The Fall of the Rebel Army

"Here, here! They're back!" One of Luffy's subordinates sprinted back from ahead.

Sun Busong's eyes snapped open!

This was a level 41 Elite Level Defias Assassin, one of the few dozen top experts in the Brotherhood. Luffy had brought fifty-two Elite Professionals with him this time; to claim territory in Stranglethorn Vale, they had to show some strength.

"Tell me, what's the situation!" Once the level 41 Defias Assassin slipped into the hidden spot, Luffy asked.

"It's that Captain. There are twenty-one of them in total, and everyone is injured. The Captain especially, he lost an arm."

Hearing this, a light flashed in Luffy's eyes. He continued, "What about the others? How many Elite Professionals are there?"

"Besides the Captain, they have fourteen Elite Professionals. The highest level is a level 51 Assassin. The rest don't pose a significant threat to us. There are only two Magic Professionals, both healers. The regular Professionals are not worth worrying about!"

"Good!" Luffy clapped his fist to his palm excitedly after hearing the report.

According to the Assassin's intel, Captain Duo Lun should have won, but it was a pyrrhic victory. Out of hundreds who went out, only twenty-one returned, and the Captain lost an arm.

Even though he was a level 60 Elite Warrior, no matter how strong he was, losing an arm would reduce his strength by at least half. This was fantastic news for Luffy and his crew.

"Busong, what do we do next?"

Although Luffy already had his own plan, he still wanted to get Sun Busong's opinion.

Sun Busong rubbed his sleepy eyes, yawned, and stretched as he said, "You decide. I don't have any objections, but I have a small request: I want to hit every Elite Professional with an axe."

Luffy chuckled, "Since when did you have such a hobby?"

"What do you mean hobby? When Heavy Fist and I first arrived here, these guys bullied us quite a bit. Right, Heavy Fist?" Sun Busong couldn't tell them about farming Slaughter Value.

"Right! If Boss hadn't held me back, I would have fought them long ago!" Mr. Heavy Fist snorted, expelling two streams of white air from his nostrils to show his anger. He had wanted revenge for a long time.

This was hardly a request; Luffy couldn't be happier. Although Sun Busong was only in his twenties, according to the intel Luffy had gathered, he was someone who could go toe-to-toe with a Silver Elite boss. With him taking action, his own men wouldn't have to worry about losing their lives.

Next, Luffy arranged the ambush details. This time, he had brought not only Elite Professionals but also over a hundred regular Hunter Professionals. Although the attack power of these regular Hunters wasn't too high, they could at least deal a significant amount of damage to the enemy group with a sneak attack.

The first wave of the plan was for the Hunters to unleash an arrow rain, with Magic Professionals mixed in to target the enemy's two healers.

Once the enemy's Magic Healers were dealt with, their health would be significantly depleted. The rest would be one-on-one duels. Luffy would lead the Ebony Paladin and a level 40 Elite in a duel against the Captain, who had lost an arm. Then, others would engage in three-on-one duels against the remaining enemies, with Hunters and Magic Professionals providing ranged harassment and sneak attacks. Sun Busong would act randomly.

After these matters were settled, Captain Duo Lun and his group appeared within Luffy's line of sight, slowly approaching the attack range. But just then, Sun Busong spoke up, "Luffy, wait!"

Luffy's face had already contorted into a ferocious expression, a sinister smile playing on his lips, and his hand was already raised! He was ready to swing down at any moment, but Sun Busong suddenly stopped him!

It was like reaching a critical juncture in a matter, and suddenly the police burst in, shouting! "Room inspection!"

"What the hell are you doing? If you startle me like that, what if I can't raise my hand anymore in the future!"

He was referring to the hand he had raised.

Luffy's eyes were about to spew fire. He had already asked him and sought his opinion earlier, but he had done this at such a crucial moment. Who could stand this!

Sun Busong truly didn't do it on purpose this time. After waking up, he felt like he had forgotten something, but he couldn't recall it. Just now, he suddenly saw the warehouse door, and a flash of inspiration struck him! Explosives!

That's right, he had secretly stored a large batch of explosives in the Captain's warehouse. These explosives were meant as a little gift to prevent the Captain from winning too easily.

"Don't be angry, don't be angry. Haha, I suddenly remembered something," Sun Busong said, quickly explaining when he saw how agitated Luffy was.

"Remembered what crap? Didn't you wipe yourself after pooping this morning!" Luffy cursed in a low voice. He couldn't speak loudly because the enemy was already very close.

Captain Duo Lun and his group had already passed the ambush point. If they attacked now, his own men would definitely suffer casualties. Luffy glared fiercely at Sun Busong. If he didn't give him a satisfactory explanation today, the gold mine's share would have to be redistributed.

