Capture the Thief, Capture the King First

"Catch them! The seventh prince was killed by them!"

The seventh prince's subordinates were currently directing the palace soldiers to launch a charge at Ryan and the three others.

Looking at Beli and the others who had already charged to the front, Ryan hastily spoke up.

"Leave it to me!"

He then directly unleashed Conqueror's Haki, though Ryan very carefully avoided Beli and the others ahead.

In just an instant, the soldiers who had rushed up suddenly grew vacant in their eyes, collapsing to the ground one by one, unable to get up.

If the system could still make sounds at this moment, it should have been: ding ding ding nonstop.

Unfortunately, ever since Ryan cursed out the system last time, there had been no notification sounds even for beating up foot soldiers.

What a sad story!

Beli was fine, after all, since he knew about Ryan having Conqueror's Haki.

Yet for Kid and Killer, the scene before their eyes was simply too shocking.

Hearing only Ryan say "Leave it to me," the enemies were all knocked down.

"What is this?" Kid asked in shock.

Watching Kid's shocked expression, Ryan did not reply, merely thinking to himself: You brat will have it in the future too.

Kid, who was only ten years old right now, had not yet awakened Conqueror's Haki, but Ryan knew Kid possessed that aptitude.

It was Beli nearby who gave an explanation instead.

"That's Conqueror's Haki. Only those with the aptitude of a king can awaken it—one in a million!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Killer stared at Ryan with stars in his eyes in adoration.

"Master is amazing!"

"Don't call me master!"

Kid looked at Beli and asked, "Then do you have it?"

At this moment, Beli's inner monologue: If I had it, would it even be Ryan's turn to show off here!

Looking at Beli and Kid as they bickered like a loving old couple, Ryan wore a motherly smile.

Right at that moment, the king finally arrived with a large force of soldiers.

Seeing the seventh prince split in half by Beli's axe, the king flew into a rage.

The seventh prince was his youngest son, pampered by the king since childhood. Seeing his son die such a miserable death—

"Kill them! You must make these people pay with their lives and leave no burial site, bury them with my son!"

The king roared angrily.

At the king's single command, the Royal Guard behind him charged forward with weapons in hand.

Looking at the four of them before him, the king wore a cruel smile, as if the four would die miserably right here the next second.

Though he did not know how these people had defeated the soldiers lying on the ground, the king believed the Royal Guard he had personally built up could handle them.

The Royal Guard belonged exclusively to the current king of the Goth Kingdom, and they took orders solely from the king.

The core of the Royal Guard had been handed over to him by the previous king, and in his hands, they had grown even stronger.

A trusted confidant beside the king softly reminded him.

"Your Majesty, those two are the Bloody Swordsman—Ryan and the Berserker—Beli, who slaughtered a Marine Branch two days ago."

"They're both great pirates! That Ryan has even a one-hundred-million bounty from the Marines! We cannot underestimate them!"

Hearing his minister say this, the king also calmed down.

He was no fool who knew nothing; pirates who could get a one-hundred-million bounty from the Marines certainly wouldn't be too weak in strength.

"It looks like the guard might not be able to deal with them after all," the king whispered.

"Go invite the captain of the guard over right now."

Hearing the king's instructions, the minister stepped back, inwardly astonished.

He hadn't expected the king to actually summon him out.

He had heard that the captain of the guard, Pofitas, was once a world-renowned great pirate.

Because he was rescued at sea by the king last year, he stayed in the Goth Kingdom to recover from his injuries at the time, and was appointed as captain of the guard by the monarch.

Although Pofitas looked down upon the position of guard captain, to repay the king's saving grace, he agreed to help train the Royal Guard for two years.

Through Pofitas's training, the Royal Guard had also grown much stronger, which was the source of the king's confidence just moments ago.

The vanguard guard was already locked in a fierce battle with Ryan and the others, reaching a somewhat hard-to-untangle stalemate.

The Royal Guard utilized their numerical advantage and discipline to suppress Beli and the two others.

Beli wielded twin axes, slaughtering all directions while occasionally helping Kid and Killer block some fatal attacks.

After all, though the two youths had great innate talent, they hadn't undergone systematic training like Beli and Ryan.

