Bant stepped out through the main gate and was immediately greeted by a wave of boos.
Clearly, all the spectators thought he was weak to the extreme, not even as good as the Asgardian prince from earlier.
On the hovering aircraft, Valkyrie was also watching the battle that was about to happen.
Normally she would not have the right, but she had once delivered the Red Wind Queen to the Empire, so the Red King gave her a bit of preferential treatment.
At this moment, she sat suspended on the ship's deck, one leg bent, a bottle in her right hand propped on her knee. She drank as she shook her head.
"What a waste. I thought you were pretty clever, but I didn't expect you to be this stupid."
In truth, Valkyrie had a decent impression of Bant. Among the fighters she had captured over the years, Bant was the most honest and obedient. Not only that, he even helped her sell Loki for a high price, so she would not have to worry about alcohol money for the next several decades.
She had originally wanted to find time to go check on Bant, but now there was no need to bother.
She would only need to visit his grave once a year and drink a couple cups there.
The tipsy Valkyrie looked at Bant, who stood in front of the troll, tiny by comparison yet fearless. For some reason, she felt like she was seeing herself.
Thousands of years ago, wasn't she the same, fearless, swinging her blade at the Goddess of Death for Asgard's throne?
And what was the result?
All the Valkyries were wiped out. Only she was left to cling to life, tormented by nightmares day and night.
She did not know what kind of conviction had driven Bant to come to this arena on his own and propose a champion challenge, still unafraid even with death hanging over him.
But in her eyes, Bant right now was just as foolish as she had been.
On Totem Tower, Luma also saw this fearless challenger. He looked weak, with thin arms more brittle than dead branches, like they would snap at a touch.
"This is my opponent?"
She finally gave up all hope. With a sigh, she said, "Looks like this is as far as he goes."
Actually, Bant looked much better than the severely injured Loki, and his build was more evenly proportioned and sturdy.
But aliens did not judge strength by physique alone. They also judged the energy within.
"A bug like that dares to attempt a champion challenge. Death is his only ending." After hearing Luma, the Red King grinned cruelly. "His only value is to die a little more miserably, just to amuse this king."
Hearing that, Luma shot him a glance and said unhappily, "At least he has the courage to face a monster he cannot possibly beat, unarmed."
She was obviously mocking the Red King.
That cowardly Red King would never dare step onto the field with nothing but light armor.
Still…
Bant: Can't possibly win? I don't understand!
To everyone else, the troll was ferocious and terrifying. To Bant, it was just a slightly larger punching bag.
The arena allowed every warrior to bring weapons, but Bant only wore a light set of armor for show. He did not need a weapon at all.
'Because I have the most powerful Omnitrix in the entire universe!'
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
At the same time, his gaze turned toward the high platform, and in that instant, he almost cried out in shock.
"Princess Luma?"
Yes, he saw Luma.
If there was anything that had completely caught Bant off guard up to this point, it was Luma's presence.
"The Red Wind Queen is Luma?"
Before this, Bant had always treated the Red Wind Queen and the Red King as two enemies tied together, but now it seemed that might not be the case.
"Tetramands seem to respect strength. If you can beat them, you can make them submit?" Bant thought.
If so, he could pull Luma into his camp. That way, aside from Loki, Bill, and Valkyrie, the Tiangong Association would gain another top-tier powerhouse!
That's right. Even though the Tiangong Association had not been established yet, Bant was already planning what came next.
He had even decided on a candidate who could serve as sheriff.
But no matter how much he planned, he first had to conquer this female Tetramand!
Up above, Bant's gaze was noticed by the people on Totem Tower.
"Luma, looks like he's already fallen for you," Keira teased.
Luma showed no reaction.
She shook her head and said, "I'm not interested in weak insects. And if he gets distracted by that during a fight, he's not far from death."
Luma was right.
At this moment, the monster Kork was already pouncing toward Bant. Once that massive body crushed down, it would probably flatten Bant's tiny frame instantly.
And that kid was actually still spacing out.
If that wasn't seeking death, what was?
If not for respect for Bant's courage, Luma would have turned around and left long ago.
But this was where it ended.
That enormous monster had already pressed down on him.
The light overhead suddenly dimmed. Only then did Bant snap back to his senses. He looked up and saw the red monster spread all its tentacles as it smashed down toward him.
Its extended body was like an airtight net, blocking out the sky and everyone's view.
