Koji Fights The World - Chapter 27 Ambush In The Arena

The landing led to another passageway. The corridor was wide enough to permit Zelea to slither through while carrying her husband. Moving cautiously, she checked for signs of more animals. Fortunately, the pack of giant rats never bothered to climb the stairs. Furthermore, her movements kicked up dirt in the air; this affirmed Zelea’s belief that no one used this secret tunnel in a while. The dust made her nose itch, and she suddenly sneezed! “Ha-choo!”

The sneeze awoke Koji, who stirred in her arms. He stretched like a cat, and his hand inadvertently knocked into Zelea’s chin. “Oh, sorry!” Koji quickly apologized.

“Hmph!”

“You can let me down now,” her husband said.

“But you only napped for a few minutes,” she replied. Zelea secretly enjoyed carrying Koji in her arms; she especially appreciated the feeling of his broad, muscular shoulder leaning into her chest. This sensation made the lamia wet in her secret place! Zelea barely held her desire in check, and his squirming in arms did not help in this matter!

“I’m fine now. Really,” Koji insisted and squirmed even more.

“Fine,” she hissed and dropped him unceremoniously.

The Bonder landed on his feet like a cat. Koji pulled out the glowstone from his pocket, squinted his eyes and looked ahead. “Ah, I see a door!” he announced. Koji held his light higher to illuminate more of his immediate surrounding. He advanced along the passage until he reached the exit.

Koji refrained from opening the door right away. Instead, he placed his ear next to the wall to check if anyone was on the other side. After all, this was a secret escape tunnel connecting directly to the royal palace. Hence, Koji preferred to avoid letting commoners learn of this tunnel’s existence. He listened for a minute and heard nothing; he slowly and carefully opened the door.

The two quickly exited the tunnel. Koji learned that they were in a storage room which contained several mops, buckets, thick towels, and a facet. The visitor smelled dried blood in the air. He turned around and saw a door attached to the cabinet. He quietly closed the door and sealed the secret tunnel.

Koji opened the second door on the other side of the storage room. He stuck his head out and saw a long corridor running from left to right. At the right end was a staircase. “Which way out?” he asked.

His wife looked in both directions. Zelea thought for a moment and then said, “We need to take the stairs.” She realized that they were in the basement. To exit the arena, the two needed to head up the stairs.

Koji obeyed and quickly walked up the steps. But he took care to walk with light footsteps to avoid making noise. After all, they were intruders, and Koji didn’t want to be discovered by arena workers. Secrecy was paramount to escape from the Snake Charmers remaining in the city.

Zelea took her human form to ascend the staircase because she made too much noise slithering in her lamia form. However, her legs weren’t as strong as her snake body, and Zelea took her time climbing the steps.

To Koji’s surprise, the stairs took the form of a spiral. But when he thought for a moment, it made sense because a spiral staircase saved a lot of space. Although it was nighttime, Koji was surprised to encounter nobody inside the arena. There must be some servants tidying up the place?

As if Zelea had read her husband’s uneasiness, she made a suggestion. “Let’s leave the arena. Our friends are probably waiting outside.” She retook the lead and made her way to the front atrium. As she descended the steps and crossed the lobby, Koji felt a killing intent from above!

“Watch out!” he warned and knocked her away. Koji was happy that his wife remained in her human form because her lamia form was too big for him to push aside. The Bonder stood in front of his Bond Keeper and held out his saber. Koji winced upon seeing the attacker–a beautiful woman with jet-black hair, pale white skin, an ample bosom, and the body of a black spider from the waist down!

“It’s an arachnid!” Zelea blurted out in surprise! Arachnids ruled the Western Kingdom of Hapta, and they rarely left the underground caverns. They were nocturnal creatures which preferred to live in a dark environment. Lamias enjoyed cordial relations with arachnids. Thus, Zelea was surprised this one tried to ambush her!

Koji looked up with dread; he saw the bodies of centurions dangling from the ceiling! The young man quickly counted six of them! Thankfully, the centaurs were merely tied up; Koji saw movement and squirming within the webs which confirmed the captives were still alive.

The arachnid possessed a smooth, beautiful face which resembled a porcelain doll. Her black eyes danced with merriment as she imitated a curtsy. “Salutations! My name is Visharia Hacia. But you can call me ‘Vi.’ And you are Princess Zelea Sagoisa and her Bonder, Koji Adalwin Becker,” she said in a friendly tone of voice and a polite curtsy.

“How do you know my husband’s name?” Zelea asked with growing concern. While the princess was a famous person, a foreigner should NOT know so much about Koji! Zelea feared that the arachnid was targeting her husband.

Vi laughed at her reaction. “I happened to be in attendance when Koji arrived in the Arena. He is a fine warrior,” she admired him openly and licked her full lips.

Koji couldn’t help but stare. He pondered how kissing those lips would feel.

His wife didn’t notice. Zelea pointed at the ceiling. “Why did you tie them up? These centurions are guests of his Majesty! Are you seeking to create hostile between Nephosia and Aarri?” Zelea demanded to know and stomped her foot for emphasis.