The two of them were merely kids in their early teens right now, and being able to take part in such a battle was already quite impressive.

Have you not seen a teens-era Ace only capable of defeating some adult men? This was the difference between having undergone special training and not.

Besides, both Ryan and Beli were gifted individuals; Ryan had strong talents in swordsmanship and Observation Haki, while Beli excelled in physical arts and Armament Haki.

As for why Ryan hadn't made a move, we have to push the time back a bit.

Before Ryan could even finish saying "Leave it to me," he was stopped by the murderous glares of the three.

Ryan hadn't expected that even Killer, who usually adored him, would protest against him.

He had been quite depressed just a moment ago; in Beli's words, if Ryan hogged all the spotlight, what were they even there for? Good things should be shared by everyone.

If Ryan could hear Beli's inner thoughts, he would definitely say: I really wasn't trying to show off on purpose! It's just for stat points.

Doing it for stat points is nothing to be ashamed of!

Looking at the three struggling in bitter combat, Ryan sighed from the sidelines: Why bother? Aren't they just asking for suffering!

Beli and the two others: We just love suffering!

Having nothing to do, Ryan could only drink the wine he had just taken out, observing the current situation from the side.

Going on like this felt awfully troublesome; even if they broke out, they would still be hunted down by people unless...

Unless they captured an important hostage.

Ryan began searching the crowd for that lucky soul, his eyes lighting up when he spotted the king.

You'll do!

As the saying goes, capture the thief, capture the king first; first strike the tyrant king!

Ryan sprang into action, charging straight toward the king's direction with his sword drawn.

Seeing Ryan charge over with a sword, the imperial concubines beside the king immediately turned pale with fright, though the king—who was Ryan's target—exhibited the demeanor a sovereign of a nation ought to have at this very moment.

"Guards, stop him!" He directed the guards to intercept Ryan and buy himself time to escape.

Hearing the king's command, the guards who had been fighting Beli and the two others ignored the threat of Beli's group and rushed toward Ryan.

However, it was too late.

The guards blocking Ryan's path were all dispatched in a single flash of a sword; not a single person could take Ryan's second strike.

Barely ten seconds had passed since the king gave his order when Ryan cut his way right before the king.

Ryan's body turned into a blur, and the next second, he held his sword horizontally against the king's neck. As it turned out, the previous blur was merely an optical illusion caused by Ryan's excessive movement speed.

"Humor me and cooperate, or you die!"

Ryan moved the sword forward a fraction and said coldly.

Traces of blood oozing from his neck, the king hurriedly said, "As long as you don't kill me, I'll listen to everything you say!"

"First, tell them all to stop."

"Stop, all of you!" As the king's voice echoed in all directions, the remaining living Royal Guards and soldiers stopped fighting one after another.

"Beli, you guys come over," Ryan shouted to Beli and the two others.

The king said cautiously, "You can let me go now, right?"

"Not yet; we're not safe yet. Besides, didn't you say you'd listen to everything I say? What, thinking of going back on your word?"

"No, as long as you're willing to spare me, you can name any condition."

Hearing this, Beli and the two others' eyes lit up.

"I want all the good wine in the palace."

"I want all the good swords in the palace."

"I want all the money in the palace."

The three spoke one by one.

"Did you hear that? Go fetch them right away."

Having spoken, the king looked toward Ryan, the meaning obvious: what did he want?

Ryan tried hard to think, only to find that he didn't seem to want anything.

The wine he wanted had already been brought up by Beli, and to Ryan, Beli's things were basically his own things.

"I don't want anything."

Hearing Ryan say this, the king panicked instantly; not wanting treasure meant wanting his life instead.

Even if the king wanted to escape from his grasp right now, once Guard Captain Pofitas arrived, Ryan and his crew would all die, and those treasures given to them would all come back anyway.

Therefore, the king didn't feel any heartache over giving away these items right now—they would all return in the end anyway.

The king still had extreme confidence in Guard Captain Pofitas, because the king had witnessed Pofitas's true strength and didn't believe Ryan's group were opponents for the guard captain.

Only, what the king didn't know was that Ryan was not a conventional player and could not be measured by ordinary logic.