Black sail

Chapter 663 XLIII. Ready to Strike
It's exactly 7 o'clock.

The Stargazing Festival finals have begun, and the Imperial Arena is packed to capacity. Tickets are in high demand and short supply; even money can't buy them. They're either big spenders or powerful and influential figures.

The sixteen immortals who have competed from all corners of the world will soon make their appearance and be inspected by the supreme ruler of the royal court.

Backstage at the arena.

The noise outside was extremely loud. Ben Azu sighed, unable to believe that he had searched high and low without finding it, only to have it come to him so easily.

"Fuck you, fuck you!"

I may be well-informed, but now I'm meeting royalty—the royalty of the First World! Unlike those tiny kingdoms, this is the legitimate emperor, whose wrath can bring down millions.

Unable to calm the excitement in my heart,
In Wesker's reasoning, the possibility of the descendants of the Overlord being real is not small, so this is a big deal.

The Aran royal court is no makeshift organization; the best course of action right now is to minimize its influence while remaining unaware of the full picture.

The situation is somewhat complicated tonight. Kaden and Salert are being watched by so many eyes. The rules of the martial arts tournament are fixed and cannot be changed. It is also a major event to replenish the treasury once a year. The rules are immutable. There is no way to stop them from doing whatever they want.

The only solution is to bring the person who experienced the incident directly to that man, have Wesker introduce them, and see how he decides to proceed.

Moreover, Salet and Kaden will be deterred and dare not make any rash moves.

Backstage at the arena.

"You can only speak when I tell you to. If I don't tell you to, keep your head down and don't utter a single word, understand?"

Wesker repeatedly emphasized that this person was also a thief, and a fairly high-ranking henchman in the thieves' guild.
To avoid being disrespectful in front of the emperor, I also tidied myself up a bit.

There was a little incident in the middle. The maid helped him bathe, but this kind of rat in the underworld only came into contact with prostitutes, HOKER.

JOKER·LOVE has surpassed the world's number one ADC; anyone who encounters him is considered unlucky.

While showering, because he had never been through this process before, he thought the other person was going to help him masturbate, and he was slapped twice across the face.

"Don't worry, Coach. Even though I'm a foreigner, I'll kneel down right now."

Dressed in magnificent court attire, his eyes blazing with fury, he proclaimed to the world: I am the Holy Emperor of the Britannian Empire! World, submit to me!

Last thirteen years ago, I could have lived this kind of life as long as I presented Fafnir's information. It was that disfigured face who ruined my plans. Morrison, right? I admit you're strong, but now, your uncle has also become an imperial henchman.

This is a direct laugh from the Uchiha clan.

Wesker: “…”

Besides the stone tablet and Alicia, Wesker also extracted very useful information: Augustus knew about the theft of the dragon.

However, too many anti-imperialist elements within the royal court were involved, and investigating would be extremely damaging. Therefore, the matter was handled in secret, which is how Augustus managed to keep it from the emperor.

An investigation revealed that the dragon purchased from the ancient Divine Land was entrusted to Lister by a multi-party alliance including Lostella, anti-imperialist elements within the territory, the Principality of Bema, and the Holy Spirit Cult.

Lisite's hand also reached into Mulong. Army General Crocodile Island has lost contact, most likely due to defeat. During the martial arts competition, his death will not be announced in order to maintain stability.

This is no longer a pirate making a living by plundering in the East China Sea, but a warlord backed by Lostella.

Almost a year has passed, and there has been no progress on the matter of the dragon. It's time to put it on the agenda today.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Lister will be taken back to Aran and beheaded as a warning to others this month.

Inside the arena's player tunnel.

The outside was filled with noise.

The first part was a brief introduction by the host, followed by speeches from various top figures, including that man.

Sixteen contestants stood in a row in the passage, escorted by royal soldiers in gleaming armor on both sides.

All the contestants wore pure white half-shoulder capes, also known as cavalry capes.

This type of cloak was used to cope with temperature changes during long marches; it was worn fully when it was cold and partially when it was hot.

However, in the Western Continent, it has evolved into formal attire, expressing a subtle humility in the face of enthusiastic adoration, and is a symbol of honor.

The organizers seemed to want Salert and Kaden to cause trouble, so they placed Kaden at the front of the line and Salert at the back, about thirty horse lengths apart.

Kaden was also wearing a half-shoulder cape, but he didn't have the slightest bit of the airs of a top celebrity. He had a Yu-Gi-Oh! facial expression on his face and a cold smile on his face. He never expected things to go so smoothly and that he would be the first to appear!
I achieved the final victory myself!
Once outside, she'll go crazy. Following Diaz's script, she'll instantly switch to a fighting stance, convey to the Emperor that she will fight for a spot in the tournament, ask the Emperor to grant her troops to punish the villains of the East Sea, and then confirm the authenticity of the Overlord's descendant—that she is indeed her lover. "I'll just do it!"
Whether they're lovers or not doesn't matter, that's the gist of it, but the subtext is... I'm bringing Alicia over to take care of you, old man! What's wrong with being an incompetent wife?

In the current public opinion, Salert is Lister's man, and Lister is at odds with Alan. The royal court is already on its side, so what can you do to fight me!

I won!
At the very back of the line, Salert's face was completely expressionless. Even with his incredibly handsome cloak, his cold, iron face and bloodshot eyes made him look like a ghost.

