Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

[Main Text] Terra's World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament. Debate Chapter: Chapter Ninety - Step by Step!

"It's not that I'm unwilling to act."

"I was powerless to change anything."

Ioleta agreed to Rhodes Island's request to build a medical facility on Plot Zero.

He left behind words full of regret—or rather, a touch of shame.

Incidentally, another person was left behind, namely the Zalak woman Senomi, with whom she had previously been at odds due to a disagreement.

"I see. The Nearl family has been kind to your master and was worried that someone might threaten our safety, so they appointed you to be the bodyguard for the Rhodes Island personnel."

"Yes, please forgive my impulsiveness earlier."

Senomi had actually thought that after this unpleasant conversation, Ioleta would take her away with her.

But Ioleta said, "You also need to see something broader," and left it behind.

The doctor did not refuse, and so the conversation that took place in the hallway began:

"...Hehe, you shouldn't hold a grudge, right?"

"Of course not, I usually... take revenge on the spot."

The doctor traveled to the location of several infected knights who were currently living on Rhodes Island.

After the Infected Arena incident, Rhodes Island effectively gained the complete trust of the main members of the Infected Knights Order "Red Pine".

Whether it's a business alliance promising various rewards or the Supervisory Commission that has been slow to express its stance.

Their actions were no less dangerous than those of Rhodes Island's willingness to risk their lives to help others—at least in the eyes of the Red Pine members, it was indeed quite thrilling.

When they later came to Rhodes Island to conduct various tests, they also informed the members of Rhodes Island of certain secrets, especially the Doctor and others.

For example, the Control Yuan promised to grant legal citizenship to those infected.

The policies implemented by the Blood Knights after their victory in the previous tournament can only be said to have given infected people, who had no other options, a glimmer of hope to some extent.

It cannot be said that their living conditions and social status gradually improved.

Especially after more and more infected knights participated in the competition, some people seized on the "infected's risk of transmission" and the "advantage" of being able to cast spells without a spellcasting unit to intensify their persecution of them.

As external pressure gradually increased, the leader of the Red Pine Knights, who was slowly building up his reputation, received a mysterious invitation.

She met with a senior member of the Control Council, who seemed to already know about the increasingly desperate situation of the infected, and offered the irresistible condition of "legal status".

The other party elaborated on many things that were "of great significance".

He also empathetically brought up various injustices and dark events that occurred in knightly competitions.

Can I trust him/her?

In order to provide a way for the infected to survive, the Blood Knights proposed the Infected Knights system after winning the championship.

The Supervisory Committee approved it, and the Business Alliance also agreed.

But after becoming involved in the system herself, Sona realized that the latter two were simply looking for more excuses to restrain the business alliance, and were simply greedy for profit or to comply with the resolutions of the Supervisory Council.

The involvement of infected individuals in the economic powerhouse of esports could create more uncertainties and shake up the business alliance, giving the regulatory body more opportunities to intervene.

Business alliances will also try their best to restrain the impact of this policy while making profits, so as not to let infected people really cause a stir and allow the supervisory committee to take advantage of the situation.

Nobody cares whether the lives of those infected have improved.

The fact that the former do not directly persecute others does not mean that they are trustworthy and good people.

They've condoned far too many things; they're part of the bricks that pave the way for the infected.

But that is indeed a thousand times better than the business alliances that are actually harming them.

Then, finally, amidst Sona's hesitation, the topic was shifted to the main point—

An offer that cannot be refused.

A request with no other choice.

If only they could steal the Unarmored Alliance's list from the Business Federation and expose the truth about Plot Zero—which the Business Federation calls the "infected quarantine zone."

Infected individuals who have nowhere else to turn can immediately become citizens with legal status.

However, after Sona went through that meeting and hesitated about whether to rally everyone to take action, Rhodes Island's uninvited guests arrived.

She feels that she is not "without other options" now.

Returning to the present, Sona is currently discussing the matter she mentioned earlier with a group of infected knights, Dr. Ting.

"The Unarmored Alliance is an assassin organization belonging to the Commercial Federation. It has a long history and was originally established to eliminate those brutal knights and nobles. Now it has become a lackey that takes money to do things, eliminates dissidents for the Commercial Federation, and maintains 'order'."

"Now the positions are reversed, the merchants are arrogant and domineering, and the Wuzha Alliance does not follow its own heart to draw its bow for justice."

The infected knight, Grayhair, a Zalak who once belonged to a noble family, also seems to know something about the legends of the Unarmored Alliance.

"A bunch of outlaws made up of thugs, robbers, and bounty hunters have no concept of 'fighting for justice'! All they know is to take money and do their jobs by killing and setting fires!"

Wildmane Knight, a Kuranta woman who was originally a warrior knight, stomped her foot angrily when the Unarmored Alliance was mentioned, making the floor tremble—then immediately squatted down and rubbed her ankle.

