Chapter 823
"The one behind all this… is Rosgell."
"The hero of Minpo?" Ron's brows lifted slightly.
"For Minpo, Rosgell may be a hero. But for those participating in the Grand Martial Trail, Rosgell is nothing short of a nightmare. The entire Trail is a trap. Everything we've worked for will be handed over to him as tribute. We'll become the fuel for his resurrection."
Ron's eyes flickered. "I've heard some things about Rosgell. But wasn't his body sealed away in the Kingdom of Fiora?"
"You people from Minpo went to Fiora to retrieve Rosgell's corpse. I'm aware of that, but you didn't completely succeed, did you?"
Chris shook his head. "That was just a decoy. To resurrect Rosgell, we don't need the corpse."
"Only the Trail?"
"Exactly."
"But the Grand Martial Trail is held every three years. If Rosgell could be revived, why not earlier? Why wait until now?"
"One Trail isn't enough," Chris said. "Resurrecting someone isn't that easy. Rosgell has been planning this for a long time. He's the reason Minpo is the way it is now."
"It wasn't always like this. In the past, Minpo's people followed the same Nen system as everyone else. But as the Trail went on year after year, normal Nen users started disappearing—one by one. Now, there are barely any left in Minpo. Almost everyone has been replaced by creations made by Rosgell."
"This Trail will be the last."
"It's not just us. Every participant—including outsiders hired through commissions—will die in this Trail."
"In other words, you are also one of Rosgell's targets."
Ron's eyes narrowed.
"You're saying I can't leave?"
"It's extremely difficult," Chris replied. "If you had left earlier, maybe you had a chance. But now that you've seen me, walking away won't be so easy."
"You're threatening me?"
"No. Not me—Rosgell."
Chris shook his head. "The moment you entered Minpo, Rosgell already saw you. Now that I'm standing in front of you, he could force me to attack you if he wanted."
"And he's already learned about your strength. Using me to stall you, he'll soon send others. Several S-Class entities. Even with your power, you won't be able to leave."
"He could even deploy things that no being can face."
That last remark referred to something akin to Poor Man's Rose—weapons beyond Nen users.
"So you're saying my only choice is to cooperate with you?"
"Not with me—with us."
"Who else?"
"Our squad is part of the first-tier teams. There are four of us. We all know the truth behind this Trail. We've already formed an alliance. Originally, I came here to evaluate Alex—to see if he was worth including."
"But I didn't expect to run into you."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "I don't know what your relationship with Alex is, but if you want, we can bring him into the fold as well."
"No need. I'm not especially close with Alex."
"Is that so?" Chris's expression tightened slightly.
"In that case, are you willing to cooperate with us?"
"What do you need from me?"
"During the Grand Martial Trail, we need you to stand with us. The second-tier teams don't know about Rosgell's plot. We've sent people to warn them, but we can't guarantee they'll be convinced."
"We need you on our side to defeat them if necessary."
"You're in the first tier, and they're in the second. Aren't you stronger?"
"The rules are complex," Chris explained. "Second-tier teams fight among themselves first. After a victor emerges, the first-tier teams can step in."
"So it becomes four-vs-four matches?"
"Exactly."
"But even then, your side has the advantage. Some of your squads reached S-Class through this setup—manufactured, sure, but it still counts on paper. Against the second tier, that's more than enough. One team won't even get a match. Not that it matters—they wouldn't have kept up anyway. There are only seven teams left in that bracket. One of them won't even get a match. They'll fall behind before they ever get a chance to catch up."
"…That's true," Chris admitted. "But that's because we've worked in secret to manipulate the brackets. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible. Even so, our chances aren't one hundred percent."
Chris looked directly at Ron. "And that's not counting someone like you."
Ron nodded. "From what you've said, cooperating with you seems like the more reasonable choice."
"Everything I've told you is true. So, what do you think?"
"Alright. I'll work with you," Ron said. "To me, which side I stand on doesn't matter much. But from what I can judge of the situation, standing against you comes with a lot more risk."
"…Which means cooperating with you is the smarter move."
Chris smiled. "Good. Then it's settled. Will you come with me now?"
Ron shook his head. "Given my connection with Alex, I think he'd likely believe me. Should I bring him over, or speak to him alone?"
"I trust you. I will leave Alex to your discretion."
"Alright."
Chris left. Ron didn't stop him. Only after confirming that Chris had truly gone did Ron pull out a card.
Zodiac Card — Rat.
"Divination."
There was definitely something wrong with the Grand Martial Trail—that much, Ron was sure of. But he also knew that not everything Chris said could be taken at face value. Divination couldn't reveal the truth of his words, but it could guide Ron's next move.
Soon, the result appeared.
And it wasn't exactly what Ron had expected.
"Interesting."
He tucked the Zodiac card away and looked toward the other side of the field.
"Alex. Come here."
Alex jogged over. His strength had improved noticeably, but his personality and mannerisms hadn't changed much. He was still that same village boy who had stepped out into the world.