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Chapter 857: Shiki Gets Released
One day later.
Royal Capital of the Kronos Kingdom.
Under a clear sky, warm sunlight bathed the land.
In such a beautiful and powerful kingdom, especially the prosperous Royal Capital, it was already like spring all year round.
The Spring-Spring Fruit, recovered by Titan many years ago, was eaten more than twenty years ago by a member of the Tartarus Family, who is now the Minister of Agriculture.
This not only helped increase the kingdom's agricultural output but also completely transformed the environment of the Royal Capital and parts of the Kronos Kingdom into perpetual spring.
"Is this the place?"
A figure flew into the sky above the Royal Capital, holding a special pointer sent by the Kronos Kingdom, looking down at the prosperous and vast city below.
In terms of prosperity, in Shiki's opinion, only Paros Island was stronger than this place so far.
Furthermore, along the way, Shiki saw how large the landmass where the Kronos Kingdom was located truly was.
Besides that, he also sensed many powerful auras.
A familiar aura, like a guiding light, caught Shiki's attention.
His figure flew towards the Royal Palace at the core of the Royal Capital, descending from the sky quietly, without attracting much attention.
After all, as long as Shiki didn't deliberately unleash his power, it wasn't easy for others to discover him.
Except for Hades.
Shiki knew that even when he was still far away, he had already been perceived by Hades's monstrously long-range Observation Haki.
Rather than saying he relied on the special pointer for direction, it was more accurate to say Hades's "gaze" guided him here.
The internal and external management of the Kronos Kingdom was very strict.
Even Shiki couldn't trespass without permission.
Shiki first followed the instructions received at the Military Port based on the message from the Kronos Kingdom, then flew here alone.
This was also a sign of trust in him.
As for someone like Byrnndi World, Hades certainly didn't want him entering the Kronos Kingdom.
Just by what he saw with his own eye along the way, Shiki felt the strength of the Kronos Kingdom.
It was completely on a different level from the kingdoms he had seen before.
Glancing towards the Royal Military Academy, which was comparable to a city, he saw many special buildings.
Below, in the Royal Park, Hades was already sitting quietly on a stone chair, waiting.
Beside him were arranged large amounts of alcohol and gourmet food, while Hades was drinking tea.
Compared to alcohol, Hades had drunk tea more often in everyday situations over the years.
"Zehahaha! Long time no see, Hades."
Shiki's figure descended from the sky, arriving before Hades and sitting across from him.
As if he were at his own home, he grabbed a meat chunk with one hand and poured himself a large bowl of alcohol with the other, enjoying it with loud gulps.
"It's only been a year, Shiki."
Hades shook his head and chuckled.
It was now Sea Calendar 1500, September.
The Swordsmanship Tournament started in June last year and ended in late August.
It had only been a year since then.
Not a long time.
The last time Hades and Shiki met was at the Pirate Expo hosted by the Flying Pirates.
That was also several years ago.
However, it did feel like many years had passed since they last met.
After all, many things had happened on The Great Sea this past year.
"What's your view on this war, Hades?"
Shiki spat out a bone from his mouth and asked Hades.
"This matter? It's too chaotic."
Hades said bluntly, not hiding his thoughts.
Since Shiki wanted to know, Hades briefly explained, which was similar to what Shiki thought but more complete, including many points he hadn't considered.
At this moment, he clearly felt the gap in their thought processes.
As for the purpose of Shiki coming to find him, it was essentially just this matter.
"As expected."
Shiki showed a look of understanding and wasn't too disappointed.
After so many years, having gone through one event after another, what did this count for?
Moreover, this wasn't a complete defeat; at most, it was a mutually damaging situation, but the ones who sacrificed were all members of the Flying Pirates.
In terms of losses, just one of the Five Elders was enough to offset most of their sacrifice.
Shiki came here this time to seek clarification and also to relax and relieve stress.
Some things, even in front of Reinhardt, couldn't be revealed, because Reinhardt was his subordinate.
But in front of Hades, Shiki didn't mind.
Hades wouldn't spread it, and besides, they were also friends from the Rocks Pirates.
They were also one of the few factions in the New World that the Flying Pirates had no hostile relationship with.
It seemed like other factions didn't dare provoke the Flying Pirates.
But in reality? They were all hostile towards each other, especially the Flying Pirates.
Because the Flying Pirates had the strongest strength, occupied the largest territory, and possessed the most resources.
Countless people wanted to bring the Flying Pirates down, and they would never miss an opportunity if one arose.
