"What is it, Laki, Shandia's woman warrior? Are you going to stop me? Do you want to attack me too? I've defeated all your companions. What can you do?"
Luo Chen looked her straight in the eyes, as though he could see into her heart, and then asked what she would choose.
"Don't look down on me. I'm a Shandia warrior too."
With that, Laki raised the flintlock pistol she carried and aimed it at him.
"Ahahaha! Go ahead and shoot. Even the strongest weapon is a toy in a child's hands, no threat at all to an adult."
When he saw her draw her gun and aim it at him, Luo Chen burst out laughing and told her to go ahead and shoot. His words were full of contempt and mockery for their strength; he had no fear that the gun could hurt him.
"Damn you, priest... Luo Chen."
Laki recalled how he had mercifully and generously spared them all last time. Looking back now, it had been a disgrace to warriors. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bullets whizzed past one after another. Faced with such a harmless attack, Luo Chen did not even think of activating Observation Haki. He relied on his body's instincts to dodge each flying bullet.
The bullets he dodged struck the tree trunks and rocks behind him, blasting fist-sized holes into them and sending splinters and shards of stone flying.
"An attack like that won't work on me at all!"
As he spoke, Luo Chen arrived in front of Laki and casually swung his right hand, striking her.
"Pfft!!!"
A single ordinary punch was already more than Laki could take. She clutched her stomach in pain and sank to one knee.
"Heh, what's wrong? You're a Shandia warrior, and you can't even take this?"
Luo Chen stood before her and spoke down to her.
"Would you like me to show you great mercy and spare you again? Heh! I could do that, but it'll cost you a little something.
"Put aside your dignity as warriors, kneel before me, and beg my forgiveness!"
Luo Chen continued, intending to crush their spirits so they would never again have the courage to face him.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
"Damn it, why am I so weak? I can't even help them."
Tears fell one by one. Laki, the woman warrior, hated her own helplessness and her failure to help them. At last, she prepared to give up her dignity and slowly kneel before Luo Chen.
"Don't, Laki. Don't kneel. We don't need his pity. Don't beg him for mercy."
Just as she was about to kneel, a faint voice came from the crater behind them. It was Wyper.
He had not lost consciousness after all. After resting for a while, he had slowly regained his senses and heard their conversation. His lips moved slightly, and he called out weakly to stop Laki from kneeling before Luo Chen.
"Wyper, but everyone..."
She did not continue. They all understood that every one of their lives was in Luo Chen's hands. Whether they lived or died was beyond their control.
"Even so, you can't. If having you kneel and beg for mercy would let all of us live, I'd rather be killed than let you do it.
"And they wouldn't allow it either. This is our dignity as Shandia warriors. Even death can't stain it."
His voice answered once again.
"I'm sorry, Wyper. Forgive me, but I can't agree with your decision. Everyone's lives depend on me alone. Let me trade my dignity for a chance for all of you to live!"
Tears streamed down Laki's face. At last, she made up her mind and knelt before Luo Chen.
"Hahahaha! What a show you've given me! You don't see a sight like that often.
"Get up. I'll spare you one more time. Take everyone and leave this place. Don't let me catch you trespassing here again.
"Otherwise, next time I won't let you off so easily."
As Laki knelt, Luo Chen turned away and spoke with his back to them. Then he walked farther and farther away, slowly disappearing into the forest.
In the forest, Luo Chen walked along the path he had cleared, slowly pondering what had just happened.
He questioned his own heart. If he had found himself in that situation, would he too have chosen to let a companion abandon their dignity and beg the enemy to spare his life and the lives of the others?
"No. If I were in that situation, I'd choose to die fighting my opponent rather than let a companion beg the enemy for mercy."
Luo Chen clenched his fists, shook his head, and spoke firmly.
If he chose to survive, he would be finished, with no possibility of advancing any further. But his present situation was merely a temporary expedient; he had not yet reached the point of abandoning his dignity and truly submitting to power.
"Heh, but after that fight, I feel much more at ease. The pain of losing my dear friend has eased.
"I really should thank the Shandia warriors. Without them, who knows how much longer my negative emotions would have stayed bottled up? What a lovely, interesting bunch!"
If they knew that was how Luo Chen viewed the outcome of their desperate fight, would they break down?
By now, however, the Shandia warriors had already helped one another away from Sacred Land Upper Yard and were heading back to their base.
On the way, each of them remained expressionless and silent. No one knew what they were thinking about. Perhaps it was the battle they had just experienced.
Today's battle would be etched into their minds forever: their own helplessness and the overwhelming strength of the priest Luo Chen. If they could not move past it, these warriors would be finished.
Braham and Kamakiri might have been better off than the others, since each had been defeated by one of Luo Chen's powerful punches and had remained unconscious.
The others were different. Although he had knocked them down too, they had watched Laki beg that man to spare them all. The scene was etched into their minds, impossible to shake.
As for Wyper, after returning to the Shandia tribe and resting for a few days, he began his brutal training. He wanted to grow stronger through training and ultimately defeat the man deeply engraved in his mind. Even his fixation on Enel could not compare to his fixation on the priest Luo Chen.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, another two years went by. Luo Chen spent those two years in endless training as before. If a group of uninvited guests had not suddenly arrived on Sky Island, he might not even have realized that he had spent another two years there.
On this day, Luo Chen practiced his various moves as usual. He could now perfectly incorporate his ability into all his attacks, including the Six Powers he had learned and mastered from Hogg.
He had also developed many powerful moves from them, and his physical strength had reached a formidable level. Without using his fruit ability, Enel could even be utterly crushed by him.
In terms of physique and ability alone, he was no weaker than an elite Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters. His Haki, however, was still insufficiently developed; otherwise, he could have rivaled the top Vice Admirals, except for Garp and Tsuru.
Just as he finished training and prepared to hunt some food to fill his stomach-the fiercest beasts on Sky Island were still food to him, another sign of how much stronger he had grown-two divine soldiers under his command hurried over to report an important event.
A pirate ship had just entered Sky Island, carrying seven criminals in total. Enel had already given orders to begin the trials here and give them a thorough torment, letting them feel the majesty of a god.
"Mm, I understand. You may go."
After learning the situation, Luo Chen waved them away, then activated Observation Haki to sense the pirates' whereabouts.
"Hmm... So it really is you. Have you finally arrived, Straw Hat Pirates?"
After activating Observation Haki, he heard six people remaining in town, while another female voice was rapidly approaching. She should be Nami, now curiously making her way here on a Waver.