Balzirosa watched Zhenyehong suddenly lower his head, and knew that things had gone exactly as he had expected. So he said nothing more and simply gave a snap of his fingers to the nearby female elf.
The female elf understood and filled a cup of deep red wine, then handed it to Zhenyehong. Zhenyehong gave a helpless smile and took the cup. He nodded to Jinna who had poured the wine. That was a habit he had developed in the noble etiquette class at Kusburg. Even though he was now a slave of the enemy country, this particular habit of treating ladies had not been lost despite the difficult life.
The female elf looked at Zhenyehong with some confusion, but her eyes remained so cold. Then she turned and left, standing behind Balzirosa again.
Balzirosa raised his chin towards the sofa beside Zhenyehong and smiled, "Please sit down!"
So be it. Zhenyehong, who was carefree, quickly adapted to the fact that his privacy was being spied on. At this point, he was not being overly polite either, and directly sat down on the sofa. But this time, he sat with a rather arrogant cross-legged position, which was obviously a habit formed during his slave life.
Balzirosa saw this and laughed heartily, "Zhenyehong, Zhenyehong, your tongue is really tight. If it weren't for my accidental discovery, how long did you plan to keep it a secret? Just now, weren't you still planning how to escape from Cadia?"
"That's right!" Seeing that Balzirosa had begun to reveal his cards, Zhenyehong no longer concealed anything. Otherwise, it would have been an act of self-humiliation. Now, he was still a slave under Balzirosa's command. In the Eagle-Ro Republic, the slave owner only needed to post a small death notice in the city gate bulletin board to kill a slave.
Balzirosa clapped his hands and smiled, "I like this straightforward personality. Zhenyehong, you're good. Don't worry, I won't hold you responsible. Here!" He raised the goblet in front of him and clinked it with Zhenyehong, drinking the deep red wine in one gulp. Zhenyehong didn't hesitate and took the wine cup and gulped it down loudly. Then he sniffed meaningfully and let out a breath, saying, "It seems to be wine produced in the Southern Region of Era 302, and it always has a hint of icy flavor."
Balzirosa immediately became interested and clapped his hands again, laughing, "Haha, good, good. I envy the mastery of such luxury goods you have. Heh, my son doesn't have this talent. Not to mention wine tasting, he even can't choose a noble dress until now. All he thinks about is magic and dating girls."
Zhenyehong listened quietly and then asked, "Lord Balzirosa, may I ask, what exactly do you want me to do? Just tell me directly. I am now... your slave." When he said the last two words, Zhenyehong's fists couldn't help but clench tightly, but then they parted again. The female elf behind Balzirosa noticed this detail, her willow-like eyebrows slightly furrowed, but she didn't say anything.
Balzirosa's expression changed as well, and he said sternly, "You know that. Remember, you are my slave. I want you to live or die, it's just a matter of one sentence. So, listen to my words, do what I ask of you. I will make you comfortable, even let you live a life that only nobles could have before. But if you don't listen, hehe, you will be even more miserable than your current slave status. Even if you have recovered to a level 3 swordsman now, it's still the same! Do you understand?"
Zhenyehong nodded, "I understand."
Balzirosa nodded approvingly and said, "Good. Then answer my question. Were Tirisu and Galie killed by you?"
"Yes."
"What is the attribute of that silver-white aura?" "I don't know. I only suddenly realized that I could summon this special kind of elemental power."
"Have you fully recovered your strength now?"
"Not really. I can only regain my strength when I need to."
"What does that mean?"
"I discovered this while fighting that gladiator named Kree. Only when I'm angry does the silver-white elemental power inside me get triggered. And in a calm state, there's no such feeling at all."
"Oh? That's a bit strange."
"It is."
"Can you freely activate that ability now?"
"I still can't. I'm not an easily angered person."
"Well, then, start being easily angered from today!" Balzoh suddenly stood up and raised his glass. Gina behind him immediately stepped forward to fill his glass with wine, and then passed the table to give Zhaoyehong another glass.
Balzoh smiled: "I'll give you a month. After that, there's a very important match. I need your strength. During this month, whatever you want, as long as it doesn't go beyond your status, I'll try my best to fulfill it for you. But after that, you must win for me. Do you understand?"
Zhaoyehong didn't directly respond. Instead, he smiled and said: "What kind of match? Is it a death-punishment duel?"
"Of course not. You don't know that organizing a death-punishment duel is not an easy thing. Besides, right now, I'm still reluctant to treat you as a death-punishment prisoner. Hehehe" Balzoh took a sip of wine and then said: "To be honest, there are countless people in this Cadia City. But there are only two people engaged in the gladiator business. One is me, and the other is the one you saw today."
Zhaoyehong recalled the slender and tall nobleman standing beside Balzoh. Then he nodded and said: "Yes, I remember that person. His name is... "
"Roaldz, his father moved into Cadia in his lifetime and then began to seize our family's gladiator business! A pair of scoundrels!" Balzoh said as he spoke, and his anger couldn't help but flare up again, without any attempt to hide it.
Zhaoyehong, however, didn't comment on these matters. He had no specific and intuitive feeling about the so-called grievances between Balzoh. Therefore, after Balzoh finished speaking, he merely replied casually, "Yes, that's really too evil."
Balzu nodded and continued, "Since we have two suppliers of gladiators, we must allocate the usage rights of the arena and the Great Arena. These are all in the hands of the magistrate. At first, we compared our strengths and our family obtained the majority of the usage rights. However, since the previous year, with the increase in wars, the number of slaves of the Horlauz family also rapidly increased. Now, it can be compared with my family, and even has a slight edge in quantity."
Zhan Ye Hong still made no comment, but just sat there quietly, sipping the wine. Balzu said, "So, when their strength increased, they naturally were not satisfied with the original arrangement. Therefore, last year, we petitioned the magistrate, hoping to decide the usage rights of the main arena within the year through a competition of gladiators from the two families. In the previous three competitions, our family only won once, which was last year's, so we obtained the usage rights for the entire year."
At this point, Balzu's expression clearly showed a hint of pride, but then he became serious again and said, "However, this year, things are a bit more difficult. Especially the team battle for the usage rights of the Great Arena, which requires both sides to deploy third-level gladiators to complete. But currently, I don't have any spare third-level gladiators at hand. In the previous two death-punishment duels, most of the third-level gladiators captured have died. Hmph, this is also an inevitable thing. Of course, except for you. One month later, it will be the competition day. Then, both families will send their strongest gladiators to participate in the competition. You, are the strongest of our family."
"I understand," Zhan Ye Hong drained the wine in his cup and said, "Then, I will try to familiarize myself with this force within a month. But I still have a question."
"Speak!" Balzu saw that Zhan Ye Hong understood quickly and was somewhat relieved, so he answered firmly.
Zhan Ye Hong said, "I want to know, during this period, what specific benefits I can obtain. I hope to get an accurate answer."
"Oh?" Balzu heard this and raised his eyebrows, then his expression became somewhat gloomy. He slammed the wine glass down on the table and said in a deep voice, "Zhan Ye Hong, you'd better understand clearly. We are not merchants negotiating with each other. There is no bargaining. You just need to execute what I say. Have you not clearly understood our relationship by now?"
Zhan Ye Hong exhaled and said, "No, Lord Balzu..."
"Right!" ?" Baal's eyebrows tightened, and he stared fixedly at Zhan Ye Hong.
Zhan Ye Hong laughed heartily and then said, "Yes, Master." I understand. I just want to know exactly what my rewards are, so that it can boost my morale."