Back in the early morning,

  "Lord Dark General, why do I still need to disguise myself as a contestant today?"

  Boguna found Bodis and voiced his doubts.

  "Boguna Sind, the time for you to play your part is yet to come. For now, all you need to do is fulfill your role well."

  "But according to our plan, the entire Grand Arena—and even Haelinx—will soon be in our hands. Is there still a need for me to hide?"

  "It seems you haven’t understood what your true mission is."

  "......I’m afraid I’m being obtuse, my lord. Please enlighten me."

  "Let me put it this way: while it may seem we’re helping Sargas seize the Golden Lion Tribe’s throne, Sargas is utterly untrustworthy. Once he claims the throne, he’ll tear up all our agreements and even turn against us."

  "What?! "

  Boguna was stunned.

  "If that’s the case, why are we cooperating with him?"

  "Hmph~! "

  Bodis sneered.

  "Do you really think the conditions we offered him are genuine?"

  "......"

  "We never intended to honor those agreements. Our true goal is simply to use his royal legitimacy to eliminate Leonagnus legitimately, throwing the Golden Lion Tribe into chaos under their traitor king. And that’s when——"

  "you’ll step in!"

  "We’ll find a way to secretly boost your reputation within the Golden Lion Tribe, shaping you into a tribal hero who defeats the traitor king. With such a heroic feat, you’ll become the undisputed candidate for the new king. Only then will we truly control the tribe—and by extension, the entire Federation."

  The Federation’s power wasn’t confined to Haelinx alone. Even if we killed the council kings and captured all the tribal nobles in the Grand Arena, we couldn’t directly control the entire Federation.

  In fact, it would spark desperate resistance from the Federation, and the other three Great Powers would never stand idly by. In the worst-case scenario, the apex beings of the world might intervene......

  Thus, for the plan to succeed, our subsequent actions must remain hidden in the shadows.

  All the overt actions now are merely laying the groundwork—eliminating potential obstacles in advance to smooth the way for what’s to come.

  "The Royal Martial Tournament has already earned you unprecedented prestige within the tribe. The rest will just be a matter of riding the wave."

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  "Therefore, until you truly ascend the Golden Lion Tribe’s throne, you must not reveal any connection to us. Naturally, we’ll also take every precaution to prevent anyone from associating you with our faction."

  "We’ll do our best to ensure no mistakes at the Grand Arena, but with 100,000 people here, accidents can happen. To avoid your identity being exposed accidentally and ruining all our efforts, you must faithfully play the role of a Golden Lion genius."

  "......I see. I’m deeply impressed by the lords’ meticulous planning!"

  "But my lord—am I supposed to be poisoned and captured like the other contestants?"

  "Exactly. You’ll be treated the same as them. Of course, to make your subsequent actions more plausible, we’ll arrange a little 'accident' when transporting you captives, giving some of you a chance to escape. You know what to do then, don’t you?"

  "I understand, my lord!"

  "Good. Now return and continue your role. Don’t slip up."

  "Yes, my lord!"

  ......

  Hours later,

  in the Grand Arena’s contestants' waiting room, the eight Quarterfinalists were discussing their strategy.

  "......The situation is unclear. There might be many powerful enemies lurking in the Grand Arena. Our best bet is to find the Haelinx military for help."

  "That makes sense, but how do we get there? The exits are probably guarded, right?"

  "It’s likely, but we have to try."

  "Everyone......"

  Hulim offered her suggestion.

  "Actually, there’s still a large supply of that secret antidote somewhere. We could try to rescue some people first to strengthen our forces."

  "Really? That’s great!"

  Hulim’s proposal brightened everyone’s spirits.

  "Wait, look! The white mist seems to be fading."

  At that moment, one of the eight noticed a change in the mist.

  They all looked around—indeed, the thick white mist was gradually lifting.

  "We need to leave quickly! If the mist clears, the enemies outside might discover us!"

  "Right! Let’s go!"

  The group quickly left the contestants' waiting room.

  Stepping into the corridor outside, they were about to search for a safe place when they all stopped in their tracks, sensing something.

  "Someone’s coming!"

  Exchanging glances, the eight entered a combat-ready state.

  They didn’t think anyone moving around in such a situation could be an ally.

  "Attack——!"

  As the footsteps drew near enough, the eight struck simultaneously.

  "What?!"

  The several armed men sent to transport the unconscious contestants in the waiting room were caught off guard, their faces turning ashen.

  But with a surprise attack at such close range—and the eight being at least peak Rank C— the armed men were defeated without any chance to resist.

  "The commotion here will be discovered soon. We must move fast, Lady Hulim. Where is the place you mentioned?"

  "Everyone, follow me!"

  Led by Hulim, the eight moved cautiously along the way. After defeating a few more armed men, they reached the White Cat Royal Clan’s VIP box.

  At this moment, the door to the VIP box was wide open.

  Hulim’s heart sank as she stepped inside.

  "They’re really not here......"

  Miko and Mirei, who should have been inside, were nowhere to be seen.

  It was obvious where they’d gone.

  On their way here, they’d passed several other open rooms, and even encountered armed men escorting unconscious nobles in a certain direction.

  Thud.

  The eight entered the room and gently closed the door behind them.

  "The enemy has already been here once, so this place should be safe for the time being."

  "Yes, this is a good spot. We can discuss our next move here."

  The group let out a collective sigh of relief.

  The VIP box was located on the upper floors of the Grand Arena. Although it had floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view of the entire stadium, one had to stand right by the windows to see outside. From the outside, only a small area near the windows was visible—someone would have to fly directly up to the window to see the entire room.

  "......Found it."

  After a short while, Hulim located most of the antidote Bars had stored here.

  "Great! With these antidotes, we can rally more forces!"

  Ps：Chapter 300 has been released on Patreon. Readers interested in early access content are welcome to check it out!! Thank you for your support!!