Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

The muscles of [Beast King - Gazel] instantly shrank, and its brown fur dulled and turned grayish-white. In just a moment, the monster was killed.

The assassin also clutched his chest and wailed, "Ugh, ughhhh! Ahhhhhh!"

Chapter 761 No Survival Without Fighting

The assassin, whose senses were connected to [Beast King - Gazel], simultaneously felt the endless pain of [Beast King - Gazel] being killed by [Insect Queen], as if his own body had been injected with toxins and digestive juices.

Even compared to the [Beast King - Gazel] whose nerves were dissolved in an instant, the assassin's pain was much more conscious.

Amidst wails, the assassin, having killed the monster he controlled, collapsed helplessly, falling directly from the iron plate into the deep pit, where he was pierced to death by the sharp blade at the bottom of the pit in agony.

The dwarf who had killed his opponent, witnessing the man's death, laughed even more excitedly: "Chirp chirp chirp chirp! As expected, my [Insect Queen] is the strongest! Another perfect victory!"

Glancing at Akhenaten, who sat atop the platform, coldly watching his prisoners fight, the dwarf recalled the promise Akhenaten had made. He had sworn an oath by the life of the Pharaoh he served and by his own honor as a priest: if his prisoners could win ten consecutive, brutal, torture-like battles among the prisoners he had arranged, he would grant the victor their freedom.

Because Akhenaten even added the title of Pharaoh to his promise, his words gained considerable credibility, and the prisoners, including the dwarf, believed him. It was for that alluring freedom that they fought so earnestly, offering Akhenaten one bloody battle after another.

"More power! I need more power!"

Amidst the dwarf's laughter, the Insect Queen in front of him seemed to grow slightly larger, causing Seth's eyes to widen as a guess arose in his mind: "Could it be—!?"

“Mothfeather’s crimes were fraud, damage to property, and cheating in gambling. Compared to the assassin who tried to kill the Pharaoh, his sins were insignificant. But in the end, his inner desires and evil thoughts swelled, and he actually won.” Sitting on the high platform, Akhenate’s lips curled into a smile.

"No, perhaps the premise was wrong from the beginning. It was Moth Feather's evil intentions that were greater from the start. It was just that she had the evil intentions but lacked the courage to commit the corresponding evil deeds, so she only committed that level of sin?"

"Lord Aknadi, what is this?!"

Despite having some suspicions in his heart, Seth still couldn't make a conclusion, or rather, he was somewhat unwilling to believe that his idea was true. With an incredulous expression, he looked at Aknadi sitting on the high platform, hoping that the other party could give him an acceptable answer.

However, Aknadi made no attempt to hide his admission: "It's exactly what you think, Set. This is the idea you had before: to gather prisoners together and raise them to fight each other, ultimately determining the strongest monster and gaining power surpassing that of the gods."

Aknadi rested his hand on the armrest, looking down at Seth below the stage. Noticing the moths taking a break in the pit, he ordered, "What are you doing? Do you think you have time to rest? Arrange the next battle."

"Remember, you will not survive if you do not fight!"

For a fleeting moment, Set almost mistook Aknadi, the pharaoh he had met once as a child, for the previous pharaoh Aknamkanon. From this angle, Set suddenly noticed a slight resemblance between Aknadi and Aknamkanon, and their names were also somewhat similar.

But it's probably just an illusion.

With a serious expression, Seth looked at Aknadi and said, "But Lord Aknadi, Hayato Kobayashi has already found other ways to bring us power without sacrifice. It would be absurd to let the prisoners continue to fight each other."

As he spoke, Seth glared fiercely at the guards watching over the other prisoners in the dungeon: "What are you doing! Tell them to stop!"

The guards, reprimanded by Set, glanced hesitantly at Aknadi, unsure whether they should obey his orders. While they were Aknadi's confidants in terms of rank, Set, as a priest, also held the power of life and death over them. And morally, they, like Set, did not want to witness the bloodshed of people killing each other.

They couldn't understand why the priest Aknadi, who was always kind to everyone and showed mercy even to prisoners, had suddenly changed his temperament and made them do such cruel things.

[Millennium Eye] stared at the slightly shaken guard beside him and Aknadi also spoke seriously: "Quiet down, Seth! Isn't this what you wanted to see? Compared to the elves that awaken in their hearts, the monsters born from evil thoughts are much easier to grow. What makes their monsters grow is the survival instinct in the hearts of these criminals right now."

