On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

"Hahaha, this is going to be interesting! This is an 'elephant' level monster! That widow is doomed!"

"No way! I wanted to see her play a few more games. You guys are so cruel!"

"Damn it! I'm done for! I bet on that dragon widow to win, and now I've lost everything, damn it!"

While gladiators and monsters fight, spectators can choose to bet on the monster.

The higher the amount bet on the monster, the stronger the monster the organizer will send out, indirectly giving the audience the right to "choose" the match.

Just like Liao Ji's "debut battle" before, which obviously didn't have much popularity, the audience didn't expect Liao Ji to fight, so the monsters were quite ordinary, with only two or three "dog" level monsters.

But now, the dragon race, widows, beautiful female gladiators, and possibly the organizers' behind-the-scenes promotion, all these factors have combined to create the current situation.

Liao Ji frowned, and Xiao Jiuyou, whom she was holding, seemed to finally realize that the enthusiastic atmosphere around her was not quite what she had imagined. She, who was always very confident in her mother, couldn't help but feel a little nervous, her eyes fixed on her mother's figure below the stage.

Styutia, who was next to Liao Ji, was about to burst out, but Liao Ji stopped her first. He felt that things were probably not that simple.

With the atmosphere building to its peak, the host will definitely interview the person involved.

However, when he handed the microphone to Tang and asked him how he felt when he learned that the next enemy would be an "elephant"-level monster,

Jiuyou's mother simply shrugged, her face showing little expression, though she could tell she was a little anxious.

She simply replied to the host, "May we begin? I promised my daughter I would be back soon."

Ohhhh!!!

When Jiuyou's mother's answer echoed through the microphone to the ears of the entire arena audience, it immediately raised the atmosphere to a new level.

To the audience, Jiu You's mother's words were undoubtedly incredibly domineering, as if the upcoming battle against the "elephant" level monster was as trivial as eating and drinking.

A small number of viewers were attracted by Jiu You's mother's domineering and calm demeanor, but most viewers, with red eyes, roared all sorts of trash talk and began to cheer for the monster, wanting to teach this arrogant dragon-human widow a lesson and show her what she was made of.

Finally, as the host left the stage, the arena began to close. Opposite to Jiu You's mother, a huge iron gate slowly opened, and under the breathless gaze of all the spectators, a terrifying monster's shadow appeared from behind the gate.

The Elephant-level Turbid Monsters are almost seven or eight meters tall and weigh tens of tons each, like enlarged versions of tanks. They don't need to do anything; their massive bodies alone are enough to instill fear and deterrence.

Pairs of ferocious fangs protrude high from the sides of his mouth. Each fang is at least as thick as a water bucket. It is conceivable that if one were to poke him, even a demi-human's physique could be easily pierced through.

This elephant-level monster quickly locked its red eyes on the only living creature in the arena, Jiu You's mother. Then, it exerted force with all four limbs, like a running elephant, and charged towards Jiu You's mother with a roar that shook the ground.

Although Jiu You's mother was quite tall, she was only compared to humans. In front of this elephant-sized monster, she was like a toy. Facing the charging monster, she stood still and did not move. To outsiders, she looked like she was scared out of her wits, which drew boos and excitement from the audience.

I was thrilled to see the female gladiator being trampled into a pulp, or pierced through and launched into the sky by the fangs of the monstrous monster.

However, at the very last moment, only a few people, including Liao Ji and Si Xiutiya, could see it clearly.

Jiuyou's mother placed her hand on her chest. When the monster's massive body was only five meters away from her, a surge of turbid energy erupted from her chest, and a long blade made of raging flames quickly solidified and took shape, which Jiuyou's mother then grasped tightly.

In the blink of an eye, he drew his sword, thrust it forward, and sheathed it.

Only one strike.

The slash was incredibly fast; the audience couldn't see anything clearly, not even when Jiu You's mother made the move.

All they could see was the afterimage of the flaming blade marks in the air directly in front of the dragon widow, like the afterimage of a waning moon dancing with the blade marks.

After the blazing blade was sheathed back in front of Jiuyou's mother, Tang didn't even glance at the giant elephant monster that had come to an abrupt halt in front of him, and turned to leave.

The moment Tang turned around, the enormous body of the giant elephant-like monster seemed to give way, and it collapsed to the ground with a dull thud before the incredulous eyes of all the spectators.

Only then, following the monster's fallen corpse, could the audience see that the core of the turbid calamity, located in the heart of this giant elephant, was now completely burned away. A deep blade slash, at an incredibly precise angle, struck precisely at the heart, delivering a fatal blow to the monster, killing it instantly.

