"PENGU!"

With Eve's scream, I couldn't decide whether to be baffled by the coincidence, amazed by the degree to which the crowd on the tribunes was stunned, or just happy that City Mayor's ploy ended up in such a silly way!

As soon as my old friend hear the voice of my fiancee, it instantly flared up and with just a single move, the cage that was supposed to completely lock him came apart! The change was so swift that the guards responsible by hauling him to the arena got blasted away after some of the debris from the shattered cage collided with them. Contrary to most of the cultivators in the city, they were just menial servants tasked with the most mundane and grounded jobs, resulting in their cultivation being barely high enough to survive from just a side effect of Pengu's reaction!

Since the people on the tribunes couldn't be sure about the emotions that Eve's shout expressed, when they saw our little friend dashing headfirst towards her, they could still think that for some reason, the words that she uttered pushed him into the rage mode. Too focused on the events on the stage, I secretly regretted being unable to see how their facial expressions changed when instead of trying to claim her life, Pengu smashed right into her cuddle!

Instantly rolling on the floor, Eve kept Pengu in a tight embrace, while the latter continuously licked her face! This was the moment when people finally realised that something was wrong! But at the same time, I figured out that something wasn't right! Arena city was simply too far away from the wandering sword sect to go all the way to our previous training grounds only to catch some monsters! How did my friend end up in their custody?

With bad premonition appearing in my head, I lunged forward, hit the railing of the tribunes with my feet and used it as a support to jump to the very centre of the arena!

Noticing an abrupt movement, both Eve and Pengu instantly turned their head and beak respectively towards my direction while putting their guards up, only to relax when they realised who was coming.

As soon as I landed on my bent legs on the arena floor, I ran through the remaining few meters that separated me from the cuddly duo only to snatch Pengu from my Fiancee's arms! Seeing this action I could hear excited shouts coming from all around, only for the silence to reappear right when I hugged my friend as tightly as I could!

Ah, this heavenly, soft sensation of its fur! Even if I had some minimal doubts when considering the odds of such situations happening, when I sank my hands in Pengu's soft fur, all my hesitation and uncertainty disappeared in a flash, replaced by a pure feeling of joy.

"What the hell is going on!"

Before long, shouts like that started to resound in the tribunes, only to be overwhelmed by the exact same question enchanted with some kind of amplifying technique, coming right from the centermost lodge located right at the top of the entrance.

"This is the question that I would ask! Who dared to invade our sect training grounds to kidnap this friend of mine! Show yourself if you dare so I can teach you proper morals!"

There were only three options here. Either someone targeted our sect and possessed might so great to enslave Pengu on the way back through the forest, someone intentionally went all the way down to our sect training grounds to catch some formidable monster for no reason or something completely outside of my expectations happened! No matter what, I have to punish anyone who offended my saviour! While we had some arguments back before our friendship really started, it didn't change the fact that by the time we left the sect, Pengu was still hurt because of his attempt to help us when we were besieged by some elders of a minor sect!

"I think there is some sort of misunderstanding here."

Seeing how I already had my energy sword brandished and ready to strike whoever dared to approach, Mayor Jelier himself hurried down to the arena to explain the situation. From his bewildered face, I could tell that he was as dumbfounded by this event as we were!

"From what I was told, this magical beast came near our city by itself and was apprehended without a fight! We even mounted a strong party to stop it before it could rampage in the city surroundings, only for it to casually walk past the guards and not put any resistance when we placed in it the cage! We had no way of knowing that it was a tamed beast of yours! Why did you leave it outside in the first place then?"

This sly, middleaged fox! Not only did he stated that it was MINE tamed Pengu, he even shamelessly and indirectly accused me of being the one at fault for letting it roam freely! But he also brought up and important point, what the hell was Pengu doing nearby the city?

"First thing first, it's not my tamed beast. We simply mutually benefited from coexisting to the point where this little guy risked his own life to save me! As such, if you dare to attempt to enslave it, you will have to go through me first!"

While I would prefer to not go against the entire might of the city, I knew that if I bring this kind of teary story to the sunlight, Jelier would have to face the wrath of his own citizens if he dared to insist on keeping Pengu for himself.

"Forget about this, I never had the intention to do so. For me, the bigger problem is, what can we do about all those people that gathered here, paid for the tickets to watch this fight and wagered their money on its outcome? How are you going to take responsibility for breaking the match like this?"

This guy… I have to give him that, he knows how to fight for the favour of masses. While my story could gain some sympathy for our situation, in the face of the unjust loss of money, it was obvious who would the crowd side with!

"Just find someone on the expanding senses level and make him duel with Eve."

With those words, I didn't wait for Jelier's response but turned around to face the densest area of the tribunes and shouted.

"I'm willing to pay five hundred arena coins for an expanding senses expert to have a mock fight with my fiancee in place of this magical beast. The first one to get down to the stage will…"

Before I even managed to finish my sentence, there was a mulled crashing sound, announcing that someone couldn't imagine missing such a profitable situation! I guess five hundred arena coins was far more than enough to irk someone interest!

"While I can accept this substitute, how can you ensure that he will fight seriously? There is no benefit for him in… doing his best…"

As Jelier instantly tried to turn the situation around, he realised that he gave me a golden way out with his own words, almost cutting his own sentence short!

"That's a great idea! Sir over there, you have quick wits to enter the arena so decisively. As our dear City Mayor pointed out, there is no reason for you to fight with all your might, so let me fix that really quick! I hereby announce, that if this man managest to best my fiancee on the field, I will pay him another thousand arena coins on top of the previously mentioned participation prize!"

Reaching with my hand to my storage ring, I froze for a moment upon realising that I only had cards with thousand arena coins each! Sighing slightly, I pulled out one of them and threw it at the quick-witted cultivator.

"As to not let anyone claim that I won't honour my words, here is one thousand arena coins! I would like Sir to confirm my words!"