The Big Eater Lu Ye

Bang!

The sound of shattering glass suddenly rang out!

Everyone present turned to look once again.

It was absolutely true!

This was the first time Lu Ye had drunk milk from a bottle as a baby in this life-

Though he had done it entirely unconsciously.

It was also the first time Sullivan, an experienced nursery steward of the Holy Land, had witnessed such powerful suction-

The nipple had been sucked whole into Lu Ye's mouth, the milk had vanished in an instant, and finally the empty bottle had burst apart from the bottom!

What a terrifying appetite...

Sullivan shuddered, unable to help wondering whether the baby before him was actually a ferocious Sea King.

Doffy and Rosy were even more shocked, their jaws hanging open:

Good grief!

They had just been worried that their third brother might die young. Now, clearly, they should be more worried about whether this thing ate people!

Aila, the muscular maid with twin ponytails, looked wary. She spread her arms and quickly stepped in front of Doffy and Rosy.

Garling, who had only just walked away, also looked over at the sound and happened to witness the unbelievable scene.

After drinking the milk, the withered, listless baby had visibly filled out a little.

"Life Return?" Garling's eyes lit up.

In the world of the Pirate King, once a person had developed their body to a certain stage, they could achieve perfect control over it, down to every hair and every muscle. This technique was known as Life Return.

The most important manifestation of Life Return was the ability to quickly convert food into pure life energy through eating.

In the world of the Pirate King, the offspring of most powerful people naturally preferred meat and had astonishing appetites. This was itself a reflection of their level of life.

If there was any way to counterbalance the Armament Haki that could not be turned off, perhaps the only option was to eat a great deal and use Life Return to quickly replenish the lost life energy.

Garling's lips curled. "I'm growing more and more interested in this little monster. If he survives, I'll grant him special permission to join the knights as a reserve."

Hoffman and his two companions saluted together. "Congratulations, Saint Garling!"

Meanwhile, Lu Ye had thrown away the broken bottle in his hand. After gagging twice, he spat out a rubber nipple and several shards of glass.

Doffy picked up the other two bottles and handed them to Liana. She pulled off the nipples and held the bottles to Lu Ye's mouth.

Sullivan was watching Lu Ye drink with great anxiety when he suddenly noticed a shadow falling over him.

He slowly turned his head and found Hoffman, with his leopard-like face and round, glaring eyes, standing behind him. Sullivan jolted, cold sweat trickling down his cheeks as he trembled too much to speak clearly:

"H-Ho... Ho..."

"No need for words."

Hoffman cut him off and said coolly, "By Saint Garling's command, gather all the baby food in the Holy Land and give priority to Saint Longinus. You're in charge."

"Me?"

Sullivan froze. He was only an obscure nursery steward of the Donquixote Family, not even qualified to look after the young Celestial Dragons once they had been weaned.

Hoffman narrowed his eyes slightly, an unmistakable murderous intent flashing through them. "I repeat, you're in charge. Move, now!"

"Yes, sir!"

Sullivan gritted his teeth and answered loudly.

Only afterward did Sullivan discover that it was not the Holy Land's stewards gathering the baby food, but all the CP Agents in the Holy Land. The agents were already on the move, carrying all kinds of containers as they rushed to the ranch where the Holy Land kept its animals.

These fellows seemed quite dependable and professional-at killing, of course...

Clad in sharply pressed suits of pure black or pure white, they moved swiftly with stern faces, their flickering figures leaving trails of dust across the ground.

Sullivan swallowed and held a silent moment of mourning for the animals at the ranch.

Garling had already left. Flora and Evan stood atop the building, overseeing the massive milk-transport operation.

Hoffman, meanwhile, stood quietly behind Liana, ensuring her safety.

Sullivan realized that, given how CP Agents operated, what need did they have for a commander? All they needed was an objective. After that, even if a city wall stood in their way, they would blow straight through it and continue along their original route.

So all he had to do was handle the final step of feeding the baby...

Thank goodness. That was his specialty.

Sullivan stole a glance at Hoffman and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, the Holy Land ranch was in complete chaos:

Besides cows, sheep, tigers, and leopards, the ranch also had a giant Sea King that supplied animal milk exclusively to young Celestial Dragons.

Bobo, a giant Sea King resembling a spotted dairy cow, had been kept in the Holy Land for three hundred years. She was gentle and even-tempered, ate only fruit and vegetables, and had never received a bad review throughout her career thanks to her reliable milk production.

