Chapter 38

The cloaked man opened his mouth, but no words came out.

In the world of pirates, strength ruled.

If he had been strong enough, he would have been the one sitting on the sofa!

"Tch. Useless!" Holisa shifted back into human form and spat on the carpet. "Well? What is it?"

The cloaked man was silent for a moment. "It's White Ghost. Someone under us received word that he's returned to Flower Country."

The next second—

A hoarse, savage roar from the woman nearly shook the entire hall apart.

"Tell me! Where is he?! I'll tear him apart with my bare hands!"

Steel Tempest!

The sea breeze swept across the tidal flats, pleasantly cool.

Most of the players gathered there wore delighted smiles. Each admired their newly updated skill panel, blissfully unaware they had just been fleeced.

Boom, boom—

A sudden clamor came from the distance. Adrian's eyes narrowed, and he released a Mini Hollow into the sky. Through its vision, he saw forces from the Second Treasure Navy in green cloaks.

Why would the Second Treasure Navy be here?

The question flashed through his mind.

But before he could warn the players, the Second Treasure Navy opened fire.

Flintlock guns rattled and heavy cannons roared. Bullets tore through the air, and blazing cannon fire instantly wiped out a group of players lingering along the outskirts!

"What the hell just happened?!"

"Why is someone attacking us out of nowhere?"

"The system says the killers belong to the Second Treasure Navy. Aren't they a local faction in Flower Country?"

"Dying costs experience! I was so close to saving up enough!"

A large group of players dissolved into white light. The survivors were just as startled by the Second Treasure Navy's sudden arrival.

Then Holisa leaped out from its ranks. A cruel smile spread across her hideous face. She sprang forward, her immense physical strength sending her hurtling toward the players like a meteor.

One punch pierced a player's chest. One kick shattered another player's body.

Many players tried to fight back with the guns they had just bought, but she dodged before they could aim. Even the shots that struck her did negligible damage; the bullets could not even penetrate her skin.

Holisa tore through the players like a tiger among sheep.

First blood, double kill, triple kill, killing spree...

The still-low-level players had no way to fight back against Holisa!

Several took the chance to cast Detect on her.

[?—Current Leader of the Second Treasure Navy] (Hostile)

[Level: ?]

[Attributes: ?]

[??]

[Danger Level: Extremely Lethal!]

Another Extremely Lethal opponent!

The players had never had much sense of what that danger rating meant. All they knew was that Big Lethal, when he got serious, had instantly killed someone else rated Extremely Lethal.

Just minutes earlier, plenty of players from other seas had still been posting on the official game forum, egging Flower Country players on to test Big Lethal's strength!

There was no need for that now.

The players understood exactly how vast the gap was between them and someone rated Extremely Lethal.

High-level NPCs really were terrifying!

But we still have Big Lethal!

That thought flashed through the minds of many players Holisa had yet to reach.

On the blood-soaked battlefield, Holisa was reveling in the slaughter. She stood on a male player with a vicious grin, her right fist raised to pound him into paste.

Just then, Big Lethal burst forward at a terrifying speed. He became a faint streak of white light, charging straight toward Holisa.

"Big Lethal, I choose you!"

"There it is! Big Lethal's [Dashing Slash]!"

The players watched with anticipation.

But Holisa was hardly alone on the battlefield. Large numbers of Second Treasure Navy troops had come with her and were cutting down players.

Several sailors raised their blades to stop Adrian.

Yubashiri left its sheath, and white steel flashed.

With a single flash, two or three sailors fell.

The blade flashed again and again through the crowd. Adrian charged straight toward Holisa, easily killing the dozens of sailors who tried to stand in his way.

Each arc of Sword Aura stretched more than ten meters, ripping the sailors to pieces. The others preparing to rush him faltered in fear.

"Holy shit! He can project Sword Aura!"

"He's mowing them down like it's a hack-and-slash game!"

The players gasped. In sheer spectacle, Big Lethal and his flashy effects far outclassed Holisa, who could only fight hand to hand!

Adrian's sword never stopped moving, and his mind was perfectly clear.

If he used the Hollow-Hollow Fruit, he could undoubtedly wipe out this Second Treasure Navy force in an instant!

But although that would leave a deep impression on the players, it would do nothing for his future business.

