The Fall of the Resistance

"They're here, they're here! They're back!" One of Luffy's men came sprinting back from the front.

Sun Busong's eyes snapped open!

The man was a Level 41 Elite Defias Assassin, one of the Brotherhood's few dozen experts. This time, Luffy had brought fifty-two Elite Professionals with him. To claim territory in Stranglethorn Vale, they needed to show they had some muscle.

"Tell me what's going on." Once the Level 41 Defias Assassin slipped into the hiding place, Luffy questioned him.

"It's the Captain. There are twenty-one of them in all, and every one of them is injured. The Captain especially—he's lost an arm."

A glint 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 one is a Level 51 assassin. The rest aren't much of a threat to us. They only have two Caster Class users, both healers. Their ordinary professionals aren't worth worrying about!"

"Good!" Luffy slapped his fist into his palm, thrilled by the report.

From the assassin's account, Captain Duo Lun must have won, but it had been a pyrrhic victory. Hundreds had gone out, but only twenty-one had returned—and the Captain had lost an arm.

Even though he was a Level 60 Elite Warrior, no matter how powerful he was, losing an arm had cut his strength by at least half. That was fantastic news for Luffy and the others.

"Busong, what's the plan now?"

Luffy already had a plan of his own, but he still wanted Sun Busong's opinion.

Sun Busong rubbed his sleepy eyes, yawned, and stretched. "It's up to you. I don't mind either way. I've just got one small request: I want to land an axe blow on every Elite Professional."

Luffy laughed. "Since when did you take up that hobby?"

"What hobby? When Heavy Fist and I first got here, those guys gave us plenty of grief. Isn't that right, Heavy Fist?" Sun Busong couldn't tell them he was after Slaughter Value.

"Right! If the boss hadn't held me back, I'd have gone after them a long time ago!" Mr. Heavy Fist snorted two streams of white air through his nostrils to show how angry he was. He'd been itching for revenge.

What kind of request was that? Luffy was more than happy to oblige. Sun Busong was only in his twenties, but according to the intelligence Luffy had gathered, he was someone who could stand toe-to-toe with a Silver Elite boss. With him in the fight, Luffy's men wouldn't have to worry about getting killed.

Next, Luffy arranged the ambush. He hadn't just brought Elite Professionals this time; he had also brought more than a hundred ordinary Hunters. Their attacks weren't particularly strong, but an ambush would still take a big chunk out of the enemy's Health Points.

The plan called for the Hunters to open with a rain of arrows, while the Magic Professionals among them targeted the enemy's two healers.

Once the enemy's healers were dead, they wouldn't have much health left. After that, it would be one-on-one fights. Luffy, the Ebony Paladin, and a Level 40 Elite Professional would take on the one-armed Captain. The others would fight the rest three to one, while the Hunters and Magic Professionals harassed the enemy from a distance. Sun Busong would go wherever he pleased!

Once they'd settled everything, the Captain and his group came into view. They slowly approached the edge of the attack range, but just then, Sun Busong spoke up. "Luffy, wait!"

Luffy's face had already twisted into a savage grin. A sinister smile curled his lips, and he'd even raised his hand, ready to give the signal to attack—but Sun Busong had suddenly called a halt!

It was like getting right to the crucial moment, only for the police to burst in and yell, "Room inspection!"

"What the hell are you doing? You can't just startle someone like that! What if I can't get it up next time?"

He was talking about the hand he'd raised.

Fire nearly blazed from Luffy's eyes. He'd already asked Sun Busong for his opinion, but the man had pulled this stunt at the critical moment. Who could put up with that?

Sun Busong really hadn't done it on purpose this time. Ever since he'd woken up, he'd felt like he'd forgotten something, but he hadn't been able to remember what. Then, just now, he'd spotted the warehouse door, and a thought flashed through his mind. Explosives!

That was right—he'd secretly stashed a large supply of explosives in the Captain's warehouse. He'd prepared the explosives as a little gift, in case the Captain and his men won too easily.

"Don't get mad, don't get mad. Haha, I just remembered something." Seeing Luffy's temper flare, Sun Busong hurriedly explained.

"What the hell did you remember? That you forgot to wipe after taking a dump this morning?" Luffy cursed under his breath. He couldn't raise his voice; the enemy was already very close.

The Captain and his men had already passed the ambush point. If Luffy attacked now, his side would definitely take casualties. He glared viciously at Sun Busong. If the man didn't give him a good explanation, they'd be renegotiating the split from the Gold Mine.

