Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer-Chapter 298: Monkey King (2)

The tower’s residents weren’t the only ones present in the ever-growing crowd at the Colosseum. Scouts from various factions had also taken an interest in the ongoing trial.

But more importantly, Bellerophon was there. When he heard about someone making it past the first five waves, he went to see for himself. But unlike the others, he didn’t want to recruit the newcomer. He wanted to see just how skilled they were.

At first, he didn’t believe a newbie could take down the poachers. They wouldn’t have the strength for that. But what if the newbie was strong enough to defeat 15 waves in the first trial?

’Then the person would have the strength on par with the lesser entities.’

Someone like that should be able to take down the poachers with a little help. That’s why Bellerophon went to the Colosseum to see for himself if this man could be the one killing the poachers.

That’s when he was surprised to see the human he had encountered in the market. Although he wanted to recruit the man, Bellerophon felt conflicted.

On one hand, his intuition about the man’s strength was on point. But on the other hand, the person he wanted to recruit might be the one he was supposed to hunt. It was a real dilemma.

As he saw the human fighting with the orc lords and ogres, Bellerophon realised there was more to the newbie that met the eyes. Unlike most players, the challenger wasn’t making any hasty or unnecessary moves.

The human was using precise moves to deal with the enemies quickly and efficiently. It was to the point that even Bellerophon was taken aback by Arnold’s speed of clearing waves.

’At this rate... he might even make it to the list.’

Saying so, Bellerophon’s eyes shifted to the dusty screen at the far end of the arena. The list of achievers had not seen a new name in over two years.

Even then, the list was mostly filled with the names of the former entities. Only a handful of mortals had made it there, and even the factions rigorously trained them for a week prior to their test.

But the player known as Arnold was about to accomplish the impossible on his own. At that moment, all of Bellerophon’s doubts vanished. Arnold had to be the one to defeat the poachers. He had to kill him for stepping out of line.

’But why do I feel so conflicted?’

For Bellerophon, his father’s words were law. Even though Poseidon, his father, probably didn’t even remember his name among all the other talented siblings he had.

That’s why Bellerophon wanted to prove himself by doing everything Poseidon asked. It had always been his only goal in life, so why was he hesitating to kill a mortal now?

While Bellerophon was battling his inner turmoil, the manager made an announcement that snapped him out of his thoughts. freēwēbnovel.com

[The challenger, Arnold, will now face Sun Wukong’s 1,902,787,345th clone!]

’...let’s allow him to enjoy the trial. Then I’ll decide his fate.’

***

Adrian stood in the centre of the Colosseum, catching his breath after his gruelling battles. But as he settled and the excitement within the crowd rose, a sudden shadow passed overhead.

Adrian looked up, squinting against the bright sun, and saw a figure descending from the sky. The figure plummeted rapidly, landing with a light thud on the sandy arena floor. As the dust cleared, Adrian recognised his opponent.

The clone yawned loudly, stretching his arms and legs as if waking up from a long nap. It wasn’t a lie since it had been two years since the Colosseum summoned the clone.

The reason Sun Wukong’s clones were there is a long story, but here’s the short version. During his trial, Sun Wukong got bored fighting wave after wave of dull monsters. So, he decided to make things interesting by summoning and fighting his clones.

By the time the admin figured out what was going on, it was too late. Sun Wukong had already summoned over twenty billion clones into the arena.

The admin, displeased by the events, took control of the clones and made them help with the trial as punishment for causing a stir. That’s how they became the 11th-wave monster.

Meanwhile, the clone looked around the arena with a bored expression before his eyes landed on Adrian. A mischievous grin spread across his face as he picked up his staff, twirling it with practised ease.

"Well, well, look who we have here," the clone said, his voice playful and mocking. "A mortal whom I had fun watching over for a while."

"You watched my channel, me?" Adrian mumbled, kind of shocked by the revelation.

"The Monkey Sage with a Golden Headband. That was me, hehe!"

