Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

“Indeed, not many knights are injured by accident; most injuries are intentional. But I hope Maria can realize something else: the cruelty and filth of the place she lives in.”

Whether it's Zofia, Marner, or that group of old knights.

In fact, they all believed that Maria should encounter some setbacks and helplessness in the knightly competition to learn more lessons. In short, they wanted to help her grow by learning from her mistakes and recognizing the cruel nature of the knightly competition.

But Nearl seems to have approached it from a different angle—instead of making Maria realize cruelty through being hurt, she does the opposite, making her realize those things by "hurting others".

Even though they had been separated for many years, Lin Guang knew Maria well enough.

Setbacks will ignite her fighting spirit, but what she learns is not necessarily profound.

But if she were to act as a “stronger perpetrator,” she would learn even more from it.

"...Some things do require experiencing setbacks to learn, but why should I let my sister get hurt in this dirty competition to learn a lesson?"

The armor was changed to prevent Maria from getting hurt.

She wouldn't easily accept equipment with such superior performance that it was overwhelming, which is why she made it in the exact same shape.

Of course, if it's just a matter of changing the armor, the battle would at most become two iron cans that can't break each other's defenses fighting each other.

The root cause of this situation is essentially the increase in Maria's own power.

Nearl, who secretly visited Maria that night, knew very well how much her power had increased.

In other words, the armor did not give Maria any advantage; it was merely a safety measure taken out of Nearl's selfishness. Maria still won by virtue of her own strength, and created an ending that was too heavy for the naive girl.

"Actually... the instructor dotes on his sister more than that Miss Zofia, right...?"

However, many people still realized the hidden meaning in Lin Guang's words.

While others wanted her to get hurt so she could grow, Nearl was willing to let her try hurting others because she could learn more that way, and it was also "safe".

"Go ahead and worry. Since you've been able to repeatedly challenge the formidable Winter, you should understand the importance of always paying attention to your surroundings."

"Challenging the peak and achieving fame to save her family also means that every victory she wins may send others with the same reasons for fighting into an abyss from which they cannot escape."

"This is the equestrian arena, a 'business game' where winners and losers may end up with nothing, or even more guilt."

Nearl spoke meaningfully to the screen, then suddenly looked at the operators around her and said sternly:

"Stop looking, break time is over! Everyone back to your posts... 'training'!"

"More than half of you haven't even broken through to 'Combat Power 10'! If you don't want to be riddled with bullets, don't slack off!"

Everyone hurriedly left the lounge and ran into various enclosed spaces.

These agents do not yet have the same freedom of movement as other highly trained individuals.

Among those at the pinnacle of freedom and privilege gained through their power, one was wandering around the arena—or rather, lost.

"Where is the arena where Tomat and Gohan are fighting...?"

Bardock walked through the complicated corridor with a bewildered look on his face, wishing he could just smash through the surrounding walls.

"I really don't understand the purpose of having so many corridors..."

Fortunately, almost all the employees would give way to Bardock, so he didn't encounter too many things that would make him even angrier. This can be considered one of the benefits of being a "winner".

"Waaaaah..."

The sound of a child crying and running came from behind. As Badak turned around, he saw a crying child bump into him.

That's the son of the Plastic Knight Serchiak.

He was running and crying without looking where he was going, and after bumping into Bardock, he fell to the ground.

However, he didn't stop crying to check who he had bumped into; instead, he simply continued crying.

"Hey, kid, why are you crying?"

Bardock asked with a troubled expression.

"Waaaaah..."

But the child continued to cry on his own.

Seeing that his questioning was ineffective, Bardock raised his voice and roared in a vicious tone:

"...Stop crying, it's so noisy! What's wrong?!"

The child then sniffled, raised his face, and said with a sad and painful expression:

"Ugh...ugh...Daddy, Daddy lost! He lied to me...and he got really badly hurt, and a bunch of weird people took him to a car. They wouldn't let me go with them...I don't know where to find him..."

[Main Text] Terra's World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament: Chapter Seventy-Four - Being a Father

9:30 PM.

The cities surrounding the Great Knight's Territory, like any other city in Kazimierz, are enveloped in an ever-burning neon light at night.

"...Alright kid, they say this is the hospital where your dad works."

