The Nameless Red-haired Boy

For the next five days.

The same thing kept happening in the residences of more than thirty other Celestial Dragons.

Panic spread outside Pangaea Castle.

At seven every morning, they were jolted awake by the earth-shaking sound of hammering iron.

During the day, their neighbors' homes might be violently demolished.

A blond delinquent in a floral shirt came and went with his men, reducing magnificent castles to poverty in the blink of an eye, like a swarm of locusts passing through.

Even at night, there was no peace.

Wheels rattled and horses whinnied as gold gleaming in the moonlight clattered past their doors, hauled into the Donquixote family grounds.

The Knights came by at one point. Lu Ye took the flag from Sullivan and shouted:

"The Path of the Strong, authorized by Garling! Everyone not involved, get out of here!"

The bearded man from the Knights grinned and left.

He just left...

He just left!

The Celestial Dragon who had reported them stared in disbelief, then saw Lu Ye walking toward him with a wicked grin.

Having done such a great deed by punishing the wicked and protecting the innocent, Lu Ye had been ready to face the reckless opposition of his relatives. His loving iron fists would have set them straight.

To his surprise, once enough Celestial Dragons had been robbed, not only did nobody resist, but every one of them grew excited instead...

As if they had Stockholm syndrome.

Thirty or forty Celestial Dragons, disabled but undaunted, some wrapped in bandages, some on crutches, and others in wheelchairs, cheerfully crowded around Lu Ye. They offered him suggestions, told him whose homes held the most gold, and even sent out their personal agents to help him carry it.

Their enthusiasm almost made Lu Ye feel guilty:

I only robbed you of a little gold. Do you have to go this crazy? How about I let you be the Mad King instead?

After robbing a few more homes, Lu Ye finally caught on.

In the past, the Celestial Dragons of the Holy Land had their conflicts too, but their CP Agents and slaves were no use, and their own amateurish martial arts couldn't hurt anyone in a fight. If they actually used guns or cannons, the Knights would come and execute them...

They could either swallow their grievances or move away to avoid seeing each other.

Now that they had been robbed anyway, they might as well seize the chance to settle all their old and new grudges.

Some Celestial Dragons with long-standing grudges even welcomed him with food and drink and surrendered with due ceremony, volunteering to let Lu Ye ransack their homes. Of course, he could ransack their neighbors' homes while he was at it, and it would be even better if he gave them a beating.

Lu Ye rubbed the back of his head, unable to get over it for quite a while.

Sir Lu had been a gangster for eighteen years, and he had never seen a line of work this easy to get into.

With a wave of his hand, he had Sullivan register their names, taking the Celestial Dragons into his gang of villains to help him make money.

A white flag rose outside Pucout's home, bearing two black palms with their ten fingers spread like the rays of the sun.

The place had also practically become somewhere Rosy, Charlos, and Shalria came every day to join the fun and sneak food from Lu Ye's reserves.

What puzzled Lu Ye most was that Doffy was already attending classes every day, while Charlos, who was the same age, could loaf around without a care, happily swinging his long snot around every day.

On the sixth day, in the faint morning light, Mary Geoise was like a striptease dancer, draped in black gauze, looking lewd as though she wanted to refuse but was inviting it all the same.

Pah!

As usual, Lu Ye headed out with Rosy, followed by Sullivan, Hoffman, and the others, as well as a huge trailer loaded with food boxes.

When they reached the street corner outside Pucout's residence, Lu Ye was surprised to find a red-haired boy sitting on his iron ball.

Lu Ye took off his golden feather cloak, tossed it to Sullivan, and changed into his favorite floral shirt. He swaggered forward, chewing a sugar cake as he asked:

"Hey, brat, who are you?"

The red-haired boy wasn't wearing the standard Celestial Dragon spacesuit. Instead, he wore a form-fitting black combat suit, with a rather handsome cape hanging behind him.

It was the standard attire of the Knights, and there was a trace of Garling in his face.

The corners of the boy's mouth rose. "You're not qualified to know my name. If you need to call me something, Figarland will do."

"Isn't Figarland a surname?"

Lu Ye frowned. "How are you related to my uncle Garling?"

