"Oh, good, alright."
"Everyone look this way! Everyone look quickly! The sky! That aura of a king!"
What the hell?
Lily followed the host's words and looked up. The pitch-black night sky seemed to have nothing in it.
Oh? That is...
Suddenly, like some kind of blacker darkness hidden in the dark, a patch of shadow in the sky suddenly writhed.
A massive figure gradually appeared. Lily first saw her wings. Although they couldn't compare to Catania's giant wings in dragon form, those wings that were at least close to a hundred meters long were undoubtedly from an elite among dragonkind.
"Whoa, black scales—a black dragon? Why would she suddenly appear here?"
Lily scanned her surroundings. It seemed these people felt no fear whatsoever due to this giant dragon. Especially those Imperial soldiers—their expressions looked rather excited instead.
"Please welcome! His Imperial Majesty!"
"Ohhhh! Your Imperial Majesty!"
"Who would have thought! Even a kingdom lowlife like me gets to see the Emperor with my own eyes!"
"I can definitely make a comeback tonight! Just wait! I'll win back everything I lost!"
So it's actually the Emperor of the Empire?
Lily raised her white eyebrows, her blue eyes completely focused on the black dragon diving down.
And with a flash of magical white light, the massive black dragon instantly disappeared from the air, transforming into a slender, graceful figure. The expressionless black-haired woman actively bowed her waist, as if expressing submission to the person beside her.
That's the Emperor?
Lily got a clear look at the middle-aged man wearing gorgeous black clothing. He wore a crown that was primarily black with some red mixed in, holding a scepter representing power in one hand while waving to the people on the ground with the other. His black robe fluttered slightly in the night wind—it was indeed a very imposing entrance.
Of course, Lily didn't think so.
'What kind of narcissist is this guy?'
Making an entrance like that?! Isn't that just writing 'I'm awesome! I'm invincible! Long live me!' on his face!
This isn't cool at all! Not at all like the Dragon King image I created!
The cold, noble, arrogant Her Majesty the Dragon King would decide your fate without even glancing at you! That's what's cool! This tasteless guy!
But what about that black dragon beside him?
"Good evening, citizens of the Empire, and you mongrels of the kingdom."
The black-clothed man descended floating to the ground. Only then did Lily notice there was an elevated seating area that should have been specially prepared for high-ranking nobles. The Emperor directly sat in the center position.
The dark, tall woman stood beside him like a maid.
'That black-haired sister is quite pretty. She probably hasn't been defiled by that Emperor yet!'
Looking at her black evening dress-like clothing and the elegant maid aura she exuded in her gestures, this is actually a black dragon?
It has to be said that this Emperor has something going for him to be able to train a black dragon like this. I understand now—she must be the current Dragon King that mysterious roadside guy I slapped to death mentioned before.
The Empire really does have some strength. Judging from her dragon form's size, she could at least serve as a mid-game or even late-game dungeon boss in the game. After all, she's a dragon, and a dragon of this size would be at least a 40-person raid boss.
Well, although I often soloed 40-person raids myself. Can't help it, that's just how we summoners are.
"Long live His Imperial Majesty!"
The cheers from the audience around her almost made Lily want to cover her ears. These cheers for the Emperor himself were even louder and grander than those for the contestants earlier.
"Don't! Don't lose! Light! You absolutely cannot lose! I'm begging you!"
The gambling addict is still watching. Now he's become the oddball instead.
"Hey! You there! I'm talking to you! How dare you not kneel before His Imperial Majesty!"
"What?! Who?! Don't bother me!"
"How dare you!"
Kneel?
Only then did Lily shift her gaze down from above. She discovered that almost everyone around her had knelt down, obviously to show their respect and worship for the Emperor.
And that gambling addict had become the only holdout at this moment. He clung to the railing, staring intently at the arena, even though both contestants in the arena had already knelt down.
"Hahaha! No matter! No need, soldier."
"But! Your Majesty! This person actually dares to ignore you!"
"It's fine, it's fine."
Although the Emperor himself, standing up from the highest position in the arena, wore a smile as if it was no big deal, Lily was very familiar with that kind of smile that didn't reach the eyes. Among her summoned beasts, there were also guys with such nasty personalities.
"This person, you kingdom lowlife, I can tell—you seem very concerned about the outcome of this battle."
"I... of course I'm concerned! This! This is my only! My last chance to turn things around! Besides! Besides! I need money! To be able! To make contributions to the Empire! To Your Imperial Majesty!"
Oh? Should I say he's worthy of being an old noble? This person finally reacted, though I estimate he still won't survive. Obviously, this Emperor just found a decent toy.
This damn Emperor is somewhat strange. If he really wants to completely occupy the kingdom, then he should work hard to improve his popularity in the kingdom. He shouldn't use terms like "lowlifes" and "mongrels" for the kingdom's people. This will only make people hate him more and more.
"Hahaha! I like what you're saying. So, I've decided to give you an opportunity."
The Emperor spoke again. This time, the mirth in his words was even stronger.
"Your! Your word!"
Lily looked again at that gambling addict. The other party was showing an uncontrollable smile due to wild joy.
"Like this—you go down and personally join this battle. If you survive, no matter how much you owe, I will help you pay it all off in the name of the Emperor, and give you a large sum of money to go into business. How about it?"
"Ah?! Me personally?! This! This!"
The gambling addict finally sobered up at this moment. The Emperor telling him to personally go down and participate in the battle had no intention of letting him leave alive! The two people in the arena were an Imperial King of Soldiers and a mature male of the rare Flame Lion demi-human race.
Neither of these could possibly be dealt with by an ordinary person like him!
"Wait! Your Majesty! I was wrong! I'll kneel right now! Right now! Please! I beg you to give me a chance! Don't... don't kill me!"
The gambling addict's expression immediately became twisted with fear. He knelt on both knees with his hands in a prayer position as if facing a deity, his entire face already filled with tears that had flowed down at some point.
"Oh my, what are you afraid of? This is a good opportunity I'm personally granting you. You should be in need of just such an opportunity, right? An opportunity to prove yourself—a good opportunity."
"No! No! Let me go! No ahhhhh!"
The gambling addict was thrown into the arena by Imperial soldiers.
"Alright, alright, don't let me spoil everyone's fun any longer. Come! Let the battle continue!"