Episode 617
Chapter 159: The Tournament of the Fighting Kings (4)
Kaio didn’t answer. For a long moment, he just stared at Jin with cold, unblinking eyes.
“When it’s our turn in this tournament, as brothers, I’ll make sure to teach you a lesson that Jin won’t forget for the rest of his life.”
“You say that with such a spiteful look, yet you still call yourself my brother? Looking back, it seems the Fighting Kings have never really liked me.”
“Jin!”
“What are you saying? That’s going too far! How exactly do you see us Fighting Kings…?”
Several of the Meongwang clan watching nearby gasped in shock.
Even Garmund’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Do you think I’m wrong, brothers? When I inherited Sigmund from the Fighting God, I don’t recall the Fighting Kings congratulating me. And now, you’re deliberately belittling my victory in front of everyone.”
There were others who didn’t congratulate him back then, but Jin singled out Kaio as if he alone had done so.
“That’s because the Fighting Kings were angry at the Eighth Fighting King…”
“If they were only angry at the Eighth Fighting King, they wouldn’t have brought up diapers and nonsense. Those words clearly reveal how the Fighting Kings have truly thought of me all along. And the Twelfth Fighting King fought with all his heart. So why does the Fighting King act as if he can’t be beaten by someone like me?”
The Meongwang clan couldn’t quickly refute Jin’s words. Sensing this, Jin pressed on before anyone could interrupt.
“Also, the reason the Fighting King stirred up trouble just now had nothing to do with my honor.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The Fighting King was angry because he suspected the Eighth Fighting King deliberately lost to me. But what did he say immediately after?”
Jin glanced around at his brothers.
“‘And yet, are you really the great Fighting King of the Meongwang clan?’ That’s what he said. If I were the Fighting King, I would have said something different. Fighting like that is an insult to Jin. It’s not about the honor of the Fighting Kings—it’s about protecting a brother who has never intentionally lost.”
Silence fell.
Jin had deliberately spoken harshly, but there was no denying the truth in his words.
To drive the point home, Jin locked eyes with Kaio once more.
“Fighting King, I want to say this one last thing. Brother, don’t tarnish the honor of the great Meongwang clan. Just now, you insulted both the Eighth Fighting King and me based on mere suspicion, and you even attacked a brother. The image I have of us as brothers is far from this. It’s disappointing.”
“Jin, enough. Both the Eighth and the Fighting King made mistakes. But to say the Fighting King has disliked you all along—that’s going too far.”
Baltrock’s words made Jin shake his head.
“I was only speculating about the Fighting King’s feelings, just as he speculated about mine, First Fighting King. And I’m rarely wrong. We’ll settle this in the tournament, Fighting King.”
As Jin turned and left the hall, Tantel hurried after him, leaping down to the ground.
“Jin! What are you doing? Have you already forgotten what I told you?”
“I did it on purpose.”
“What?”
“I needed to provoke the brothers’ fighting spirit. Seeing the Eighth Fighting King let me win, I realized this was necessary all along.”
“Tell me more.”
“Alright, but only you, Tantel. I swear on the honor of the Fighting God and all our brothers.”
From that day on, the atmosphere in Laprarosa changed.
First, the gem-stake gambling disappeared.
The gem-stake gambling was essentially harmless—a shared amusement with no real losers. Those who won and lost would all end up sharing the gems and laughing together.
Everyone just wanted to enjoy themselves. And such entertainment was only possible because Jin’s presence kept time flowing in Laprarosa.
With the gambling gone, the smiles faded from the Meongwang clan as they prepared for the Fighting Kings’ tournament.
Though they spat hostility and pushed each other to the brink of death, the tournament was fundamentally about honorable competition.
But that spirit was gone.
Like before the peaceful era of the Fighting God’s reign, invisible factions had formed.
Some believed Jin had to be accepted as the rightful successor of the Fighting God, while others argued that wasn’t enough.
The former simply supported Jin unconditionally as a beloved brother; the latter insisted that, with the situation changed, stricter scrutiny was necessary.
“If we’re stuck here forever, maybe. But if we can leave, the successor to the Fighting God must be decided clearly.”
“Right. That’s better for Jin too. If the successor isn’t someone everyone can accept, the Meongwang clan will weaken. Then we won’t be able to properly support Jin outside.”
“Brothers, what nonsense! Jin was personally chosen by the Fighting God. Are you doubting his judgment?”
