The Value of Living (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

Killing several thousand people alone was naturally troublesome, but if several thousand people acted together, it would be much faster.

Four thousand, two thousand, one thousand, five hundred...

Every breath was a plunge, a plunge that signified the traces of life.

The sounds of slaughter around them had faded into utter silence. The battlefield had become a true hell, littered everywhere with severed limbs, corpses, mangled flesh, and bloody fragments. At this moment, life was as insignificant as dust.

Amid that deathly silence, faint, low sobbing could actually be heard.

"It was all my fault, all my fault! If I hadn't insisted on fighting, if it hadn't been for that so-called honor, they wouldn't have died. None of them would have died. I was the one who led them into hell. I don't deserve to be their leader at all!" Looking at the Eight Treasures Navy, nearly wiped out by casualties, Huajao dropped weakly to his knees.

"Leader, this can't all be blamed on you. I bear responsibility too. I underestimated the enemy and failed in my duty to stop you."

"Wolf Fang? You didn't die? You're still alive?" Huajao abruptly raised his head and looked beside him, overcome with surprise and joy.

"Perhaps the scorching of my soul allowed me to retain a sliver of clarity. But none of that matters anymore. We have to find a way to leave here alive!" Wolf Fang took a deep breath and fixed a resolute gaze on Apophis as he slowly approached.

"Wolf Fang, leave first. I'll cover your retreat!"

"That should be my line. The Eight Treasures Navy can do without me, but it absolutely cannot do without you, the 13th Generation Pillar!"

"What right do I have left to be their leader? You're more qualified than I am..."

"Enough. Let's end this boring melodrama here." Apophis stood before them, his indifferent gaze looking down from above.

"Apophis! I'll fight you..." Old and new hatred surged forth together. Huajao's eyes nearly split with rage as he tried to charge forward without regard for anything else.

"Calm down! Haven't the losses caused by your recklessness been great enough already?!" Wolf Fang stepped forward, pinned him down, and berated him sternly.

Huajao's restless body suddenly stiffened, and he lowered his head unwillingly.

Wolf Fang buried his hatred deep within his heart, then looked at Apophis calmly. "Lord Apophis, we lost this time, but there is no substantive hatred between us. Perhaps we can resolve this matter through gentler means."

Seeing that Apophis showed no reaction, Wolf Fang analyzed the situation methodically. "A mature pirate should not be ruled by emotion. Only profit is the eternal truth of this world."

"As for those Eight Treasures Navy members who died in battle, I will place all responsibility on Buffett."

"On the surface, he invited us here to lend our aid, but in truth, he wanted to use our annihilation to weaken the power of the Flower Country. He could even shift the blame onto Lord Apophis, provoking hostility between you and the Flower Country, thereby achieving his goal of making both sides suffer."

Wolf Fang wove his lies so convincingly that even he began to believe them. "That damned Buffett actually harbored such ambitions. If Lord Apophis hadn't appeared in time to save us, his scheme might truly have succeeded!"

Huajao stared at Wolf Fang in complete bewilderment, as though he were meeting him for the first time. How could he spout such shameless nonsense without even blinking?

"Afterward, Lord Apophis will become the Flower Country's highest-ranking honored guest. Moreover, if Lord Apophis wishes to train in Armament Haki before entering the New World, Leader Chin would be your best choice!"

"This is a win-win decision!"

"You've almost convinced me!" Wolf Fang was delighted to hear that, but Apophis's next words made him feel as though he had fallen into an ice pit. "Unfortunately, I am not a pirate, and what I pursue is not something so boring."

Wolf Fang steadied himself, still unwilling to give up. "No matter what Lord Apophis wants, we will do our best to satisfy you. Besides, Leader Huajao and I are not particularly talented. We are worlds apart from a genius like Lord Apophis. You need not worry that we might pose any threat to you in the future."

"If you could make me feel threatened, I would be more than willing to let you live. After all, the thrill and excitement of having someone chasing close behind you is simply too wonderful!" Apophis's calm, indifferent voice finally carried a trace of emotion.

Wolf Fang and Huajao were both shaken. This Apophis truly was a lunatic. Who would crave the feeling of dancing on a blade's edge?

Besides, weren't enemies supposed to be as weak as possible? Yet he actually longed for foes capable of threatening his life. Even in the eyes of pirates like them, who killed without batting an eye, someone like Apophis was far too insane and dangerous!

Wolf Fang and Huajao both regretted it faintly. Had they known Apophis was such an unrestrained madman, they never would have provoked him.

"And trash has no value in living!"

Seeing Apophis raise the Demon Sword above his head, Wolf Fang hurriedly threatened, "Leader Chin is a Great Pirate with a bounty of over five hundred million. If you kill us, he will definitely avenge us!"

"Is that so? Then you've given me yet another reason why I must kill you!"

The setting sun was blood-red as two bloody heads, filled with unwillingness and despair, rolled off to the side.

"Q-quickly... prepare to set sail. We can't stay here any longer!" Having witnessed how the Eight Treasures Navy had been completely wiped out, Capone Bege felt his legs tremble. Even someone as naturally cruel as him was horrified by that terrifying slaughter. Now, he feared that the moment he looked up, that monstrous figure like a demon god would be standing before him.

"Boss, but everything we've built here..."

"It's all over here. Great Pirate Qing Jiao isn't someone who listens to reason. Even if Buffett is dead, he'll still take his anger out on this place."

"Boss, where do we go next?"

"The West Blue really is too small, and the Mafia's scope is far too limited." Capone Bege looked solemnly toward the sea. "I've decided to set sail and become a pirate. Once I unify the West Blue, I'll march into the Grand Line!"

One day later.

The bamboo forest was silent as a gentle breeze blew through it.

Suddenly, an incomparably powerful aura erupted, pressing down the bamboo branches as if it were tangible.

"Apophis! I will kill you! I will definitely kill you!"

"Grandpa, is Father never coming back?"

"He won't come back. It's better that he won't. The Eight Treasures Navy was nearly half destroyed under his command. He doesn't deserve to be its leader. Even in death, he has to return the title of 13th Generation Pillar to me!"

"Waaah..."

"Abu, your crying is really irritating. If you're a man, shoulder the burden. As for Father's and the Eight Treasures Navy's vengeance, I will personally exact it!"

Thanks to Bai Shi-Qi You for the 100 reward, Yangtian Changxiao Xi Qi Baihong for the 1,000 reward, Gentleman Xiao Jun for the 100 reward, and 15581138352 for the 500 reward. Well, tomorrow we set off for Marine Headquarters.