Pg 16 is utterly glorious.
Content: Gore

I'm still not satisfied with Baku's odds and success, even with mindgames. I think there needs to be a specific tell of some kind provided in one flowing explanation 'cause even with proper reads against a slave mentality, he won too much for my tastes.

I should probably stop changing my profile picture, but I couldn't resist this one time.

If baku planned this whole thing, then that is one big mind blow.

since they paid 200 bios in exchange for their lives, I feel like baku is going to pay the 200 for some of them like champ in prder to buy his life, kind of how he won kaji in a bet.

Now I was randomly thinking: what if Minoru allied himself in some way with Baku?
Due to:
1. He is one of the two (with Menma) that doesn't need to pay back the referee
2. He hoped that everyone would follow the plan ( that could be interpreted to turn right )
3. Champ saying that Minoru invited them in the plan (I think it is a lie, but if it's true it could support the theory) considering that Ryuusei is technically the leader of the group

this to create the real Kaji 2.0, Minoru

@catx3
You might be right about Baku planning the whole thing from the beginning. That's why Baku said "Finally. You are a big liar, aren't you". Finally, Champ have become a "gambler", as well as a liar for Baku to prey upon.

Sigh... I'm not sure whether to feel glad or sorry for Champ.

So that's why Baku said that he like Champ better now and that he was "difficult" to handle before. Now that Champ have finally face the truth in being a slave and decide to break free, he become a "gambler" in a sense. And like all other gamblers that face against Baku, he is a liar. Which is easy preying for the lie-eater. Truly, I can see why Baku would like Champ now, he really is easier to handle.

@BossCrab
About the fate of the slaves, Referee Ikon mentioned that it was good that they're all healthy and in good shape last chapter, so they probably won't be killed indeed.

I was speculating something along the lines of using them as Kakerou henchmen or manpower, since it seems that the referees entered the island alone, without any of their usual men.

---

So BK giving Champ some bios so he could play, and saying those words to anger him, was all to lead him into uniting the slaves for BK, so he could do a complete sweep as a banker. Also I love the panel of BK after he saw that they really bet everything on page 13, what a perverted face.

lol, that was anticlimactic.

@299792458 Only if this groundbreaking game far beyound our imagination did stimulate the gods of cardinal directions.
(and I'm not talking about "made ya look that-a-way")

I honestly don't recall Baku going along with anyone else's proposals. Even if, there's usually always a some hidden catch with him. So yeah, Champ trying to lead Baku on with an offer obviously wasn't going to work here either. I got to admit though it was good attempt. Especially managing to Ryuusei on his side too.

Damn epic fail for a plan... but his opponent is BK after all... so they can walk home proud

@Jonui Does that mean that referee Midara is a gamer?

The real surprise in this chapter is that Baku didn't say "Cheers" at the end.
Referee Ikon will be disappointed.

As soon as Champ offered that plan to Baku, I knew he was trying to pull a fast one with everyone involved. Although at the beginning of the game, I honestly thought there would be winners and losers among the slaves. Now they're all losers.

tsk tsk tsk

@BossCrab
Good idea! But I think Baku is going to blackmail them into being loyal to him. Something like "I'll give you back the bios you need in exchange for your loyalty."

Yep. It was too predictable. Simply too bad. Even if what he said was true I would've chosen the right as well myself. If Champ really intended to be honest with BK he would've told him exactly which direction the other team was planning on choosing, instead of either up or down, or he would've told him that his team was going to choose left OR right, and not just outright say that they would choose left, because that's an inconsistency. If the other team had extended the invitation like he said, they would've told them exactly which direction to choose, instead of telling them up or down, since they wanted everyone to choose the same direction. And if Champ was being honest but also prudent by not telling him exactly which of the two possible directions the team would be turning, he would've also done the same for his team, by telling BK that they would turn left OR right. But his desire to keep the possibility of turning to the right completely out of BK's mind was precisely what alerted him to Champ trying to trick him. Even before I saw that Champ was trying to make everyone pass, I would've chosen the right just to make sure Champ's team didn't try to all pass by either sacrificing the other team, or tricking BK into believing they would all turn to the left, but then turning to the right.

It's just too bad, the strategy was not bad for a slave (although his mindset has improved now that he has accepted the truth, so Champ could rise again), but the mind games were just too simplistic.

@BossCrab I highly suspect this to be the case. It would make sense from a lot of perspectives. Even if the referees are part of another organization, they still want to maintain a good relationship with the game managers, and killing a bunch of slaves without mercy or regard for the game rules prohibiting this does not strike me as prudent for them. Then there's also the fact that the player's (Baku and Vincent) objective is to unite all the kingdoms, which requires support from a significant portion of the players, which would make it way more efficient to have these slaves follow BK and/or work for him or the referees. Either way, having them all die would be extreme, even for Kakerou.

This mini arc at the start of this arc has been much more fun than I initially expected. Can't wait to see the resolution to this and how the other players are doing.

Edit: Ah, and... Well, they turned out to be big liars in the end, didn't they. (:

These guys were just no match for Baku. After beating the likes of Suteguma the slaves are just childs play. Like Champ said, they were all here because of their own decisions and actions, they're weak and don't have the mettle for high stakes gambles.

This whole game felt like a Kaiji arc too, complete with the horde of bad gamblers full of people wasting their lives and living with bad attitudes.

I wonder if the penalty for not being able to repay the Bios is not simply death, but rather they must be loyal to Baku in his conquest. After all, they have to unite all the citizens too.

Yeah. Champ was playing way above his league. Still, that would have been a decent attempt against someone else.