Chapter 334: Giving a Speech
Everyone was enveloped in a heavy silence, each contestant seemingly lost in their own thoughts and preparations for what lay ahead. Ty, amidst this quiet contemplation, felt a small stir from his pocket. The fairy, finally awakening from her nap, piped up with curiosity, "What did I miss?"
"Oh, you're finally awake. Thanks for deciding to join us," Ty responded with a hint of sarcasm, masking the complexity of his current situation.
The fairy, sensing the tension in his voice, quickly recounted her observations from following Gui and overhearing conversations that hinted at betrayals, strategies, and the cold calculations of those outside their immediate predicament.
She spoke of the fighters' disregard for the lives of the prisoners and their plans to ensure their demise, all for personal glory or survival in the twisted game they were all part of.
Ty listened intently, his expression unreadable as he absorbed the fairy's account. His mind raced, piecing together the implications of what she had learned. "So, they're underestimating us, thinking they can manipulate the outcome to their advantage," he mused aloud, his tone even but the gears turning behind his calculated gaze.
He understood the gravity of the information, the advantage it provided, and the necessity of leveraging it wisely.
The revelation did not stir fear in Ty; instead, it fueled a strategic contemplation of his next moves. "This could work to our advantage," he finally said, a plan beginning to form. "Knowing their underestimation and overconfidence could be the key to outsmarting them."
As Ty pondered the possibility of reuniting with Lieutenant Daemon, he recognized the need to take immediate action, regardless of future reunions. Shaking off the dust from his pants, he stood up, a resolve solidifying within him. He walked to the center of the room, a confident smile lighting up his face, an unusual sight amidst the tense atmosphere of the chamber.
Taking a deep breath, Ty lowered his voice, commanding attention. "I'm in charge, from here on out. I will take care of you all for as long as possible. My only goal is to ensure that the city boys, the volunteers, don't win."
He paused, allowing his declaration to sink in before adding, "Anyone have an issue with this? Of course, when the first Arena starts, we have no idea who will be on which team, but I want to ensure we are prioritizing our lives over the nobles, or whatever they call themselves."
His challenge hung in the air until a bulky man, marked by tattoos and scars, rose to his full, intimidating height. He approached Ty, casting a shadow over him. "Oh yeah, and why should we listen to you?" he questioned, his voice deep and confrontational. "Maybe you're illtirie who don't know how things work around here, but prisoners rarely ever win the whole thing anyways."
Ty met the challenging gaze of the bulky man with an unwavering smile, his confidence undimmed. "I'm well aware of the win rate for prisoners," he acknowledged, his voice steady. "But here's the thing—I'm not just any prisoner. I'm the strongest person in this room, and I believe I have what it takes to change the tide for all of us."
He let his words hang for a moment before continuing, his tone firm, compelling. "Look, I'm not here to give you a speech about protecting the world or anything grand like that. I'm here because I know what it's like to be underestimated, to be written off as just another number in their games.
We've all been dealt a bad hand, thrown into this nightmare because someone else decided we were expendable."
Ty paced slowly, making sure to make eye contact with as many of his fellow prisoners as possible. "But what if we could turn their expectations against them? What if we, the 'expendables,' decide not to play by their rules? I say we take this chance not just to survive, but to throw their game into chaos.
Let's make those 'city boys,' those volunteers, remember our faces—not as the nameless fodder they expected us to be, but as the ones who stood up and fought back."
He stopped, standing tall in the center of the room. "So, why should you listen to me? Because alone, we're just part of their game. But together? Together, we can be the glitch in their system. I'm offering a chance to fight back, not just for survival, but for each other.
And I promise you, I won't lead you into a fight I don't believe we can win."
The bulky man, visibly taken aback by Ty's assertion of strength and his unexpected offer of an alliance, found himself questioning the motives behind such an offer. "So, why do you, the strongest, care about us then?"
Ty's response came from a place of hard-earned wisdom. "Even the strongest needs strong friends. I've learned that the hard way on more than one account," he shared, a hint of solemnity in his voice. "I have direct intel that when the Arena starts, regardless of where we are placed on the 50-50 squads, the blue shirts will begin to target us, focusing first on the strongest among us.
Then, they plan to have a 'Gentlemen's fight' amongst themselves."
He paused, letting the gravity of his words sink in. "Not only this, they don't see this as a life or death fight... they believe they can just walk away at any moment if things aren't going well for them."
The revelation prompted the man to probe deeper, skepticism mixed with a dawning realization of the gravity of their situation. "Just who are you, actually? And how would you have access to that information?!"
Ty turned slightly, allowing the man and the others to catch a glimpse of his eyes, the red blending into his irises hinting at his otherworldly nature. "I'm the demon, after all. I have my ways. But know this—they plan to cull almost all of us by the time the first arena is finished. Follow me, and I will guide most of you past the first round."
His declaration, coupled with the undeniable truth in his eyes, left a lasting impression on the assembled prisoners.
I know for sure they will focus on myself early and whoever else among us are the strongest so above all else we are to preserve each others life and then figure out who there king and decoy kings are.
From there we can accomplish anything we need to during the Arena.
Most of the prisoners stood up and stated "Well, you seem strong, so what do I have to lose more than already?"
If that's the case please go ahead keep this between us and moving forward stock pile items as they come up.