Chaotic Euro Kingdom (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

With the last glow of the sun at their backs, Zhong Hao and Nico Robin once again set foot on the land of the Euro Kingdom. Genghu was too large and conspicuous, so Zhong Hao let it play in the sea while the two of them slowly made their way into the island.

Shouts of battle, explosions, and screams filled the air everywhere.

The streets no longer held their former prosperity. All that remained were cold, deserted avenues. Citizens hid in dark, unlit houses, hardly daring to breathe or make a sound.

"Tap, tap, tap, tap."

Zhong Hao walked in front without any disguise, Azure Sea Fang in his left hand. The rubber-soled leather boots on his feet struck the bluestone paving of the long street with crisp taps.

Robin trailed half a step behind. Her slender figure was wrapped in a large cloak, its hood pulled over her head. She kept her head slightly lowered, revealing only her delicate pointed chin.

Pairs of eyes watched them through gaps in curtains and door panels on both sides of the street. Neither of them paid any attention as they continued deeper into the island.

Just then, a group of more than thirty people ran up to Zhong Hao. They wore ordinary cloth clothes and carried sabers and guns. Their leader shouted at Zhong Hao, "Who are you people?"

"Passersby," Zhong Hao answered. After thinking for a moment, he added, "We have nothing to do with the Euro Kingdom."

The man glanced at the sword in Zhong Hao's hand, but seeing that he looked like a child, he did not take him too seriously. He then looked at Robin. Her body being entirely concealed beneath the cloak made him suspicious, but since they were not royal soldiers, he did not want to create unnecessary trouble. "Don't wander around the streets. Find somewhere to hide."

With that, he led his men past them at a run.

"They're searching everywhere for stragglers. It looks like the war has reached its climax, and the Euro Kingdom is at a complete disadvantage. I think their leader should be somewhere high up, overseeing the whole situation. He must have seen our arrival," Zhong Hao said to Robin after the group left.

Robin gave an almost imperceptible nod without saying anything.

The two walked down the long street. When they reached a crossroads, Zhong Hao suddenly stopped and looked at a tavern—the very one where he had bought the barrels. He still remembered how bold and generous the owner had seemed.

His figure flashed, and he appeared before the tavern door. With a kick, he smashed the door open with a bang. Seeing the scene inside, he sneered, "Heh, even at a time like this, you're still thinking about robbery. A dog really can't stop eating shit!"

By the hazy moonlight, they could see the tavern owner's family bound in a corner. One Kingdom soldier clad in full silver-white armor was stuffing stacks of Beli and jewelry into his pockets. Another soldier, dressed the same way, held a sword to the neck of a five-year-old child while demanding the tavern owner hand over his valuables.

"Who's there?!" Both soldiers turned toward the entrance. The soldier's sword remained against the child's neck as he threatened, "Don't come any closer! Take another step, and I'll kill the brat!"

Zhong Hao frowned and said coldly, "Aren't you soldiers of the Euro Kingdom? Why aren't you protecting the citizens? Why are you doing this instead?"

"The Euro Kingdom is about to be destroyed. Who would still risk their lives for it? At a time like this, you ought to take the chance to make a fortune." Perhaps Zhong Hao's size gave him no sense of danger. After tying up his sack and slinging it over his back, the soldier spoke mockingly and walked toward Zhong Hao with killing intent written all over his face.

"Looks like I asked some unnecessary questions. People should trust their own judgment. I'll keep that in mind from now on..."

Zhong Hao muttered to himself. The two soldiers did not hear what he said and were just about to speak when a brilliant azure blade-light bloomed before their eyes. After that, they knew nothing.

Robin walked in and said to Zhong Hao as he sheathed his sword, "I thought you would attack right away."

Zhong Hao shook his head as he untied the tavern owner's family. "I just didn't want to kill the wrong people. Besides, I'm not bloodthirsty by nature."

