Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 566 - 341: Giant and Dragon Rider

The sky was gradually getting darker.

The crowd finally lined up to enter again.

The circus performance venue was a Roman-era amphitheater, later renovated by the self-proclaimed "Romans" of the Apennine Wolf Tribe, quite fittingly.

Because the origins of circus performances are from the Roman era's competitive games.

Clowns on stilts, performing various simple tricks, guided the guests in an orderly entry.

The clowns here have been completely distinguished from the court jesters or buffoons of the Middle Ages, adopting a look with exaggerated red lips and a pale makeup.

"Beautiful gentlemen and ladies, guess which hand the coin is in."

A clown extended his palm, showing an exaggerated smile.

Losa frowned and said, "Not in your hand, it's beneath your collar."

The clown's smile froze, muttering a curse under his breath, he sheepishly said, "Wish you and your partner an enjoyable evening."

Then continued to greet the next visitor.

Lavinia curiously said, "You seem not to enjoy their performance."

"Indeed, I was scared by clowns when I was young."

Losa was referring to a horror movie he had seen in a past life, presumably called "It" or something like that.

Losa found his seat marked with his number, this giant amphitheater could accommodate twenty thousand people watching the performance at the same time. The seats at the bottom were sparse, offering the best viewing experience, and the most expensive tickets.

The higher seats became more crowded, and by the time it reached the top platform, there were no seats left, only standing room, but even so, the top was already packed.

The position where Losa and Lavinia were located was in the middle of the stands, where most of the guests were dressed more elegantly as the middle class, after all, a fifty lira ticket was quite considerable for many citizens of Turin.

They waited for a long time.

The full moon was already high, and the circus performance finally began.

Clowns waved whips, leading two majestic lions to the stage, jumping through fire hoops, walking on tightropes, various performances a current circus should have, all eliciting cheers from many audiences who had not seen much of the world.

But Losa and Lavinia weren't too focused on the performance, occasionally glancing around, feeling for any unusual presences.

Lions, elephants, tigers, bears, monkeys, horses...

Magic, acrobatics...

It was all quite spectacular.

But not only Losa and Lavinia, all the audiences were still anticipating the final so-called "Dragon Knight Slays the Giant" performance.

Finally, with a command from the announcer.

The gate at one end of the arena slowly lifted.

Over ten giant steeds dragged a massive steel chariot, slowly entering the field.

In the cage on the chariot, a gigantic figure donned rusty, heavy iron armor, its spikes stained with a fair amount of dark red, dried blood. Chains as thick as arms were draped like ornaments around his legs and arms.

His eyes were filled with exhaustion and numbness; the crowd's enthusiastic cheers, and the impending battle did not interest him at all.

This chariot was much larger than what Losa had seen before. At least, though he was half-squatting, he no longer needed to stoop—he was truly giant, probably over five meters tall if he stood up straight. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"His name is—Antaeus! That's right, the same as the giant killed by Hercules (Heracles), as long as he stands on the ground, he possesses an endless stream of power!"

The announcer shouted the introduction: "So, usually, we must use a steel-cast chariot and cage to isolate him from the earth, otherwise, if he goes berserk, no one can subdue him."

"This giant is a divine creature."

With the announcer's reminder, Losa realized a faint divine aura enveloped the giant, although divine power was never a rare commodity, it was not common either.

"It's the Earth's divine glow, what the announcer said is correct, his body holds Earth Divinity, so only by standing on the earth can it provide him with endless power."

Lavinia sighed lightly: "Once the overlord of the Scandinavian Mountains, the giant who hunted giant dragons as a rite of passage, has now fallen to being a spectacle for humans, like a beast."

Losa remarked expressionlessly: "This is how the world is, in the Thirteen Colonies, a Native American scalp can be bountied for a hundred pounds; in Vienna's zoo, Germans showcase rare elephant men they captured in Africa; if one day, the Wolf Tribe falls, perhaps those thrown into the arena will be people like us."

Lavinia slightly opened her mouth, obviously shocked by Losa's idea.

Losa said calmly, "Especially the pure blood ones, think about it, a Werewolf versus Vampire battle, this angle feels not any less sensational than a Dragon Rider slaying a giant."

"Next up is our Dragon Knight, the legendary gladiator with Hercules' blood running in his veins — Benito Ricardo, and his giant dragon partner Zack!"

A loud roar followed.

The entire arena trembled.

A gigantic dragon beast, over ten meters in length with a red helmet crown on its head, slowly walked in from the rising gate.

A series of exclamations erupted from the stands.

Compared to the giant locked in chains and cages, this dragon beast undoubtedly seemed far more terrifying with its sharp claws and fangs, immediately indicating its extraordinary lethality.

As Losa guessed, this was not a giant dragon, but rather a beast resembling the dragons, yet not belonging to the dragon species. It had no scales on its body, covered in iron armor sewn together with iron pieces, a relatively small head with an imposing set of sharp teeth like a shark, protruding from its lips — if those could be called lips.

Behind it, the gladiator named Benito grasped a massive dragon spear over four meters long with one hand, wearing a unique horizontal helmet crown only owned by a Centurion in the Roman army, with a muscular chest as strong and refined as a marble statue. His appearance immediately drew cheers and admiration from the women in the stands.

Knight Benito, quite aware of his "star" status, raised his arm high, forming a fist, occasionally pounding his chest or waving at the audience, shouting ambiguous battle cries.

Compared to the giant's weak appearance upon entry, this Dragon Knight was certainly full of vigor.

Lavinia commented, "This guy looks pretty flashy, but he's not a simple character."

"Indeed, his lance seems to be pure iron. Handling such a heavy weapon single-handedly with ease shows that his combat strength is not weaker than a regular Centurion."

"Hiring someone like him must cost quite a sum?"

Lavinia whispered, calculating.

Losa shook his head, "Perhaps no appearance fee is needed. Benito needs fame, while the circus needs a spectacular performance; they hit it off and got what they both needed."

"That's certainly possible."

Lavinia asked, "Who do you think will win?"

Losa countered, "Who do you hope will win?"

"Emotionally, I should hope the giant wins... As a sentient being, being caged all day without touching the ground, unable to even stand straight, is less free than a beast in a cage... This feeling must be terrible."

"But rationally, dying in battle would be the best outcome for the giant."

Lavinia softly said, "Furthermore, if the giant goes berserk, we might have to clean up the aftermath ourselves."

"Miss Lavinia, rationality is a virtue, but we don't always have to be rational, or we'll lose a lot of fun."

Lavinia looked at Losa with some confusion, "Perhaps, but I'm used to it."

Meanwhile, the circus crew had released the chains from the giant and scattered from the arena.

In the spacious circular arena, only the Dragon Knight and the giant remained.

Knight Benito took a deep breath, shouting fiercely, "Stand up, evil giant, today will be your death day."

The giant was seated on a flatbed, its cage already opened, chains removed.

Yet he remained seated placidly on the flatbed without any intention to fight.

The audience in the stands hissed loudly.

They expected a balanced battle, not a one-sided slaughter of the giant by the Dragon Knight who showed no sign of fighting spirit.

"Stand up, giant, fight me, have you lost even the courage to fight?"

Benito waved his lance, and the dragon beast under him roared provocatively.

The giant let out a deep sigh.

Then, slowly rising from the flatbed, he stepped onto the ground.

As he stood firmly on the earth, the rusty armor on him was suddenly covered by a dense earthen light, making his steadfast presence apparent.