Category: A Man Like None Other

Chapter 932 Heaven Devouring Beast

Fresh blood spewed out from the mouths of the three men and splattered everywhere on the ground, forming the shape of a round disc.

Simultaneously, they had one of their arms broken off. The excruciating pain left their faces contorted into an ugly scowl.

Blood gushed out from their broken arm, and they rhythmically portrayed it into a pattern.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suddenly, the ground under their feet began to shake. Layers after layers of thick fog began to rise, and as they faded into the sky, a humongous silhouette appeared before Jared.

“What the hell is this?” Jared involuntarily took a deep breath and gulped.

The gigantic beast was several meters tall and had an especially odd appearance with its razor-sharp fangs sticking out of its mouth. No one could tell what animal it was.

Sniffing the blood splattered on the ground, it opened its mouth and gobbled one of the three black-clothed men without hesitation.

Scared senseless by the horrifying scene, the other two stood rooted on the spot, paralyzed.

All they could do was watch each other getting devoured by that beast.

Only then did Jared fully understand what Ichiro had meant by the word “offering”—the latter wanted the trio to sacrifice their lives to lure that monstrous animal out to deal with him.

“You’ve made me summon the Heaven Devouring Beast out. I’ll spare you no mercy today…” Ichiro clenched his jaws in fury.

He knew well that even if he managed to kill Jared and the others, he would still receive punishment when he returned for having sacrificed the lives of the three priests of the Watanabe family.

Even as the young master of the family, there was no way he would be able to escape the punishment awaiting him.

Nonetheless, that was not Ichiro’s top priority for now. At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind—to send Jared to hell.

Roar…

Despite having swallowed the three cloaked men, the Heaven Devouring Beast fixed its bloodshot eyes on Jared, seemingly as if it had yet eaten anything.

Jared’s expression darkened at once. His frown deepened as he stared intently at the Heaven Devouring Beast right before his eyes.

It seems like this is a Fifth Level Heaven Devouring Beast. I’m afraid it’ll be quite a challenge to deal with it.

One had to note that such beasts were very different from martial artists. Those beasts were so much more powerful, be it in terms of strength or toughness.

A Fifth Level Beast versus a Fifth Level Martial Arts Grandmaster—the winner would be the former without a doubt.

The golden hue surrounding Jared continued glistening as he maximized the potential of his Golem Body. Faced with such a giant ferocious creature, he dared not act too recklessly.

“Roar…” With an ear-splitting roar, the Heaven Devouring Beast swiftly pounced toward Jared.

With the speed of lightning, it appeared right before the man. He hesitated no further to slash his Dragonslayer Sword out, which landed straight on the beast’s thigh.

Sparks ignited from friction spouted into the atmosphere. Jared failed to inflict harm on the Heaven Devouring Beast with his strike. On the contrary, the beast managed to send a heavy smack on the man’s chest.

At that, he was instantly sent crashing into a huge tree not far away.

The man’s brows scrunched up as he rubbed his chest.

Had he not had the protection of his Golem Body, he would have been mangled into pulp in the attack a few seconds ago.

Seeing how Jared had no chance to retaliate in front of the Heaven Devouring Beast, Ichiro was so thrilled that he yelled, “Devour him! Devour him whole!”

“Roar!” The Heaven Devouring Beast charged toward Jared again.

Recognizing the situation, he no longer had the guts to persist in the confrontation. Instead, he concentrated his spiritual energy at his feet and tried his best to keep pace with the beast.

But given its speed and unyielding pursuit, Jared knew he would eventually exhaust the spiritual energy in his body if that went on.

By then, he might really become the Heaven Devouring Beast’s meal.

While anxiousness started to well up in Jared’s chest, a white figure swept past his eyes. Then, the beast’s agonizing squeals reverberated through the air.

Jared hastily stopped and turned around to look. Yet, that one look had left him stumped.

Chapter 931 Offering

Ichiro wanted to use his backup to stall Andrew so that he would have the opportunity to kill Jared.

Upon receiving Ichiro’s command, the samurais whipped out their swords and ran toward the members of the Department of Justice as well as the men Andrew brought along.

“Andrew, deal with those samurais. I’ll handle Ichiro,” Jared said frantically to Andrew.

