Baiya didn’t know Yacang, nor did she know anything about him, but she was certain he was far stronger than those who had died.
“These attackers aren’t just ordinary riffraff…”
Yacang swung his sword, the blade spinning in a grand arc, expertly flicking off the water droplets clinging to its surface.
He sheathed his sword, his body erupting with a burst of aura that dispersed the pervasive scent of the sea in the air.
Yacang straightened the collar of his white coat, took off his beret and stuffed it into the small pouch at his waist, rested one hand on the sword guard, and walked down the steps to the lowest tier of the audience seats, striding towards Samsara Tenki, and knelt in reverence before Arthur and Ryumion behind her.
“Your Highness Arthur, Your Highness Ryumion, do we engage or retreat? Please give your orders.” Yacang bowed his head, face calm, quietly awaiting the reply from the two princes.
“Engage!”
“Retreat.”
Once again, the two princes held conflicting opinions. Yacang confirmed that Arthur had called for engagement, so he would follow the second prince’s command, leading all the ship’s guards to repel the enemy.
“Arthur! Retreating is the wise choice! The timing they’ve chosen is off! Isn’t it strange to launch an attack just as we’re about to dock? They must know Amidarl could receive a distress message and send reinforcements at any time, and yet they dare to strike. Either they’re fools, or they’re absolutely confident! I believe the latter. The enemy is clearly prepared. We must be cautious this time!”
Ryumion was livid that his command had been vetoed once again. If they’d followed his instructions, the greatest risk could have been avoided, but Arthur was headstrong and never wavered from his decision!
Letting Yacang lead the attack was dangerous! Witnessing the sea waves descend from the heavens, that terrifying might—Ryumion’s heart grew ever more uneasy.
“I don’t know what kind of useless wretch you are. I’ve never welcomed your existence. I’d rather kill you than heed your advice.”
Arthur summoned the pale-faced Shadow Spider and Cursed Doll back to his side. With his slave girls beside him, the pressure in his heart eased a little.
He clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead, and faced Ryumion with an expression of forcibly suppressed fury and loathing. If not for Samsara Tenki’s protection, he would have already made his move!
He truly wanted to punch that delicate face of Ryumion’s!
“But! Amidarl will never allow petty thieves to invade! I am the future king of Amidarl! The nation I rule will be number one in the world! Tolerating fleas jumping before my eyes is unworthy of a king! Allowing inferior lowlifes to trespass brings utter disgrace!”
“You don’t understand Amidarl’s will. That’s why your heart is weak. Someone like you has no right to vie for the throne! Let alone think about killing me!”
Being pointed at so directly was not a pleasant feeling. At this moment, Ryumion understood that his older brother was not just some useless, decayed puppet with no thoughts of his own, manipulated by nothing but lust for power—he, too, had something he admired, perhaps even a kind of brainwashing, and he possessed the unwavering resolve to defend Amidarl at all costs.
A person with resolve is terrifying, but Ryumion did not feel his own determination was in any way inferior to Arthur’s! He simply wanted to survive! And to pursue the future he desired!
Was it the royal family’s fate in Amidarl to fight and kill their own brothers? Ryumion refused to accept such a predetermined destiny, willing to pay any price to resist it!
Samsara Tenki stood quietly to the side, watching the confrontation between the two princes. One was likely to become a cruel tyrant, the other a rational sage king; their personalities were utterly opposed, and there was no chance of harmony.
Her duty was to protect Ryumion’s safety, not to involve herself in the royal family’s internal strife. If Arthur and Ryumion really started fighting, she would step in to stop it.
If Arthur truly acted, his slave girls would not sit by idly. Sensing an overwhelming force locking onto them, the Shadow Spider and Cursed Doll dared not move. Samsara Tenki would permit no interference, all to ensure Ryumion’s absolute safety.
“They’ve started arguing again, the two princes.”
“Yes, His Highness Arthur and His Highness Ryumion have always had a terrible relationship.”
“Aren’t they brothers? I don’t get it. Instead of getting along, they look at each other like mortal enemies. How did it come to this?”
“The Amidarl royal family has no familial affection, only absolute and ruthless rule. It’s not just Arthur and Ryumion; even His Highness Caesar won’t show a kind face to his brothers. There can only be one king, and the losers must step down. Amidarl’s heirs cannot escape a fate of mutual slaughter. In the end, only one of the three princes will survive.”
“Is that so?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s insane. Such an outcome is sure to breed severely twisted personalities. There’s no way their worldviews could be normal.”
“Only such people are fit to rule Amidarl and ‘us.’ That’s enough idle chatter, isn’t it? I doubt you’d use message magic just to gossip with me, Baiya Ifiel Clorom.”
