Work began

Boer slowly closed his eyes, establishing a connection with the magnetic field of the slumbering earth beneath his feet. Standing nearby, Blake and Hans felt a faint but constant tremor underfoot, as though some giant beast were turning over underground. Unease rose in both their hearts. They exchanged a glance, each seeing deep anxiety and doubt in the other's eyes. Neither knew just what earth-shattering feat the noble before them intended to perform.

The next second, something extraordinary happened!

Rumble-!

With a deep rumble, thick streams of gleaming metallic "water" burst through the ground at different points like giant silver pythons breaking free of the earth's restraints. Carrying rubble and dust, they traced sharp arcs through the air and converged furiously in front of Boer. In the blink of an eye, an enormous, constantly churning metal sphere hung in midair, radiating unsettling pulses of energy and a cold metallic aura.

Before Blake and Hans could recover from the staggering sight, the enormous metal sphere suddenly split into three parts. Two thinner streams of metal abruptly changed direction like intelligent living creatures and hurtled down toward the mountainside in front of them, halfway up the mining mountain!

The two silver torrents poured down the slope like a pair of razors that could cut through anything. Wherever they passed, the boulders, mounds of earth, and bushes that had obstructed the miners for countless years were brutally shoved aside, compressed, and broken apart by a force both savage and precise. Two distinct furrows were plowed into the steep, rugged mountainside, extending steadily downward! Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, the two metal torrents abruptly split, spread flat, and finally solidified into two metal chutes about a meter wide, their surfaces smooth as mirrors! Following the gradient of the slope, these chutes formed high-speed channels that could deliver ore straight down the mountain.

Only then did Boer turn his head and cast a casual glance at the dumbfounded Blake. His tone was as calm as though he were discussing some trivial matter. "I noticed how hard everyone worked hauling ore down the mountain, so I took it upon myself to make a simple express route. From now on, just toss the raw ore you mine down here. It should save quite a bit of time and effort."

Blake opened his mouth, his throat dry. He wanted to express his gratitude or astonishment, but the words caught in his throat. Before he could make a sound, an even greater undertaking had already begun.

Out of everyone's sight, the largest torrent of metal had already flowed back into the mountain. Under the precise guidance of Boer's extraordinary "magnetic sense," it threaded, wove, and reinforced the mountain's interior like the most dexterous fingers. Soon, beside the original steep, difficult trail, a three-meter-wide zigzag framework of metal roadbed had silently taken shape halfway up the ore slope, some eighty meters above the ground.

Then, under everyone's incredulous gaze, Boer extended one hand and lifted it into the air.

"Rise."

It was as though an invisible giant hand had gently grasped the mountain road where the metal framework had just been laid. Accompanied by a deep hum from the earth itself, the zigzag mountain road, hundreds of meters long, was "peeled" intact from the mountain's embrace by an irresistible force!

The ground did not shake, nor did boulders tumble down. The entire process had an eerily gentle quality that defied common sense. The metal layer steadily supported the earth covering it, leaving even the bushes and scattered stones atop the soil intact in their original positions. It was as though a neat wound had been gently torn into nature itself, then instantly solidified and raised. More thin streams of metal poured beneath the soil, repeatedly compacting and hardening it until it fused perfectly with the metal roadbed, forming a sturdy, level mountain road wide enough for vehicles!

Not only Blake and Hans, but every miner working in the open-pit mine witnessed this near-miracle. They stopped working and stared upward, mouths hanging open. Irrepressible cries of surprise, chatter, and jubilation erupted through the crowd.

Boer brushed nonexistent dust from his hands, his signature smile appearing on his face, carrying a hint of having everything under control.

"Now do you believe I can deliver on my promises?" His voice was quiet, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly. "This is only the beginning. Next, I'll extend this road all the way to the Harvest Plains, all the way to the Silver Capital! All you need to do is have the raw materials ready. As for prices, I guarantee in the name of the Steel Heavy Industry Consortium that none of you will lose out!"

He walked over to Blake, whose body was trembling slightly with excitement and shock, and gently patted his sturdy shoulder. Then, without another word, he moved, stepping through the air away from the mountainside.

Only after Boer vanished did Hans swallow with difficulty and speak to Blake in a dry voice. "Old friend... I think... all those doubts and complaints I had earlier really might have been me speaking without thinking. If he truly wanted to harm us... I'm afraid none of us would even know what killed us..."

