章 94: Volume 4 Chapter 93 – The Cosmos Arena (4)
Jin flinched.
'Shit. What the hell? Why do people already know?'
Jin would've never thought of hearing this kind of rumor right as he reached the audience. He sneakily took a seat near the two nobles and listened in on their conversation.
"A Runcandel provisional flag-bearer? Haha, you fool. Why would someone that amazing come here? This place is only crawling with the lowest of the low."
"It's just something that I heard while drinking with the Cosmos Pirates executives. They said that there's a talented youngling among the combatants, and they were sure that it was one of the Runcandels' provisional flag-bearers."
"Hmmm, really? Let's see… Right now, the Runcandel Clan's three active provisional flag-bearers are Daytona, Haytona, and Jin Runcandel. So it's one of those three."
"Jin Runcandel really shook the public last year. Every single press talked about his 5-star achievement. Either way, the executive guy was certain. One of those three must've entered."
Jin found it interesting that he was closely listening to nobles discussing this new rumor.
'I guess the clan's fame and power is really well known. My name was written in press releases many times, but they even know the Tona twins' names.'
The Tona twins were about to become provisional flag-bearers. Before Jin's regression, they started their provisional flag-bearer missions around 1796 or 1797.
Thinking about the environment and mood of the 'Cosmos Arena' as well as the twins being deemed the Nefarious Homicidal Maniacs in his past life, Jin inferred that it was completely possible for them to join the arena.
Of course, in this life, the Tona twins were abused by Jin since their youth. Compared to his past life, they got significantly tamer.
'If the twins did enter, then it's great for my case. I can bring them to my room and use them as guards. Make them do all of the dirty work as well.'
Afterwards, the nobles debated on which Runcandel entered the competition.
Not only that, but other nobles also began to whisper about the same topic.
'Now that I think about it, most of the spectators are nobles. Well, rich people are always looking for some entertainment.'
Creaaaaaak!
A massive steel door on one side of the circular stadium suddenly began to open.
A man then emerged and walked to the middle of the arena—Pirate King Cosmos. As soon as he appeared, the audience went crazy. Cosmos seemed to be very popular with the crowd.
"Thank you for waiting!"
"""COSMOS! COSMOS!"""
Around him were nobles who screamed and cheered in excitement for outright criminals. It was bizarre to witness the very people who looked down upon common folk suddenly cheer for lawbreakers.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Cosmos Arena. I, Pirate King Cosmos, thank you for coming here. Hahaha! This time, there are significantly more people than last year. I can't wait to see the fight!"
Clap!
Cosmos clapped some and fireworks were shot into the air, coloring the sky in bright colors. As the explosions ensued, the air around them warmed up.
"Alrighty, alrighty. Then, let's get riiiiiight into the fight! Hehe, fellas! Bring in two guys from group 1! Cue the horns!"
Toooooooo~! Toooooooooot!
The pirates at the edge of the arena blew their horns. The steel doors on both sides of the arena rose, and the contenders revealed themselves.
Each group had 14 people, and since there were up to 13 groups, there were 182 contenders who entered this filthy contest. There was no other fighting competition that had this many people.
"The lucky guy to fight in the honorary first round… Last year's 16th-round qualifier and cutie of Shark Pirates! Mantis! And the opponent!"
Cosmos' eyes narrowed and shoved his face into the roster. His expressions implied that something was wrong.
"Oh damn. I'm gonna get flamed by the Shark dudes' captain. And I'll drown the guy who planned the brackets. Well, here he is anyway! Paul Mick!"
"Who's Paul Mick?"
"Never heard of him. Seeing Cosmos's reaction, I think he's a special fellow."
As the nobles conversed with astonishment, Mantis entered the arena first.
With a shriveled physique and a distinct shark tattoo on his back, he made an awkward stance with scimitars in his hand. The epitome of a pirate.
"Hoho, Cosmos. What kind of guy is Paul or Mick or something? Making me all nervous. I'm a little disappointed, making me look bad."
Cosmos ignored Mantis's banter.
Paul Mick came out of the waiting room, and the audience began to chatter.
"That's a kid."
"What is this…? I know that there were a lot of kids in this contest, but this is too much."
"If he bent his knees a little, the sword on his back would drag on the ground. Hoho."
Jin was also a little surprised.
This Paul Mick guy didn't look like he was over 15.
'13? 14? They let a child enter here? That's crazy!'
He would've jumped into the arena without hesitation. He couldn't just let the child die there.
If Cosmos didn't make a strange reaction, that is.
