Mud Gundam

Julian shouted, "Wala-wala~! Everyone kneel and surrender, or I'll smash your heads with Mud Eight Trigrams!" With that, he pointed his giant mud mace at the opposite side. The soldiers who had intended to resist immediately surrendered and laid down their weapons, while some simply fled. However, one person, clad in magnificent armor, stood his ground and shouted, "No surrender! For the kingdom, kill these pirates quickly!" Julian, seeing his demeanor, recognized him as the commander of the kingdom's allied forces. Julian roared, "Great Vigor Earth Dragon Eight Trigrams!" and struck the commander with his mace, sending him flying dozens of meters away. Julian estimated, "This injury shouldn't be fatal."

Julian looked at the hundreds of people kneeling on the ground and said, "You may all go." The surrendered soldiers scattered, fleeing in all directions. Julian scoffed, "They can't even run away properly, they're running towards me. So stupid." George asked, "Captain, what's the next plan?" Julian replied, "Surround those nobles."

Julian and his crew went to the nobles' territories. Many nobles had already fled. Julian didn't care about them, saying, "Gold and jewels are paramount." Julian's first target was the Dog-Eye Count, who was closest to him. Julian appeared at the Count's castle and directly opened the dungeon, discovering many slaves.

Julian immediately assigned tasks: "First Division, rescue the slaves. Second Division, search the castle for anyone else. If you see anyone, don't attack, bring them all to the lawn by the main gate." Julian added, "If they are members of the nobility, strip them naked and hang them at the entrance."

Julian disliked unnecessary killing; it was meaningless. Excessive bloodshed would encourage his subordinates to learn from it, turning them all into executioners and twisting their humanity. Their values would become distorted, and they would become like soulless laborers, which was not aesthetically pleasing. These nobles had not offended Julian; plundering wealth was merely an expansion of a pirate's business. Of course, Julian couldn't control what other pirates did.

Julian walked into the castle's treasure room and saw a room full of Beli, gold, coins, and a short flintlock gun, a pistol-type firearm. Julian unceremoniously packed everything into his Mud Space. While checking for any overlooked items, he discovered a secret room. Julian entered the secret room and found only weapons: swords and spears. Julian packed them all away. However, there was also a box, 1.2 meters long and 30 centimeters wide. Julian opened it to find a katana with a black scabbard. Julian drew the sword and saw it was incredibly sharp. He tested its hardness and found it to be very sturdy. The blade was covered in dense black patterns, like tattoos.

Julian swung it a few times and found it to be incredibly light, with a sound of air being cut. It was amazing. Julian decided to give it to Herbert, who was a two-sword style user; one sword wouldn't allow him to display his full strength. Julian walked out of the castle and found many servants and maids at the entrance, all belonging to the Count.

Julian instructed Pierre to tally them all up and bring them aboard. Finally, the last three divisions went to the territories of the remaining noble counts. Including this one, there were nine in total. Julian led the logistics team, departing from various directions to systematically visit each noble's domain, taking all their gold, jewels, weapons, and ammunition.

King Ilufagukula sat on his throne, looking at the returning army with a troubled expression. "I'll first ask the Marines at the South Blue base for help to eliminate these pirates," he said. A guard took a Den Den Mushi and made the call. After a moment, a voice came from the Den Den Mushi, "Hello, Your Majesty. This is the South Blue Marine Base. How may we help you?" King Ilufagukula took the Den Den Mushi and said, "My kingdom has been attacked by pirates, and my people have been robbed." A voice from the other end replied, "Please wait a moment, our Marines will be dispatched immediately."

At the South Blue Marine Base, a Rear Admiral was assembling his troops. This Rear Admiral was burly and named Gilmi. This Rear Admiral would later become a Vice Admiral stationed at the G2 Branch. At this time, his hair had not yet fallen out. He stood over two meters tall, with two katanas at his waist. He led his troops onto a Marine warship, their destination being the Iluxi Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Julian had already begun inventorying all the spoils of war. Gold, jewels, coins, and Beli amounted to over two billion. Weapons and ammunition were plentiful, along with several thousand guard swords, flintlock guns, spears, noble clothing, high-quality leather, grain, fruits, and meat. Julian laughed, "As expected of nobles, they know how to bleed others dry. This is all the blood of the local populace!" Julian also looked at the assembled crowd, numbering over two thousand six hundred people. Julian noticed that most of them were young, the youngest not yet twelve and the oldest in their late forties. Most were slaves, exploited by these nobles.