Since Andrew’s subordinates had just cured and had yet to regain their powers, the only way out was for Shane to lead the members of the Department of Justice to go up against those samurais. Being mindful of that, Jared was worried Shane would be in danger and, hence, decided to send Andrew to help them out.

Andrew gave Jared a look, yelled a furious bellow, then lunged himself toward those samurais.

Meanwhile, Jared threw his frosty gaze toward Ichiro and uttered, “I shall let you have a taste of my Nine Shadows now…”

As soon as those words rang out, an incredible glowing aura flushed out from within him. It was so bright and dazzling it resembled the blazing sun in the sky. In contrast, the rays those three black-clothed samurais reflected were less intense and overwhelming.

“The first technique, Colossal Sword Energy…”

Jared slowly lifted his Dragonslayer Sword, which quivered a little before slicing through the air. The immense glaring glow of the weapon obscured the entire sky, then aggressively bolted toward Ichiro.

Astounded, Ichiro hurriedly pulled his sword and charged forward.

Clang!

An intense fire shot up into the sky as the two swords clashed against each other.

Ichiro almost lost his grip on the sword as he felt a sharp pain in his hand.

“Now, River Cutter…”

Jared swayed his sword again. This time, it was a lot more powerful, and the glaring sheen of the blade was much more blinding.

Ichiro’s face paled of all colors, but before long, he gritted his teeth and charged forward again.

Crack…

This time, Ichiro only felt a heavy blow on his body. Visible crack lines began to form on the sword in his grip, and soon after, it shattered into pieces.

“H-how is that even possible? How did you know Nine Shadows?” An incredulous expression appeared on Ichiro’s face.

“Nine Shadows isn’t the only technique I know. I have a good knowledge of your Nine Shadow Clones too…”

With that, Jared split himself into two, then three, and four…

He had only come to a stop after replicating his sixth clone.

Six identical Jareds stood right before Ichiro’s eyes.

“No way. That’s impossible. How did you do that?” Ichiro howled in terror. “That’s insane speed to have six shadow clones at once. I’ve practiced for 20 years but could only get four shadow clones. Just three days, and you’ve achieved that? That’s impossible…”

He was practically fuming. As much as he reckoned that the sight before his eyes was real, he could not bring himself to believe it. It was too big of a blow to him.

Though such clones were all just falsehoods and were harmless, they were particularly effective at confusing opponents. In fact, they could even aid in defeating enemies without launching an attack.

That was how Ichiro almost exhausted Andrew to death back then in the arena.

“Nothing is impossible…” Jared displayed a casual smile.

“So, do you want to kill yourself, or do you want me to take action?”

The corners of Ichiro’s eyes twitched. “Do you think I’ll bow and accept defeat just like that?” he spat through his gritted teeth.

Next, he turned to the three cloaked men behind him and muttered, “Offering…”

Immense shock and fear surged inside the trio when they heard what the man said.

“Mr. Watanabe…”

Helplessness and plea flashed in their eyes.

“Are you guys trying to go against me? Just think of your family…” Ichiro threatened.

The trio exchanged glances with each other while wobbling in fear. And in the next instance, they raised their palms and slammed their chests.

Chapter 930 I Have Backup

“That’s amazing speed… It seems like I was right about Nine Shadow Clones…”

A smile flashed across Jared’s face. He had been figuring out Ichiro’s Nine Shadows for the past few days, and he finally had some clues.

Thud!

Ichiro’s figure speedily breezed past and sent a forceful punch toward Jared.

However, the latter did not dodge and allowed the former to hit him as he wanted.

Jared’s body only shook a little but was completely unruffled.

Conversely, Ichiro felt a slight numbness spreading across his arm as he stood some distance away, staring at Jared.

“True enough, the faster your speed, the weaker your power. You failed to make a good balance between power and speed. Your so-called Nine Shadow Clones is merely you forsaking power for speed. Now that I see it, it’s extremely useless,” Jared scoffed at Ichiro.

Ichiro’s shadow clone was basically trying to cause an illusionary confusion in everyone’s eyes with its speed.

“Do you really think you’ve figured out the technique?”

