"The pride of our Manmayer Family has been summoned by Lord Imu to be a personal attendant. We must find the most suitable and powerful Devil Fruit for her."
Saint Mammaia Foss, a Gods Knight of the Manmayer Family, carried a golden sniper rifle and wore a crown-topped hat. He licked his lips as he looked at those Devil Fruits.
Their Manmayer Family's purest-blooded pride, Mammaia Gunko Palace, had been favored by Lord Imu six years ago and summoned as a handmaiden.
This was the most boast-worthy thing for their Manmayer Family.
Even the geniuses of the Gorosei families hadn't been chosen by Lord Imu.
And now, Gunko Palace had already obtained the qualification of a Divine Blade.
If all went well, Gunko Palace would surely become a Gods Knight in the future, continuing the glory of their Manmayer Family.
If Gunko Palace could go a step further and become the Commander of the Gods Knights, or even a member of the Gorosei...
Only then would their Manmayer Family truly enter the inner circle of the Celestial Dragons!
There are eight positions in the Gods Knights, each one a fixed slot that nineteen families compete for.
If one family gains an extra position, the other families lose a spot.
Moreover, with the careful cultivation of the Gorosei, the Gorosei families can generally each hold one Gods Knight position.
Gods Knights like Shepherd Ten Somaz Saint and Makas Petygrew were personally cultivated and promoted by Shepherd Ju Peter Saint, the Warrior God of Agriculture, and Markus Mazesaint, the Warrior God of Environment.
Each of these Gods Knights from the Gorosei families is a top competitor for the position of Commander of the Gods Knights and a candidate to become a member of the Gorosei.
The Commander of the Gods Knights of this era, who has since died of old age, came from a Gorosei family.
So the other fourteen Celestial Dragon families are actually fighting over the remaining three Gods Knight positions.
Currently, the three Gods Knights from non-Gorosei families are Figarland Garling Saint, Thatchers Mafy Palace, and Saint Mammaia Foss.
Saint Mammaia Foss knew full well that keeping this Gods Knight position was not easy.
But now, with Gunko being favored by Lord Imu, Saint Foss knew their Manmayer Family could continue to hold a Gods Knight position.
They would continue to sit at the top of the Celestial Dragon families, possessing the power to judge other Celestial Dragons.
It had to be said that Saint Garling and Marfygong, both from non-Gorosei families, were working incredibly hard, trying to break through and become the Commander of the Gods Knights.
Among the current Gods Knights from the Gorosei families, only Shepherd Ten Somaz Saint had strength comparable to those two.
With the death of the former Commander of the Gods Knights from old age, his power was reclaimed by Imu.
Now, not only does the Gods Knights temporarily lack a Commander, but a Gods Knight position has also opened up.
The competition among those Divine Blades is equally intense, as they all want to become a Gods Knight.
But so far, no one's strength has been recognized by Imu to be granted the Deep Sea Mark, which bestows immortality.
Saint Mammaia Foss naturally wanted Gunko to get this Gods Knight position.
But Gunko is still too young and her strength is too weak; she likely doesn't have the chance yet.
Even her qualification as a Divine Blade was only because she was favored by Lord Imu, obtaining this Shallow Sea Mark and the ability to communicate with Lord Imu through thought.
Saint Mammaia Foss didn't know if any Gods Knight would perform brilliantly and be favored by Lord Imu on this Red Soil Island hunting ground to ascend to the position of Commander of the Gods Knights.
Or if any Divine Blade would perform exceptionally well and earn the qualification to become a Gods Knight.
If not, then the position of Commander of the Gods Knights and the Gods Knight slot would continue to remain vacant.
---
This time, as many as five Gods Knights personally went to Red Soil Island. In the past, usually only three would come, while the others stayed in Mary Geoise to guard the Holy Land.
They would only teleport over via magic circles when danger appeared.
But now that the Commander's position is vacant, these Gods Knights are all actively showing off, so five of them came, all wanting to snatch this position that stands on equal footing with the Gorosei.
Saint Mammaia Foss knew he was no match for Saint Garling, but he simply refused to accept it and wanted to cause some trouble for Saint Garling.
Moreover, he mainly came to win a Devil Fruit for the Manmayer Family to build up the family's foundation.
If Gunko took a fancy to any Devil Fruit, he would definitely snatch it.
"Sigh! I regret it now! Back then, just to look cool and for the title of 'Rose Knight,' I actually ate the Thorn-Thorn Fruit."
Shepherd Ten Somaz Saint looked at those Devil Fruits and sighed with a lazy expression.
Every member of the Gorosei is a Mythical Zoan, yet he ate a Paramecia Type, which seemed a bit out of place.
No wonder Lord Imu hadn't taken a liking to him and kept the Commander's position vacant.
Furthermore, that fellow Saint Garling, without any Devil Fruit ability, already had strength no less than his, and was perhaps even a bit stronger.
If Saint Garling were to eat a powerful Mythical Zoan, he would be left in the dust by Saint Garling and completely lose any chance at the Commander's position.
"So don't you go competing with us then!"
Thatchers Mafy Palace, who had a pair of horns, wore sunglasses, and chewed on a cigar, opened her mouth full of sharp teeth and spoke to Saint Somaz with annoyance.
She was already an ability user, so she didn't care about these Devil Fruit prizes.
She only wanted to perform well, hoping to gain Lord Imu's favor and ascend to that high-and-mighty Commander's position.
Marfygong's Devil Fruit ability was a Mythical Zoan that allowed her to spit lasers and move at extreme speeds.
During the God Valley Incident, she was the first to track down Dragon and used a laser to instant-kill him, reclaiming Shamrock.
Marfygong knew that Saint Somaz, who had eaten the Thorn-Thorn Fruit, wouldn't even be qualified to compete with her and Saint Garling for the Commander's position if not for the support of the Gorosei.
The one she feared most was still Saint Garling, that monster whose strength could surpass them even without a Devil Fruit ability.
If Saint Garling obtained a powerful Mythical Zoan ability, she could only accept her fate and watch the stronger Saint Garling ascend to the Commander's position.
---
Behind these Gods Knights, there was also a group of Divine Blades.
Among them, a Divine Blade from the Jaygarcia family looked at those Devil Fruit prizes and remembered the instructions of his ancestor, Satan Saint.
He had to snatch that Paramecia Type Age-Age Fruit and take it back for the ancestor's research.
He also had to do his best to gain Lord Imu's recognition and become a new Gods Knight.
After all, the Commander of the Gods Knights who died of old age was from the Jaygarcia family.
If their family didn't have a Gods Knight to fill the gap, then the Jaygarcia family would only have Satan Saint fighting alone.
Most importantly, without the full support of a Commander of the Gods Knights, Satan Saint's various research and actions as the Science Defense Martial God could easily be hindered by their own people.
When the robot emitt was sent out of the Holy Land Mary Geoise back then, it was not without a little help from the Jaygarcia family.
Satan Saint and that Jaygarcia Commander of the Gods Knights worked together to build up a lot of foundation for their family.
It was just a pity that the younger generation was a bit of a letdown; not a single one had become successful.
They were actually being completely suppressed by geniuses from non-Gorosei families like Garling and Marfey.
"That Paramecia Type Arrow-Arrow Fruit and the Age-Age Fruit aren't bad either. I wonder if Gunko will like them..."
Saint Mammaia Foss set his sights on two of the Devil Fruits; although they weren't Mythical Zoans or Logia types, they were still decent.
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Just one chapter tonight.