Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 459: Play Yard

Chapter 459: Play Yard

Main objective. Special objective. Hidden objective. Boss kill. Mini boss kills.

He levelled up. He levelled up. He levelled up.

Kazi Hossain led the attack. Kazi Hossain ultimately killed the two Bake-kujira. Kazi Hossain fulfilled all the conditions.

It was no surprise to say he received the most XP and most points. He was Level 91. He no doubt possessed the highest level out of anyone in the current Heavenly Games.

The Mother Bake-kujira and Red Bake-kujira had been dragged to shore and harvested properly. With the Red Bake-kujira, fifty percent of their work was already done for them since Kazi sliced the infant skeleton whale in half. Kazi did not know how to feel about it. To an extent, it was as though they did not understand their original transgressions. The whole reason for this war between the people and the Bake-kujira was because they were hunting down whales. They were encroaching on their territory, getting greedy, and killing too much.

Samantha had her own agenda. She whispered in the ear of the young master Horio Tadaharu. She told him that in order to succeed his saintly grandfather, he had to give orders. He had to be strong during these tough times. As a result, he agreed to harvest the corpses of the Bake-kujiras. Lots of money was to be found because of its bone and inner flesh. The infant alone was wracking up more food and resources that the young lord had seen in his privileged life. Samantha was making arrangements to find weapons capable of penetrating the bone of the Mother Bake-kujira.

Kazi did not have time to think on such matters. Humanity would be humanity no matter what happened. Their greed, their inability to learn, their ability to learn, their ability to be happy and celebrate...

That was what made humanity so fickle and beautiful. It was what made it worth protecting.

’A hero with no power is no hero.’

At a corner of Lake Shinji, near Aika River where the battle had once been, was the human god himself, clad in gold. His eyes were sealed shut. His power radiated and exploded. A twice folded aura of golden electricity.

"With power like this, I can even surpass the gods. I can surpass the Eternal Emperor. Everyone who gets in my way will at last be..."

"Kaziiii!" Pauline yelled his name, hands cupped. "Kazzziiiiiiiii—ack!" Suddenly, the young woman started coughing. Like...badly. Holding her diaphragm and...holding her mouth. Was she...coughing blood? Concerned, Kazi charged toward her in two long zips of lightning.

"Hey, woah, you shouldn’t—"

"Ha, got you." Pauline lifted her head, laughed and pointed at him. What was blood was actually ketchup. She smeared it all over her palm. For some reason. She coughed one last time. "Ack—! Actually, wait, I think I choked there..."

Kazi wished he could be mad. Alas, he could only plant his feet to the ground and laugh with her. "You seem to be in a good mood."

"You have no idea. I already got so much money and XP from that fight! Then I got more!"

"How so?"

"Hehe, guess!"

"You supplied players and fishermen with the materials necessary to dig through the Bake-kujira’s bone?"

Pauline gasped, a hand on her mouth. "Are you psychic?"

"Very."

"Quick: guess what I’m thinking now!"

"A shark."

"Wow! No, really, are you a mind reader?" Pauline licked the ketchup off her palm. He hoped he wouldn’t touch her white dress with that.

"You brought lunch too."

"Mhm, they are sandwiches from a good store in the bazaar. Handpicked by my assistant. You will love them." She pointed a finger at a patch of grass and uttered, "Let us eat cake!"

An incantation. It spawned a large blue picnic blanket.

"Colour me impressed. You can transmutate."

She seemed quite proud, eyes closed, chin pointed up, and a hand on her chest. "I have been told I am quite talented."

"So that’s where you got that confidence...from people lying to your face."

"I can’t believe you." A mock gasp and a clutch to her heart. "Not everyone can turn into a Super Warrior."

The picnic was...a distraction. He allowed himself to be distracted, however. "Huh, these sandwiches..."

"I made them!"

"No, you didn’t."

"Yep, I didn’t. I got it from a bakery. They were trying new things on their menu."

’Knew it. These are Elena’s sandwiches.’ Kazi ate the sandwiches quickly. He could feel the love in them. ’I’m glad she’s doing okay. I thought with Marta being injured, she’d be all over her.’

Marta’s injuries were extensive, from a broken rib, pulled throat muscles, and a concussion. On top of that, her prosthetics came loose. Kazi had Elena contact Marcus, the young Sangoma apprentice. He would know what to do.

After the brief visit, he returned here.

Munch, munch, much. The sandwiches were amazing. He really couldn’t stop smiling. Even something as little as this...it reminded him that sometimes, it was good to be distracted.