Many of the older ones had already been worked to death or had become retainers in the nobles' territories. Julian called all his pirate members over. Julian addressed the slaves, "For those of you who are older, I will give you a severance package of ten thousand Beli each. Take this Beli and find a city to live a new life."

Julian then addressed his pirate crew members, "For those I have rescued, I will give them ten thousand Beli each. For those who follow me to conquer the world, how much Beli will they receive in the future? One billion!" Julian transformed into a success guru and continued, "For those pirate crew members who retire early, I will give them one hundred Beli. For the crew members who have made significant contributions in battle, I will give them one billion directly. Understand? Applause!"

All the members applauded and said, "Captain is righteous and fair! Captain is mighty and domineering!" Julian dismissed over a thousand of these slaves, mainly because they were too weak. Each was given ten thousand Beli and sent away. Julian then told the younger slaves, "From today onwards, you are members of my Mud Dragon Pirates. From today, you are no longer slaves or servants; your lives are your own. Those who board my ship must obey my orders."

Julian had Pierre bring them aboard the ship. The younger ones were assigned to the various divisions for rigorous training to become stronger and apprentice pirates. The women were assigned to the ship's doctor, the kitchen as chefs, or the logistics department. Pierre would handle it all. Julian also found two treasure maps and put them away to study on the ship later. The treasures had already been stored in Julian's Mud Space within his body. They would be distributed on the ship that night. Julian led a large group of people back to the ship leisurely. Once aboard, Julian first called the division captains for a meeting. Julian took stock of the casualties and found no deaths, only a dozen or so lightly wounded from gunshots.

Julian was in the captain's cabin with the five executives. Julian took out five hundred million Beli and said, "Divide this money among yourselves and distribute it to your subordinates. Julian's enterprise is now vast; he is no longer a small pirate who just set sail." However, Julian insisted they maintain the ship's rules and training. Exams were held on the first of every month, and new crew members had to learn them. Crew members without loyalty would not love their captain. He needed to cultivate faith among the crew. If he held onto the division captains, what fear would he have of the minor pirates betraying him? These were the elite forces. Julian's goal was to build a pyramid-like fleet, and how could a pyramid be complete without its foundation? The executives took the Beli, and George spoke first, "Thank you, Captain."

Julian watched as all the division captains distributed the Beli, then said, "Today marks the first battle of our Mud Dragon Pirates. This battle has established the reputation of the Mud Dragon Pirates and taken the first step towards our Mud Dragon Pirates becoming the strongest pirate group." The executives said, "It is all thanks to Captain's leadership that we achieved victory." Julian loudly declared, "Pierre, brothers, prepare yourselves. We are having a feast!"

Julian and the top executives moved to the deck. Those who could come aboard Julian's ship were the elite members of the Mud Dragon Pirates. The apprentice pirates and ordinary pirates were on their respective division captains' ships. The newly boarded slaves, the young ones, had been assigned to the various divisions. Julian also reorganized Leo's shooter squad into the Fifth Division. Six ships were no longer enough. Julian then seized six of the largest merchant ships from the port. Merchant ships were large and offered ample space. The largest merchant ship was 220 meters long and 120 meters wide. It was likely King Ilufagukula's personal vessel. Julian immediately took a liking to it and named it the Mud Dragon. He would use it as his flagship. The previous Mud Dragon would become Herbert's division captain ship.

This royal exclusive vessel was indeed luxurious, so luxurious it blinded Julian's dog eyes. The ship had four floors. The first floor was for the guards' living quarters, with over three hundred rooms. The second floor was for the king's retainers and other professionals, with over fifty rooms, as well as a medical bay, kitchen, and game room, and exclusive private restrooms. The third and fourth floors were the king's exclusive quarters. The third floor had the king's throne, a private bathing pool, a dining room, and over a dozen enormous rooms. The fourth floor was a lawn of over five thousand square meters, filled with various flowers and trees, as well as musical instruments. It was perfect.

Julian said, "This guy really knows how to have fun. The only drawback is that it's a two-masted ship, not a steamship like those from Water 7 in the future." Julian felt it didn't matter; they could be modified later. He thought of the Sky Covenant Ark from Skypiea, which he already considered his property. It was a flying pirate ship that could generate electricity with Rumble-Rumble Fruit abilities and fly at high altitudes. Julian walked to the high platform and shouted to his subordinates below, "Brothers, it's time for a feast! Come on, everyone eat and drink! We're not going home until we're drunk tonight!"