The Unlucky King, Ryan Sets Sail Again

"Do you really not want anything?" the king asked again.

Ryan impatiently shook his head. "Enough with the nonsense."

The king immediately fell silent.

"Take the things we want to the harbor next." Ryan glanced at the king and continued, "You'll come with us. We'll release you once we set sail."

"Of course, of course." The king hurriedly agreed.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get it done! Didn't you hear the Bloody Swordsman?" the king berated them angrily.

The king was not nearly so patient with other people. After all, among the successive kings of the Goth Kingdom, this king ranked near the top in brutality.

The ministers below immediately went to carry out his orders.

And so, Ryan left the royal palace with the king, followed by the royal guards and the supplies that had already been prepared.

Ryan did not take them seriously, however. The king's life was still in his hands.

As they passed through the palace gates, Lory hurriedly came to meet them.

Seeing that only Kid and Killer had suffered minor injuries while Ryan and Beli were completely unharmed, Lory finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She patted her chest and said, "It's good that you all got out safely!"

Watching Lory pat her chest, Ryan worried that she might actually flatten it.

When she saw the king, Lory asked in confusion, "Ryan, who is he?"

"The king of the Goth Kingdom," Ryan said indifferently.

"The... king?"

Had they gone to rescue someone and kidnapped the king along the way?

"Let's go. I'll explain on the way."

Only then did Lory notice the royal guards following behind Ryan and the others.

Following Ryan really was exciting! Kidnapping a king was something she would never even have dared imagine before.

Lory secretly resolved to continue adventuring with Ryan and the others.

After returning to their lodgings, Beli and the others packed up the supplies they had bought the previous day. Then the group headed toward the harbor in grand fashion.

When they reached the harbor, several workers recognized Ryan as he passed.

Some of them discussed it among themselves. "Isn't that the young man who came here with more than a thousand people a few days ago?"

"He's making just as grand an exit. I wonder who they are." Several people began guessing at Ryan and the others' identities.

"They might be some great noble."

"No, I think one of them is probably a prince. Just look at how imposing the soldiers behind them are!"

At that moment, the king, held at swordpoint by Ryan, saw a group of commoners commenting on him and revealed a savage expression. A trace of killing intent radiated from him as well.

Ryan was extremely sensitive to killing intent, so he saw the king's savage expression clearly.

The people could not recognize the king being held hostage by Ryan. After all, as people living at the bottom of society in this city, divided into an inner city and an outer city, when would they ever have a chance to come into contact with the king?

As for Ryan, they knew him even less. Were they really going to spend their hard-earned money buying those worthless wanted posters?

By the time Ryan and the others reached the harbor, the minister had finally arrived at the royal palace with the captain of the guard, Pofitas.

Looking at the silent royal palace, the minister stood in the wind, utterly bewildered.

Not a single person could be seen at the Seventh Prince's residence. Only the people still lying there and the blood on the ground proved that a battle had taken place.

Pofitas looked at the people still lying on the ground, and a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. "Interesting. Conqueror's Haki."

The minister beside him felt extremely uncomfortable at Pofitas's smile.

Although he had not met Pofitas many times, in his impression, Pofitas always wore a cold expression.

Now, Pofitas's smile looked as though someone had forcibly pried the corners of his mouth apart.

"Father was captured by them. I think you said they were heading toward the harbor." A young boy's voice came from behind them.

"Jarvan?" The minister turned around and saw a boy of about seven or eight standing there.

"It's me," the boy said timidly.

Normally, a bastard like him held a status in the royal palace only slightly higher than that of a servant.

Moreover, as the king's bastard son, he was often bullied by some of the princes and princesses. Thus, Jarvan rarely even had the chance to interact with the minister, let alone speak to him like this.

The boy was clearly extremely uncomfortable.

Jarvan was the son of the king and a maidservant. Because of his impure bloodline, he had never even seen the king after birth. As an admirer of the Celestial Dragons, the king was naturally a staunch supporter of bloodline theory.

