Inside the arena.
The air boiled as two burly men fought to the death in the center.
The stands were filled with the roars of the crowd.
"Get him! Cut him down!"
"I bet fifty thousand Beli on you! Don't make me lose face!"
In the front-row seats, a butcher in an apron roared with a flushed face.
"Not bad! That ticket was worth every Beli!"
Among the crowd not far away.
The old man from the antique shop narrowed his eyes as he watched the battle.
Several gamblers beside him anxiously waited for his judgment.
"Old man, how much are we putting down this round?"
"Hmm..." The old man stroked his beard.
"This round, let's put down five hundred Beli to test the waters. No rush."
The moment he finished speaking, the situation in the arena abruptly changed.
The whites of the burly man on the right rolled up, and he crashed to the ground.
The referee rushed into the arena and began the count. "Ten, nine, eight..."
By the time he counted to three, the burly man had stopped moving.
"Winner—Baco!"
Cheers, curses, and the sound of banknotes being torn apart blended into one.
On the balcony beside the podium, third-in-command Samuel rose to his feet.
"Brothers! Let's applaud the fighters for their splendid performance!"
Bang bang bang bang—!
Dozens of ceremonial cannons around the arena fired at once, bursting across the clear noon sky.
Below the stands, several reporters carrying cameras were busy capturing footage.
"Did you get a close-up?"
"Got it! Perfect angle!"
"Good." The reporter swept his gaze across the stands. "Next, let's find some residents to interview... Hmm?"
His gaze settled on a figure seated toward the right side of the front row.
The person was very quiet, with striking white hair and uniquely shaped black wings on his back.
"That resident is dressed rather strangely."
The reporter's eyes lit up. "Come on, let's ask what he thought of it!"
The group shouldered their cameras and squeezed their way over.
Lin Nuo did not notice the reporters approaching him.
His gaze was fixed on the three iron cages behind the podium.
The people locked inside were exactly the ones he had been searching for day and night: Ivankov, Kuma, and Ginny.
It seemed the plan could not keep up with the changes.
Lin Nuo's heart sank.
They had actually brought the most important "prizes" to the competition venue and placed them in the most conspicuous spot.
This is going to keep me busy.
Lin Nuo took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked toward the fireworks that had yet to fade from the sky.
Among those fireworks, a few were particularly conspicuous.
They flew faster and higher, and exploded far more violently.
The corner of Lin Nuo's lips curled upward.
The signal had come. Moria and the others should already be in position.
Now, it was time for him to make his entrance.
He rose to his feet, ready to act.
Just then, the reporters squeezed their way in front of him.
"Sir! Sorry to bother you, but what did you think of that match just now?"
"What did I think?" Lin Nuo glanced at him.
"The match has only just begun."
Before his words had even faded, Lin Nuo kicked off the ground and leaped out of the stands!
"Huh?! Sir! Wait—!"
The reporters were dumbfounded.
They saw only a dark silhouette streak through the air before landing in the center of the arena in the blink of an eye.
The entire venue fell silent for a moment.
Tens of thousands of eyes turned in unison toward the uninvited intruder who had suddenly appeared.
The referee was the first to react. "Hey! You! Registration isn't here!"
"Spectators aren't allowed in the arena! Get the hell back—"
Without turning around, Lin Nuo flicked an admission ticket behind him.
"I don't have time for the preliminaries."
He raised his head and looked directly at the three men on the podium.
"So let's go straight to the championship match."
"You three bosses, come at me together."
Silence lasted for three seconds.
Then, the entire venue erupted into an uproar!
Inside the cage on the podium, Ivankov's whole face was pressed against the bars.
"Th-that is!" He narrowed his eyes, his purple afro flaring up.
"Ha—! Isn't that Lin Nuo?! What is he doing here?!"
Ginny's eyes went wide. "Lin Nuo?!"
"The Lunarian from God Valley?"
"Kuma, look!"
Hearing that, Kuma slowly raised his head as well.
The Seastone had left him extremely weak, but when his gaze focused on the figure in the arena.
A gleam of surprise immediately burst from his exhausted eyes.
In the arena, the referee was so furious that his face turned purple.
"You are permanently banned! Get out of—"
Before he could finish, he slammed into a stone wall twenty meters away with a boom.
"Damn it, he really came here to wreck the place!"
On the podium, second-in-command Karim shot to his feet.
He planted one foot on the railing and leaped down from the podium over ten meters high.
"You reckless little brat—!! Take this!"
With an angry roar, Karim plummeted from midair, driving a fist toward Lin Nuo's head!
Lin Nuo raised his left hand and spread his fingers.
Fist and palm collided, and the shockwave kicked up a cloud of dust!
"What?!"
A punch powerful enough to pierce an iron plate had been caught with one hand?!
Karim raised his head and met those brown eyes.
And in Lin Nuo's right hand, a mass of blazing flames rose and twisted wildly!
"Flame Emperor!!"
Lin Nuo launched a heavy uppercut from below, smashing it into Karim's jaw!
Fire wrapped around his fist and erupted in an instant!
Boom!!!
Karim's eyes rolled white as his entire body flew upward, shooting dozens of meters into the air.
At last, he became a tiny black dot and vanished from everyone's sight.
The gang members and spectators alike were petrified.
He flew away?
The second-in-command had been sent flying out of the arena!!?
Samuel staggered back two steps, his face pale.
If this guy could send Karim flying with one punch, that meant he could smash him to pieces with one punch too!
"Big brother, who the hell is he?!"
"When did our gang ever make an enemy like this? I have absolutely no memory of it!!"
Sarez's face darkened, but he gave no answer.
He had not expected this...
Everything Hawk said was true... Someone from the Navy really had come to settle the score with them...
But there had been no sign of warships near the coast...
And before leaving the service, he had never heard of anyone like this...
Just as Sarez pondered the intruder's identity, a burst of shouting suddenly reached his ears.
"Beat him! Kick his ass!!"
"Lin Nuo! That's it! Beautiful—!!!"
Sarez slowly turned his head.
In the cage beside him, Ivankov was dancing with excitement.
Ginny clung to the bars, her little face flushed as she waved her fists fiercely.
When the two noticed Sarez staring at them, they quickly covered their mouths, shrank back into the corner, and pretended nothing had happened.
"Samuel." His voice was low.
"B-big brother?"
"Take the brothers and leave immediately. Go to the harbor and mobilize every ship that can move."
"Why? Aren't we still working for the Celestial Dragons? Those goods—"
"Enough." Sarez cut him off.
"Hurry up and organize the men."
"For now, I'll hold off this uninvited guest."
Before you continue