Chapter 141: Extra Chap— Hunter Carnival [II]

Going in through the side gate, Lucy hadn’t walked far before she heard cheering, and she followed the sound.

Born of the Blackstone Family, and a noble besides, she’d lived a gloomy sort of life since childhood. The people around her never spoke without three parts calculation behind it, and even their smiles were fake. So this kind of crowded, ordinary liveliness was novel to her.

When she got there, the crowd was packed three layers deep, inside and out. She’d just started pushing forward when a man threw out an arm to block her, palm turned up.

Pay up.

Lucy frowned. A scam? A robbery? Or just the rule of the place?

She glanced around, saw that everyone else had obediently paid before going in, and paid as well.

What she got was a bronze ticket, marked: Time limit fifteen minutes.

She didn’t buy a pricier ticket. Whether this place was worth staying longer for was something she’d have to see first.

Still wearing her peacock mask, she squeezed and blended into the crowd.

The cheering grew louder every second, mixed with low growls of beasts.

After finally fighting her way to the front row, she saw what it was—wrestling.

No, wrong. Beast wrestling.

The ring was huge, two Summoners standing one on each side, shouting themselves hoarse giving commands. On the platform, a Crab Beast and an Ant Beast were locked in a fight, neither giving ground.

The funniest part was that both Beasts were wearing wrestling gear. Lucy nearly laughed out loud.

"Roooar—!"

"Flip it!"

"Pincers! Clamp down!"

The Crab Beast charged wildly, both pincers raised high. The Ant Beast burrowed into the ground, then shot out from beneath the Crab Beast’s belly, mandibles biting down hard. The Crab Beast took the hit, a fine crack splitting across its shell, but it gritted through and held firm, twisting back and slamming the Ant Beast, sending it flying.

The crowd bloomed, cheers rolling one after another.

Lucy watched, thoroughly absorbed.

Watching, watching—a thought surfaced in her mind.

But this wasn’t something she could do alone. She’d need someone’s nod first.

She looked around, her gaze landing on three people who had the presence of authority. A tall, thin man, a burly man, and a slender woman. All three had beasts with them. The woman had a Violet Stallion with a coat flowing like twilight.

The woman glanced at Lucy walking over, then patted the violet horse. The Steed understood at once, stepping forward, blocking Lucy’s path.

"No refunds," the woman said. "Whatever the issue is with the payment, don’t bring it to us."

Lucy shook her head. "I’m not here for a refund. I want to ask about something."

"Oh?" The tall, thin man raised an eyebrow. "What is it, little girl? You want to fight on the platform?"

The tall, thin man’s words were mockery and were just a sarcastic guess. But he guessed right. Lucy really did want to get on the platform. If she could make it into the ring, she’d have a chance to test her newly broken-through beast in a non-lethal clash, to cross blows with other Summoners and their War Beasts.

This gives her confidence by a great measure. She needed this match.

Lucy summoned up her courage: "Yes, sir. Could you arrange a match for me?"

The tall, thin man’s expression scowled. "Little girl, are you joking with me? Go back wherever you came from, and pick up your wits where you left them."

"Give her a chance." The burly man cut in, counting a stack of cash, true to form as he added, "Make her pay up some money too, getting on the platform directly like this isn’t free."

The tall, thin man and the woman exchanged a glance, then looked Lucy over. The woman said, "If your beast is too weak and something happens up there, if it gets hurt, we won’t be responsible. Who knows if you can even take a hit."

The burly man nodded. "Let’s see your Combat Beast then. If it’s good enough, we’ll let you up."

"Fine." Lucy answered, summoning her fully rested Malefic Spider.

"Hssss——!"

Eight legs touched the ground, a dark shadow spreading wide. The three of them stared, eyes going round.

"My god, little girl!" The burly man grabbed Lucy’s hand. "If people outside catch sight of this, the audience could multiply twentyfold! You don’t need to pay a single cent!"

Ten minutes later, word spread through the audience that a new challenger had arrived at the wrestling ring.

Some were excited, others indifferent, figuring it was just another stepping-stone rookie come to lose. When they saw it was a woman, quite a few were even more disappointed, some carrying a touch of scorn. A woman? Getting up there to take a beating?

