JOKE

Leonel entered the event quite smoothly and found that the ruckus was being caused by a tournament of some sort. The shaking was from all the cheering in the surroundings... if you could call it that.

The Rapax had some of the most grating language Leonel had ever heard. Although the language of the Pluto was quite fierce, it felt more... cohesive, in a way.

The Pluto's language was like the roar of a dragon, but the language of the Rapax was like if an entire forest of animals began going at it at the same time.

It was a mixture of growls, shouts, and clicks. When it filled a stadium like this, it felt more like Leonel was in the middle of the wilds instead of an established society.

Leonel walked down the stairs, tuning out the ruckus until he got to a railing. The railing was stuffed full of Rapax wrestling for better position, but he directly pushed past, the strength of his body knocking them away and clearing space.

Finally, he got a clear look at the battle below, and to his surprise, it was actually a Rapax and a Sea God?

Leonel's eyes narrowed.

He had already walked around the city for a while. He had seen a lot of Rapax, but he hadn't seen a single existence that wasn't of their Race. Though he hadn't reacted much to it, he had been a bit worried about what that would mean for his own existence. But he still didn't panic.

Just judging from the reaction of the other Rapax to him, he knew that it wasn't a huge issue. Some looked at him curiously, but there was nothing else.

What Leonel didn't expect was that he would run into a Sea God here of all places.

'Interesting... is it an attempted infiltration? A coincidence? Something else?'

Viewing a race as a monolith would be a mistake. Leonel didn't want to overextend himself with false assumptions.

Not all members of the Sea Gods would be part of some grand master plot.

The battle below was intense.

The Rapax was a master of close combat, like most were. Its legs, arms and tail were all lethal weapons, each one creating a whirlwind of furious assaults.

The Sea God wielded a gorgeous blue saber. He was clearly at a slight disadvantage, but it was just as clear that the battle wouldn't be ending anytime soon.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

The two were neck and neck. It was the kind of battle that could go on for hours, and the Rapax were loving every minute of it.

Leonel looked up, and his eyes narrowed.

Up above, there were sitting arrangements for those he assumed were the nobles of the Rapax. Much like the Rapax of the Dimensional Verse, they had specially colored runes on their pill-shaped heads.

However, this wasn't what Leonel cared about. What he did note was the fact there was a Sea God sitting amongst them. Two, in fact.

'What's going on?'

He was confused, thoroughly.

What was going on? He hadn't seen any information about the Rapax and Sea Gods being so close.

Could it be that the third party had chosen to side with the Barbarian Race, after all?

This was bad. Very bad.

Leonel hadn't relaxed after his battle with Talon. For one, he knew that Talon was likely even more suppressed than he was, not only because his Dimension was higher, but his Demi-God constitution was definitely of a higher tier. On top of that, he was also trying to hide his identity. The trifecta caused his strength to plummet.

It wasn't just this, but he also knew that Talon was likely just the tip of the iceberg.

As wealthy as Talon was, he couldn't afford to buy the information Leonel had. Not even remotely. He definitely had the backing of truly powerful Barbarians.

So, if he was dealing not just with the backer of a Demi-God Race, but one of an equally powerful Race, or maybe even more powerful one, on top of that...

Leonel's gaze became frighteningly cold.

He felt like someone was playing him, and he didn't know where the feeling was coming from. He didn't have enough information to confirm or deny it, but what he did know was that he couldn't allow things to continue like this.

Leonel continued to watch as the battle continued.

Eventually, the Sea God lost, and another battle began.

Once again, it was a Sea God and a Rapax.

It couldn't have been clearer that this was an exchange of some sort.

All the battles were close, and every time, it would come down to the last few moves.

The crowd was completely enamored by the spectacle.

Leonel continued to watch as the Rapax jostled around him. But he was like an immovable mountain. His feet were firmly rooted, and his arms were crossed over his chest.

Everyone that hit against him was sent stumbling the other direction, and eventually, there was a small, impenetrable circle formed around him as though the Rapax had all decided that he couldn't be messed with in any way.

His expression remained unreadable even at the point the climax of the battle began.

For the first time in the history of the coliseum, a pair of Overlords descended into battle.

Compared to the previous battles, they clearly weren't going all out, but the crowd was still excited beyond belief.

How often could they see such a thing? Even pinnacle Seventh Dimensional existences rarely appeared. Ordinary Eighth Dimensional experts were even more recluse. Where could they possibly have the chance to see such a battle? Even if they were holding back, it was a huge opportunity.

The battle continued for about ten minutes or so before the two came to a stop. They bowed respectfully and the crowd's cheers reached their pinnacle.

It was at this moment a voice echoed, one that seemed to suppress all the other voices in an instant, despite being gentle and soft.

"Is this a joke?"