"Father, these days are getting harder and harder." A young man took a sip of wine and complained to the middle-aged man seated across from him.
The middle-aged man's expression grew weary as he heard this. "Our lives and deaths now rest in the hands of others. What else can we say?"
Hearing his father's resigned words, the young man angrily slammed his fist on the table. "If it weren't for Your Excellency—"
But then he noticed the red light flashing on the monitoring equipment and quickly held back his words.
The middle-aged man naturally understood what his son wanted to say and immediately glared at him. "Silence!"
Glancing fearfully at the camera, the middle-aged man whispered to his son, "I know what you want to say.
"It's just..." He sighed.
A gloomy expression crossed the young man's face. "If it weren't for the four evil gods—"
But as the middle-aged man's expression grew serious, the young man's voice lowered until he fell silent.
The middle-aged man said coldly, "Nian'er, you should know what you can and cannot say."
"You're fortunate to be safe and sound at this moment. But if those pigs in this world truly hear such words..."
I think you know what the consequences would be."
Hearing his father's warning, the young man, Nian'er, gradually turned pale.
Seeing that he was listening, the middle-aged man stopped lecturing and offered comfort instead. "Your father doesn't mean to frighten you.
"I don't think those pigs have time to concern themselves with this place right now."
As he spoke, a helpless expression crossed his face, and he whispered, "Even without that incident..."
Your Excellency would have only been equal to the kings under his command.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have perished." The middle-aged man thought silently to himself.
What a pity for the strong warriors of the Kai family.
The young man was stunned when he heard these words but immediately understood that his father was telling the truth.
However, it was precisely because they were true that they made him feel even more depressed.
Lies aren't sharp blades, but the truth is the cruelest blade of all.
If His Majesty had come with them, they wouldn't be in this situation now. Those pigs from this world would probably be the ones being kept in captivity instead.
Even if His Majesty hadn't been there, as long as the Kai family ancestor still lived, they wouldn't be suffering such humiliation.
Unfortunately, all of Sword Lake's strong warriors had died alongside His Majesty.
Only two or three remained—not even enough to be considered a group.
Not even the strong ones were left.
With his back to the surveillance camera, the middle-aged man dipped his finger in water and began gently writing on the table.
"What do the other families say?"
When the young man saw the words his father had written, a look of disdain flashed across his face. He took a sip of wine and said aloud, "Just muddling along."
The middle-aged man naturally understood what his son meant and continued writing.
"Are they going to live like this forever?"
The young man looked up at the sky melancholily and said, "Just a dog that has lost its home."
Anyone who hadn't read the middle-aged man's words would think the young man was talking about himself.
A trace of anger flashed across the middle-aged man's face, and then his posture slumped forward.
"A dog that has lost its home." The middle-aged man sighed softly.
The young man wasn't referring to himself; he was repeating what the other families had said.
Unfortunately, the time agreed upon by their Lord had arrived, and the inevitable was coming. Even though their Lord was dead, what was destined could not be stopped.
Despite their careful preparations, it was useless. They couldn't escape.
Everyone who tried to flee returned to Sword Lake the moment it began.
Just as the middle-aged man and the young man were drinking in silence, a man rushed into the courtyard and urgently said, "Master, disaster approaches!"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man and the young man looked at each other.
Had this day finally come for the Kai family?
After a long moment, Azrael rode Pidgeot and slowly descended toward the island before him.
Luffy and his other two cards instantly appeared in front of him.
"This is it." Looking at the quiet island ahead, Azrael exhaled, his voice cold and emotionless. "The Kai Family."
If he were Iron Man, Azrael could use the Hidden Breath Pearl to secretly eliminate all the demons on the island.
Unfortunately, his current identity prevented him from using the Hidden Breath Pearl.
Using the Hidden Breath Pearl in this secret realm would be like having the words "I am a member of the Crimson Oath Society" written on his forehead.
Apart from the Hidden Breath Pearl, Azrael had no other means to conceal his presence, so it would be better to approach directly and openly.
There were only two Bronze-level demons here.
The Bronze-level demons from when this secret realm was first established had long since been eliminated.
The current ones had only grown to that strength in recent years and were relatively weak.
This information was clearly stated by the association.
After all, Zoro has the Three Sword Style, as well as the One Sword Style and Two Sword Style techniques, and he can trigger the bond effect with the Straw Hat Pirates.
When Azrael arrived at the Kai family's gate, thirteen demons were already standing in formation.
Upon seeing Azrael, the middle-aged man at the front gradually turned grim. "Card maker?"
Although he asked this as a question, the middle-aged man was absolutely certain of the person's identity.
He naturally knew of the Lore Cardians' existence.
After all, when they first arrived years ago, they were prepared to fight to the death to invade the blue planet.
It was supposed to become their natural domain—a sea for fish to leap and a sky for birds to fly, free from the threat of death.
Unfortunately, the Lore Cardians belonging to the association had shattered their plan from the very beginning.
Even after Sword Lake was suppressed, the Lore Cardians came to the secret realm, attempting to pull out the broken sword.
Their mighty power reminded the middle-aged man of his ancestor.
Blocking the people behind him who were ready to act, the middle-aged man suppressed his murderous intent toward Azrael and said, "Sir, I volunteer to sacrifice my life. Can you let them go?"
He already knew why a Lore Cardian had come to the island.
After all, through various inquiries over the years, he had communicated with other families.
Unfortunately, Azrael ignored him.
After entering the secret realm, he kept the contents of the association's handbook in mind at all times.
"Don't listen to or believe what the demons say.
Who knew if the other party was trying to make him lower his guard so they could pull something underhanded?
Why did the middle-aged man before him think he was qualified to negotiate?
"Kai-Shin." Azrael looked at the middle-aged man and silently noted his name.
Then, he looked at the young man next to Kai-Shin.
"Kai-Myun."
"Perfect. I won't have to search for them."
These two were the Bronze-level Kai family demons recorded in the association's information.
"Begin." Seeing that his targets were present, Azrael spoke softly to Luffy and the others.
Kai-Shin's face gradually darkened at Azrael's arrogant and insolent attitude. "Don't underestimate me.
"Sword!"
As he spoke, a white light shot out from the house.
Kai-Shin caught the light and looked at Azrael coldly.
Azrael simply stared at the item in Kai-Shin's hand.
Bronze-level item material: Conscience.
It was the first time Azrael had encountered an item material in person.