Judgment

"Hmph! The Shadow Skull are a bunch of useless trash!"

After Ultear left, a disdainful snort came from somewhere in the darkness.

He was a middle-aged man. His appearance was not outstanding, but everyone who had seen him knew that he was the president of the Frog in the Pond!

Qilin!

At that moment, Qilin walked up to Chiba, seemed to sigh, and then lifted him up with one hand.

"Hmph! This troublesome brat, handing him over to the Shadow Skull might not yield much benefit, considering he killed so many of their Shadow Skull. It's better to take him back and publicly execute him; that way, our guild's reputation will be greatly enhanced."

Qilin smiled with satisfaction. Fortunately, Ultear had just recovered her magic and her perception had not fully returned. Otherwise, even with his strength, he might not have been able to fool her.

But... that woman actually killed her own people for this kid...

Hehe... Interesting...

A certain town.

An unnamed town, on the main road.

"Erza, is what you're saying really true? We've been searching for months, and we still haven't found it?" Mira said impatiently as she sat in the hired carriage.

Two months have passed since they left the guild. They haven't even found a trace of the "Lava Monster," which was supposed to be in this area. Apart from occasionally seeing some mages traveling in groups, she hasn't seen a single hair of the person she's looking for.

But in the past month, even these mages who Erza called "hunting down Lava Monsters " have been rarely seen.

Erza, gripping the reins, shrugged and said, "A wanted poster can't be wrong, right? This is a wanted poster that 'Frog in the Pond' requested from the local government; it's even been put in the quest logs of some mage guilds."

Mira didn't continue speaking, but her agitation only intensified.

At that moment, Erza stopped the carriage, bought a newspaper from a nearby newsstand, and handed it to Mira.

"Hey! See if you have any news on the latest big news."

She handed the newspaper to Mira, and then urged Ma Lai on.

Mira looked at the newspaper in her hand with suspicion, then was immediately stunned by the words that caught her eye.

Big news! The three-month-long hunt is over!

The gist of the story is that several mage guilds, led by the Frog in the Pond, finally hunted down a "Lava Monster" in the "Grete" Great Forest. Three days later, they were preparing to publicly execute the Lava Monster.

"Mira, is there any news from above?" Erza asked.

Mira clutched the newspaper tightly, then curled up into a ball and threw it away. "They've caught him, and they're going to execute him in three days."

What are your plans?

Veins bulged on Mira's pretty face, her voice filled with barely suppressed anger. "Take him off the field! Nobody is allowed to touch him!"

Erza smiled.

"Explain to the president when you go back."

Three days later.

Deli Town.

Since yesterday, the name of this little-known town has become the talk of the town.

After causing trouble for three months, the Lava Monster was finally captured by the Frog in the Pond the Mage Guild.

It is said that this Lava Monster had a feud with the Shadow Skull of the Dark Guild, and many of the Shadow Skull's elites died at its hands. Even Death Storm Rina, one of the Five Great Thrones, perished at the hands of the Lava Monster.

This has led to the situation where what was considered a minor farce by many S-Class Mages has escalated to the point where even they have to take it seriously!

Even in the S-Class realm, Death Storm was a well-known figure, yet he was killed by a boy who looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old.

At first, they thought it was just a joke, but when someone actually saw Rina's body, the rumor was debunked.

As a result, the reputation of the Frog in the Pond, who captured the Lava Monsters, spread throughout much of the Kingdom of Fiore.

The square in the center of the town.

On the high execution platform, the shackled boy knelt on the wooden platform, his hands locked by handcuffs that bound his magic, and he looked utterly miserable.

Behind him stood a burly man wielding a large knife. Beside the burly man was Qilin.

Below the execution platform, a dense crowd of people gathered. The noise was deafening, and they were almost all discussing the boy on the platform.

"Quiet! Quiet!"

At this moment, Qilin, standing on the execution platform, spoke loudly.

The voices gradually faded until there was complete silence.

Qilin coughed twice, then announced loudly, "As everyone knows, the Lava Monsters have been wreaking havoc in the Kingdom of Fiore for over three months. During these three months, the Lava Monsters have been burning, killing, and looting, associating with the Dark Guild, and committing countless atrocities!"

"Fortunately, three days ago, our Frog in the Pond mage managed to capture him after his battle with the Shadow Skull. Now... for the safety of the nation, we have decided to..."

"Execute him on the spot!"

By the end, his words had become impassioned, igniting the emotions of those below the execution platform.

"Execute him!"

"Execute him!"

"Execute him!"

Everyone's emotions were focused on the word "execution," and the entire town had never been so noisy.

This public execution drew not only the people of Deli Town, but also many people from surrounding towns and cities, including numerous mages.

This Qilin was quite self-aware, directly admitting that he captured Chiba by chance rather than directly arresting him. However, by doing so, he was directly breaking ties with Shadow Skull. What gave him the audacity to turn against one of the Balam Alliance? Wasn't Frog in the Pond already an affiliated guild of Shadow Skull?

Qilin glanced at Chiba kneeling on the ground, then said calmly, "Do you have any last words?"

"Last words?"

Chiba paused for a moment, then looked at the people below the execution platform.

The crowd quieted down a bit, seemingly waiting for the monster to say something.

"Hmm... last words..."

Chiba's heart stirred; in this situation, he seemed to remember something.

So he took a deep breath and shouted.

"I'm going to... become the Pirate King!!"

The deafening sound echoed throughout the square, leaving everyone stunned.

Has this monster gone mad?

"Ha ha!"

Immediately following was the boy's hearty laughter, almost bringing tears to his eyes.

Chiba remembered that this was the same shout Buggy the Clown made when Luffy pinned him to the execution platform.

Realizing he seemed to have been tricked, Qilin's face turned frosty, and he growled, "Execute him!"

The executioner's eyes widened, and he swung his broadsword down suddenly.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound rang out, and the broadsword shattered.