Prince stood before Barlow, his towering beast-like black silhouette completely shrouding the kneeling man.
He slowly drew back his scorpion tail. Segmented carapace scraped against itself with a series of fine clicks, while the venom sac at the tip trembled faintly behind his shoulder.
He looked down at Barlow. The man who had chased him from Katya to Alubarna, from the royal palace into the depths of the desert; the man Prince had repeatedly knocked down with his scorpion tail and pincers but who had never stayed down, was now kneeling on one knee, bracing himself on his broken sword. Blood streamed from his temple and dripped onto the scorched gravel.
Prince extended his right pincer, its tip pointed upward. The inviting gesture was exactly the same as it had been minutes ago, but this time, his voice was softer and slower, as though he were using the last of his patience to coax a lost child home.
"Have you thought it through, Barlow? Don't let petty gains blind you anymore. You're a merchant. You know how to calculate accounts, so let me do the math for you."
"You helped Nefertari hold Alubarna. What can that stingy old fossil possibly give you?"
"A few trade routes? A few port franchises? How much could all that possibly be worth? How many years would it sustain your trading company's expansion?"
"But if you join me—"
He raised his left pincer as well. Both pincers stretched high toward the sky, and his eyes beneath the headplate reflected the dazzling midday sunlight. It seemed as though two flames burned within his pupils.
"If you stand with me and let me guide you, we'll seize Pluton, overthrow the World Government, and rewrite this world's rules! I'll lead you to forge an entirely new world!"
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