Although never for too long. "Thanks for this." Kazi flashed a grin with a sandwich in his mouth. "I do appreciate this, really."

"You were out there jerking your power for so long, I wondered if you were ever gonna run out of stamina."

"...why did you have to phrase it like that?"

Pauline cocked her head. "Like what?"

"Nevermind. Gotta go."

He clenched his fist and his hair roared to a brighter, fuller sheen. It was mesmerizing to witness as the samurai garbs, his hair, and his eye became one singular colour.

"Wow..." Pauline was still on the picnic blanket, astounded. "Your mana...it’s so...strange."

His brows were furrowed, eyes still closed. It took a few seconds for him to recalibrate the tingly sensations. Everything felt like it had spiked. His cells and brain and muscles were supercharged. At a moment’s notice, he was ready to dematerialize and zip to Matsue.

"Oh, are you leaving?" Pauline got up and dusted herself off.

"Yes. Really sorry about that."

"It’s alright, I can eat more than one sandwich anyway. What’s the phrase...a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do!"

"Yep. See ya!"

He saluted her. Pauline saluted back.

Ziiiiip!

In the literal blink of an eye, he dematerialized and went from the wrecked section of Lake Shinji all the way to Matsue Castle. His feet touched the courtyard. The samurai pointed their blades at the sudden intrusion, only to relax.

"That’s the foreigner!"

"Dark skin, yellow hair, a divine energy..."

"The Hero of Lake Shinji!"

Kazi waved at everyone. "Sorry about this, I’m just here to visit a friend."

"Lord Mosuke is talking to Lady Samantha."

"Lady Samantha is still talking to him, hm? I’ll wait then. My business is with her. Although..." His hair drooped and lost its colour. "In the meantime, how about we play some Beigoma?"

"Beigoma...?"

"Hehe, just you wait! You’ll love it!"

Kazi clapped his hands together. "Alright, I need some rocks. Small ones, about this big." He held his fingers apart, roughly three centimeters.

The samurai gave him skeptical looks. One of them, an older warrior with a deep scar running down his cheek, scoffed. "What, you trying to throw rocks at us now?"

Kazi grinned. "No, no! I’m gonna make something cool."

Curious but wary, the samurai gathered some small stones from the courtyard, placing them in front of him. Kazi knelt down, placing his hands over them. A faint golden glow spread from his palms, energy crackling in the air. The rocks shimmered, shifting, reshaping.

The onlookers gasped as, one by one, the stones became perfectly round beigoma tops, smooth and heavy, each decorated with a kanji symbol etched in gold. Kazi grabbed one and spun it between his fingers. The polished surface gleamed in the sunlight.

"There we go! Now, we just need a playing field." He grabbed a spare canvas sheet and stretched it over a wooden bucket, securing it with some nearby stones. "And some cords—ah, perfect!" He snagged a few thin ropes from a training dummy and handed them out.

One of the younger samurai frowned. "You just carry this knowledge around with you?"

Kazi smirked. "I have many talents, my friend. Now, who’s in?"

It started with just a few warriors, but soon, more gathered. The guards abandoned their posts (just for a little while, they swore), and even the children outside were ushered in, eager to play. The air filled with laughter, cheers, and the low humming sound of spinning tops colliding.

By the time Samantha stepped out into the courtyard, the match was in full swing. She stopped in her tracks, her brows knitting together as she took in the small crowd, the excited yells, and the sight of armored samurai kneeling around a makeshift arena, utterly engrossed in their game.

What.

One warrior, a man she distinctly remembered as being stoic to the point of stone-faced silence, was on his knees, clutching his top like it was a sacred relic. "Come on, come on...!"

A child cheered as his beigoma outlasted a samurai’s. "Yes! I beat a real warrior!"

Meanwhile, Kazi was grinning ear to ear, watching the chaos unfold. He didn’t even look up when Samantha cleared her throat.

"I assume you need something with me?" Samantha said with a kind smile.

"Yep. Be there in just a second," Kazi replied without missing a beat, eyes still locked on the game.

Samantha sighed. She had heard about this. About how Kazi had this ridiculous habit of pulling people—entire groups of people—into whatever fun thing popped into his head. How, despite everything, people adored him for it.

And judging by the energy in the courtyard, she could see why.

The moment she herself wanted to join in however—

"Alright, see you guys later!"

"Thank you, Kazi!

"Bye, Kazi!"

"Can we keep these?"

"No problem, bye, and yes!"

As though intentionally annoying her, Kazi left them to their own devices.

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