Chapter 445 -445-Preparing to Leave
The Rogeka Kingdom had already been one of the bases of the King’s Edge Pirates, so conquering Rogeka was far easier than conquering the Qinka Kingdom.
John effortlessly pushed his way into the royal capital, drawing in all of the Rogeka Kingdom’s main forces before crushing them in one decisive blow.
He then captured the king of Rogeka and obtained his third Conqueror’s Proof.
Afterward, John began sweeping away the remaining resistance forces throughout the Rogeka Kingdom.
Following the same method, John soon conquered the Doric Kingdom as well and obtained his fourth Conqueror’s Proof.
At this point, all four members of Valhalla had obtained what they needed to qualify for the next round.
It was finally time to leave this world.
John found the experience here rather interesting.
So the group decided to stay for one more night before departing.
At the same time, Holly was reluctant to part with her parents in this world.
She wanted to spend one more day with them—
talking, laughing, and simply enjoying their time together.
John and Odelle also had matters of their own to settle.
In the end, everyone agreed to remain in this world for one final day.
After all, they already possessed the Conqueror’s Proofs.
There was no longer any danger of failing to qualify.
They had already stayed here for so long.
One more day wouldn’t make any difference.
...
That day, John summoned all of his trusted subordinates.
Then he directly told them the truth.
He was about to leave.
Captain Madman immediately looked reluctant.
"Chief, where exactly are you going?"
"Why don’t you take me with you?"
"Following you is the only time life ever feels exciting."
"Even if you took me to live in the slums, I’d still follow you!"
The Witch laughed as well.
"Exactly, Chief."
"Take me too."
"Even if you’re heading through mountains of blades, seas of fire, or straight into hell itself, I’ll follow you."
By now, Woop had grown from an insignificant pirate into a qualified general.
He was also exceptionally hardworking and eager to learn.
Not only had he mastered naval warfare, he had also made considerable progress in commerce and administration.
He could already be considered a rare all-round talent.
"Chief, I still need to protect you!"
Izer smiled.
"If someone had told me back then that I would one day become the bodyguard of a king, I would’ve beaten him until his face was swollen beyond recognition."
"A man like me didn’t understand naval warfare."
"I didn’t understand trade."
"All I had was brute strength."
"Back then, simply staying alive already took everything I had."
"The upper class, the nobles... they were people who stood so high above me that I could only look up at them."
"Who would have imagined that one day, even I would become a noble?"
"And all of it..."
"was because of you, Chief."
By the time he finished speaking, his eyes had already turned red.
"Exactly!"
Captain Madman’s eyes reddened as well, his voice choking with emotion.
"I lost my father when I was three."
"My mother died when I was five."
"When I was a kid, I fought stray dogs for scraps of food."
"And when I grew up, I became a pirate everyone cursed as irredeemably evil..."
"I never dreamed that one day I’d live in a mansion and never have to worry about food or drink again."
"I used to think that as long as I was ruthless enough, desperate enough, and fearless enough, I could live well."
"But in the end, every day was still uncertain."
"At any moment, I could be captured."
"At any moment, I could disappear beneath cannon fire."
"Without you, Chief..."
"I’d probably still be nothing but mud at the bottom of the gutter."
...
"You’ve probably forgotten already, Chief."
Woop gave a bitter smile.
"But I’ll never forget."
"The two of us grew up together."
"We were so close we practically wore the same pair of pants."
"If we had half a loaf of bread, we split it between us."
"When I heard that you had been captured, I worried about you day and night."
"I never imagined that when we finally met again..."
"you would already possess a battleship."
"I watched you rise step by step."
"I followed you as you grew stronger and stronger."
"And through all of it..."
"our friendship never disappeared."
John quietly looked at the trusted men gathered before him and listened to every heartfelt word.
After a while, he smiled gently.
"You don’t have to be like this."
"No banquet lasts forever."
"Parting is simply part of life."
"After I leave, Woop will succeed me as king."
"You are to support him just as you supported me and help him stabilize the kingdom."
"As for what choices you make afterward..."
"follow your own hearts."
"I won’t force you."
Seeing that John had already made up his mind, no one tried to persuade him any further.
One after another, they solemnly nodded.
Then they swore that they would do everything in their power to assist Woop and protect the Lather and Qinka Kingdoms.
...
Odelle’s farewell was much simpler.
She gathered all of her trusted subordinates together...
and threw an enormous feast.
Most of those trusted subordinates had once served with her aboard the battleship she first commanded.
Odelle never told them where she was going.
She simply drank with them until every last one of them had passed out.
Then she quietly sat alone on the deck...
looking up at the bright moon overhead.
"It’s time to end this."
"Next comes the Top Eight."
...
Holly’s farewell was ordinary.
Simple.
She merely returned to Esca City and stayed there for one day.
She never told her parents that she was leaving.
She laughed and played exactly as she always had.
As though there were nothing weighing on her mind at all.
Hilt’s farewell was even simpler.
She spent the entire day alone in her room.
...
After the four of them finished saying goodbye to this world...
they gathered before John.
Each of them received a Conqueror’s Proof.
[ Ding! Would you like to use the Conqueror’s Proof? ]
[ Reminder: After using it, you will leave this world and obtain qualification for the Top Eight, allowing you to participate in the next round. ]
The system notification rang beside John’s ear.
"Use it!"
John answered decisively.
The instant his words fell—
Whoosh!
His figure vanished from where he stood.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The other three activated their Conqueror’s Proofs at the same time...
and disappeared as well.
...
Inside the secret realm of the Top Eight.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four figures suddenly appeared!
The moment John arrived, he immediately felt all of his original power return.
Power capable of shattering galaxies with a single punch.
Power capable of suppressing the universe with a flick of his finger!
John looked around.
This appeared to be a brand-new secret realm created by the Will of the Universe.
Most likely...
it had been specifically prepared for the Top Eight.
"Huh?"
Odelle looked around before suddenly noticing something strange.
"We’re the only four people here."
There was no one else in the entire secret realm.
Not a single one of the other contestants from the Top Fifteen had appeared.
"They’re probably still inside the worlds created by the Will of the Universe."
Hilt smiled.
"Looks like we’re the first contestants to qualify."
"Whoa!"
Holly laughed.
"Well, that’s embarrassing."
"The four of us are ahead again, again, and again!"
Just then...
the voice of the Will of the Universe echoed throughout the secret realm.
"Congratulations, contestant John. You have successfully passed the Top Fifteen and obtained qualification for the Top Eight. Your performance was outstanding. You are ranked first!"
"Congratulations, contestant Holly. You have successfully passed the Top Fifteen and obtained qualification for the Top Eight. Your performance was outstanding. You are ranked second!"
"Congratulations, contestant Odelle. You have successfully passed the Top Fifteen and obtained qualification for the Top Eight. Your performance was outstanding. You are ranked third!"
"Congratulations, contestant Hilt. You have successfully passed the Top Fifteen and obtained qualification for the Top Eight. Your performance was outstanding. You are ranked fourth!"
...
Just as the members of Valhalla had expected...
the four of them occupied the top four positions on the ranking.
Which also meant one thing.
The other contestants...
had yet to finish their matches.