Serious Punch's First Battle

Yes!

As a spy with no sense of fair play, Kael had no intention of saying anything to that arrogant fool Krieg.

There was nothing to say at all.

His choice was—unleash his ultimate move!

At that moment, Kael's gaze was sharp as a blade as it swept across the Krieg Pirates' fifty warships one by one!

However, he did not directly select those fifty warships as the skill's targets!

Instead, he set the sails above the fifty warships as his targets!

After the previous test, Kael had already grasped some of this skill's rules.

At that time, the only target he had selected was the reef island, yet the force of his punch had still caused a tremendous impact on the surrounding sea!

In other words, while the power of the punch unleashed by this skill was directed straight at the target—

The impact of the fist's wind would still inflict a certain degree of damage upon the surrounding environment.

This time, what Kael needed was precisely the impact brought by the outer edge of that fist wind!

After selecting his targets, a mysterious energy suddenly surged through his body under the skill's effect, continuously gathering in his fist.

His calm eyes flickered slightly.

The next second!

He threw a punch!

BOOM!!!!!!

A deafening sonic boom suddenly rang out across the sky.

A gale that seemed to arise from nothing swept over Krieg and the others' heads, and the invisible pressure made everyone's hearts tremble!

The gale swept through an enormous range, covering more than half the sea!

Then, cries of agony rang out one after another!

"Ah!"

"What is this!?"

"Help!"

"..."

Some pirates did not even have time to understand what had happened before they were struck by the impact of the fist wind.

After passing over the sails, the fist wind completed its task and blasted toward the distant sea.

In an instant!

Waves several meters high surged into the distance.

Krieg, who had not been caught in the storm due to the angle, was inwardly shocked.

His legs trembling, he slowly turned his head toward the rear.

As far as the eye could see—

His fleet of fifty warships was now being battered by the storm, listing in every direction.

The vast majority of the pirates were sucked directly into the storm, which was like a meat grinder, spraying blood everywhere.

The luckier ones were either smashed into their cabins by the impact and knocked unconscious, or flung from their pirate ships into the sea, where they struggled desperately.

But no matter what...

At that moment, all fifty warships had lost their ability to fight!

It could not be helped.

Even with Tashigi, who possessed the strength of a pirate worth over a hundred million, Kael could not guarantee that the Tiga would emerge unscathed under the bombardment of fifty warships.

Even if they captured Krieg, they could not guarantee that the fifty warships would not attack the Tiga.

Kael did not like doing things without assurances!

So, he could only render those fifty warships incapable of moving first.

"Phew~"

Taking a deep breath—

After throwing that punch, Kael was neither flushed nor out of breath. He calmly withdrew his hand, his eyes utterly unruffled.

Under the Tiga's control, he rose once again to the same height as Krieg.

But this time, he took a step forward and landed directly on the giant warship where Krieg stood.

Kael's lips curled up as he chuckled at Krieg.

"Now, you have nothing left to rely on!"

"Y-you... you..."

Krieg's legs trembled, and his entire suit of golden armor clattered along with him.

At that moment, Tashigi and Morgan also rode whirlwinds down from the sky and leaped onto the giant warship.

They arrived at Kael's side.

"Captain, should we deal with them!?"

A massive crimson-scaled tail suddenly extended from Morgan's lower back, swinging through the air.

Morgan brandished his great axe, his eyes glowing an eerie crimson as killing intent poured from him.

Tashigi said nothing, but the spiritual pressure emanating from her body had already descended upon all the pirates like a towering mountain!

"M-monsters!!!"

Only then did the pirates aboard the giant warship finally realize...

They seemed to have provoked someone they should never have provoked!

Was this really the level East Blue pirates were supposed to have!?

Was this power something a human could possess!?

"Not yet."

Kael raised a hand, suppressing Morgan's killing intent, then strode toward Krieg.

Seeing the monster who had destroyed the mobility of their entire fleet with one punch approach him, Krieg's pupils suddenly contracted, and his body instinctively retreated.

Gin, who stood beside Krieg, trembled as he held his two iron balls, his face equally filled with shock and fear.

"W-what are you trying to do!?"

Krieg asked in a trembling voice.

"Hm? Didn't you come looking for us yourselves!?" Kael could not help but laugh.

To Krieg's ears, that laughter was unbearably grating!

Frost, the fine-grade sword, slid from its sheath and was placed directly against Krieg's neck.

"Captain!"

Seeing this, Gin hurriedly swung his heavy iron balls at Kael, trying to save his captain.

But at that moment, a red blur suddenly flashed through the air!

BANG!!!

Morgan swung his enormous Crimson Tail and sent Gin flying, then twirled the battle axe in his hand and approached Gin with a wicked grin.

