Chapter 2012: Sympathy Between Slaves
“Ah! It hurts! Oh!” The Harpy rolled onto the ground, writhing in pain. Flames spread across her wounds, but they wouldn’t heal; instead, a black substance began to spread on her skin.
This was the werewolf virus, or rather, the werewolf curse. Those bitten would turn into low-level werewolves. If the mother body didn’t inject werewolf magic, the newly transformed werewolf would quickly die.
This was both a way to increase their numbers and an attack method. Those bitten by a werewolf would either become another werewolf or die after a violent lycanthropic transformation. Only a very small number of people could overcome death, but they would still become mad werewolves.
The Harpy’s reaction was different. Her rejection response was fast and severe. The Undying Phoenix bloodline within her seemed to be in a fierce conflict with the werewolf curse, and it was now vying for control of her body.
Regardless, being bitten by a werewolf in the competition meant she had lost her Combat Power. Weis stopped in her tracks and leisurely watched the Harpy, who was burning and rolling on the ground, before turning to the referee. “I should win this, right?”
“Uh, yes, the Harpy has lost her Combat Power. The Ice Wolfman wins the first round!” the referee announced loudly.
“I, I haven’t, lost, Urgh! No, can’t, fall…” The Harpy struggled to stand up, but her whole body was convulsing and trembling. She was clearly in extreme pain.
The pain of bloodline rejection was severe; it was even questionable whether she could survive. She was in no state to fight and could collapse with a light touch.
The referee shook his head. The outcome was clear and needed no further discussion. “The Ice Wolfman wins. Both contestants exit the arena. Prepare for the next round!”
“Bastard! Useless! Trash!” Gaspar was furious. He had placed great hope in the Harpy, only for her to lose in the first round. He took out a crystal and reactivated the electric shock function of her collar.
“Ahhhh!” The Harpy screamed loudly. She had just managed to stand up, but she fell back to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably. Now she had to endure the rejection of the wolf blood and the electric shocks from the collar, enduring extreme pain.
“Enough!” Weis suddenly dashed in front of the Harpy, and with a gentle swipe of her wolf claws across the Harpy’s neck, a layer of ice covered the collar.
This wasn’t ordinary ice sealing; it contained some kind of magical sealing effect. As the frost covered the collar, the collar’s electric shock effect was sealed as well. The Harpy finally felt a little more at ease.
Weis also transmitted some werewolf magic to the Harpy, further alleviating her pain. Then, she raised her head and glared angrily at Gaspar, appearing ready for a fight.
“What are you doing?!” Gaspar was somewhat nervous. He had seen the werewolf’s performance earlier and knew she was incredibly strong, far beyond the level of a slave and exceeding his expectations.
Although Gaspar had anticipated Weis might be strong, she was so powerful that it was truly beyond the scope of a slave. He couldn’t imagine how the young merchant on the other side, who looked like a newbie, had taken in such a terrifying werewolf as a slave.
Gaspar’s guards instinctively moved to his side, but they lacked confidence. If Weis were to lose her temper and attack, they surely wouldn’t be able to stop her. Gaspar even doubted if the arena’s barrier could contain Weis.
“Weis.” At this moment, Jayad, on the other side, called out to her. Weis could only suppress her displeasure and anger, as she dared not disobey Jayad’s command.
Jayad was there to disguise himself as a merchant, not to stir up trouble. If a slave were to directly attack a merchant, it would violate the rules and cause a backlash from all the merchants. Jayad did not want such a situation to escalate.
Weis adjusted her emotions and tone slightly before speaking, “When we win later, she will be the Master’s property. If you break her now, will you hand over a damaged good to the Master later?”
Everyone was stunned. Then they thought about it and realized it made sense. If you lost a bet, you smashed the bet; that was a bit too much like a sore loser. Merchants valued demeanor and credibility the most. Losing was acceptable, but gambling ethics were essential; accepting defeat was a basic principle of gambling duels.
Hearing the murmurs around them, Gaspar’s face turned red. He was forced to put away his control crystal. “Tch! Sympathy between slaves? Disgusting. Don’t think you’ve won yet.”
Just then, a woman with long, crystal-blue hair leaped out. She held a long spear made of what looked like crystal and said to Gaspar on the stage, “I will certainly bring you victory. Please send her back for treatment!”
“Hmph!” Gaspar clearly trusted the Crystal Person’s loyalty more than the Harpy’s defiant attitude. The Crystal Person was more obedient. He nodded and said, “Take her out for treatment. You must win this round!”
The Crystal Person nodded, turned, and entered the arena. Servants carried the Harpy off. Weis returned to Jayad’s side and was met by her mother.
Margaret was still very nervous, but seeing her daughter return victorious, she managed a faint smile. She wore a beast-tooth necklace on her left hand and a wind spirit bracelet on her right.
These two small magic apparatuses were obtained from my adventures in the Dream World and a Lich’s tomb, respectively. Seeing that Margaret’s Combat Power was low, I lent her these two apparatuses to increase her chances of winning, even if only slightly.
Weis encouraged her mother a bit before leaving the arena. The dueling ground was sealed again, with only the Crystal Person and Margaret remaining.
“The second round of the match, between the Wolfman and the Crystal Person, prepare, begin!” The referee waved his flag. Margaret assumed an offensive stance. She had wandered for so many years and wasn’t without combat experience.
“Sorry, this is for my companion,” the Crystal Person woman said. Then, raising her crystal spear, she suddenly lunged at Margaret.
Her thrusting motion was very strange. There seemed to be a delay before the spear was thrown, making her movements very slow, but then she suddenly accelerated and thrust forward. Her transition from stillness to motion was abrupt, and her speed accelerated unexpectedly.
Moreover, her movements were rigid, as if she were a zombie or a mechanical dancer, very bizarre and defying normal human anatomy, making her unpredictable.
“Whaaaa!” Margaret cried out and hastily dodged, but it was too late. She was struck by the spear, and fresh blood sprayed out, staining the crystal spear.
Of course, the werewolf’s regeneration ability was very strong. Her wound healed in a short time. Margaret lunged at the Crystal Person again, but her spear was parried, and she was swept away by a single blow.
“Awooo!” Margaret landed on the ground with a howl. The Crystal Person looked at her with confusion. This was much weaker than she had expected, completely incomparable to that first werewolf.
