Gotoh held Killua back from bending down.
"Yo xi yo xi! Be good, Killua~" Alluka happily teased Killua.
Gotoh bowed respectfully and said: "Young master and young misses, do you need to ride on Killua to go forward?"
"Yes—" The kids shouted together, as if they were on a school trip.
Well, let them do as they please. Saiki Kusuo waved his hand to show he didn't need to ride on Killua. Everyone else got on, leaving only Amane standing by Saiki Kusuo's side.
When his gaze moved to other places, Saiki Kusuo finally noticed that the sky had already darkened on Kukuroo Mountain. Here, it was exactly sunset.
He just watched that streak of red sun disappear below the sea level. Under his gaze, the sky quickly turned dark.
At the same time, everyone in the city stood still in place.
"Big brother, why aren't they moving? It seems like they're waiting for something?" The kids felt puzzled about this.
Saiki Kusuo listened to the thoughts around him.
So that's it. Settlement time is at dusk. Before they arrived, the game had already entered settlement. They just barely missed it.
[The lord's residence is Lord Hisoka's?!]
[The lord is Lord Hisoka! Great, why am I not human! Damn!!]
[I contributed! I once touched Lord Hisoka's shoe heel!]
[Hehehe, I stared at Lord Hisoka's butt for 10 seconds. You don't know how that butt is so...]
What dark creature voices. Switch channels.
Knowing the new lord is Hisoka is enough.
Just as Saiki Kusuo was thinking about where to take his brothers to rest tonight and how to deal with Killua again, a new announcement related to him appeared.
[Announcement: Lord Saiki Kusuo enters the territory!]
[Since both lords and chess holders have three or more pieces and are in the same territory, the territory war upgrades to a siege war. The total six areas for both leaders are temporarily inaccessible. All players in those areas will be teleported to the siege war map!]
Everyone heard this announcement.
It was clearly a night at dusk. They woke up at 4 a.m. to tackle the game, and at dusk, they were ready to rest. Many people already had this routine. But at this moment when everyone felt tired, a black circle suddenly appeared under every player's feet.
Teleport!
[Welcome to the Alpsheimer Arena. Please cooperate with your lord to win the siege war!]
...
The terrain was in the shape of an arena. It was more like a coliseum than an arena.
Everyone was in the center of the coliseum. The edge of the coliseum was surrounded by a very high wall. This day, humans finally remembered the fear of being...
Ruled by dark creatures?
Something's a bit off. Well, the circle of spectators above were all cheering dark creatures.
The people in the field weren't sorted by groups. They were sent over by a big teleportation array. Saiki Kusuo was also directly standing in the crowd's center.
The huge Killua was very eye-catching. The few kids suddenly found themselves in this strange situation and became very alert.
The butlers were also all tense. Besides that.
"Captain, long time no see. What's going on now?" The Phantom Troupe gathered together.
Chrollo: "I'm not sure either, but the announcement said it's a siege war. The meaning is already very clear. I didn't expect it to change maps."
"We prepared a lot of explosives in the original territory. What a shame." Phinks put his hands behind his head, imagining a wall of explosives in his mind.
You guys are really dangerous people.
"Ah, found him, Captain. Should we tie him up?" Behind Saiki Kusuo, Machi called out.
"No need. Let's have a friendly chat."
The scene shifted. Saiki Kusuo was already surrounded by six members of the Troupe.
Friendly?
"Many people here know Saiki Kusuo, but no one knows what name you're using." Chrollo said, "This is our only advantage. We don't know the win conditions for the siege war yet, but from the venue, fighting is unavoidable."
Saiki Kusuo signaled with his eyes to the butlers in the distance not to worry.
Even if this group attacks him one-on-one, he won't get a single scratch.
"Captain! Long time no see! What are you doing?" A rough voice suddenly came from behind.
"Uvogin, long time no see. Wait a bit while I talk to him. You watch the movements of the others."
Saiki Kusuo reached behind his collar and pressed a convenient switch, quietly lowering the suppression level of his previous super power inhibitor even further.
