Chapter 229

Darkness surged forth again, engulfing the entire valley; the black mist spread faster than before and quickly caught up to the three figures.

"Hehehehehehehehe… It's useless. Everything is over. Giving up now might make your deaths quicker."

"Hehehehehehehehe!!!"

The arrogant, unrestrained laughter echoed throughout the canyon, shaking the heavens!

Gazing down at the few figures below, the Seven Infernal Affiliates were now utterly stunned—they had never imagined events would turn this way.

The tide of battle had suddenly reversed.

Hades, "None," and Brunot were now being hunted by a man named Blackbeard!

Several times, Hades and the others barely escaped being swallowed by the black mist.

Only after retreating thousands of meters did the black mist slowly slow down.

By then, they had already expended tremendous energy fleeing.

But before they could stop to rest, they saw Blackbeard's figure chasing them again—and as he moved, the black mist began spreading once more.

"Damn it! How can this guy just not let go!"

"Why."

"Why!" After leaping several times to put more distance between them and the black mist, "None" turned and roared.

"We have no grudge against you. Why are you chasing us like this? What benefit is this to you, being from another world?"

In "None"'s view, killing him served no purpose.

"Benefit?"

Blackbeard let out a low chuckle, then raised his head.

"Of course there's benefit! As a pirate, if I had no sufficient reason, why would I ever lift a finger?"

"To me, you three are the gift I've chosen—to present to the Magic Fapingyi Society as a token of greeting!"

"Token of greeting?"

Hades was stunned—he clearly didn't understand what Blackbeard meant.

Wasn't he a being from another world?

Someone as powerful as him—why would he offer gifts to the Fapingyi Society?

The Magic Fapingyi Society was indeed powerful, but that strength came solely from their forbidden weapons.

Even using those forbidden weapons required extremely long preparation times—time enough for a Saint-Tier mage to evade the attack range.

The true forces capable of restraining them were the royal powers and the Daoshigong Society; their ability to limit true powerhouses was almost laughably small.

A being as powerful as Blackbeard, from another world, had no reason at all to fear the Magic Fapingyi Society.

Not only Hades, but "None" and Brunot—even Urtia, who had once been a councilor, now failed to understand Blackbeard's intentions.

"What a pity," Blackbeard said with a smile.

"I thought someone as clever as you might guess it. But clearly, you still know too little about me. Do you really think I wanted to leave my own world and come to this strange one?"

"But what does that have to do with us?" Hades said grimly.

Indeed, as Blackbeard said, he had originally been chased into this world by Ace.

But what did that have to do with them being hunted now?

Before Hades could think further, Blackbeard continued.

"It has nothing to do with you… but after this, it does."

"I killed my comrades. As a traitor, I have no place left in the Grand Line—neither among the Marines nor the pirates."

"Later, while being relentlessly hunted, I accidentally stumbled into a space-time rift and came to this world—only then did I learn that the world wasn't just the Grand Line!"

"Do you know how excited I was then?"

As he spoke, Blackbeard's face lit up with madness, as if a beautiful woman had been laid before him—his eyes gleamed with fervor.

"Magic, dragons, magical spirit forces—so many powerful things the Grand Line world never had!"

"Too bad, I once tried to join the Magic Fapingyi Society, but they rejected me."

…

"But what does that have to do with us… wait… magical spirit force… could it be…?"

Mid-sentence, as if a light suddenly turned on, Hades turned around in shock, staring at Blackbeard behind him, his eyes filled with profound awe.

The others, still unable to grasp what Blackbeard had said, remained utterly confused.

Seeing Hades' sudden realization, before he could ask, Blackbeard spoke again.

"It seems you've figured it out."

Watching Hades' expression, Blackbeard already knew what he had guessed—but he didn't stop speaking just because Hades understood.

"That's right. As a being from another world, I was not accepted by those people."

"Even though the Saint-Tier seat was later opened to everyone—including beings from other worlds—I was no longer satisfied with a Saint-Tier seat."

"Ulfheim fell. One seat among the Heavenly Kings is vacant. And now, what I want is his position."

"I'll take your heads as my token of allegiance."

"Once I enter the Fapingyi Society and gain control of the magical spirit force, I'll return to the Grand Line!"

"At that time, I won't just be the Pirate King…"

"I'll be the King of the World!"