"I just remembered something. Hehe, I planted a lot of explosives in their warehouse. They're enough to take out at least half their numbers. Even if the blast doesn't kill them, they won't have much health left. If we can avoid risking our lives, why rush in?"

As he explained, Sun Busong took a device out of his bag and casually tossed it on the ground.

Self-Destructing Sheep (Uncommon, Green):

Requires Engineering

Use: Summons a Self-Destructing Sheep to charge at a designated enemy and explode. It looks identical to an ordinary sheep and can remain for up to 5 minutes after being summoned. (30-minute cooldown)

With two clacks, the device transformed into a sheep over half a meter tall in just two seconds. It appeared right before Luffy and the others, leaving them all dumbfounded!

"What is that? A sheep? How did you do that?" Master Umu the Paladin was astonished. He'd heard that mages had a high-level skill called Polymorph, but it only temporarily turned an enemy into a sheep.

But now he was looking at a real, living sheep that a Warrior had somehow conjured out of nowhere. It made no sense!

"Hehe, Master Umu, it's not a real sheep. It's a bomb!"

When the people around him heard it was a bomb, they quietly took a step back.

"I can't explain it all now. The Captain and his men are about to reach the warehouse. If I don't set a target, the Self-Destructing Sheep won't be able to track one!" With that, Sun Busong ignored the question marks on everyone's faces and quickly gave the sheep its target: the last Elite Warrior to enter the building.

A beep came from the sheep on the ground, followed by a synthesized electronic voice. "Target confirmed: Level 39 Warrior. Distance confirmed: 240 meters. Time confirmed: 120 seconds. Moving out!"

The sheep, which had been grazing with its head down, let out a burst of synthesized electronic sound. Its eyes suddenly turned electronic red, and it headed for the warehouse at a speed of two meters per second!

"Holy crap!" x2.

Luffy and Heavy Fist exclaimed in unison!

Everyone stared at the sheep without blinking.

Two minutes later, the Self-Destructing Sheep reached the warehouse entrance. There were no guards, and the doors stood open. The sheep went inside!

Thirty seconds later, a burst of fire flared from the warehouse ahead. The ground beneath Luffy and the others trembled slightly, and then the rumble of explosions reached their ears!

The warehouse had exploded!

Before Luffy and the others could even discuss the sheep's power, a group of people came running out through the flames and smoke. The Captain was in front, followed by several Plate Armor professionals with strong defenses. The rest stumbled out right behind them.

1.2.3.416.

Sixteen people had made it out in all, and they were in terrible shape. It wasn't just the Captain who had lost an arm; several others had lost their legs.

"How about that? Pretty powerful, huh?" Sun Busong was delighted with his handiwork. He rubbed his completely hairless chin and looked smugly at Luffy.

Luffy finally closed his mouth, which had been hanging open. He gave Sun Busong a gesture that meant you're incredible, then ordered the others, "Ranged fighters, concentrate your fire! Everyone else, stick to the plan. Charge!"

"Kill!"

The Captain knew he was going to die today. He also had a pretty good idea who was behind this, but who could he blame in a situation like this?

He looked at the brothers who had lived and died by his side. Some were injured, others maimed. Bracing himself on his sword with one hand, he watched tears slowly run down his face—whether from the smoke or from heartbreak, he couldn't tell.

They'd barely managed to kill Korson and his men, and only twenty of his own men remained. He'd 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 had gathered everyone and hurried back to the warehouse. He knew perfectly well that Sun Busong had set him up. The man must have weakened the dose of Sleeping Potion. How else could a two-hour sleep effect have lasted only ten minutes?

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

He wanted nothing more than to skin Sun Busong alive. That was why the first thing he did after wiping out Korson's forces was gather everyone and head back to the warehouse. His good brother, Bookworm Herold, was with that man. He had to rescue Herold as quickly as possible and catch that swindler!

But now, it was all over!

When they entered the warehouse, they hadn't found Sun Busong. Only Herold had been there, watching over the place. Just as the Captain was about to ask what had happened, a sheep crawled up to one of his trusted men's feet. Boom! It exploded!

The explosion itself wasn't very powerful, but this was a warehouse, packed with supplies and military provisions. The blast set off the other explosives inside, and the entire warehouse was blown sky-high!

The Captain's eyes were bloodshot. His brothers had barely made it back alive from Korson's men, only to suffer heavy casualties in an explosion at their own warehouse.

"Kill!"

Shouts of slaughter came from a distance. There was no time for the Captain to think about what had happened. He turned and saw arrows raining down from the sky, along with powerful single-target magic!

He'd been ambushed. That much was no surprise.