Even he might run into trouble if he faces a super destructive punch in a mostly weakened state.
Chrollo cleared his throat: "Ahem, continue our earlier chat. Compared to this game's rules and assigned roles, the people who came to the Dark Continent already have their own power and networks. If this contest is just lords competing for pieces, for people who don't know the lords, it doesn't matter who becomes lord."
"In other words, if you don't do something about it, this lord war will be very chaotic due to power relationships. Everyone has to be careful if their companions have harmful ties to the other side, if they'll silently backstab... and so on."
[I get it roughly, but how does that solve it?]
"The solution is simple. We should still be able to use it now, the lord chess piece."
Saiki Kusuo looked puzzled.
"The lord stakes the personal rights, property rights, and life freedoms of all participating members. Bet everything you can bet. If you lose, the players on the winning side can choose to fully control, command, and make the losers serve them."
What a revival of slavery.
"Only then will this battle become a clear fight for yourself. The lord's victory becomes a must. I guess this piece is for that. How about it? Any questions?"
[So many questions. Who would want their own human rights bet like that? Don't you feel uneasy?]
"No. We Meteor City people lose all rights from birth. Betting it is nothing. Rights aren't given; you fight for them, right?"
...Who is like you Meteor City people.
"Even if not from Meteor City, the people on this ship to the Dark Continent aren't ordinary. The weak already know their lives will be taken. The strong also know that after roles of prey and hunter switch in this lawless place, what can they keep? Everyone who's been stripped of rights should have no big reaction."
Such a dark guess.
"This world is survival of the fittest anyway, right?" [Even as Zoldyck family, there's some innocence similar to a certain someone...]
Saiki Kusuo quickly accepted the setup and changed the topic: [So both sides have one lord chess piece each. If I give that order, what guarantees the other side will follow?]
"Kikyo will." [Didn't expect you'd ask such an obvious question.]
Hey.
"The opponent is Hisoka. The more fun the game, the better. He'll definitely choose that." Chrollo smiled. "How about it? Let's hear from the strategist. I want to make the game simpler."
Is it really simpler? The terror level just went up a lot.
Well, it doesn't matter. With me here, we won't lose. Saiki Kusuo took out the lord chess piece.
This time, the announcement came from the big speaker in the coliseum: "Lord Saiki Kusuo uses the lord chess piece, betting the personal rights, property rights, and life freedoms of members in the territory. If the siege war fails, members of Lord Hisoka's side will have the right to use those!"
The announcement caused a huge uproar.
"What the ** lord! Who's Saiki Kusuo!?"
Curses came one after another.
Saiki Kusuo: Isn't the reaction too intense?
"They're only cursing Saiki Kusuo. No one's cursing you, Gotoh." Chrollo listened leisurely.
No, they're totally cursing me, and very harshly.
Chrollo turned and asked: "Feitan, Phinks, how do you feel?"
"Huh? No feeling. Same as before." Phinks said.
"Feels like we've been bound by an oath." Feitan said.
I feel a heavy burden too. Saiki Kusuo pressed his shoulders. Suddenly carrying so many people's human rights, the pressure is huge.
Uvogin behind also scratched his chest: "Captain, my chest feels itchy too. Very familiar feeling. No doubt, we've definitely been bound by some kind of oath."
Saiki Kusuo: So Uvogin is on my side.
Chrollo: "Good, as expected."
"Captain, what about you?" Feitan asked.
"Hm, not sure yet."
"Not sure?"
"Yeah, our leader is Hisoka. He hasn't started yet."
Feitan: "...Huh?"
Right, the spider is split.
Soon, the speaker in the field rang again.
"Leader Hisoka uses the leader chess piece, betting the personal rights, property rights, combat rights, reading rights, contact between men and women rights, clothing rights, human bodily freedom rights of members in the territory. If the siege war fails, members of Leader Saiki Kusuo's side will have the usage rights of those!"
After the announcement, the field fell into a long silence.
