Chapter 358 - Start Of The Feast
Considering the Darkmoon Tribe's attainment level in runes, Leon would not find it surprising if the Darkmoon Tribe used runic machinery to replace manpower for Dark Crystal mining.
Leon no longer concerned himself with Dark Crystal Mine and continued up the flight of stone stairs with the others. It was only a passing thought.
The amphitheater that lies atop the rocky plateau was colossal and purely made of stone. Leon cannot imagine the amount of manpower and effort that was put into building it. With a seating capacity of 60 thousand people, it was a work of wonder.
As Leon drew close to the colossal amphitheater, the festive mood inside could be sensed.
Only a third of the seating space was used. An array of food was lined up in rings on every third row of stone seats, and even more food was brought out continuously in streams.
"Worthy of being called a Great Feast. It's the first time I've seen a gathering of this magnitude." Leon sighed emotionally.
"Hahaha, it is too early for Brother Leonhardt to be feeling impressed. Wait until you try our food, then you will know what impressive is." Ironhead laughed as he led the way inside.
A waft of exquisite aroma made its way to Leon. His entire body felt energized after a quick whiff, and his eyes sparkled with greater anticipation.
Good aroma does not necessarily mean good food, but it does raise one's expectation for one.
At this moment, not a single person had touched the food. Their attention was all drawn towards the center of the amphitheater.
The Great Feast had yet to start, but two Great Warriors were already duking it out on the square battle arena.
While competing for rankings, they also liven up the atmosphere by giving everyone a show to watch.
"Go, Big Brother Hardknuckles! Take him down! You can do it!"
"Good punch! Keep it up! Don't give him a chance to fight back!"
"What are you doing, Big Brother Spearback!? You gotta fight back! Don't keep dodging! You can't let Big Brother Hardknuckles suppress you like this!"
"Fight! Defend your ranking, Big Brother Spearback!"
While the younger generations cheered for each side, the older ones entered a deeper level of discussion.
"Who do you think will win this time?" Strongarm asked.
"Hard to say. Hardknuckles and Spearback are quite close in strength. One thing I can say is everyone had made great strides in their cultivation during the previous battle. There is bound to be a great shuffling in the rankings today." Blackbear said.
"Hardknuckles' attacks are very ferocious, and his momentum is on the rise. Spearback has no chance to fight back at all. I'd say Hardknuckles got this one." Scarface said.
"Hm, that's true. Spearback is being forced back by Hardknuckles' barrage of attacks. At this rate, it is just a matter of time before he is forced off the battle arena and loses by default." Strongarm agreed before asking, "What about you, Knucklefist? Do you reckon your brother will win?"
Knucklefist shook his head and said, "He will lose."
"Oh? Why do you say that?" The others asked with interest.
"In a battle between two sides of equal strength, it is only natural for the victor to be the one that lasts longer. Although my brother Hardknuckles currently holds the momentum, he will not be able to keep it up forever. Can't you see the fatigue that is already written all over his face? Success can't be rushed." Knucklefist said with a sigh.
He was evidently disappointed. His little brother was still inexperienced despite reaching the Great Warrior Realm.
"Eh? Knucklefist is right. Look at their faces. Hardknuckles will not be able to continue executing such high-level attacks for long. On the other hand, Spearback is still calm and collected. He has not broken a single sweat!"
Shortly after, the situation in the battle arena changed.
Spearback was forced to the edge of the battle arena, and he was about to be knocked off. However, at that very moment, Hardknuckles' barrage of attack weakened due to accumulated fatigue.
Spearback instantly grabbed the chance to swiftly sidestep around to Hardknuckles' back and give him a palm strike, sending the person flying off the battle arena.
Hardknuckles was sent flying off the battle arena.
"Aiya! Big Brother Hardknuckles just lost!"
"What! How did Big Brother Hardknuckles lose?! Wasn't he about to win?! Can someone tell me what just happened?!"
"Hahaha! I knew Big Brother Spearback would not let me down! He successfully defended his ranking!"
The crowd immediately broke into fervor discussions.
"While it seems like Spearback is being suppressed, this is, in fact, far from the truth! He has been conserving his energy and biding his time for a decisive attack." Strongarm said with a wry smile.
"This kid not bad. He has patience and wits. It will not be long before he breakthrough to Mid-rank Great Warrior and challenge us. It seems we need to work harder on our cultivation if we do not want to lose this kid." Blackbear praised with a smile.
Knucklefist cracked his knuckles and said, "Now I'm itching for a fight. How about it? Anyone want to have a go with me?"
On the Mid-rank Great Warrior ranking, Knucklefist had always held a firm grip on the second position. However, after Sabertooth broke through to High-rank Great Warrior, Knucklefist was moved up to the first spot.
"Nah, we good ay. We don't stand a chance." Blackbear quickly declined with a wave of his hand. "Brother Knucklefist might be unhappy with Hardknuckles' loss, but there's no need to take it out on us."
"Alright, pipe down. Chief Valencia is about to make her announcement. If you want to fight, you can fight later." Sabertooth spoke at this moment.
Sure enough, Chief Valencia began to speak as she saw Leon approaching with Ironhead in the lead.
"Our Guest has arrived. Come, take a seat by my side." Chief Valencia said accommodatingly.
"I'm afraid this is not appropriate, right?" Leon asked wryly out of courtesy.
No matter what, he was still an outsider. It was not right to sit beside the tribal chief, who occupied the prime seat of honor at the high seating platform's center.
Not only did the high seating platform has the best view of the battle arena but also the whole interior of the amphitheater.
There are fewer seats here, and only people of the highest echelons within the tribe were deserving of sitting here alongside the tribal chief.
Several elder figures sat along the same row, and Leon could tell that they were all people of great importance to the tribe. This was seen by the fact that the Old Shaman and Witch Doctor Master Woodrow were sitting among them.
"We meet again, Little Brother Leonhardt." The Old Shaman stroked his beard with a smile and asked, "What is not appropriate about this?"
"That is right. You are someone who can and has cured the Demonic Possession. If someone like you is not worthy of sitting here, then no one is worthy." Chief Valencia said straightforwardly.
"Ahh, it appears Chief Valencia has already learned of this matter. In that case, I will longer refuse."
Leon nodded and soon took the only empty seat left beside Chief Valencia without reservation.
"You are pretty interesting."
Chief Valencia was mildly pleased with Leon's behavior. He neither offered false pleasantries nor tried to please her.
After glancing at all the occupied seats, Chief Valencia nodded and stood up to face the thousands of tribesmen seated in the distance.
"Since everyone is here, I will make the announcement."
"Today, we may have lost 3092 brothers and sisters, but grieve not that they have fallen, for they will be remembered! This is a day of remembrance and recovery. Eat your fill! Drink away your sorrow! Be proud of their contributions! And be proud of yourself for having lived another day! With this drink in honor of the fallen, I mark the official start of the Great Feast!"
With that said, Chief Valencia downed a cup of special wine.
Her rich and mighty voice quickly traversed the distance and reached the ears of every listener in the amphitheater. The tribesmen all stood up with their raised wine cup and drank in honor of their fallen brethren.
Leon mimicked everyone's action to honor the dead on the high seating platform and also downed a wine cup prepared for him.
He was immediately amazed by the special wine. It was intense and burned in his throat like raging fire, but after the initial burn, came a soothing mellowness that invigorates him, washing away any sense of fatigue in his body. Even his mind was slightly cleared up.
"This is wine is very exceptional!" Leon praised.