I Didn't Come to This World to Be Imu's Dog

Bartholomew Kuma had not seen the master who had taken such good care of his family of three for several months, and he missed him dearly.

Logically, as a slave, behaving like this and daring to take the initiative to speak to a Celestial Dragon was already a grave crime. Yet the servants of the Jaygarcia Family around them turned a blind eye, showing no surprise whatsoever.

Because they had long since grown used to this over the past few years.

For some reason, Saint Vikengam seemed exceptionally fond of Bartholomew Kuma, this fighting slave. Sometimes, when he was in a good mood, he even allowed Kuma to sit at the table and eat with him. In Mary Geoise, that was simply unheard of.

But Saint Vikengam was a Celestial Dragon, and one deeply favored by Saint Saturn. Naturally, no one would be foolish enough to offend him over such trivial matters.

"Oh, my loyal little Kuma, you seem even stronger than when I left. Very good. No one bullied you these past few months, did they?" Vikengam asked teasingly, a smile on his face.

Just as mentioned before, because Saint Saturn favored him, his younger family member, few people in Mary Geoise refused to give Vikengam face. So even though he had left the Holy Land for several months, no one had deliberately come looking for trouble with Bartholomew Kuma. After all, Kuma rarely left Vikengam's chambers.

After casually chatting with Kuma for a few moments, Vikengam turned to his family's butler, Alfred.

"Ah Fu, you contacted me a few days ago and said that God's Knights had sent an invitation?" Vikengam asked.

Butler Ah Fu answered respectfully, "That is correct, Young Master. You turned eighteen this year. According to tradition, you have reached the age to participate in the study tour and hunting competition. This year happens to be the once-every-three-years occasion. God's Knights have already sent the relevant invitation to the family. To ensure that you would not miss this grand event, I contacted you several days ago to inform you."

The head of the Jaygarcia Family was naturally the old man, Saint Saturn.

And the young master was, of course, Vikengam, whom Saint Saturn favored.

By blood, he belonged to the Jaygarcia Family's direct line, making his status even more distinguished.

In terms of family standing, he ranked second within the Jaygarcia Family. Even the other Celestial Dragons in the family, including collateral-line uncles, held lower status than him and did not dare provoke him.

As for Vikengam's father, the direct-line heir of the previous generation, he was already dead. No one knew what had been wrong with the old man's body, but he had been unable to produce an heir. It was not until he was seventy-six that he had Vikengam, his first child, with his eighty-sixth "mortal" wife.

Perhaps he had been too excited, because he died the following year. Afterwards, a large group of wives with no special status had been buried alongside him.

At that time, Vikengam had not yet transmigrated—or rather, his past-life memories had not yet awakened. After all, he had only gained his current consciousness when he was three.

So, simply put, by the time his consciousness awakened, both his parents were already dead. Naturally, he felt no attachment to them.

By comparison, he had a closer bond with Saint Saturn, who had favored him since childhood. Even though he knew perfectly well that Saint Saturn was no kindly old grandfather, but a ruthless figure who could be called a vicious villain.

"I see." Vikengam nodded, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.

It was now Sea Circle Calendar 1484, thirty-eight years before the future era. This was precisely the first year of the God Valley Incident!

Receiving an invitation to participate in the competition at this time was no different from receiving a ticket for a sightseeing trip to hell.

As Vikengam pondered this, Butler Ah Fu spoke with a hint of anticipation, his tone full of yearning. "With your talent, Young Master, and the family head's support, if you perform even slightly well during this study tour, you may receive an invitation from God's Knights and become one of God's Blades. You might even enter the Knights in the future and become a Blade Bearer!"

Vikengam's brows furrowed slightly at those words, but he said nothing.

Seeing this, Ah Fu, who had been about to say more, immediately swallowed his next words and did not dare speak out of turn.

Although he had served as the Jaygarcia Family's butler for many years and had once been trusted by the family's Celestial Dragons, he knew very well that he was merely a servant of the Jaygarcia Family. If he displeased the young master, he could be executed at any moment, and no one would speak a word for him.

Vikengam did not possess any particularly severe moral obsession. Otherwise, Mary Geoise would have twisted him into a madman long ago.

It could even be said that he did not seem especially unconventional in Mary Geoise. At the very least, compared to Saint Homing of the Donquixote Family, he already carried himself very much like a Celestial Dragon.

