Chapter 15: Miluo Island
Miluo Island was a green island, with ancient trees visible everywhere. The fresh air also brought a sense of relief to Linley and the others. Looking into the distance, they could see castle-like buildings and various luxurious restaurants standing in clusters. The flow of people walking on the wide streets was endless.
At that moment, some strange races were passing by Linley. There were elves with pointed ears and greenish skin, and Giant Whale Warriors with faint scales on their faces. Although reaching the Divine level allowed one to change into human form, some unique races had aesthetic standards different from humans. Even when transformed into human shape, they retained features they were proud of—such as the tails of fox-people or the fish scales of the sea races.
Linley was not surprised by this. Turning to smile at Delia and the others, he said, "We've been traveling at sea for quite a while. Let's go to a restaurant first, then head to the Battle Arena and Freedom Castle later." Linley had long been curious about the legendary Battle Arena. Besides, this was a chance to witness real battles between true experts—how could he miss it?
"As Lord Linley commands," Aichi said with a chuckle.
Hearing this, Linley understood that after the battle with Gamontin, he had become the de facto leader of this group. That was how things worked in the Infernal Realm—the strong were revered.
"Hey, boss, look over there. That team in blood-red armor—they're all Highgods," Bebe said, pointing into the distance.
Linley and the others immediately turned to look. Sure enough, among the bustling crowd, three men in blood-red armor were walking. The armor bore special patterns, though Linley couldn't understand their significance. These three warriors walked through the street, and others deliberately kept their distance, clearly not daring to offend them.
The bearded Betts quickly said, "Linley, these are the private soldiers guarding Miluo Island. You must never offend them. Every single one is a Highgod, and there are many of them. Over countless years, very few have dared to cause trouble on Miluo Island."
"I understand," Linley said with a faint smile.
The elite level of an island's private soldiers far surpassed that of the Star Legion or the city guards. And given that Miluo Island had flourished for countless years, the figure behind this island was enough to shock Linley.
"Hmm?" Delia frowned in confusion. "Betts, I remember you saying that Miluo Island is divided into two areas—East Island and West Island. On East Island, only the Battle Arena and Freedom Castle are restricted zones, right? Fights elsewhere are fine. So why would there be patrol soldiers?"
Before arriving at Miluo Island, Linley and the others had been briefed on the island's rules by Betts, who knew them well. On East Island, only the Battle Arena and Freedom Castle were restricted.
"That's not a patrol. Those three soldiers are probably on leave," the bearded Betts said with a laugh. "Besides, Miluo Island patrols are in teams of ten, not three."
Chatting as they went, Linley and his group entered the depths of Miluo Island. The island was enormous—hundreds of thousands of miles in circumference, many times larger than Linley's homeland of the Yulan Continent. Fortunately, their speed far exceeded that of mortals, so this distance wasn't too great.
"This restaurant is good. I've eaten here before," the bearded Betts said, pointing to an olive-colored classical building.
"Alright, we'll trust you on that," Bebe said playfully, darting toward the restaurant entrance first. Linley and the others followed with smiles. But as they reached the door, Linley was startled.
A notice was posted beside the entrance:
"Any diner who starts a fight in this restaurant must pay 10,000 inkstones. Breaking a chair costs 100 inkstones. Breaking a table costs..."
"What's this about?" Linley had never seen such a notice outside a restaurant before. Olivieri also read it with interest. "Greedy, aren't they? A chair or table isn't even worth one inkstone, yet they demand so much. And spilled food costs ten times the price?"
Aichi laughed. "This is a feature of Miluo Island. In normal cities, fighting is strictly forbidden. But here, except for those two places, fighting is allowed. The island's patrol soldiers won't interfere. However, the alliance formed by restaurants, hotels, and other service establishments will handle it."
An alliance of restaurants and hotels? Linley was taken aback.
"They won't be too harsh, but if a fight breaks out, you have to pay enough. If you don't, they'll take action," Aichi said admiringly. "If I were a shop owner, I'd hope for fights so I could collect the fees."
Special places had special rules.
"How interesting," Linley remarked, then entered the restaurant. It was large, with many customers. They went to the second floor and split into two tables. Linley and his group chose seats by the window. Aichi covered the meal costs.
"This silver-threaded fish is so tender—it melts in my mouth," Bebe exclaimed, scooping up chunks of fish with his spoon and stuffing them into his mouth. "So good, so good!"
"Bebe," Linley and Delia said, enjoying the rare fine meal.
"You're not wrong? How is that possible?"
"Of course I'm not wrong. It's absolutely true. On the sea route from Blue Maple City of the Violet Continent to Miluo Island, all the major bandit groups have been destroyed. They've scattered and broken apart!"
Linley was shocked. All the large bandit groups on the route from Blue Maple City to Miluo Island had been wiped out? Who was so powerful? He turned to see two men drinking and talking. One, a burly man with long golden hair, was speaking animatedly.