With that said, Ichiro pulled out his lightweight sword. Its body was exuding a faint glint that was made stronger upon injection of martial energy, leaving the weapon buzzing.

“What is it? You’re already a loser. Are you still intending to use the same tactic on me?” A look of contempt glinted in Jared’s eyes. And with a swing of his arm, the Dragonslayer Sword appeared in his hand.

“Hmph! We’re not in the arena today. You’ve forgotten that I have backup…”

As Ichiro finished his sentence, the three black-clothed men ripped off their black robes, revealing their golden armor. Coupled with the face masks, they looked exactly like warriors.

Under the hot sun, the golden armor on their bodies gleamed malevolently, forming three visibly apparent rays that cast toward the sword in Ichiro’s clutch.

Hints of murderous intent became apparent on the weapon as the bouts of energy emitted from it skyrocketed.

Sensing the deadly aura surrounding Ichiro’s sword, the deeply unsettled Jared knitted his brows tightly.

“This time, you shall have a taste of my Nine Shadows…”

Just after Ichiro made that remark, he sprang into the air and extended his weapon at an angle, forming a terrifying beam leading toward Jared.

An inexplicable sense of danger bloomed in the latter. At once, the man swung the Dragonslayer Sword, which had flames rising from its blade, forward!

Boom! Boom!

As the two weapons clashed against each other, the strong impact sent Jared’s body flying across the air. And as though someone tossed a grenade on the island, a pit about ten meters deep was created from the collision, resulting in trees in the surrounding collapsing.

“J-Ja…” Andrew rushed forward to check on Jared’s condition.

Jared stood up, and despite looking utterly miserable and pitiful, he was unharmed.

“I didn’t know your body is that tough…” Seeing that Jared was not at all injured, Ichiro was dumbfounded.

“Ichiro, this is a competition. How dare you secretly bring along more help? You’re breaking the rules,” Andrew angrily chided Ichiro.

“Hahaha! What rules? I’ll be the victor when I kill all of you! The victor sets the rules…” Ichiro let out a hearty laugh.

“Don’t get too arrogant yet. With the two of us together, there’s nothing you can do even with backup.”

Following the furious growls, Andrew’s body gradually swelled in size, and hairs began growing on him at an immensely rapid speed.

He was about to transform into his optimal battle mode…

A frown formed between Ichiro’s brows. If Jared and Andrew gang up against me, I really won’t be able to handle them.

“What are you guys doing standing still? Get moving and kill them right away!” He turned to the samurais behind him and anxiously commanded.

Chapter 929 Fury Unleashed

“What should we do next? Ichiro is no match for our combined strength.”

With Jared’s help, Andrew knew that killing Ichiro would be a walk in the park.

“Your subordinates have also been poisoned. As Ichiro has the antidote, this is what we should do…” Jared laid out his plan.

Andrew’s eyes lit up upon hearing of it. Without any hesitation, he agreed with Jared.

“Andrew, what are you messing around for? Kill him!” Ichiro barked when he saw Andrew fighting a stalemate with Jared.

Just as Ichiro thundered, Jared roared, “Andrew, since you have lost your mind, forgive me for doing this!”

The next moment, a golden hue flashed from Jared’s fist as he launched it at Andrew.

From the looks of it, Jared had lost his patience. He no longer cared that Andrew was a Senerisian.

Boom!

With a rumble in the background, Andrew was sent flying toward where Ichiro was standing.

At the sight of Andrew being hit, Ichiro snapped, “You piece of shit, get up!”

Ichiro pulled Andrew up as he continued to hurl insults at the latter.

However, the moment Andrew got on his feet, he made his move. Reaching his hand into Ichiro’s chest, he pulled out a bag of white powder.

Ichiro was stunned by Andrew’s sudden action. By the time he regained his senses to attack, he ate a kick unleashed by Andrew, causing him to stagger a few steps back.

If not for the three masked men, Ichiro would have fallen onto the ground butt-first.

“Jared, check if this is the antidote?” Andrew asked as he handed the white powder over.

After taking a sniff, Jared nodded. “Quick, let your subordinates breathe this in.”

“All right!” Andrew hurriedly took the antidote and cast it at his subordinates.

Meanwhile, Ichiro was outraged by the scene.

