Chapter 46

To be honest, Toby truly could not fulfill Chen Qiang's request. Even before he had been injured, it would have been impossible for him to craft such massive gemstones.

Fortunately, Chen Qiang seemed to realize that crafting gems of that size was beyond his capabilities, so he settled for smaller ones. This, Toby could manage, but when he heard the quantity the other party required, his entire body went limp.

That was simply too many; he couldn't possibly produce that many. If he were to force himself to create that many, he would be completely drained dry.

"What are you staring at? Get to work!"

Seeing Toby staring at him blankly, Chen Qiang urged him on.

"Fine!"

Thinking that he was going to die anyway, there was nothing left to fear. He only hoped that the reinforcements he had called for would arrive soon, so that he could ask Chen Qiang to give him a quick end.

After a moment of thought, Toby began crafting the gems. To satisfy Chen Qiang's demands as much as possible, he made each gemstone the absolute maximum size he was capable of producing.

As for cutting corners—like crafting a ruby while secretly making an emerald to heal his own wounds—Toby had considered it. However, every time the thought crossed his mind, he looked at the city outside, which had completely descended into a sea of flames, and the ships at the docks that had long since been destroyed. He understood that even if he recovered his strength, without a ship, the other party would find him again very quickly.

And he had no idea what kind of Torment he would be subjected to then.

In the past, Toby hadn't known how painful Torment could be; he had even taken pleasure in tormenting slaves, watching their expressions of despair and agony. Now that he had fallen into Chen Qiang's hands and been subjected to even the slightest bit of Torment, he felt he couldn't take it anymore and just wanted a quick death.

Fortunately, Chen Qiang did not break his word. Once Toby began working diligently, he stopped the Torment. It wasn't until the small clone Chen Qiang had left at the docks discovered that people had arrived that he swung his blade and decapitated Toby, ending his sinful life.

"A bit of a pity. Why did so few people come? This guy really isn't valued at all!"

After beheading Toby, Chen Qiang sensed the information coming from his clone. He looked at Toby's fallen body with a face full of disdain and spoke.

"But since they're here, I might as well go and greet them!"

Chen Qiang quickly made his decision. He wiped the blood from his long blade onto Toby's headless corpse and began walking toward the location of those who had just arrived on the island.

On the other side, the members of the CP3 organization who had just arrived on the island headed toward the city. However, as they entered and saw the corpses scattered everywhere and the fire spreading throughout the city, they immediately sensed that something was wrong.

The leader of the group signaled for those behind him to stop and took a defensive stance, while another quickly pulled out a Den Den Mushi, presumably to notify the main force.

"Blood Spike!"

Before the call could even go through, the blood from the surrounding corpses eerily flowed toward their feet, transforming into sharp, protruding spikes that thrust directly at their bodies.

"Iron Body!"

They were indeed an elite unit belonging to the World Government. Aside from one unlucky soul who failed to react in time, the others immediately utilized the Iron Body technique from the Six Powers of the Navy the moment the Blood Spikes appeared, blocking the attack.

"The Undying Chen Qiang?"

The moment they were attacked, the CP organization members immediately realized who their assailant was. After all, the report they had received was that The Undying Chen Qiang was causing chaos in the city, attempting to snatch the little girl who might possess the Longevity Fruit.

"Blood Strangling!"

Even though the group had guessed his identity, Chen Qiang had no intention of appearing to converse with them. Instead, he attacked again, the blood from before transforming into blades that swirled around them, attempting to strangle them.

Clearly, Chen Qiang's efforts were in vain this time. Although the strength of these CP organization members might not have been overwhelming, every member of the CP organizations was required to master at least one of the Six Powers of the Navy before they could officially join.

For these CP3 members, whether it was the leader or the rank-and-file, the first technique they mastered was Iron Body. As for why, it was because the CP3 organization was a unit specifically tasked with protecting the Celestial Dragons.

They answered only to the Celestial Dragons, and their duty was to guard them; thus, Iron Body was the best defensive skill and was mandatory for all.

Among the CP0 through CP9 organizations, each had its own specialty, all serving the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. While the combat power of the CP3 unit might not even compare to CP9, in terms of pure defensive capability, this unit was the strongest outside of CP0.

Therefore, the blood blade attacks Chen Qiang unleashed caused almost no damage to the dozen or so men. Only a few with weaker cultivation had their skin grazed, while the others suffered no injuries at all.

"What powerful physical techniques!"

Seeing that even the ordinary soldiers could block his attacks using the only technique they knew—Iron Body—Chen Qiang couldn't help but exclaim.

However, there were indeed experts among them. After Chen Qiang's two attacks failed to land, the two leaders sensed Chen Qiang's location using Observation Haki.

"Shave!"

Another physical technique was deployed. In the span of a single breath, they arrived directly in front of Chen Qiang, utilized Iron Body again, and punched him.

"Bang!"

Chen Qiang did not dodge, letting their fists land directly on his body. He then countered with his long blade, slashing at the leader's chest.

"Swish!"

A blood-red blade light flashed, leaving a long but shallow cut on the opponent's chest.

The defense of Iron Body was indeed formidable; even with Chen Qiang's strike, he had barely managed to break through.

Just as Chen Qiang's blade fell, the two men swung their fists again, landing them on Chen Qiang's solid muscles. The impact was enough to make his internal organs tremble, but to Chen Qiang, this was nothing.

"I love battles like this!"

Possessing powerful regenerative abilities, Chen Qiang was very fond of such close-quarters combat. Since they were trading blows without dodging, relying entirely on their bodies to take the hits, the fight was technically monotonous—but Chen Qiang loved it. The more he fought, the wider the smile on his face grew.

After all, in a battle like this, no matter how long it lasted, as long as he could break their defense, he could keep slashing them until they began to doubt their own existence.

Clearly, the two CP organization members fighting Chen Qiang realized this as well. In the subsequent exchanges, they began to subconsciously dodge Chen Qiang's attacks.

However, they were primarily focused on physical techniques and had only mastered Iron Body and Shave from the Six Powers. Without Devil Fruit abilities, they had to fight Chen Qiang at close range to have any hope of winning. Yet, Chen Qiang essentially ignored their attacks, and every time, he seized the opportunity to land a slash on them.

Although they had the defense of Iron Body, their physical constitutions were what they were, and there was still a gap between them and Chen Qiang. Trying to dodge Chen Qiang's attacks after launching their own began to feel like a task beyond their capabilities.