"Impossible! This is impossible!"

"This is an elephant-level monster! The base needs to send at least three elite units to defeat it, and she... she actually did it all by herself."

"There's something inside! There's definitely something inside!"

"The authorities are letting us off easy! They're just trying to rip us off! Damn it! I've invested a week's worth of resources into monsters, no, I can't accept this!"

"Bullshit! This dragon gladiator is clearly stronger! Hahahaha! I've hit the jackpot this time!"

Amidst the chaos in the audience, Xiao Jiuyou, nestled in Liao Ji's arms, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, with a smug expression, she boasted to Liao Ji:

"See, brother? I didn't lie to you, did I? Mom is super amazing! She said she'd be back soon, and she meant very soon!"

The little girl suddenly frowned halfway through her sentence. She looked at the last piece of candy in her hand and realized that something was wrong.

She couldn't bear to eat Liao Ji's candy right away, so she kept it in her mouth. Now that her mother's party is over, the candy hasn't even melted yet. When her mother comes back, she's going to get scolded!

Because my mother said I shouldn't eat food from strangers.

So Xiao Jiuyou hurriedly wolfed down the remaining candy, very reluctant to part with it, but still swallowed it in one gulp. Then she anxiously tugged at Liao Ji's clothes, urging Liao Ji to go back quickly so that his mother wouldn't find out.

However, Liao Ji gave Xiao Jiuyou a reassuring look, because the organizers seemed to have been stunned by Jiuyou's mother's strength. Now that they had realized what was happening, they immediately sent the host to stop Jiuyou's mother and began to praise her lavishly.

After all, after this battle, almost everyone will see that a brilliant new star is about to rise in the Glades' arena. Every gladiator star is an absolute cash cow for the official team. Judging from the official host's tone, Liao Ji already has the intention to start promoting them.

So

Is this Jiu You's past?

Liao Ji watched as Tang, the focus of countless eyes below the arena, won a generous prize, and was captivated by her strength, becoming a fan and chanting "Tang's" name. Tang, however, seemed distracted while being interviewed, as if she just wanted to finish quickly and return to her daughter.

As Xiao Jiuyou chewed on the sweet candy, she saw that her mother seemed to have become a popular contestant, liked by so many people, and her two little dimples also showed a sweet smile.

Currently it looks

It seems pretty good?

But precisely because of this, Liao Ji sighed inwardly, because what they were seeing now was all in the past, and judging from Jiu You's current state as a result...

I hope it's not the worst-case scenario I'm imagining.

As Liao Ji remained silent, the scene before him changed, and the story moved to its next point.

Chapter 246 Final

After Jiuyou's mother's "debut battle," the subsequent plot of "Evil Dragon's Dream" became the gladiators' job: to perform their battles for the audience in the arena.

Liao Ji continues to play the gladiator, working in tandem with the story's progression.

"Please don't kill me! I surrender! I surrender!"

Soon Liao Ji's first battle arrived, and the result was as expected. The gladiator who was Liao Ji's opponent was kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, kowtowing repeatedly, with tears and snot mixed on his face, looking as pathetic as could be.

The audience on the stage showed their contempt and disdain upon seeing this. The gamblers who had bet on the gladiator cursed loudly, while the audience who had bet on Liao Ji shouted excitedly, urging Liao Ji to quickly execute his opponent and deliver the final fatal blow.

But when Liao Ji looked at the gladiators kneeling and bowing to him with humble expressions, even though he knew they were just NPCs in a dream, he still didn't kill them and prepared to turn around and leave.

However, to everyone's surprise, the gladiator who had just been crying and begging for mercy suddenly turned ferocious. His eyes were red, revealing a crazy killing intent. He pulled out a dagger that he had prepared beforehand and was about to stab Liao Ji in the heart.

"Go to hell!"

The gladiator charging with his dagger had a fierce look on his face, mixed with excitement. He looked at Liao Ji, who had foolishly let him go and was so unguarded, exposing his back to him. He could almost see himself winning the match.

A comeback from the brink of defeat often yields a larger reward, filling the gladiators' minds with greed and bloodlust, while the audience on the stage becomes excited as well. Audiences never tire of watching these kinds of dramas where the strong are defeated by the weak due to carelessness.

