After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 51.2

He remembered meeting Hero Luo Jie once when he was young. Even then, Luo Jie was already in his twilight years, looking incapable of fighting anymore. Who would have thought that decades later, Luo Jie would still go to the frontlines, directly confronting a powerful otherworld god.

The difference in awareness between people truly couldn’t be compared. The gap between ordinary people who just boasted and true heroes was enormous.

For them, saving the world was routine, their achievements enough to keep bards singing for days. And for some others?

Millard couldn’t help but think of the Jupius family, famous for producing sword saints, and Sword Saint Ferrol.

Ferrol losing an arm at the border could be a big or small matter, but if it provoked the old monsters in their family, it probably wouldn’t end well. Their family was known for being protective, and if the opponent wasn’t a memory beast dwelling in the depths of dreams, but just some ordinary strong person, the old monsters in their family would probably have already wiped out the other’s entire clan.

…He was thinking too far ahead. Millard shook his head, then suddenly his eyes grew serious as he thought silently, “How could I forget, there’s someone in the Jupius family who would definitely come to cause trouble if he heard about the competition.”

Sword Saint Ferrol’s brother, Febi, was a notorious playboy known throughout the city. He had done all sorts of evil deeds, loved keeping pets but also loved torturing them, not limited to animals or humans. His infamy was well-known, a true sadist. Every time he did something evil, his family would clean up after him, so even the royal family dared not speak out against him despite their anger.

It was well known that Febi also kept many cats, including some with powerful talents like the tiger-snake cat, which he often took out for walks, terrifying many passersby.

Given Febi’s perversity and competitiveness, how could he possibly hear about this event and remain quiet?

His level 62 cat was stronger than most humans, how could ordinary cats possibly beat it?

King Levin couldn’t refuse Febi’s participation. So when the time came, Febi would definitely come to disrupt things, to prove that his cat was the strongest in the country.

Millard felt things wouldn’t go smoothly. And most importantly, would the “number one ranked” really come?

Well, that might not be quite right. Should he say, would the cat from the “number one ranked” family really come?

Millard dared not say for certain, he could only say perhaps… it was possible.

It was better for King Levin to take action than to do nothing. At least he wasn’t content with being useless.

While Millard was sighing about the complexity of human affairs, he walked closer to the magic array from before, his gaze serious.

He had studied this magic array for a long time afterward, drawing it dozens of times himself. He could draw it, but replicating magic didn’t mean understanding it.

He still hadn’t understood this magic, nor its most important simplified [thought process].

Millard was itching to find the “number one ranked” and ask about the exact thought process behind this.

To solve this problem, he was willing to assist King Levin.

He also sincerely hoped that the “number one ranked” would appear as Levin had said!

The next day, the news of the King organizing a cat skill competition spread throughout the city and even the whole country.

The nobles from major families were the first to hear the news, each more bewildered than the last.

Some were confused. “Has the King gone mad? What’s he doing holding such a competition?”

Others sneered. “I’ve heard he’s a cat slave, now he’s not even hiding it anymore.”

“Wait, he’s calling on citizens to bring their cats to a competition just for his own interests?”

Some ministers were very displeased, discussing it in social venues like taverns.

An official who knew the details revealed, “Don’t worry, I heard the King is using his own private funds for this, so we can’t really say anything.”

Someone nearby was surprised: “Oh?”

A neutral party said, “Why are you all so excited? Isn’t this a good event? Our citizens love cats, there are many cat owners in the country. Holding such competitions helps to engage citizens, enrich the country’s entertainment life, and strengthen citizens’ confidence in the country, doesn’t it?”

Some were convinced, nodding. “That makes sense. Wait, isn’t that just official talk? If he’s hosting the competition himself, who’s to say he won’t manipulate things to make his cat win?”

“With so many eyes watching, what are you afraid of? Would he dare to cause trouble in front of all the major families? I don’t think so.”

“Indeed.”

“Forget it, he’s had a frustrating time as king, he’s just finding something to do. And he’s using his own money, let him be.”

Of course, some people present didn’t quite understand what the King’s “private funds” meant. Were they referring to King Levin’s private assets? Was he secretly doing business?

After several rounds of discussion, the major families finally felt it didn’t matter, there was no threat, let him hold it. They could bring their own cats to participate too, couldn’t they?

Hah, a cat skill competition? Their precious pets must win!

Some major families truly prepared to participate, casting meaningful glances at their beloved pets.

As the news spread wider, it indeed reached Febi of the Jupius family, just as Millard had predicted.

