The crowd below cheered in unison at Jierunifu's appearance, and Jierunifu smiled and raised his hand to greet them.
Then came an even louder cheer, which reassured Jierunifu that his popularity in the Empire had not yet waned.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Now, ladies and gentlemen, the long-awaited King of Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin. Please be patient during this preparation time." The announcer's voice was amplified by a magic item.
"King of Martial Arts!" This probably had nothing to do with Jierunifu, but Jierunifu still stood at the front of the stage, muttering to himself.
Jierunifu knew about the King of Martial Arts beforehand. He had investigated him, as he had previously thought about recruiting the King of Martial Arts to deal with Ainz Ooal Gown or Elizabeth. Shouldn't monsters be dealt with by monsters?
However, after the battle on the Katz Plains, this idea was immediately dismissed.
"Your Majesty, who exactly is the King of Martial Arts' opponent?" The Holy Scripture Chief Priest from Theocracy spoke for the first time.
"I'm not sure. The King of Martial Arts' match was a last-minute decision, and the organizers seem to have kept it a secret to generate buzz. It wasn't even specified in the submitted program schedule." Jierunifu also found this strange.
"Is that so…" The Holy Scripture Chief Priest responded.
"However, only an Adamantite-ranked Adventurer could possibly challenge the King of Martial Arts in a one-on-one fight, right? Since all the Silver Thread Birds are here, the King of Martial Arts' opponent should be someone from Eightfold Chain, then? To be honest, I personally don't really approve of precious Steel Rank Adventurers participating in such potentially fatal battles, and… just for a performance." Jierunifu said, as now, every bit of combat power retained was a glimmer of hope.
"Is that so… I wonder who is stronger, the Empire's King of Martial Arts or our Black Scripture? If there's an opportunity, I'd really like to see it." The Holy Scripture Chief Priest said, and then saw the petite Female Priest make a slight movement. It was clear that the Black Scripture the Chief Priest mentioned should be that petite Female Priest.
Speaking of Black Scripture… that should be Theocracy's strongest trump card unit, the Black Scripture!
Was that Female Priest a powerful member of the Black Scripture? No wonder the Silver Thread Bird members reacted that way when she entered. Jierunifu paid more attention to the petite Female Priest.
But why would Theocracy's Holy Scripture Chief Priest say that? Was he trying to show off his military might in front of him?
Although Jierunifu had heard a little about Theocracy's Black Scripture, he didn't want to make the mistake of judging strength based solely on hearsay for the third time.
He had seen the King of Martial Arts' matches several times. He was an opponent that humans couldn't defeat… After all, the King of Martial Arts was an Ogre, and a very powerful Ogre. It was simply wishful thinking to defeat an Ogre with strong regenerative abilities with a human body.
Jierunifu's judgment was also based on a reason: Theocracy valued humans greatly. Logically, those who could enter the trump card unit should only be humans!
According to their ideology, however, human abilities have limits, unless that person chooses not to be human anymore… So, it would be too difficult for a human body to defeat the King of Martial Arts, especially such a petite girl!
Uh… when the petite girl was mentioned, the Female Devil's face flashed through Jierunifu's mind again, recalling her insidious and cunning smile.
"This is just my personal wish, please don't mind it. Alright… Your Majesty, could you please give me your previous answer?" The Holy Scripture Chief Priest said.
Right, now was not the time to dwell on this issue. He had to explain clearly first. Jierunifu sat down, picked up his pen, and was about to write down the answer.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for your patience! The challenger is about to enter!" The announcer's voice came from below again. Hearing this, Jierunifu stopped his hand again, simply curious as to which brave warrior was so reckless as to challenge the famous King of Martial Arts.
However, if the organizer could use him as a gimmick, his strength should be guaranteed. But were there still such strong individuals in the Empire?
If he was truly strong, regardless of the outcome of this match, it would be best to recruit him to serve the Empire. He remembered that the Kingdom's Warrior-Captain Gazef was discovered in the same way.
"Then! Please welcome the challenger! The King of the Magic Kingdom! His Majesty Ainz Ooal Gown!!!" The announcer below continued to shout.
"Ah??" As soon as Jierunifu heard this name, the pen in his hand slipped directly from his grasp.
The previously noisy Arena suddenly became completely silent, and of course… it was the same in the VIP box.
Jierunifu looked up and saw that almost everyone else, like him, had a look of complete bewilderment as to what had happened.
However, the gazes of the two Chief Priests from the Church were fixed on the dumbfounded Jierunifu.
This! It seems! He had not misheard. The name he heard just now was indeed Ainz Ooal Gown!
But why? Why would he be here?
He had never heard of a king from one country running to another country to participate in an Arena match! Was this guy out of his mind? No one with common sense would do this!
But what surprised Jierunifu even more was that he had been keeping a close eye on the Magic Kingdom's movements. If Ainz Ooal Gown entered the Empire, he would definitely receive news immediately.
This was a top priority! But now he hadn't received a report, which meant… he had snuck in?
Why would he do such a thing? And run to the Arena? Could it be…! A chill ran down Jierunifu's spine, followed by a sharp pain in his stomach.
At this moment, Jierunifu noticed that the Holy Scripture Chief Priest sitting in front of him had slightly raised his head, and through the gap in his hood, he could see his sharp gaze.
This meant… he thought that Jierunifu had called Ainz Ooal Gown! If their positions were reversed, he would also make that judgment!
"No! Please wait!!! This is a trap!" Jierunifu quickly explained. This was Ainz Ooal Gown's scheme! He absolutely did not call him over! What he needed to do now was to make Theocracy's Holy Scripture Chief Priest understand!
Jierunifu frantically wanted to continue explaining something, then his gaze swept over the three bodyguards behind the Holy Scripture Chief Priest. He was very worried that these three bodyguards might suddenly attack on the spot, leaving no room for further discussion.
However, they didn't. The three bodyguards made no unnecessary movements. Jierunifu only saw the petite Female Priest slightly raise her head, and her black hair with a few pink strands, hidden by the hood, became visible from the front edge of the hood, along with her right eye, which faintly emitted a yellow glow, visible through the gap in the hood.
Jierunifu was stunned… All the explanations he had wanted to say were forgotten, and he stared blankly at this very, very familiar Female Priest.
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