"I heard that the Pharaoh was attacked again today, right? Even with Shada, who has awakened the power of the elves, and you protecting the Pharaoh, it couldn't change the fact that the Pharaoh almost died, right?"

"If the Pharaoh were to die now, it would be like gently pushing a plate that's hanging over the edge of a table; the kingdom would be easily destroyed. I love this kingdom so much that I don't want to see that happen, and I believe you feel the same way."

Aknadi seemed to see right through Seth's thoughts, and his words went straight to the point: "So, Seth, you don't want to see the old man in danger again, do you?"

"To do this, we don't need a strong mind, but strength, more strength!"

Aknadi's gaze returned to the top of the pit. Seth followed Aknadi's gaze and saw that the Moth Feather, who had won before, had won again during this time. The [Insect Queen] had grown larger and larger, and its aura was now somewhat similar to the powerful stone tablet monsters that Seth possessed.

Furthermore, due to the change in viewing angle, Set also saw a faintly glowing "Eye of Ugato" mark on Mothfeather's forehead. It seemed that the survival instinct that enabled the Pokémon to win consecutive victories and grow stronger came from the power of the [Millennium Eye] possessed by Aknadi!?

The Millennium Eye is supposed to only see the attributes of monsters and be the most useless of the Millennium Items, so how can it also have the ability to affect other people's minds? Set, unaware that Aknadi had been hiding his true abilities, wondered in surprise.

As Akhenate watched Mothfeather triumph once again, he glanced at Set beside him, silently adding the unspoken second half of his sentence: 'And, after the Pharaoh's death, the new Pharaoh!'

Chapter 762 Let's serve it up and enjoy!

After confirming that Moth Feather had killed his opponent, one of the guards glanced at Aknadi, who understood his meaning.

"Nine victories already? Then the entertainment ends here. It's time to serve the main course." Aknadi nodded and ordered his men, "Send that woman in!"

"That woman?" Seth glanced at the direction his soldiers had gone after receiving their orders—it was the very cage where Kisara had been imprisoned, the same one he had seen earlier. Aknadi was going to take Kisara to that pit to fight too? How could that be!

Seth immediately panicked and said to Aknadi, "Lord Aknadi, you don't mean to send that woman to the deathmatch, do you? That woman isn't a criminal, she shouldn't—"

“You should know better than I whether that woman has committed a crime, Set,” Aknadi interrupted Set. “No guard can identify that woman as having entered the city through the entrance under their jurisdiction. You should already know this from your subordinates. An unidentified person who has trespassed into the royal city is undoubtedly a criminal.”

Set was speechless for a moment, unable to refute Aknadi's words. He was well aware of this, especially now that the kingdom was facing the threat of the bandit Bakura and his men. No one would object to the killing of any unidentified person; it was a necessary sacrifice to protect the Pharaoh and defend the kingdom.

However, because it was Kisara, in order to compare with Mahad, Set, who had always strictly abided by the law, violated the teachings of the Aknadi priest for the first time, committing the first act of favoritism and corruption in his life, and even taking Kisara back to his residence.

“But, but…” Even though he knew he had done something wrong, Seth was filled with resistance just thinking about Kisara being sent to fight those criminals. He opened his mouth to try to persuade Aknadi, but he couldn’t find a suitable reason.

Seeing Set so distraught over a woman, Aknadi frowned. Could Set be in love with this woman? Although I had considered having Set marry and have children sooner, the partner should be a noblewoman, not a commoner like her.

Moreover, the usually aloof Seth actually talked back to me for a woman he'd only known for less than a day. This guy has had a huge influence on Seth!

Seth is destined to become Pharaoh, and women are just a hindrance.

“Just watch, Seto. I confirmed it with the power of the Millennium Eye.” Aknadi had only intended to use Kisara before, but after figuring something out, he secretly harbored murderous intent towards her, though he still maintained a good facade. “The magical power hidden in that woman’s heart is immeasurable, even with the Millennium Eye.”

"The immense magical power that even the Millennium Eye, one of the Millennium Artifacts, struggles to see through—given this premise, the power of the demon that this woman can awaken within her heart is definitely not weak."

"The very purpose of this dungeon is to cultivate the nutrients that will allow the monster within her to grow as much as possible, and now the first batch of nutrients is about to be absorbed by that woman!"