Febi had been extremely irritable these past few days. He was furious about his brother losing an arm, repeatedly telling the family head to hunt down memory beasts and exterminate them all, otherwise wouldn’t their family lose face?

But the family head said that memory beasts dwelled in the depths of dreams and weren’t easy to hunt down. If things went wrong, they might lose as many people as they sent.

So what if they died! As long as they exterminated the memory beasts!

He strongly demanded this, but to no avail, leaving him stomping around the house in anger, with nowhere to vent his frustration.

When he heard about the skill competition, his first thought was, interesting, who needs a competition to know whose pet is stronger? Of course it’s their family’s!

Febi clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, his face twisted with malice as he stormed down to the basement.

The basement was a prison, holding various pets, even including humans. In the face of power, anything could be a slave, let alone mere humans.

He walked through the prison, his leather shoes clanking loudly, heading straight to one particular cell.

Inside was confined a tiger.

It was muscular, over two meters tall, with a fierce and imposing appearance, surrounded by overflowing magical power.

To be precise, it wasn’t actually a tiger, but something called a tiger-snake cat. The evidence was its tail, which wasn’t simply a tail, but a connected snake.

The snake head slithered on the ground, hissing, its eyes glowing red, dangerously twisting its body.

In the Oedipus Empire, there wasn’t a clear distinction between cats and tigers. A cat could be a tiger, and a tiger could be a cat, depending on how you interpreted it.

And Febi had the power of “interpretation”.

He stared at the growling tiger-snake cat and sneered, “In terms of prowess, which cat could compare to you?”

If it were to compete, it would probably devour all the small cats present.

Febi was very confident, already eagerly anticipating the day of the skill competition.

“King Levin, whatever you’re planning, I’ll make you realize you’re shooting yourself in the foot!”

“I’m looking forward to seeing your pathetic regret.”

These days, the imperial city was especially lively, with noticeably more citizens taking their cats out.

The King hadn’t publicly announced the competition categories, only revealing part of the assessment content, such as combat power and intelligence.

Intelligence aside, the combat power restriction was quite significant. Think about it, cats are pets, treasured and pampered. How could they come out to fight?

They probably couldn’t win. And with rumors that someone’s tiger was participating, was this rule really okay?

In fact, King Levin himself was also anxious. He had never organized such an event before, and it was rather hastily arranged. The rules weren’t clearly defined before being announced, and now even large feline magical beasts might come to compete.

What to do? He hurriedly sought advice from his prime minister.

The prime minister seemed to have anticipated this, stroking his beard as he said, “The arrow is on the string and must be released. Your Majesty has already prepared halfway, so let’s continue. I’ll find people to help manage the order. Millard also values this event, he won’t stand idly by. Isn’t one great magician enough to control the situation?”

Levin’s anxiety immediately halved. The prime minister always knew how to say what he wanted to hear.

At this point, they could only take a gamble. His only concern was risk management. This would really depend on Millard.

These days, Xiu Si had been busy with shaping and leveling up, as well as magic research, leaving little time for other things.

His four cats were very sensible, actually dividing tasks to run his bookstore.

Perhaps due to novelty, quite a few customers came, with high purchase rates and high customer value, truly earning him a good amount of money.

Honestly, Xiu Si had come out of the abyss penniless. If not for Priest Xilin’s support… well, he probably wouldn’t have starved to death anyway, since he didn’t need to eat.

A few days later, on the day of the competition, Xiu Si received four competition spots in advance, recommended by Levin, without even needing to go through preliminaries.

He took his children out, receiving many curious glances along the way.

Some were amazed at the beauty of his children, others shocked at how he could bring such small kittens to participate in such a terrifying competition.

It was known that on the day of the preliminaries, many people had seen others resorting to any means to win, sending out real tigers and various feline magical beasts.

Was this still a cat competition? It seemed more like a tiger competition!

He was still bringing cats there? They would be eaten by the tigers!

Bystanders debated in their minds.

Their gazes made Xiu Si feel a bit hesitant.

Xiu Si lowered his head and asked the children if they still wanted to participate, as this competition might be very dangerous.

Hearing this, the four cats turned their gazes towards him simultaneously, as if they didn’t consider the tigers a threat at all.

Xiu Si was no longer worried. His children had lived in the abyss for over 8,000 years, so ordinary magical beasts were nothing to them.

The entrance to the venue was bustling with people coming and going. In his left hand, he carried a basket containing two cats, one black and one silver, and a round cat head was poking out from his collar–Milk Tea’s fur looked extremely beautiful. In his right arm, he held a gray cat.