"Hm~ Fight well for your own rights~"
Hisoka stood on Mike's head with a flexible love pose and made the above statement.
Saiki Kusuo decided that if Mike got hit with rotten eggs, he'd use super powers to send them to Hisoka's face.
At least now, too many people hate Hisoka and by extension dislike Mike.
Hisoka enjoyed those gazes and didn't mind the insults. He put his hands on his waist and asked: "Can anyone tell me which one is Saiki Kusuo?" [That pink-haired kid isn't in the field. Impersonation must be related. Is it one of those Zoldyck kids? Or below... Hm~ That powder-haired one is so intriguing. Why is he with the Phantom Troupe?]
Saiki Kusuo: I'll distance myself now. Get off Mike's head already. What's going on? Why does Mike allow outsiders on his head?
Mike was confronting the humans who suddenly hated him, oblivious at first: [What? There's an outsider on my head! What a great humiliation!]
Mike moved his claws and let out a threatening growl from his throat.
Saiki Kusuo: Is he going to slap Hisoka down? Do it, Mike. I support you.
Hisoka smirked and simply said two words: "Sit down."
Mike sat.
Saiki Kusuo: ??
Speaker: "Ding ding dong dong, time's up. Red side to the left, blue side to the right. Spectators will vote to select three competition formats for the leaders to choose."
Red and blue circles appeared under every player's feet in the field. The two forces were immediately divided into clear sides.
A blue circle appeared under Saiki Kusuo. Among the Troupe members around him, it was half red and half blue.
That's good. But when Saiki Kusuo looked far away, he found that in the distance, it was mostly red with few blue. After separating, the numbers were even more obvious.
Red side 26 people, blue side 19 people.
Right, the Zoldyck family brought so many people behind. Including Mike, he brought 7 in total. Adding them up makes it just right...
Saiki Kusuo looked back. Mike's presence made many people stay away from the Zoldyck area. But the light circles under the people behind surprised Saiki Kusuo.
Mike, the butlers, the brothers—all of them had the same red circles as Hisoka!
Red team +7 people.
What the heck!
Because Saiki Kusuo brought them into Hisoka's territory for the first time, they were automatically assigned to Hisoka's force side.
"Oh dear... Our side has few people. How about defecting?" Pariston said faintly next to Saiki Kusuo. "That strategist looks like he betrayed first."
You sound like you're about to betray too.
"Don't rush, Leader. We still have a chance to win! Best to choose a game tied to strength, because we have several strong people on this side..."
Speaker: "Everyone, you've waited long. The spectators have voted for three competition formats."
"1. Flying Chess!"
Are the spectators kids?
"2. Sumo Wrestling!"
Don't want that sticky activity.
"3. Free Combat!"
Let the spectators revote.
"Well, Leader Hisoka chose free combat. What does Leader Saiki Kusuo think?"
Saiki Kusuo couldn't decide for a moment. Free combat? With such a big difference in numbers, how can we win in free combat?
Pariston encouraged in Saiki Kusuo's ear: "Please choose free combat! I'll explain the reason later!"
Saiki Kusuo: [Flying chess, thanks.] No fighting.
"Leader Saiki Kusuo chooses flying chess! Tie vote between both sides. Which one between flying chess and free combat will be decided by the 38 people in the field excluding the leaders!"
It's a popular vote?
Saiki Kusuo listened to everyone's thoughts.
[Of course free combat.]
[Follow the leader and choose free combat!]
[In this situation, everyone will choose free combat!]
These are from the red side.
[What's flying chess? I have some confidence in combat. At least one against two.]
[How can those guys who have to run naked if they lose compare to us? I choose free combat. Plus, what's flying chess?]
[Numbers aren't an issue. Nen fights aren't about numbers. Free combat! What's flying chess? I get airsick. Absolutely won't choose it.]
These are from the blue side.
Why doesn't anyone know flying chess? You guys should know it from second grade in elementary! Wait, does the Hunter world have normal schools and nine years of compulsory education? Anyway, the result is obvious, isn't it?!
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