Chapter 274 Alraune And Palaka



[Bitter Maja, Wilwatikta Kingdom]

"...And Alera smashed Huni's face with a powerful blow! Huni lost consciousness! Huni is unconscious! Half of her face is completely shattered! Blood splatters everywhere! Alera doesn't stop! Alera wants to kill Huni with a deadly stomp! Oh! Thankfully, the alraunes quickly saved the unfortunate Hobgoblin! What? Don't kill your enemy? The alraunes are saying funny things again, ladies and gentlemen!" Shizz enthusiastically commented on the Palaka battles taking place in various arenas before her.

As the head of Kingdom Press, Shizz was skilled at heating up the atmosphere and making the audience squirm in their seats. It wasn't her first time with this assignment, and now she knew exactly what she needed to do and how to enjoy it. Her name was famous throughout the Wilwatikta Kingdom, earning her the nickname "Shizz the Fiery Tongue."

After marrying his long-time partner, Boku, and becoming a druid, Shizz chose to take the form of a Mutated Elephant Funnel as her host.

The Mutated Elephant Funnel was a mutated animal with a large trunk resembling a funnel. Though they were only considered copper-tier danger mutated animals, Mutated Elephant Funnels were notoriously difficult to be preyed upon by other predators due to their large bodies and their ability to emit high-frequency sounds that could shatter their opponents' eardrums.

Shizz utilized the trunk mana organ to make her voice audible throughout the Colosseum. With this ability, she no longer needed the assistance of Asuras to broadcast the fights to the entire Colosseum audience.

Similar to the gladiator battles in the previous world of Moku, the Palaka fights in the Colosseum were deadly and bloody. The contestants unleashed their full strength, attempting to kill their opponents, even though they were actually neighbors.

However, after the Palaka fights, there would be no grudges among these monsters. They would return to joking and teasing each other the next day as if the brutal battles never happened.

However, it wasn't the contestants who were in the most dire situation when the Palaka began. It was the alraunes tasked with rescuing them.

The alraunes were so overwhelmed by the Palaka battles that they had to increase their numbers just to have enough hands to rescue the warring monsters. However, their workload seemed to never decrease, especially with the rapid increase in Palaka contestants each year due to the booming population.

In the end, the alraunes staged a massive demonstration in front of Moku's house and demanded an end to the Palaka. However, Palaka was a cultural tradition aimed at reducing conflicts among monsters who fought over food, mates, or anything that could spark real bloody conflicts that can beget hatred.

Through Palaka, these bloodthirsty monsters could channel their fighting desires in a fair arena. There was no grudge within Palaka because every monster believed that these battles were sacred and witnessed directly by their god.

Therefore, Moku could not grant the wishes of the overworked and unfortunate alraunes. However, the alraunes were not out of ideas. They gathered again and sought ways to alleviate their workload during Palaka.

Although the number of alraunes continued to increase over time, the newly born alraunes were still very young and inexperienced. They had fragile mental states, to the extent that once a young alraune fainted when a decapitated asura head spoke to them.

This was highly embarrassing for a monster race that prided themselves on being emotionless elites. Eventually, they found a solution by implementing a ban on using weapons during the Palaka battles.

Moku had no reason to deny the alraunes' request. He had long been aware of the alraunes' exhaustion during Palaka. They were all like soldiers ready to fight to the death as soon as the Palaka schedule was announced.

However, other monsters did not share the same sentiment. Especially those monsters who relied on their expertise and superiority in using weapons, such as the asuras who chose the Mana Weapon Path.

Without Mana Weapons, asuras in this Path would not be able to match other asuras who chose different Paths. Goku, the leader of the Mana Weapon Path, stepped in to challenge the alraunes' request.

These two groups debated each time the Future Decision Meeting was held. The debates nearly escalated into physical clashes if it weren't for their respect for Moku.

The debate between these two groups spread beyond the Future Decision Meeting and divided the community of Wilwatikta Kingdom at that time into two factions.

