Chapter 94
The Minister of Biscuits once again took a Giant Hollow shot right to his face, and staggered backward.
This time, Adrian did not let him leave at will.
Instantly entering Ghostification form, Adrian swiftly stepped forward, uttered a soft shout, and swung his arm violently, unleashing a powerful slash of the Skillful Grade, Yubashiri, covered in Armament Haki.
Flying through the air, unsteady on his feet, Cracker struggled to control his body, raising the famous sword Pretzel to block in front of him.
Clang--!!
As the Yubashiri sword clashed with the Pretzel, Sparks flew and a crisp metallic clang resounded as the blades of the two Famous Sword swords met.
Cracker, already struggling to maintain his balance from the bombardment by the Peacemaker, retreated even faster.
Adrian, emboldened by his advantage, continued to charge forward with his knife.
Just then, Cracker flew back into the middle of a group of Biscuit Soldiers.
He hurriedly ordered the Biscuit Soldiers to surround the White Ghost, buying him a moment to rest.
"Biscuit Soldiers! Hold them off!"
The Biscuit Soldiers, having received the Creator's command, raised their swords and charged toward Adrian.
However, Adrian in his Ghostification form was so fast that the Biscuit Soldiers broke through his encirclement before they could even form one.
In just a split second, Adrian was once again in front of Cracker.
However, Cracker still managed to take advantage of that brief moment.
"Hard Biscuit, Fortress Wall!"
Cracker raised his hand and slapped it several times. Several extremely hard biscuit walls with speckled and hollowed-out surfaces appeared beside him, blocking Adrian's Skillful Grade, Yubashiri.
However, Armament Haki, which combines the characteristics of Ryuo and Black Jade, is not so easily resisted.
As Adrian exerted his strength, the incredibly sturdy biscuit fortress wall was cleaved in two with a single strike!
One Sword Style: Dashing Slash!
With a burst of power from his feet, Adrian's speed increased even further. The blade of the Skillful Grade, Yubashiri, traced an Inazuma -fast white arc in the air before slashing heavily down at Cracker!
The time he had gained by creating the biscuit fortress wall was enough for Cracker to recover from the aftershocks of the explosion. Once he regained his footing, he successfully swung his sword to block Yubashiri's attack.
"White Ghost!" Cracker roared, blood streaming from his mouth and nose—injuries inflicted by the second Peacemaker. "Are you sure you want to go against Mother's will?"
Adrian spread his left hand, and a dozen Mini Hollow, Withering Heart-Piercer, rushed towards Cracker.
Cracker felt a sharp, needle-like danger emanating from his Observation Haki, and quickly used his Biscuit Power, imbued with Armament Haki, to defend against the attacks of these Mini Hollow.
"That's just your Charlotte Family's queen! She has Beli nothing to do with me!"
Adrian's offensive was not over yet. He gripped the Yubashiri in his right hand and unleashed wave after wave of attacks on Cracker with Sword Momentum, parrying, and hooking swordplay.
"And to be honest, Charlotte Linlin in her youth might have been one of the few top beauties on this sea who possessed both beauty and strength, but don't you have any idea what she looks like now?"
Even though Cracker successfully blocked every attack from Adrian, his own Armament Haki and stamina were declining at an alarming rate.
If this continues, we probably won't be able to hold on for much longer!
Even when he heard Adrian's insults towards Bigom, Cracker still unleashed tremendous power, wielding his Famous Sword Pretzel and forcing Adrian back in one fell swoop.
Cracker was grim, his voice icy cold. "White Ghost! Although Mom thinks highly of you, I will not allow you to insult her like this!"
"You're not allowed? What do you think our relationship is right now?"
Adrian wasn't in a hurry to launch another attack. The continuous Swordplay strikes he had just received had completely dissipated his frustration with BIGMOM's inexplicable mating request.
But hearing Cracker's words still made him find it somewhat amusing.
"In this godforsaken world, even Pirates can't just curse people anymore? Besides, we're already enemies!"
