Initial Success

After returning to the Royal Capital, Su Xiao went straight to the Minister of the Left's residence.

In the study, the Minister of the Left was examining the tiger teeth.

"Mm, that's right. Very good." The Minister of the Left put away the tiger teeth and looked meaningfully at Su Xiao.

"I didn't expect you to actually accomplish it. That tiger wasn't particularly strong, but it was hidden in Mt. Colubo and extremely difficult to hunt. You're more capable than your uncle, so you'll replace him from now on."

With just a few words, Su Xiao had replaced the Black Market Merchant. This showed how cold-blooded the Minister of the Left was. The Black Market Merchant's previous tributes had already been thrown to the back of his mind.

"The mission has been completed. I'm prepared to take over the Guard Captain's position today. I wonder if, Minister of the Left~"

Su Xiao looked at the Minister of the Left. Given the old man's cold and heartless personality, it wasn't impossible that he would renege on the deal.

"Guard Captain? What are you talking about? I never said..."

The Minister of the Left's voice abruptly cut off, and his crafty old eyes suddenly began to dim.

The Minister of the Left violated the regulations of Reincarnation Paradise. Reincarnation Paradise is forcibly correcting this...

A cold voice appeared beside Su Xiao's ear. This was the first time he had heard Reincarnation Paradise speak.

It was a mechanical voice, devoid of emotion. Its coldness also carried a hint of cruelty.

After remaining silent for an extremely short time, the Minister of the Left continued, "Since you've completed the mission, the position of Guard Captain belongs to you. I'll go to the palace and arrange it for you shortly. In an hour, you'll be the current Guard Captain."

The Minister of the Left's tone was stiff and contradictory, leaving the guards behind him somewhat confused.

Su Xiao carefully observed the Minister of the Left. The man's abnormality was definitely connected to Reincarnation Paradise.

Su Xiao had long anticipated that the Minister of the Left might break his promise. The only reason he had hunted the Master of Mt. Colubo was because Reincarnation Paradise had issued the mission.

So far, although Reincarnation Paradise had always appeared cold and devoid of emotion, it had never gone back on its word.

Cold and cruel, yet fair. That was the impression Reincarnation Paradise had given Su Xiao.

That was why Su Xiao had wanted to test what would happen if the Minister of the Left broke his promise.

After all, the reward for his side mission was the identity of Guard Captain.

Judging from the current situation, Reincarnation Paradise had chosen to directly control the Minister of the Left and forcibly grant him the mission reward.

As for what would happen to the Minister of the Left afterward, that was hard to say. He might recover shortly—or he might become an idiot.

Moreover, Su Xiao had been puzzled by something earlier. Was the One Piece World he was in a real world, or a world fabricated by Reincarnation Paradise?

If it had been fabricated by Reincarnation Paradise, then the Minister of the Left would essentially be an NPC and could never have violated his promise.

Judging from the current situation, this place was very likely a real world. At least, everything Su Xiao had come into contact with felt completely real.

Perhaps a Derivative World was born from people's fantasies and eventually became a real world.

After leaving the Minister of the Left's residence, Su Xiao began thinking about how to assassinate the king.

Although he had now become the Guard Captain, this identity couldn't help him meet the king. Even if he did meet him, he couldn't assassinate him directly.

The king would certainly be protected by layers of guards. Even if Su Xiao managed to assassinate him with a one-in-ten-thousand chance of success, he would die afterward.

Reincarnation Paradise had warned him before that if he died in the One Piece World, he would die permanently. There would be no second chance.

It seemed that Su Xiao was trapped in a difficult situation, but that wasn't actually the case. He already possessed the means to assassinate the king.

Two points were crucial to successfully assassinating the king. The first was infiltrating the palace, and Su Xiao had never worried about that.

The second was luring away the guards beside the king. That was the truly critical point.

The guards beside the king were certainly very strong. Under what circumstances could those close guards be lured away?

If a powerful enemy appeared inside the palace—especially one that might threaten the king's safety—the guards would have no choice but to attack.

That would be Su Xiao's chance to act.

As for the king's own strength, Su Xiao wasn't worried. If the king were too strong, the possibility of completing the mission would be far too low. The difficulty of the Main Quest couldn't possibly be only LV.3.

As for where to find a powerful enemy capable of threatening the king, that would depend on the burning of Terminal Station.

That was why he had worked so hard to obtain the identity of Guard Captain: he wanted decision-making authority over the burning of Terminal Station.

Although the nobles of the Goa Kingdom didn't consider the refugees outside the city to be human, an undertaking like burning Terminal Station wouldn't be handed over to a kingdom department.

The reason was simple. It would tarnish the kingdom's image.

Therefore, the burning of Terminal Station would only be entrusted to certain criminal forces. In the One Piece World, the criminal forces in the area were none other than the pirates in the nearby waters.

Several large pirate crews in the nearby waters had received the news. The Goa Kingdom had a major deal, and if they handled it well, they could obtain noble status.

Noble status held a fatal attraction for those desperadoes. Most people had become pirates out of helplessness.

Therefore, several pirate crews had already arrived in the waters near the Goa Kingdom, waiting for this opportunity.

Tonight, the Goa Kingdom would select one of those pirate crews and have them burn Terminal Station tomorrow night.

The Guard Corps was the armed force within the Royal Capital. With Su Xiao's current identity, he was responsible for contacting and negotiating with those pirates.

If he made good use of his current identity, he would have a definite chance of successfully assassinating the king.

According to the original plot, the king had never intended to grant those pirates noble status. He was merely using them.

As Su Xiao was thinking, he had already returned to the Guard Corps Headquarters.

Compared to the Guard Corps Headquarters a day ago, this place was now in complete chaos.

The guards who had been stationed at the entrance had vanished. After entering the Guard Corps Headquarters, Su Xiao saw more than a dozen guards gambling in the hall. Several others had even gathered together to drink.

The smell of cheap tobacco, alcohol, and sweat permeated the hall.

There was no leader here anymore. Although Su Xiao was the leader now, he had no intention of managing those guards.

He only needed his current identity. What happened at the Guard Corps Headquarters had nothing to do with him.

Su Xiao arrived at Ogre's former office and pushed the door open.

There were three people inside: Hank and two of Ogre's trusted aides.

Hank was sitting on the sofa, while Ogre's two trusted aides stood on either side of Ogre's chair. The three of them were confronting one another, but no one dared to sit in that chair.

Su Xiao entered the office, surprising the three of them.

Hank said nothing, but Ogre's two trusted aides spoke up.

"Is this somewhere you should be? Get out!"

Su Xiao lowered his eyes and didn't even look at them. Instead, he walked to Ogre's seat and sat down directly.

"You bastard! Do you think you can sit there? What are you..."

One of Ogre's trusted aides walked toward Su Xiao with an enraged expression.

"Get lost. You're no longer a guard. You have one minute to disappear."

Su Xiao still didn't look at him. He was thinking about his next move. He had no interest in dealing with trash like this. It would only waste his time.

Ogre's trusted aide stood frozen in astonishment for a moment, then looked at Su Xiao with a mocking smile.

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and a courier entered with some documents in his hands.

"Mr. Byakuya, this is your appointment notice as Guard Captain, along with your identification."

The Minister of the Left's efficiency was faster than expected.

Ogre's trusted aide froze, staring blankly at Su Xiao.

"You two don't need to leave anymore. Stay here forever."

Su Xiao looked at Ogre's two subordinates. Beside him, Hank's thoughts raced, and he suddenly shouted,

"Everyone downstairs, get up here and congratulate our new boss!"