Brian was waiting for me as I passed through the door and into Coil’s underground base.
Oh, hello.
He held a paper out to me.
Sirs and Madams,
The terms of engagement are as follows:
1. Three days to each member of the Slaughterhouse Nine so we can conduct our tests.
Ah, they’ve received a formal reply! Nice.
Tests will be performed one after the other, with eight rounds in total.
2. A successful test or the removal of a candidate who has failed a test will earn the tester bonus time. 3-12 hours for a successful test depending on the number of candidates remaining and 24 hours for an execution.
Seems like a decent way to handle the issue of “fewer candidates makes it easier for the later ones”.
3. Should a tester suffer a sound defeat at the hands of any individual during their allotted time, they will be penalized one day of allotted time.
As already happened with Mannequin. And hey, this gives a (minor, relative to the risk) incentive for others to fight Slaughterhouse members.
4. Each tester operates independently, with no hands-on assistance from other members of the Slaughterhouse Nine. Assistance may be bought, bartered or otherwise rendered in a hands-off manner, possibly including medical assistance, information, provided equipment and suggestions.
Seems reasonable.
5. Candidates may receive assistance, hands-on or otherwise, from Brockton Bay residents only.
Ooh, underline, don’t think we’ve seen that in this story before.
And yeah, I suppose it would be a bit cheaty if they called in the Triumvirate to help or something.
We are fully aware that Legend and his teammates are in Brockton Bay. Should they interfere with a tester, all candidates will lose the protection of any rules, all terms offered here will cease and the threat implied in point eight will be carried out.
I was not aware of that. I suppose it makes sense that they would come when it became clear the Slaughterhouse Nine were there, though, especially given Armmaster’s status as a candidate.
This only applies to confrontations with the active tester.
In other words, the Triumvirate can absolutely fight the Slaughterhouse members as long as they’re not having their turn. That’s a nice clause to include.
6. The Slaughterhouse Nine will handle the punishment of any members of their own team, in the event of failures, the inability of the tester to perform at least a partial round of testing or killing a candidate without notification.
I’m sure Bonesaw has some ideas.
7. Should the defending parties have two or more candidates remaining when the eighth round of testing concludes, the Slaughterhouse Nine will depart Brockton Bay without incident and refrain from returning for three years at a minimum.
Jack really is taking this seriously and making the terms relatively fair, not just between Slaughterhouse members but between the Slaughterhouse and the candidates’ side. There are so many loopholes he’s patched up here that would’ve been beneficial to the Slaughterhouse Nine.
Let’s see that implied threat mentioned in point 5.
8. If and when the Slaughterhouse Nine do eliminate five of the six candidates, or if any candidates leave the city, the Slaughterhouse Nine are prepared to penalize the city for their failure.
Yep. Vague but effective. Actually, effective because it’s vague.
I can’t say I’m surprised at this.
And honestly, the fact that I think Wildbow would be totally down for writing about the penalty is the main reason it’s somewhat up in the air who will win. Hell, even more so now that “if any candidates leave the city” is involved as a condition that doesn’t require either Bitch or Regent to be eliminated.
I wonder if Panacea has gotten the memo.
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