The Captain knew his resistance army would disappear from the world today. Nothing could change that now. But he didn't want to die without knowing why. Before he died, he had to find out who had been plotting against him.

He swung his sword with one hand, deflecting every arrow aimed at him. He no longer had the strength to protect the brothers around him, and he didn't want to protect them anyway. They were all going to die today.

Then let me see who's responsible for all this!

After the rain of arrows, a group of people charged down a hillside. There were dozens of Elite Professionals, along with a large number of ordinary professionals. The Captain raised his sleeve and wiped the dust stuck over his eyes.

The crowd had nearly reached him. He saw their faces: the Paladin Umu! And that Silver Elite guy! The Thief King, Luffy VanCleef!

So it was that bunch of thieves from the Brotherhood! At last, he knew who had been plotting against him. The Captain took a deep breath, then charged!

The distance was over forty meters, but the Captain covered it in an instant with his Charge. His Charge was intercepted, however, and his target was switched to the Ebony Paladin.

"Your opponent is me! You're not getting past me to reach anyone else!"

Master Umu held up his shield and blocked the Captain. Luffy and the Level 40 Elite Thief took the opportunity to quickly circle around behind him.

"I lost, but I can't accept it. We could've worked together. Why did the Brotherhood have to take us down?"

The Captain slowly turned to face Luffy as he spoke. The anger and resentment had vanished from his expression.

Luffy held a pair of top-quality daggers Sun Busong had forged for him. His eyes stayed fixed on the Captain's shoulder, ready to react the instant the man made a move. Despite his caution, he answered the question.

"This isn't the Brotherhood's fault. The strong survive, and the weak perish. The two of your factions have occupied Stranglethorn Vale for a long time, but you've spent every day attacking each other. Your forces have weakened day by day. At this rate, you would've fallen sooner or later. We just took over your territory at the right time."

"No!"

The Captain felt Luffy was wrong. "You were stirring up trouble from the shadows this time. Otherwise, Korson and I wouldn't have ended up nearly destroying each other today. You sent someone to do it! You're as devious as those Vampire Nobles in Stormwind!"

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

Luffy didn't want to tell him about Sun Busong. He and Sun Busong were allies now, and bringing him to the attention of Stormwind's nobles too soon wouldn't be good for Sun Busong's growth.

"It wasn't you?" The Captain knew a little about Luffy. Rumor had it that he could see into people's hearts, and he rarely lied.

"Could it have been that dwarf? Does he have that kind of power?"

"Hey, quit thinking about it! Get moving and die already. The more you know, the more trouble you get!" Sun Busong had already cut down several people. He went around striking everyone who'd survived the explosion, one by one. They were all Elite Professionals. Whether he got the kill or merely assisted, he'd earn ten Health Points.

And each of them was at least ten levels higher than him. That meant more than ten Kill Points!

"You finally showed up. I underestimated you back then. The winner takes all; I understand that. But I'm a Level 60 Elite Warrior. If you want to kill me, you'll have to pay a price!"

The Captain recognized Sun Busong and charged at the man who had brought his faction to ruin. This time, Master Umu didn't intercept the Captain's Charge. He wanted to see if the reports about Sun Busong's strength were true.

His apprentice was under Sun Busong's command, and whenever the boy talked about this Imperial Guard commander lately, his eyes lit up. It was the deep, wholehearted admiration someone felt for another person!

Once Sun Busong and the Captain engaged, the other fights ended quickly. After the Brotherhood's men killed their opponents, they surrounded the battle.

No one went to help Sun Busong. One was a Level 60 max-level Elite Warrior, and the other was a Level 28 ordinary Warrior. Although the Captain had less than a tenth of his strength left, the two fought to a standstill.

The battle lasted more than thirty minutes. In the end, the Captain died on his feet. Luffy ordered his men to give the Captain a proper burial.

Master Umu stopped the other healers from treating Sun Busong. He took Sun Busong, whose health bar was down to a sliver, somewhere quiet so they could be alone.

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

It was true! Incredible. An ordinary Level 28 Warrior with nearly seventy thousand Health Points—and his attack power was astonishing, too.

"Looks like Usop found a commander who could help him realize his dream!"

"But that guy's health bar is awfully long. He's a real pain to heal."

Welcome to leave comments and suggestions. The next part will be about the stories of Treasure Bay and the Goblins, including the auction, the arena, and the Blood Sail Pirates.

The protagonist needs one more big healer. I still haven't decided what race to make them. They'll need to fight the Petrified Lizards in the Crystal Mine Cave.

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