Now, however, more than a dozen vicious-looking agents had roughly whipped her to the ground, and tears of humiliation welled up in her little eyes.

Without a word, the agents forcibly milked Bobo into an assortment of oddly shaped containers that had no business being used for milking, including vases, watering cans, water jars, and fish tanks.

The other animals fared no better. If one was caught and lifted up only to be found male, it would still get a couple of kicks for its trouble.

Not only were the dairy cows and goats unable to escape, even the tigresses in the woods were dragged from their dens and slapped twice across the face before meekly letting their milk be squeezed into teapots.

The ranch stewards were all heartbroken, but though they were angry, they dared not speak.

In just over ten minutes, the killers of Cipher Pol were already marching proudly in a long line, delivering milk to the Donquixote Family's residence.

Lu Ye performed as consistently as ever.

At first, Sullivan poured the milk into small bottles and delicately scented the nipples with osmanthus.

However, after Lu Ye sucked more than a dozen bottles to pieces in succession, Sullivan felt a headache coming on.

In the ensuing scramble, he failed to hold on to Lu Ye, who darted forward and almost fell into a water jar full of Bobo's milk.

In a panic, Sullivan grabbed Lu Ye by his little feet, but Lu Ye plunged his face into the jar and began drinking straight from it.

The disrespectful act made Hoffman's eyes flash with cold light. Sullivan forced an apologetic smile, looking miserable as cold sweat soaked his tailcoat.

Fortunately, Lu Ye saved his life through his actions. His tiny body sucked down the milk in the enormous jar little by little until he had drunk every last drop.

The pitch-black Armament Haki covering his body receded like the tide, retreating from the top of his head to his forehead, then to his neck, his chest, his arms, and finally his wrists...

There it stopped completely. His hands, still covered in Armament Haki, were black as if he were wearing gloves.

His body filled out as well, returning to its original adorably chubby appearance.

Lu Ye had regained consciousness when the Armament Haki receded to his neck. Now he looked around blankly, taking stock of the situation:

He was stark naked, and his only diaper was nowhere to be found. It had most likely fallen victim to a certain goddess with vulgar tastes; everyone knew she had lost her own panties.

There was no telling where that damned rat Jinbao had gone. He had most likely fled to escape punishment.

Lady Daisy was looking at him tenderly, her eyes red and swollen, her face full of affection.

Several pretty nurses were feeling him all over, checking whether he had been left with any aftereffects.

The little steward Sullivan was holding him, his mouth turned down and tears threatening to fall. A look at the leopard-faced, round-eyed Third Master Zhang behind him was probably enough to understand how Sullivan felt.

The two little blondies, Doffy and Rosy, were hiding behind the muscular maid with twin ponytails, looking at him warily.

Lu Ye smacked his lips. From an angle Lady Daisy could not see, he gave the two of them the middle finger and made a face.

A moment later, the nurse bowed respectfully. "Congratulations, Liana-gu. Everything is normal with Saint Longinus..."

Before she could finish, Hoffman's deep voice rang out. "It's not over. Keep the food coming!"

Everyone looked closely at Lu Ye. Sure enough, the pitch-black Armament Haki was spreading again, beginning to creep up his arms.

Sullivan freed one hand and flipped open his pocket watch. "Fifteen minutes. That's the interval between Saint Longinus's feedings."

Hoffman nodded and shouted an order to the line of agents. "Everyone, take your assigned places. Step forward once every fifteen minutes."

The CP Agents in line raised their hands and shouted their assent, as though they were undertaking some exceptionally glorious mission.

Lu Ye looked at the pitch-black Armament Haki rising up his arms and could not help feeling disheartened...

Is Sixth Master's willpower really that weak?

Eating once every fifteen minutes? Doesn't that make me a complete good-for-nothing? Add greed and lust to the list of flaws...

Ah, what a miserable, miserable fate!

Good thing I'm a Celestial Dragon. Even as a good-for-nothing, I can live comfortably.

At that thought, Lu Ye gave himself a light, annoyed slap on the cheek:

Lu Ye, oh, Lu Ye, how can you still be feeling lucky? What grade of disability is being a good-for-nothing? You're a dignified Double-flower Red Pole!

It's decided! Starting tomorrow, no more lust!

Mm, let's give it up for ten years first.

At dusk, Homing, whom no one had paid any attention to, woke with a start on the grass.