"Little Biscuit, weren't you fighting me with the intention of dying just now?"
"How dare you!" Cracker roared, "Wave- Pretzel!"
The Minister of Biscuits, sword in his left hand, the blade wreathed in violent spiraling energy, thrust it once more toward Adrian's body.
"Forget it, I'm starting to get tired of this level of fighting."
Adrian sheathed his sword and, using his Ghost Body speed, dodged Cracker's thrust attack.
Then he clasped his hands together, then suddenly opened them, and a dark blue lightsaber shaped from Ghost Energy appeared out of thin air in his palms!
Lightsaber? What kind of ability is that?!
Cracker's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the White Ghost.
Adrian gripped his Ghost Energy Sword in his right hand and said in a melodious tone, "Good luck, Mr. Cracker who loves cookies. I'm about to use a new ability, so don't die!"
Cracker suddenly gripped the hilt of the Pretzel with both hands, about to stab at White Ghost, when a blurry phantom suddenly flashed before his eyes.
The White Ghost before him seemed to have transformed into a hellish Yaksha, emanating a dark and dense Demonic Aura of hell. At the same time, a seductive and alluring voice inexplicably rang in his ears, and he could even clearly smell the pungent stench of Magma Sulfur.
At this moment, Cracker's sight, hearing, and smell were simultaneously manipulated.
Murder Blade - Yaksha Demon!
Adrian slowly stepped forward, and his dark blue Ghost Energy Sword slashed heavily into Cracker's chest, who was completely unprepared.
A spray of blood erupted like a fountain, and a deep, bone-revealing gash appeared on the Minister of Biscuits's chest.
When?!
Cracker, who had been severely injured in an instant, regained consciousness, and this sentence suddenly appeared in his mind.
Then he saw White Ghost swing his sword again, the energy light sword, imbued with chilling killing intent, already close to his neck.
Cracker clearly felt the aura of death enveloping him. His eyes were bloodshot and his gaze was filled with rage, but he was already severely injured and powerless, so he was completely unable to put up any resistance.
At this critical moment, a massive slash, as gentle as water yet as powerful as a surging tide, came crashing down from the sky.
"White Ghost!"
At this moment, Ghost Lady Amande unleashed a crucial attack, determined to interrupt Adrian's killing spree.
"Katakuri is on his way. If you dare kill Cracker, Katakuri will never let you get away with it!"
"Yeah?"
Adrian threw out his Ghost Energy Sword, letting it collide and consume Amande's slash.
The Ghost Energy Sword shattered into pieces, and a flicker of anticipation flashed in Amande's eyes.
However.
The Yubashiri, however, suddenly billowed high in the air!
Itto-ryu (One Sword Style) - Iai - Maple Leaf Cutter!
Pfft!
The sound of a sword blade slicing through a torso rang out...
Blood gushed out, the Minister of Biscuits was decapitated, his Teletubby-like head rolled around in the dust, and his headless corpse fell to the ground, still twitching.
Adrian's tone was devoid of emotion.
"Why do Pirates not understand the meaning of death?"
"Instead of worrying about that, Long-Neck Fish, you should think more about how to find new Biscuit-Biscuit Fruit!"
"If you're still alive by then!"
[Chapter 177. S-Rank Series Mission [Charlotte Family]]
A gentle breeze stirred up dust, carrying away the stench of blood, and the convulsing corpse fell completely silent.
The next moment, the panel started refreshing rapidly.
[You killed Cracker, the Cracker Minister of Biscuits of Totto Land (LV73), and you gained 300 million experience points.]
[Deadly Enemy 12 levels higher to gain an additional 120% experience bonus]
[You have accumulated 660 million experience points!]
Cracker's current level is 73, which is within Adrian's expectations.
After all, Cracker was in the New World, where the battles in the latter half of the Grand Line were far more brutal than those in the Paradise phase of the first half, not to mention the relatively peaceful and weaker four outer seas.
