The Chaos of Mary Geoise

Sig picked up a saber. He had no real technique, but with his strength and speed, he cut down Togel's men.

At the same time, many seemingly delicate female slaves also took up swords, their eyes bloodshot as they hacked away clumsily!

Some transformed into centaurs, using the dance steps they usually performed for show to stamp out a rhythm of rebellion; some became rabbit women, their long legs no longer just decorations for serving tea and water or flaunting their charms. Even if they couldn't fight, they would use their teeth to tear the flesh of anyone standing in the way of their escape; some became snake women, using their usually seductive bodies to squeeze their enemies until they suffocated...

The lives of the Celestial Dragons were undoubtedly of the utmost importance to the World Government.

But that was also why most of the powerful fighters, especially the CP0 organization, were probably protecting the Celestial Dragons in safe areas right now. Even though they knew the slaves only wanted to escape and wouldn't attack them, they didn't dare let their guard down in the slightest.

Besides, Sig suspected something had been going on in Mary Geoise lately. Thinking back, he suddenly realized he hadn't seen the Celestial Dragon rulers parading around in their usual grand procession for some time...

The ones intercepting the slaves were all ordinary guards. There weren't many powerful fighters among them.

"Ah! You..."

Amid a scream of terror, Sig saw a guard slowly turning to stone.

Sig looked at the person across from him in surprise and saw... a girl with a very large forehead.

The girl herself looked terrified. This was probably her first time killing someone with her ability, but she quickly steeled herself and kicked the stone figure to pieces, in case her victim broke free of her power later.

Noticing Sig looking at her, the girl looked back at him, her eyes full of wariness and hysteria.

As a "Spectator," Sig could roughly read her mind. Right now, the thought "I'm afraid they'll think I'm a violent criminal, an aberration" accounted for at most ten percent. The nerves from killing someone for the first time were also compressed into ten percent. The other eighty percent was "I have to survive. I have to get out of here."

"Keep it up. I hope we meet again on the sea someday." Seeing that she was already steadying herself, Sig simply called out to her before turning to leave.

At a time like this, sticking together was absolutely not a wise choice.

Although Sig guessed that this girl was probably Hancock, the Pirate Empress who would one day become famous throughout the world, he couldn't be sure that if he followed her, they wouldn't all end up unable to escape.

In fact, Sig had even more faith in his ability to get away on his own!

The physical boosts he'd gained from various sources gave him the strength of a mid-tier pirate combatant. He was strong enough not to stand out and draw a crowd, but not so weak that he could be taken out just like that.

More importantly, the "Spectator" ability made it easy for Sig to find a chance to slip away amid the chaos.

Rather than move with the other female slaves, Sig killed Togel and made his way to the chaotic area without too much trouble.

Cries of battle and sobbing rang out all around him, and raging fires burned everywhere.

Sig did his best to avoid the guards stopping people and the groups of slaves, since the latter were likely to attract the guards.

He ducked into an alley once more, hoping to take a shortcut to the harbor...

As he turned a corner, Sig came face-to-face with a young man with dark green hair.

Both of them were tense, and the moment they saw each other, they each swung a saber!

Clang—

Their sabers clashed and locked. Only then did they have a moment to look at each other: one wore a patient's gown, the other a clownish suit, and both were clearly holding sabers they'd picked up...

Technology in the world of pirates was all over the place, especially along the Grand Line. Sailing was difficult, and the islands varied widely, with everything from artificial human technology to primitive slash-and-burn farming. Every kind of civilization could be found.

But whether they were guards in Mary Geoise, the Navy, or pirates, the most widely used weapons were still sabers and muskets. Sabers were the more important of the two. The standard model was the "Bari Saber," with a ring-shaped handguard, a single-edged blade, a slight curve, and a somewhat heavier tip. Stronger fighters used the wider "Heavy Bari Saber."

As for the straight swords used by swordsmen, they were no easier to wield than ordinary sabers without proper swordsmanship.

Most muskets were still muzzleloaders, with poor accuracy and painfully slow reloads. They served mainly as backup weapons.

"The Celestial Dragons all deserve to die!"

"You're right."

The two withdrew their sabers and stepped back, but remained on guard against each other.

If he wasn't a lackey of the Celestial Dragons, then there was room to talk. But neither knew whether the other might be some vicious pirate or a bloodthirsty thug.

"I think it'd be better to go your way."

"No, I think the way you came from looks better."

"I stand by my opinion. Then let's switch."

Neither Sig nor the green-haired young man wanted to travel with the other. They warily tried to "pass each other" in the alley, both keeping their faces turned toward their counterpart and their sabers pointed at their sides.

Just as they were closest to each other, a sudden rhythm of orderly footsteps rang out, coming from both directions at once!

Sig keenly sensed that the green-haired young man had something bad in mind, so he hurriedly swung his saber at him.

Clang—

They both struck almost simultaneously!

"Looks like we're cut from the same cloth."

"No. I sensed your killing intent."

"Heh. Think I believe that?"

At that moment, six or seven guards came in from each end of the alley.

"Drop your swords and put your hands up!" More than a dozen guns pointed at Sig and the green-haired young man.

Seeing that the two slaves were actually fighting each other, the guards burst out laughing.

"Jack! Your master even paid to have you treated. How could you run away?" The green-haired young man angrily shoved Sig back.

Sig pretended to be weaker, as if his illness had taken its toll on him. He stumbled until he was against the wall, his saber pushed toward his chest.

Of course, his ribs really did hurt terribly whenever he exerted himself, so the act came all the more naturally.

"Breg... you treacherous bastard! You think that fat pig will reward you for this?" Sig didn't play along by turning on him for real. Instead, he went with it and started acting in earnest.

The green-haired young man gave Sig a slight, encouraging flick of his eyes, as if approving of him. He was actually worried that the kid across from him might get angry and argue over which of them was the slave trying to escape. That would only make things worse.

Sig picked up on his signal, and even hoped he would make it subtler, lest the lackeys notice it too.

"Damn it! Have you lost your mind? How dare you call our master..." The green-haired young man pretended to fly into a rage, knocked Sig's saber aside, and cut his arm, but didn't knock the weapon from his hand.

After that, the two clashed with a series of clangs as they moved a few steps toward the direction the green-haired young man had come from. The guards hesitated, then temporarily bought the act...

They had no choice. They were fighting because they'd received orders from the Celestial Dragons: "Don't let the slaves escape."

The slaves had all turned into violent criminals, but... the Celestial Dragons' orders were absolute. They wanted to personally torture any slaves who tried to escape, so the guards' first priority was to capture them alive.

Now that they'd run into a slave who seemed "loyal," they didn't dare dismiss it. At the very least, they had to take him back and let the Celestial Dragons decide.

"All right, loyal servant. You can stop now. We'll take it from here..."

Before he could finish, Sig and the green-haired young man, who had been attacking each other, suddenly surged in speed and strength by several levels, charging straight into the guards at close range, muskets in hand!

At that distance, muskets were nowhere near as useful as swords...

Screams and cries of pain rang out. In an instant, the two of them had each cut down two or three guards. Then, without a moment's hesitation, they both made the same move: they grabbed the only fat guard still standing beside them and pulled him in front of themselves as a shield!

As expected, the other squad of guards didn't care that they might hit their comrades when they opened fire. Fortunately, both men had a human shield in front of them...