Blake was still shaken as well. Looking at the two coldly gleaming chutes and the brand-new road below, he let out a long breath, a bitter yet relieved smile appearing on his face. "Th-thank goodness... he said... we were friends..."

At the far end of their view, the distant forest was changing at a visible pace. Vast swaths of trees, together with the thick topsoil, were uprooted by an invisible force, suspended in midair, and then moved steadily aside to make room for the approaching road. The sight once again shook every witness deeply.

In the air, Boer controlled the vast undertaking while calmly calculating. My Extrasensory Vision now extends over seven kilometers, and my actual metal control range can cover all of it. Using this procedure, I can easily clear a stretch of roadbed one kilometer long and three meters wide in one go. Then I just need to compact and reinforce it. At full effort, I should be able to open a basic road to the plains within a day. Yes, making it passable comes first. The later expansion, paving, and finishing work can go to the Commonwealth's engineering crews. That'll create more jobs too...

Just as he was ambitiously advancing his blueprint under the blazing sun, the Den Den Mushi in his clothes suddenly rang urgently.

"Buru buru... buru buru..."

Boer frowned slightly, stopped working, and answered the Den Den Mushi. Its face instantly turned red and anxious, mimicking Roland's tone and expression.

"Something terrible has happened, Lord Boer! A huge dark shape appeared near our Silver Capital's harbor this morning. Judging by its outline, it's at least seventy meters long! At first, we thought it was a passing Sea King and didn't pay much attention. But it still hasn't left, and... and it's already attacked two cargo ships that came to trade! Their hulls were badly damaged. Fortunately, the crews abandoned ship in time, but there were still casualties. The impact has already been extremely bad!"

"All right, I understand." Boer shook his head, a trace of irritation at the interruption in his voice. The metal particles around him quickly gathered like living nanobots. Like the finest cloth, they instantly wiped the sweat and dust from his forehead and body. There's always something... He sighed helplessly to himself.

With the situation urgent, Boer delayed no further. He stood suspended in the air above the great stretches of forest and earth stirred by his power. Like soldiers receiving orders, the metal layers that had been working so diligently instantly relinquished their hold on the earth and stone, turning into silver-gray streams that surged back to the surface of his body.

Almost within a breath, the liquid metal rapidly spread, shaped itself, and solidified around him. A delta-wing aircraft with extremely sharp lines and a futuristic technological appearance enclosed him completely. Magnetic energy began concentrating in the engine section of the strangely shaped craft, visibly gathering into a heart-pounding mass of energy. The surrounding air blurred and shimmered from the heat and distortion of the force field!

Boom!!!!!!

An explosive report powerful enough to rupture eardrums suddenly erupted where Boer hovered! An enormous milky-white cone of sonic condensation rapidly expanded and spread behind him! Boer and the delta-wing aircraft had already become a black afterimage tearing across the sky, racing toward the Silver Capital faster than sound!

The g-forces produced by the tremendous acceleration were enough to crush an ordinary person's internal organs, but Boer merely frowned slightly. His powerful physique, comparable to a Marine Vice Admiral's, fully withstood the force. Outside the window, the scenery rushed backward, stretched, and warped, the clear outlines of forests and mountains instantly becoming a blur of flowing color.

At one second, he broke the sound barrier, reaching Mach 1, with the sonic condensation cloud following him like a shadow.

At five seconds, his speed climbed to Mach 3. The entire metal shell began heating slightly from the violent friction with the air, taking on a dark red glow.

At fifteen seconds, his speed stabilized at the cruising limit of Mach 5. A carefully constructed reinforced magnetic field, designed to divert air and dissipate heat, quickly covered the entire aircraft, effectively resisting the temperatures of over a thousand degrees Celsius generated by its speed. Viewed from the ground, he resembled a meteor streaking across the bright daytime sky, trailing a deep blue flame, accompanied by a deathly shriek and a roar like rolling thunder.

At that moment, countless people across the Kingdom of Bernia once again witnessed this miraculous sight. Farmers in the fields fell to the ground in fright, while soldiers on the city walls pointed in terror at the fleeting black shadow in the sky...

The Silver Capital, harbor office.

Roland slumped weakly in his high-backed office chair, a symbol of power and status. From an agent for a minor noble, he had transformed into one of the principal people in charge of Bernia's Steel Heavy Industry Consortium. Boer had indeed fulfilled his original promise, granting Roland unprecedented authority and wealth. But with it came constant pressure. He had to maneuver among the ravenous traditional nobles who coveted the Commonwealth's interests, treading on thin ice at every step, not daring to make the slightest misstep. He knew better than anyone that everything he possessed depended on Boer alone. Boer was his savior and his only protection. Sometimes he even woke from nightmares in which Boer suddenly lost interest in him one day. Then he and everything he possessed would instantly be torn apart and devoured by the hungry wolves around him.