Although there are professional medical teams available on the field, most injured riders, as long as they can afford it—especially those with good market value—will choose to transfer to better-equipped rider sanatoriums, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

After Bardock coerced the people at the stadium into revealing the location, it turned out to be the hospital in front of them, which looked as high-class as a luxury hotel.

"Um... I... I'm too scared to go in... I... I can give you money, my family is very rich, it's all from my dad's winnings in the competitions! So, please take me in! I'll have my dad pay you!"

But Serchiak's son still tugged at Badak's clothes and spoke in a pleading tone.

"You little rascal..."

Bardak looked like he had a headache, and his tone became impatient.

"Fine, I'm not interested in the money, I'll just take you there."

As he spoke, Badak walked ahead and arrived near the guard post in front of the hospital, in front of the security personnel.

"Sorry, we are currently under lockdown and visits are not allowed at this time."

Bardak no longer wore his armor when he went out, but instead wore his usual casual clothes.

To the security guard, they were just patients' family members visiting as usual.

"Stop talking nonsense, is this brat's father here?"

Bardock showed no inclination to empathize with the other person's difficulties; instead, he pointed to the child beside him.

The child followed up with a tone that was both timid and proud:

"My dad is the 'Plastic Rider,' you must have heard of him! He's here, right? Can I come in and take a look?"

The security guard paused for a moment, nodded, and then continued to refuse:

“Mr. Serchiak...? I’m very sorry, there are some internal matters to attend to today, and visits from others are not permitted, not even by knights’ families. I hope you understand.”

Generally speaking, what they need to refuse are suspicious individuals whose identities are insufficient.

Given Serchiac's reputation, his family members could enter directly after verifying their identities.

This time, however, the security guard did not choose to verify his identity, but instead firmly refused.

Because someone had indeed given instructions not to allow outsiders to enter this quiet hospital, which is quite far from the arena, for the time being.

As for why those people made such arrangements, the gatekeeper had no say in it and dared not ask any further questions.

He only hoped that the two people in front of him would realize their mistake and leave, otherwise, the trouble they caused would be more than a minor security guard like himself could handle.

"That reaction, is it?"

After receiving a reply, Badak looked at the tall building in front of him, and then suddenly pulled Serchiak's son away from the guard's sight.

Just as the child was wondering what to say about Bardock's behavior, Bardock watched him leap from outside the hospital's high walls into the inner courtyard.

"Wow...you scared me...you're amazing! Even Dad couldn't jump that high. Are you a great knight too? What's your title?"

"...I don't have that kind of thing yet, just call me Bardock."

Bardock was used to introducing himself to children who showed interest in him.

"Bardock... Never heard of that name! Since he doesn't have a title, he should play more games! That way he can become famous and become a great knight!"

The child's excited words did not elicit a particularly strong response from Bardock.

He simply sniffed carefully in this space where the smell of the medicine was not as strong as that of Rhodes Island.

“I have no interest in fame… Alright, there seems to be a similar scent around here, probably left by your father. I’ll take you to your father’s place.”

Although it cannot sense scent, it can still find people by smell, even if the range is not too large.

Bardak led the child very quickly, following the scent trail to a higher floor.

They avoided being seen by others along the way, but Bardak didn't notice that the other people didn't look like patients or staff.

The two stopped in front of a half-open door with Serchiak's nameplate hanging on it.

But when they pushed the door open, they only saw an empty bed with the blankets pulled back—and several crossbow bolts stuck in the blankets.

There was still a little blood near the pillow, but judging from the amount, it wasn't a dangerous amount of bleeding.

"Where's Dad? Why isn't Dad here? There's blood on the bed... why is there blood on the bed? What happened?"

The child rushed to the bed in a panic, while Bardak touched the blanket.

"The blanket is still warm."

Then Bardak looked at the half-open window, with several crossbow bolts stuck in the window frame.

These crossbow bolts looked familiar to him; they seemed to be similar to the crossbow bolts used by the assassins when he and the Rhodes Island operators went to various places to help drive away the assassins from infected settlements.

"You were being chased but escaped through a window?"

Although Bardock did not know the cause and effect, he still figured out what had probably happened.

He peered out the window and looked down; there was nothing there.

It looks like the kid's dad has escaped, but he's probably not safe.

Since the blanket is still warm, it means they haven't gone far.

"This is really troublesome."

Bardak suddenly pulled up the child who was lying on the floor, trying to find someone under the bed, and then jumped out of the window.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!! What are you doing?! Aaaaaaahh ...