Chapter 530: Eating Then Sleeping
Snow Bird Arena.
Inside the viewing chamber, the bishop's expression darkened slightly.
The silver level priest hadn't handled things cleanly. Allowing the big guy to crash through the main gate and expose himself to countless spectators had brought shame upon the bishop.
“Damn it!” the priest cursed inwardly. The big guy's resistance had surpassed his expectations.
He drew a deep breath and unleashed his most potent divine spell with all his might.
The big guy stood frozen in place, showing no sign of dodging, and was struck directly.
The savage expression on his face had completely vanished, his eyes no longer bloodshot. Instead, they held a look of profound confusion.
He turned his head, scanning his surroundings as if asking himself, “Huh? How did I end up here?”
“Where is this place?”
He spun around, his expression growing even more bewildered.
He did not see a single familiar face. Originally, mercenaries like Tripleblade had been stationed here, but not long ago, Tripleblade had led his men away, rushing off to provide emergency reinforcements.
The big guy was stunned.
Behind him, the priest's eyes widened, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
“I just cast the divine spell with full power, right?”
“But why isn't he reacting at all after being hit by Sleep?”
“A normal person, no, a normal silver level would collapse instantly and fall asleep.”
“Who the hell is this giant?”
"I know giants generally have high magic resistance. But no one said their divine spell resistance was this high too!"
Just as the priest doubted himself, the big guy suddenly froze, his gaze sharpening.
What was he seeing?
He saw - rice!
Bowl after bowl of fluttering boat fried rice, arranged densely on the long table.
Though a formation sealed in the aroma, the big guy’s gaze had already gone completely blank.
“Food, food?”
"Food?!"
"Food!!!"
The big guy roared with excitement, his face aglow with ecstasy. He swung his massive legs and strode forward, charging toward the dueling arena.
His arrival immediately caused a stir.
His enormous frame, combined with the fact that he'd crashed through the gate, had kept him under close watch ever since he entered the crowd's view.
“Get in line!” The security staff swarmed toward the big guy.
“Stop right there!” The silver level priest snapped to attention, scrambling to follow behind.
The security staff, spotting the priest, assumed he would intervene.
The priest, seeing the staff closing in on the big guy, instinctively slowed his pace, expecting them to intercept him.
Then, both sides stared each other down, each waiting for the other to make the first move...
The result? The big guy miraculously burst into the main venue.
“Food! Food! Food!” He charged into the crowd, shoving aside those unable to dodge.
His target: a long table laden with iron level fluttering boat fried rice, surrounded by iron level transcendents. Most people had already scattered as the big guy approached. The few who were pushed aside had neither the inclination nor the strength to clash with him.
Had he acted this way earlier, it would have drawn widespread resentment, perhaps even sparked public outrage. But now, everyone was stuffed, preoccupied with digesting their food, with no energy left to dwell on the big guy's antics.
A series of coincidences allowed the big guy to plow through recklessly, yet smoothly reach the long table.
He grabbed bowl after bowl, tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and dumped the fried rice straight in.
His massive frame made what were large bowls for normal snow elves seem like teacups to him.
Bowl after bowl poured into his mouth, chewed noisily, and swallowed greedily.
Mmm—!
The big guy grunted with pleasure and astonishment as he ate.
The magic chef's heroic duel had worked in his favor. The fried rice teased his taste buds, its powerful allure striking deep into his heart. With every mouthful he swallowed, the deliciousness shot through him like golden lightning, piercing the gloom of his existence.
The big guy had been suffering!
Lately, he'd been starving, his stomach growling, his strength sapped, his vision blurring, passing out from hunger only to wake hungrier still.
He wanted to eat more, but no one listened. After he told Tripleblade, the latter would beat him with a stick.
The big guy missed the dragonman youngster terribly, but Xiao Guai's loving father wasn't in Snow Bird Harbor.
Every time the big guy dreamed of the dragonman youngster, bitter tears of sorrow and injustice would fall.
But now...
Right now, at this very moment, he's eating something.
Delicious! It was so delicious!
It's so much better than his usual meals!
The dragonman youngster took care of the big guy, specifically hiring several magic chefs for him. But most of these magic chefs were just part-timers, like magician apprentices. Their ranks were low, most were bronze level, a few iron level, and not a single silver level among them. How could they compare to the two gold level chefs here?
Crucially, Da Dou and Ci Hai Shen, these two gold level chefs, were cooking with all their might.
Eat! Eat! Eat!
The big guy's movements got more fluid as he started dumping fried rice into his mouth one bowl after another.
He ate quicker and quicker, soon moving from one end of the table to the other. All that remained on the table was a mountain of empty bowls.
Staff behind him busily tallied the points to be awarded to Da Dou.
“This giant can eat that much?”
