Magic Farm 122

Chapter 122: Encountering a Cheater, Giving It Your All Yet Unable to Win

A dragon.

A golden dragon, spoken of only in myth and legend.

The appearance of the dragon struck everyone equally. Not only were the viewers in the livestream dumbfounded, but the players on the field were left utterly stupefied as well.

Everyone watched as this clearly still juvenile golden dragon beat its wings, circling the sky above as if patrolling its own territory.

Then—€€€€—it locked onto its target.

A deep-sea squid… a sea monster, countless times larger than itself!

“Roar—€€€€”

It threw back its head and let out a long roar, brilliant golden flames pouring from its mouth.

Those golden dragon flames fell upon the sea, but instead of being swallowed by the water, they burned along its surface, spreading out until they reached the sea monster.

The sea monster, stung by pain, began to thrash, its furious tentacles lashing wildly and churning up massive waves.

That, at last, snapped the spectating players out of their stupor.

“Holy crap, holy crap!”

“This is insane! Weren’t we supposed to be evenly matched in rank and strength? Why do I feel like I’m just a background character in some hot-blooded, over-the-top manga?”

“Survival game, your number one and my number one clearly aren’t the same thing.”

“A dragon! That’s a dragon! I want to touch it, to pet it—and if it’s willing, maybe even ride it, heh heh heh…”

The sea demon player let out a muffled groan of pain.

His teammate, the player from District 108, snapped back to his senses and hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

His expression was a bit odd. He really wanted to say: Bro, after all that buildup, I thought you were going to pull off something huge, but it turns out you just got flattened.

That’s it? The moment a juvenile dragon spits a little fire, your giant squid can’t take it?

Are you just here to serve yourself up as a buffet?

The sea demon player didn’t miss his expression, and snorted resentfully.

He explained for the sea monster: “It’s not Lamors’ fault—it’s mine. It was originally slumbering in the deep sea, and I forcibly used my bloodline power to awaken its body for my use.”

He’d planned it well: such a massive deep-sea monster, even if it was just an unconscious shell, should have been enough to secure victory in this maritime round.

Who could have guessed someone would summon a dragon!

His gaze, almost unconsciously, swept over the dragon circling the sea monster. He couldn’t hide his envy. That was a dragon—who could resist the allure of a dragon?

Suddenly, his face went pale, and a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. “No—!”

He raised his voice and called to Dan Xingyu, “Quick, put your dragon away! Lamors has been agitated by the dragon’s presence—its consciousness is awakening and trying to break free of my control!”

“If its true self fully awakens, your dragon is still a juvenile—no one here will be able to stop it.”

Everyone, himself included, would be finished.

He paused, then said bitterly, “I concede this round.”

Dan Xingyu didn’t respond immediately, but turned to look at Qi Yu.

Qi Yu nodded. “There really are two wills fighting for dominance in that big guy’s mind.”

Dan Xingyu immediately raised his voice, calling out to the little dragon: “Playtime’s over! You’ve scared the big guy half to death—he’s about to go mad with fear. Come back now.”

Qi Yu: ? That’s how you call it back?

The little dragon, who had been strutting and taunting, heard this and, though it snorted in mild protest, obediently flew back, circling above the two of them.

Dan Xingyu asked Qi Yu, “Want to pet it?”

He’d seen it all! Ever since the dragon appeared, this man’s eyes had held nothing else.

Qi Yu reached out his hand toward the little dragon.

The little dragon gazed at him with curious golden eyes.

Since its birth, it had only ever seen Dan Xingyu as a “person.”

Today, it had seen so many new faces all at once.

But none of them were as appealing as Qi Yu’s pure aura of nature and magical power.

It made a gurgling sound in its throat, stretched out a claw, and daintily placed it in Qi Yu’s palm.

Then, under everyone’s watchful gaze, it transformed into a streak of golden light and vanished by Dan Xingyu’s side.

The dragon’s presence faded.

The sea demon player immediately closed his eyes, focusing all his strength on controlling the deep-sea behemoth.

Sensing the threat had vanished, the great beast’s struggles gradually subsided, its frenzied tentacles calming at last.

The agitated consciousness slipped back into slumber.

True to his word, the sea demon player guided his monsters back into the deep, saying coldly, “I won’t compete for the top three in this round. Do as you please.”

But at this point, no one’s attention was on the competition anymore.

The player from District 108, far from being annoyed at his teammate’s decision, waved enthusiastically at Dan Xingyu. “Hey, man, your dragon is awesome! Now that the sea monsters are gone, can you let it out again for a bit?”

At that, the crowd chimed in:

“Yeah, yeah, it’s still just a kid—don’t keep it cooped up.”

“Boss, why not start a paid mode? Ten beast crystals for a chance to pet it—how about it?”

