In the Coliseum, a pile of wolf corpses lay in the corner, their scent of blood rendered the massive lion in the arena exceedingly ferocious. The beast roared madly, its gaze upon Arell filled with malevolence.
Clutching his fists, Arell's bones cracked like thunder, and he walked straight up to the lion, locking eyes with it face-to-face.
The lion opened its massive, bloodied jaws, its fangs terrifyingly grotesque, exhaling a putrid breath.
With a cold sneer, Arell wasted no words and slammed his fist directly into the lion's face.
With a thunderous boom, the lion was sent flying like it had been struck by a train, crashing into the steel wall.
Apollo was stunned, his laughter cut abruptly short.
Seeing the lion struggle to rise and continuously snarling at him, Arell's irritation flared. He vented all his pent-up frustration and anger.
Punch after punch, Arell held down the lion's body, pummeling it relentlessly. Even the lion's steely muscles began to deform under the blows, eventually going limp.
The lion's roars turned from rage to wails of agony.
Arell's moves were simple and brutal, channeling his boundless rage to ferociously beat the lion out of shape.
His eyes bloodshot, Arell, now crazed, couldn't contain his fury upon recalling Ayu's earlier condition, venting it all on the lion that was close to death.
The lion's cries of agony faded away, but Arell's fists didn't stop, still smashing into the lion's body, punch after punch.
With a sickening crack, the lion's head burst under Arell's blows. He gradually calmed down, slowly rising to his feet, stepping over the lion's body and looking up coldly at Apollo.
The entire Coliseum fell silent. The members of the Fang Guild, even their leader Apollo, were in shock, staring at Arell, who had mercilessly beaten the lion to death.
Apollo's expression shifted from shock to a somber darkness, aggrieved that the mutant beasts they had engineered were all killed, and that single-handedly, neither the mutant wolves nor the mutant lion could withstand such blows, and even their numbers had made little difference.
"Asura, your friends are quite impressive!" Apollo suddenly laughed, his thoughts inscrutable.
Ning Fan watched Apollo coldly, worry for Ayu's injuries wrestling within him. With her current wounds, if not properly treated, even her ironclad constitution would be in mortal danger afterwards.
"Someone, take them away... Haha, rest assured, Asura, I won't let them die just ; I'll arrange for an excellent doctor for the lady."
Apollo seemed to know Ning Fan's concerns for Ayu, and after Feng, Yu, Lei, Dian were taken away, he added that last sentence.
The banquet ended with Arell's bloody slaughter of the mutant lion, through which Apollo gained a clear understanding of the capabilities of the quartet: Feng, Yu, Lei, and Dian.
Ayu faced the pack of wolves with increasing ferocity, single-handedly slaying over twenty mutant wolves, and then the burly Arell displayed his own form of brutality, brutally beating Apollo's mutant lion to death, punch after punch, a sight profoundly shocking.
Thinking of this, Apollo no longer felt as annoyed as before, after his mutated beasts had been so easily slaughtered; in fact, he had even begun to appreciate the group of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning.
The next morning, Apollo arrived at the cell where the four of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning were imprisoned, and the atmosphere instantly became tense with his arrival.
"My dear lady, please forgive my rudeness today. If possible, I might be able to offer you some compensation,"
Apollo, like a refined gentleman, walked up to Rain's cell, ignoring the frosty gazes of those present, his face still adorned with an elegant smile.
Inside the cell, Rain lay on the bed, her entire body bandaged. The physicians of the Fang Guild had already treated her, and she had begun to recover.
"Then can I ask you to go die?" Rain replied coldly to Apollo with a sneer.
Apollo's face stiffened, not expecting such a piercing retort from Rain, but he soon laughed it off.
"Hahaha, you really have a sense of humor!"
Apollo took Rain's words as a joke, but neither he nor the four of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning were truly jesting.
However, considering that the four of Wind, Rain, Thunder and Lightning were indeed rare talents, Apollo had the magnanimity to appreciate them. He was keen on having them for himself, especially after witnessing the strengths of Rain and Thunder the previous day.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have a proposition for you, and I wonder if you are interested?"
No sooner had he finished his sentence than everyone remained silent, a deathly stillness hanging in the air, leaving Apollo in an awkward situation as the chill set in.
"I, Apollo, the leader of the Fang Guild, now sincerely invite you to join us. What say you?"
So, Apollo decided not to beat around the bush any longer and directly stated today's purpose.
"Impossible!" Thunder was the first to refuse without even thinking, his fist slamming against the cell door, as if warning Apollo of something.
"I think you should consider my offer carefully before rushing to reject me!"
Apollo frowned slightly, clearly perturbed yet still composed.
"You think we're going to turn coats? Dream on!" Lightning spat.
"Even in death, we would not serve as your dogs!" Wind's response was equally vehement.
And of course, Rain was no different; like everyone else, she had not a shred of fondness for Apollo.
The group of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning had only one boss, Chen Fengnan. They were all unwaveringly loyal to Chen Fengnan, so how could they be swayed by a few words from Apollo? Even if Apollo offered better conditions later, their answer would be nothing but rejection.
Apollo's expression completely stiffened, his eyes filling with frustration as he looked at the four of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning; this was a rare instance of him being so decisively rejected.
This left him feeling embarrassed and somewhat angry, but more than anything, it was a feeling of helplessness.
In the end, he had no choice but to leave dejectedly; however, he had not given up. After all, he had all the time in the world. Even if the four of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning were unmoved now, his plans were yet to unfold, and he refused to believe they wouldn't be swayed later.
And Apollo was confident about his certainty, believing that if his methods were successful, everything would be surmountable!