“No, it’s just that back then, we had no hope of leaving Insero. The Fighting God had no choice but to pick Jin.”
“Nonsense!”
“If that’s not true, why did the Fighting God just leave when the Fighting King stepped up in the Seventh Tournament? It’s because pushing Jin forcibly like the Eighth Fighting King did is no longer right. If the Fighting God intervened directly, it might look bad.”
“That’s an insult to the Fighting God. And since when did the Fighting Kings’ tournament become a contest to decide the Fighting God’s successor?”
“It’s always been that way, implicitly. The final winner usually becomes the next Fighting God.”
“Damn it, brothers! To me, this just looks like a pointless fight. Is this all the care we have for each other? Testing Jin again, even though he’s already been chosen? Splitting into factions and fighting over such a thing—it’s embarrassing to watch!”
“The truth is, the family always turns inward. Surely some brothers see Jin as an outsider, ungrateful…”
“Shaku, don’t say that. No one thinks that!”
“Maybe not openly. But honestly, I think the Fighting King sees Jin that way. When Jin lost twice recently, the Fighting King sneered as if it was laughable. Am I the only one who saw that?”
Two consecutive losses.
Jin had been defeated by Palem in the 12th tournament and Dalpir in the 17th.
Unlike when he defeated Teto and Garmund, these losses were crushing.
“Also, the Third and Sixth Fighting Kings seemed emotional when facing Jin. Even when they had the upper hand, they didn’t finish him off quickly. Would they do that if they truly cared for Jin? And those two are close to the Fighting King.”
“All the Meongwang clan are close! Stop making baseless assumptions!”
“Even if those two Fighting Kings deliberately made things hard for Jin, it was probably to teach him a lesson as Fighting Kings. But whatever the reason, Jin lost. That means he’s even further from qualifying as the Fighting God’s successor.”
“Done talking, Mouka? Conveniently, we’re included in today’s Peace Warriors’ tournament. Shall we say the winner’s opinion is the right one?”
“Hmph, so that’s how it is. I won’t back down. Don’t regret this!”
Day by day, the Meongwang clan’s conflicts deepened. It was hard to believe these were the same people who had lived so peacefully and ideally not long ago.
Those trying to stay neutral felt like they were walking on thin ice every day.
They hadn’t broken yet, but it wouldn’t be surprising if everything exploded at any moment.
“My goodness… I thought at least in our time, we wouldn’t have such childish conflicts. Aren’t they ashamed in front of the brothers who died? How can this be?”
Belize, watching from afar, pressed her forehead. She had been Jin’s greatest supporter from the start but now kept neutral, worried the conflict would worsen.
“Second Fighting King, does the Fighting God have anything to say?”
Belize asked Boras, who shrugged and nodded.
“Either he’s sick of seeing all this, or he’s got some plan. Outside the tournament, he just plays with Lingling.”
“This is maddening. If Jin meets the Fighting King like this, it’s going to end badly…”
The 22nd tournament—the fight between Jin and Kaio—was fast approaching.
Jin was still recovering from injuries sustained in his recent losses, while Kaio, despite having fought more battles, was already in perfect condition.
“…The Fighting King doesn’t seem willing to hold back. He’s harboring a grudge.”
The conflict was like a barrel of oil, and their fight was the spark.
Everyone expected Kaio to win decisively, knowing the rift between factions would only deepen afterward.
One of them needed to step back and end this, but neither Jin nor Kaio seemed willing to apologize.
“Hah, surely the Fighting King won’t kill Jin?”
“No way he’d do something that crazy! He’s just angry. Why is the Seventh Fighting King acting like this? Don’t you trust the Fighting King? There’s no way brothers would kill each other.”
“Damn it, I don’t know. The way he acted that day reminded me of when the Fighting King was at his most unhinged.”
When Kaio was at his worst.
Belize and Boras remembered that time clearly.
Back then, Kaio was always ready to cross the line.
As everyone worried and hoped in equal measure, time slipped by without offering any solutions, until finally the day of the showdown between Jin and Kaio arrived.
Above the main hall, all the Myungwang clan members gathered, holding their breath as they watched the two.
Ban, as always, wore an unreadable, calm expression.
“Finally, we meet, the Shiptu brothers,” Jin said.
Kaio nodded in response, his voice cold and steady.
“If you think you’re going to die, then scream for your life. Otherwise, this might get dangerous.”