In the latter half of the Grand Line, where powerful individuals clash and constantly vie for territory, Survive is impossible without formidable strength!
But.
Cracker at this stage is not the same as the later Charlotte Family's "Sweet Commanders," a Disaster- level Great Pirate Bounty a bounty exceeding 800 million Beli; his strength has ultimately failed to break through the level 80 barrier.
That is precisely why.
The experience bonus from defeating Cracker when you're a higher level has also been significantly reduced.
Previously, when Adrian defeated powerful enemies across levels, it was almost always by more than 20 levels.
This applies to both Hog, the Pillar of the Second Treasure Navy, and Chinjao, the pillar of the Happo Navy.
The experience reward for a kill that occurs across an entire tier will be significantly higher.
However, even if you kill an enemy 12 levels higher than yourself, specifically within the level range of 61-80, you only get a 120% experience bonus, which is a huge difference compared to the previous 400% or 500% experience bonuses.
However, the experience points gained from defeating Cracker were still a whopping 660 million.
With the huge experience reward from the previous S-Rank Challenge [Sengoku the Buddha], it won't be long before Adrian fills the experience bar between [Swordmaster] and [Great Swordmaster]!
The information displayed on the screen after defeating Cracker goes beyond just the experience points gained from the kill.
[You have initiated your Totto Land!]
[You killed Cracker, the Minister of Biscuits, Totto Land Totto Land's affection for you has decreased; the current relationship is: Indifferent!]
[You killed Cracker of the Big Mom Pirates. The Big Mom Pirates' affection for you has decreased. Your current relationship is: Deadly Enemy!]
Alliance relations with the Totto Land have begun!
Adrian perked up and checked the panel information, but then his expression turned somewhat strange.
"Logically speaking, as Big Mom's headquarters, Totto Land and the Big Mom Pirates should maintain a highly consistent alliance, right?"
Why is the alignment of Totto Land UTC) second only to Neutral ("indifferent"), while the Big Mom Pirates are directly at the highest level of Hostility ("Deadly Enemy")?
"Is there really such a lack of unity between superiors and subordinates?"
Just then, another notification appeared on the panel.
But this time, a mission has arrived!
[Secondary Profession [Supernovas] detected!]
[Detected to have a relationship with the [BIGMOM] Pirates as: Deadly Enemy!]
You have triggered the S-rank questline [The Charlotte Family]!
[Mission Brief: The Charlotte Family consists of Big Mom Charlotte Linlin and her 29 husbands, 32 sons, and 27 daughters. It is a bloody family built around kinship and bound by blood ties, with their base in the "Totto Land" Sea Area of New World!]
[Mission Requirements: Challenge the Big Mom Pirates as a challenger.]
"The Big Mom Pirates' series of missions?"
This was Adrian's first time triggering a series of quests, so he quickly checked the quest description.
This series of quests is very large in scale and has a very complex evaluation mechanism. It is a combination of chain quests and faction quests.
The difficulty level reaches S-rank. In addition to the numerous steps and extremely long time required, there is also the ultimate mission objective: defeat BIGMOM Charlotte Linlin!
In addition, every member of the Charlotte Family is a target of Adrian's mission.
From the highest- Queen of Totto Land Charlotte Linlin to Big Mom's husband and children, all were included.
There are also specific types of destruction missions.
Destroying or disrupting things within Totto Land can also complete mission objectives and increase mission progress.
For example, the ultimate objective of the sabotage mission is to completely destroy all 34 islands of Totto Land.
Next in line with this objective is to destroy the main island of Totto Land [Whole Cake Island], and there are also a series of side missions such as destroying Biscuit Island, Candy Island, Wheat Island, etc.
Each member of the Charlotte Family, and each island within Totto Land, can be considered a completed stage of the mission by killing/defeatping or destroying them, and will earn stage rewards.
The overall task [Charlotte Family] can only be submitted for settlement when the overall task evaluation reaches a certain level. The task reward is calculated based on the number of completed task objectives and the evaluation of each task stage.