Chapter 515: Give the Salary First

The duel ended, and the massive ground painting in the sky gradually lost its color.

The flame corridor encircling the city's midsection began to slowly recede.

Seeing Ke Luo's body swayed violently.

Although Tenjo Hikari never used any monster with special powers for his final attack, in this duel fought on the Ground Seal painting, his Life Points were reduced to 1, and he lost outright; as a duelist, he naturally had his strength and life drained away.

The massive flame corridor vanished, and his body once again fell vertically like a bird with broken wings.

Just as everyone thought tragedy would replay itself, the giant condor flapped its wings.

The Ultimate Ground Seal God had not successfully completed the painting nor fully revived, but its body would not dissipate quickly in the short term; thus, under the support of the colossal bird deity, Seeing Ke Luo and Tenjo Hikari were returned to the runway.

"Phew—" All spectators who cared for them exhaled in relief.

After landing on the roadway, Tenjo Hikari stopped the vehicle, ran to Seeing Ke Luo's side, and found Seeing Ke Luo motionless.

He still wore the uniform of an An-Yin user; the good news was, he seemed to still be breathing, but Tenjo Hikari couldn't tell how badly he was injured.

"He's not dead," said Tierra beside him. "Or rather, he's been reborn? This human is alive now, at least."

Tenjo Hikari finally relaxed.

Then, he couldn't help but reflect.

No wonder they're Ground Seal Gods.

In the original story, the Ground Seal Gods were among the most generous and "kind" of all the villain bosses.

Aside from the outlier Red Lotus Nova, every Ground Seal God followed one principle: pay wages first, then hire.

Anyone connected to the Long Yin, enemies of the Long Yin, or those who could help them defeat the Red Dragon—they would immediately revive that person, and as long as they didn't betray during the duel, they would never interfere with what the An-Yin user intended to do.

Moreover, even if the An-Yin user lost, no matter how they lost, the revival would never be revoked—effectively, for An-Yin users, the worst possible outcome was still a free resurrection.

Of course, different Ground Seal Gods showed varying degrees of generosity.

For instance, when Karina Zhu became an An-Yin user and lost to Jack, her Ground Seal God even kindly erased all her memories from her time as an An-Yin user; conversely, Gui Liu received no such treatment after the An-Yin War ended—he was left to reflect endlessly on his actions during that period.

Of course, for Karina Zhu and others, the first scenario might actually have been a kind of torment.

In short, it seemed Seeing Ke Luo hadn't just been revived—he might have even gained some special power, since Viraqucha Raska had not left him to die but actively brought them both back to the roadway.

This indicated that, at least for Him, this duel had been thoroughly satisfying.

Considering the Ground Seal Gods' generosity and habits, perhaps even Zhen Si, who had been consumed by the duel, had been revived somewhere in a lower district.

As he thought this, Tenjo Hikari noticed Captain Niuwei driving a two-person police car with a small squad of peace officers speeding toward them; Serena was waving from the vehicle.

He heard Seeing Ke Luo faintly stirring, as if awakening.

No wonder he's the man who, in the original story, endured a Ground Seal God's attack with nothing but a mortal body—he's already waking up so fast.

In this world, protected by a Ground Seal God, he didn't seem to have suffered much pain.

On the other side, Captain Niuwei arrived before Tenjo Hikari and urged him to leave immediately. Tenjo Hikari didn't ask why—he nodded, told Serena to get in the back seat, and said: "Then I leave Seeing Ke Luo to you. He'll need more time to wake up."

"Don't worry," Captain Niuwei assured him.

Even Captain Niuwei's subordinates, the peace officers, didn't question his action; having witnessed the duel up close, and being duelists themselves, they now held nothing but admiration and reverence for Tenjo Hikari and Seeing Ke Luo—especially since Seeing Ke Luo had died right before their eyes saving a child. Even residents of the lower districts didn't resent him, and Tenjo Hikari had won against what they saw as an "invincible" scenario—that was beyond extraordinary.

Besides, their captain had said it—why would they arrest anyone?

They couldn't win anyway. What's the point of risking their lives for a few hundred a month?

Tenjo Hikari truly didn't need to ask Captain Niuwei why. Though he didn't know why the Fusion Army soldiers hadn't seized Serena during his duel with Seeing Ke Luo, at least now, Captain Niuwei didn't have to make a final choice between duty and "justice."

Earlier, fearing splash damage might hurt Serena, Tenjo Hikari had asked Captain Niuwei to watch over her for a while—he'd seen in Captain Niuwei's eyes the same passion he thought had long died; at that moment, he'd guessed that if any colleague tried to take Serena, Captain Niuwei would never allow it—he'd stop them.

Now, this outcome was good for everyone present.

"We recorded Seeing Ke Luo's rescue on our police car. The children's parents are anxiously waiting for them to return. Soon, Seeing Ke Luo might become a 'hero,' praised by some in the upper districts…" Captain Niuwei mused.

I see—

Tenjo Hikari nodded along.

That might be a great thing. At least Seeing Ke Luo's efforts won't be wasted.

He didn't chat long with Captain Niuwei—time was tight. He drove off swiftly in another direction.

Unnoticed, the sky darkened again with clouds. Unlike the giant bird deity before, a terrifying giant now appeared at one edge of the city—clearly, Gui Liu and You Xing's duel had also reached its final stage.

On the other side, Ma Ling Wang seethed inwardly, yet showed no sign on his face.

Originally, he'd expected Tenjo Hikari to lose to Seeing Ke Luo—after all, under normal circumstances, Tenjo Hikari had no way to bypass the combination of Viraqucha Raska and Black Wing Assault Dragon. At that moment, he wanted the Fusion Army soldiers to witness how Tenjo Hikari lost to a duelist from another dimension, to see how this "traitor of the Fusion Army" would die.

But he never imagined this man would pull out a card: "DDD God King Dack." Worse still—that card was definitely one he himself had created using his technique!

His own card had become his enemy's student's weapon, overcoming the very difficulty he'd designed it to prevent—it enraged him.

Even more infuriating: because he'd ordered his soldiers to watch the duel, they'd missed a perfect chance to seize Serena.

But no matter how furious or dissatisfied he was, he could not show it now—not a single sign. He must not let his soldiers discover his mistake.

Damn it—

He stood with his hands behind his back, expressionless, gazing down at the Elder Council, appearing unfathomably profound, causing the nobles to whisper in awe and murmured discussion.

Only he knew how furious he was inside—and how intense his desire to kill Tenjo Hikari.

He could no longer tolerate this!

He narrowed his eyes, his face cold as a wax statue, as if ready to devour his enemy alive.

Now, he knew every single one of Tenjo Hikari's cards.

It was time.

He could no longer let Tenjo Hikari block his plans.

He resolved—resolved to act himself.

He would personally eliminate Tenjo Hikari!

(End of Chapter)