Chapter 292: Dekan Suspects He Came to Pull a Stunt |
At noon on the holiday festival, the Royal Capital square was always submerged by crowds, looking like a vast, surging pattern.
The ancient column standing in the center of the square, replacing a sundial, indicated that it was already three in the afternoon.
Looking at the square from afar.
The three girls all sighed.
"Let's go somewhere else, Mi’e, Cornelia," Alice said helplessly.
Today was the second day of the break period.
Tomorrow, the Hero Festival would stage the final decisive battle between the Bishop of Agony and the Imperial Sword Saint.
Taking advantage of the heat, the organizers continued to hype up the atmosphere.
As a result, the festival atmosphere in the Filowen Royal Capital today had reached its peak.
In the sky, where sparse clouds drifted, flocks of birds flew in the distance.
As the first breeze after leaving the dense crowd gently caressed her cheeks, Alice narrowed her eyes comfortably.
Once she relaxed inadvertently, she almost forgot that there was a match tomorrow that was very critical for Dekan.
Actually, based on many analyses she had heard, if Dekan did not plan to play any tricks outside the arena, his chances of defeating the Imperial Sword Saint in a duel within the Phantom Canyon were very low.
After all, it was a tier-5 facing a tier-8 head-on.
The Imperial Sword Saint was also a veritable all-around genius, a leader among tier-8s.
Although Alice did not know how Dekan would win tomorrow.
She inexplicably felt that Dekan could win.
Because in her opinion, Dekan had more style!
And Dekan didn't look panicked at all; he had gone early today with Cloix to busy themselves with the affairs of the Idol group.
Since the Idol group was so popular with the people, as the agency director and producer, they had also become very busy.
It was said that after the match tomorrow and the award ceremony, Dekan would have to run immediately to the concert side to do preparatory work.
Unknowingly, when the Beautiful Mind Squad had free time, they split into a boys' group and a girls' group like during the last tier-7 team assessment.
Only this time, there was also a friend from outside the squad, Alice.
Alice, who was already close friends with Mi’e, had also become familiar with Cornelia over this period.
Facing this enthusiastic and cheerful princess, although Cornelia sometimes didn't know how to handle her strange behavior, she felt from the bottom of her heart that Alice was a very easy person to get along with.
Unknowingly, Cornelia had gained another good friend.
Originally, when she first enrolled a year ago, she was worried that after coming to Heavenlit Academy, she might not make any friends until graduation.
She didn't expect that now, as long as she was with her friends, even if the holiday ended and they returned to school, she wouldn't feel that any day was boring.
"How should we spend this afternoon?" Cornelia said as if talking to herself.
"Cornelia, is there something on your mind?"
Mi’e stared at Cornelia for a moment and realized that the tips of her brows and her eyes couldn't hide her mood at all.
Ever since Cornelia received a letter this morning, she seemed to become distracted from time to time.
Alice also stared at Cornelia.
"My mother seems to be sick; I want to go back and see her..."
Cornelia murmured, having no choice but to tell the truth.
It seemed she didn't want to worry Dekan and affect his upcoming finals.
So she had no intention of telling Dekan today.
"Don't worry, after telling Dekan tomorrow, he will accompany you there immediately," Alice patted Cornelia's back and said with a grin.
According to the original plan, after the Hero Festival matches were over, they would travel around the Filowen Kingdom for a period of time.
And as the producer of the Idol group and a special guest of this Hero Festival, Dekan had received invitations for some events and card-making competitions.
But now both Alice and Mi’e knew.
No matter how busy Dekan was, as long as it was something related to Cornelia, Dekan would cast aside all work and go with her.
Cornelia nodded, a trace of a smile on the corner of her mouth.
"It was really a pity I didn't go to the Randil Kingdom with you back then!"
Alice lamented while strolling.
When she learned that Mi’e and Cornelia had been playing relaxedly in the Randil Kingdom during the tier-7 team exam, she couldn't help but show a regretful expression.
