Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 211 - 198: The Victory of Manipulation

Lyle and his three companions were in a waiting room, separated from the central battle area of the Black Abyss Arena by a pitch-black straight corridor and a gridded gate.

Even from within the room, they could hear the howls of the Demon Race, much quieter than the ones Lyle had been heard before. After all, this was just a minor squabble between two small Andrey societies.

A Demon Race guard stood by, watching the four of them.

"Based on the basic information you’ve provided earlier, or the entry introductions you’ve scripted, when the commentator reads the lines, those who hear their name go out to fight, one by one."

Everyone but Lyle nodded.

"We need to provide personal information? Why wasn’t I notified?" Lyle looked at the guard whose black eyes were hidden within his helmet.

"Someone submitted it for you," the Demon Race guard, who looked formidable, seemed oddly kind to Lyle. He pulled out a piece of unrecognizable animal leather from the gaps between his armor and muscles and handed it to Lyle.

"What is this?"

"I hope you could give me an autograph."

Lyle was completely baffled. "My autograph?"

"Yes, I’m your loyal fan."

"But this is my first time participating in a gladiatorial combat."

"Yes, sir, I will be present at every battle you fight in the future, ensuring my loyalty to you. I, Yakler, swear that the only mighty ones in my heart are you and Lord Raymontos."

"..." Lyle glanced at the Demon Race guard Yakler and, urged by his gaze, bizarrely signed the Plague Doctor’s code name with the red secretion from Nia.

He looked at his companions.

"Did you guys sign me up?"

"No, we thought that a cool self-introduction should be written by oneself. So, we didn’t provide any information about you, boss. Maybe it was one of your supporters, after all, you are the rising star of Spirit Summoning Studies."

"I hope so."

With the dynamic beating of drums in the Black Abyss Arena and the tumult of voices, an atmosphere was conjured that stirred the blood in Lyle’s veins; Nia also popped her head out from behind Lyle, flailing her tentacles in the air.

A shrill voice came from outside the arena, Lyle remembered that voice—it was that despicable dwarf demon called Bigby.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The next performance is brought to you by our beloved members of Andrey. As is well-known, the evil and danger of Andrey are no less than any Demon Race group. Tonight, the Andrey Academy will once again perfectly enact the law of survival of the fittest in the jungle. Tonight is a skirmish between two Andrey gangs! The Magical Beast Breeding Society versus the Necromancer Figure Club! Will the claws of the beasts prove sharper, or will the frozen soil of death prove colder! Let us wait and see! Tonight, only one society will survive! Blood and bones to the Black Abyss!"

Amid persistent cheers from outside, Flash leaned close to Lyle’s ear.

"I think he’s hinting that we’re the winners, we don’t bleed, only those beasts have flesh and blood."

I’m sorry, that’s not a hint, I’m also flesh and blood.

"Tonight’s first gladiator! He is the condenser of frost, the manipulator of flesh! The knight who constantly challenges the mighty! The future... the future..." Bigby’s voice was intermittent and ended with a hint of confusion. "The future Gundam Pilot?"

Lyle looked on speechlessly at his companion who had already climbed onto the Spine Wheel. "You really wrote that."

"Why not?" Before being absorbed into the Spine Wheel of blood and bones, the companion extended two fingers to his forehead, and then gestured outward.

"When I wrote the entry lines, the outcome of this battle was also written by me."

The ferocious grinding sound of the Spine Wheel reverberated through the dark corridor. With a bang, it shot into the arena like a cannonball being fired.

The companion’s opponent had a Hellhound. It was about the size of a Shiba Inu, and lava dribbled from its mouth, flowing onto the ground. The black carbon outer shell had red cracks that pulsated like bellows, pumping hot air.

The Hellhound’s owner occasionally fed it some red fruits, making its lava breath even hotter and more viscous.

The gladiatorial combat began.

As the referee gave the signal, the Spine Wheel crashed forward with violent force.

The molten magma balls spat by the Hellhound were shattered by the tough Spine Wheel, scattering flames and ash all over the ground.

"Too slow," Andrey said.

The Black Abyss Arena, unlike the White Bone Forest, didn’t offer enough space for the Spine Wheel to accelerate. Even though it was quite fast, it could still be dodged.

"Such a shame! The White Bone Fierce Beast controlled by Mister Andrey and the Hellhound passed by each other! The outcome of the battle has once more become a mystery!"

After colliding several more times and failing in his attempts, that wasn’t the only problem...

"Mister Andrey has finally realized his opponent’s setup! The Hellhound’s magma ball attacks weren’t in vain—look at the ground, everyone!"

The ground, which was originally flat, was now filled with flowing lava.

"The Hellhound’s lava has changed the environment. The current arena temperature has reached high levels, scorching for the bone creatures, while for the Hellhound it is merely room temperature. Not just that! The semi-fluid environment is affecting the Spine Wheel by..."

"Slipping! Without enough friction, the Spine Wheel can’t reach full acceleration! Without speed, contestant Andrey is as good as trapped in a jar! The contestant commanding the Hellhound is playing with Andrey like a spider with its prey!"

"So, what is contestant Andrey’s counter strategy?"

"Contestant Andrey has started running again! He is not attacking, but is circling the edges of our arena! Is he making a last-ditch effort?"

"By the Demon God above! The Spine Wheel is running on the walls!"

The white Spine Wheel surfaced with hard ice spikes, piercing fiercely into the walls of the Black Abyss Arena like nailed boots.

"Correct! The sticky environment created by the Hellhound can’t be sustained on our vertical walls, and contestant Andrey is using that to his advantage! The Spine Wheel is accelerating continuously!"

"What can the Spine Wheel do with its swift rotation?"

"It can... it can... run on the protective light barrier," Bigby’s voice trembled as he and the audience watched the spinning Spine Wheel spiral upwards along the light shield at the center of the Arena, as if flying through the void.

"Faced with the Spine Wheel that’s nearly flying, the Hellhound’s attacks have lost all effectiveness!"

"But does contestant Andrey have any more tricks up his sleeve, knowing that this just leads to a stalemate between the two!"

"It’s snowing..."

"Don’t forget! Contestant Andrey is also an Ice Elementalist. Indeed, he is causing widespread snowfall across the arena, speeding up the cooling of the lava. The rapidly spinning Spine Wheel has created a huge cyclone, drawing out the arena’s high temperature. Soon, the Hellhound will face a fierce collision that it won’t be able to dodge at maximum speed!"

"The Hellhound is spouting more lava to fight off the spreading cold, and we’ve entered a tug of war! Whose flame will be extinguished first, or will contestant Andrey’s magical power run out!"

Inside the Spine Wheel, Andrey’s jawbone parted slightly.

"Ha! A tug of war, you fools! I’m the spider here," Andrey sneered.

The rotating Spine Wheel bounced off the light barrier and began to fall through the air toward the fiery ground below.

Snowflakes stirred up by its motion danced in the air, along with the hidden trump card within the snowflakes.

Ice Blade Spider Silk. The high-temperature-resistant, tough spider silk spread over the ground with the snowflakes, like a skirt of the goddess descending from the sky. Andrey had set it all up while climbing the light barrier and making it snow.

It was time to close the net.

With the high-speed rotation of the Spine Wheel, the Ice Blade Spider Silk that had already been wound around the entire arena several times instantly tightened, twisting the Hellhound and its handler into a braid.

The powerful speed transformed into a strong pulling force, lifting them off the ground.

Coming head-on were the ferocious ice blades condensed between the gaps of the spinning Spine Wheel.