Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 52: Chapter 10: Universal Slayer

The atmosphere in the gladiatorial arena was finally unleashed at the last moment; they eagerly witnessed the beasts and bloodshed they had longed for.

Although it did not completely satisfy them, it was far better than watching an entire show of cats teasing mice.

The crowds of the gladiatorial arena dispersed with lingering excitement, unaware that the Emperor of the Imperial had quietly arrived at the highest platform of the arena.

Accompanied only by the man named Kaire and the minister known as Rebus, without bringing a large group of guards for protection.

Of course, in this empire, his power was akin to a legend, so why would he need the protection of guards? Sometimes these guards were even a burden.

The Imperial Emperor’s little princess, Lady Liya, was also sitting on Kaire’s shoulder, swinging her legs, her eyes filled with the curiosity of an innocent child.

Having watched the entire gladiatorial combat, Emperor Charal Cesar II displayed a hint of a smile as he turned to his most cherished daughter and teasingly said,

”Noble Princess Liya, how about making that Red Dragon your pet? With its company, you’ll never be timid again.”

Liya’s golden hair whimsically curled as she stared with her large, round eyes at her father, the Emperor, and playfully said, ”But I think the Green Dragon’s scales are the most beautiful, father. Please let me have the Green Dragon instead; Liya loves her best.”

Charal Cesar II’s smile faded slightly. He did not respond directly to his daughter but instead glanced indifferently at Rebus standing nearby.

”These juvenile dragons have performed satisfactorily; let them train here for now, and find a chance to let them fail once they have trained enough.”

His words were imbued with undeniable authority as he stood up and walked toward the exit, ”If any juvenile dragon is unwilling, kill them!”

However, the mighty Imperial Emperor failed to notice someone hidden among the crowd on the opposite platform, gazing at him. The person was a charming woman holding the hand of a golden-haired boy around ten years old.

The boy was complaining, ”These Five-Color Dragons are a disgrace to the Giant Dragons, unworthy of being called True Dragons with us Golden Dragons; how can they be captured by humans? That Red Dragon should have torn apart those two vile ogres with its claws.”

The charming lady withdrew her gaze and shook her head, ”The Five-Color Dragons are inherently selfish, with no one willing to help them. The Five-Headed Dragon God no longer protects them for some reason; they’re quite pitiable.”

·····

Karon hadn’t yet stepped into his cell when the Vampire Species, who’d long awaited the opportunity, started to chatter loudly, ”See, I knew the powerful Giant Dragon would win effortlessly. Look at the Giant Dragon’s majestic form; it makes me envious!”

”Bah,” said the silver-furred Wolfman as he cast a disdainful glance at the ingratiating Vampire Species, spat a mouthful from his fang-filled mouth. If only he knew the phrase ”one who bows after arrogance,” he might’ve uttered it.

”Spineless Vampire Species, does Red Dragon’s mighty strength need your praise?” The Wolfman turned and shot a deliberately flattering smile at Karon.

”Tch,” the Centaur Warrior sneered disdainfully, standing and calling to the Red Dragon, ”Are you hungry, Red Dragon? I saved a bull leg today; would you like to try my meal’s taste!”

The Red Dragon entered the cell and lay down, ”Call me Karon; you may address me as such.” Then he ignored the flattery of the three alien species.

The conversation with the Mage wasn’t kept secret from these aliens; the Mage wasn’t concerned they overheard, as his talks with the Red Dragon were not specific matters.

One was a Mage of noble status; the other was a downtrodden slave gladiator; their societal positions were vastly different.

Since that day, these three aliens began showing marked flattery toward the Red Dragon, hoping it might be their final chance to change their prisoner fate.

Karon knew the time wasn’t yet ripe, especially as there’d been no word from Mage Hughes; hence, he paid no mind to the slightly amusing flattery from the three aliens and simply calmed himself, closing his eyes.

His spirit received transmissions from the sub-brain’s gathered information. Karon deliberately refrained from instantly killing the two ogre gladiators to test the newly created sub-brain’s functions.

Moreover, he could gather more information from not only his combat with the ogres but also from the spectators and the gladiatorial arena’s layout.

Currently, the sub-brain’s information has become a vast ocean, as the main consciousness commandeered the sub-brain instead of relying on the body’s subconscious operation, and under Karon’s will, selectively logged collected information.

Instead, every observable piece of information was gathered by the sub-brain without classification and filtering, resulting in a chaotic, cumbersome, inflated transmission to Karon.

Even if the two ogres still had strength to assist in testing, Karon would’ve swiftly killed them for the sub-brain already bore the burden of various erratic information influences.

This was due to the Red Dragon’s inexperience, as every creature’s brain is equipped with protective filtering and classification settings; irrelevant information gets ignored while important details are recorded.

Fortunately, as a Giant Dragon, Karon naturally possesses a large brain and strong spiritual power, his willpower firm enough; otherwise, any ordinary being facing such a situation might experience a literal brain burst, dying on the spot.

Learning from this lesson, the Red Dragon knew not to casually use the main consciousness to take over the sub-brain before mastering it proficiently, letting the body’s subconscious regulate the sub-brain’s synchronization according to inherent brain protection systems.

Karon’s spirit swam in the information sea within the sub-brain, classifying the gathered data step by step, filtering out useless information, leaving only the necessary parts.

For example, the layout of the gladiatorial arena, the magic array’s magic nodes, and information captured during the Red Dragon’s fight against Ogres.

With the sub-brain’s information gathering and analysis, given time, Karon would surely develop targeted attack strategies for warriors of every race in the world.

The more battles Karon experiences, the more information he gathers, the richer and more targeted his offensive tactics become.

If the sub-brain’s functions strengthen as Karon envisioned, then as time and battle counts grow, Karon will possess special attack combat skills against every race in the world.

Although this was merely Karon’s original intention in choosing this enhancement, he has a sense that numerous uses for the sub-brain are still awaiting his exploration.