He could not sell the powers of the Hollow-Hollow Fruit. Among the most appealing things he sold players were Swordplay techniques!

That meant he had to fight this battle with a sword!

Fortunately, Adrian had developed plenty of Swordplay skills too!

"You killed my father, and now you've killed my people!"

Holisa glared at him from afar. Her eyes turned a murky yellow, and black-and-yellow fur pushed through her skin as she shifted into beast form.

Zoan Dog-Dog Fruit, Jackal Form!

"White Ghost! You're asking to die!"

"Get him, all of you!"

Holisa pointed at Adrian, and over a hundred elite Second Treasure Navy troops charged him.

Adrian drew his sword in the same instant.

Swish, swish, swish, swish—

Powerful slashes tore through the air. In the blink of an eye, he unleashed more than a hundred.

The dense barrage of crescent-shaped slashes was simply too fast. Bolstered by the Three Thousand Styles Specialty, it killed or wounded most of the elite troops in moments. Barely a dozen lucky sailors survived, and they were too terrified to move.

"Get out of my way!"

Holisa roared and barreled forward like a mountain. Her enormous beast fist smashed toward Adrian with such force that the air howled around it.

"Die!"

Adrian flickered aside, evading the giant fist, and swung his sword at the gnoll's head.

But Holisa's beast form had sharpened her instincts. She ducked hard and avoided the slash.

Adrian's strike missed, but he did not panic.

With a thought, he used Soru's Burst Technique again. Leaving a phantom image behind, he sprang above Holisa's head.

He raised Yubashiri high.

"Steel Tempest!"

Shhk—

The blade flashed, its light as concentrated as a stream of water, and swept across the gnoll's neck.

Her massive beast head flew into the air. Disbelief still filled her eyes as their yellow faded back to black. Holisa could not understand how he had killed her with a single strike...

With the power of a Devil Fruit, shouldn't I have been invincible...?

Filled with regret and confusion, Holisa, the Second Treasure Navy's new leader, died!

The sailors who had followed their leader were seized by terror. But Adrian's blade showed no mercy. Every last one of them died.

"Another Extremely Lethal opponent brought down by Big Lethal..."

"And another instant kill!"

"He's insanely strong!"

In the players' minds, Adrian's stature rose even higher.

After clearing the remains of the battlefield, Adrian flicked the blood from Yubashiri and sheathed it.

He looked at the players with a kindly expression. His voice was quiet, warm, and resonant.

"The road is long. Only the sword stays by my side."

The devil's whisper often sounded like an angel's voice.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you."

Business in West Blue Concluded; Next Stop, North Blue

Thanks to the Second Treasure Navy's self-sacrifice, the players' enthusiasm for spending ignited at once.

A hundred people, three hundred, five hundred...

Experience poured into Adrian's game panel. As time passed, more and more Flower Country players headed his way. Another surge of experience was sure to follow.

Adrian casually created a few Mimic Ghosts to handle the players, then browsed the game forum.

At the very top of the main page, the administrators had pinned a wildly popular post titled "Big Lethal's Combat Power!"

The corner of Adrian's mouth twitched. Pretending he had seen nothing, he clicked it.

The post showed the battle that had just taken place. Many players had uploaded their recordings, and after reviewing them, the administrators had chosen the most complete, clearest version.

Replies kept flooding in beneath the viral post. Dozens more appeared in the brief time Adrian watched, while comments blanketed the video itself.

When Holisa first appeared, the players all complained.

"That woman's hideous! She's the ugliest woman I've seen in this game! Uglier than some old ladies!"

"Who cares if she's ugly? She's strong!"

"My hand went right through your chest!"

But when Adrian began displaying his strength, the comments changed their tune.

"All hail Big Lethal!"

"Come, sword!"

"He's so cool! So cool!! So cool!!!"

"White Ghost? Is that Big Lethal's nickname?"

By the final scene, when Adrian beheaded Holisa with a single slash, turned to the players, and calmly asked his question, the comments went wild.

"Damn it! He made it look cool again!"

"He knows exactly what he's doing! I love him!"

"This deserves applause!"

"This is what true power looks like!"

After reading those heartfelt comments, Adrian smiled to himself. His plan to show off a high-level NPC's strength had worked—and the effect was unmistakable!