The Immortal Player

"Wha~What is this?! The Free For All battle has ended in just 5 minutes and 30 seconds after it had started!" The Announcer shouted in astonishment, "Aaaaand... We have a winner! Congratulations to the three remaining participants! As for the other participants, than~"

"Wait!"

"Eh?"

Admiral Uno stood and approached the announcer. He nodded to the announcer and said,

"Let me handle this!"

"I congratulate the three remaining participants in this Free For All battle. The three of you would be considered as the top three of your batch and would be now available for recruitment. Your ranks would be determined by the highest-ranking officer of the fleet or crew that you would join. But... the rank given to you should be at least 'Teniente de Navio'."

"To those who were eliminated... All of you are now also open for recruitment. However, your ranks would remain the same. And only by passing promotion exams should your rank rise to the next level! I hope that all of you would work harder and become stronger."

"Never the less, thank you for your participation and I hope to see you in 6 months, at the Grand Trade Event!" Admiral Uno stepped back. He looked to the announcer and said, "Thank you! You may now proceed in the next phase of the recruitment event."

"Yes, Admiral."

"Everyone! It's time for the recruitment session! You can go and approach the representatives of the crew or fleet you want to join! As for the 15 Great Fleets, only 13 of them were recruiting new members. A separate recruitment area was assigned to each of them. Please refer to the officers for their location. That's all! Good luck!"

Everyone applauded. Admiral Uno stood and was about to leave.

"Uno, You're leaving? Ain't it still too early?"

"Hahaha! Fuego, Old men like us need more rest nowadays! Unlike you, I can't slack off." Admiral Uno sighed, "If only Soledad had not perished... I could have passed the torch to her and I would have been able to join you."

"Hahaha! Don't worry, I'll bring something good later!"

"No thanks!" Admiral Uno entered the pathway and his figure disappeared.

"That man..." Old man Fuego can't help but scratch his head. At this point, the other members of the Admiral's circle left without even speaking with each other. They would only look towards Pedro after standing, then they would turn around and leave.

"Young man! Wait!" Old man Fuego halted Mathew, who was about to leave with Talia.

Mathew and Talia stopped on their tracks and looked towards old man Fuego.

"Is there something you need from us, Senior?" Mathew asked respectfully.

"Ah... No! No! You're gonna meet with young man Aron, right? If so, let us go together. I want to talk to him about something."

"Aron?" A blonde woman frowned. She rubbed her chin trying to remember something about the familiar name.

Old man Fuego, Talia, and Mathew shifted their gaze towards the woman's direction.

"Did senior hit you hard to the point that you'd even forget his name, Beatrice?" Pauk Solares spoke in a mocking tone.

"Him?!" Beatrice stared at Pedro, full of killing intent.

"Oh... Paul, Beatrice! Would you like to come with us, and see your former crewmate?" Old man Fuego asked.

"Crewmate?" Talia and Mathew became confused as they stare towards Paul and Beatrice.

"Of course, Vice Almirante! I have something to discuss with him anyway!" Beatrice left first.

"Ah! Wait, Beatrice! Ahahaha... Senior, We'll head first!" Paul forced out a smile to old man Fuego, then he chased after Beatrice.

"Hahaha! Young ones are really full of energy! Shall we go?"

"Yes, Senior." Mathew nodded.

~~~~~~~

Back at the battle area...

"D@mn... That was scary!"

Pedro sighed as he retracted his sword away from Yojiro. He flicked the sword to the side to remove the blood in the katana. Then, he sheathed it back to its scabbard.

"I had almost forgotten how it felt being stared at, with a menacing look." He chuckled.

Pedro remembered how he felt after being stared like prey by a predator when Admiral took one last glance at him.

"Is that it?"

Faunia looked sluggish when Pedro looked at her. She looked like someone tired, but her tone seemed more like she was, somehow, disappointed.

"I think so?" Pedro forced out a smile.

"That's what we came here for?"

"No. Increasing our manpower was the priority. Joining these events were just for fun! Hahaha!"

Faunia couldn't help it but to shook her head.

"To be honest, I am impressed." He paused for a second before he continued, "No one took the bait to our provocation. It's either their wise or they don't have the courage."

"It can't be helped... So... What are we going to do with him?"

Faunia pointed to Yojiro who remained unmoved at where he stood. He was in a state of shock and can only listen to the conversation between Faunia and Pedro.

"Hmm... He's not bad."

Pedro glanced to his side and stared at Yojiro with bloodlust. Yojiro took a step backward, due to his instincts. His face became grimmer.

"Th~This blo~bloodlust! A~A... Mo~mo~monster!"

Despite taking a step backward, Yojiro grasped his katana, tightly. He was ready to strike anyone who would get close to him, out of desperation to survive.

Pedro smirked and drew his katana.

Boom!

Instead of the sounds of the clashing of metals, an explosion occurred after the sword and the katana collided. The smoke escaping from Pedro's Katana was blown sideways. The katana was able to block a strike from a flaming sword, that emitted a blue-colored flame.

"Beatrice, It's nice to see you again!"

The smug in Pedro's face made Beatrice click her tongue. Seeing that she can't force Pedro to even flinch an inch, Beatrice retreated a few meters away. At this moment, Paul Solares arrived at the battle area.

The smoke started to spread once again. And in seconds, the whole area was filled with smoke. The figure of Pedro disappeared in the thick smoke. The smoke was thick enough that the people doing recruitment in the observation area couldn't also see anything in the battle area.

"It seems like you didn't have enough rest, Beatrice?!" Pedro chuckled.

Fwooosh!

"Eh?"

After a second, Beatrice, Yojiro, and some of the common-ranked personnel within a hundred-meter radius from Pedro became unconscious. Those who stood collapsed to the floor.

Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag!

As for Paul Solares, Old man Fuego, and the rest, They felt a tinge pain in the head making them stop for a second with some needed to support their head.

Pedro sheathed back the Katana and the smoke dissipated. At the entrance stood Paul Solares and Old man Fuego who wore a smile.

"Eh? You guys are not tired?" Pedro mocked.