After leaving Tesoro's home, Lin Yuan did not head straight for the Red Line. Instead, he wandered around the Sabaody Archipelago a little longer, hoping to find a good sword.
He had given his decision to help Tesoro rescue Stella careful thought. Although Lin Yuan had other ways to bring Tesoro under his command, he had no intention of using them.
He wanted Tesoro's absolute loyalty. After all, it concerned his future plans, and Lin Yuan valued Tesoro more than he would even an Admiral-level powerhouse.
With the greatest fortune in the world, he could recruit or train a large number of talented people. Besides, he did not want to run around everywhere for a few Beli. Just look at the lives Whitebeard and Red-Haired of the Four Emperors led.
As for going to the Red Line, Lin Yuan was not worried. He was practically an all-rounder on land, at sea, and in the air. Although his strength had yet to reach the top tier, he was confident he could escape unscathed even from an Admiral.
Back then, Golden Lion Shiki had given the Marines such a headache because he could fight in the air. Lin Yuan could not only do the same, but if he could not win, he could always dive straight into the sea.
He refused to believe anyone could capture him once he reached the seabed. At this point, he feared no one except the Marines' Garp.
Lin Yuan spent a whole day wandering around the Sabaody Archipelago, but found nothing. The sword he currently used was only a Skillful Grade Sword, and it was nowhere near as comfortable in his hand as his Mandala.
In the end, Lin Yuan had no choice but to give up and prepare to head straight for the Red Line by sea.
Before leaving, Lin Yuan sent Tesoro a voice transmission.
"Seven days from now, bring the ship fifty nautical miles east of the Sabaody Archipelago and wait for me there."
Tesoro, one side of his face still somewhat red and swollen, was overjoyed. He took all his savings and hurried out of his dilapidated house.
Three days later, beneath the ten-thousand-meter-high Red Line, an enormous red figure slowly rose from the sea. Crimson eyes with golden pupils set in a massive dragon's head gazed at the continent shrouded in clouds and mist, and he could not help marveling at the wonders of nature.
"This Red Line is way too high. It's even taller than Mount Everest. The geography of this world really is strange."
After his exclamation, Lin Yuan carved a hole in the cliff, then took human form and jumped into it.
After three days of swimming, even Lin Yuan was finding it hard to keep going. Although he was absurdly fast in the sea in his Zhu Jiuyin form, he estimated that the distance from the Sabaody Archipelago to the foot of the Red Line was nearly two thousand kilometers.
Seeing the sky grow dark, Lin Yuan took out a waterproof bag and pulled out some food to replenish his strength.
He planned to set out for Mary Geoise an hour later. It would be easier to act in the dead of night.
"I wonder if Fisher Tiger has been captured and enslaved yet. I remember he still has a few years before he escapes."
In his previous life, when Lin Yuan was bored, he had also wanted to write novels to supplement his income. His first book had been a fanfic, and he had gone over the timeline of the pirate world, leaving him with a strong impression of some of its major events.
But now that he had come to this world, some things would change because of his arrival.
Night soon fell. With his strength fully restored, Lin Yuan stretched his limbs, and a series of cracks and pops rang out.
"Mary Geoise, your Grandpa Lin is here! I'll be the first person to climb the Red Line!"
With that, Lin Yuan pushed off and leaped at least dozens of meters into the air. Although he did not have the webbed fins of the Fish-Man Race that could cling to cliffs, his hands transformed into a pair of dragon claws.
The hard rock was like tofu in his hands. Moreover, he was now far stronger than Fisher Tiger had been in the original story, so climbing a ten-thousand-meter cliff was ridiculously easy for him.
Thirty minutes later, Lin Yuan appeared atop the Red Line, and a magnificent complex of buildings came into view: Mary Geoise.
Cloaked in black and under cover of night, Lin Yuan moved like a ghost. He easily avoided the patrolling CP guards and entered Mary Geoise. The Celestial Dragons, who had never suffered an invasion, still had no idea that a god of death had arrived.
Before coming, he had already learned that Saint Rosward had bought Stella. Lin Yuan's ears twitched, and he soon picked up quite a bit of information.
Among it was news of Saint Rosward. He had heard that one of the slaves Saint Rosward had bought would rather die than submit, and that Saint Rosward was preparing to torture the slave again.
As Lin Yuan slipped through the area, he also located the place where the slaves were being held. For now, though, he had to rescue Stella. If things went smoothly, he would not mind taking a look there as well.
At that moment, the fat, bloated Saint Rosward and his son were in their lavish castle, selecting suitable equipment for the evening's entertainment.
"Father, we've just about finished playing with the slaves inside. Let's throw them to my little darlings tonight!"
"Do as you like. Though it's a shame. If I hadn't heard that one of the women had a man, I really would have liked to take her as my seventeenth concubine."
"Seventeenth? I thought it was sixteenth. But it doesn't matter. After playing with them for a few months, they get boring anyway."
As usual, the two casually chatted about the cruelest things. If Tesoro heard what they were saying, he would absolutely devour a Celestial Dragon alive.