She had never been to such a distant foreign country, let alone played so freely with friends without guards.
After all, these accompanying partners of hers were much stronger than any guards.
"That time was actually quite dangerous," Mi’e looked at Alice somewhat helplessly and poked her cheek as she spoke.
Thinking back now, if it weren't for that man, the Corrupt Bishop Fahim would probably have turned the Royal Capital into a living hell.
For a pure tier-4 civilian personnel like Alice, a lot of combat power would need to be allocated just to protect her.
Although the Filowen Royal Capital was extremely safe this time, with strict security checks, security forces, and alarm barriers.
However, the barrier protection had a prerequisite: someone had to launch an attack to trigger the alarm and summon the Public Security Forces at light speed.
If they really encountered an attack that disregarded the cost, protection still couldn't be provided in the first instance.
Actually, there was no need to worry about this situation.
After all, with [Captain De’erkan] invested in the security checks, Resurrection cultists basically couldn't enter the Royal Capital.
Originally, it was like that.
But now, there was a slight change.
There was such a group of dangerous characters.
At first, they indeed didn't hate Dekan, so they could easily pass the [Captain De’erkan] security check to enter the Royal Capital.
But after these few days, they now hated Dekan incomparably.
They were the believers of the Lord of Calamity—the Calamity Host.
Dekan, who had publicly declared war on the Lord of Calamity and successfully "sanctioned the Lord of Calamity," had now arguably become the number one mortal enemy in the eyes of the Calamity Host.
It was hard to imagine what kind of revenge this group of people would exact on Dekan.
There was no need to worry about the armed Idol group, whose combined levels totaled twenty tiers; the Calamity Host didn't dare to touch them.
The Bishop Slaying Machine combination of Dekan plus Cloix also required at least one Resurrection Church Bishop to deal with.
So among the whole group.
The only weakness was Alice.
Of course, Dekan had long instructed Mi’e and Cornelia never to let Alice be alone and to remain vigilant within the Royal Capital to protect her.
So Cornelia, who had served as a part-time scout in their early team, and Mi’e, who possessed professional scout skills, quickly realized that someone was indeed following them.
They had been followed all the way from the Royal Capital square, gradually heading towards the far outskirts.
However, it wasn't easy for them to leave Alice behind to take the initiative to attack.
They just needed to wait for the opponent to make a move and then defeat the enemy in one blow.
Mi’e and Cornelia reached a tacit consensus just by exchanging a look.
They had rich experience in related business.
"Then how should we arrange our last afternoon together?"
Seeing that there was no clear itinerary plan right now, Mi’e asked.
Cornelia shook her head; she seemed to have no ideas.
However, Alice seemed to think of something, her eyes lighting up as she said:
"I actually still want to experience betting once. I want to bet on Dekan to win!"
Mi’e and Cornelia looked at each other, both feeling troubled.
They felt that Alice just wanted to win big and then go back to the kingdom to brag about being a Saint of Gamblers.
Anyway, she wouldn't feel bad if she lost, and if she won, she would have one more thing to brag about.
For her, it was a win either way.
Although the laws of the Filowen Kingdom prohibited it.
However, since the Kingdom Federation advocated increasing some entertainment value.
So some behaviors were tacitly permitted.
For example, any transnational chamber of commerce could provide cross-border betting services at their branches in the Filowen Kingdom during the Hero Festival.
That is, one could place bets in the Royal Capital that were remotely completed in other kingdoms.
Of course, a service fee would be added.
This led to it being very uneconomical in terms of expected value; it was more for entertainment.
And Alice didn't seem to care much about profit or loss; she purely wanted to experience it.
Thus, to fulfill Alice's dream of being a God of Gamblers.
Mi’e and Cornelia accompanied Alice to the Innote Chamber of Commerce.
This chamber of commerce, which they had seen in the Randil Kingdom, had a gangster nature.
Let's not discuss whether part of their business was legitimate or not; at least in terms of integrity, there was a certain guarantee.