“What’s going on? Wasn’t Andrew poisoned by the red spider lily from the beginning? Why is he suddenly awake? Why aren’t all of you poisoned?”

Ichiro furrowed his brows in confusion.

Smirking at Ichiro, Jared plainly explained. “I have seen through your plot from the very beginning. Even though the poison’s concentration was low, I still managed to detect it. Hence, I ordered my men to hold their breath the moment we landed. As for Andrew’s poison, I have cured him of it.”

“That’s impossible! Only I have the antidote to the red spider lily’s poison. There’s no way you can dispel it. I don’t believe you at all!” With that, Ichiro roared, “Release the poison, and kill all of them.”

Upon Ichiro’s instructions, the three masked men accelerated the pace of their chanting, causing the red spider lilies to emit a pink mist with greater intensity.

In response, Jared cast a spell with his hands and ignited two balls of dancing blue flames above his palms. After that, he hurled both of them at the red spider lilies.

Boom!

The moment the two blue infernos touched the pink mist, it exploded into a giant fireball, incinerating the flowers into ash.

With the red spider lilies destroyed, Ichiro flew into a rage for the flowers were the Watanabe family’s most prized treasure. Given that he had brought them there without their permission, he would definitely be punished upon his return.

Now that they were destroyed, Ichiro didn’t know how to explain it to his family.

“I’m going to kill you!” Ichiro roared as he charged at Jared in a split second.

Chapter 928 Wake Up

“Argh!” Andrew thundered. Even though he felt the urge to strike Ichiro again, the excruciating pain in his head caused him to collapse onto the ground.

Watching Andrew in agony, Ichiro cracked a slight smile. “My slave, I now order you to kill this man in front of me.”

Ichiro’s voice sounded as if it had come from the depths of hell, causing Andrew to fall silent at once. The next moment, the latter got to his feet and glared intently at Jared.

“Andrew…”

When he saw the look on Andrew’s face, Jared frowned as he swiftly backed off.

“Die…”

Andrew unleashed a powerful punch at Jared without holding back at all.

“Andrew, wake up!” Jared yelled anxiously while dodging at the same time.

He didn’t fight Andrew directly, for doing so would be playing into Ichiro’s hands.

Unfortunately, his pleas fell on deaf ears, as Andrew attacked relentlessly just like a rampaging beast.

Watching what was unfolding before him, a smug look descended upon Ichiro’s face.

“Don’t stop. Kill him! Kill him!” Ichiro pressed Andrew on with his mind control.

The barrage of punches Andrew launched at Jared was so fast that sonic booms rang out incessantly.

Jared had no choice but to avoid them like the plague, for a slight hesitation would cause him to be hit.

“Hahaha…”

When he saw the desperation on Jared’s face, Ichiro gloated in glee.

Just like an audience in the theater, Ichiro quietly watched as Jared and Andrew battled each other.

Bam!

All of a sudden, Andrew smashed his fist onto Jared’s chest, sending him crashing through a few trees before falling heavily onto the ground.

“Mr. Chance…”

“Mr. Chance…”

Just when Shane and the others wanted to join the fray, Jared stopped them, “Don’t move!”

As a result, the group could only wait where they were and wondered why Jared forbade them from helping.

After lending his punch, Andrew leaped into the air and came crashing down with a stomp of his feet.

Fortunately, Jared rolled to the side in the nick of time to avoid the attack, for Andrew’s stomp was so powerful that it left a crater in the ground.

The next moment, Andrew pulled out his leg and began unleashing his Iron Fists.

This time, Jared didn’t avoid them. Instead, he grabbed onto one of Andrew’s fists and sent a burst of spiritual energy into the latter’s mind through their connected arms.

As Andrew suddenly awakened, the red tint in his eye subsided, causing him to look at Jared in shock.

“Jared, I… I…” Andrew couldn’t remember what he had just wanted to say.

“Now it not the time for words.”

After giving Andrew a look, Jared stumbled backward and began to retreat as if he had been struck by Andrew’s attack.

With his fist caught within Jared’s palm, Andrew had no idea what Jared was up to. All he could do was allow himself to be pulled forward by the latter.

