Those Who Cross This Line Die!

The wound on Long Yi's forehead still throbbed faintly, but his heart was calm.

As he walked down the road toward the shore, his steps were slow and heavy.

He could not help asking himself why, despite being misunderstood and insulted, he had still chosen to stand in front of those villagers.

"Maybe this is the price of being a Marine. Who told me to put on this uniform?"

With a self-mocking smile, Long Yi muttered softly.

To be honest, he did not want to become some hero. But when the weak needed protection, he could not simply stand by.

Looking at the pirate ship about to dock in the distance, Long Yi took a deep breath and silently called out to his system.

"System, tell me how many draws I have left."

Though he had not fully immersed himself in his sea of consciousness, Long Yi could still use the system's abilities normally.

[Host's remaining draws: 4]

After receiving the system's response, Long Yi gave his command without hesitation.

"Draw them all. Select the item category."

[Host has selected draw type: Items]

[Beginning draw]

In just a few seconds, Long Yi learned the results of his draw.

He took out the items from the system's personal storage space, gave a bitter smile, and stuffed the hard bread and blue flower in his hand into his mouth. Then he gulped down an entire bottle of red potion.

"The black hard bread and beginner HP potion can restore stamina, while the magic flower can restore mental energy. The effects aren't very noticeable, but something is better than nothing."

Wiping the lingering red potion from the corner of his mouth, Long Yi finally stopped. After thinking for a second, he took the heavy infantry greatsword from his personal storage space.

"If the personal storage space could hold anything besides system items, I wouldn't have been in such a sorry state these past two days."

Licking his dry lips, Long Yi switched his usual katana to his left hand. His right hand gripped the heavy greatsword.

"Hah!"

With a low shout, he exerted force with one arm and swung the greatsword across the ground, carving a vicious trench into the earth.

This was the final line he would protect.

Dropping the greatsword, Long Yi switched his katana back to his right hand. Gripping the hilt tightly, he stared at the pirates coming ashore and exhaled the foul air in his chest.

"Come on, scum. Let's settle this."

"Boss Doma, we're about to dock!"

The nearby shoreline filled the pirates with excitement. They kept waving their scimitars and muskets, shouting loudly to their leader.

"Fuck, I know! You're yelling so much my ears are about to go deaf! Look at you, acting like you've never seen anything before!"

Pirate leader Doma cursed with a grin. He stroked the grip of the gun at his waist, his face equally eager for action.

Come to think of it, this was his first time leading a crew alone.

Originally a captain within the Belik Pirates, Doma had received the opportunity to command a ship of his own after the Belik Pirates absorbed two pirate crews. This mission to attack Goa Village was something he had only secured by bribing first mate Dorok.

"A whole village of old, weak, sick, and crippled people. It's practically free credit."

Though recalling the gold he had secretly given Dorok still pained him, Doma did not regret volunteering for this mission.

The Belik Pirates might follow seniority, but they also believed in the supremacy of the strong.

To be honest, although Doma had some skill, he was not among the best fighters.

Before, he could still rely on his past achievements to keep a place aboard Belik's ship. But after the two pirate crews joined them, who knew how many eyes had fixed on his captain's seat?

He needed more achievements to secure his position. And raiding Goa Village was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

"Brothers, you know what we need to do, right?!"

Raising the pistol in his hand, Doma began rousing the crew's morale from the deck.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The pirates answered readily. Their unrestrained laughter revealed their utter disregard for life.

That was the Belik Pirates' usual style: kill everything that could be killed, take everything that could be taken.

"Idiots! Our first priority this time is finding the Devil Fruit!"

Doma pulled a stern face and stomped his foot hard, stressing the importance of the Devil Fruit again and again. In his eyes, how much loot could some lousy village possibly have? That "treasure of the sea" was what truly mattered.

"Boss Doma, that's a Devil Fruit. How about we take this chance to—"

Back when they were with the Belik Pirates, that one-eyed tyrant could use his own strength to suppress anyone with rebellious intentions.

But now, they were free in another sense. With Belik absent, perhaps they could swallow that Devil Fruit and establish their own crew.

"Fuck you! Are you telling me to betray Boss Belik?!"

Hearing his trusted subordinate's words, Doma immediately broke out in a cold sweat. It was not that the pirate's suggestion was not tempting, but he had to make his stance clear at a time like this.

Although most people aboard this ship were old companions who knew each other well, who could say for certain that Belik had not planted spies among them?

Doma even suspected that the pirate who had raised the suggestion was a trap Belik had specifically set for him.

"Say something like that again, and I'll blow your brains out!"

Deliberately putting on a vicious expression, Doma bared his teeth and waved the musket in his hand.

The pirate who had spoken up hid at the very back of the crowd with a frightened look, his body trembling as though Doma's words had terrified him. Yet where Doma could not see, a dark smile curled across his lips.

At least you're smart.

After that little episode, the atmosphere aboard the ship turned strange.

But with the shore right before them, the pirates selectively forgot everything that had just happened.

After all, most of them were low-level grunts. The ship's schemes and shifts in power had nothing to do with them. As pirates, all they needed to do was obey orders and burn, kill, plunder, and loot.

"Huh? Who's that?"