Samsara Tenki shifted a fraction of her attention, catching Baiya’s figure in the tunnel with the corner of her eye. Honestly, she was a little curious that Baiya had contacted her using message magic.
Just what scheme did Baiya have in mind now? She wanted to find out.
As one of the top ten numbered slave girls, even high-ranking nobles had to kneel and bow to her, regardless of how unwilling or disgusted they felt.
There was an inherent hostility among slave girls. She had never built even the slightest acquaintance with any of them. On top of that, her own racial gift was linked to death. She had always been alone, with no ties to anyone. No, not even alone—slave girls had no will of their own, only the status of tools carrying out orders.
It was always like this for slave girls. From the moment they awakened their racial gifts, they were fated to be out of place in the world, without true kin or even the right to cling to each other for warmth. Each one bore the crushing weight of loneliness, like despairing gods of death.
But Baiya was an extremely interesting one. Now known to be a slave girl as well, she nevertheless shone with a radiance unlike any other, especially that confident smile that came from deep within, dazzling enough to be almost infuriating.
Samsara Tenki had already witnessed the miracles Baiya created. Killing a gold-rank ogre single-handedly was more than enough to draw her attention. Now she wanted to see just how far this singular slave girl—who had shocked her several times—could go. It was a curiosity she had never known before.
Ryumion, too, seemed to want to protect Baiya. Since that was the case, even if she gave a little help, however insignificant, she could expect to be permitted.
“I’m glad you understand. I can’t move at all now, so I want you to use that ability from last night to help me out. Oh, and there are a few other seriously wounded here. I’m counting on you for all of them. Thanks.”
Samsara Tenki trembled, slowly turned her head. In her line of sight, Baiya—supported by another girl out of the tunnel—grinned at her, showing a mouthful of white teeth and flashing a fresh, clean smile.
If she wasn’t mistaken, Baiya was asking her to use one of the abilities developed from “Law of Life and Death”—the ‘Scales of Burial and Resurrection’, which had a one-in-four chance of reviving someone on the verge of death.
What a reckless notion! It was hard to believe Baiya would think of such a thing! The ‘Scales of Burial and Resurrection’ did have the effect of reviving the near-dead, but with only a 25% chance. The other 75%? Immediate, inescapable, cursed death!
Did Baiya really trust her luck that much?! Even if she’d already broken the record and forced the life side of the ‘Scales of Burial and Resurrection’ to appear after only death had shown before, turning 100% fatality into history, that didn’t mean she’d have the same unbelievable luck next time!
“Samsara Tenki, what…what’s going on?” Ryumion noticed her reaction, called out a few times but got no answer. She seemed lost in thought, an unusual sight for someone who was always so detached from everything.
“Your Highness Ryumion, Baiya Ifiel Clorom is requesting I once again use the ‘Scales of Burial and Resurrection’ on her.” Snapping out of her lapse, Samsara Tenki reported this troubling matter to Ryumion, not wanting to think any further, just waiting for his command.
“Does she not fear death? She just barely escaped with her life,” Ryumion couldn’t help but feel a mixture of laughter and frustration. He thought the same as Samsara Tenki, that Baiya was simply courting death.
“However, since she asked, do as she wishes.”
Ryumion’s face was devoid of any smile. Samsara Tenki sensed his resolve and, without hesitation, summoned her racial gift. Nether energy spread at her feet, and the phantom of an Underworld Envoy appeared behind her.
“What are you doing?!” Arthur, unable to hold back, cried out in panic. The Shadow Spider and Cursed Doll forcibly broke Samsara Tenki’s aura lock, each summoning their own racial gifts to shield him against a possible attack.
Was Ryumion about to make his move after all?! Arthur’s face went deathly pale.
“Relax, I’m not about to kill you now. I lack both the resolve and the timing.” Ryumion merely glanced at Arthur before focusing back on Samsara Tenki, waiting for the judgment of the Underworld Scales.
“She wants a chance to gamble, so I’ll give it to her. All I can invest in her now is that opportunity.”
The path ahead for Baiya, Ryumion vaguely felt, was not one he could bestow upon her. Baiya’s performance in the arena was nothing compared to most of Amidarl’s slave girls. For them, killing a gold-rank ogre was nothing special. But she possessed something they didn’t—though it couldn’t quite be called courage, and that was too narrow a term—something very mysterious.
Her potential was truly unfathomable!
In less than ten seconds, under the gaze of Ryumion and the others, a devil holding a set of scales appeared before the white-haired girl, wearing an expression as if he’d just eaten something foul. At the same time, Baiya said with a smile:
“If you dare cheat, I’ll beat you to death.”