“Pretend to attack me. Don’t stop,” Jared whispered.

Andrew nodded slightly in acknowledgment. Even though he had no idea what that plan was, he chose to comply just because Jared told him to.

While both of them continued their fight, Jared used the opportunity to explain what was going on.

Upon learning that he was poisoned and had his mind controlled by Ichiro, Andrew’s eyes burned with rage and regret at the same time. After all, he had ignored Jared’s warning when they landed on the island earlier, which led him to fall into Ichiro’s trap.

Chapter 927 Losing Their Minds

Meanwhile, Jared gradually proceeded to the center of the island with his team. Soon, a group of men appeared to block their way.

When Jared saw them, he was surprised at the fact it was Ichiro and his team.

Shouldn’t they be heading to the center of the island to locate the crystal ball? Why are they here getting in our way?

At the sight of Ichiro, Andrew lunged forward and demanded, “Ichiro, what do you want?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Ichiro’s expression was filled with smugness while a murderous glint flashed in his eyes.

Sensing Ichiro’s overflowing murderous intent, Jared furrowed his brows. “Since you’re not on your way to retrieve Luminous Pearl, you must be here to stop us.”

“To hell with the pearl. Killing you would equally secure our victory. Don’t think that I’ll submit to you just because you beat me in the arena.”

Narrowing his gaze, Ichiro intensified the murderous aura he was exuding.

In response, Jared unleashed his own aura to meet it.

In the meantime, the members of the Department of Justice drew their weapons.

At Andrew’s signal, his men followed suit.

“Ichiro, do you think a loser like you can defeat the combined strength of both our teams?” Andrew sniggered.

“Haha, you fools! I don’t have to lift a finger to kill you at all. In fact, all I need to do is to get you to kill each other.”

Just as he spoke, the three cloaked men standing behind Ichiro began to chant their spell.

As the pace of their chanting increased, a pink mist began to envelop the entire island all of a sudden.

At the sight of the mist, Jared roared in dread, “Everyone, hold your breath!”

The moment the words left his mouth, Andrew’s subordinates began to scream in agony. One by one, they collapsed onto the ground and grimaced in agonizing pain.

When he saw what was happening to his men, Andrew was dumbstruck.

“Jared, wh-what’s going on?” he asked in shock.

“Andrew, are you all right?” Jared asked at the sight of Andrew’s men rolling on the ground in pain.

Andrew shook his head. The very next moment, his eyes were suddenly tinged with red as he launched a punch in Jared’s direction.

Struck in the chest by the surprise attack, Jared was sent flying tens of meters backward before crashing into a tree.

“Mr. Chance…”

“Mr. Chance…”

Shane, with the members of the Department of Justice, rushed over to help Jared up.

Subsequently, Jared furrowed his brows at Andrew, who then grabbed his own head and smashed it into a giant tree.

“Argh!” Andrew screamed. “Jared, kill me quickly! I can’t control myself!”

With the last sliver of his rational mind, Andrew desperately took back control of his body.

Watching the scene, Ichiro burst into ecstatic laughter. “Hahaha, it’s no use. Once you are poisoned by the red spider lily, no one else can cure you other than me. Therefore, you had better submit and do whatever I say.”

“You b*stard!”

Glowering at Ichiro, Andrew threw a punch in the former’s direction.

With a shuffle of his feet, Ichiro dodged the attack easily.

As for the three masked men, they accelerated their chanting. Given how powerful Andrew was, they needed more time to gain complete control over him.

Chapter 926 Red Spider Lilies

After sailing for a while, the cruise ship quickly arrived at the small island.

Although everyone had disembarked, the cruise ship remained anchored, for they only had one day’s time. Whoever was able to retrieve Luminous Pearl and return to the ship would be declared the winner.

Upon landing, Jared and his companions realized that it was a small island with scenery that blew them away. The size did make sense, for if the island was too big, they wouldn’t be able to complete their goal in a single day.

“Mr. Chance, the air here is so fresh that it feels great just breathing it in,” Shane remarked as he took a deep breath greedily.

Instead, Jared furrowed his brows after taking a gentle sniff.

“Captain Walsh, tell the men to hold their breath and recycle the air within their bodies as they advance,” Jared ordered.