"I see-"

Adrian replied, but the clone didn’t care about him anymore and seemed more interested in taunting than fighting. He stuck out his tongue, crossing his eyes and making exaggerated faces at Adrian.

The crowd, caught between amusement and confusion, murmured among themselves. It had been a while since a ranker’s clone appeared in the trials, so they expected things to be serious, but the clone seemed as goofy as ever.

"What’s the matter?" the clone teased, hopping from one foot to the other. "Cat got your tongue? Or are you just too scared to fight me?"

Adrian didn’t bother replying. The clone clearly intended to provoke him with its antics, but he refused to rise to the bait. Instead, he readied himself for the fight, knowing that Sun Wukong’s clones, despite their playful nature, were formidable opponents.

However, Adrian couldn’t help but smirk. The reason he had decided to fight more waves was standing before him.

<Master, are you planning on->

’Taking an entity’s organ? Obviously, I am.’

Adrian wasn’t delusional enough to think he would get an overpowered organ from a clone. No matter how strong they were, a clone’s organ was just a cheap copy of the original.

However, even the cheap copy would prove to be overpowered in the hands of a mortal.

The clone continued to make faces, even going so far as to do a little dance.

"Come on, hero! Show me what you’ve got!" he taunted, twirling his staff.

"Are you done playing around, or are we going to fight?"

Upon hearing his words, the clone ceased his antics and his grin grew wider.

"Oh, we’re going to fight, alright," he said, his tone shifting to one of seriousness. "But first, I had to see if you had a sense of humour. Seems like you’re all business."

Without another word, the clone lunged at Adrian, his staff striking with blinding speed. Adrian blocked the first blow, the force of it sending vibrations up his arm. The clone’s playful demeanour was gone, replaced by the fierce focus of a warrior.

"Ready to dance?" the clone teased.

Adrian didn’t respond, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the clone. The fight had only just begun, but he could already sense the immense skill and power his opponent possessed. This wouldn’t be an easy battle.

With a sudden burst of speed, the clone lunged forward. Adrian barely dodged the first blow as the staff whistled past his ear. But the clone didn’t relent, spinning his staff in a series of rapid, precise strikes that Adrian struggled to parry.

The force behind each strike was immense, and Adrian felt his arm numb from the impact. He gritted his teeth, trying to find an opening, but the clone’s attacks were relentless.

The clone was toying with him and kept laughing every time Adrian blocked or dodged the attack.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" the clone taunted, delivering a swift kick to Adrian’s midsection. The blow sent Adrian stumbling back, gasping for breath.

It took a couple of seconds for Adrian to steady himself. He jumped backwards, expecting the clone to strike, but when Adrian looked up, he noticed Sun Wukong’s clone was busy picking its nose.

The nonchalance of it all infuriated Adrian, and he lunged forward with Hydra’s Fang, aiming for the clone’s midsection.

"Tsk, too predictable," the clone clicked its tongue before deftly sidestepping the attack.

Before Adrian could turn around to attack, the clone’s staff came crashing down hard on Adrian’s wrist, forcing him to drop the dagger. Adrian threw a punch at the clone, hoping to buy some time to pick up his dagger.

But before Adrian could react, the clone’s staff struck his legs, sweeping him off his feet. Adrian hit the ground hard, pain shooting through his body. He tried to roll away, but the clone was already on him, pinning him down with the staff across his throat.

"How about we restart the duel?" the clone mocked, leaning in close. "I’m eager to fight more since it has been a while. What say, useless human? Are you up for the challenge?"

Forget about answering the question. Adrian was struggling to breathe. The weight of the staff on his throat was unbearable, and he could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness.

Summoning every ounce of strength, he grabbed the staff with both hands and twisted his body, throwing the clone off balance just enough to free himself.

Gasping for air, Adrian scrambled to his feet, snatching Hydra’s Fang from the ground. The clone was already back on his feet, twirling his staff with a bored expression.

"Not bad, not bad at all," the clone admitted. "I take you want to continue?"

"Does it even matter what I think?" Adrian replied, panting like never before. "Stop talking and come at me."