Chapter 208 (1/2)

Kaidan saw the shocked audience and smiled sarcastically.

‘Huhu. It is a great response.’

In fact, he had been going to bring a fake Star Fruit today. He planned to sell the real thing on the black market, but then he heard the news this morning and completely revised his plans.

‘I didn’t expect Aidan to die like this.’

The death of his cousin Aidan was sudden and painful. It was also humiliating. His body was left hanging from the market and the flag of the resistance was next to him. Some of the nobles frowned at the miserable appearance, some had conspicuous eyes, and some of the lower class people cheered.

Kaidan’s eyes were shining. ‘This is an opportunity for me.’

Kaidan had always lived under Aidan. Aidan had enough wealth to be the next Merchant King. No one could live in Fortren without paying attention to him, even if there was a blood relationship. It was the same for Kaidan.

‘Now it isn’t necessary anymore. No, now I will be king.’

During this period of time, he had been so wary of Aidan that he hadn’t been able to raise his fortune openly. This was why he wanted to prepare the fake Star Fruit and sell the real thing on the black market. In order to avoid Aidan’s eyes, Kaidan had passively made money, but it wasn’t needed now. Now he would get some of Aidan’s legacy. It wasn’t a surprise since Aidan had no family.

‘Is Heaven helping me?’

He was now actively planning to raise his fortune. The first thing Kaidan did was bring the real Star Fruit to the Colosseum. This was an investment for the future.

“From now on, I will find all the Star Fruits that exist in the world and give it as a prize at the Colosseum!”

Numerous camera flashes burst. In the midst of the brilliant lights, Kaidan declared, “The Colosseum of Fortren is awaiting many people’s challenges!”

The Colosseum would now be home to many immortal humans who coveted the Star Fruit. Kaidan smiled with satisfaction as he thought about the future explosive growth of the audience and participants. He planned to use it as a springboard to acc.u.mulate enormous wealth. Of course, he didn’t intend to just give it.

‘Huhu. it will be after they sign the dark Master and Servant Contract.’

It was naturally a loss for Kaidan if he just gave the winner a Star Fruit. However, it wasn’t a problem if he used his financial resources to buy a black magician who could make a master and servant contract. He planned to make the winner sign the master and servant contract in exchange for giving the Star Fruit.

His mouth curved up in a smile. “Then let’s start the finals.”

* * *

At Kaidan’s mansion...

The Karstein rebels were gathered on the rooftop of a heavily guarded area. There weren’t many people, just four. It was a number that included Leslie. More people would have come, but it was poison to use a lot of people for the job of sneaking in and stealing. They had only one purpose. It was to steal the Star Fruit that was somewhere here.

“Everything is ready, Commander.”

Leslie gave a small nod. He was the leader of Karstein and also had the position of commander. In fact, the true leader of the resistance was Aren, who supported and cared for them. The purpose of the resistance members, including Leslie, was all the same. It was to make Aren the merchant king. All of them trained hard and risked their lives. Fortren had enemies everywhere and it was really difficult to train the resistance there.

‘There isn’t much time left. Now that Aidan is dead, it is only a matter of time until Aren becomes the Merchant King.’

Of course, this didn’t mean it was easy. Aren was obviously a gold spoon, but he had a poor sense of wealth. It was because he helped those in need. This included the members of the resistance group so their idea of making Aren the Merchant King didn’t change.

‘To do that, we need the Star Fruit. It would help if there were strong talents.’

Joseph insisted that the Star Fruit should be given to the village chief he previously met. At first, he was very surprised. However, the fighting strength he saw last time and his reputation in the village showed the village chief wasn’t an ordinary person. It was particularly rare for Helena to praise him when she was famous for her insight and discerning eyes.

“I’m here.”

Joseph came back from scouting and removed his stealth.

Leslie asked him, “Have you figured out all the building’s structures?”

“Yes, I’ve memorized it all in my head. I took some photos, so you should become familiar with them in advance.”

Joseph handed him several photos. The rebels nodded as they looked through the photos one by one. Joseph saw it and was satisfied. The special ‘Silent’ function of his camera was very useful.

Leslie inquired, “Has he contacted you yet?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Metheus’ chief.”

”Not yet, but he’ll probably get in touch soon. According to the spy who infiltrated, the Star Fruit will be shown before the match starts.”

“I see.”

Just then, a whisper arrived.

-Jackson: Joseph.

-Joseph: Yes, Elder. Have you seen the Star Fruit? It is fake, right?

Joseph speculated that Kaidan would bring out a fake. Even so, he asked the elder to check because he was the head of the intelligence group called Argos. In the process of collecting information, even the smallest possibility couldn’t be excluded. He couldn’t give the wrong information to a customer or colleague. It was a matter of trust.

There was just one problem...

-Jackson: I think you should come back here.

-Joseph: Huh? What does that...

-Jackson: The real Star Fruit is here.

* * *

Kaidan’s speech ended the moment I sent a whisper to Joseph.

-Then let’s start the finals.

The host’s shout was heard along with the screams of the crowd. It was a match with a Star Fruit at stake and I felt that everyone had become louder. No, it wasn’t my mistake. It was definitely louder. I was going to become deaf.

There was a familiar sound and the transparent barrier started to spread around the stage. There were usually four people, but there were eight today. Perhaps it was because I broke the barrier last time. I saw it and laughed. Why didn’t they do this earlier?

“This day has finally come.” Zhen Sulong was standing in front of me with a joyful face. It was a natural response because he had been focused on training for a long time while anticipating this day.

“Yes, I’m glad.”

“Me too.”