Those who had an affinity with the alraune race supported the cessation of weapon usage during Palaka. For them, true strength was not reliant on any external tools other than their own bodies.

On the other hand, those who appreciated the uniqueness and beauty of weapon martial arts supported the Mana Weapon Path. To them, weapon usage represented the evolution of monster civilization from its perceived barbaric origins.

The heated debates between the two groups eventually led to clashes within the community, prompting Moku to form a special team tasked with maintaining internal security in the Wilwatikta Kingdom, known as the Eagle Unit.

The alraunes knew that Moku's patience was wearing thin due to the ongoing conflicts. Although Moku always appeared to listen and wait for his subordinates to provide their opinions, ultimately reaching a consensus, he still can be a firm ruler. Moku would not hesitate to make iron-fisted decisions if anything threatened the safety of the Wilwatikta Kingdom.

If the ongoing debates continued to cause chaos in the community, Moku was likely to enact a law prohibiting any further discussions on the matter. If that happened, the efforts of the alraunes would be in vain, and they would once again have to return to being soldiers ready to die exhausted in Palaka battles.

Finally, the alraunes decided to play their Ace card. They all flocked to R-18 and pleaded with Luna to help them in this matter.

Although the leadership of the alraune race had been handed over to Ornell, Luna remained their leader in the eyes of the alraunes. In Wilwatikta Kingdom, Luna's name was still respected by other monsters. Her status as Moku's adopted sister, the leader of R-18's largest laboratory, and the royal family's personal doctor granted her a special place in Wilwatikta Kingdom.

When the entire alraune race came to her in tears, Luna had no choice but to discuss this with Moku. Somehow, Luna managed to do it, and in the next Future Decision Meeting, Moku decided to grant the alraunes' request.

From that moment on, all Palaka battles were no longer allowed to involve weapons. Monsters could only fight using their spells and their bodies.

The Mana Weapon Path group had no choice but to accept the new regulation since Moku had made his decision. Moku's decision was final and unquestionable, akin to a divine revelation bestowed upon them by their god.

However, this did not mean that the Mana Weapon Path group ceased to participate in Palaka. They continued to fight, even though defeats kept occurring. Eventually, they found another way that allowed them to still use weapons without wielding Mana Weapons.

By reshaping their biofields, they imitated the mana network found within Mana Weapons. This allowed them to flow dragon prana into their biofields, enabling an asura to use their biofield as if it were a Mana Weapon.

This led to rapid development in the Mana Weapon Path, giving rise to a new stream where biofields were no longer just defensive but also served as weapons. They called this the Biofield Weapon Path.

This revitalized the previously weaponless Palaka battles with the Mana Weapon Path group finding their fangs once again.

The alraunes, who had rejoiced in their victory, had to swallow their pride. Their workload didn't diminish despite risking everything.

They could no longer plead with Moku to prohibit the use of Biofield Weapons since it would be equivalent to forbidding Asuras from using their powers. As a result, they could only bite their tongues and rely on old methods to survive when Palaka began.

That is, by increasing the number of alraunes guarding each arena. Ornell implemented a policy requiring every alraune to plant a minimum of five seeds each month. This way, hundreds of new alraunes would be born each year to assist them in guarding during Palaka.

As a result, the current number of alraunes skyrocketed, nearly rivaling the population of the sylph race. In every arena of the Colosseum, there were more than a dozen alraunes guarding and saving the lives of almost slain monsters.

However, due to Nevare's argument to allow other monster races and female monsters to participate in Palaka, the alraunes once again distanced themselves from the concept of rest during each Palaka battle.

Shizz looked over to another arena where only two contestants remained. This particular arena witnessed the fiercest battle, resulting in dozens of casualties, causing the alraunes to scramble to save their lives.

The two remaining contestants were a female hobgoblin named Kila and a female druid named Lyla. Both of them were Valkyries, with their husbands currently joining Nezena for raids on elven villages.