Shane was stunned by Jared’s puzzling orders. Why do we need to hold our breath amidst such pleasant air?

Despite his doubts, he complied with Jared’s instructions and ordered his men to do the same.

Fortunately, no one was below the level of a Grandmaster. Therefore, they were capable of recycling the air within their body while holding their breath for a period of time.

“Andrew, get your men to hold their breaths.” Jared advised.

“Jared, what’s going on? Did you notice something?” Andrew asked inquisitively.

“I can feel that there’s something wrong with the air as if someone had tampered with it,” Jared explained with a frown.

“Tampered?” Andrew was briefly startled before breaking into a smile, “Jared, you’re being overly cautious. Given how big the island is, it’s impossible for the air to be tampered with.”

Andrew didn’t believe Jared at all.

No one is capable of meddling with the air on the entire island. How is this even possible?

Since Andrew didn’t believe him, Jared didn’t force the issue. Instead, he continued to vigilantly monitor the air on the island.

Meanwhile, Ichiro and his men marched swiftly toward the center of the island the moment they disembarked.

Now that Jared and his team had fallen behind, they seized the opportunity to advance.

At the same time, Andrew and his men stuck closely to Jared, with no intention of hiding the fact that they were in an alliance with each other.

As they moved deeper into the forest on the island, Jared grew increasingly troubled. And yet, he was unable to put his finger on what it was. Thus, the only thing he could do was increase his vigilance.

As for Ichiro, he had led his men into the hinterland of the island. Right at the center, a bunch of pink flowers was laid on the empty ground. There were three masked men in black cloaks chanting continuously amidst the flowers releasing a pink mist into the air.

When they saw Ichiro arrive, the cloaked men got up immediately and approached him, “Mr. Watanabe.”

“What is the progress? Have you released the red spider lilies’ pollen throughout the entire island?” Ichiro asked the three masked men.

“Mr. Watanabe, we have indeed filled the island with the pollen. However, so as to not arouse their suspicions, we have released a lower concentration of it at the edges of the island,” one of the cloaked men answered.

“Very good. You’ll be well rewarded when we get back.” Ichiro nodded in satisfaction.

“Thank you, Mr. Watanabe.” The three cloaked men knelt happily on the ground.

As for the warriors Ichiro brought with him, they reacted awkwardly upon learning that Ichiro had released the red spider lilies’ pollen across the island.

After all, the pollen was extremely poisonous. They were capable of causing hallucinations and driving their victims to insanity.

Given that Ichiro didn’t inform them of his plan ahead of time, all of them had inadvertently breathed in the pollen.

When he saw the faces of his subordinates, Ichiro grinned. “I have the antidote here. Hence, it doesn’t matter how much of it you have taken in.”

Just as he spoke, Ichiro cast a bunch of white powder at his men. In the blink of an eye, all of it was breathed into his warriors’ stomachs.

Chapter 925 Should You Be Asking This

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

At a particular harbor, a large crowd had gathered to watch the participants board the ship.

Meanwhile, many other teams had quit the competition. Consequently, only three teams remained for the team event. They were Chanaea, Seneris, and Jetroina.

Meanwhile, every member of the Department of Justice was all geared up. Holding weapons in their hands, all of them were in high spirits. The fact that Jared was their leader filled them with confidence.

When he saw how his men were smiling and feeling buoyant, Theodore felt an inexplicable sensation in his heart.

He knew the Jetroinians very well. They were cruel and had no regard for rules at all. In fact, there was barely any humanity in them.

Consequently, they had to have something up their sleeve the moment they proposed the team event.

“General Jackson, don’t worry. I’ll make sure all of them come back alive,” Jared reassured Theodore when he saw how worried he was.

“Our hopes are now placed in your hands.” That was the only thing Theodore could do now.

“General, with Mr. Chance on our side, we’ll definitely win,” Shane declared confidently, for all of them had seen the extent of Jared’s powers.

Since he had also defeated Ichiro, everyone was certain that they would be victorious in the team event.

However, Theodore didn’t comment because he wasn’t as optimistic as the rest. So as to not demoralize his men, he chose to remain silent instead.

“Jared, let’s go together.”