Of course.
According to Dekan.
It would be better if they didn't have integrity.
Then they would directly turn into ATM machines.
So after returning from the Randil Kingdom, seeing that Dekan would choose to cooperate with the Innote Chamber of Commerce first on certain transnational projects, Mi’e often wondered what his intentions truly were.
...
Soon they arrived at the Innote Chamber of Commerce branch in the Filowen Kingdom's Royal Capital.
Before they could even walk into the luxurious chamber of commerce building, a manager immediately came out to welcome the three VIPs.
"Two VIPs of the Happy Group, and Your Highness Alice, welcome to our chamber of commerce."
The manager entertained the three of them into the chamber of commerce with exceptional politeness.
After simply stating their purpose, the manager quickly led the three of them to a VIP channel.
However, walking along the channel, they found that a young man seemed to have already been standing in front of the VIP exclusive window.
Obviously, the other party was also a VIP.
"Damn it, this bastard won't play dirty again in the next round, will he!"
Before they even got close, they heard the young man's unwilling voice.
It seemed like an unlucky guy who had continuously bet on Dekan to lose.
Now he was hesitating whether to gamble one more time before the final round started.
Led by the manager, the three sat patiently on the sofa to wait, not in a hurry at all.
After all, they already felt quite idle.
Mi’e rested her chin on her hand, observing the young man in front of them with interest.
Although she had never seen this person.
But possessing the skills of a disguise master, Mi’e quickly saw that the young man had concealed his true appearance.
"The probability of him continuing to play dirty tricks isn't high, but what if he really pulls a stunt again tomorrow..."
The young man muttered to himself with his chin in his hand, seeming very conflicted.
He seriously wanted to win the bet.
Just as he was thinking.
"I'll teach you. Bet on Dekan to win; it's a guaranteed profit!"
Alice didn't mean to rush him; she just kindly offered some advice, sitting on the sofa and giving a hint.
Hearing Alice's words, the mysterious youth was stunned for a moment, then turned his head and shouted angrily:
"I won't bet on that bastard to win!"
Alice asked with some surprise:
"Eh, do you know him?"
It felt like there was a bit of a personal grudge...
Mysterious Youth: "I don't know him!"
PART 2
Alice: "Then why do you have such a big grudge against him..."
Mysterious Youth: "Who has a big grudge against him! Don't you think this person wins every round despicably?"
Alice: "Hmph, victory is justice. Do you reason with others when you lose a bet?"
"..."
The youth seemed to be silenced by Alice's sentence.
Moreover, Alice's imposing manner when speaking was like a true old gambling saint.
Highlighting a sense of style.
Seemingly sensing the mysterious youth's indecision.
Alice took the initiative to step forward, pulled the stored-value crystal card from the youth's hand, and slapped it on the counter.
"Bet it all on Dekan! Trust me, you can't go wrong!"
Alice said willfully and boldly.
"You?"
The mysterious youth hurriedly pressed his hand on the counter to stop the manager's operation, looking at Alice with shock and anger.
This wasn't her money!
Moreover, did she know how much money was in this card?
Treating a high-stakes gamble of ten thousand gold coins as child's play was the behavior of either a true gambling saint or a pure amateur!
Alice: "If you lose, this young lady will compensate you. If you win, give me half the dividends, and then call me the Saint of Gamblers. That's not excessive, right?"
Mysterious Youth: "Do you know how much money is in this card? Compensate me? Really..."
Alice ignored the youth.
She placed her own card on the counter and told the manager calmly: "Bet ten million."
Mysterious Youth: "???"
He suspected there was something wrong with his ears.
What the hell was ten million?
Even the manager at the counter was so scared he almost fell off his chair.
Only after seeing it with his own eyes—that the manager had indeed deducted ten million from this girl's card and successfully placed the bet on her behalf—was the youth convinced that this person was truly outrageous.
She was even exceptionally calm after spending ten million.
