A Big Shot

"Ow—roar!"

The Baduwan Tiger let out a mournful howl.

Its massive body traced a semicircle through the air before crashing heavily onto the spectator stands amid the horrified gazes of the audience.

"Whoa, get out of the way!"

"Run!"

"..."

Boom!

A large section of the stands collapsed, kicking up clouds of dust.

But that wasn't what terrified the audience the most.

The key point was that a simple free fall couldn't possibly take down that Baduwan Tiger—it would only make it angrier.

"Roar!"

From within the rising dust, the enormous figure slowly stood up, erupting into a furious bellow.

The Baduwan Tiger charged out of the dust cloud, its blood already heated to its peak, its bodily functions greatly enhanced, its speed immense.

Those bestial eyes swept across the surrounding nobles, watching the "little snacks" scatter in panic, stirring the most primal hunting urge within the beast's heart.

It began rampaging through the stands, and the nobles' guards were utterly unable to stop the enraged beast. Chaos reigned in an instant.

At that moment, the entire arena was like a "tornado."

The outer ring of the wind was pure chaos, but at the center—the "eye of the storm"—it was especially calm.

The slaves, who had just been fleeing for their lives, now stared in shock at the spectator stands, momentarily at a loss for what was happening.

But after a brief silence, the cold explosion collars around their necks reminded them again that things seemed to be spiraling in an unpredictable direction!

Someone actually dared to cause trouble on the Sabaody Archipelago, even sending a beast to attack the nobles?!

What audacity!

The slaves turned their gazes to the man not far away, the one who had single-handedly created this "storm"—

Aiven Lindsey.

Just who in the world was he? And how far did he intend to let this storm spread?

"Ahahahaha!"

Lindsey clenched his fists, cheering on the nobles who had been scared out of their wits.

"Keep it up! You've watched so many matches—you should be pretty experienced at dealing with beasts by now!"

Mm.

The observing slaves confirmed it: he really did look like someone who just wanted to watch the world burn.

The only question was, how long would that calm and composure last?

Don't forget, this was the Sabaody Archipelago, directly under the World Government...

As expected, a sudden change occurred!

Just as Lindsey was getting into the spectacle, two flashes of cold light streaked across the spectator stands.

Two blades, one from the left and one from the right, flew in from a distance and stabbed directly into the Baduwan Tiger's body, burying most of their length inside!

"Roar!"

A searing pain struck, and the Baduwan Tiger let out a pained howl.

Who?

Who had hurt it?

It searched around but couldn't see a single trace of an enemy.

But in the next instant, two figures swiftly crossed the stands, leaped up, and landed on the Baduwan Tiger's back.

They wore black suits, their faces expressionless, their movements incredibly swift.

Each grabbed one of the two blades embedded in the tiger's back. One planted his foot on the tiger's head, while the other stood steady on its lower back.

Simultaneously, they stomped down hard, yanked the blades free from the Baduwan Tiger's body, then aimed at its neck and midsection, swinging the blades down in unison.

Shlash—

Thud!

Baduwan Tiger was instantly cleaved into three segments, blood spraying forth, soaking nearly half the viewing stand.

This sudden scene left the crowd frozen in place, and made Lindsey's smirk curl even higher, as if he were having even more fun.

"Still more experts?"

Lindsey beckoned to the two men in suits.

"Hey, you two, come down and play?"

"..."

Neither of the suited men replied, silently wiping the bloodstains from their blades.

This sight caught the eye of the nearby old nobleman, instantly stirring his displeasure. Utterly ignoring the life-saving grace he'd just received, he shouted, "You two are the arena guards? Why haven't you executed that slave yet?!"

"..."

The two still said nothing, yet they exuded an unimaginable pressure, like two killing machines yet to be activated.

The old nobleman's eyes were failing; he couldn't make out the specific attire of the suited men and tried to keep shouting.

But just then, another noble suddenly pulled the old man aside and whispered a few words.

The old nobleman's pupils instantly shrank, and he stammered, "It's... it's the CP people?!"

The CP Organization, full name CIPHER POL, was an intelligence agency under the World Government.

On the surface, there were eight organizations, CP1 through CP8, while in the shadows, special bodies like CP9 and CP0 existed.

For ordinary people, and even most nobles of small nations, the CP Organization represented the World Government itself!

Experts of this caliber rarely showed themselves openly, yet now they had appeared at the arena on Sabaody Archipelago—the implications were self-evident.

"..."

"Wororororo!"

A strange laugh rang out, and then from a private box on one side of the arena, a figure even more bizarre emerged.

He wore a white spacesuit, a bubble over his head to filter the air, and his face was piled with folds of fat, ugly and comical.

Of course, that last description could never be spoken aloud.

Because a person dressed like this belonged to only one category on this sea—

A Celestial Dragon!

The so-called "Celestial Dragons" were the descendants of nineteen of the twenty kings who founded the World Government eight hundred years ago. Claiming to be "descendants of the creators," they enjoyed every privilege and could be called the "nobles among nobles."

These people were the most arrogant on the sea, yet no one dared to provoke them.

Because once a Celestial Dragon Attack Incident occurred, a Marine Admiral or CP0 had to be dispatched for protection.

No one expected that an actual Celestial Dragon would suddenly appear in this arena!

Or perhaps he had been here all along, watching the matches, and only ordered his men to act when the commotion in the stands grew too great.

"Wororororo, this old man loves spirited young people!"

The Celestial Dragon waved his hand, and the two suited men returned to his side, keeping constant vigilance.

The Celestial Dragon introduced himself, "This old man is called Saint Ecowina. Are you interested in becoming my guard?"

A Celestial Dragon's name was usually followed by the character "Saint."

At the same time, what stunned the crowd was that this Celestial Dragon was actually extending an invitation to Aiven Lindsey, the one who had caused the great disturbance.

"This old man loves the strong, and loves watching them fight even more!"

Saint Ecowina raised his hands high, excited. "Don't worry, I won't put an explosion collar on you. And as long as you're strong enough, you can do whatever you want on this sea!"

"..."

At these words, even the haughty nobles couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

They didn't know what incredible luck the troublemaker had stumbled into, but a chance to rise to the heavens was truly right before his eyes!

Meanwhile, Aiven Lindsey fell into thought, as if considering Saint Ecowina's proposal.

After mulling it over, Lindsey suddenly lifted his head and asked, "You say I can do whatever I want? What exactly can I do?"

"Wororororo, of course, do whatever you please!"

Saint Ecowina laughed strangely. "Money, women, status—you'll have everything you want!"

"If you feel like it, even tearing down this arena won't get you a word of complaint!"

"What's this so-called Great Pirate Era? Before a Celestial Dragon, it's just a game of common rabble!"

"..."

When the words ended, Lindsey did not answer immediately.

He simply looked up at the Celestial Dragon and murmured in reply:

"But those benefits you mentioned—I can already achieve them on my own, can't I?"

Saint Ecowina: "..."

He stood frozen in place, unable to fathom that anyone on this sea would dare refuse a Celestial Dragon's invitation.

But then, Lindsey suddenly spread his arms wide and laughed loudly:

"Everything you can give me, I already have. Looks like you Celestial Dragons aren't all that impressive after all!"

The words had barely left his mouth when, in an instant, Saint Ecowina's face turned incomparably dark!