Joining

"Alright! You all should prepare yourselves and leave this place quickly. I suspect it won't be long before the World Government arrives; they must have received word of what's happening here by now."

"What about you?"

Hearing Chen Qiang tell them to leave, Sabo looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked.

"Me? Naturally, I intend to see this game through to the end. Since the game isn't over yet, how could I leave? Besides, I said before that I would completely destroy this place. I haven't achieved my goal yet, so of course, I won't be leaving so soon!"

Chen Qiang's smile never faded as he spoke these words; it remained as brilliant as ever.

"Very well! Once I return, I will relay everything you've said to our leader. I believe our future operations will certainly take your words into account!"

After listening to Chen Qiang, Sabo thought for a moment before nodding. Although the revolution Chen Qiang spoke of sounded truly remarkable, he did not represent himself alone; he had a group of people behind him, and he had to be responsible for them.

"Lin! You should go with them as well!"

It was only after Sabo had left that Chen Qiang noticed Lin was still following behind him.

"No! I want to follow you and see this nation of equality you spoke of with my own eyes!" Lin shook her head, looking at Chen Qiang with a face full of sincerity.

"But what I'm about to do is extremely dangerous. You really should leave with them first!"

"No. You said it yourself before—as long as you don't die, I won't die! I believe in you!"

Lin's words were firm, leaving no room for doubt.

"Are you truly certain you want to become my partner?"

Seeing the determination in Lin's eyes, Chen Qiang's expression turned serious as he asked her once more.

"I am certain!"

"Very well! Lin, from this moment on, you are my partner. Let us work together to overthrow this rotten world!"

Hearing her affirmative reply, the smile returned to Chen Qiang's face. He reached out and ruffled Lin's hair, making her already messy locks even more chaotic.

"Alright, go and say your proper goodbyes to your fellow villagers now. We have a great battle waiting for us ahead!"

Just as Chen Qiang stood guard at the docks and Sabo led the slaves who were willing to follow them away, the entire city descended into even greater chaos.

As time passed, all the surviving slave traders gathered together, uniting under Toby's command, and began preparing to charge toward the docks to escape.

Meanwhile, the slaves who had returned to the city earlier due to Chen Qiang's words began rescuing people throughout the streets. Slowly, they gathered more and more people and started heading back to the docks.

They did not leave, however. Aside from the children, the elderly, and the women—who lacked combat ability and boarded the ships first—the others picked up weapons and stood firm, waiting for the impending battle. It was clear that those who had rescued them earlier had shared Chen Qiang's words, and they had now become his staunch supporters.

"The Undying Chen Qiang, though I don't know what you're planning, do you really think you can stop us from leaving the city with just these slaves?"

It didn't take long for the surviving slave traders, led by Toby, to reach the docks. Toby's arrogant voice was the first thing to arrive.

"They are no longer slaves. They are resolute revolutionary warriors!"

Seeing Toby and his men appear, Chen Qiang brought Lin to the front of the slaves and answered with a solemn expression.

"Warriors? Them? How laughable!"

"Anyone willing to take up arms to defy their fate, regardless of their strength, is a respectable warrior! As for you, you are nothing but trash in this decaying world. Compared to them, you are nothing at all!"

"This world isn't one where you become a warrior just by picking up a weapon. Only those with true power deserve to be called warriors. Your people are nothing but a bunch of clowns!"

"We shall see! Charge with me!"

After saying this, Chen Qiang didn't waste any more breath on his opponent and led the charge himself.

"BOOM!" "BANG!" "SWISH!"

As the two sides collided, the entire dock was filled with the sounds of cannons, gunfire, and clashing blades.

In the process, people fell continuously. Whether they were the warriors following Chen Qiang or the slave traders on the opposite side, lives were lost every second, and the scene quickly turned bloody.

However, because the two sides held different ideologies, Chen Qiang's people were driven by the desire to eradicate their enemies—not just because they had been enslaved, but because they wanted to purge this filth to hasten the arrival of the equal world Chen Qiang had described. In that future, there would be no wars, no pirates, and no one would ever be snatched away into slavery again; their descendants would not have to live in fear.

Conversely, the slave traders under Toby only wanted to survive. Even though they were generally stronger than Chen Qiang's followers, the fact that Chen Qiang's side fought with a fearless, death-defying resolve meant that, for a time, they actually held the upper hand.

The slave traders were not without their own powerhouses, but their strongest, Toby, was held back by Chen Qiang. Furthermore, Lin had begun forming contracts with many of the traders as soon as the fighting started, forcing them to fight with hesitation.

Of course, there were some strong individuals among the slaves on Chen Qiang's side, though they were still a cut below Toby and his elite. After all, not everyone had been enslaved through force; many had been captured simply because they lacked the strength to resist.

These slaves, though rescued, had suffered much Torment, and many were not at their peak combat capacity. Thus, while Chen Qiang's side held an advantage, it was not overwhelming.

The battle raged on. Men on both sides fell and died, yet no one stopped; they continued to launch attacks at one another.

As the top combatants, Toby and Chen Qiang had locked onto each other from the very beginning. Chen Qiang knew that his opponent was truly powerful, and even though his followers possessed strong wills, willpower alone was no match for such a vast gap in strength—charging in would only be suicide.

Therefore, Chen Qiang had proactively intercepted Toby at the start of the battle. Having already gauged each other's strength in their previous encounter, neither side bothered with probing; they both unleashed their full power from the very first strike.