As Aknadi spoke, his gaze fell upon Moth Feather, who had won nine consecutive matches and was standing on the iron plate above the pit. The implication was that Moth Feather was the "nourishment" that allowed the monster in Kisara's heart to grow.

From the very beginning, he set an impossible condition for the criminals, including Moth Feather: they had to win ten consecutive matches under the threat of death and the temptation of freedom. In this process, all their desires and potential would be fully developed and squeezed out, allowing their monsters to grow to the maximum extent.

Then, after they have won nine battles, Aknad will arrange for them to fight Kisara, crushing all their hopes when they are only a hair's breadth away from freedom.

The guards opened the cage containing Kisara, and two soldiers grabbed her arms and dragged her out of the cage, pulling her by the arms to a protrusion at the edge of the pit. A mechanism was activated, and several wooden planks unfolded to form a bridge leading to a newly cleared iron plate above the pit, clearly intended to drive Kisara onto it.

Seth clenched his fists tightly. When Kisara turned to look at him with a helpless gaze, Seth finally couldn't control his emotions and said sharply, "Please, please wait a moment. I can't ignore what you're doing!"

"Even if it's Lord Aknadi, I can't stay silent!"

Hearing that Seth had repeatedly defied his will for the sake of this woman, Aknadi's gentle expression vanished as he looked at Seth, turning serious: "Stop fooling around, Seth! How long are you going to remain so naive! If you cannot have the resolve to defy the gods, you will never attain power surpassing them!"

"You don't want to dirty your hands, so I will bear this guilt. Open your eyes and see clearly the woman's trembling and screaming in terror! Then, a power beyond the reach of gods will fall into your hands!"

Seth was stunned, because Aknadi's words touched upon something that had been troubling him deep in his heart for a long time.

He had always believed that power and glory were inseparable; power could enhance glory, and glory could bring power. But after meeting Bakura, he realized that because he could never choose between the two, he could neither gain great power nor keep the glory he already had.

Aknadi's actions essentially made a choice on behalf of Set, abandoning the honor of being a priest and directing his power towards the people he was meant to protect, in order to gain greater strength. If it were someone else who didn't have a deep desire for power, they might still have stood firm in their stance and refuted Aknadi's actions as a loss of glory.

However, Seth hesitated for a moment because of his desire for power.

Turning back to look at Seth, who was stunned by Aknadi's words, Kisara softly murmured his name: "Seth..."

When Aknadi saw that Set had finally stopped arguing with him, he waved his hand, and two guards pushed Kisara from behind, causing her to stumble onto the wooden plank bridge. As the wooden planks that made up the bridge began to retract, she was forced to walk onto the iron plate full of spikes!

"Woman, summon your monster and let me see its power!" Aknadi said, sitting in his seat.

He wasn't worried at all about whether Kisara could win. Every monster controlled by the prisoners participating in the deathmatch was awakened by the power of his [Millennium Eye]. He knew their power better than anyone. Even Mothfe, who had won nine consecutive matches, had only become four or five times darker than before.

However, if Aknadi were to observe Kisara not with his naked eye but with the "Millennium Eye," all he would see is a holy white light. The powerful magic contained within her heart would surely give birth to a powerful spirit. Even though Aknadi has not yet seen the spirit's true form, he still believes that it will not disappoint him.

After confirming with the [Millennium Eye] that the light emanating from Kisara was as dazzling as ever, Aknadi raised his left hand to shield his eyes. However, he himself did not notice that when he raised his hand, his palm, exposed to the [Millennium Eye]'s vision, was covered with black energy.

"Chirp chirp chirp, so my opponent this time is this woman? I've never seen you fight before, you must be a novice. Lady Moth Feather, I'm so lucky! As long as I kill you, freedom will be within my grasp, and a bright tomorrow awaits me!"

Moth Feather watched as Kisara stepped onto the iron plate. Although he greatly underestimated her, he immediately summoned his monster, "Come forth, my beloved [Insect Queen]!"

The spider monster, which had already killed many powerful enemies, appeared before Mothfeather. Due to successive victories and the ever-expanding desires and arrogance in the user's heart, the [Insect Queen] was now twice the size of when Seth first saw it.

However, faced with the appearance of the [Insect Queen], Kisara, who had been forced to stand on the high platform, was still standing there alone, trembling, and she did not summon her own spirit.

