Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires-Chapter 64: Preparations

"Let me make this clear from the start," Lily spoke firmly, looking around the table.

"This time, you will not make fools out of yourselves."

Zack rolled his eyes. "What? Last time wasn’t so bad!"

Zaroth raised an eyebrow. "Is that why Roran wanted to get drunk so he could try to forget what happened?"

"Alright, there’s no need for arguments. We’ll just go like this, in our student uniforms," Roran interjected.

In the end, it was decided that they would avoid making any moves that could embarrass them. After eating their fill, they headed for the grand arena.

Zaroth was deep in thought about the progress he had made.

’Sadly, I didn’t learn any new spells, just got a bit better at using fireball. My skills with the spear are improving—I think it suits me better than a sword, actually.’

However, not everything was good. He still hadn’t managed to find a third beast to resurrect and tame.

He had even wasted time leaving the borders of the capital to search for something, but in the end, he didn’t find a suitable beast.

’Whatever. When I fight somebody, I can use Silverfang to distract them while I deal damage with my spear from afar, ’

His thoughts were quickly interrupted as he glanced at the massive gates leading to the arena. Walking through the stairs, the murmurs of thousands of students echoed all around him.

"Wow," he couldn’t help but gasp slightly.

There were supposed to be more than 60,000 students, yet the arena didn’t even seem half full. That alone showcased how magnificent the building truly was.

Observing the students, Zaroth’s eyes stopped on a woman whose mere presence seemed to make everyone around her uncomfortable. It was Elysia, standing at the front with the other teachers.

"So, it’s fine if the teachers sit at the very front but not the students?" Zaroth hissed in frustration.

While he wanted to go and talk to the chairwoman, he knew it would be an idiotic thing to do. In the public eye, he and she were just students and a chairwoman.

With a sigh of regret, everyone followed Lily, who, unlike them, had followed the rules and knew where they were supposed to sit.

Sitting down with a grunt, Zaroth threw another glance around, appreciating the sheer scale of it all.

"Huh, so these rascals can actually follow the rules," a female student sneered, glancing at Zaroth and his friends.

"Hey, don’t talk like that—they might hear you," a man defended them.

Zaroth, overhearing it all, shifted his gaze curiously, wondering who in their right mind would defend them.

A smirk appeared on his face when his eyes landed on a chubby man—the same one whose arm he had broken before.

’So the bastard actually got scared enough to learn his lesson,’ he thought.

Leaning back in his chair, Zaroth began to wonder what he was supposed to do now while waiting for the emperor to appear. That was until, suddenly, the chat room he shared with Zack and Roran showed that someone had sent a message.

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Zack: "Hey, have you heard the myth of the salesman?"

-----

Zaroth smirked, his curiosity piqued, and he sent a message back. It seemed that he wasn’t going to be bored out of his mind, at least.

*****

"Beautiful," Draconis muttered as he gazed upon the thousands of his subjects gathered in the grand arena.

’So many people… Who would be the most worthy?’ he wondered.

"Not that it matters at all," he smiled darkly.

The whole purpose of the tournament wasn’t just to inspire the youth to strive for greater strength, it was also to identify the strongest in the empire. Later, he would simply make them submit to his will, adding more disposable soldiers to his forces.

Even as a genius, he couldn’t predict the future with certainty, but...

"Once the tournament ends, we’ll be able to launch a massive attack campaign against the Crimson Sun Empire."

He licked his lips, imagining the wealth he would gain by conquering them.

"First our neighbors, then their neighbors, then all the continents, then all the races, the world," His golden eyes shined brightly as he could already imagine a future where the entire world was under his order and his alone.

"Everything is ready, sir."

Hearing a voice behind him, Draconis turned only to see a man with black hair, a grey suit, and a tie holding a suitcase.

This was one of the few people who dared to look him directly in the eyes.

"How is the recruitment going?" Draconis asked.

The man in the suit smiled. "I am the one tasked with the job, so it’s going without a problem, as always."

"Good," Draconis said, waving his hand to signal that the man was dismissed.

With a nod, the man began to walk away, his shoes making faint echoes in the room.

Draconis paid him no further attention, instead turning toward his wives.

While most of his marriages had been for political reasons, his queens—the ones truly chosen for him—were meant to be the pinnacle of perfection.

As the future ruler of the world, Draconis would settle for nothing less than the very best.

Each of these women possessed beauty so extraordinary that wars could have been waged for their hands… with one exception.

Draconis shifted his gaze toward a woman standing in the corner, clearly trying to hide herself. She wore layers upon layers of clothing, and even had bandages covering parts of her body.

Yet Draconis knew.

"Althea…"

She was his third wife. He remembered very well the first time he saw her—her beauty had been quite literally out of this world.

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Her family, an influential clan, had seemed almost desperate to give her to him. At that moment, he should have found it suspicious…

But on their wedding day, the truth was revealed.

Her body bore dark spots, and parts of her muscles were missing. She suffered from the muscle rot curse.

This revelation filled Draconis with fury beyond belief. He—the future ruler of the world—had been given a defective wife?

He was ready to kill her on the spot for daring to show her disgusting body to him. But he couldn’t—not yet. Her clan held too much influence in the ongoing war.

So, he made his choice. On their wedding day, he commanded her to never enter his bedroom again and to never reveal her disgusting body to him.

Did she feel shame, guilt, or something else? It didn’t matter. Draconis did not waste time thinking about defective people.

From that day forward, Althea avoided speaking to him and, if possible, even showing her face. Nearly two decades had passed since then.

Shaking off his rage, Draconis smirked. Soon, her clan would lose its power, and he would finally be free to rid himself of her. All he had to do was endure a little longer.

"Let’s go," he said coldly, stepping onto the podium.

Standing proudly at the center, Draconis took a deep breath.

He was about to announce the commencement of the tournament.