Ever since the guards had rescued him from his residence, he had been temporarily placed on the lawn in the backyard. Later, Garling had sent all the agents to prepare food for Lu Ye, and everyone had forgotten about him.

Only now did he wake up on his own.

Homing rubbed his dark circles and looked around wide-eyed. His residence felt both familiar and strange.

The Holy Land's residential areas were divided by family. After turning one, family members moved out of the family nursery and could choose to build their own residence or stay temporarily at their parents' residence.

Doffy and Rosy each had their own residence, although Rosy always slept in Doffy's.

The residences were mostly built in the style of small castles, though everyone added a few personal touches.

Homing's castle, for example, had his name painted in gold on the dome, along with a golden lion design.

This castle had been with Homing since childhood.

But... it had not been this battered before!

Here! There weren't several big holes in the wall, or those spears stuck in it...

There! The door... the door wasn't this big, either.

Wait... where's my doorframe?!

Homing's heart pounded. He rubbed his dark circles again, confirmed that he was not seeing things, and cautiously stepped into the battle-damaged residence.

The floor, which should have been spotless, was now covered in rubble and wood chips that crunched underfoot.

The glittering gold bed had been twisted into a corkscrew, and one of its legs was embedded in the ceiling, swaying whenever the wind blew.

The bookshelves that had covered the walls had been smashed to pieces, and books lay scattered everywhere...

Wooden furniture was strewn about in pieces. If a carpenter could put it back together, even he would deserve praise for his "superb craftsmanship."

As Homing looked around, a mist suddenly clouded his vision, and the dark circles around his eyes turned red as well.

"Homing, is that you?"

A soft woman's voice came from the dimness.

"Liana..."

Looking at the slender silhouette across from him, Homing could no longer hold back his grievances. Tears streamed down his face as he ran over and threw himself at her:

"Liana, our home is gone..."

"I'm sorry, Homing. I only remembered to look for you after I'd sent the children back."

Liana gently stroked Homing's soft, long hair. "Our home is still here. I'm still here, Doffy and Rosy are still here, and Longinus is all right now too."

Something happened to Longinus?

A bolt of lightning seemed to flash through Homing's mind. His foggy head cleared somewhat, and he recalled some of what had happened before he fainted:

"I remember... Longinus almost killed me, didn't he?"

Liana could not help laughing, but a moment later she sank into deep anguish again.

Sensing his wife's feelings, Homing felt around behind him and found two low stools. One had only two legs left, while the other was reduced to a round wooden seat.

Homing gave Liana the two-legged stool and placed the round board on a large piece of rubble for himself.

"Liana, what exactly happened while I was unconscious?"

Liana was silent for quite a while before recounting the day's events:

Hearing that Lu Ye had unexpectedly gone berserk and reduced the residence to ruins,

Homing scratched his head. My own son did it? Well, nothing to be done about that. Good thing he's all right.

Hearing that Garling had assigned agents to stay by his side, Homing was suddenly seized by a bad feeling.

Homing had been prepared for Longinus's Insomnia to attract the attention of the Celestial Dragons' upper ranks, but he had not expected Hero King Garling, who had made his name in the battle of God Valley.

Feigning composure, Homing gave an awkward laugh. "That's only natural. Liana, you have the same surname as him. By common folk's reckoning, Longinus should call him uncle."

Liana sighed and went on to speak of Lu Ye's madness. If his feeding was delayed, he would lose his senses, and even dozens of ordinary people could not restrain him.

Homing patted his chest and promised cheerfully, "Just trust me, Liana. I'll be a good father. I won't delay even a second."

Liana fell silent for a moment, then said in despair, "Homing, the madness is Armament Haki that can't be turned off, and he relies on Life Return to eat quickly..."

Thud-

Homing slipped off his seat and landed on his backside. For a long while, he did not get up.

Insomnia could be a simple physical mutation, but mastering Armament Haki and Life Return just seven days after birth was anything but simple.

Even Homing, an idle Celestial Dragon on the fringes, knew how extraordinary that talent was.

The Five Elders might allow him, Homing, to give up his noble status, but they would never agree to let a powerful bloodline pass out of their control.

Neither of them spoke until moonlight streamed through the doorway onto Homing's pale face.

"Liana, let's put off leaving the Holy Land for now. We'll wait until Longinus is a little older and see how he feels about it."

"Mm."

Liana answered softly, her voice thick with tears.