Tour de Inferno's starting point.
"Looks really lively."
Nicole stood with her hands on her hips, thoroughly enjoying the bustling atmosphere.
Before the Tour de Inferno had even begun, she had already sold a sizable amount of supplies to the various teams—an absolute profit haul.
Watching these fat sheep customers now competing against one another gave her a very special kind of satisfaction.
Of course, it would be even better if the Sons of Calydon won the Tour de Inferno.
She had already bought a shop in Blazewood, and as long as the Sons of Calydon took the championship, its value would surely skyrocket.
And if Caesar became the new Overlord, she could push another batch of her premium resources out into the market. Just thinking about it felt wonderful.
"Lively indeed. This is the grand festival of the entire Outer Ring—everyone is waiting for the birth of a hero."
Piper narrowed his eyes, speaking in a relaxed tone.
"I'm looking forward to it too. I hope the Sons of Calydon become the new Overlord—don't waste all my hard work."
Sol watched the other competitors with interest as he spoke casually.
Judging from the equipment, not a single team here had a bike surpassing the one he had modified.
Only Pompey's squad had decent bikes—it looked like they'd hired experts to modify them. Still, they were only slightly inferior to his.
After all, he had simply upgraded a dual-cylinder air-cooled engine to a four-cylinder water-cooled one, optimizing a few minor details.
Fundamentally, he hadn't exceeded the world's technology—no Transformers-level, era-breaking inventions here.
"Trust them! Boss Caesar is the leader who longs for victory and honor the most—she won't waste even a bit of resources!"
Billy stood beside Sol, cheering for the Sons of Calydon.
"Mm, hopefully. That Pompey's no simple man."
Sol crossed his arms, giving his assessment.
They'd only met twice, but that uncle left quite the impression.
A responsible and wise leader—nothing to complain about except that his judgment could be a little off. If Sol were still in his past life, he would've been happy working under someone like him.
And his strength was impressive—definitely not the political-officer type of leader.
For Caesar to surpass Pompey solely with the slight advantage in bikes… it wouldn't be easy.
Of course, with Eous accompanying them under Belle's operation, their chances rose significantly.
Meanwhile, on the starting line—
Pompey ignored the loud cheers around him, casting his gaze toward Caesar's team of four.
His eyes swept over the bikes beneath them, and then he laughed heartily. "Haha! Leader of the Sons of Calydon, looks like you've prepared quite well this time."
With his sharp eye, he could tell their bikes had been refurbished and modified.
Compared to his own, which had undergone several rounds of upgrades, they were roughly on par.
"Of course! To win the Tour de Inferno, we had lots of friends helping us out!"
Caesar rubbed her head, brimming with confidence.
She glanced toward Lucy and Burnice, then toward Sol, Nicole, and the others watching nearby. Her resolve grew even stronger.
She would never disappoint these friends!
Pompey followed her line of sight and indeed spotted several familiar faces from last time.
They were the group who had dragged Lucius out of his hideout.
Pompey put on his helmet and spoke boldly, "Caesar, I admire your spirit."
Of all the juniors in the Outer Ring, she was the one he valued most. Not especially shrewd, but her ability to unite people easily made up for it.
"Uncle Pompey, thank you for the praise."
Caesar smiled shyly.
"This isn't praise. I'm not planning to hand over the Overlord title." Pompey laughed loudly, then said in a deep voice, "If you want to win the Tour de Inferno—defeat me cleanly!"
"Just you wait, Uncle Pompey!"
Caesar's eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
"Oh? Looks like the two sides are evenly matched—neither willing to yield!" The host raised the mic, his voice full of passion. "Then let strength decide everything! Let's see who laughs last in this grand Tour de Inferno!"
Thirteen precision-tracking drones took position. They would follow the entire race to ensure fairness throughout the route.
As for anything that happened inside a Hollow… they couldn't guarantee that. They could only fly around and observe the next segment.
"Now then—are you ready?!"
As everything fell into place and the teams prepared to launch, the referee gave the signal.
"Three, two, one—go!"
With the crack of a revolver, thirteen teams shot forward simultaneously.
Bikes of every color roared ahead, kicking up clouds of dust.
They all followed their chosen routes toward the Tour de Inferno's finish point—Cinder Lake.
Caesar, Lucy, Lighter, and Burnice also headed along the path they'd planned earlier. It was clearly a dangerous route, but with enough skill, it was the perfect shortcut.
And at that moment, atop Caesar's bike, a round Bangboo wearing a scarf poked its head out, its long ears flapping wildly in the wind.
It possessed an unusual spark of intelligence for a Bangboo, and called out, "Caesar, give it your all!"
"Roger, Proxy! I won't lose!"
Caesar's eyes hardened with determination, and she twisted the throttle even further.
"With my help, you definitely won't lose!"
Eous steadied herself against the bike frame, shouting, "At the victory feast, I want plenty of Fuel Drinks!"
Today was the last day of her promise to Nicole, and the Fuel Drinks would give her the final push she needed to completely win over Sol.
"Don't worry, Proxy! I've prepared the Fuel Drinks already!"
Four meters away, Burnice perked up at the key phrase and responded excitedly, "If you want to drink it, I've got as much as you want!"
Caesar glanced at the Bangboo in front of her and couldn't help but remind softly, "Careful not to fall, Proxy."
"No worries. I couldn't fall even if I tried."
Eous, using the tactile sensors on her back, was extremely confident.
Not only was she holding on tightly, the two domineering round spheres behind her kept her firmly locked in place.
In this setup, falling was impossible.
Through the rearview mirror, she snuck a quick look at Lucy behind them, thinking mischievously. Only on Lucy and Lighter's bikes did she need to be a bit more cautious.
While they spoke, a narrow gorge appeared ahead—only about a meter wide, just enough for a single bike to pass.
One small misjudgment—scrape either side—and it would mean total destruction.
The four bikes immediately shifted into a single-file formation, slipping into the gorge without so much as a scratch.
High in the air, a drone captured the scene clearly and relayed it onto the massive screens at the starting point.
"Look! The brave riders of the Sons of Calydon have chosen to pass through an extremely narrow gorge! This means they've taken the toughest route! Ahead lies the Death Dunes, the Killing Cavern, and the Pillar Forest…"
"Of course, Pompey of The Vanquishers isn't falling behind either! With his experience defending the Overlord title multiple times, their route is just as dangerous—yet they seem perfectly at ease!"
"So then—where will the laurels fall? It's still anyone's guess!"
The host gave the screen an intense play-by-play, focusing entirely on the two favorites.
At this rate, it was clear the new Overlord would come from these two teams. The others were merely there for show.