After all, Jarvan shared his blood, so the king could not bring himself to kill him. But Jarvan could never become a prince and stand in the light, because his mother was a maidservant.

Thus, Jarvan had lived in the royal palace from childhood under this unusual identity. He had been bullied ever since he was young, which had given him a timid personality in the eyes of outsiders.

"What did you just say? Tell me everything you know." The minister's words interrupted Jarvan, who was still dazed.

Jarvan told the minister everything he had seen and heard. He had been watching from a distance when it happened, and no one present had noticed the eight-year-old boy.

After hearing him out, the minister hurriedly set off for the harbor with Pofitas.

At the harbor, the fine wine, treasured swords, and money brought out of the royal palace were all loaded onto the ship.

There were simply too many supplies, so Ryan had to abandon the ship that had carried them all the way from Baterilla to the Goth Kingdom.

There was nothing he could do. His previous ship was too small to hold so many supplies.

Looking at the dozen or so crates of fine wine, dozens of treasured swords, and the mountain of money, Beli and the others all wore excited expressions.

Beli said, "There's enough wine here for Ryan and me to drink for a month."

Killer said, "Mother won't have to worry about me being unable to practice swordsmanship because I don't have a sword anymore."

Kid said, "Ryan was right. How much money can you get robbing commoners? Isn't robbing the royal palace much better?"

"Now can you let me go?" an untimely voice reached everyone's ears.

"Beli, get on the ship and set sail first. I'll catch up with you," Ryan told Beli and the others.

"All right. Be careful."

With that, Beli led Kid and the others onto the ship without the slightest hesitation, as though they already knew what Ryan was about to do.

After Beli's ship gradually sailed away, the king bowed and scraped. "You can let me go now, right?"

"Sure!"

The king was overjoyed when he heard that. Then, in the next second, he discovered that his head had separated from his body.

His final expression was one of disbelief, as though asking why.

Seeing the expression on the king's face before his death, Ryan said softly, "Who told you to show killing intent toward those commoners?"

"Stop!" A voice came from the distance. It was Pofitas.

Pofitas had arrived at just the right moment. He had only just reached the harbor when he saw Ryan kill the king.

Ryan also saw Pofitas and sensed his aura.

Because he had practiced breathing techniques and gradually combined them with Observation Haki, Ryan was exceptionally sensitive to people's auras.

He immediately made a judgment. This is an expert no weaker than me.

Seeing Pofitas charging toward him, Ryan had no intention of getting entangled. He grabbed the king's head from the ground and threw it at Pofitas before leaping into the sea and swimming toward Beli and the others.

Ryan was confident that Pofitas could not catch him. After all, he was a swimming champion who had trained for two years. His opponent could not possibly defeat him in the field of swimming.

Pofitas caught the king's head, his face filled with grief.

Although he had never liked the king, the king had once saved him when he should have died at sea.

Now that his savior had been killed right before his eyes, Pofitas could do only one thing: find Ryan, kill him, and avenge the king.

Just as Pofitas was about to chase after the already distant Ryan, the late-arriving minister grabbed him.

"Lord Pofitas, you won't catch him even if you go after him now. Take care of the king's funeral first."

Pofitas thought about it and realized the minister was right. Given his swimming speed in the sea, it was impossible for him to catch Ryan. From Ryan's movements, it was obvious that he had trained specifically for this.

Meanwhile, the minister was thinking, The king is dead. The remaining three princes will certainly fight over the throne. Whom should I support?

As the king's most trusted confidant, the minister controlled considerable forces, on top of the power held by his own family.

Basically, whichever prince he supported would become the next king.

For some reason, the minister suddenly thought of the little boy he had encountered in the royal palace—the timid eight-year-old Jarvan.

At that moment, Jarvan was still in the royal palace, unaware that an enormous opportunity was about to descend upon him.