They had no idea that these would be the final moments of their lives. Lin Yuan had already arrived, and the CP guards at the entrance had been killed in an instant.
To find Stella, he did not show himself immediately, but stayed hidden. With his strength, avoiding detection was ridiculously easy.
Saint Rosward and his son held whips in their hands and wore golden pistols at their waists. One of them pressed a statue, and a hidden door appeared in the room, revealing a passage leading downward.
The Celestial Dragons truly were extravagant. Not only were there golden decorations throughout the entire castle, but even the walls of the passage to the basement were set with luminous pearls.
"Those two actually built a basement in their room. No wonder I couldn't sense anyone else."
Lin Yuan was itching to act, and planned to give the pair a "surprise" shortly.
The three of them made their way toward the basement, one behind the other. Lin Yuan then discovered that the space was exceptionally vast, with quite a few rooms along the sides. He glanced inside, and what he saw made the corners of his mouth rise.
Before long, Saint Rosward and his son finally reached the place where the slaves were held, huffing and puffing. Just a few minutes of walking had left them somewhat short of breath.
"I'm exhausted. Next time I'll find a giant slave to use as a mount. That way I won't have to walk anymore."
"That's a brilliant idea. Son, you're so smart."
Saint Rosward praised his son, then took out a key and unlocked the door to the innermost room.
At the sight, Lin Yuan's pupils changed instantly, and his golden pupils surveyed the room in a moment.
That single look made the killing intent in Lin Yuan's heart threaten to burst forth like something tangible, but he ultimately forced it down.
The spacious room was filled with iron cages. Dozens of women were imprisoned in them like livestock, collars around their necks and their hands and feet shackled with chains.
Lin Yuan sensed waves of deathly aura coming from the women. Most of them had already lost hope of living, and he even spotted several who had died.
Drawing on his memories from his previous life, he spotted a blond woman among them. Dressed in rags and covered in wounds, she lay facedown on the ground, with a slave mark clearly visible on her exposed back: the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon.
"Huh? A few more died. Have those dogs come clean them up tomorrow. How unlucky."
"Hehe, that's fine. They'll make perfect food for my darlings. Since you don't want that woman you mentioned, Pops, hand her over to me. I'm going to have a good time playing with her."
Perverse smiles appeared on both their faces. Saint Rosward's son even drew the golden pistol at his waist and walked toward a blond woman: Stella, the very person Lin Yuan was looking for.
Lin Yuan stopped hiding and appeared in front of Saint Rosward and his son in an instant. He kicked them both, sending them flying.
The commotion startled everyone. Apart from those who were already dead, the others all stared at Lin Yuan in terror.
But when they saw that he had sent Saint Rosward and his son flying, their first reaction was to drop to their knees. They showed no emotion except fear.
Three others also knelt, but a trace of satisfaction flashed in their eyes. Stella was one of them.
"Ahhh! My bones are broken! You damned inferior human, how dare you sneak-attack the great Saint Rosward! I'll rip out your tendons, skin you, and turn you into a doll!"
Saint Rosward and his son screamed on the ground, cursing Lin Yuan and vowing to torture him mercilessly.
"Hmph. Inbred trash. With brains the size of cherries, you still can't see the situation you're in."
Lin Yuan walked up to Saint Rosward and his son and kicked them several times, mercilessly breaking their limbs and jaws. Their status as Celestial Dragons was utterly worthless before him and held no deterrent power whatsoever.
Without another glance at the pair writhing and screaming on the ground, Lin Yuan walked over to one of the cells and asked.
"Are you Stella?"
The blond woman struggled to raise her deathly pale face and looked at Lin Yuan in surprise.
"Are you Stella?"
Lin Yuan asked again. Only then did the blond woman struggle to nod and say in a hoarse voice.
"I am!"
"You can still answer. Looks like there's still a reason to save you."
As he spoke, Lin Yuan gripped the iron bars with both hands and pulled. He tore an opening in them in an instant, then went inside and removed Stella's chains.
"Luckily, they didn't put a slave collar on you. Otherwise, it really would have been troublesome."
Lin Yuan could not help feeling relieved. He was not all-powerful, and he could not remove a slave collar as easily as Dark King Rayleigh.
"Don't ask anything else. Just know that I'm here to save you."
Lin Yuan picked Stella up as he spoke. By now, she had been tortured so badly that she lacked even the strength to walk. If Lin Yuan had not come, she probably would not have lived more than a few days, even without Saint Rosward and his son doing anything.
As for the others, it was not that Lin Yuan did not want to save them, but that he simply had no way to take them with him. He was somewhat confident he could manage Stella alone, but taking so many people was out of the question.
Besides, nearly all of them had already been completely broken in and had long since become no different from animals.
Lin Yuan carried Stella toward the exit, but his steps were not quick. They were even somewhat slow.
"My lord, save us..."
Suddenly, two voices rang out, their tones full of fear and determination, like drowning people clutching at their last straw.
Lin Yuan stopped. He did not look at the two behind him, but a faint smile appeared on his lips.