I've been in the world of the Pirate King for three years, and you're the biggest show-off I've ever met.

"My father thinks highly of you. He said the strongest member of the Knights in the future would be one of us. I don't believe anyone deserves to stand beside me as an equal, so I've wanted to meet you for a long time. Unfortunately..."

The boy spread his hands and jumped down from the iron ball. He stood about a meter tall and looked to be around Rosy's age.

The boy tilted his head up at Lu Ye and sneered:

"I heard you've been robbing people of their gold lately. I'm disappointed. That's just how three-year-olds are, fond of doing such childish, stupid things."

"Huh?"

Lu Ye cocked his head. He had broken into homes and robbed them of enough to get himself executed, yet he was being called childish?

Tsk, never heard that one before!

Rosy explained quietly, "Longinus, this is Lord Garling's son. He's five this year, like me.

"Don't ask me his name. That smug jerk only ever gives his surname when he introduces himself. By now, apart from him, I bet even Lord Garling has forgotten his name."

The boy fell silent for a few seconds. Then a vein bulged on his forehead, and he roared:

"How could anyone forget something like that?! Rosinante! Do you want to die?"

Rosy flinched and cowered behind Lu Ye. "Doffy was just telling me the other day that we should ambush him together."

"You two pieces of trash want to ambush me?"

The boy was so angry he laughed. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine, fine, fine. Rosinante, Doflamingo can die with you!"

At that moment, Doffy, who was on his way to school, felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine. He hurriedly pulled his spacesuit tighter and muttered in confusion:

"That's strange. I've been feeling chilly more and more often lately..."

"So... Figarland," Lu Ye said, brushing aside the short golden hair on his head, "you just want to fight me?"

"That's right, but to make sure you give it your all, let's put something on the line!"

The boy calmed himself a little and pointed at Hoffman. "If you lose, I'll take back the Hoffman Squad on my father's behalf."

Lu Ye turned to Hoffman. "Can this brat speak for my uncle Garling?"

Hoffman nodded slightly. "Both of you were chosen to walk the Path of the Strong. The Knights tacitly permit any conduct that intensifies the conflict between you."

"They're stirring things up that openly?"

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow and asked the boy, "What if I win?"

The boy pursed his lips and said with a straight face, "If you win, I'll tell you my name..."

Who the hell wants to know your name?! Do you think you're the heroine of a novel?!

Lu Ye cleared his throat and teased:

"How about this? If I win, when I get a dog someday, I'll give it your name..."

The boy's face flushed red in an instant, and he flew into a rage. "Longinus, you're asking to die! I won't hold back!"

Lu Ye rolled his neck, his lips curling into a cruel smile:

"Now, now, you'd better not hold back. I'm worried I won't get to enjoy myself either..."

Sparing the old and young and never hitting women-such hypocritical gentlemanly conduct was no creed for Lu Ye, a gangster and Double-flower Red Pole.

I'm three, and he's five. What's wrong with me going all out? Is that so despicable?

Once, when Shalria was bored, she had asked Lu Ye, "Longinus, if you ever face a girl as an enemy, would you still fight her?"

Lu Ye had answered without hesitation, "Just fighting an enemy isn't enough. I'd put at least two bullets in her chest, to make sure she doesn't somehow survive."

Shalria's breath had caught. "What if she's a pretty girl?"

Lu Ye still hadn't hesitated in the slightest. "Then I'd shoot her in the face first, followed by two shots to the chest."

Shalria had stared at him, speechless. After a long while, she had timidly asked, "What if she's a girl you like?"

This time, Lu Ye had paused, remembering the sister-in-law who had been blown to pieces in his previous life.

Seeing Lu Ye look thoughtful, Shalria had gently patted her chest in relief:

"Good, Longinus isn't completely hopeless after all..."

The next second, Lu Ye had shrugged:

"If the enemy is a woman I like, that's tricky. Three shots wouldn't be enough. I'd need at least two kilograms of explosives, so I wouldn't be reminded of her later and have my dao heart shaken..."

Shalria had looked as though she had been struck by lightning, her eyes wide as she felt deep despair for a love life that had yet to begin.