Avery's Secret Weapon

Colombo Family Territory.

The family hall, once filled with criminal dealings and extravagant revelry, now lay as silent as a tomb before a storm.

Heavy velvet curtains shut out the light from outside, leaving only a few wall lamps casting weak, flickering yellow halos that barely illuminated the pale, ashen faces.

The air was thick with the scorched stench of poorly made cigars that had not finished burning. Even stronger was the despair and fear that had nearly solidified into something tangible.

No one spoke. Even their heavy breathing was deliberately restrained, as though the slightest unnecessary sound might set off the doom hanging over their heads.

The bargaining chip they had placed such high hopes on to make the World Government intervene had not only failed to fall into their hands, but had also cost them quite a few men.

That result was like icy seawater, extinguishing not only their arrogance but nearly drowning their last shred of luck.

That silver-haired youth was like an inescapable curse. Over three years, he had crushed and severed the Colombo Family's footholds across the West Blue one by one. Now, that curse had reached their doorstep.

At the head of the hall, Avery's expression was darker than the deepest corner of the room.

His thick fingers tapped unconsciously against the hard bone armrest, producing an irritating tap, tap.

"Have you all gone mute? Where's the spirit you usually show when robbing people and bullying the weak? The enemy hasn't even landed on the island yet, and you've already dug your own graves?"

Avery suddenly spoke, shattering the suffocating silence.

As his gaze swept across them, his subordinates lowered their heads as though electrocuted. Some stared at their trembling toes, while others looked up at the intricate yet grime-covered decorations on the ceiling. No one dared meet his eyes.

It wasn't that they didn't want to speak. They simply had nothing to say.

Suggest surrender? Avery would be the first to tear apart whoever made that suggestion. Advocate fighting to the death? Against that monster whose body only threw sparks when bullets hit him, everyone knew exactly how slim their chances were.

Run? Heh. Every ship, including the rotten dinghies at the harbor, had long since been personally smashed into floating splinters by the enraged Avery.

This island had become an isolated prison, and they were all trapped beasts. The only difference was whether they died at Adams's hands or lost their lives early for angering the increasingly violent leader before them. Silence had become their only pitiful form of resistance.

Avery's chest rose and fell violently as he forced down the rage that was about to burst forth.

How could he not know what these pieces of trash were thinking? Destroying the ships had been a helpless measure. If he had left these people a way out, he feared they would all have fled before the battle even began. He knew his subordinates' nature all too well.

He needed them. He needed this cannon fodder to wear down the enemy, hold the line, and buy him the chance for that crucial strike. That was why he had no choice but to do this.

He still had a trump card. A trump card on which he had wagered his entire fortune and life, one that required these people's cooperation.

Avery took a deep breath and forced his voice to sound full of restrained confidence.

"I know you think it's over. You think the Colombo Family's time ends today, right? You think that Adams is an unbeatable monster, right?"

The hall remained deathly silent, but subtle shifts in body language revealed their wavering hearts.

"But what if I told you... I've found a way to kill that brat?"

Avery looked at his subordinates and spoke slowly, his voice slowing into an almost seductive tone.

The stagnant silence was finally broken by several uncontrollable gasps and a faint stir.

Most of them were filled with disbelief, but in the abyss of despair, even a single thread of spider silk was enough to make a falling prisoner instinctively reach for it.

Avery said no more and clapped his hands forcefully.

The heavy iron doors of the side hall were pushed open, and his loyal deathsworn men struggled out carrying several items. Heavy metal components struck the floor with dull thuds, drawing everyone's attention.

One of them was an extremely savage-looking heavy machine gun. Its barrel was terrifyingly thick and gleamed with a cold light, while its complicated ammunition feed mechanism radiated a pure aesthetic of violence.

The other was a strangely shaped long gun, its body slender and smooth, with a distinct energy-gathering aperture at the end. It was neither metal nor iron, yet carried the precise feel of a technological creation.

Immediately afterward, several more trusted men carried in a solid steel ingot of astonishing thickness and dropped it in the center of the hall with a boom, making the floor tremble slightly.

"Open their eyes!"

Avery grinned viciously as he gave the order.

The diehard holding the machine gun did not hesitate. He aimed at the steel ingot and pulled the trigger.

Ratatatatata—!!!

The deafening roar instantly tore apart the hall's dead silence. The muzzle spat out a half-meter tongue of blazing fire, while shell casings clattered to the floor like a rainstorm. The savage stream of metal slammed into the steel ingot with a teeth-grating ripping sound.

After only a short burst, as the smoke thinned, the hard steel ingot was already unrecognizable. Its surface was covered in horrifying bullet holes several inches deep, as though it had been ravaged by a swarm of crazed steel hornets.

Before the cries of surprise had faded, another trusted man hoisted the strange gun. Its body glowed faintly as a dark blue light gathered within the aperture at its end.

Bzzzt—whoosh!

A dazzling blue beam shot out soundlessly and instantly struck another intact steel ingot.

Boom!!!

The violent blast battered everyone's eardrums, and the fierce shockwave overturned several nearby chairs.

When the smoke and dust cleared, the steel ingot had vanished completely. All that remained was a shallow blackened crater and several lumps of iron that had melted and solidified again.

"See that? Even if that silver-haired brat has a body of steel, as long as we use these two things, we'll definitely take him down. He's only a Paramecia, and still just an ordinary human. No matter how strong his body is, there has to be a limit."

Avery declared with extreme confidence, every word brimming with absolute conviction.

Over the past three years, he had never seen Adams transform. In his mind, that silver-haired brat was merely a Paramecia.

As his declaration fell, the hall went quiet. After a brief silence, fanatical cheers erupted like a volcano.

"Ooooooh—!!!"

"Even that kind of steel got punched through! Blown apart!"

"Long live the boss! Long live the Colombo Family!"

The crowd that had looked as though their parents had died moments earlier instantly boiled over. Their fear was scattered by this sudden display of overwhelming firepower, transforming into hysterical excitement and a thirst for slaughter.

They waved their arms, faces flushed red, as though they could already see that arrogant silver-haired brat being torn to pieces by the same firepower.

Avery stood before the head seat with his arms spread wide, basking in their frenzied adoration, his face covered in a triumphant smile.

Yet beneath that smile, his heart was bleeding.

To have these things delivered as quickly as possible, he had paid an unimaginable price to contact the shipping giant known as Deep Sea Current.

At the same time, the weapons themselves were outrageously expensive. For them, he had nearly emptied the family's available funds accumulated over decades, even painfully selling off a large batch of "premium goods" from their stockpile to competitors at low prices.

It wasn't as if he hadn't considered using his connections to contact the World Government. In his view, he had provided them with so much manpower, so they shouldn't just stand by and watch him die.

However, the result had disappointed him greatly. The Marines and Cipher Pol were currently occupied with another matter and had no time to spare for a human trafficker like him.

He could only save himself.

He could never bring himself to abandon his business and flee. Once one had tasted power and status, it was difficult to give them up.

He was now a gambler with bloodshot eyes, having pushed every chip he had onto the table and even borrowed usury loans, all for a chance at survival in this desperate situation. He kept telling himself:

It'll be worth it! As long as I hold out and kill that silver-haired brat, who in the West Blue's underworld will dare look down on me again? The other four great families suffered losses before Adams, but only the Colombo Family can kill him in return! Then wealth, power, territory... everything will come back doubled!

Lost in his dream of turning things around, Avery failed to notice a small figure at the edge of the cheering crowd silently backing away into the shadows along the wall. A strange glint flashed in his eyes before he vanished completely.

TO BE CONTINUED