"Ah~! Don't bring up that frustrating match again! I even keep the recording in my bedroom to help with my insomnia… But don't worry, everyone! Even if today's fight isn't the most exciting, it definitely won't waste ten-plus hours of your precious time! Mr. Hou, do you know why?"
"Of course! Because today's contender in the betting battle is none other than the famous 'Ripping King Kong'! His beast, 'Bladed Mantis,' holds the title of 'Instant Kill King' in our Beast Arena! Since its debut, it has fought in over fifty matches, with only two losses to its name. On average, it KOs its opponent in just thirty seconds! You heard that right! Not thirty minutes, not even three minutes, but thirty seconds!"
"Wow! Did I hear that correctly? It takes only thirty seconds to KO an opponent on average?"
"That's right! Just thirty seconds! I'm telling you, even if you searched every beast arena in the entire country, you wouldn't find a KO record as fast as this!"
"With such a powerful beast in the ring, I truly pity the other contestant today. I heard he's just a rookie who joined the league today!"
"Another rookie! Why do rookies nowadays have no sense of their limits? Can't they learn to be as humble as I am?"
"Ahem… Mr. Hou, could you please step down from the table first… Alright, it's about time! Now, let's welcome with the loudest cheers—our 'Instant Kill King,' Bladed Mantis! And its master, Ripping King Kong!"
"And also, let's give a not-so-warm welcome to the overconfident rookie, contestant 0108!"
Amidst the relentless ridicule from the two commentators, Xu Mo made his entrance under a wave of boos from the audience. He even caught a few drink bottles thrown from the stands.
On the opposite side, Ripping King Kong emerged to thunderous cheers. He temporarily declined the invitation to step onto the stage, instead striding along the edge of the square arena until he stood before Xu Mo. With an arrogant sneer, he gave a thumbs-down gesture.
"Kid! Regretting this now? My Bladed Mantis will show you the true meaning of despair! Say your temporary goodbyes to your shard creature!"
As long as its wielder remained alive, a shard creature would never truly die. Even if it dissipated in battle, it would reform within thirty days. Ripping King Kong's boastful declaration made it clear that he had absolute confidence in his shard creature.
Standing before the 1.9-meter-tall Ripping King Kong, Xu Mo had to tilt his head back slightly, which felt uncomfortable. He stepped up a few levels onto the arena's platform, then turned his head to look down at his opponent and asked, "Ripping King Kong… Have you ever cried?"
"No… Why are you asking this?" Ripping King Kong was momentarily stunned.
"Because I'll make you cry in a bit."
With that casual remark, Xu Mo didn't even bother to look at his opponent's reaction. He turned and walked straight toward the viewing platform behind the arena.
"You bastard! I'll f***ing kill you!"
Ripping King Kong, who had been waiting to see Xu Mo's regretful or fearful expression, almost coughed up blood from sheer rage. As someone who had always been proud of his strength, he had never been ignored so thoroughly—let alone by a rookie who had just joined the league today. To him, this was no different than Xu Mo slapping him across the face in front of the entire audience.
If this were outside, with his temper, Ripping King Kong would have already torn Xu Mo apart from head to toe, starting with that mouth of his. But within the league, no matter how many guts he had, he wouldn't dare to act recklessly. Swallowing his fury, he returned to his designated position.
The Beast Arena's main hall was designed like an ancient copper coin, with a circular grandstand surrounding the central square ring. The outer ring could accommodate hundreds of spectators, completely enclosing the 25x25-meter arena. To prevent accidental injuries to the audience, the arena was fully enclosed in special bulletproof glass, with only two fist-sized openings left in front of the viewing platforms to allow ability users to summon their shard creatures.
Above the bulletproof glass, four massive screens hung from the ceiling, broadcasting the match in real time from various camera angles. If needed, they could also display instant replays and update rankings and results.
Once Xu Mo and Ripping King Kong took their places on their respective viewing platforms, a crisp gong sounded—their betting battle had officially begun.
"Instant Kill King! Instant Kill King!"
As soon as Ripping King Kong's 'Bladed Mantis' appeared in the ring, the audience erupted into cheers. Clearly, its near-unbeatable record had earned it a strong following.
Just as the reports indicated, this 'Bladed Mantis' was enormous. With a body nearly three meters long, when it raised its upper half, it was as tall as a stallion. Its hard exoskeleton shimmered with a golden metallic sheen, producing a harsh, grinding sound with every movement. It looked like it was clad in a suit of golden armor, making it seem nearly invulnerable. The two serrated forelimbs, each stretching close to 1.5 meters, were terrifying to behold.
"Ah! Our Instant Kill King, Bladed Mantis, has finally appeared! Still as mighty as ever! I wonder if our little rookie is already trembling in fear? What kind of shard creature will he summon to let us witness another glorious instant kill? I can't wait…"
Xu Mo instinctively glanced at the two commentators who were spitting out exaggerated remarks from the stands. With a cold smirk, he extended his hand into the opening before him. A blue glow swiftly formed within the bulletproof glass enclosure.
Hiss~!
As the silver-haired, blood-eyed Tyrant Empress emerged onto the arena, the once-jeering audience collectively fell silent. Instead, a wave of gasps swept through the stands.
"My god! This is unbelievable! Our little rookie has given us an incredible surprise! A humanoid shard creature! Let's put aside its combat abilities for now—this is the first humanoid shard creature in the history of the Beast Arena!"
"Wait, didn't you say the same thing when you first saw 'Skeleton General'?"
"Damn it! That damned pile of bones gave me nightmares for a whole week! I take back what I said back then—compared to that skeleton, this beautiful being is in a whole different league!"
The stunning entrance of the Tyrant Empress immediately overshadowed Bladed Mantis. After all, to normal people, a naked beauty was far more captivating than a giant golden insect. Cheers and whistles in support of Xu Mo quickly drowned out the chants of "Instant Kill King."
"Kid, don't get cocky! This is the Beast Arena, not a beauty pageant! Strength is the only thing that matters here!"
Completely enraged, Ripping King Kong finally gave his shard creature the signal to attack at full force. The Bladed Mantis rapidly flapped its translucent golden wings, taking to the air. After rebounding off the bulletproof glass walls a few times, it suddenly dived at breakneck speed, its massive scythe-like forelimbs glowing with a blurry golden light as it slashed down at the Tyrant Empress' head!
"It's over! Another perfect instant kill! That beautiful giant-clawed nude had no chance to fight back at all—wait, did I see that right? That is…?"
The gruesome scene that the audience had expected—severed limbs and a spray of blood—did not appear. Instead, the Tyrant Empress had simply raised her arms to shield her face, and though her skin bore over a dozen shallow cuts, the wounds barely bled. Moreover, in the few seconds as she lowered her arms, the wounds rapidly healed, leaving her pale, flawless body completely unscathed.
"This… This is impossible!"
Ripping King Kong's eyes widened in shock as he gripped the bulletproof glass wall. He knew better than anyone the destructive power of Bladed Mantis' exclusive skill, 'Bladed Speed Slash.' Even a car would be reduced to scrap metal under its twelve rapid slashes. In the entire Beast Arena, apart from the top-ranked Skeleton General, no other shard creature had survived this attack.
And yet, this seemingly delicate humanoid being hadn't even sustained a real wound. This was beyond his understanding—completely outside the realm of his expectations.