Chapter 30: The Color of the Conqueror!
Chapter 30: The Color of the Conqueror!
Below them, in addition to the group of armed soldiers, there was a skinny man with a goatee, dressed in extravagant clothing and draped in a cloak that resembled a red carpet. He also wore a crown on his head.
This must be the king!
"Murdock!!"
Before Sage could make a move, a group of people emerged from the hole in the ground, with Lily leading the way, followed by the pirates. After them, a pink-haired little creature leaped up, brandishing a long hammer and smashing it downward with force.
Murdock was taken aback and instinctively backed away, shouting, "Protect me!"
Even the weakest of kings would have decent bodyguards by their side.
Two guards reacted, pulling Murdock away and blocking the incoming hammer.
Bang! Bang!
The sound of the impacts, accompanied by bursts of kinetic energy, sent the two guards flying into the hole, leaving only their heads peeking out.
Renitia landed on the ground and glared at Murdock, baring her teeth in anger. "You old fart, you old coot, you hemorrhoid-ridden freak, you son of a gun! Don't you dare try to run, I'm gonna smash you to bits!"
"I'm not old at all!!"
Murdock backed away in a panic, taking refuge among the soldiers. Hearing Renitia's words, his eyes turned white, and he spun around, baring his fangs and roaring.
"Hmph."
After roaring for a while, he calmed down and looked up at Sage, who was floating in the air with swirling waves of energy beneath his feet. Murdock smiled and said, "So, you are Norton Sage? You look impressive indeed. But with such a small crew, do you think you can defeat my two thousand soldiers?"
He spread his arms wide and laughed heartily. "This is the entire kingdom's military might! Let me make you an offer: How about pledging your allegiance to me? You're a black-sailed pirate who has caught the Navy's attention. Out on the high seas, no one can protect you, but I can! Submit to me, bow down to me, and I will grant you my protection!"
"Isn't the life of a pirate all about seeking fortune? With this invincible ship, my two thousand soldiers, and your crew, all the treasures of the East Blue will be ours! Isn't that what pirates are after? As long as you get the loot, who cares about some mythical One Piece? It's nothing but an excuse to set sail, and it probably doesn't even exist!"
Murdock pointed at Renitia. "Kill her, and everything I've promised will come true!"
"You..."
Renitia clutched her hammer tightly, her gaze instinctively shifting upward to Sage.
Murdock was right; they were nothing but a group of pirates, with no family to speak of. Just moments ago, they had been enemies. If this terrifying man agreed...
Sage slowly raised his hand, extending his index finger and aiming it at Renitia, causing her to break out in a sweat. But the next moment, he withdrew his finger and pointed it at Murdock instead.
Although Murdock didn't know what would happen, he instinctively sensed the danger and took a step back, using the soldiers as a human shield.
"Never mind."
Sage thought for a moment and lowered his finger.
"That's more like it!"
Murdock secretly breathed a sigh of relief and grinned. "Then hand over Renitia."
Bang!
The figure in the air dropped like a cannonball, smashing into the group of soldiers in front of him and sending them flying. They crashed into the walls of the grand palace, their blood splattering across the surface.
In the blink of an eye, Murdock realized that the human wall of soldiers had vanished, replaced by a hideous, towering figure.
"When I said 'never mind,' it meant I didn't feel like using Finger Gun on you," Sage explained as he drew the flintlock pistol from his waist and pressed it against Murdock's head. His finger rested on the trigger. "But if it's an execution we're after, a gun feels more fitting."
Murdock froze, afraid to even move his head. Cold sweat trickled down his face, and he trembled as he shouted, "I am a king! I am the king of a government-affiliated country! And you are just a petty pirate! Killing me would mean offending the World Government, and that's a grave sin!"
Pirates typically avoided targeting the World Government, and even the Navy, unless absolutely necessary.
No one engaged in meaningless battles without reason, not even madmen. Even they had their motives.
Pirates weren't madmen; why would they go up against the World Government?
To kill the king of an affiliated country would be to declare war on the World Government!