"I suddenly remembered something, hehe. I buried a lot of explosives in their warehouse. Those explosives can at least reduce their numbers by half. Even if they don't die, they won't have much health left. Since we don't have to risk our lives, why rush forward!"

Sun Busong explained while taking a device from his backpack and casually tossing it on the ground.

Self-Destructing Sheep (Green Excellent): Requires Engineering Usage: Summons a Self-Destructing Sheep to charge at a designated enemy and self-destruct. The Self-Destructing Sheep looks identical to a normal sheep. It exists for a maximum of 5 minutes after being summoned. (30-minute cooldown)

With two clicks, the device transformed into a sheep, about half a meter tall, in just two seconds, appearing before Luffy and his crew. Everyone was stunned!

"What is this? A sheep? How did you do that!" Master Ebony Paladin was very surprised. He had heard of a high-level Mage skill called Polymorph, but that only temporarily turned enemies into sheep.

Yet, he was now seeing a living sheep that had been conjured by a Warrior. This was unscientific!

"Hehe, Master Ebony, this isn't a real sheep, it's a bomb!"

Upon hearing that the sheep was actually a bomb, the surrounding people quietly took a step back.

"I can't talk to you all anymore. The Captain and his men are almost at the warehouse. If I don't confirm the target soon, the Self-Destructing Sheep won't be able to track a specific target!" With that, Sun Busong stopped paying attention to the bewildered people around him. He quickly issued a command to the Self-Destructing Sheep, designating the last Elite Warrior to enter the room as the target.

With a beep, the sheep on the ground made a sound. A synthesized electronic voice said, "Target confirmed, level 39 Warrior. Distance confirmed: 240 meters. Time confirmed: 120 seconds. Engage!"

The sheep, which had been grazing on the ground, suddenly had electronic red eyes after emitting the synthesized voice, and then began moving towards the warehouse at a speed of two meters per second!

"Holy crap!" x2.

These were the exclamations from Luffy and Heavy Fist!

The group stared intently at the sheep, not blinking.

Two minutes later, the Self-Destructing Sheep reached the warehouse entrance. There were no guards at the entrance, and the door was wide open. The Self-Destructing Sheep went inside!

Another thirty seconds passed, and a burst of fire erupted from the warehouse ahead. Then, the ground beneath Luffy and his crew trembled slightly, followed by a rumbling explosion that reached their ears!

The warehouse had exploded!

Before Luffy and the others could even discuss the power of the Self-Destructing Sheep, a group of people ran out from the fire and smoke. The Captain was at the front, followed by several heavily armored Professionals with strong defenses, and then the rest of them escaped in a sorry state.

1.2.3.416.

A total of sixteen people escaped. They were badly injured by the explosion; not only was the Captain missing a rib, but several others had lost their legs.

"How was it? Haha, amazing, right!" Sun Busong was very happy with his results. He stroked his completely bald chin and looked arrogantly at Luffy.

Luffy closed his mouth, which had been open for a long time, gave him a "you're awesome" gesture, and then ordered the others, "Ranged concentrated fire, everyone else, follow the previous assignment, charge with me!"

"Kill!"

The Captain knew he couldn't escape death today. He also roughly understood who was targeting him, but who could he blame in this situation?

Looking at the brothers by his side, some wounded, some crippled, he leaned on his sword with one hand, his eyes blurring with tears, whether from the smoke or from grief, he couldn't tell.

They had finally managed to kill Korson and his men, but only twenty of his own people were left. He had won the war against Korson, but at a terrible cost. It was all that little bastard's fault!

After leaving the secret base, the Captain quickly gathered everyone and returned to the warehouse. He knew clearly in his heart that Sun Busong had set a trap for him. He must have weakened the Sleeping Potion, otherwise, why would the two-hour sleeping effect have lasted only ten minutes!

If only he had five more minutes, no! One minute! Just one minute, and he could have saved the brothers who followed him.

He wished he could skin and dismember Sun Busong. So, after killing Korson's troops, the first thing he did was gather everyone to return to the warehouse. His good brother, Bookworm Herold, was with that guy. He had to rescue Herold as quickly as possible and capture that liar!

But now, it was all over!

When the group entered the warehouse, they didn't find Sun Busong, only Herold guarding it alone. Just as he was about to ask for an explanation, a sheep burrowed under the feet of one of his trusted men and exploded with a "boom!"

The explosion wasn't very powerful, but this was a warehouse, filled with their supplies and munitions. The explosion triggered other explosives in the warehouse, and then the entire warehouse blew up!

The Captain's eyes were bloodshot. His brothers had barely survived Korson's men, only to suffer heavy casualties in their own warehouse.

"Kill!!!"