But when Lucy summoned that spider, the wind changed direction entirely.

"Holy shit! What the hell is that thing?"

"A black spider? That big?"

"Look at those barbs on its legs, my god..."

"Who is this girl?"

The cheering rose wave after wave. Lucy was somewhat taken aback. Her beast, even at this body size, could still make people gasp in awe.

Lilith had four age-stage forms: Infant, Child, Juvenile, and Adult.

In its Adult form, the Malefic Spider’s appearance would be even more hideous and terrifying than now. So Lucy had deliberately summoned it in Juvenile form. And yet, even so, its appearance alone was enough to send the whole place into an uproar.

The crowd whispered among themselves, guessing at what tier this beast was, or did it only have physical appeal?

Lucy knew in her heart that all of this was thanks to that breakthrough where she comprehended Age.

Otherwise, her beast would have had only one body form, no choice in the matter.

Amid the cheering, her opponent stepped onto the platform.

The Summoner summoned a Frog Beast, big as a bucket, wearing a strange grin on its face. But that grin didn’t last long.

The moment the match began, a strand of spider silk wrapped around it, and the Frog Beast was flipped over. Eight legs pressed down, mandibles closing in. The Frog Beast didn’t even get a chance to counterattack before it was wrapped into a tight bundle, and it crashed down so hard that the tongue came out as if dead.

"Not fair! Your War Beast fights too vicious!" The opponent cried out, cradling his Frog Beast, wrapped in spider silk.

"Quit whining like a sissy, get lost!" The burly man roared with laughter, thoroughly delighted. He was, after all, Lucy’s sponsor for this match, and with this win, everyone who’d bet against her lost their shirts, while he raked it in hand over fist.

But the tall, thin man was still frowning. He didn’t like the way Lucy fought, feeling the girl wasn’t professional enough.

But the burly man still dismissed his complaints.

"Let my little angel fight. Everyone loves watching her. Look — this one match alone, ticket sales went up fivefold!"

However, it became clear that the girl’s beast was too strong. It had no business being at a place like this.

And her fighting faculty was definitely of a caliber that belonged to a student still training at an academy. Match after match that followed, no matter who the opponent was, Lilith went up and gave them a thorough beating. Eventually, even the ring’s reigning champion was brought out—a Summoner with his Mole Beast, sharp spikes running down its back, looking rather intimidating.

And the result? Same as everyone else, beaten by Lucy and Lilith until it could barely crawl.

The crowd didn’t care. They cheered just the same, even louder than before!

But the tall, thin man couldn’t stand it any longer. When Lucy was feeding Lilith some snacks, he came to the ringside and called for her attention angrily.

"Are you an idiot, girl? Coming down that hard, are you trying to cripple people?"

Lucy turned, frowning. She suspected this man wanted to manipulate the matches. "What, you expect me to just stand there and let them win?"

"No! You stupid girl!" the man cursed. "Fighting is fighting, but you’ve got to know how to put on a show! Let the other side land some hits on your beast too! This is performance wrestling, not a real fight! You’re supposed to be acting!"

Lucy froze with goosebumps.

So getting on the platform wasn’t just about fighting— it required knowing how to perform, making the whole thing look good for the crowd?

Now she understands why these people hadn’t been too keen on letting her up on the platform in the first place, and no wonder every opponent so far had hated her guts.

But her sponsor — the burly man — and the audience didn’t care in the slightest whether she fought for real.

If anything, a real fight was more thrilling!

That said, Lucy had no wish to make enemies for nothing.

She wanted to handle this matter smoothly and be done with it. Since she didn’t understand the tricks of this performance business, she thought it’d be best not to fight anymore.

"Let’s go, Lilith," she said as she dismissed the Juvenile Malefic Spider and left the ring.

The crowd wasn’t having it, most of them shouting for her to come back. But Lucy’s mind was made up. The burly man came chasing after her too: "Little angel, you’re really not going to fight one more round? I can sign you a contract, keep you here with us..."

Lucy smiled, said her thanks, and didn’t even take the share of money owed to her for the day.

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A/N; Thanks for reading!