Her breathing rate hadn't changed a bit!
It was as if this ten million meant nothing to her, or she was truly convinced she would definitely win.
"Does your family own a mine?"
The youth stared with wide eyes and asked.
"No... Hiss, it seems we do."
Alice thought about it and felt like... saying the mines of the Norton Kingdom belonged to her family wasn't wrong.
Actually, she didn't plan to bet this much at first; she only planned to bet a hundred thousand gold coins for fun.
But sensing an opportunity to act cool, she immediately decided to go all-in.
Presumably, this VIP was also some unknown big shot.
To manifest her divinity in front of him—once this act succeeded, presumably someone would definitely brag about her legend in some unknown place in the future!
Ten million was indeed close to all of Alice's wealth to date.
The youth looked at the counter, thinking with a complicated expression.
After obtaining the guarantee from this rich girl: if he bet on the Imperial Sword Saint and lost, he would lose everything; but if he bet on Dekan to win, although the profit would be halved, he would be compensated for all his principal if he lost. Based on expected value, he should bet on Dekan no matter what; it was a guaranteed profit without loss.
Looking at this rich girl, she didn't look like someone who would renege on a debt of ten thousand gold coins.
Finally, the youth decided to go all-in on Dekan too.
Although he was very unhappy with Dekan as a person, the youth really wanted to get a first win.
Of course, if Dekan could let him win a large sum, he decided not to hate Dekan so much for a short period of time.
Thus, after the two parties exchanged bank account numbers, they walked out of the Innote Chamber of Commerce one after another.
The sun set in the west.
The light was gradually concealed by the other side of the horizon, and today's afternoon festival came to an end.
Replacing it was a moonlit night rising towards the zenith, accompanied by a layer of faint purple mist.
The sky was covered with grains of stars; the stars were like cold caves of light.
The streets began to be gradually painted over by black. Unknowingly, the aura of the passersby seemed to be hidden away, sinking into silence.
WHOOSH, WHOOSH—the wind brushed past these few people at the entrance of the chamber of commerce.
It was clearly summer.
But it made the people at the entrance of the chamber of commerce instinctively feel a chill down their spines.
This was killing intent that was no longer concealed!
Mi’e and Cornelia's expressions became solemn.
They knew that during the time the three of them were inside the Innote Chamber of Commerce, the person who had followed them the whole way was ready to act!
The retaliation of the Calamity Host was finally arriving.
"HUM!"
Accompanying the sound of breaking air turning into a solid entity, an invisible wind whipped up.
A figure from the roadside dove towards Alice in the center of the three like a suicide attack, while Mi’e and Cornelia had long been ready to face the enemy.
However.
The youth who had walked out of the Innote Chamber of Commerce a step earlier happened to be standing near that figure.
His pupils, as sharp as an eagle's, instantly locked onto that figure as if locking onto prey.
Undoubtedly, this figure was an assassin wanting to attack those three young girls.
Almost in an instant, the youth made a judgment, grabbing the assassin's neck like a little chick and slamming him violently onto the ground.
But the youth also seemed not to have expected that this assassin was using an extreme suicide attack.
After being intercepted, he self-destructed on the spot.
"BOOM!!"
Accompanying the explosion was an astonishing sound. Firelight shot out in all directions, illuminating the night street for an instant, subsequently kicking up billowing thick smoke.
It wasn't until several seconds later that the smoke gradually dispersed.
Although Alice and the other two in the distance were unharmed, the youth's face had been blasted black.
His physical constitution seemed somewhat outrageous; this kind of explosion actually hadn't injured him.
And the terrifying bloodstains that were already charred and dried on his body seemed to belong to the attacker.
Right now, he looked just like a demon god from hell.
In less than half a minute, this huge commotion attracted a large number of Public Security Forces.
Running away was impossible in this situation; a hit-and-run would only attract more trouble.
So in order not to make the problem bigger, the youth also waited on the spot.
"Thank you!"