'Wait… Is that kid Dante Hairan? No, Dante Hairan is three years older…'
The next series of events was most surprising.
Notifying the start of the battle, Cosmos walked out of the ring, and Mantis shrugged in confusion.
However—
Slash!
It happened in an instant.
Mantis's neck was cut.
"Oh?"
"What… was that?"
"Anyone see that correctly?"
The audience couldn't exactly pinpoint when the pirate's head fell off.
It was obvious. The movement was so quick that Jin—who was about to hit 6-star—barely saw what happened.
'It was a crescent slash. He instantly closed the gap between them, and when he was only five steps away from the pirate, he used a crescent slash to slice his head off. Damn, that guy…'
No, there was no doubt about it.
Amongst the contenders, there was no one other than Dante Hairan who could pull it off.
The audience went quiet. Those who were talking until a minute ago were now at a loss for words.
Thud!
Mantis's body fell to the ground.
And Cosmos smacked his forehead, dumbfounded.
"Wow, fucking dammit. Mantis was a 16th-round finalist, so we could've profited off his popularity. And now, he just dies… Well, anyway. It's Paul Mick's victory!"
Cosmos announced the victor, but the audience remained silent. While everyone was still shocked, a man in the VIP seats on the opposite side of Jin's seat stood and began to clap.
"From now on, I have all my money on Paul Mick. Paul Mick! Paul Mick! Amazing!"
And surprisingly, it was someone that Jin knew well.
'What the—Beradin Zipfel?! Why's he here?!'
Jin's eyes widened, and he had to reconfirm that the face he saw was Beradin Zipfel. The audience began to belatedly cheer.
Beradin had come by order of the Zipfel elders. Since the Hairan Clan's successor was growing rapidly, they ordered Beradin to come and see for himself.
"Wooooooh!"
"This youngling's spicy!"
"I'm also betting on Paul Mick this time! All in!"
And the two Bellard Empire nobles in front of Jin began to whisper in certainty.
"See? Is my information ever incorrect? It's him, the Runcandel provisional flag-bearer!"
"Wow… That's a surprise. Well, if he isn't a Runcandel provisional flag-bearer, he can't do that at that age. I'm sure that's Jin Runcandel."
"Me too. He's too young to be one of the Tona twins."
The other nobles nearby nodded in approval.
Of course, no one yelled his name out loud. They knew that blabbering about a provisional flag-bearer would result in a manhunt.
Which was why they were whispering amongst themselves. Paul Mick is Jin Runcandel, Paul Mick is the provisional flag-bearer!
Listening to all this, Jin scoffed.
'Anyways… It's my first time seeing Dante looking that young. In my past life, I just heard from the press that he looked nice, but he doesn't even look 19.'
Jin looked at Paul Mick—no, Dante and then at Beradin, who was still clapping.
'Beradin probably came because his clan told him to. He's also getting on my nerves, just like Dante. He's definitely going to notice me… And if he does, he's going to be a pain in the ass.'
His anxious predictions couldn't be wrong.
And unfortunately, right at that moment, Beradin spotted Jin who was looking at him intently.
"Oh? Wow!"
Beradin crazily waved his arm at Jin.
Of course, Jin ignored him and looked back at Dante. Amusingly, Dante turned his head and glared at Beradin.
'That is… Beradin Zipfel. Is he acting like he knows me? I've only met him at the Zipfel banquet, and yet, he's enthusiastically greeting me. Alright, I will also greet you, Beradin!'
Misunderstanding the situation, Dante waved his hand at Beradin. Jin burst into laughter. He couldn't read Dante's mind, but he could assume what he was thinking.
'Funny fellows.'
Cosmos's underlings ran over and retrieved Mantis's corpse.
"Alrighty, alrighty. Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that Mantis had a short standing. Let's hear some words from our victor. Mister Paul Mick, how do you feel?"
"I feel like I got rid of another filthy scum. I pray he doesn't become a pirate in his next life."
Although his appearance was child-like, his voice was comparably deeper. And with it, he berated the pirates in a pirates cove.
A lot of pirates ground their teeth, but they couldn't attack Dante. Their hesitation was expected after bearing witness to his swordsmanship.
Cosmos let out an awkward chuckle and nodded.
"Heheh, being a pirate isn't a job to recommend to children. But remember that it's a great start for those cornered at the bottom of the social ladder."
Dante silently walked towards the waiting room, and Cosmos carried on with the battles.
Jin then thought to himself while watching Dante's back.
'That guy… Can I beat him?'
—————
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