiantly, plopped down on the back of the sofa, thought for a moment, and asked with a mischievous grin:
"Hollnit, you don't want to join too, do you? But we'll have to ask Lazi first, okay?"
"Wait...wait, what?!"
Holnett immediately lost his composure, quickly straightened up, waved his hand, and awkwardly whispered:
"Lord Latis is our captain, how could I dare to have any improper thoughts about him?! You junior, don't joke with an old man like me, I am a very traditional armed knight!"
"Oh...you're just too scared?"
Jennifer raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and trotted over to Holnet. She deliberately pinched Holnet's cheek and pointed at the bewildered Latis, asking:
"Look, isn't our captain handsome?"
"...Whether he's handsome or not, I don't know."
Holnet, who has face blindness, said somewhat guiltily in a low voice, then coughed lightly and analyzed seriously:
"Strictly speaking, however, being handsome is a kind of temperament. Whether it's the captain's solid physique, reliable way of doing things, strong strength, or firm belief, he can probably be considered handsome."
"Wow!" Jennifer's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "You're so observant, and you still dare to say you don't like lesbians!"
"This...this...this isn't right! I'm innocent, I've been wronged..."
Holnet glanced at Jennifer in shock, then, speechless and on the verge of tears, looked up and sighed:
"Why are you suddenly talking about things I don't understand at all... And even if you like them, aren't you already a couple? I don't want to compete with you for them!"
"That's easy to say! Lazi is a womanizer to begin with!"
Jennifer stood up, put her hands on her hips, glared at Latis, and laughed:
"But for me, I'd rather compete fairly and squarely than have any regrets! Besides, the girls in his family are all quite cute, hehehe..."
"what."
Latis's lips twitched, finally unable to hold back any longer. He flicked his finger, casting a "Silence" spell on Jennifer, then glanced at Jennifer, who was pointing at her mouth and whimpering, before awkwardly walking up to Holnet and saying:
"Don't listen to her nonsense. We are teammates who trust each other. This camaraderie of entrusting each other with our backs is the best bond."
He picked up Jennifer and tossed her onto the sofa, glanced at her sticking out her tongue, and continued helplessly:
"This guy really doesn't know what he's talking about. No wonder the Pope said you shouldn't reveal that you're one of his followers when you're out in public..."
"Really..."
Holnet rubbed his forehead and sighed, then looked up at Latis and said with a wry smile:
"Captain, it must be hard for you to discipline her every day."
“Yeah… what a headache.” Latis shrugged, then bent down and patted Holnet on the shoulder, laughing, “Anyway, you finally have a good place to sleep tonight, so sweet dreams.”
"Okay, Captain."
Holnet watched as Latis yawned and lay down on another sofa, then quietly returned to the shelter. He wrapped himself in his cloak and pondered for a long time before letting out a soft sigh and covering the crystal lantern with his hand.
……
……
A few hours later.
Latis woke up with his biological clock, glanced at his teammates who were still sleeping peacefully, checked the time on the simulation panel, and then quietly got up and walked to the window to look down.
The monsters outside the arena had gradually dispersed. Latis guessed that they had probably returned to the audience seats. After thinking for a moment, he decided to go into the arena to check on the situation and help the girls think about the direction of their next training.
He left a note on the table, then packed up and left.
"According to Manager Rat, the team will fight five matches in total, and then it can give us the intelligence. But that's a minor matter. The important thing is whether we can run into Zote. Hopefully, it won't lose confidence before we encounter Leafa and the others..."
Latis walked thoughtfully into the arena, looked around, and sure enough, found that the spectators had all returned.
"Although the monsters underground don't have much important business, they can't possibly gather here every day. Sure enough, those strange lights must have been guiding them..."
He used the power of the Dream Nail to check again, but perhaps because the monsters were still relatively calm, the power surrounding them was not very strong.
"Let's wait until the battle starts and then see..."