Trial of Courage

While Lin Yuan was bound in the dungeon awaiting the judgment of fate,

A Li, A'lan, and Ghost appeared inside a blood-red palace.

A greatsword, black and red all over, was plunged into the center of the palace.

Upon seeing the appearance of the greatsword,

A Li's pupils contracted.

"Demon Sword!"

"It is I," an elegant voice came from above the Demon Sword.

Red energy condensed on the blade,

gradually forming a human figure.

Once the figure solidified, it looked exactly like A Li.

The blood-red figure stretched out a hand and rested it on the Demon Sword.

With a light pull,

Tsing!

the full appearance of the Demon Sword appeared before A Li.

It was entirely blood-red, and two narrow blades stood side by side at the sword's tip,

resembling two horns on a demon's head.

The blade was covered in barbs and blood grooves.

Dark red light constantly flowed across the blade,

showing that this was an extraordinary weapon.

"Alex, you cannot escape." The blood-red figure held the Demon Sword, its eyes full of amusement.

"Look at you. It hasn't been long since we last met, yet you've fallen so low as to become someone else's Summoned Beast."

"Where is the Darkkin Sovereign who once looked down upon the world?"

A Li's eyes sharpened. He reached back and took down the greatsword hanging there.

"Alex is already dead."

"My name is A Li now."

"Demon Sword, don't even think about trying to control me again."

Hearing this, the Demon Sword waved its hand at A Li.

"Don't be so aggressive. The protagonist of today's show isn't the two of us."

"It's him."

The Sword Demon raised the Demon Sword in its hand and lightly slashed it.

A blood-red screen, five meters high and four meters wide, appeared before everyone.

When A'lan saw the content on the screen, she was immediately furious.

"Damn it!"

"What have you done to Master!"

Holding the ancient tree nemesis, A'lan transformed into a War Ancient Tree.

She raised her axe, ready to strike.

But just as the axe was about to fall on the Sword Demon's head,

an inexplicable force appeared,

preventing A'lan's axe from descending even an inch.

"As an Elf, you are surprisingly lacking in composure."

"How inelegant."

The Sword Demon chuckled softly.

"I told you, the protagonist today is not us, but him."

"Alex, don't you find the event your Master is currently experiencing a bit familiar?"

"L-I-O-N-H-E-A-R-T A-R-E-N-A!" A Li enunciated each word slowly.

"Why is it the Lionheart Arena!"

The Lionheart Arena was the past A Li least wanted to bring up.

A Li had completed nine hundred and ninety-nine victories.

He had originally thought he could regain his freedom,

but the Empire went back on its word,

taking him away for evil experiments,

forcing him to fuse with the Demon Sword, intending to forge him into a weapon of war.

After fusing with the Demon Sword, A Li's strength skyrocketed.

He went on a rampage, killing everyone in the Imperial Laboratory,

and then led the Darkkin Clan into battle against the Empire.

The battle lasted for thousands of years.

Eventually, under the influence of the Demon Sword, A Li became increasingly insane.

Initially, he only attacked the Imperial Army,

but later he killed anyone he saw,

his hands stained with sin.

Finally, the Empire's strongest expert, Lionheart Holy Sword Arthur, made his move.

A Li lost that battle.

The Demon Sword was shattered.

His soul became entangled with the Demon Sword, plunging into endless despair.

Until Lin Yuan rescued him from that endless despair.

Today, A Li actually saw the Lionheart Arena again.

The difference was that the person currently experiencing it was Lin Yuan.

"Don't look at me like that." The Sword Demon tilted its head, looking at A Li's murderous gaze.

"I don't have the power to make the Lionheart Arena reappear."

"This is a Summoner's Class Transfer Mission, the Trial of Courage."

"The Trial of Courage!" A Li exclaimed in surprise.

"The famous Trial of Courage actually appeared in a Level 20 Summoner Class Transfer Mission."

As the former Darkkin Sovereign, A Li naturally knew what the Trial of Courage represented.

It was a terrifying trial conducted by the Heavenly Gods only for truly brave warriors.

If one passed, that person would receive the grace of the Heavenly Gods.

If they failed, only death awaited them.

Lin Yuan would never have guessed

that failing a perfectly normal Class Transfer Mission would result in death.

He was currently adjusting his condition.

It had been two hours since he arrived here.

During this time, Lin Yuan saw many soldiers wearing silver armor moving in and out.

Their duty was to escort the slaves scheduled to fight into the arena.

Lin Yuan looked around.

The man to his right was called Skinny Monkey, a Dark Elf.

A master of assassination and disguise.

He sat still with his eyes closed, his breathing faint and sporadic.

If one didn't look closely, they wouldn't even notice a person was there.

To Lin Yuan's left was the man named Scarface.

Scarface was an Orc,

with an extremely volatile temper.

He occasionally shook the chains on his right hand, making a clanging sound.

Ten meters across from Lin Yuan,

sat a man with sharp eyebrows, star-like eyes, and a hint of melancholy on his face.

This man was named Alex,

but Lin Yuan recognized him instantly as A Li.

Just as Lin Yuan looked at Alex, the other party's gaze happened to look back.

"Are you Darkkin?" Alex sounded uncertain.

He felt a familiar sense of closeness from Lin Yuan,

but if the other party truly was Darkkin, there was no reason for him to be so weak.

How strange.

Lin Yuan pulled a smile onto his face.

"Darkkin? I suppose so."

"What's wrong? Have you been locked up here so long you don't even recognize your own kin?"

The moment he recognized Alex's identity, Lin Yuan had already formulated a perfect jailbreak plan.

Talk of winning nine hundred and ninety-nine matches in a row?

That was complete bullshit.

If nothing unexpected happened,

the opponent arranged for him three days later would definitely be an unbeatable existence.

The final result would be torture and death,

used to boost the adrenaline of the big shots.

Lin Yuan absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen.

Just then,

a soldier, 1.7 meters tall and wearing standard Imperial armor, walked over.

"Alex, you have a gladiatorial match tomorrow noon."

"Your opponent is the Evil Dragon Labishu."

After the Imperial Soldier left, the entire dungeon was covered in noisy discussions.

"The Evil Dragon Labishu!"

"They think too highly of Alex, don't they?"

"That is a terrifying existence that can easily destroy a fortress."

"The Empire once mobilized the entire Archmage Legion just to capture it."

"Although Alex is strong, how can he be a match for an Evil Dragon?"

Lin Yuan leaned against the wall and quietly spoke to Alex, who was sitting cross-legged.

"Hey, Alex, how about we make a bet?"

"A bet?" Alex opened his eyes, looking at Lin Yuan with a questioning gaze.

"We'll bet on whether the Empire will grant you freedom after you achieve nine hundred and ninety-nine victories."

"My answer is no."

"So, are you betting or not?"

"What are we betting?" Alex asked with interest.

"My life." Lin Yuan pointed a thumb at himself.

"If I lose, you get my life. If you lose, I get yours."