Vi held up her hand. “The Arena is closed to visitors for the evening. But these gentlemen insisted on breaking in and entering the premises. I thought they were burglars; I caught them and tied them up for the proper authorities,” she explained calmly.

Zelea’s brows knitted. She did not like the answer. “Are you telling me that you work here in the Arena?” she winced at the thought. It was preposterous for an arachnid to work here!

Vi grinned at her discomfort. “I work as a seamstress and help repair clothing and leather armor. The gladiators here tend to get stabby and poke holes in the garments,” Vi answered with an exaggerated shrug of her delicate shoulders, causing her ample chest to jiggle.

Zelea noticed Koji’s stare at Vi’s gigantic breasts; the princess’ face turned ugly as she pinched his cheek. “Stop staring!” she groused.

The princess turned back to face the annoying arachnid. Zelea pointed at the tied-up centurions. “Release them!” she demanded.

Vi shook her head. “Sorry, princess. I need to detain them for the proper authorities,” the spider woman replied.

The lamia gritted her molars and glared at the uncooperative worker. “I am the fourth princess of Nephosia. The Royal Family owns this arena. That makes me your boss. So do as I say and let them down!” Zelea slapped her snake tail on the ground in anger. Wham! She couldn’t believe this spider woman dared to refuse an order from a member of the Royal Family!

Vi smiled faintly at Zelea’s hilarious reaction. She didn’t expect to enjoy teasing a princess! But now was the right time for the kill! “It seems you’re sneaking out of town with the centurions. I’ve grown bored working at the Arena. So, let’s make a deal. I will accompany you and the centurions,” she proposed with a big smile.

“NO!” Zelea yelled. She wanted to choke the spider woman right now!

“If you refuse, then you can free them yourself.” The arachnid started walking away.

“Let her come,” Koji spoke up. “I doubt your Telekinesis can grab a thousand-pound centurion and lower each of them safely,” he observed. “And we can’t climb up, either,” he added.

Zelea looked up and stared at the centurions hanging from the ceiling. Without the spider woman’s cooperation, the lamia could not free them. Furthermore, time was of the essence, and the group needed to leave town ASAP. She took a deep breath and sighed. “Vi, you can join us,” Zelea relented.

The spider woman clapped her hands. “Yippee!” she squealed in delight.

Koji watched as Vi climbed to the ceiling and gently lowered each trapped centurion to the ground using her spiderweb. He used his saber to cut the centaurs free of the thick web. He discovered that the strands of this web were elastic but sturdy. Luckily, his sharp blade easily cut through the substance, though.

The newly freed centaurs started making hostile comments toward the arachnid. “We’re gonna cut you up and put you in a pot!” “Don’t expect any mercy from us!” “You bitch!” “I dare you to tie us up again!”

Koji stood in front of Vi and blocked their view of her. “That’s enough,” he said calmly.

However, the centaurs became even more upset and unloaded their nasty comments on Koji. “How could you side with that spider woman?” “Our leader isn’t good enough for you? Now, you’re chasing an arachnid? In front of your wife? Disgraceful!” “You want that bitch for your harem? Take her!”

The Prince Consort allowed the centurions to vent their anger. Then he announced, “Zelea and I are dropping from your mission. We will return to the palace. I bid you good luck in completing your quest.”

“WHAT!” “No!” “You can’t quit!” “Mylia will have our heads!” “What the hell did we just go through the humiliation of being tied up for?” The centurions protested in unison.

Suddenly, one of them raised his hand. “Quiet!” he ordered. The centaur was a middle-aged male who wore a green vest and cap, and a quiver and bow peeked over his shoulder. The speaker turned to face Koji. “We apologize for our rudeness,” he said and bowed.

“What’s your name?” Koji asked.

“I’m Xanthur, the second-in-command of these centurions.”

Koji cupped his hands and nodded slightly. “Well met, Xanthur.”

Xanthur turned toward his comrades. “Our mission is more important than your pride. Zelea is our best chance to save the Great Chieftain,” he reminded them.

“Save the Great Chieftain? What do you mean?” Princess Zelea suddenly asked. “Was he poisoned?”

Xanthur winced at the question. He decided to answer her to build trust with the lamians. “Yes, our leader has been poisoned. We need thousand-year-old wild ginseng roots to make the antidote.”

Zelea’s eyes came alive. “It would be difficult to dig out the root because the area where the ginseng grows is relatively high up in Sailan Mountain. Therefore, the risk of encountering powerful monsters will increase dramatically,” she warned.

“We understand the risk,” Xanthur replied with a big smile. All the centurions wore similar smiles. They anticipated fighting wild beasts and had privately created a betting pool based on how many kills each participant earns during this mission.

Vi interrupted. “We need to leave before the sun comes up,” she reminded them gently as the arachnid returned the Centurions’ packs and equipment, which she left in a corner.

Xanthar stomped his left hind leg, and the centurions formed a row behind him. The group marched in unison out of the building.