Shouts of killing came from afar. The Captain no longer had time to dwell on what had happened. He turned his head and saw a sky full of arrows and powerful single-target magic!

He had been ambushed, which was no longer surprising.

The Captain knew that his resistance army would disappear from the world today. This fact could no longer be changed, but he didn't want to die with regrets. He wanted to find out who was plotting against him before he died.

He swung his long sword with one hand, blocking all the arrows shot at him. He no longer had the energy to protect the brothers around him, nor did he want to. They were all going to die today anyway.

"Then let me see who is harming me!"

After the arrow rain, a group of people rushed down from a hillside. Dozens of Elite Professionals, and a large number of ordinary Professionals. The Captain raised his sleeve and wiped the dust from his eyes.

The crowd was very close now. He saw their faces. It was the Paladin Ebony! And that Silver Elite fellow! It was the Thief King, Luffy VanCleef!

So it was the Brotherhood's thieves! He finally knew who was harming him. The Captain took a deep breath and then activated his Charge!

From over forty meters away, the Captain instantly reached them with his Charge, but his Charge was intercepted. His original target was switched to the Ebony Paladin.

"Your opponent is me! Don't think about bypassing me to find someone else!"

Master Ebony blocked the Captain with his shield, while Luffy and the Level 40 Elite Thief took the opportunity to quickly circle around to the Captain's back.

"I've lost, but I'm not reconciled. We could have cooperated. Why did your Brotherhood attack me!"

The Captain slowly turned around, facing Luffy and asked. His expression was no longer filled with anger and unwillingness.

Luffy held two top-quality daggers crafted by Sun Busong, his eyes fixed on the opponent's shoulder. Once the opponent made a move, he would react quickly. Although cautious, he still answered the question.

"This matter is not our Brotherhood's fault. Survival of the fittest. You two factions have occupied Stranglethorn Vale for a long time, but you attack each other every day, weakening your combat power. If this continues, you will eventually be finished. We just found a suitable time to take over your territory."

"No!"

The Captain felt that Luffy's words were wrong. "This time, you were the one instigating and causing trouble. Otherwise, Korson and I would not have ended up in a situation where we almost annihilated each other today. You sent people to do this! You are as insidious as those Vampire Nobles in Stormwind!"

"Heh, it really wasn't me this time, I swear!"

Luffy didn't want to reveal Sun Busong, because he and Sun Busong were currently allies. Exposing him too early to the nobles in Stormwind would not be good for Sun Busong's growth.

"It wasn't you?" The Captain knew a little about Luffy. Legend had it that he could see through people's hearts, and he basically didn't lie much.

"Could it be that dwarf? Does he have such great ability?"

"Hey! Stop thinking! Just go on your way. The more you know, the more trouble you'll have!" Sun Busong had already cut down several people. He finished off the survivors of the explosion one by one with an axe. These were all elites. Whether it was a kill or an assist, he could gain ten health points.

Moreover, each of these people was more than ten levels higher than him. This was more than ten Kill Points!

"You finally appeared. I underestimated you back then. The winner takes all, I understand that. But I am a Level 60 Elite Warrior. If you want to kill me, you will have to pay a price!"

The Captain recognized Sun Busong. He grinned and charged at the person who had destroyed his forces. Master Ebony did not intercept the Captain's Charge skill this time. He also wanted to see if the intelligence about Sun Busong's strength was true.

His disciple was under him, and that kid's eyes lit up whenever he talked about this Imperial Guard Commander. It was a deep admiration for someone!

After Sun Busong and the Captain engaged, the other battles quickly ended. After the Brotherhood members killed their opponents, they surrounded the battlefield.

No one went to help Sun Busong. One was a Level 60 Elite Warrior, and the other was a Level 28 ordinary Warrior. Although the Captain's strength was less than a tenth of its former self, the two of them fought as equals.

The battle lasted for over 30 minutes. The Captain finally died standing. Luffy ordered his subordinates to give the Captain a proper burial.

Master Ebony stopped the other healers from trying to heal Sun Busong. He took the critically injured Sun Busong to a secluded place for some private time.

An hour later, a Paladin returned to the resistance camp with a pale face.

It was true! It was incredible. A Level 28 ordinary Warrior with nearly seventy thousand health! And his attack power was astonishingly high.

"It seems Usop has found an Officer who can fulfill his dreams!"

"But this guy's health bar is a bit too long! It's too much effort to heal him."

Welcome everyone for your criticism and corrections. Please speak up if you have any suggestions. The next step will be the untold stories of Treasure Bay and the Goblins, including auctions, arenas, and the Blood Sail Pirates.

The protagonist is missing a powerful healer, and it's still unknown what race to choose. They need to fight the Petrified Lizards in the Crystal Mine Cave.