As for the Flying Pirates and the Kronos Kingdom, they had kept to themselves for many years, with the Isolation Zone between them being relatively peaceful compared to other sea areas.
The Kronos Kingdom didn't overtly expand its faction like the Big Mom Pirates did in their controlled sea area.
The Flying Pirates' territory was also incredibly vast, and they had no intention of reaching out to the West Sea.
Subsequently, the two talked about everything under the sky, discussing the Flying Pirates' situation, his target, and showing off the current strength of the Flying Pirates.
Regarding this, Hades felt like laughing a little inside.
Showing off in front of him was meaningless.
Goenitz, Pain, and Char were all monsters who came out of the Sky Arena.
Goenitz himself was a person from the Kronos Kingdom, secretly Ignis's subordinate.
As for "Tyrant" Grado, he was even Hades's son.
The so-called glory of the Flying Pirates today was largely built upon the Kronos Kingdom and the Sky Arena.
The true core, the direct lineage of Shiki, were actually only "Heavenly King" Reinhard, "Titan" Atlas, and the Lunarian Tribe Member "Mist" Sasmu, rescued from God Valley.
Only they were completely loyal to Shiki, willing to sacrifice for him, and possessed great strength.
As for the others, they all had their own thoughts.
There was also Shiki's view on other factions on the Great Sea; most he didn't take too seriously.
However, when it came to the Monster Legion, even Shiki had to become serious.
Most of the time, Shiki was talking, and Hades was listening.
Shiki's personality was actually quite interesting.
He liked to tell jokes, although sometimes they weren't funny.
Only those who had stayed with the Rocks Pirates and interacted with the young Shiki would understand the real Shiki.
However, with the expansion of the Flying Pirates, Shiki's status became higher and higher, and his authority grew heavier.
Only in front of people of equal status, or those he was truly familiar with, would Shiki reveal his true personality and talk to you seriously.
Most people on the Great Sea today did not have this qualification.
From day to night, and from night back to day.
Under Hades's special arrangement, Shiki had a very comfortable night.
Surrounded by beautiful women, a rare surge of instinctual desire arose.
It was only then that Shiki truly felt released and completely restored.
Watching Shiki's departing figure, Hades didn't feel it was a pity.
Since he came, he should leave something behind.
Perhaps a child of Shiki would be born from this, a crucial combatant strength for the kingdom's future.
(end of chapter)
One day later.
Royal Capital of the Kronos Kingdom.
Under a clear sky, warm sunlight bathed the land.
In such a beautiful and powerful kingdom, especially the prosperous Royal Capital, it was already like spring all year round.
The Spring-Spring Fruit, recovered by Titan many years ago, was eaten more than twenty years ago by a member of the Tartarus Family, who is now the Minister of Agriculture.
This not only helped increase the kingdom's agricultural output but also completely transformed the environment of the Royal Capital and parts of the Kronos Kingdom into perpetual spring.
"Is this the place?"
A figure flew into the sky above the Royal Capital, holding a special pointer sent by the Kronos Kingdom, looking down at the prosperous and vast city below.
In terms of prosperity, in Shiki's opinion, only Paros Island was stronger than this place so far.
Furthermore, along the way, Shiki saw how large the landmass where the Kronos Kingdom was located truly was.
Besides that, he also sensed many powerful auras.
A familiar aura, like a guiding light, caught Shiki's attention.
His figure flew towards the Royal Palace at the core of the Royal Capital, descending from the sky quietly, without attracting much attention.
After all, as long as Shiki didn't deliberately unleash his power, it wasn't easy for others to discover him.
Except for Hades.
Shiki knew that even when he was still far away, he had already been perceived by Hades's monstrously long-range Observation Haki.
Rather than saying he relied on the special pointer for direction, it was more accurate to say Hades's "gaze" guided him here.
The internal and external management of the Kronos Kingdom was very strict.
Even Shiki couldn't trespass without permission.
Shiki first followed the instructions received at the Military Port based on the message from the Kronos Kingdom, then flew here alone.
This was also a sign of trust in him.
As for someone like Byrnndi World, Hades certainly didn't want him entering the Kronos Kingdom.
Just by what he saw with his own eye along the way, Shiki felt the strength of the Kronos Kingdom.
It was completely on a different level from the kingdoms he had seen before.
Glancing towards the Royal Military Academy, which was comparable to a city, he saw many special buildings.
Below, in the Royal Park, Hades was already sitting quietly on a stone chair, waiting.
Beside him were arranged large amounts of alcohol and gourmet food, while Hades was drinking tea.
Compared to alcohol, Hades had drunk tea more often in everyday situations over the years.