"Kid, you dared attack my boss? Looks like you're tired of living!"

"Don't be so rough, Morgan. We're civilized pirates."

Kael suddenly spoke up, smiling as he stopped Morgan from finishing Gin off.

After all, he still intended to recruit this useful pawn.

He then turned to Krieg again and imitated his earlier tone with a light chuckle.

"Now, I'll give you two choices. Take off your armor, then hand over your pirate crew's assets and the locations of your treasures!"

"Or, you die here, and I'll ask someone else!"

"Y-you... you..."

Feeling humiliated, Krieg's rage surged. But when he thought of the power Kael had displayed earlier, all his anger was instantly doused.

The next second, he suddenly dropped to his knees, his face twisting into a grief-stricken sob.

"D-don't kill me!"

"I'm begging you! Don't kill me!"

"Spare my life! I'll give you anything you want!"

Krieg broke into a sobbing wail without the slightest dignity.

Yet, at the instant he lowered his head and knelt, a vicious glint suddenly flashed through his eyes!

A gun barrel abruptly extended from the armor on his shoulder, its black muzzle aimed at Kael's forehead.

A gunshot rang out.

"Ha ha!"

Krieg suddenly raised his head, his mouth stretched wide in a savage grin as though he wanted to witness Kael's death with his own eyes.

However, his expression abruptly froze in the next instant.

Kael had merely tilted his head slightly at the perfect moment, easily dodging the bullet.

Only his loose hair fluttered in the wind.

Such a low-level trick was nothing to Kael, who possessed Hyper Intuition.

Still, his lips curved downward slightly, his gaze sharpening as he showed a hint of anger.

"Very well. I already know your choice."

The moment his words fell, Frost in Kael's hand suddenly thrust forward, stabbing directly at Krieg's throat.

Blood flowed down the blade.

But just then, another voice suddenly stopped Kael.

"Wait!"

Thud!

Gin, who was being guarded by Morgan and his great axe, suddenly dropped to his knees and shouted while kowtowing.

"Don't! Don't harm the captain!"

"I know where everything you want is! I can take you there!"

"Please spare the captain's life!"

"I am willing to use my life to appease your anger, my lords!!!"

Seeing the captain who had once saved his life about to die beneath Kael's sword, Gin no longer cared whether it would anger his captain. He shouted at once.

"Gin, you!"

Krieg was clearly enraged, feeling insulted.

But the sharp tip of the sword was pressed directly against his Adam's apple, leaving him afraid to move even slightly.

Kael raised an eyebrow and looked at Gin with interest.

"How can you guarantee that what you're saying is true?"

Terrified, Gin kept his head pressed to the ground without raising it.

"I am the Krieg Pirates' combat commander! My status and position are second only to Captain Krieg's!"

"I handle many of the Krieg Pirates' affairs!"

"Hmm..." Kael pondered.

A moment later, he suddenly sheathed Frost. Before Krieg could react, he said directly to Tashigi,

"Tashigi, tie him up."

"Yes!" Tashigi immediately accepted the order.

Without even chanting, she waved her hand and fired a spirit-particle rope that instantly bound Krieg's hands and feet.

As her level increased, Tashigi's control over Kido had grown ever stronger.

She could now cast such a simple binding spell, one ranked below ten, with a flick of her hand.

Kael sheathed Frost, then lightly hooked the spirit-particle rope and hung Krieg from the tip of the scabbard as though carrying livestock.

He smiled at Gin.

"Fine! For the sake of your loyalty, I'm willing to make this deal with you!"

"I'll take your captain with me for now."

"Next, convert all the Krieg Pirates' assets into Beli and bring it all back to me!"

"When the time comes, one hand gives the money, and the other gives the man!"

"Thank you, my lord!"

Gin raised his head and looked at Kael with tears streaming down his face, overwhelmed with gratitude.

Kael then turned his gaze toward Morgan again.

"Morgan, for the time being, follow this guy. Don't let him play any tricks on me!"

"And those ships behind us—their sails are damaged, but their hulls have not suffered much damage..."

"Make the surviving pirates row every last one of them to port, then sell them all!!"

"Understood, Captain!"

Morgan froze for a moment before answering somewhat aggrievedly.

After all, this meant he might be unable to train for quite some time!

As if sensing Morgan's thoughts, Kael suddenly added,

"Work hard!"

"After this mission is over, if there are any useful items, I'll give you priority!"

"Thank you, Captain."

At Kael's words, light returned to Morgan's eyes, though he still put on a foolish grin.

"Actually... that's not what I meant."

"Cut it out!" Kael chuckled and handed the scene over to Morgan.

He then leaped down from the warship with Tashigi and returned to the Tiga.