After the somewhat stunned Cornelia and Mi’e reacted, they both nodded to express their gratitude to the youth.
Although all this happened unexpectedly, after Mi’e and Cornelia explained what happened, Alice, still having lingering fears, also thanked this youth with gratitude.
"If Dekan loses, I still have to seek you out for the debt. That's all."
The youth waved his hand and said.
He seemed indifferent to this act of lifting a hand to help.
Soon, the Sheriff arrived. They surrounded the youth alertly and asked:
"Sir, may I ask what is going on here?"
"Someone wanted to attack them. I stopped him, and then he self-destructed."
The youth explained calmly.
It was obvious, right?
Did this even need to be asked?
"..."
However, the Sheriff looked at the scene, and then at the terrifying appearance of the youth.
The Sheriff couldn't feel that was the case no matter what...
So they went to question the surrounding witnesses.
Except for Alice and her two friends stating that the youth had acted bravely for a just cause.
The rest of the witnesses all stated—
"At that time, this youth casually grabbed a passerby, then smashed the passerby onto the ground. With a 'SNAP', the passerby exploded."
Repeated confirmations all yielded this result, causing the corners of the Sheriffs' mouths to twitch as they listened.
Although.
Both accounts from the witnesses were quite outrageous.
But based on the Sheriffs' years of professional experience.
Combined with the scene before their eyes.
No matter how one listened to it, the second account was more convincing.
"Please come with us."
The Sheriffs couldn't analyze the situation for a moment either, so they could only keep their distance from the youth with exceptional vigilance while calling for backup.
"..."
The mysterious youth's face was as black as a pot.
He seemed to have just realized that a big problem had occurred with the previous wave of events.
From a normal person's perspective, it indeed seemed like the other scenario...
Heh, getting arrested for a courageous act.
As expected of the Kingdom Federation.
A trace of a disdainful smile curled up on the youth's lips.
"Fine, let's go!"
He offered his hands arrogantly and spoke, allowing the Sheriff to put handcuffs on him.
...
The next morning.
Dekan sat in the living room reading the newspaper. Before the match this afternoon, he still had a lot of rest time.
[Yesterday afternoon, a homicide occurred in the Filowen Royal Capital. Due to the identity of the deceased being temporarily unidentifiable, and the killing method being too horrifying, there are many suspicious points in the case, which is currently still under investigation...]
Dekan looked at the arrested man in the newspaper photo. He just felt that this guy's aggrieved yet unusually confident posture was inexplicably familiar.
Cornelia, who was eating fruit snacks on the side, leaned over to take a look.
Cornelia: "Ah, isn't he the good person who helped us yesterday? Alice and Mi’e are going to testify for him today."
Dekan: "Tell me the details."
So Cornelia recounted yesterday's events.
After Dekan listened to the deeds of that mysterious youth acting bravely for a just cause.
He couldn't help but frown.
This guy, although his hair color, appearance, and identity should have all been disguised.
But Dekan just felt incredibly certain who this mysterious youth was.
If one had to say there were people in the world Dekan couldn't predict at all.
The first person was Cornelia.
The second must be the freest man in the world, Clay!
"However, the Frenzy Bishop’s Certificate in my hand hasn't expired... which means Clay doesn't have a new Bishop's Certificate and can't contact other Bishops over ultra-long distances through this item... So now that he's entered prison and had all his cards confiscated, this guy without a communication card seems to have temporarily lost contact with the outside world..."
Dekan pondered.
Thinking about it this way, Dekan could be more certain that the Resurrection Church would have some operation targeting the Hero Festival this time.
After all, even a Bishop had come.
But...
Clay performed consistently as always.
The Resurrection Church hadn't even appeared to start causing trouble yet.
My bro had already played himself into prison first.
Dekan could already imagine the kind of mental breakdown the Falsehood Bishop Carlos would have when he prepared to cause trouble, only to suddenly discover that Clay was out of contact and sitting in jail...