Chapter 155 The City of Chaos <TOC> Chapter 157 Defeating the Tiger
Translator: SumTLMan
After the swamp tiger had crushed the victim’s head, it only devoured the liver and then lazily sprawled on the stage.
A pair of cold amber eyes stared at the maids who came to clean up the body and the scene.
Trembling with fear, the two maids dragged the corpse off the stage and washed away the bloodstains.
In the midst of the clamor, the gamblers who had lost their bets threw their gambling slips everywhere.
“Bring me a glass of sugarcane wine, without ice.”
Li Mu ignored the tragedy behind him and spoke to the bartender.
The bartender took a large bottle from the liquor cabinet behind him, opened the cap, and poured a glass, pushing it in front of Li Mu.
“Do you want to try your luck? As long as you defeat Agustia, you can win a hundred gold lasus. If you can survive for ten seconds on the stage, you’ll also win ten gold lasus. Awakened individuals of the fourth level or lower can participate.”
Being a bartender in Avonigarda was no easy task. The marauders were mostly irritable, and even more so after drinking. If the bartender didn’t have some skills, not to mention stopping brawls, he could easily die in the aftermath of a fight.
To prevent any foolish individuals from seeking their own demise, Li Mu had not completely concealed his aura.
The bartender could see at a glance that his psychic energy was as heavy as a mountain, with a slower breathing and heartbeat than ordinary people, making him no ordinary character.
The power of the Tiger King, Agustia, was well-known in Raginbeard, and fewer and fewer people dared to challenge it knowing the details.
Slaves had costs, and the bar owner was reluctant to simply feed them to Agustia.
For every outsider the bartender managed to coax onto the stage, he could take a cut from the bets.
After all, the stage was only nine square meters, and most people believed that even if they couldn’t defeat the swamp tiger, it would be easy to escape after holding on for ten seconds.
Awakened individuals were mostly arrogant, thinking they could definitely do it, and that those who failed were just too weak.
In reality, it was quite impressive if four out of ten people could survive. Those four gold lasus were not easy to earn.
“No…”
Li Mu was about to say he wasn’t interested when he suddenly stopped himself.
“Wait, has this tiger cultivated energy techniques?”
He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Agustia’s form.
This tiger was naturally a psychic creature; otherwise, it couldn’t have easily bitten off the head of an awakened one. What surprised Li Mu was that he discovered traces of energy techniques on Agustia’s body.
“Roar!”
Agustia was provoked by his gaze, standing up with the fur on its back bristling.
“Of course… otherwise, not just anyone could take away this hundred gold lasus.”
The bartender was startled. Although ordinary swamp tigers were powerful, fourth-level awakened individuals could handle them with relative ease.
Li Mu’s interest was piqued, as this was the first time he had discovered a psychic creature practicing energy techniques.
“How much does this energy technique cost?”
He asked.
“Apologies, we do not sell energy techniques. To obtain one, you must defeat Agustia.”
The bartender said while wiping a glass.
Energy techniques that could be practiced by psychic creatures were indeed rare but not valuable.
Very few third-level reinforcement masters would invest a significant amount of effort in creating such energy techniques.
Although the wisdom of psychic creatures was much higher than that of ordinary mutated creatures, it was still challenging to master complex energy techniques. Learning them was difficult and could easily lead to self-injury if practiced incorrectly.
Moreover, psychic creatures were diverse. An energy technique developed specifically for one psychic creature would require significant adjustments or even starting from scratch when practiced by another.
For various reasons, only organizations with immense power would invest effort in developing energy techniques suitable for psychic creatures.
Because they could cultivate the same psychic creatures in small batches.
“Is that the only requirement?”
Li Mu drained the high-proof sugarcane liquor in his glass and slammed it onto the counter with a smack.
“I suggest you choose a melee weapon. Firearms are not allowed in the challenge, but cold weapons are permitted.”
The bartender hurriedly interjected, fearing that he would go up empty-handed, causing the patrons to collectively bet on him being devoured by Agustia, which would result in considerable losses for the bar.
As he spoke, he opened a weapons cabinet on the bar counter, neatly arranged inside were a complete set of various weapons.
Li Mu pondered for a moment and chose an eyebrow-level staff made entirely of fine steel, as thick as a goose egg and quite substantial.
The fact that this beast had survived unscathed until now indicated that few had defeated it; winning empty-handed would be too conspicuous.
“Give me another drink.”
The bartender refused to serve more.
“Sir, our sugarcane wine isn’t watered down and packs quite a punch. Drinking too much will make your hands and feet weak, and you might be mauled by the tiger.”
Li Mu disdainfully shook his head at him.
“Bartender, serve him the drink, put it on my tab!”
A patron joined in the commotion.
With no other option, the bartender poured another drink.
Li Mu downed two glasses in quick succession before accepting the weighty eyebrow-level staff and hoisting it onto his shoulder.
Amidst the clamor, the patrons placed their bets, and bundles of gold lasus were stuffed into the maid’s bosom. They clutched their betting slips, ready to make a fortune.
Agustia lay on the ground, its yellow-brown eyes fixated on Li Mu as he took each step onto the stage. There was no barrier on the stage; it knew it could only attack after the bronze bell rang, or else it would be punished.
With the staff in one hand, Li Mu pushed off the ground, leaped onto the stage, and stopped a few steps away from Agustia.
The patrons who had bet that he would last ten seconds showed signs of disappointment. Not maintaining a distance from Agustia, he might be pounced on and killed in an instant. Unlike the previous challenger who, though swatted away with a curved blade, managed to endure for seven or eight seconds.
Li Mu held the staff horizontally, gripping the lower end and positioning it under his ribs.
“Clang!”
With a sonorous toll of a bronze bell, the tiger pushed up with all four limbs and stood up from the ground. A pungent gust of wind hit them in the face.
Suddenly, there was scarcely any space left on the entire stage.
“Roar!”
The thunderous roar exploded, causing the glass bottles and glasses in the bar to tremble. Everyone present felt a tingling sensation in their organs. Passersby outside the bar heard it and knew someone unlucky had been duped into going up.
Agustia’s sleek fur tightened, revealing the smooth, powerful muscles underneath.
In the next instant, a fierce wind blew into their faces, making it impossible for them to open their eyes. The tiger had already pounced.
Li Mu gripped the staff and executed a rather unremarkable move called “Black Dragon Explores the Cave,” striking the tiger’s left paw while dodging its pounce with a sidestep.
The blow caused the tiger unbearable pain. It twisted its body, and its powerful front limbs swiped at Li Mu. Li Mu countered with a strike to its forehead, sending the entire tiger soaring through the air and crashing heavily onto the ground.
“Bravo!”
A round of applause erupted from the audience below the stage.
Chapter 155 The City of Chaos <TOC> Chapter 157 Defeating the Tiger