Sallett's script involved betraying Lister in order to defect. Although Kaden gained the upper hand, he didn't care and immediately made his own decision.

Naturally, the winner takes all, and nobody wants to listen to someone who isn't a champion; he's here to take first place.

"Dude, are you nervous? I'm scared to death."

Louis turned to Salert and spoke to him. The underworld guys were at a disadvantage in formal settings. There was nothing they could do, even in a large-scale whitewashing event, for fear that the military lord would come over and fly over and kill them without reason.

Louis is known as "Gunfire Pocket Watch" in the white-collar world and "Gun Grave" in the black-collar world. He has a handsome, roguish look with short, gray-black hair. He is skilled with ranged weapons, but he cannot use guns in martial arts competitions, which directly weakens him. However, even with his strongest advantage removed, he still made it to the top 16, which shows how terrifying his overall strength is.

Many of his shady dealings haven't been exposed. As a full-time bounty hunter, he's offended too many people. It's easy to dodge open attacks, but hard to guard against hidden ones. After much thought, he decided to try his luck in becoming an official, even though martial arts skills could be life-threatening.

Salet: "..."

He doesn't respect Louis at all.

Unfortunately, Louis talks to an extreme degree, to the point of being quite provocative; he's the kind of performative personality who can be provoked by pressing the M key.

"You know there are unspoken rules in the finals, right? You can't go all out. If you win, you have to let your opponent off the hook. Because he's been recruited into the royal court and become a high-ranking official, nobody wants to work with a madman or side with him. The military doesn't want to see a loss of talent either. So, if the two of us are put in the same group later, it's not like we're putting on an act. We'll just stop here. I promise I won't kill you. Don't chop me up, buddy."

Louis saw that Salette had killed the Fiend and had fought his way up without leaving any survivors, so he decided to make a small move.

The competition rules are that the teams are drawn into four groups, and the first place in each group is determined. After the halftime show, the champion will compete for the title. The champion can make a wish.

Sallet had heard about this unspoken rule from the organizers, but he didn't take it seriously. Theoretically, that was true, but when it came to winning the championship, such rules were disregarded.

Seeing that Salert remained unmoved, Louis glanced at the people in front of him again. There were actually quite a few easy-going people: Xiaolong, Rex, the three beauties besides Kaden, and Clement, who was exiled from the Abyss, was a labor camp exile. He was always careful in his actions during matches and had never lost anyone.

The orphan maker is definitely faking it. He's pretending to be polite and not kill people, but in reality, he's a notorious and utterly despicable scumbag.

Daniel is a substitute fighter with a bad reputation, but he is also a relatively upright person who will not kill unless provoked by his opponent.

Most of them were easy to talk to, but the rest were quite ruthless. The likes of Gedley Calvin were particularly sinister, and Death Dancer was a vengeful fanatic.

"Hey!" Louis raised his voice and yelled at the people in front of him, "Hey handsome guys and beautiful girls, we're all here to make a living, don't go too far! If I win, I'll definitely go easy on you, and if you win, let me off the hook, hey!"

Because his most advantageous weapon was no longer usable, he was crippled and decided that he had no chance of winning the championship, so he might as well just make a living.

It wasn't just the contestants; Louis left many Royal City soldiers speechless, making it seem like a fixed match. He's in the tunnel now, but if he talks like that on stage later, let's see if the other side kills him.

They immediately called off Louis's wise move.

"This fellow is actually quite right. When it comes to friendly competition, it should be done in moderation. On the night of the Star Gazing Festival, a time for family reunion, there is no need to fight to the death."

Standing at the forefront, Xiaolong immediately expressed his opinion, stating that he was naturally the ultimate good guy.

"I support you too, bro."

Bai Xing, a road tripper, is a girl in her early twenties. Even with a half-shoulder cape, she can't hide her hot girl vibe. She has golden wavy hair, orange goggles on her head, a V-neck jacket without any inner layer, leather shorts, and a pair of cowboy boots with spurs. She has a strong postmodern road tripper feel.

"Is that so? If you don't kill me, I'll kill you."

Seeing Shadow All Deaths appears rather frail, with sickly white skin. But he's different; he's a member of the Suspended Sword Organization, here on a mission to eliminate the Dragon King and purge these so-called experts of the Western Continent.

"Seriously, buddy? Anyone who gets grouped with him will be chopped up in a second. Hey, Xiaolong, he's from the Far East, do something about him."

Louis is no longer pretending; hopefully he won't be grouped with this guy.

Gedley remained silent. The curse poison given to him by the Witch King was hidden in the lining of his clothes. He had coated his weapon with it, and a single cut would be enough to kill him.

There are too many variables on the scene, so you have to be flexible. But the only premise is that you have to win the championship. These people are no match for you. You can kill them all in one go.

The host's voice outside grew louder and louder.

"Now, please welcome the sixteen star contestants from all over the world who have fought countless battles and finally arrived at the final night!"

The voice just fell.

The hinge slowly opened, and the bright light from outside the arena shone into the passageway.

At the organizer's suggestion, Kaden, as the first in the team, stepped into the arena, his eyes immediately glancing towards the stands where the Emperor should be.

But suddenly, I felt utterly hopeless.

How can this be?

(End of this chapter)