Chapter 70: The Aftereffects of Watching Lion King

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: The Aftereffects of Watching Lion King

If it were just jumping through normal hoops, it would have been far too simple for Cedriel. But flaming hoops were a different story entirely. The combination of danger and thrill left the audience both anticipating and worried.

Six massive hoops burst into flames mid-air, one after another. The Mojin King Tiger stood at the very front with a determined gaze. His forelegs crouched, and his back arched—he was ready to strike.

However, accidents always happened when least expected.

"Cyril!"

Just as the Mojin King Tiger was about to begin his performance, a platinum figure shot forward like an arrow released from its bow, directly taking the Mojin King Tiger’s place.

[Holy crap! What’s going on?! Where did this lion pop out from?! Everyone at the scene looks completely stunned.]

[Cyril... Is he who I think he is? Are breeders really in such high demand?]

[A Platinum Giant Lion! He looks so handsome leaping through the red flames! Though Cedriel is a bit pitiful having his spotlight stolen, haha!]

The netizens hadn’t even been laughing for two minutes when they suddenly found the live stream had gone black and the host was offline. Their joy immediately turned into sorrow. They couldn’t believe it—they were just joking around, so why did the stream have to be cut? They demanded their live stream back!

"ROAR!"

Compared to the netizens who were happily watching the drama unfold, the most displeased of all was the Mojin King Tiger, whose spotlight had just been stolen. When the Platinum Giant Lion bounded through the flaming hoops and landed on the other side, looking entirely ready to go for another round, Cedriel could no longer hold back.

"ROAR!"

Being roared at, the Platinum Giant Lion showed no signs of backing down. His deep, booming growl instantly echoed throughout the entire area.

The lion and the tiger simply stood there roaring at each other, much to the misery of everyone’s eardrums. Finally, seeing that the Mojin King Tiger looked ready to attack the Platinum Giant Lion and afraid that things would escalate, Liang He hurried onto the stage, hugged him, and comforted him softly.

"Cedriel, be a good boy. Don’t ruin your voice from all that roaring. You’re the best!"

This time, Liang He couldn’t really blame the Mojin King Tiger for being angry. After all, what the Platinum Giant Lion had done was indeed asking for a beating. The furious Mojin King Tiger, who was practically ready to throw down, was forcefully held back by Liang He. He half-crouched, allowing her to stroke his head, though his tail was still thrashing about in displeasure.

It was glaringly obvious that if it weren’t for Liang He, he would have long since rushed forward and torn that "little lion" across from him to shreds!

"SCREECH!"

"MEOW!"

Although the Mojin King Tiger had been restrained by Liang He, the Mengji Snow Leopard and the Canglan Hunting Eagle simultaneously joined the fray, charging straight for the Platinum Giant Lion. This just went to show that bonds were forged through time spent together. To think they were actually fighting for the Mojin King Tiger’s sake!

"Tsk, tsk. What a deep brotherly bond!" As a prime candidate on their blacklist, Xu Yi didn’t dare get anywhere near the enraged beasts. He could only mumble his sarcastic remarks from offstage.

"Stop with the snide comments," Huo An said. As the governor, he had to handle any situations that arose at the venue, and the most pressing matter was naturally this Platinum Giant Lion.

Watching the Platinum Giant Lion being ganged up on, Huo An let out a helpless sigh before turning to Eureka, who had rushed over in a panic. "Eureka, I need a reasonable explanation."

From the moment the Platinum Giant Lion appeared to Eureka’s panicked shout of the name "Cyril," it wasn’t hard to guess that this very lion who had stolen Cedriel’s spotlight was none other than the Crown Prince of the Empire.

"I apologize, Governor Huo," Eureka said. "Cyril only wanted to get an early look at his future living environment. But the moment he saw the flaming hoops, he reverted to his beast form. I couldn’t stop him even if I tried."

Eureka felt just as helpless. He knew that Cyril’s true objective was actually Liang He, but he never expected things to unfold like this.

"By the looks of it, he’s entered his Evolutionary Stage," Huo An noted. With his wealth of experience and being an SSS-level Beastman himself, he was completely clear on Cyril’s condition.

