Bax was still wondering why Xie Wen had made that strange movement when, in the next instant, the young man vanished from his sight. Then he felt the cold edge of a blade against his neck.
At the same time, Xie Wen's slightly teasing voice sounded beside his ear. "Uncle Bax, I think you'd better take this a little more seriously~"
The sailors who had been cheering from the sidelines immediately fell silent. The unlucky bookie who had just accepted Klee Meow's wager looked ready to cry.
To their slight relief, however, Xie Wen withdrew the blade from Bax's neck after teasing him, clearly intending to have another round.
"Xie Wen's right! Get serious, boss!"
"I bet my entire month's wages on you, boss!"
"Come on, boss! You'll never live it down if you lose to a kid!"
This time, every sailor offered Bax their heartfelt encouragement.
Bax, however, smiled bitterly to himself. He didn't think taking things seriously would let him beat Xie Wen. He hadn't been able to react to that speed at all. No amount of focus would help.
Still, surrendering just like that wasn't in Bax's nature. He drew the Rapier at his waist and focused all his attention on the rather youthful-looking boy before him. "I did underestimate you just now... Well then, here I come!"
This time, Bax didn't dare act superior and let Xie Wen attack first. Instead, he took the initiative.
Unsurprisingly, Xie Wen blocked his swift Thrust. Bax turned sideways to dodge the returning slash, feeling a little puzzled...
He's slowed down?
Is he... going easy on me?
A flicker of anger at the humiliation rose in Bax's heart, but he soon suppressed it with a bitter smile.
Had he been younger, he probably would have refused to let it slide. By now, though, Lafitte had beaten most of that pride out of him. Besides, he had been the first to look down on his opponent. He had no right to criticize Xie Wen.
Quickly adjusting his mindset, Bax turned his wrist, making his next thrust even faster.
Though he already knew his chances of winning were slim, Bax didn't want to lose too badly.
Meanwhile, Xie Wen was having a wonderful time slashing away.
These dual blades... they're addictive!
It was all too easy to get carried away once he started swinging, especially after activating Demon Mode. Once he went wild, he simply couldn't stop his blades.
Back on the island, however, by the time Xie Wen had made a pair of dual blades from two wild boar tusks, the beasts there could barely survive a single round of his attacks.
On top of that, Xie Wen hadn't yet known he had transmigrated into the world of the Pirate King, so he had done his best to follow the hunter's rule of never getting greedy with attacks. That meant he never got to slash to his heart's content, and he had soon abandoned the boar tusks.
Now, however, Bax was the perfect opponent for dual blades...
Not only did his swordsmanship also emphasize speed, but his strength was just right. He could block Xie Wen's attacks, while his counterattacks didn't give Xie Wen too much trouble.
As mentioned before, Xie Wen's combat techniques were meant for fighting large monsters, so his moves tended toward broad, sweeping strikes. Sparring with Sanji Meow had improved that somewhat, but he was only a chef cat, after all, and his strength had its limits.
Besides, as a hopeless cat addict, Xie Wen mostly focused on defense and evasion when practicing with the cats, so those were the two areas where the sparring had helped most.
Now that he finally had someone like Bax to help him hone his offense, Xie Wen naturally wasn't going to activate Demon Mode and finish him off in one burst.
Most importantly, after exchanging blows with Xie Wen for several rounds, Bax gradually realized what he was doing-or rather, he spotted Xie Wen's current shortcomings through his moves.
As the fight went on, Bax quietly changed his approach, shifting from trading attacks to focusing on defense. Only when Xie Wen exposed a significant opening did he counterattack, using it as a way to offer pointers.
Xie Wen naturally noticed Bax's change in tactics as well. Though his attacks remained fierce, he put much less strength into them.
"That's enough. I'm done."
After they had traded blows for nearly an hour, Bax sheathed his sword and jumped out of the fight.
"I'm not like you youngsters. I don't have that much stamina." Waving a hand, he headed toward the docks, muttering, "Young people these days really are something... Any longer and I'd embarrass myself."
Xie Wen rolled his eyes. Everyone in the Pirate King's world was a stamina monster. Besides, neither of them had used much strength for most of the fight. Bax hadn't even broken a sweat, and his breathing had barely changed. He had stopped because Xie Wen had gradually adjusted his fighting style...
That last muttered remark wasn't entirely wrong, though. If they kept fighting, Bax wouldn't just be inferior to Xie Wen in basic attributes like strength and speed; Xie Wen would surpass him in combat technique, too.
Aside from his already considerable strength, the hunters' inherited experience had played a major role in Xie Wen's obvious improvement. There was also another possibility...
Maybe I'm something of a combat genius myself?
Just as Xie Wen was staring blankly at his hands, marveling at his own talent, Klee Meow came skipping over with a thick stack of Beli.
"Big Brother Xie Wen, Klee made lots of money, meow!" The little Ragdoll held the Beli up before him as though presenting a treasure.
"Well done, Klee!" Xie Wen immediately abandoned his inexplicable bout of narcissism and praised her. Then he rubbed Klee Meow's little head and pushed the stack of Beli back toward her. "Since you earned it yourself, you can keep it to spend."
Though he barely had any money left, Cody would be covering their food and drink for the foreseeable future, and there was extra pay for the escort job. He had no need to spend the cats' money.
And Klee Meow really was such a good girl, offering him her money without even being asked.
Xie Wen had actually wanted to say something about how children shouldn't gamble, but seeing how thoughtful she was, he wasn't foolish enough to spoil the mood. There would be plenty of time to teach her later.
So Xie Wen picked up the little Ragdoll and planted two hearty kisses on her, then glanced sideways at the silent Sanji Meow beside them...
"What do you want, meow?!" The little yellow cat nervously covered his Meowster Bag. "I'm saving this money to buy ingredients, meow!"
Tsk! No wonder they say daughters are the thoughtful ones.
He hadn't intended to take Sanji Meow's money either, but the difference between the two cats' reactions was far too stark.
"I had no idea you were so strong, Xie Wen! Even Boss Bax couldn't beat you!"
"Mr. Cody really does have a good eye..."
"Well, that's why he's the boss, isn't it?"
The sailors who had lost their money crowded around as well. Rather than resenting Xie Wen for their losses, they looked happy, even eager to please him.
Though that sort of reaction was normal enough in a world where strength commanded respect, Xie Wen felt there had to be another reason.
Before he could figure out how to ask, however, the sailors explained it themselves-
The trade fair Cody was attending this time was actually organized by a group of Gangs. Although the Gangs in the West Blue had something resembling principles, everyone knew just how flexible those principles could be.
Given Cody's personality, he normally wouldn't have been interested in such a trade fair, even if it offered a profit. But the organizers had delivered an invitation directly into his hands, leaving him no way to refuse.
Aside from helping him out of that awkward situation, Cody had recruited Xie Wen and the others with another idea in mind: if the Gangs really were plotting something, he could use Klee Meow's powerful bombs to create chaos, then escape with his people.
He hadn't even intended to actually take Xie Wen and the cats to the trade fair. Instead, he planned to find an opportunity to buy some of Klee Meow's bombs, then drop them off on a safer island.
Now, though...
"With you here, Xie Wen, our chances of escaping successfully are much higher!"
One sailor slapped Xie Wen on the back, enthusiastically voicing that thoroughly unambitious sentiment.
Speaking of gambling, it seems a certain fish-themed streaming platform has been hit by something big lately. Who knows how many people will get dragged into it.
Before you continue