"Why is this floor so hard..."

Jamie, the infected knight, is a Kuranta man who brought a large group of children to the island. He was once a well-known competitive knight, and it was this experience that gave him a deep understanding of how the infected were treated in Kazimierz.

"It's understandable that they want their names. After all, even the Control Council, which has a large number of troops, can't guard against attacks from the shadows. As for exposing Plot Zero—no matter how cruelly the infected people there were treated, the Control Council probably doesn't expect to incite public outrage by exposing them."

Therefore, he also noticed something amiss in the requests that Homio received from the Kanseikai.

"In a country where infected knights can be beaten to death on the field, exposing these things might even make some people think that the commercial league did a great job."

"Exposing Plot Zero is just a formality; it's just another excuse to continue interfering with the business alliance under the pretext of 'ostensibly helping infected people while secretly persecuting them.'"

"This is not help at all, but a transaction where each party gets what they want. And if anything goes wrong, it won't even be a transaction anymore, it's just pure exploitation. When problems arise, they'll shift all the blame to the infected, and the Supervisory Commission will wash its hands clean."

Many infected riders realized the true nature of this behavior—anger, yet felt somewhat powerless.

Before Rhodes Island intervened, they were indeed being manipulated, easily led to a predetermined dead end according to their own ideas.

"Indeed... But if it were earlier, I might have really considered this deal. After all, we had no other choice, so taking a gamble wasn't out of the question."

Sona seemed to feel guilty about her past hesitation, but now she also seemed somewhat relieved.

"But now it seems we don't need to worry too much about the future, right? Red Pine will continue to participate in the Knights' Games, and we can confidently entrust many off-field matters to the Rhodes Island team."

"No need to be confused, just fight, just like... those operators who are not infected but are willing to fight for the infected."

[Main Text] Terra's World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament. Debate Chapter: Chapter Ninety-One: Uncle, I'm Really Angry

The off-field controversies will not affect the course of the competition.

The winner will continue to participate in the Major, provided he is not replaced or "voluntarily transfers points".

However, Maria Nearl, the victor of Nearl's household, doesn't seem to resemble a "victor" at all.

She sat on the large bed, looking somewhat haggard, with red eyes and dark circles under them, as if she hadn't rested at all.

Her messy hair was casually draped over her shoulders; if Zofia saw her, she would definitely nag her for being so unkempt.

But Zofia just paced back and forth in front of the door with a troubled look on her face, without going in directly. Meanwhile, Marna stood up straight, closed her eyes, and frowned in thought.

"...Let me talk to her."

"This is really outrageous."

Finally, Marna spoke up.

In the past, Zofia would never have been happy to hear him say anything to Maria.

Because those were mostly dejected words, either criticisms or accusations, in short, they lacked any real emotion, and the words were full of disdain for the knightly competition and disgust for Maria, who participated in the knightly competition.

Recently, however, things have changed a bit. Although he is still quite sharp-tongued, he has indeed become more moderate in his actions—at least he bought a classic chivalric novel, which is now rarely seen on the market, without saying a word and placed it as a gift in front of Maria's door.

Maria was happy for a while because of this, initially thinking that Zofia was just pretending to ease the tension between them.

"...Then I'll leave it to you, Marna. You should remember that she admired you as her uncle when she was little. No matter what you say, it carries a lot of weight for her."

“I know that.”

Marna pushed open the door and entered, causing Maria, who was squatting on the bed, to lift her eyelids. Only after seeing that the visitor was her uncle did she reluctantly and slowly get up and sit on the edge of the bed, saying:

"uncle..."

"How ironic."

Looking at her evasive gaze, Marner calmly said:

"If you had won after a fierce battle, you probably wouldn't be the way you are now."

"You'll be content with the 'joy' and self-indulgence of overcoming all difficulties and achieving victory, won't you?"

"When you defeat your opponent, you will think that you have only overcome the hardships on your road to victory."

"So if your opponent gives you a setback, you'll become even more determined and unwilling to give in, right?"

Out of respect for her elder, Maria should at least maintain eye contact with her, but she kept her head down. However, she listened carefully to Marna's words and fell into thought.

She remembered her preliminary round.

The opponent was an independent knight with several battles under his belt, while he was just a novice who had received some guidance from Zofia in private.

The incessant chatter of the commentator annoyed her.

The knight opposite her held a blade that gleamed coldly, which made her feel a different kind of pressure than during training—it wasn't pressure, but fear.

But in the end, I still won.

Skill? Or just good luck?

In short, when she saw her opponent struggling to get back to his feet, she hesitated whether to pursue him.

Maria saw the view peeking out from the other person's helmet.

Like a wild beast.

This unfamiliar gaze felt like it was tearing at her heart, and the other person's attempt to stand up plunged Maria into even deeper panic.

Knights' athleticism is not glamorous.

This is not some noble battle.