Seeing this, Seth was extremely anxious. To comfort himself, he chose to believe what Aknadi had said before, believing that an extremely powerful spirit, even one with power surpassing that of a god, resided within Kisara. In that case, even if Kisara was forced by Aknadi to fight on the iron plate, he could still protect his life.

But what's going on now? Why isn't Kisara summoning her spirit? She's in danger if this continues!

What are you doing, Kisara? Summon your spirits now, or you'll die!

Seth's nails dug into his flesh, almost piercing his skin, and in his anxiety, he couldn't help but move closer and closer to the pit.

Seeing that Kisara was slow to summon her monster, Moth Feather had no intention of waiting for her leisurely. He wanted to win and survive. For him, honor and face were unnecessary. Since she wasn't making a move, he would strike while she was down!

"laugh--!"

The Insect Queen raised her abdomen, aimed her spinneret at Kisara's location, and suddenly sprayed out a huge amount of silk, binding Kisara in place so she couldn't move!

"Ugh!" With her body completely entangled in the silk threads, Kisara could no longer even move on the iron plate and could only be slaughtered by Moth Feather's [Insect Queen].

"Kisara!" Seth shouted urgently upon seeing this.

Aknadi frowned and urged, "Woman, why aren't you summoning the elf yet? Do you want to be killed?!"

It wasn't that Aknadi cared about Kisara's life or death like Set did; Aknadi was just thinking that if Kisara died like that, wouldn't all the magic power she possessed be wasted? That would be a huge loss.

"Chirp chirp chirp, better safe than sorry. Although I don't know why this woman won't summon monsters, just in case, I'll grab you with my silk threads first," Moth Feather said with a strange laugh. "And then comes the final one—"

"Don't think about it!"

Just as Mothfeather was about to deliver the final blow to the bound Kisara with her [Insect Queen], Set, having reached his limit of endurance, finally overcame his thirst for power and summoned his Slate Monster. He raised the Gladiator's Disk high, and the winged warrior [Duvos], wielding a longsword, was summoned by Set, who swung his sword and repelled the [Insect Queen]'s attack.

With the help of [Duvos], Seth himself leaped onto the iron plate, pulled a small knife from the bottom of the [Millennium Scepter] in his hand, cut the threads binding Kisara, and said to her with a serious expression: "From now on, don't leave my side, do you hear me, Kisara?"

Seth spoke with the same arrogant tone of command as always, but Kisara could hear the concern Seth had for her in his voice. She nodded shyly, gave a soft "hmm," and hid behind Seth.

Aknadi stared wide-eyed at Seth in disbelief: "Seth! What are you doing, Seth!"

Faced with Aknadi's questioning, Seth took a deep breath and calmly said, "I failed to protect my mother, and even now, I still regret my lack of strength back then."

"But I swear, this time it will be completely different!"

Looking at the Insect Queen confronting his Duvos, Seth stretched out his palm. "I, Seth, have spent the past twenty-odd years of my life pursuing power, but even so, I have my own pride and principles. If the price of power is the sacrifice of others, then I would rather not have it!"

"I give up the pursuit of power, Priest Aknadi!" Seth resolutely wielded the Millennium Scepter. "I will never let Kisara die!"

As Seth spoke, Duvos in front of him received a magical boost from the Millennium Scepter. His wings suddenly spread out, and dazzling seven-colored magic transformed into wings of light, propelling him toward the Insect Queen!

"I never expected the priest to get involved in this deadly battle! This is so exciting! You've made me suffer so much, now let you experience my pain too, Priest!" Facing the attack from [Duvos] under Seth's command, Moth Feather remained unfazed, grinning maliciously as she gave the same order, "At the beginning, my [Insect Queen] was indeed no match for the priest, but after so many battles..."

My pain is greater than yours!

The Insect Queen lunged at Duvos, but unexpectedly, she easily intercepted most of Duvos's sword energy, posing no threat whatsoever to Mothfeather. And when they collided, just as Mothfeather had predicted, his Insect Queen had gained the upper hand!

But Seth scoffed, "Fool, my puzzle for victory is far more perfect than you think! Look closely, this is my real target!"

Moth Feather was also startled upon hearing this, and looked up sharply, only to see the remaining sword energy that had not been completely blocked by the [Insect Queen] flying straight towards the chains connecting the ceiling and the iron plate above the pit, severing them completely.

In an instant, all the iron plates on the pit lost their anchor, and the prisoners who were fighting on top of them all fell into the pit!