Lord Victor, Long Live!

"What time did he get behind me?!"

Heide was startled. He hadn't noticed him at all just now. However, there was no time to think about it. Relying on his battle instincts, he swung the iron hammer in his hand and smashed it viciously at the Navy Colonel before him.

"Die!"

His face twisted viciously, and murderous intent filled his eyes. He had thought his opponent was like Colonel Malone and could be dealt with easily.

However, Heide's iron hammer was caught.

His opponent had caught the hammer with his bare hand!

"Is this the strength of a 45-million-Beli bounty?" Victor asked with a smile, calmly watching Heide's reaction.

Heide's eyes widened, and an incredulous expression appeared on his face.

Th-this was impossible!

"Surprised?" Victor's left hand had turned black, supporting the iron hammer. As the fingers of his left hand suddenly exerted force, the hammer was crushed into pieces!

The expression on Heide's face changed from shock to terror!

This was no longer a question of strength!

His opponent's fingers were actually harder than steel!

The pirates around them were dumbstruck.

"Who are you, exactly?!" Heide couldn't believe that the South Blue had a Marine this powerful.

Victor said expressionlessly, "The dead have no right to know."

While Heide was asking about Victor's identity, he threw a punch at Victor in a sneak attack.

Victor threw a punch as well.

Their fists collided.

Heide was wearing chainmail gloves, but the instant they touched Victor's fist, a look of terror appeared on his face.

"My hand!"

Heide felt a terrifying force pour into his arm and surge wildly through it.

With a bang, his entire arm exploded.

Blood, shredded flesh, and bone fragments flew everywhere.

"Ah!" Heide clutched his severed arm and screamed in agony.

"You're too noisy."

Victor's left hand pressed against Heide's abdomen.

A few seconds later, a huge hole exploded in Heide's abdomen!

Blood and pieces of his organs shot out, splattering the faces and bodies of the surrounding pirates. Covered in blood, the pirates stood rooted to the spot as though petrified, unable to move.

Victor had already retreated far away, without a single drop of blood touching him.

"What happened?!"

"Boss Heide was killed!"

"Is he even human?"

Now, it wasn't only the pirate underlings who had lost their nerve. Even the executives had lost their courage.

"We have the numbers! Let's join forces and kill him!"

Zoro was the first among the pirate executives to react. He swiftly attacked Victor.

"Commendable courage."

Victor's voice appeared beside Zoro's ear, while Zoro stared at Victor below him in disbelief.

Victor had just vanished from before his eyes.

In the instant he was distracted, Victor had not only appeared before him but had also reached out, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him into the air.

"How is this possible?!"

The surrounding pirate executives wore terrified expressions, just like Zoro.

Victor had vanished from before their eyes like a ghost.

"I like your reactions very much, because they're the despair of ants."

A smile lifted the corners of Victor's mouth. As his right hand exerted force, Zoro's neck was crushed.

Zoro's head drooped limply.

"Long live Lord Victor!"

"Long live Lord Victor!"

"Long live Lord Victor!"

The surrounding Marines erupted in cheers. By contrast, the pirates' morale plummeted, and they had no will to fight.

The battle at sea finally ended with an overwhelming victory for the Marines.

Nearly three thousand pirates were beheaded.

Ever since Victor had come to Branch 191, Branch 191 had left no prisoners alive.

"Lord Victor, we seized a total of 6.3 billion Beli in ill-gotten gains. The value of the gold and jewelry is still being assessed."

"There are 6,416 captured women, children, and men in total."

Lieutenant Colonel Mata began reporting the results of the battle.

Victor took out a cigarette, drew deeply on it, and said, "Release the prisoners. Give them some food as well, along with 20,000 Beli in living expenses."

"Yes." Lieutenant Colonel Mata recorded Victor's orders in his notebook.

Victor continued, "Also, every Marine who took part in this battle will receive a 200,000-Beli reward. Those one rank higher will follow the old rules and receive an additional 100,000. The compensation for the fallen will follow the old rules as well."

Three thousand people, each receiving 200,000 Beli.

At least 600 million Beli would have to be paid out.

Moreover, privates second class would receive 300,000, privates first class 400,000, petty officers third class 500,000, petty officers second class 600,000, and petty officers first class 700,000.

The higher the rank, the greater the reward.

Although Victor was greedy, he knew that money that needed to be spent couldn't be saved—not even a single coin.

"Yes." Lieutenant Colonel Mata continued recording.

Victor said, "Tell everyone that we're holding a banquet tonight."

"Yes." After Mata finished recording, he was about to relay the order. However, he suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked Victor, "Lord Victor, should we contact arms dealers about the weapons we confiscated?"

Victor said, "Take them back and put them in the warehouse. Don't sell them for now."

"Yes. I'll go relay your order."

Mata turned and left.

After Mata relayed the orders about the banquet and bonuses, all the Marines erupted in cheers. Shouts of "Long live Lord Victor!" rang out throughout the harbor.

Ever since they had followed Victor, the Marines of Branch 191 had grown stronger, been promoted faster, and earned more money.

These were all tangible benefits.

Therefore, they followed Victor from the bottom of their hearts.

Branch 189 was completely wiped out by the Heide Pirates, and Colonel Malone was killed in action.

The next day, the Heide Pirates were completely wiped out by Branch 191.

Major General Hagen was furious when he learned of it!

Branch 191 was only a five-hour voyage from Branch 189.

Yet even after Branch 189 had been completely wiped out, Victor's reinforcements had never arrived!

Major General Hagen was enraged.

Thus, Hagen immediately faxed Marine Headquarters, requesting that Headquarters punish Victor.

Although Victor was Hagen's subordinate, appointments within the Marines were decided by Headquarters.

Therefore, no matter how outrageous Victor's actions were, Headquarters had to investigate and assess them.

However, since Hagen had reported him under his real name, evidence of Victor's crimes had to be collected.

Marineford, Marine Headquarters.

Sengoku received Major General Hagen's fax.

The fax listed Victor's three major crimes.

First, delaying the battle and causing allied forces to be completely wiped out.

Second, extorting nobles within his jurisdiction and blackmailing merchants.

Third, reselling military weapons.

After reading it, Sengoku couldn't help frowning.

He believed that Major General Hagen wasn't slandering Victor.

However, Victor's identity was unusual.

Victor was not only Zephyr's disciple but also the son of Lieutenant General Ironman Anderson, Zephyr and Sengoku's comrade-in-arms.

Thirty-eight years ago, during the God Valley Incident, the Andersons died in battle while protecting the Celestial Dragons, leaving behind ten-year-old Victor.

Therefore, although Victor had violated military discipline many times, he still hadn't been sent before a military court.

There was nothing they could do. Who could blame Victor for having such a powerful background?

The senior and middle-aged officers at Marine Headquarters had all known the Andersons.

Of course, having a background was only one factor.

More importantly, Victor's talent was extraordinary. He had awakened Observation Haki at birth and possessed the potential to become a Marine Admiral.

"Ah, where should I put him?"

Sengoku was a little troubled. Keeping Victor at Headquarters would turn the place into a complete mess. But if he dispatched him to one of the Four Seas, it would be a disaster for the region.