Just as Doma and the others were about to dock, a youth suddenly entered their sight.

The youth wore the most ordinary hemp shirt and trousers, yet a white coat unique to the Marines draped over his shoulders.

His lips were pressed into a tight line, his expression cold, and the blade in his hand gleamed with restrained chill.

"Hehe, just some brat. Does he think holding a sword will scare us?"

After getting a clear look at Long Yi, Doma revealed a savage grin and unconsciously licked his lips.

The Belik Pirates knew no mercy. Young or old, all were targets for their slaughter.

"Kill!"

He pulled the trigger, and the bullet shot into the sky. Doma's gunshot sounded the charge for this raid and massacre!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Long live the Belik Pirates!"

"Die, brat!"

The pirates rushed down the gangplank, splashing through the shallows as they charged.

For a moment, their howls and shrieks surged in like a tide, making Long Yi frown instinctively.

He turned slightly to glance at the final boundary marked by his greatsword, then took a deep breath. Under the astonished gazes of countless pirates, he tightened his grip on his sword and met them without hesitation.

"Haha! Watch me butcher you!"

The pirate charging at the front did not take Long Yi seriously at all. With a cruel grin, he swung his spiked club, aimed at Long Yi's skull, and smashed it down viciously.

The heavy club tore through the air with an unnatural whistle. The pirate could practically imagine Long Yi reduced to a bloody pulp. Yet at the instant the two crossed paths, he suddenly saw his own incomplete body.

Is that me?! But why can I see myself? Where did my head go?

No one could answer his question. Darkness fell over the pirate's vision, and his consciousness ceased to exist.

"Urgh!"

Making strange sounds instinctively, the pirates stopped their charge as though someone had clamped their throats shut.

Cold sweat poured uncontrollably from their bodies. Trembling, they staggered back several steps, staring in horror at the youth who remained so calm after beheading someone.

"Whew... fifty-six. No, fifty-five. Good. Looks like Belik's main force isn't here."

Relying on the powerful perception he had developed through training with Fujitora, Long Yi merely swept his eyes across them and knew the exact number of pirates.

"What are you standing around for?! Kill him!"

Doma was close to losing his mind, and deep fear filled his eyes. But as the leader, he could not show cowardice. He could only raise his musket through gritted teeth.

"Kill!"

"Damn brat! Die!"

"No matter how fierce he is, he's only one person! We have the numbers, get him!"

In the end, the arrogant and wild pirates relied on their numerical advantage. Pushing through the fear in their hearts, they attacked Long Yi together.

Long Yi's heart tightened. His nimble form darted through flashing blades, clashing swords, gunfire, and smoke, completely transforming into a grim reaper wielding a sharp blade as he mercilessly harvested the pirates' lives.

Every slash sent blood spraying.

Compared with Fujitora's training, the pirates' pathetic attacks were not worth Long Yi's notice. In a normal battle, he was confident he could slaughter every pirate here without suffering even the slightest injury.

But Long Yi had barely slept in days.

"Bang!"

Another gunshot rang out from behind Long Yi. The instant the bullet left the barrel, he sensed the danger. He had intended to dodge on instinct, but just as his body moved, an unexpected weakness seized him.

Damn it!

Crying out inwardly, Long Yi desperately twisted his body. The bullet that should have struck his heart instead pierced another part of his body.

"Fuck, it didn't kill him!"

Doma cursed in irritation, feeling increasingly agitated. He had aimed for a long time to get that shot. But he did not waste time complaining. He quickly reloaded and raised his gun again.

Because of his injury, flaws began to appear in Long Yi's previously clean and decisive movements.

Noticing this, the pirates pounced like sharks that had smelled blood, desperately launching attacks against Long Yi in the midst of the battle.

The situation fell into a stalemate.

Seeing Long Yi entangled by his men, delight flashed through Doma's eyes. His goal today was not some insignificant brat, but the Devil Fruit in the village.

"Leave twenty men behind to hold this brat off! The rest, follow me!"

Looking at Goa Village in the distance, brutality flashed in Doma's eyes. After calling to his pirate subordinates, he abandoned Long Yi without hesitation and charged toward Goa Village.

"Hey, your opponent is me."

A blood-red glint flashed through Long Yi's eyes as the pirates besieged him. He knocked aside a pirate's descending scimitar with a slash, pushed off with his feet, and seized the chance to break free of the encirclement.

"Not good! Hold him back!"

Seeing Long Yi escape their siege, the pirates were shocked.

With a quiet snort, Long Yi's body flashed, and he vanished before their very eyes.

At the same moment, one of Doma's feet happened to cross the final boundary Long Yi had drawn. Before his other foot could follow, a cold blade carrying immense force stabbed viciously into his back.

"Damn! When did he—?"

The pirates beside Doma paled in shock. With the explosive burst of Soru, they had not noticed when Long Yi had rushed over.

"Those who cross this line die!"

Long Yi's eyes were icy, and blood that had yet to dry stained his body. Crimson ghostly energy rose and churned, gradually condensing into the savage phantom of a demon god behind him.

Kazan's phantom had blood-red eyes, as though it were glaring fixedly at the pirates horrified beyond measure, wearing a silent, vicious grin.