"You... you're that child who bought barrels from me a few days ago..." By the moonlight, the tavern owner recognized Zhong Hao. He glanced at Sea Fang, swallowed, and said, "Thank you so much. It wouldn't have mattered if they took the money. I was only worried that my wife and child would be in danger."

"Relax. I'm just passing through. Still, you'd better find somewhere else to hide. If it's far away, I can take you there." Zhong Hao still had a favorable impression of the generous tavern owner.

However, the tavern owner had clearly become a frightened bird. His last words had already implied, Take the money if you want, just don't hurt me or my family.

"No, no, we won't trouble you. We can hide in the wine cellar..."

Zhong Hao saw through his thoughts. He nodded and said nothing more. After throwing the two soldiers' corpses outside, he left with Robin.

On the way, Zhong Hao sighed and said to Robin, "I knew that tavern owner. I bought things from him before, and he struck me as bold and generous at the time. But now... Heh! Weakness is a sin, and strength can sometimes be lonely as well. Friends you could once talk to gradually become strangers without you even noticing."

Robin chuckled twice. "His reaction was the most normal one. If he had remained calm and composed, that would have been suspicious instead."

"That's true. Dragons do not live with snakes, and it isn't entirely because of pride. Sometimes it is because snakes tremble too much to act as they please." Zhong Hao shook his head, casting away the faint trace of melancholy in his heart. His resolve only grew firmer as he said in a deep voice, "Between dragons and snakes, I choose dragons."

Before long, the two arrived outside the central city. A wall separated the inner and outer districts. Commoners lived outside, while nobles lived within. In the past, this wall had been a chasm dividing the two classes, a symbol of the nobles' pride and superiority. Now, however, it had become the barrier of a beast trap, imprisoning all the nobles inside.

"Get on. I'll take you up," Zhong Hao said, bending slightly.

Robin did not hesitate. She climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, which were not broad but were full of strength.

Soru

With Robin on his back, Zhong Hao leaped across rooftops. At last, he sprang from the roof of a six-story building, pushed off the city wall twice, then used one final Geppo to leap onto the wall.

Corpses covered the city wall—Kingdom soldiers in armor and insurgents in cloth clothing alike. Zhong Hao picked his way through the gaps, sat atop a crenellation facing the inner city, and Robin sat on another crenellation nearby.

Below them, soldiers filled every major road, and the slaughter continued. Roars, screams, and pleas for mercy echoed throughout the entire inner city.

Robin turned her head aside. She was deeply unaccustomed to and disliked this sort of scene.

Seeing this, Zhong Hao teased, "Once you join the Revolutionary Army, you'll see this sort of thing often enough. After you get used to it, you might even be able to eat while standing amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood."

Robin glared at him but still said nothing.

"Oh! They're here, they're here! The main course is about to be served. The timing is perfect." Zhong Hao called out excitedly as the palace gates suddenly opened and a large mass of soldiers rushed out toward the inner city walls.

Suppressing her discomfort, Robin followed his gaze. After watching for two seconds, she suddenly asked, "You said he offended you. What happened?"

Zhong Hao watched intently without turning his head. "There was some conflict. He threatened me, and he has probably already reported me to the World Government. On the morning you disappeared, I killed a noble from the Euro Kingdom. He probably reported that too. If I didn't know the Revolutionary Army had already set its sights on him, I would have found a chance to assassinate him."

Robin stared at him in disbelief. "You wanted to assassinate him and watch him die just for that?"

Zhong Hao turned to glance at her and grinned. "Because I hold grudges, and I'm petty."

Robin could not help rolling her eyes. She found his personality and way of thinking increasingly impossible to understand.

A gust of wind swept by, and a tall figure suddenly appeared on the crenellation beside Zhong Hao. A dark green cloak enveloped his entire body, and he too wore a hood. He looked down below without speaking.

Zhong Hao knew that he must have come here for a reason, but he merely watched below and did not take the initiative to speak.

For a moment, an unusual silence fell over the city wall.