Chapter 355 : Blood for blood [2/2]
"My lord?"
Connie\'s words pulled me out of my thoughts. She and Phillip seemed to want my opinion on something.
"What? Did you need something?"
"I was just commenting on the absurdity of the whole thing. 84 million for the saviors is a staggering number, but when you consider that it is the entire world, it is understandable."
I guess? Basically, the bet was the USA against the whole world. While we could win if we talked about in the sun. The answer was not so clear for those in hell.
"How rich are your friends to have bet 10 million souls on you, my Lord?"
\'Friends? Do I have any friends?\' I wondered inwardly.
"Lady Constance, you are gravely mistaken. The ten million did not come from my lord\'s friends. Did you not know what happened during his first nights here? Find adventures at m_v l|e\'m-p| y r
"I have checked and out of the ten million, seven are from the other battle fronts. And no single individual wagered more than 100,00 souls."
"A few nights? ... oh! The Annihilation Rankings! The insane 500/1 odds! You mean these people are all fucking gamblers?" Connie gasped
"Not all but most of them, you forget the battlefront has a name for them, \'Limit Royalty\', the ones who make fortunes betting on Limitless."
\'Oh right? That kind of happened? Wait, didn\'t I have some kind of stock for the winnings? I should ask Phillip, right now I needed every soul I could get my hands on.\'
Before I could comment, Connie lunged at me and took my hands.
"My Lord, will you allow me to accompany you through the night? I will make a promo about you and Hellsend. I guarantee your pot will skyrocket after people see it."
"Ugh, sure. I don\'t mind. Go crazy. Just don\'t get in my way. I\'ll have Bella\' lend you a drone."
"Ah! No need, I already have my own. I just need to control it."
\'Hmm. Didn\'t Bella already give her {Code}? Perhaps she can use {Connect} on that thing.\'
"Connie, use {Connect} on your drone."
"Huh? Okay? But will it do anything?"
"Ah, right. Blood did not teach you what a {fate} did. You would only learn gain the ability. So unless someone from the Siren\'s or I kissed her, she would not know how powerful {Code} was.\'
Connie pulled out a yellow Skydio drone similar to mine and used Bella\'s {Fate}.
"{Connect}."
I could see from her eyes and from the air that \'something\' jumped between Connie and the drone. Then it began to fly in the air without a controller.
"HOLY CRAP! THIS IS SO COOL! So {Connect} is for machines? I thought it was for talking to people!"
Feeling smug about her reaction to my lover\'s {Fate}, I grew pleased. Connie let her flying camera bounce and slide as she controlled its camera. After a few moments, it descended and landed on her palm.
"GREAT! I can definitely get some great shots with this!"
"I see, well just make sure you don\'t get killed while you\'re flying that thing telepathically. Phillip, can you get me my money from Deathfall? They kept my commission from the Annihilation rankings, right?"
"Understood, I will see to it at once. my lord."
Since there was nothing else to do here, I was about to leave when I saw Patrick Steorra talking to Stannis and his group of extortionists. I increased my hearing towards them to see what was going on.
"I already told you gentlemen, I was only paid by Hellsend. I was not part of their army. I only allowed them to use my land. I was within my rights as a defender!"
"Yes, but you failed to inform Administration that you were going to summon such a large group of undead. What would you have done if Hellsend had failed to contain the damage and your zone had been breached?" Stannis countered logically.
"I... I had no idea they would even do that! How can I be responsible for that? Look, they just paid me 50,000 souls so I couldn\'t refuse."
"50,000, you say? Then I will deduct your fines from that. For your negligence in informing us, you will be charged 5,000 souls. Next, for your inability to prepare a countermeasure, you will be charged another 5,000. Finally, you will also have to pay a 30% income tax, as well as a cleaning and repair tax."
"WHAT! This is robbery! Fines on top of extra taxes? You are insane! I should report you!"
I couldn\'t help but laugh at what I heard. Even back home, the fines and taxes the government came up with were sketchy.
The worst thing I heard was that they even taxed people who won the lottery. You had to pay the tax or you would not get your winnings.
"Haha. Justice is served. Farewell, you fucking prick. May we never meet again."
"My lord? Something funny?"
Phillip and Connie stared at me as if I were mad. It was hard to explain why I was laughing without revealing how corrupt Stannis and his bastards were.
Well, his words had logic to them, for all we know those fines were actually correct.
I shook my head and replied. "Never mind. Let\'s go. They were on the tenth floor, right?"
"Yes, my lord, the zone the Siren\'s chose is a training zone. The 2nd Amendment and the Siren\'s served as advance troops that will establish a beachhead. Once the zone is clear, the plan used earlier will be repeated."
"I see. Then lets go."
Under a stream of light, the three of us warped into the training zone for our next battle.
Later that night, the operation was named "Song of the Sirens." And we would run it four more times.
Each mission lasted 3 hours. By the time I noticed, it was already 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Thanks to {Rewind}, {Eat}, and {Comfort Food}, even though our bodies were being pushed to the limit, we were not the least bit tired.
Hellsend had an unimaginable result. We cleared floors 6 through 10, a feat no one had ever done before. The new members of the 2nd Amendment Squad were supposed to leave at 6 am.
However, they all voluntarily chose to ascend as Phantoms and remain in Hellsgate. According to Joshua, they were all grateful to me for giving them a chance to fight.
As production reapers, these brave men and women were used to inhumane work, and they thought they would have to endure such hell forever.
Similarly, almost two-thirds of the ten graves turned into Phantoms. Cynthia gave a similar reason. Everyone wanted to make sure that they would earn enough until the last minute.
I couldn\'t help but feel teary-eyed at how much these people wanted me to win. Still, time was running out.
The wagering pool would end in one hour at 4 pm. The Seeker War was scheduled to begin at 9 or 10 PM. With only an hour or sixty minutes left, there was not enough time to clear another zone.
We did what we could. Now the betting pool and the Reapers of the world would decide what happened next.