When Bant looked up, he happened to meet that horrifying mouth, packed with dense, razor-sharp teeth like a meat grinder.
Boom!!
The ground shook.
Accompanied by waves of jeers, the match finally ended.
The audience seemed unsatisfied, because it ended too fast. It felt less like they had entered an arena and more like they had paid an expensive ticket to a zoo, just to watch a troll feed.
"This doesn't even count as a gladiator fight!" many people shouted, but thankfully, no one dared yell for a refund in front of the Red King.
Valkyrie shook her head. She stood up and splashed the unfinished alcohol in her hand downward as a form of mourning for Bant.
"So boring. I'm leaving."
Luma shook her head and turned around.
However, at the exact moment everyone's attention left the arena, a sudden change occurred!
"Boom!"
A huge blast, like a cannon firing!
The next instant, a violent gust arrived along with the monster's screech.
Luma immediately turned back. In the next moment, her eyes widened.
That troll, weighing at least dozens of tons, was now being launched into the sky!
Half its body was gone, as if it had been hit by some violent impact and exploded apart. Sticky chunks of flesh rained down across the entire arena, soaking the spectators who had been whining and complaining until they were drenched.
Yet not a single person felt unhappy because of it.
On the contrary, thunderous cheers erupted into the heavens!
Everyone stared at the arena. There, a burly man with a crimson body, two pairs of eyes, and four arms held a fist high.
Without a doubt, he had blown the troll apart with a single punch!
That level of power, and his appearance that closely resembled the Red Wind Queen, drove everyone insane.
The spectators shouted wildly.
They did not know Bant's name or title, but right then, without even thinking, a perfectly fitting name surfaced in everyone's mind.
Almost tens of thousands of people roared in unison:
"Red King!"
"Red King!"
"…"
Hearing that roar from Totem Tower, the Red King went completely blank.
It's over. I've become the stand-in.
He desperately wanted to shout: I'm the Red King!
But he could not spare the attention. Anmo Yashan's ant-like eyes subconsciously shifted to Luma, and sure enough, Luma's gaze looked like it was glued to Bant, impossible to pull away.
It was not that she immediately fell for Four Arms. It was just that after being in this world so long, seeing someone of her own kind for the first time, it was impossible for her heart not to stir.
The Red King was about to speak when he saw Bant in the arena curl a finger at Luma in blatant provocation.
"You're challenging me?" Luma's lips curved into a smile. She had no intention of refusing.
"Wait, Luma, this isn't according to the rules. He has to complete three battles first…" Keira frowned.
But Luma shoved her aside roughly. "I can't wait that long!"
After finally encountering a Tetramand, if she could not fight right away, Luma felt like ants were crawling all over her body.
So she leapt down without hesitation.
Boom!
She slammed into the ground like a red meteor.
"Red Wind Queen!"
"Red Wind Queen!"
"…"
With the Red Wind Queen entering the arena, the already heated atmosphere flared even harder, like someone had dumped a barrel of gasoline on a blaze.
At this moment, everyone felt like today's ticket was the best bargain of their lives.
In the arena, two four-armed warriors stood facing each other.
"You're pretty handsome. I've never seen you in the army. Did Father send you to find me?" Luma asked.
But Bant did not answer. He bared his teeth and smashed his four fists together.
"If you want to know, fight first!"
Hearing that, Luma did not get angry. Instead, she grew happier.
"That's more like it!"
Only then did the troll's corpse, the one that had been blasted into the sky, finally fall back down. Like a drumbeat announcing the start of battle, the instant it hit the ground, Bant and Luma charged at each other at the same time!
Boom!!
Their elbows collided, instantly kicking up a massive gale.
Only then did the many people still stuck in shock finally realize what had happened.
The Red King stared at the arena, his face uncertain and stormy.
Valkyrie was almost blown off the hovering aircraft by the gale. She stared dumbly, so stunned she did not even notice when the bottle in her hand slipped away. She muttered blankly, "You never told me you and the Red Wind Queen were the same race…"
Korg pressed up against a gap and looked outside. The violent shaking loosened the rocks on his body, and debris fell in a rustling pile onto the ground.
"Woo, I told you he'd make it!"
"When did you say he'd make it? You clearly said he was the new Loki, and he'd die even faster than Loki," Miek exposed him.
"That's because I didn't know he had four arms."
"I have dozens," the insectoid Miek said as he straightened up, revealing a row of abdominal legs.
/-\
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