At that moment, Andrew led his men over, for he intended to sail there with Jared.

“Princess Anne?”

Theodore was baffled as to why Andrew led his men over and wanted to travel with Jared. Given that it was a team event, they were supposed to be competing against each other.

“General Jackson, I have ordered Andrew not to compete with you. All we’re looking for is to ally with you to annihilate the Jetroinians on the island so that they will never be able to return,” Anne explained to Theodore.

“Erm…” Theodore was stunned. “Princess Anne, isn’t it against the rules?”

“Why would it be? Once we’re on the island, no one is going to care about the rules anymore. Do you think the Jetroinians would stick to them?” Anne questioned aloud.

Theodore smiled in resignation, for he knew very well how dishonorable the Jetroinians were. In fact, the latter might have even laid traps and were just waiting for them to step in.

Now that Andrew had decided to battle Ichiro together with them, Theodore felt a meaningful sense of relief.

As the cruise ship’s horn blared, the three teams boarded it and set sail for the small island.

Even though there were many unknown dangers on the island, every participant carried a GPS tracker and a communications device. At any moment they were unable to continue, they could call it quits and someone would come to retrieve them.

Onboard the ship, Jared and his men chatted cordially with Andrew and his team. Only Ichiro and his group sat quietly by the side.

Meanwhile, a warrior holding a blade and dressed in samurai gear walked up to Ichiro and asked softly, “Sir, it looks like Chanaea and Seneris have formed an alliance. In that case, wouldn’t fighting two teams put us at a disadvantage?”

Observing how Jared and Andrew discussed with each other, Ichiro didn’t feel nervous at all. Instead, a devious glint flashed in his eye. “Since they intend to work together, just let them do it. When the time comes, no one will be able to leave the island.”

“Do you already have a plan, sir?” the warrior probed.

Ichiro was briefly stunned before replying coldly, “You fool! Is that something you should be asking?”

Faced with Ichiro’s anger, the warrior was terrified. He bowed to apologize at once. “I’m sorry for my mistake.”

Chapter 924 The Trial

The next day, Jared headed to Shadow Estate. He had not seen Leviathan ever since he swallowed the rejuvenating pill. Thus, he was unaware of how the latter’s recovery was coming along.

Other than checking on Leviathan, Jared had another objective. He wanted to ask Leviathan whether the latter had any ideas on how to excavate the ancient tomb he had discovered.

There was no way Jared could dig it up alone, let alone do so without anyone knowing.

Given that the Shadow Estate had been established for a long time, Jared wanted to seek Leviathan’s opinion on the matter.

“Mr. Chance…”

Upon Jared’s arrival, Leviathan greeted him personally by prostrating himself at the former’s feet.

However, Jared caught hold of him and quickly helped him up.

“How are you feeling now?” Jared asked.

“Mr. Chance, I have fully recovered and am back at the peak of my powers without any permanent side effects. It’s all thanks to the rejuvenating pill you have given me. Also, Col has told me everything,” Leviathan answered.

“I’m glad to hear that. The reason I came is that I need your advice on something.” Jared got straight to the point.

“Let’s talk inside then,” Leviathan ushered Jared into the house.

After the servants were dismissed, Jared and Leviathan were the only ones left in the room.

“My Lord, do you want to ask me about Ichiro? I heard that you beat him in the competition today, “ Leviathan asked.

Jared shook his head before telling Leviathan about the ancient tomb he discovered, giving the latter a shock.

After all, many specialists had searched the outskirts of Jadeborough but never found any ancient tombs, let alone an imperial mausoleum. Furthermore, if there truly was an ancient tomb nearby, the famous grave-robbing family, the Henckles, would have already found out about it.

“My Lord, are you sure that it’s an ancient tomb?” Leviathan reconfirmed.

“Without a doubt!” Jared nodded.

After falling into deep thought, Leviathan replied with an awkward expression, “My Lord, if you plan on excavating the tomb in secret, I’m afraid it’s close to impossible, for we are in Jadeborough. Given that it’s near other imperial tombs, any excavations would be easily noticed.”

In truth, Jared recognized the difficulty of the task because the tomb was located in a tourist area with heavy foot traffic. As a result, it was hard to carry out any clandestine actions.

