“Are you sure Tyrannus won’t recognize you?” Ambrose asked while following behind a crowd that swarmed inside the enormous auction hall.
Beside him, Bonney, with her eyes covered with thick sunglasses, kept her eyes peeled on the guards.
“There are thousands of pirates present. As long as I stay out of the spotlight, such as not bidding for any of the items, I’ll be fine.” Bonney said with a trustworthy tone.
“I hope so.” Ambrose nodded and followed the crowd into the auction hall.
However, before they could enter, the guards took everyone’s weapons, but barely no one took them with them to the auction as they knew about this rule.
Ambrose swiftly placed his sword inside his inventory.
At that moment, the guard checked him out, and after not seeing him carry any weapons with him, he let him pass.
After entering the auction hall, and walking down a hallway, they stepped through an open doorway and entered the jewel of the auction hall—the bidding hall.
It had thousands of seats and a large stage for the auctioneers.
Over half of the seats were already occupied, and there was a loud sound of chatting and laughter.
The atmosphere was lively and exciting, with people eagerly awaiting the start of the auction.
At that moment, Ambrose’s body froze as a powerful hand fell on his shoulder.
As he turned around, he saw the broad-shouldered man with dead-looking eyes staring straight at him.
“You’ve come.” Mars said with his usual cold tone.
“Mars…” Ambrose narrowed his eyes and simultaneously felt like the person who was standing beside him only moments ago had disappeared into the crowd as soon as Mars appeared.
“What did Adam Slasher want from you?” Mars asked.
“Nothing.” Ambrose shook his head.
“Hmph.” Mars scoffed. “Also, you are apparently Reinhardt’s disciple. Hah, fuck me, ain’t I surprised when I heard that.”
“…” Ambrose stayed silent, but his mind ran on overdrive.
‘Just how many now believe this nonsense? Hmm, I doubt Mars gets scared if I threaten him with Reinhardt, and it can also backfire on me greatly.’
“Well, I don’t care.” Mars grinned slightly. “If you managed to become his disciple, I am sure you are indeed blessed with fate. The fate that is all mine now.”
Following that, Mars pushed Ambrose out of the way and descended the steps, soon sitting down in one of the seats, which was right beside Apollo and others, who looked around and caught a glimpse of Ambrose.
They seemed relieved that he was, after all, alive.
“Whew, that was close.” As soon as Mars left, Bonney returned to his side.
“…” Ambrose sighed heavily. “If there is indeed the heart of the Nymn Tree, we cannot allow Mars to get his hands on it.”
“What can I do?” Bonney asked. “Counter-bid? That’ll attract attention to me, and I don’t have any silver with me.”
“No.” Ambrose shook his head. “Heart of the Nymn Tree has to be valuable as it gives luck to its carrier, so it must cost millions. I don’t think Mars can afford it.”
“That leaves only one option.” Bonney said and crossed her arms. “After the auction, he’ll try to steal it from whoever purchases it.”
“That is more of his style.” Ambrose said with certainty.
Bonney nodded and looked around the bidding hall for a seat. “I’ll keep an eye on him. Let’s not sit together; we would be more eye-catching if we sat together.”
“Yeah.” Ambrose nodded and was about to go find a seat, but then again, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Yo.” Adam, with his blind white eyes, looked at Ambrose and then saw the sunglasses-wearing woman beside him.
He furrowed his brows as he could feel some familiarity radiating out of her, but he couldn’t really tell where it was coming from.
Bonney quickly bowed, lowering her head at the same time, acting as just another member of the crowd who would bow when they met Adam’s eyes.
It wasn’t just her.
A few members of the crowd also bowed at Adam, as if it were mandatory to do so.
After all, he was the right-handed man of the Sea King Tyrannus, making his status way higher than some pirate captains gathered here.
Adam then turned away from the woman, thinking he had just mistaken her for someone else.
“It’ll take about half an hour for the auction to start.” Adam said to Ambrose: “There’ll be a small concert in the bar. Wanna come?”
“All right.” Ambrose nodded and replied, but simultaneously sent glances at Bonney, telling her with his eyes to keep an eye on Mars.
Bonney didn’t reply anyway and instead entered the crowd, soon disappearing into one of the thousand seats, but just close enough to see Mars without any obstruction.
After that, Adam and Ambrose left the bidding hall and soon arrived at the bar.
There were songs already playing, being played by a woman with a pixie haircut and a guitar on her lap.
After they got seated on the high stools on the bar counter, they ordered drinks and then turned their gazes on the performance happening on the stage.
There was a small crowd gathered below the stage, enjoying the small concert happening.
The music was very high-tempo, and her fingers danced across the guitar strings very rapidly.
“I want you to be prepared for tonight.” Adam said and took a small sip of the drink. “Get only one drink.”
Ambrose frowned while taking slow sips of his drink.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“Tyrannus isn’t allowing Mars to win anything.” Adam said while twirling the drink in his hand. “From what I’ve heard and seen, Mars is quite a radical person.
“There are always some pirates trying to steal from whoever wins the bid.
“That is the nature of pirates, and Tyrannus allows it to some extent.
“Now, Mars definitely wanted to enter the auction because of some items. When he fails to acquire it, he’ll resort to violence, and that’s when Tyrannus will make his move.
“He will kill him.”
Ambrose silently listened.
“However.” Adam finished the drink with one loud gulp, and once he put the cup down, he said, “He’ll also force the rest of the Black Heart Pirates under his leadership.”
“With another slave contract?” Ambrose asked with a deep frown.
“That’s right.” Adam wryly smiled. “It’s impossible for you to escape Tyrannus. It’s even harder than escaping from Mars.”
“So, are you suggesting I run away?” Ambrose chuckled. “What if Mars survives?”
“Running away? No.” Adam shook his head. “I want you to help me with something.”
“And that is?” Ambrose asked curiously.
“You have already shown your strength, and I can trust in you.” Adam looked at him and venomously said, “When Tyrannus and Mars fight, they both will be gravely injured. Whoever wins in the end, we’ll finish them off.”
“Huh?” Ambrose’s eyes widened in surprise. “You want to kill Tyrannus?
“Didn’t you say that you were indifferent whether he lives or dies, but now you want to kill him?”
“I lied to ya.” Adam chuckled, but there was a deep coldness in his blind eyes. “I think I can trust you enough now. I want to kill Tyrannus as much as you want Mars.
“The reason is on my back.”
“On your back?” Ambrose frowned.
Adam stood up, standing tall and strong, but then he removed his shirt and showed his exposed back.
On his broad back, there was a large tattoo of a sea trident that covered his entire back. It looked like it would’ve taken ages to complete.
“This is the same contract symbol as your small black heart on your forehead.” Adam said and then put the shirt back on. “When I was a kid, Tyrannus killed everyone in the town I lived in, and he also blinded me, but still, for some reason, he took me in and put me under the slave contract.
“Y’see now?”
“I understand…” Ambrose scratched the back of his head. “I still know Mars, and he won’t go down easily.”
“Neither will Tyrannus.” Adam sat back down and crossed his muscular arms. “Their fight will be intense and brutal. But it also won’t be only them we have to worry about.
“Dreadnought and Arkham will definitely be there to assist Tyrannus.”
“Let me guess…” Ambrose smiled. “We’ll kill them during the auction.”
“Ding, ding.” Adam nodded in agreement. “The auction starts soon. It is our best chance to kill them, as they both are guarding the treasure trove.”