Beneath the Council Hall

Little Mihawk raised his blade and brought it down, cleanly severing the heads of the two Celestial Dragons. In an instant, an eerie silence fell over the scene.

Everyone's gazes involuntarily focused in that direction, their eyes filled with shock, confusion, and delight.

"Th... that person looks kind of familiar?" someone muttered under his breath.

"That's Mihawk!" a voice cried out excitedly.

"The great swordsman!?" another person gasped, his face full of disbelief.

"But why does he feel a little different?" someone asked with a frown.

"Who knows! As long as we can use this chance to escape, who cares who he is!" someone shouted dismissively.

The crowd immediately erupted into discussion, and then their morale suddenly soared. They grabbed whatever weapons they could use—iron pipes, shoes, sickles... all manner of objects became tools for their resistance.

"Charge! Kill these inhuman monsters!" someone raised an arm and roared, stirring the furious crowd.

There were roughly a hundred guards. Faced with the surging fury of the masses, they seemed utterly insignificant and helpless. How could they possibly withstand the wrath of tens of thousands?

Yet they could not retreat even half a step, because they knew that if they did not fight to the death now, they would surely be reduced to slaves once they were punished.

That was a fate countless times more painful than death.

"Hold the line! The Marine Admirals will be here to support us soon!" someone waved his arms and shouted himself hoarse.

The next moment—

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle! A flash of cold light streaked past, and blood instantly spurted from the man's neck like a fountain, splashing across his companions' faces.

"What a racket!" Little Mihawk wore a disdainful expression, his eyes full of cold indifference.

With only a slight flick of his finger, the