Chapter 91 – The Opponent

“Haha, Avi, look at the stadium!”

Calron exclaimed as he stood at the top entrance of the Arena and gazed down at the stadium.

“Awooo!”

Avi excitedly howled, as her head darted around to look at the countless beasts seated around her.

Compared to the small stadium of the Red Boar School, the one before Calron was many times larger and bustling with people.

The seats were structured in a semi-circle fashion with the massive stage at the center of the Arena. A fight seemed to be currently taking place, as two beasts ferociously fought against each other.

Two giant illusory bronze shields hovered in the sky on opposite sides of the stadium with each floating shield displaying the name of the contestant.

“Please make your way to the stadium. Your battle will begin shortly.”

A fox-type beast wearing an official garment quietly approached Calron from the side, and beckoned for him to follow.

“Oh right! Let’s go!”

Calron cheerfully replied as he treaded behind the fox.

Any idea on how many people are tracking us?

Calron asked his Teacher in a serious tone.

I’m not sure about the exact amount, but there are definitely over twenty beasts concentrating on your every move. Kid, this will be dangerous, especially since you have never fought in your beast form before.

Ezkael nervously stated within his student’s mind.

There is no running from this, Teacher. I need to know why these people are tracking me. I can’t have them following me back to the baby beasts when I return to the outer range.

Calron firmly responded, as his azure eyes glowed with a fierce determination.

I’ll try to help out during the fight if the Azure Lighting tries to emerge, but other than that, you are all on your own.

Ezkael conveyed as his presence slowly dispersed from within Calron’s mind.

“Haha, it’s been quite a while since I last engaged in a fight… ”

Calron silently chuckled as he gazed up at the sunny sky.

“Did you say something?”

The fox tilted its head and glanced at Calron from the corner of its eye.

“No, just admiring the clouds.”

Calron charmingly replied, as he continued to walk behind the irritated fox.

……………

“THE WINNER OF THE BATTLE IS… FAROG!”

A loud booming voice bellowed within the Arena, while Calron neared the stadium with the fox walking in front of him.

The stadium appeared to be even larger than Calron had initially thought, as each side of it measured at least thirty feet. This size was not surprising, as some of the beasts that Calron had seen in the city were simply enormous.

The victor of the match, Farog, was a giant black lion with protruding ivory spikes on its paws. Ferociously roaring into the sky, Farog prowled around the stadium as it circled the defeated aqua-blue lizard.

With a height of nearly six feet, the black lion was not much shorter than Calron.

Several beasts suddenly entered the stadium and carried the unconscious blue lizard away from the stage. Letting out a final roar, Farog descended down the stadium and walked towards the exit of the Arena.

A serious expression flickered across Calron’s face when he saw the numerous cuts and wounds spread across the lion’s body.

Meanwhile, the audience lazily clapped their hands in a half-hearted applause, along with a few occasional cheers from the seats.

Based on the audience’s response, Calron assumed that the previous battle was not the excitement that they had been waiting for, as even the fox in front of him appeared to be slightly embarrassed about this.

“This next battle is something special, my dear beasts, as it is the debut fight of a new entrant!”

The invisible announcer’s voice resounded in the Arena.

Hearing that it was the first fight of a new entrant, the crowd immediately hushed up. The first fight of a beast was usually exciting, as it often involved an intense battle of survival.

“Please welcome our new entrant….. CALRON!”

The audience erupted in a wild frenzy as they howled and roared with excitement.

Avi let out a small whimper as she covered her ears with her tiny paws.

“Avi, stay here and don’t wander around. I will come back after the battle is over.”

Calron softly muttered as he lowered his body to the ground for the little pup to dismount.

“woof?”

Avi asked in a small bark as she stood on the ground and gazed up at Calron.

“I will be fine… so just make sure to cheer for me!’

Calron jovially replied as he gave the little pup a quick wink.

“woof, woof!”

Avi barked with enthusiasm, joining the crowd behind her.

“Good girl.”

Calron whispered with a smile, as he outstretched his metallic wings and leapt off into the air.

Calron…

Ezkael’s voice abruptly sounded out within his mind.

Yes, Teacher?

Don’t get hurt, kid.

Ezkael’s said in a worried tone

Haha, I will definitely try not to.

Calron laughed as he landed onto the stadium, causing a torrent of gust to burst from his wings.

Standing on the empty stage, Calron patiently waited for his opponent to arrive.

Glancing back one final time to make sure Avi was alright, Calron pushed away any stray thoughts within his mind and mentally prepared himself for this battle.

He knew for a fact that this would not be a simple fight like the previous match on the Arena.

A hazy image began to appear in the sky above Calron’s position, gradually forming into the bronze shield with his name etched onto it.

The audience continued with their howling and screaming as they eagerly looked forward to the start of the battle.

Just then, a massive humanoid shadow fell across the stage as a towering figure stepped onto the stadium.

With dark green skin, reptilian eyes, and unnatural muscles bulging all over its body, the bizarre looking beast entered the platform.

Standing at a monstrous height of over eight feet tall, the green beast easily loomed over Calron’s figure.

The crowd abruptly turned silent the moment that they saw the green beast enter the stage.

“woof!….woof?”

Avi stopped cheering when she sensed that the crowd behind her had strangely turned quiet.

“It’s… the goblin variant… what is going on here… isn’t this supposed to be a debut battle… someone go and quickly tell that bird to get off the stage…”

As the audience silently whispered amongst themselves, Calron remained standing still as he solemnly gazed at the illusory image above the green beast.

It was a silver badge.

“Sigh… this complicates things a bit.”

Calron muttered as his claws dug into the floor of the stadium.

A goblin variant, and it’s a big one at that. This beast is at the fifth rank of the Vajra stage, kid. Are you still sure about this?

Ezkael whispered, as his soul energy spread within Calron and restrained the Azure Lightning.

No. But, I don’t want to ever run away from a fight.

Calron slowly stated, as the golden scales covering his body began to lightly vibrate.

This was going to be the first time he had ever used the full strength of his beast form.

“GRRAHHH!”

The monstrous beast slowly bent down its scarred head as it breathed onto Calron’s face, while its murky eyes viciously bored into him.

Suddenly, a raging torrent of golden lightning surged around Calron as his azure eyes flashed with a cold fury.

Raising his head to face the towering green beast, Calron let out a challenging roar that caused the very air around the stage to crackle with sparks of lightning.

*SCREEEEEEEE*