"I truly didn’t expect it to happen so suddenly. What do we do now..." Although the Empire had informed the reserve well in advance that Cyril’s arrival was only a matter of time, Eureka still felt deeply apologetic for what had just transpired.

"Remember, do not expose his identity. Whether it’s you or Cyril, just play along with whatever I say," Huo An warned. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Liang He walking toward them. The Mojin King Tiger had already joined the brawl, yet she didn’t seem the least bit worried.

"Governor Huo." In public settings, Liang He usually addressed him solely by his title.

"Mhm. How is the situation over there?"

"It’s fine. They’re just roughhousing. They know to hold back," Liang He replied.

At first, she had been worried that the Canglan Hunting Eagle and Mengji Snow Leopard would aim to kill the Platinum Giant Lion that had suddenly popped out of nowhere. But after observing them for a while, she realized she had been overthinking it. Feeling quite ashamed for her lack of trust in her furry companions, she decided not to hold Cedriel back anymore. She simply let him join the fray to vent his frustrations.

"I’m guessing it’s because I showed them the Lion King last time. They still remember it, so this Platinum Giant Lion just walked right into the line of fire."

Hearing her say this, Huo An seemed to recall the incident as well and nodded in agreement. "In that case, let them roughhouse a bit." Whether they were men or beasts, sometimes a good fight was exactly what they needed to build a stronger bond.

"Alright. Governor Huo, who is this?" Liang He had noticed Eureka for a while now. Based on the situation just now, it seemed he was the one who had brought the Platinum Giant Lion.

"Oh, this is Captain Eureka of the Empire. He’s the Platinum Giant Lion’s adopter."

She wondered, "Adopter?"

Eureka didn’t quite understand the title himself, but he honestly accepted it in silence. After all, Huo An had just warned him to play along.

"I see," Liang He said. "So you brought the Platinum Giant Lion to the reserve because you want him to live here?" Otherwise, she truly couldn’t think of any other reason.

"Cough... Um, yes, that’s exactly it. That’s right." Eureka wasn’t very good at lying and could only offer a stiff, perfunctory answer.

In the end, it was Huo An who came to his rescue. "As you can see, the Platinum Giant Lion’s name is Cyril. He had previously been raised in the Empire’s Royal Park, but the space there isn’t as vast as the reserve. So, Captain Eureka wanted to give him a change of environment."

For large beasts, a vast living environment was absolutely necessary. Liang He expressed her understanding of this point.

"Liang He, Platinum Giant Lions have always lived on the savanna, which happens to be within your service area. So, we might need you to take care of Cyril," Huo An said.

Thankfully, it was a perfect professional match. Otherwise, Huo An really wouldn’t have been able to come up with a suitable excuse on the spot to make Liang He take Cyril in.

"...Governor Huo, can I expand the animal dormitories?" Otherwise, it was really going to be a bit too cramped!

"I can help with that!" Eureka was still feeling apologetic about Cyril’s incident. Hearing Liang He’s request, he immediately jumped at the opportunity. No matter what, he had to win over this future breeder’s favor for Cyril!

"In that case, we thank you, Captain Eureka," Huo An said, not refusing the offer. Eureka represented the Empire, which was incredibly wealthy. This sort of expense was nothing to them. "Liang He, you should first take the Platinum Giant Lion to get acquainted with everyone so there are no accidental injuries."

Thanks to Liang He’s meticulous care, along with Xu Yi and Hoder’s participation in their daily lives, the Mengji Snow Leopard and the others were no longer as hostile toward humans. At the very least, they wouldn’t attack people. That was the only reason they had dared to let them appear here and participate in the festival.

However, the Platinum Giant Lion was different. Having never interacted with him before, his unpredictability had to be treated with utmost caution.

"Understood. I’ll go right now," Liang He replied.

Taking on what seemed like a daunting task, Liang He turned around and walked toward the Platinum Giant Lion, who was still engaged in a one-versus-three brawl and getting thoroughly ganged up on.