Chapter 497 - 326: Profit and Profit, Part 2

"Just for that, I’ll *try* to go a little easy on you."

The Lord stretched lazily. Despite the extreme arrogance of his words, the Alchemist unexpectedly breathed a sigh of relief.

’This Demonic Puppet of mine is stronger than the one that was wrecked at the city gates, but only by a little,’ he thought. ’I know my limits. I know I’m no match for Duke Debei, but I’m curious to see exactly how long I can last against him.’

"My Lord, I am Silliso." The Alchemist bowed slightly, performing a perfect Knight’s salute.

"Begin!" Harland, seated in the most prominent viewing stand, laughed heartily and waved a bright red flag.

A powerful tremor shook the ground, making everyone feel as if it were an earthquake. What was the difference between the colossal Fasting Demonic Puppet charging forward and the apocalypse itself? It carried an aura that could crush everything in its path like ants, forcing everyone to hold their breath.

A Demonic Puppet like this, standing over sixty feet tall, weighed a staggering 150,000 pounds alone. Yet despite its immense size and terrifying weight, the Demonic Puppet was also extremely agile.

Intricate Alchemy Arrays and a core brimming with an unimaginable concentration of Magic Power granted it a level of mobility that completely belied its massive frame.

Each footstep of its terrifying form made the very earth tremble, and its gleaming metallic body displaced incredible torrents of air.

It was as if *it* were the true king of melee combat!

In close combat, a Demonic Puppet forged entirely of metal was naturally stronger than a body of flesh and blood. This was its inherent advantage.

The bronze giant swung its fist, but the Lord couldn’t be bothered to move.

CLANG! An ear-shattering crash rang out.

The Lord’s iron fist smashed down like a thunderbolt, crashing into the puppet’s fist—a fist even larger than his own.

Everyone covered their ears and crouched on the ground.

Levi’s fist wasn’t even scraped, but a terrifying, clearly visible dent appeared on the Bronze Demonic Puppet’s fist. Then, a series of CRACKING sounds echoed from its arm, an arm thicker than a Roman column.

The sixty-foot-tall bronze giant let out a sorrowful shriek of buckling metal. Its arm shattered section by section, like porcelain. As if tapped on the forehead by a Thunder Giant ten times its size, its heavy body instantly collapsed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

And so, everyone in the Gladiatorial Arena witnessed what Power more terrifying than even a Giant Dragon looked like.

"The match is decided!" the Lord declared, dusting off his hands, though they weren’t dirty to begin with.

"That’s... that’s terrifying." The Alchemist’s face was a mask of horror. ’I can’t believe my proudest creation couldn’t even withstand a single blow.’

The rest of the crowd in the Gladiatorial Arena stared in stunned confusion. For a moment, there was dead silence.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t considered the Lion Hunter Knight’s strength might be far greater than his reputation suggested. After all, a hero who had become a Duke in such a short time and had gone south to quell the Demon invasion was bound to be immensely powerful.

But even in their wildest imaginations, they had never expected the Fasting Demonic Puppet to fall so quickly!

The two had only clashed once. Before the crowd could even begin to judge who had the upper hand, the match was already over.

This was completely different from the intense battle they had imagined, where a weakness would have to be found and exploited to achieve victory.

’If I had to spend half the day banging away at a mere Ironman,’ he’d think, ’I never would have made it out of the White Bone Fortress alive.’

’This Demonic Puppet would be more than effective on a battlefield against a mob of grunt soldiers, but in a duel between true masters, its only real advantage is its toughness. Forget me; even Mandela could have taken it down with a bit of time.’

"Well done, Levi!" Although he was unhappy that Levi had insisted on going first, seeing him kick things off with such a crushing victory made Old Gray’s face flush with excitement.

"I keep my word. I said I’d go easy, and I did," the Lord said, sliding his hands back into his pockets and smiling at the Alchemist.

The Alchemist’s mouth twitched as he looked at his Demonic Puppet, one arm shattered to pieces and unable to get back up. Nevertheless, he bowed, recalled the puppet into his Ring, and departed.

...

"Are these people all idiots? Isn’t this the same as just handing us money?" Zat said, scratching the back of his head as he stared at a chest full of Gold Coins. His simple mind couldn’t possibly comprehend it.

’Why would so many people bet that the boss would need fifty pulses to win? Wasn’t it obvious it would only take five?’

"It’s not that they’re stupid, it’s that you all are too damn cunning!"

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind, startling the three of them into acting like thieves caught in the act. They quickly hid their faces and pretended to be busy.

Zat, who was built like an iron giant, squatted down and pretended to count ants on the ground. Mier, dressed as a Knight, whistled while staring down an empty hallway. Leiden kept his head down, scribbling on a piece of parchment.

After all, the whole point of their disguises was to prevent others from recognizing them as the crew from High Cliff Castle. To use the Lord of High Cliff Castle’s own words, the goal was to "make money on the down-low, don’t be flashy."

"Damn it! The second I heard someone was running a betting pool on my turf and making a killing, I knew Lord Levi had to be involved!" Prince Filo came running over with two of his personal Knights, a resentful look on his face. "Only he’s this shady."

"Fuck, you’re still pretending?"

When the three of them continued to ignore him, acting like they’d never met, he laughed in exasperation and flipped up Mier’s Face-covering Helmet. "Leiden, Zat, Mier! Your disguises are so bad you couldn’t even fool my great-grandmother! A burly Beastman, a Giant Goblin, and a sturdy young lad—anyone who knows anything about High Cliff Castle knows it has to be you three!"

"Ahem, Your Highness, keep your voice down," Mier said with an embarrassed look, quickly raising a finger to his lips.

"I had no idea the Saint Demin Arena was yours."

"It’s not entirely mine; I co-own this arena with a few others." Filo waved his hand, and his two Knights moved away to stand guard, preventing anyone from interrupting.

"Well, if it’s not all yours, we’ll just move somewhere else," the simpleton Zamanzi said, his thought process straightforward and uncomplicated.

"Moving won’t help," Filo said with a grin, not giving the three a chance to get excited. "However, I *can* arrange it so you’re the only ones running bets in this entire arena. But I’ll need a cut of the profits. Thirty percent. I’m not asking for much."

"I have to give a portion to His Majesty and the other nobles who co-own the arena, it’s not like I’m keeping it all for myself."

"Ahem, Your Highness, perhaps you should discuss this with our Lord yourself." Leiden suddenly pulled out a Communication Magic Stone, which was pulsing with a faint purple light. It was clearly already active.

Clearly, a certain someone had heard every single word he’d just said.

’Damn it, how is everyone from High Cliff Castle so shady!’

Looking as miserable as if his dearest relative had just died, Prince Filo had no choice but to take the Communication Magic Stone. Just as he expected, the Lord’s booming voice immediately came through from the other side.

"Who are you calling shady, you clown?! Thirty percent is off the table. Twenty percent, tops. Take it or leave it! We’re the ones guaranteed to profit here, not you!"

"Twenty percent it is," Filo said through gritted teeth, having no choice but to agree after a moment of internal struggle.

’Otherwise,’ he thought, ’I’ll probably end up with nothing *and* get a beating.’

"Oh, and get your ass back here and be our announcer. Who am I fighting next?" With that, the Communication Magic Stone flashed twice and went dark.

"You all keep this going. I’ll send a squad of Knights over to help. Three people isn’t enough to handle all the bettors," Filo said before hurrying off toward the center of the Gladiatorial Arena.

Normally, contestants had a half-hour break after each match.

But he hadn’t expected that Levi had no intention of resting and wanted to continue fighting immediately.