Dan Xingyu: “……”

【Ah! I want to touch it too! Let me pet the dragon!】

【So, Second God is a dragon rider now?】

【I can’t even imagine how majestic that dragon will be when it grows up.】

Over in District 01, the excitement was palpable:

【Didn’t someone just say, ‘Your number one and my number one aren’t the same’? So this really is the top-ranked arena?】

【Cloak guy = gaming god?】

【I heard there was a dragon in this stream and rushed over—where’s the dragon?】

【You’re too late, the dragon’s gone. And by the way, there’s not just a dragon—cloak guy is basically confirmed to be a gaming god.】

【Ahhh, missed out!】

【Breaking news! ‘My Fate, Not Heaven’s’ tried to sabotage but failed and got eliminated!】

【Not important.】

Dan Xingyu folded his hands in a salute, coolly refusing the players’ requests.

Maybe the earlier commotion—tsunamis, sea monsters, dragons—had been so intense that the latter half of the round seemed calm by comparison.

The sea demon player, true to his word, caused no more trouble, riding his sea beast at a leisurely pace behind the others.

As he put it, he was no longer aiming for victory in this event. The only reason he hadn’t withdrawn outright was to see what new surprises the “God of Games” duo might pull out next.

For this, the players in his region’s channel were practically in tears:

【Yes, yes, that’s right. Boss, you absolutely can’t quit! If you leave, we’ll have nothing to watch.】

【If all the players from our region are eliminated, we lose access to this stream. This event’s rules are really something.】

Qi Yu finally understood the purpose of the “living” sea beasts.

After covering about three-quarters of the course, the players all breathed a sigh of relief: at this rate, they’d reach the finish in three hours with no problem.

But just as they thought that, trouble arose.

The sea beasts, who had been steadily moving forward, suddenly rebelled.

Some stopped in place and refused to budge, others charged around wildly, and still others became outright defiant, trying to throw their riders off.

Qi Yu could sense from his own sea beast that they’d previously been under some kind of “restriction,” forced to behave like obedient boats.

Now, that restriction was lifted.

After being cooped up so long, the sea beasts were ready to cut loose.

Because Qi Yu had fed his beast tasty treats and his aura was pleasant, their sea beast remained relatively well-behaved.

Aside from them, only the sea demon player’s beast stayed calm.

Seeing the chaos, the sea demon player began taunting everyone again: “Even when you’re given a chance, you can’t make use of it. At this rate, even if I’m not competing, you’ll end up handing me second place.”

But he was a man of his word—he’d said he didn’t want a ranking, and he meant it.

He said coldly, “These sea beasts have carried you for over two hours, then got frightened by monsters and dragons. Now they’re thirsty, hungry, and cranky—don’t you know how to soothe them?”

【Bro, are you the legendary tsundere?】

【He has to taunt you before helping—can’t say a single soft word.】

【Just tuned in—wow, this arena is so harmonious? Every other stream is a cutthroat battle to the death.】

【Maybe everyone’s goal isn’t to win anymore.】

【The top players: Let me stick around and see what other tricks these cheaters have up their sleeves.】

“Oh, so that’s it. Thanks, thanks.”

Players broke out food, tools, even toys—pulling out every trick to coax the beasts.

【They figured out the solution so quickly! I just visited other arenas and no one could guess why the sea beasts suddenly went wild.】

Once the beasts were soothed, they moved on.

Perhaps because their priorities had shifted, no one was in a rush to compete anymore. People started chatting, exchanging regional intel. Some, seeing there was still time on the clock, even stopped near the finish line to do business with players behind them.

【No wonder you guys are number one—you don’t waste a single opportunity.】

【But I’m really jealous of the seafood trade. My kid’s been gnawing on mutant meat for a month and is about to cry from craving.】

【From this angle, it almost looks like the God of Games team lost out—they finished first and went straight to the rest area.】

【Lost out? Clearly, their goals are different. The God of Games team was aiming for first, but the other teams knew they had no chance, so of course they’re making the most of it.】

These people had relaxed so much, even the survival game itself seemed unable to tolerate it.

Host Hakimi’s voice rang out again: “Congratulations to the God of Games team for taking first place in this round of Deep Sea Surfing! Additionally, we’ve noticed some players engaging in non-competitive behavior! Teams that have reached the finish, please refrain from unrelated activities. After this warning, further violations will result in immediate disqualification.”

“What, so stingy—you won’t even let us trade a few resources.”

“Please don’t lose heart! Even though the God of Games duo has taken first place in two rounds, if you can eliminate them in the third round, you still have a chance at first!”

The players: “……”

Who?

Us?

Host, you want us to eliminate a supermodel mage and a supermodel dragon rider?

【Hahahahaha, everyone’s reactions are hilarious.】

【I used to have such a high opinion of the top-ranked arena, but now it suddenly feels so down-to-earth. But thinking about it, most of them were just ordinary people a month ago.】

【They look completely relaxed now, just like us viewers—just here to see what those two will do next.】

【What I imagined for the top-ranked arena: blades flashing, fierce battle to the end. The reality: encountering cheaters, giving it your all and still unable to win, so you just lie down and give up.】

【Not even giving it your all.】