Tasting
Chapter 344

344–My First Battle

Nora:

I held my breath

s the mome like

finally arrived—I was about to be introduced. My cage was slid I was some kind of animal. Since it was daytime, I didn’t have to worry about the light shining directly on me, but that didn’t make it any less terrifying.

I carefully stepped out of the cage, swallowing hard as I felt the weight of everyone’s gaze on me.

First, they unlocked my cage, and then everyone else quickly moved to the safety of the silver bars, standing behind them alongside the crowd. I was the only one left exposed, the only one the beast could reach. In fact, I had been given the responsibility of opening the beast’s cage.

I took a deep breath and moved closer. As soon as I did, the beast let out feral growls, thrashing violently inside his cage. The entire cage rattled as it lunged and thrashed.

With trembling hands, I unlocked the cage and stepped back, watching as the beast finally found the exit and emerged. The instant it was free, it roared, and the arena fell into a tense silence.

My body trembled with fear, but somehow, Akira was able to soothe my

nerves.

The arena buzzed with anticipation, the crowd’s cheers bouncing off the stone walls. In the center, I stood frozen, my eyes locked on the beast that loomed before me.

“I can do this,” Akira reassured me, her voice carrying only the slightest hint of doubt.

The beast was a hulking mass of muscle and fur. Its claws dug into the ground, leaving deep grooves in the earth as it prepared to strike.

With a deafening roar, it lunged forward, claws outstretched. I sidestepped just in time, rolling across the ground to avoid the attack. Springing to my feet, I spun around and drove my fist into the beast’s ribcage with all the strength I could muster.

A loud howl of pain escaped the creature, and the crowd erupted into noise once again. But I noticed something strange; the more noise they made, the more agitated the beast became. It was as if the sounds fueled its rage.

Despite the damage I had inflicted, the beast quickly regained its footing and lunged at me once more. Even though I could have dodged, I saw Brody shake his head from the sidelines, urging me to take the hit to quiet the crowd.

The moment the beast’s massive paw slammed into my stomach, I was sent flying across the arena, crashing hard into the ground. The pain was excruciating.

The crowd fell silent again, and I lifted my head, tears of agony filling my eyes as I watched the beast charging toward me.

Snarling, it swung its enormous arm, striking me in the side once more. The impact hurled me into the arena wall, and the air was knocked from my lungs. The crowd gasped, holding their collective breath.

Blood trickled from my brow, and it took every ounce of strength I had to push myself to my feet.

As the beast charged again, I ducked low, grabbing hold of one of its massive arms. With a burst of strength, I twisted, using its own momentum to flip it onto the ground. The arena trembled as the beast crashed into the sand, dust swirling around us.

The crowd exploded with a mix of cheers and gasps as I straddled the beast, delivering blow after blow to its head and neck. The beast thrashed wildly beneath me, but I didn’t stop, each punch fueled by precision and fury.

But the beast wasn’t done yet. With a deafening roar, it threw me off, sending me skidding across the sand. I scrambled to my feet just in time to see it charging once more, its fangs bared, eyes blazing with fury.

I knew I had to end it now. The battle had been raging for nearly half an hour, and I couldn’t drag it out any longer. I was severely wounded, bleeding from multiple places, and the beast wasn’t faring much better.

The adrenaline coursing through me, after suppressing Akira for so long, could have kept us going, but I had to stop—for the sake of my babies. I needed to at least be in a condition where I could feed them and care for them.

As the beast closed in, I made my move. Leaping forward, I dodged to the side at the very last second. In one swift motion, I grabbed the beast by the neck, twisting with all my remaining strength. There was a sickening crack as the beast’s own momentum carried it forward, its weight snapping its neck.

The arena fell into a hushed silence as the beast crumpled to the ground, its body twitching briefly before going completely still. Then, all at once, the crowd erupted into wild cheers, their deafening roars filling the air.

Yet, amidst the chaos, the warriors shifted the narrative. Their chants turned to praise for Brody, claiming his greatness for training someone like me. Soon, the entire crowd joined in, their voices chanting one name:

“Go Alpha Brody! You are our king!”