Watching Roger on the execution platform, most people fell silent.
The fall of a hero was a deeply sorrowful thing, especially when the executioner was merely an ordinary recruit. It was the Marines' final trampling of the Pirate King's dignity.
The pirates hidden among the crowd sighed and lowered their heads. Shanks clenched his fists, forcibly suppressing the urge to rush forward.
Pirates were a very strange sort of people. Their values and bonds were equally strange, impossible to explain in just a few words.
They pursued wealth, yet wealth was not all they pursued.
They revered strength, yet sometimes refused to submit to it.
They cursed each other, fought, and even killed one another, yet none of that changed the fact that they sincerely called each other brothers.
To these people, the words Pirate King were far more than just a title. They were an honor, a name representing freedom and glory, the ultimate pursuit of all pirates.
And today, that pursuit was ruthlessly trampled beneath the Marines' feet.
Second by second, time passed. As the execution drew near, Roger smiled and raised his head. In an instant, his gaze turned sharp, and his ringing voice echoed throughout the square.
"Want my treasure? You can have it if you want it. Go find it! I left everything there!"
There were no excessive words. After that simple declaration, the square fell silent for one second before erupting into cheers like a tidal wave.
The Marine soldiers carrying out the execution reacted quickly, but by the time they thrust their weapons into Roger's body, he had already said everything he needed to say.
Blood spilled forth, yet Roger's lips still held a smile.
The Pirate King had used his own life to usher in a new era!
The fervent atmosphere had