"Ah..." Roland sighed deeply and rubbed his aching temples. "I hope Lord Boer can get here soon... Of all times for something to happen, it had to be when he was off in that remote mining district..."

Just as he was fretting-

Hum-!

An invisible, immense pressure swept across the entire harbor like a tsunami! Immediately afterward, a muffled thunderous crash came from the bay!

Roland sprang from his chair and rushed to the window.

Out on the water beyond the harbor, the enormous dark shape was thrashing violently, giving pained, furious shrieks and churning the sea as though it were boiling. Bright red blood welled up from beneath the surface like a fountain, quickly staining a vast stretch of water red. Suspended in the sky above the thrashing beast was the very figure he had been hoping for-Aaron Ball!

Beneath Boer's feet, a powerful metallic force rose from the seabed, forcibly dragging the enormous creature out of the water-a Sea King resembling a giant manatee, with a gruesome bloody hole in the top of its head-and suspending it above the harbor! Its vast shadow covered nearly half the docks, exerting a suffocating pressure on everyone.

As he looked toward Boer, Boer's calm, unruffled voice sounded directly beside his ear, as clearly as though he were giving instructions face-to-face.

"Find people to strip the meat from this manatee. Give it to the city's poor, or sell it for money yourselves. Clean its bones and erect them in the most open, conspicuous spot in the harbor, as a warning and... a display."

Roland instantly straightened his back and instinctively bowed his head, responding in his most respectful tone, "Yes, Lord Boer! I'll see to it immediately!" His gaze caught the mantel clock in his office. Since his call for help, only... less than three minutes had passed!

A chill mingled with even deeper awe rose up Roland's spine. Lord Boer's strength... has become even more unfathomable than before...

Meanwhile, in a secluded dock piled with discarded timber somewhere in the harbor.

An ordinary-looking, plainly dressed middle-aged man clutched his head, his face contorted as he let out uncontrollable growls of pain.

"Ah-! Damn it! My... the Sea King I went through so much trouble to find and control!"

His name was Boxi, and he was the user of the Paramecia Devil Fruit "Beast Tamer." His ability allowed him to link his mind with wild beasts, giving him a degree of control over their behavior.

He had come at the direction of certain underground forces hostile to Boer's Steel Heavy Industry Consortium. Unable to tolerate Boer flooding their markets with inexpensive, mass-produced, high-quality weapons, they had found him through a bounty offer and promised him a large sum to use his ability to create "accidents" that would disrupt the normal operation of this increasingly busy shipping route. According to the plan, once he had caused enough trouble, the masterminds behind him would step forward to "solve the problem," attempting to acquire a stake in or control part of the Commonwealth's business.

Of course, he also knew Boer was a Devil Fruit User. Exploiting a Devil Fruit User's fatal weakness of being unable to enter the sea, combined with a Sea King that feared nothing in coastal waters, to patrol outside the harbor and attack merchant ships could practically be called a foolproof masterstroke. After all, in a place like the West Blue, the number of powerful people who could quickly kill a Sea King of this size head-on could be counted on one hand, if any existed at all. Yet he had never imagined that less than three hours after he sneaked into the harbor, the trump card he had expended tremendous effort to link with and control would be so casually... killed in an instant!

As Boer's Extrasensory Vision swept the harbor for potential threats, it had indeed paused briefly over this dock. He sensed the flame of life within Boxi, somewhat stronger than an ordinary person's, as well as the strangely shaped flute in his life magnetic field, emitting faint energy fluctuations.

Just a Devil Fruit User... The thought flashed through Boer's mind. As long as he doesn't come out and cause trouble, I can't be bothered. A shame about my Den Den Mushi. I'll have to replace it again.

His attention soon returned to the more important road. Since I'm already at the harbor, I'll start here and build the road back to the mining district. With that thought, his figure vanished from above the harbor once again, leaving behind docks that were a mess but gradually returning to order, and a Devil Fruit User in a dock, frustrated and despairing over the collapse of his plan.

In the sunlight, the enormous Sea King skeleton, supported by a metal framework, began to be cleaned and shaped. It would become the harbor's new landmark, silently recounting everything that had happened that day.