The disguised Levin immediately recognized him and quickly waved him over.

Xiu Si naturally recognized Levin as well and walked over to the second floor.

Levin said with a smile, “This is the VIP seating area. When the competition starts, we’ll watch from here.”

Xiu Si could see that this venue was quite large, no different from a sports stadium. The competition area was in the central field, with tracks and other competition venues already set up.

“There are seven competition events in total. Whoever wins at the end will be the champion,” Levin handed him a booklet and explained, “The first event is a 100-meter sprint. The top ten will advance to the next round.”

“I understand,” Xiu Si said.

Xiu Si put down the cats he was holding and took the booklet. He turned to them and said, “The waiting room is over there. You should go there first, but be careful not to wander off and get lost.”

The four cats nodded firmly, then vanished instantly.

Levin still marveled, “Your children are really… incredible.”

Forgive him for saying so, but aside from “incredible,” he could hardly think of any other words to describe them.

Just then, Levin suddenly shuddered, noticing Febi in the opposite viewing stand out of the corner of his eye.

Febi was very arrogant, bringing a group of bodyguards for protection. He even had a sofa chair brought in, sitting with his legs crossed as he looked down at everyone below, his eyes full of confidence in his victory.

Levin’s gaze became serious as he looked down at Millard below.

Millard noticed his gaze and nodded to him, while also noticing Xiu Si beside him.

Millard thought to himself, where had he seen this young man before? Was he a friend of the king?

But he didn’t have time to think more about it, because the scheduled time for the first round of competition was approaching.

“Let’s get started,” Millard instructed his subordinates.

Two large doors at the bottom of the venue opened, and staff members led out the participating cat contestants.

There was a commotion in the stands as everyone waited in anticipation.

Levin was especially excited, unable to resist scanning the crowd in the stands.

According to Levin’s hypothesis, the “ranked first” cat should also strive to be first.

In other words, the owner of the cat that wins in the end of this competition is very likely to be the number one ranked person himself.

He had been a bit nervous about his plan before, but now he thought this idea was brilliant! The so-called “Fishing for Cats Plan”! Chasing the cat to chase the owner!

“Which cat will fight its way to first place?”

Levin was very excited. He even felt that they wouldn’t need to compete until the end – this first race alone would reveal everything!

All the cat contestants walked onto the track, each brimming with competitive spirit.

If people knew there were four Abyss Lords here, those present would likely be traumatized for life.

But honestly, the situation on the track seemed a bit strange. Four small cats walked confidently in front of the large cats and tigers, exuding an imposing aura.

The other cats and tigers, for some unknown reason, were actually cowering and afraid to step forward.

What was going on?

Millard and the other staff members wondered curiously.

Febi frowned in dissatisfaction.

But within seconds, the start of the race was announced.

The host shouted loudly. “Begin! Listen for the whistle!”

Everyone’s eyes widened as they held their breath and stared intently.

Cats racing – this was truly a rare sight to behold!

But in less than a second or two, only the sound of sonic booms could be heard in rapid succession, with dust billowing up from the track below.

Many people hadn’t even had time to react, but in the blink of an eye, the outcome was already obvious enough.

“Four cats tied for first place!”

The host’s voice trembled as he announced, causing an uproar throughout the venue.

Febi jumped straight up from his sofa chair.

Levin was dumbfounded – how could there be four?!

He looked closer, his expression becoming even more horrified. Because he recognized them – they were all Mr. Yi Xiusi’s cats!

Levin turned to look at Xiu Si beside him in shock.

He saw Xiu Si waving to his children, his pitch-black eyes full of loving kindness, a gentle smile spreading across his lips as he said softly. “They’re very cute, aren’t they?”

C-cute?

Levin’s body shook violently. Catching sight of the dumbfounded expressions of those around him out of the corner of his eye, he thought to himself: Mr. Yi Xiusi, they’re not just cute, they’re terrifying!

Whose cats could run at the speed of sound in a race? Their movements were completely invisible!

All the other cats and tigers were frightened out of their wits.

They were still frozen at the starting line, trembling with their fur standing on end, at a loss and too scared to move!

Are your cats really only around level 30?

Levin was completely bewildered.

Wait a minute, Mr. Yi Xiusi’s cats had won and tied for first place, so where was the cat from the “number one ranked” household? Shouldn’t the number one ranked cat be in first place?

“This…”

Levin was puzzled, but a few seconds later, his eyes suddenly widened and his whole body shook violently as he considered a very frightening possibility.

He turned his head to look at Xiu Si, his heart racing wildly!

Could it be…?!