"Lord Boyle, the announcement for tomorrow's gladiatorial match has been officially released."

Ackerman's overly respectful demeanor made Todd somewhat uncomfortable. The latter, gently wiping his shield, asked casually with his head down, "What's the procedure?"

"The first few matches were nothing new, just the usual appetizers; next, several 'Red Branch' members will need to participate in individual battles and doubles duels. As for the main event, the announcement says..."

Noticing that the other person had suddenly stopped speaking, Todd looked up at Ackerman and asked, "What did you say?"

"This will be an unprecedented battle in the 'Red Circle,' with several top gladiators fighting side by side." Ackerman said this with a doubtful tone, then shook his head and said, "I have a feeling that this final gladiator fight is a conspiracy."

Kasper stroked his stubble-covered chin and pondered, "Literally speaking, in this final battle, the top gladiators of the 'Red Circle' will be mobilized in full force. Among them should be 'Mountain-Splitter' Cotton, 'Cunning Fox' Bessen, 'Lady of Pain' Deirdre... and of course, you, Lord Boyle."

Ackerman exclaimed in surprise, "You're not going to have these three gang up on Lord Boyle, are you?!"

Kasper thought for a moment and dismissed the possibility: "The previous 'ten against one' gladiatorial combat had an extremely negative impact on the entire Kingdom of Ulster. Even if the king is as willful as he is, he would never carry out a similar 'strangulation' again."

Ackerman thought for a moment and then made a guess that even he couldn't believe: "So, this final battle should be a fair fight?"

Kasper punched his knee: "At least it should look like a fair game."

Upon hearing this, Ackerman whispered to Todd, "Lord Boyle, please be careful of 'Mountain Giant' Cotton and 'Cunning Fox' Bessen. According to the opinions of other gladiators, these two are extremely hostile towards you."

Todd was a little curious: "What did I do to make them hate me like this?"

Ackerman lowered his voice: "Think about it. Since the 'Red Branch Gladiator Association' was founded, you've recruited most of the gladiators in the arena with combat performances and 'artificial blood' as rewards. Many of these were originally members of other factions. Your poaching of them naturally won't earn the goodwill of other faction leaders. I've heard that 'Mountain-Splitter' Cotton and 'Cunning Fox' Bessen have secretly gathered a group of die-hards who are hostile to 'combat performances' and uphold tradition, intending to harm you..."

Seeing Todd's nonchalant expression, Ackerman suddenly remembered something and patted his forehead with a sigh of relief: "Look what I was worried about! You are a god in this world, of course you wouldn't worry..."

Upon hearing this, Casper coughed heavily.

Ackerman awkwardly shut his mouth, lowered his head, and looked at a loss.

Todd looked at the two clowns with amusement and asked in a relaxed tone, "If, and I mean if, you were given a chance to acquire the power of a god, what would you choose?"

Kasper thought for a moment and then said, "I wish to acquire infinite power so that I can be invincible on the battlefield."

Todd nodded, then turned his gaze to Ackerman, who looked conflicted: "And you?"

Can I only choose one?

"That's right."

"Then I want to gain the ability to become invisible."

Todd was somewhat surprised by Ackerman's answer. He had guessed that the guy wanted abilities like "turning lead into gold" or "staying young forever."

“The ability to become invisible is indeed very convenient. You can transform into a master assassin and infiltrate anywhere.” Todd nodded in affirmation of this idea.

Ackerman waved his hands repeatedly, denying Todd's guess: "No, no, no, Lord Boyle, you misunderstand! I want the ability to become invisible, not to become an assassin."

"So what do you want?"

“When I was young, before I inherited my father’s position as village chief, I had plenty of time to squander. Back then, my favorite thing to do was to go to the mountain spring near the village, hide in the grass, and wait for prey to come to me.”

Hearing Ackerman's words, Todd asked doubtfully, "So, the ability to become invisible is for hunting?"

"The prey he's referring to is the woman who came to bathe!" Casper rolled his eyes, revealing the truth in one sentence.

Todd's eyes widened, and he gasped.

Ackerman completely ignored the expressions of the two people in front of him and said with a look of ecstasy, "Those times were truly wonderful. Every day I could see all sorts of women, their beautiful bodies..."

Todd closed his eyes, his face full of distress.

Ackerman showed no sign of stopping, and his next words sent a chill down Todd's spine: "I heard from merchants that in the far south, there's a port kingdom called Muxi, where the people, imitating the ancient Talo era, recently built a breathtaking public bath. If I could become invisible, I could stay in the women's bath for a year without coming out... By the way! Do you prefer breasts or 'buttocks'? I personally prefer 'buttocks,' the perfect 'buttocks' proportion should be like..."

"Kasper, shut this guy up!"

"Okay!"

That night, Todd met with the "Red Branch" liaison and the tribe liaison separately in the soul space, once again arranging the escape operation for the next day. After that, he summoned Rachel into the research institute.

Todd frowned as he watched Rachel devour a sushi platter and asked, "Fioch and his father, Fergus, are both under house arrest, right?"

“That’s right, it happened yesterday. Under the guise of protection, the king confined the father and son to their home and temporarily took over the arena.” Rachel popped a piece of salmon roe sushi into her mouth, a blissful smile spreading across her face. “This taste, this taste is amazing! To be able to eat all sorts of delicious food every day, the world you live in is simply a food paradise!”

Todd laughed at Rachel's deeply moved expression by the food: "What are these? My hometown has eight major cuisines, twenty-four cooking methods, and more than seven thousand two hundred recipes. Stir-frying, braising, frying, boiling, steaming, roasting, mixing—every method, every flavor, can make you forget everything."

"Really? Even just once, I really want to go to that world and see it!"

Rachel's heartfelt words slowly erased the smile from Todd's face, leaving him with a desolate expression and a sense of loneliness in his eyes.

Rachel paused for a moment, then gently grasped Todd's hand with a look of concern.

“I believe there will be a day when I will take you to another world, where we can eat every delicious food in every street and alley, where there will be no more darkness, no more confusion…” Todd smiled slightly at Rachel and gently patted the back of her hand with his other hand.