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Chapter 39: Golden Lion's Delight! The One-Year Agreement
With that said,
Rocks raised his head and looked toward the other cadres.
"All cadres who brought back Heavenly Tribute—come with me to the treasury."
"Pick one item you want from inside."
As the words fell,
The other cadres who had successfully plundered Heavenly Tribute stood up one after another.
Lotte scanned the group and noticed several familiar faces—including the great swordsman Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, Wang Zhi, and others.
They followed Rocks' lead
And arrived at the treasury located on the main ship.
Looking at the dazzling array of brilliant jewels and treasures, Lotte had never forgotten his true goal: one of the strongest weapons in this world.
A Supreme Grade Sword.
Though Lotte didn't know the exact appearance of the blade, with his top-tier swordsmanship talent, he could sense such a famous sword.
Following his intuition,
Lotte walked straight ahead without hesitation.
As he advanced, he soon reached the end of the path and found a crimson hilt partially covered by piled treasures.
Lotte looked closely.
Around the sheathed blade, the gold and silver treasures had been melted into a single mass by an inexplicable high temperature.
This made Lotte's heart leap with joy.
No mistake.
This was one of the legendary Supreme Grade Swords.
A blade on par with the black sword Night.
Just as Lotte reached out to grasp the hilt,
Another hand reached for it at the same time.
Both raised their heads simultaneously.
Lotte saw Golden Lion in front of him, and his expression turned strange.
But considering the other man was on the verge of becoming a great swordsman,
Wanting a Supreme Grade Sword was perfectly normal.
Still—since Lotte had spotted it first, he had no intention of giving it up.
"Golden Lion, don't you already have two famous swords—Oto and Kogarashi? I don't even have one decent blade."
"Let me have this one first."
Lotte spoke without courtesy, directly reaching out to grab the hilt.
But before he could draw it—sheathed and all—
Golden Lion immediately blocked him.
Possessing a Supreme Grade Sword was the dream of every swordsman.
How could he let the opportunity slip so easily?
"Ahem, Lotte—you're still missing a good sword, right? I think my Oto would suit you perfectly."
"This blade is still too early for you."
Oto: "???"
Golden Lion unhesitatingly offered to sell out his longtime companion Oto.
After all, while Oto was a famous sword, it still fell short of a Supreme Grade blade.
Lotte's mouth twitched.
"No can do. I spotted this sword first."
"If you take it, Golden Lion, you're not giving me any face."
If Golden Lion weren't currently stronger than him,
Lotte might have kicked him already.
Golden Lion was about to retort
When a thought suddenly occurred to him.
If he could use this Supreme Grade Sword to recruit Lotte,
It might not be unacceptable.
After all, while a Supreme Grade Sword was precious,
Lotte's swordsmanship talent was simply monstrous.
If he could bring such a genius onto his ship, it would be immensely beneficial for his future ambitions!
Even sacrificing a Supreme Grade Sword was worth it!
Thinking this,
Golden Lion leaned in close and whispered to Lotte.
"After Rocks disbands, come join my pirate crew."
"This Supreme Grade Sword is yours."
Lotte frowned slightly.
He had no intention of joining the Golden Lion Pirates.
After the Rocks Pirates disbanded, Lotte planned to form his own crew.
Besides, in this era, there were still plenty of beautiful women waiting for him—he had no time to indulge Golden Lion's dream of world domination.
But the man was persistent and annoying.
After thinking for a moment, Lotte came up with a solution.
"Golden Lion, if you're trying to recruit me, you should at least prove your strength, right?"
"One year from now—let's have a swordsmanship duel. If you win, I'll join your crew after the disbandment."
Lotte spoke calmly.
Golden Lion's heart leaped with joy.
He never expected Lotte to be so arrogant. His current swordsmanship was on the verge of great swordsman level—there was no way Lotte could catch up in just one year!
No matter how monstrous Lotte's talent was,
Becoming a great swordsman in one year was impossible, right?
Golden Lion laughed generously.
"Jie hahaha! Then just wait and see."
He released his grip on the hilt and turned to leave without hesitation.
Lotte watched Golden Lion depart with a playful expression.
It seemed the man had no idea just how terrifying he could become when he got serious (cheated).
Reaching great swordsman level in one year?
For him, that was no problem at all.
He refocused.
Turning his attention to the Supreme Grade Sword.
Just holding the hilt, Lotte could feel the scorching heat emanating from it,
Perfectly complementing his Sun Breathing.
"Truly a fine blade."
Lotte gripped the crimson hilt, a smile spreading across his face.
From the accompanying sheath, he also learned the name of this Supreme Grade Sword.
"Surtr."
Lotte silently recited the famous blade's name.
Whether by coincidence or fate,
The sword bore the name of the fire giant from Norse mythology.
After all other gods and giants fell, Surtr hurled his flaming sword into the sky, igniting a massive blaze that consumed Asgard and set the World Tree ablaze.
Lotte took the sword.
Then turned and left the treasury without hesitation.
Rocks, waiting at the treasury door, saw the blade in Lotte's hand and smiled.
"You actually picked that one, huh? Quite a steal for you, kid."
"Even among Supreme Grade Swords, this one ranks near the top. But ordinary swordsmen can't wield it—it burns them instead."
"It's also known as [Flame King]."
Rocks felt no heartache over losing Flame King.
To a non-swordsman like him, Supreme Grade Swords were merely rare collectibles.
Better to let Lotte continue making use of its value.
Lotte heard this and ran his hand along the crimson hilt at his waist. The blazing aura from the blade had completely retracted.
Clearly, it had already acknowledged Lotte as its new master.
"Flame King... huh?"
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