"Zehahaha! Long time no see, Hades."
Shiki's figure descended from the sky, arriving before Hades and sitting across from him.
As if he were at his own home, he grabbed a meat chunk with one hand and poured himself a large bowl of alcohol with the other, enjoying it with loud gulps.
"It's only been a year, Shiki."
Hades shook his head and chuckled.
It was now Sea Calendar 1500, September.
The Swordsmanship Tournament started in June last year and ended in late August.
It had only been a year since then.
Not a long time.
The last time Hades and Shiki met was at the Pirate Expo hosted by the Flying Pirates.
That was also several years ago.
However, it did feel like many years had passed since they last met.
After all, many things had happened on The Great Sea this past year.
"What's your view on this war, Hades?"
Shiki spat out a bone from his mouth and asked Hades.
"This matter? It's too chaotic."
Hades said bluntly, not hiding his thoughts.
Since Shiki wanted to know, Hades briefly explained, which was similar to what Shiki thought but more complete, including many points he hadn't considered.
At this moment, he clearly felt the gap in their thought processes.
As for the purpose of Shiki coming to find him, it was essentially just this matter.
"As expected."
Shiki showed a look of understanding and wasn't too disappointed.
After so many years, having gone through one event after another, what did this count for?
Moreover, this wasn't a complete defeat; at most, it was a mutually damaging situation, but the ones who sacrificed were all members of the Flying Pirates.
In terms of losses, just one of the Five Elders was enough to offset most of their sacrifice.
Shiki came here this time to seek clarification and also to relax and relieve stress.
Some things, even in front of Reinhardt, couldn't be revealed, because Reinhardt was his subordinate.
But in front of Hades, Shiki didn't mind.
Hades wouldn't spread it, and besides, they were also friends from the Rocks Pirates.
They were also one of the few factions in the New World that the Flying Pirates had no hostile relationship with.
It seemed like other factions didn't dare provoke the Flying Pirates.
But in reality? They were all hostile towards each other, especially the Flying Pirates.
Because the Flying Pirates had the strongest strength, occupied the largest territory, and possessed the most resources.
Countless people wanted to bring the Flying Pirates down, and they would never miss an opportunity if one arose.
As for the Flying Pirates and the Kronos Kingdom, they had kept to themselves for many years, with the Isolation Zone between them being relatively peaceful compared to other sea areas.
The Kronos Kingdom didn't overtly expand its faction like the Big Mom Pirates did in their controlled sea area.
The Flying Pirates' territory was also incredibly vast, and they had no intention of reaching out to the West Sea.
Subsequently, the two talked about everything under the sky, discussing the Flying Pirates' situation, his target, and showing off the current strength of the Flying Pirates.
Regarding this, Hades felt like laughing a little inside.
Showing off in front of him was meaningless.
Goenitz, Pain, and Char were all monsters who came out of the Sky Arena.
Goenitz himself was a person from the Kronos Kingdom, secretly Ignis's subordinate.
As for "Tyrant" Grado, he was even Hades's son.
The so-called glory of the Flying Pirates today was largely built upon the Kronos Kingdom and the Sky Arena.
The true core, the direct lineage of Shiki, were actually only "Heavenly King" Reinhard, "Titan" Atlas, and the Lunarian Tribe Member "Mist" Sasmu, rescued from God Valley.
Only they were completely loyal to Shiki, willing to sacrifice for him, and possessed great strength.
As for the others, they all had their own thoughts.
There was also Shiki's view on other factions on the Great Sea; most he didn't take too seriously.
However, when it came to the Monster Legion, even Shiki had to become serious.
Most of the time, Shiki was talking, and Hades was listening.
Shiki's personality was actually quite interesting.
He liked to tell jokes, although sometimes they weren't funny.
Only those who had stayed with the Rocks Pirates and interacted with the young Shiki would understand the real Shiki.
However, with the expansion of the Flying Pirates, Shiki's status became higher and higher, and his authority grew heavier.
Only in front of people of equal status, or those he was truly familiar with, would Shiki reveal his true personality and talk to you seriously.
Most people on the Great Sea today did not have this qualification.
From day to night, and from night back to day.
Under Hades's special arrangement, Shiki had a very comfortable night.
Surrounded by beautiful women, a rare surge of instinctual desire arose.
It was only then that Shiki truly felt released and completely restored.
Watching Shiki's departing figure, Hades didn't feel it was a pity.
Since he came, he should leave something behind.
Perhaps a child of Shiki would be born from this, a crucial combatant strength for the kingdom's future.
(end of chapter)