"Didn't you say it yourself? That I destroyed a country. Care to guess how I did it?" Sage asked, his eyes fixed on Murdock as he slowly revealed a sinister smile. "I don't know if the One Piece exists or not, but the treasures of the East Blue—they're mine. There's no 'us' in this equation."
"I've always been the one giving, never receiving. You sank my treasure and pinned the blame on me. Now you want to capture me after saying a few words?"
Bang!
The trigger was pulled.
Murdock's body suddenly jerked backward, lifting off the ground by an inch before falling back into the crowd.
His eyes widened in terror, and a bullet hole appeared on his forehead.
"This is such a great deal that I wouldn't even dare to think about it. Who the hell do you think you are?" Sage coldly huffed.
"Lord Murdock!"
"Your Majesty!"
Shouts of alarm and agitation erupted from the soldiers.
Their king had just been killed by a pirate!
"Take them down! Avenge the king!"
After the initial commotion, the soldiers aimed their weapons at Sage, and those closest to him even lunged with their spears.
"Tsk!"
Without even bothering to look, Sage kicked out, unleashing a massive, translucent blue slash.
"Rasen Shuriken: Big Dipper Cut!"
The slash cleanly bisected the nearest soldier at the waist, then swiftly flew toward the palace gates, spraying blood along the way. It only lost some of its momentum when it reached the entrance, knocking over the remaining soldiers and sending them flying out of the palace.
With that, the path before him was unobstructed.
The remaining soldiers inside the palace immediately fled outside, but they were greeted by an even larger force.
Two thousand soldiers created a veritable sea of people.
Even if the palace was packed, there were only about a hundred soldiers inside. Sage's kick had taken out twenty, and another thirty had been kicked out. The rest had fled.
"Cannons! Fire the cannons! Don't engage in close combat!"
The soldiers outside reacted swiftly, pushing out cannons from various locations. Behind the cannons, groups of soldiers holding firearms quickly formed battle lines and advanced toward the castle.
"Sage, what do we do now?"
Lily gripped her rapier tightly as she looked at the approaching soldiers and asked anxiously.
There were just too many of them.
Even if they stood their ground and fought, they would be overwhelmed.
"Use the ship!"
Renitia suddenly spoke up. "Outside the castle is the ship launch area. We can go there since the terrain here is sloping. My ship can withstand cannon fire!"
"That's unnecessary. Even if the ship can withstand cannon fire, it will still take some damage. That's my new ship. Besides, I can get treasure anytime, but this is the king's treasure we're talking about. A king's treasure must be much more than what a mayor has."
Sage narrowed his eyes and returned to his original size.
He turned to Akin and instructed, "Akin, take some people to gather the treasure."
Akin was taken aback and hadn't reacted yet when Renitia interrupted, "We can get treasure anytime, but with so many people here, if we're surrounded..."
"Lily."
Before Renitia could finish, Sage cut her off and said to Lily, "Stay away from me. I still can't control it completely."
With that, he strode out of the castle.
Outside, a large number of soldiers were closing in. The cannons were repositioned to aim at the interior of the castle.
On the sloping terrain surrounding the castle, a sea of two thousand soldiers surged, all facing the lone figure standing at the palace entrance.
Sage looked at the approaching soldiers, his expression calm, but his pupils flashed with a scarlet light.
He had returned to his normal size, but this wasn't his limit. With an 80% boost from the Dragon Breath Technique, he was confident he could take on these two thousand soldiers. Even if he was surrounded and accidentally hit by gunfire, his current physical body could withstand some injuries.
If it came to a fight, he could finish it in one night.
However, there was a better way to handle these weaklings.
"Fire—"
Hum!
Before he could even finish the word 'fire,' Sage's pupils narrowed, and he glared at them.
In that instant, the soldiers' bodies stiffened, their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed, unconscious.
Boom!
Numerous cannonballs were fired before they could be properly aimed, exploding on the castle and the ground, setting the area ablaze.
Amidst the flames and under the starry sky, only one person remained standing outside the castle.
The Conquerer's Haki!
(End of Chapter)
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