Unfortunately, Liao Ji didn't even need to turn around. 86 and Control One, standing nearby, immediately unleashed a barrage of fire on the ambushing gladiator. The gladiator's dagger didn't even touch the hem of Liao Ji's clothes before he was riddled with bullets and died a gruesome death on the field.

To the audience on stage, this scene was automatically interpreted as Liao Ji delivering a beautiful backhand strike that sent the gladiator flying, followed by his swift execution without any further mercy.

Cheers erupted from the stands. The audience was not afraid of the gladiators' gruesome deaths; on the contrary, they found it exciting. This was exactly what they wanted to see. What kind of arena would it be without killing and bloodshed?

After Liao Ji won the match, the dreamlike scene quickly changed, and soon he was back on the arena, competing in a new match.

Unlike before, there were significantly more spectators watching his match this time, clearly indicating that he has become a powerful newcomer in this story.

So this gladiator seemed to know that he was no match for Liao Ji, and had no fighting spirit whatsoever. Throughout the fight, he adopted a humble attitude, constantly calling Liao Ji "Senior Liao Ji." After being easily defeated by Liao Ji, he praised Liao Ji's martial arts skills endlessly, appearing completely defeated.

This gladiator had clearly studied Liao Ji and knew that as long as he didn't provoke him, he could survive even if he lost. This was extremely rare in the arena where it was a fight to the death.

Liao Ji had no intention of killing his opponent. As he turned to leave, the gladiator did not launch any sneak attacks. Instead, he respectfully watched Liao Ji leave without moving an inch, as if afraid that Liao Ji would misunderstand.

Of course, this "boring" battle naturally drew great dissatisfaction from the audience. What they wanted to see was not this peaceful arena where there were no casualties.

After the match ended, just when Liao Ji thought the next match was about to begin, the dreamlike scenery around him changed, and he found himself in the audience.

Liao Ji looked down and saw two gladiators fighting in the arena. He recognized one of them; it was the opponent he had let go in the previous round.

This gladiator no longer possessed the humility he displayed when fighting Liao Ji, because his opponent was clearly inferior in strength. After a fierce battle, his opponent was pierced through the abdomen by a sharp blade and was obviously incapacitated.

"Please, spare me! I give up, I surrender!"

"I have a family waiting for me to support, and a five-year-old daughter who can't live without a father. I... I can't die, please!"

"Didn't Lord Liao Ji let you go before? You, you will definitely do the same."

Before the defeated gladiator could finish his pleas, his head was mercilessly severed by a single blow, and blood gushed out, staining the sand of the surrounding arena crimson.

The gladiator who had been spared by Liao Ji had no intention of imitating Liao Ji, and the polite attitude he had shown when facing Liao Ji was nowhere to be seen now.

He also became bloodthirsty and ferocious, choosing the most gruesome method of beheading. His purpose was simple: the audience erupted in cheers for him, and many wealthy merchants and gentry who were delighted gave the contestant tips.

Liao Ji felt very uncomfortable after witnessing this scene.

If I had killed the gladiator instead of letting him go, perhaps this gladiator father wouldn't have had to die.

Not

Liao Ji quickly realized that it had nothing to do with whether he killed or not. This was the cruelty of the arena. The law of the jungle was the only rule here. All moral constraints were a joke to the arena.

The fate of all gladiators is to entertain the audience through killing. This is a man-made breeding ground for venomous creatures, where the venomous creatures have no right to resist or choose, only to kill each other endlessly.

Soon, Liao Ji's dream scene changed again. This time, the arena was exceptionally grand, with every seat filled. Even between the seats, countless spectators were willing to stand to watch.

Each tournament held in the arena is an elimination tournament. After defeating one opponent after another, the final match will be between the two strongest gladiators of the tournament to determine the true champion of the arena.

Such a final is almost the grandest event in the arena every year, and a major event for the Gurasai base. Not only are the arena regulars, but many civilians from the base also want to squeeze in and witness the battle between the strong.

This year's final was officially described as the most important showdown in recent decades. In addition to the usual rule that the winner could make a request within the limits of the organizers, the organizers also increased the prize money to motivate the two contestants.

Among the two strongest fighters who emerged from the numerous gladiators in this competition, one of them is naturally Liao Ji.

And another

Liao Ji looked at a middle-aged dragon-human woman on the opposite side of the arena who was also looking at him.

Chapter 247 Revenge

"After Mr. Liao Ji helped take care of Jiu You last time, I've been wanting to find an opportunity to meet him to properly thank him, but I've been too busy and forgot. I never expected that our next meeting would be in this kind of situation. Sigh."