"Don't laugh at me for saying this, but I have a good brother who was a bandit. He saw with his own eyes a black-haired man sweep through their Lanzan Island. All eleven Highgods on the island, including their leader, died. That black-haired man only struck once with his blade! My brother and the other ordinary bandits scattered and fled. That expert probably couldn't be bothered to chase down mere Midgods."
Their conversation caught the attention of nearby customers, who began discussing it. Clearly, the destruction of many bandit groups was no longer a secret.
"It's true. About a month ago, on Blue Shark Island, only one Highgod among the bandits escaped. The rest were all killed."
Linley and the others listened, amazed.
"Destroying so many bandit groups, and just one person?" Bebe marveled. Olivieri frowned. "A black-haired man? Remember the guy we saw resisting lightning back then?"
Linley's mind flashed back to the Misty Sea upheaval—the man with a warblade on his back resisting lightning. That man had black hair.
"If it's him, he probably has the strength to wipe out so many bandit groups," Linley thought to himself. He also recalled that when they had encountered a small group of ordinary bandits, that black-haired man had killed them.
Clearly, that black-haired man harbored a deep hatred for bandits.
Linley and the others chatted as they ate.
"Linley, try this dish. It's good," Delia said. Linley looked up and smiled at her, but at that moment—
"Boom!"
A violent collision erupted on the second floor of the restaurant.
The guests were startled. Linley turned to see two figures locked in a lightning-fast fight. "Clang!" Their divine artifacts clashed, and then a leg wreathed in flames suddenly appeared, slamming into the abdomen of a black-robed man. The black-robed man was sent flying.
"Whoosh!" The black-robed man hurtled toward Linley's table like a bolt of lightning. If he crashed into them, their dishes would be ruined.
Linley frowned. The divine power of the earth within him surged.
"He really wants to kill me," the black-robed man thought, delighted. He planned to use the momentum to escape through the window near Linley. But just as he was about to hit their table—
A strange repulsive force struck him. The force was so strong that it rebounded him, accelerating him back toward the fiery figure.
"Slash!"
A fiery blade descended, easily slicing through the black-robed man's head. His head, eyes wide with disbelief, exploded. Caught off guard by the repulsive force, he was killed in one blow.
"Haha! After all these years, I've finally killed you, you bastard!" The fiery figure's flames dissipated, his face full of excitement. He quickly collected the space ring and divine artifact.
A restaurant staff member walked over casually. "You know the rules. The total cost is 32,100 inkstones." On Miluo Island, few dared to provoke their alliance, so no threats were needed—just a staff member stating the amount.
The fiery figure readily paid over thirty thousand inkstones and left. As he passed Linley's table, he bowed slightly. "Thank you for your help. Otherwise, I don't know when I would have avenged my grudge."
"You can leave. Don't bother us," Bebe said, frowning while still chewing food.
The fiery figure wasn't offended and left.
"On Miluo Island, you have to be careful. Fights can break out anytime," Linley thought, reminding himself. He planned to buy some items at Freedom Castle, but he'd need to be cautious. Flaunting wealth could attract unwanted attention.
After the meal, Linley and his group left the restaurant and headed straight for the island's most famous attraction—the Battle Arena.
The Battle Arena covered a vast area, over a hundred miles in radius. Spectators were forbidden from fighting; anyone caught doing so would be killed by the island's patrol soldiers without mercy.
To enter and watch, each person had to pay 100 inkstones.
"The fee is steep. I've heard the arena has millions of seats. If it's full, just this alone brings in over a hundred million inkstones a day," Linley marveled. "A hundred million a day—what about over ten thousand years?" It was an astronomical fortune, but it required enough strength to maintain it.
Looking at the many patrol soldiers in blood-red armor, Linley understood their power.
As they walked through the spiral staircase into the corridors, they frequently saw patrol soldiers. "Every single one is a Highgod. We've already seen over a thousand. I wonder how many there are in total," Linley thought.
As they headed toward the arena, they didn't know that in another part of the corridor, an old acquaintance of Linley's was present.
"Captain, our patrol shift is over. Let's go out and have some fun. Patrolling is so boring," ten patrol soldiers in blood-red armor said, chatting as they walked.
"Go out? We have things to do back at the base. We'll go out another time," a cold voice replied.
"Oh." The other nine felt frustrated but didn't dare defy their captain's orders. They knew their captain's strength well—he was a warrior who had won a hundred consecutive battles in the Highgod fights at the Battle Arena!
A hundred consecutive victories in the Battle Arena was the highest honor.
"Hice, that kid," the captain sighed softly. This captain, wearing blood-red armor, would have been recognized by Linley if he saw him. He was a powerhouse from the Yulan Continent—Talosha! But now, Talosha had become a Highgod!