From an outsider's perspective, he was not exactly a good person either.

He had known from the very beginning that this was a world where the strong devoured the weak. Even as one of the supposedly noble Celestial Dragons, without sufficient power, he could still be devoured or killed.

During the soon-to-arrive God Valley Incident, quite a few Celestial Dragons would face life-threatening danger, and some would even die because of it.

Therefore, he understood clearly that if he did not want to be devoured, he had to become a beast that devoured others. Killing was unavoidable.

So, when he was six, he had chosen to kill people himself as practice, tempering his mind so that he would not hesitate, reveal weakness, or make a fool of himself when he needed to kill in the future.

Over that one week, he had used different methods and weapons to kill fourteen slaves in Mary Geoise.

That said, he was not so depraved as the vast majority of Celestial Dragons, who had no moral bottom line. Every slave he had used for practice was a genuine criminal—pirates who had slaughtered countless people, violent thugs, and the like.

Though later, he had also killed several servants he found displeasing. That was one of the reasons Ah Fu feared him.

At the same time, when he had personally ended the first life of another person across both his lives, he had already prepared himself mentally for the possibility that one day he would be outmatched and killed by someone else.

This world was beautiful and cruel. If one refused to become a lamb and wished to become a beast, then one had to place one's life upon the scales and gamble for the future one desired. Those who killed would eventually be killed in turn. It was only fair.

If he died, there was nothing more to say. He could only blame himself for not being good enough.

It was precisely because of this mindset, along with his other qualities, that Saint Saturn had taken notice of him.

As for this so-called study tour, it was a carnival for beasts, something Vikengam, who still possessed some sense of morality, despised. But given his current circumstances, he was in no position to stop it. Even refusing the invitation would be inappropriate.

Moreover, Saint Saturn had mentioned this matter before, so Vikengam still had to participate.

It was not only the study tour. As Ah Fu had said, Saint Saturn also hoped that Vikengam would take the path of joining God's Knights.

Of course, Vikengam had no intention of joining God's Knights. Once he joined them, he would become part of Lord Imu's inner circle, and he would have to enter into a Deep-Sea Contract.

Once that contract was formed, Vikengam could only obediently serve as Lord Imu's dog. Any hint of negligence could cost him his life.

He had finally come to this world, not to become Imu's dog, one that could be killed or spared at whim. God's Knights were simply not among his options.

And if he remained in the Holy Land, then given Saint Saturn's intentions, he would inevitably be pushed further down that path. Saint Saturn might favor him to some extent, but ultimately, he was merely a promising chess piece in the old man's hand. Having him join God's Knights and secure a measure of authority on his behalf was likely Saint Saturn's current "arrangement" for him.

And right now, Vikengam had no way to contend with Saint Saturn's will in the Holy Land.

So it was time to leave.

God Valley... that enormous mystery that has stirred my curiosity... the Void Century, huh... the Roger Pirates... this is the perfect opportunity. Vikengam thought to himself.

Soon, a group of people escorted Vikengam to the front of Pangaea Castle.

He was going to see the old man of his family, Saint Saturn, and report on the results of this training expedition.

Officials from the World Government had clearly been waiting in Pangaea Castle for quite some time. They respectfully welcomed Vikengam inside.

As a younger relative favored by Saint Saturn, he had naturally met all five of the Five Elders.

But clearly, the other four had no intention of dealing with him today. Vikengam was not being taken to the Five Elders' shared office, the Room of Authority.

Instead, he was headed to Saint Saturn's private residence within Pangaea Castle.

Come to think of it, the old man rarely returned to the Jaygarcia Family's residence. Most of the time, he lived in Pangaea Castle.

Perhaps it was more convenient for serving Lord Imu?

The other four Five Elders mostly did the same.

That was why most Celestial Dragons never had the chance to meet these five figures who held the highest power in public.

After knocking lightly on the door, he quickly received a response from inside, telling him to enter.

It was not his first time here. Vikengam strode into the room calmly and closed the door behind him.

Compared to the vastness of the Room of Authority, this place was much smaller, but it was no less luxurious. The finest luxuries from all around the world were utterly unremarkable here, as though they naturally belonged in this place.

At the same time, Vikengam saw the old man seated on the sofa, holding a cup of fragrant black tea and savoring it slowly—Jaygarcia Saturn Saint.