The big guy swept through the table like a whirlwind. His wildly exaggerated eating style startled many.
The point tally showed Ci Hai Shen had already fallen slightly behind Da Dou. But with the big guy's help, Da Dou suddenly gained a significant number of points, truly pulling ahead of Ci Hai Shen.
Ci Hai Shen's face turned as dark as charcoal.
Da Dou, however, laughed heartily. He was a giant himself and found this big guy quite likable.
Especially since the big guy's fervent eating spree showed no signs of stopping.
After finishing one table, he moved on to the second.
This time, it was the table with bronze level fried rice.
The big guy was only iron level. Eating a bowl of bronze level fluttering boat fried rice earned him just 10 points. But he couldn't care less about the rules, or more accurately, he had no clue about any rules.
All he knew was that if it looked delicious, he'd eat it!
Devour every morsel within his sight!
The big guy's heart burned with fervor.
The bliss from the food kept his eyes wide open throughout, his jaws chewing with increasing force, his energy surging with every bite!
The transcendent energy carried by the food radiated throughout his entire body.
Like a parched land receiving long-awaited rain, every cell in the big guy's body was dancing with joy!
He transformed into a whirlwind, swiftly clearing every last grain of fried rice from the bronze table.
“Just bronze level fried rice, but his appetite alone is astonishing.”
“This giant really can eat.”
“Watching him devour it like that has sparked my own appetite...”
Many gasped in awe, while countless others shot the big guy envious glances. If only they could eat like that!
Ci Hai Shen's face had turned pale.
“Is Da Dou's luck really this good?”
“How did that damn fool of a giant even get in here?”
“Is he some trump card specifically meant to take me down?”
Ci Hai Shen's suspicions grew with every thought. Just as he was about to speak up, he saw the big guy collapse with a thud.
Snow Bird Harbor City Lord chuckled softly. He had long noticed the big guy stuffing himself like a pig, a potential hazard, but hadn't rushed to stop him.
Now, by ordering rescue, he both taught this rule-breaker a lesson and secured future leverage over the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
After all, they were allies. Selling favors like this cost him nothing.
Yet the next moment, the big guy began snoring loudly.
He had fallen asleep.
“Don't panic! It's me! I did it!” the silver level priest shouted urgently, feeling he'd finally salvaged a shred of dignity.
The big guy's sleep proved his divine spell worked, though perhaps... a bit slow to take effect?
It wasn't just the divine magic that put the big guy to sleep; his own condition played a role.
Even before his rampage, the big guy had been in poor shape, starving. Later, provoked, he descended into a frenzied state of destruction, wreaking havoc along his path.
The attacks from the sacrificial warriors, including his final collision with the arena gates, had left his body badly injured and his spirit utterly exhausted.
After eating his fill and his mind finally relaxing, the big guy simply fell asleep right there in front of countless people!
Meanwhile.
“We finally made it!” Tripleblade breathed a slight sigh of relief as he gazed upon the small alchemy workshop within sight.
After making his decision, he had led a group of skilled fighters from Snow Bird Harbor's docks, racing full speed toward the city to provide urgent reinforcements.
En route, he received the latest intelligence: the medium-sized alchemy workshop at the Mercury Cave had ultimately fallen.
Thus, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps now relied solely on this workshop within the city.
Then came more grim news from Men Shi: Bu Quan was missing!
Tripleblade arrived at the small alchemy workshop just in time to see a group of sacrificial warriors furiously attacking, attempting to breach the workshop's gate and storm inside to wreak havoc.
There were two silver level enemies.
Six iron level enemies.
Over twenty bronze level enemies.
Among the reinforcements led by Tripleblade, he himself was only iron level, with not a single silver level fighter among them. But he brought two squads. The Quick Knife and Backwater battle squads.
“The workshop hasn't been breached yet. Men Shi is still here.”
“With this combat strength disparity, we can fight!”
Of course, this was assuming no gold level enemies showed up.
Tripleblade had already sensed something amiss about that “Shi Qi.” He secretly wondered: Could that assassin who appeared and vanished before Bu Quan be the suspected “gold level” individual?
The situation left Tripleblade no time for further thought. Without a moment's hesitation, he charged forward.
He charged ahead.
His display startled both sides; no one expected this short man to be so fierce!
With their commander leading the charge, the mercenaries' morale soared.
“Has Lord Yi Jiu not succeeded yet?” The sacrificial warriors hesitated.
They were unaware Yi Jiu had already encountered an accident. In terms of intelligence, they were slightly behind Tripleblade.
The small alchemy workshop's defenses were solid. No matter how fiercely the sacrificial warriors attacked, it showed no signs of collapsing.
Thus, the sacrificial warriors naturally pinned their hopes on Yi Jiu. Little did they know that he was now in dire straits, desperately fleeing through a blizzard!