“In that case, we’ll have to leave it for another day. Fortunately, I have used an arcane array to hide the tomb. Any ordinary person wouldn’t be able to find it,” Jared remarked in resignation.

“My Lord, we are forbidden from excavating imperial mausoleums such as this. Therefore, it’s useless even if you found one. Instead, you can use your discovery to obtain a place in this year’s Trial,” Leviathan suggested.

“Trial? What Trial?” Jared looked baffled.

“It’s an event organized by the government and the Warriors Alliance to improve the populace’s morale. They would pick a place where all the young martial artists could train,” Leviathan explained the annual Trial to Jared.

After listening to Leviathan, Jared’s interest was piqued. Not only could the event boost citizens’ morale but also reduce the conflicts among the prominent families.

Jared finally left after spending half a day at Shadow Estate. Considering how concerned Theodore was about the team event three days later, Jared focused his time on recovering, so that he would be in his peak condition and able to keep the members of the Department of Justice safe from any harm. Since many of them had gone through thick and thin with Theodore, he was naturally worried about their safety.

Chapter 923 A Difficult Path Ahead

As a result of exposing his true power, more people would pay attention to him. On top of that, the temptation posed by the draconic essence within him would further intensify.

After all, Jared’s power increased by leaps and bounds ever since he swallowed the draconic essence. Given that many witnessed the fact, they wouldn’t attribute his success to his own efforts. Instead, they believed it was all due to the essence.

“The path ahead has grown more difficult. Mom, I wonder how you are doing now?” Jared lamented softly while staring at the sky.

“Mr. Chance, what’s wrong?”

Theodore came over after noticing Jared sitting alone.

“Nothing.” Jared chuckled. “Why aren’t you drinking and making merry with them?”

Sitting by Jared’s side, Theodore handed him a cigarette.

Despite hesitating briefly, Jared took it in the end.

After Theodore lit it for him, Jared took a puff and began to cough intensely.

Chuckling at Jared’s reaction, Theodore lit one for himself and took a long deep puff before exhaling gradually.

“With regards to the team event three days later, I don’t know how many of us will be able to return,” Theodore remarked after taking another puff.

His words elicited a momentary silence from Jared, who replied, “I’ll do my best to bring all of them back.”

Theodore shook his head faintly, “Ichiro must have admitted defeat today with the team event in mind. Remember, he is truly a crafty one.”

Jared didn’t say anything further as he continued to smoke quietly.

Half an hour later, Jared returned to the banquet together with Theodore. There he found both Lyanna and Anne knocked out after many rounds of drinking.

Breaking into a helpless smile, he had no choice but to leave with Lyanna.

Meanwhile, inside a hotel near the Department of Justice, Ichiro watched the jubilant celebration with a grim expression.

“Mr. Watanabe, we have received a message from back home that ordered us to explain what happened today. What should I tell them?”

A man in a suit approached. He was the leader of the representatives from Jetroina. Even then, he didn’t dare disrespect Ichiro in any way.

Although Ichiro was defeated and admitted his loss on his knees, no one dared to mock him for it.

Back in Jetroina, the Watanabe family was so influential that even the royal family accorded them due respect.

“What’s there to explain? Explain how we lost? Just tell them that I lost on purpose so that none of the members of Chanaea’s team would leave the team event alive,” Ichiro declared coldly while staring at the leader.

“All right. I understand.”

The leader nodded before turning to leave.

“Wait!” Ichiro suddenly called out to him. “Did you prepare the thing I asked you to?”

Jolted by the question, the leader replied awkwardly, “Mr. Watanabe, we’re in Chanaea after all. If we get caught preparing the item you asked of me, all of us will be executed here.”

Ichiro scowled, “Are you telling me that you don’t have it?”

“I…” The leader stumbled on his words and didn’t know what to say.

Slap!

All of a sudden, Ichiro slapped the leader on his face. “If you don’t prepare it, I’ll make sure that you won’t be leaving this place alive!”

Terrified by the threat, the leader bowed in apology. “Mr. Watanabe, it was my mistake. I’ll prepare it at once.”

After the leader left, Ichiro continued to watch the brightly lit building of the Department of Justice with a murderous glint in his eye.