Chapter 374: Wall of Fat, the Man-Eating King
Lily's words caused the man, who resembled both a chef and a doctor, to pause momentarily, his gaze falling on the scattered trap parts near the breached hole. A cold smile appeared on his face as he said, "That natural disaster will be dealt with. Do you think our king is just for show? And do you think I rely solely on traps? Let me show you."
He drew a long chef's knife from his waist and pointed it at Lily. "I am Herod, head chef of the Yunshan Kingdom!"
"A swordsman?" Lily appraised him with a glance. "You don't seem very strong. You lack the aura unique to skilled swordsmen."
Both those with strong observational skills and powerful swordsmen could sense the aura of a fine sword and its wielder, but Lily didn't sense anything exceptional from this man, Herod.
"I am a head chef!" Herod exclaimed, gripping his chef's knife tightly and bringing it down in a vertical slash towards Lily.
There was no visible force or technique to the descending blade; it was a simple downward slash, albeit one with impressive speed.
Lily was about to draw her sword to block, but just as her sword touched Herod's chef's knife, a strange smile curved his lips.
It was as if some plot had come to fruition or he had foreseen something satisfying.
In that instant, a red dot flashed in Lily's eyes, and her sword, upon colliding with the chef's knife, was stained with a layer of darkness.
Clang!
The slender sword, no wider than two fingers, collided with the chef's knife, emitting a crisp sound.
"Impossible!" Herod exclaimed in shock, but he was quick to react. After his initial strike missed, he swiped his blade along Lily's sword, aiming for her shoulder.
Swish!
The blade sliced through a phantom afterimage, smoothly cutting through the white stone bricks beneath and leaving a gaping slash in its wake.
Lily appeared on the other side, her brow furrowed slightly.
She had sensed something amiss during that brief moment and had just managed to use her Haki in time.
Glancing at the smooth cut on the ground, she asked, "A Devil Fruit user?"
"That's right," Herod confirmed. "I ate the 'Anatomy Anatomy Fruit' and became the 'Anatomist'. As a head chef, I can smoothly cut through tough bones and thick flesh."
"Until now, neither hard stone nor fine iron swords have been able to withstand my ability!" Herod added, his hands tightening around the chef's knife. "That sword of yours seems quite extraordinary. After you're dead, I'll take a closer look at it."
"I see," Lily nodded. "As a swordsman, even if you don't understand Haki, you should still be able to sense the strength and aura of your opponent."
"I told you, I'm not a swordsman, I'm a head chef!" Herod insisted, raising his knife high and quickly advancing towards Lily. Just as he was about to bring his knife down, his eyes flickered, and a cold light flashed past his neck like thunder.
His raised knife froze in that position for a moment before he turned his head to look at Lily, who had her back to him. With a sinister smile, he spun around and brought his knife down in a chopping motion.
"Useless."
The shout, full of vigor, suddenly weakened at the last word, as if it had been cut off. With the dissipation of the voice, the head rolled away from the neck and tumbled to the ground.
Lily performed a sword flourish and sheathed White Lightning.
Clack.
As the sword returned to its scabbard, the head hit the ground, and the headless body fell with it.
Turning away from the dead man, Lily walked towards the hole and paused at its entrance. "Compared to being a swordsman, you're even worse as a chef. Any one of the chefs on our ship is better than you, a man with no hint of flavor about him."
Anyone who cooks regularly would naturally carry the scents of the ingredients and dishes they prepare.
Each member of their Natural Disaster Pirate crew's kitchen staff, including Mary, exuded the lingering essence of the ingredients they worked with.
Mary's scent, however, leaned more towards spices—subtle yet pleasant.
Whether it was due to her exceptional culinary skills or the Life Return ability, it was hard to say.
"King?" Lily stepped out of the hole and eyed the lengthy corridor ahead, shaking her head. "No king, no matter how powerful, can be Saggitarius' match."
It was undeniable that there were still many strong individuals on the high seas, but strength had its limits.
Kaido, for instance, was recognized as the most powerful in terms of land, sea, and air combat, and Sagittarius had now reached a similar level of prowess.
If there were someone who could rival Sagittarius, the Yunshan Kingdom wouldn't be so unknown. Instead, it would be renowned worldwide, much like the Flower Country.
Chapter: "Just a Chef?"
Lily extended her finger and rubbed the wall again, frowning at the crystal-clear light on her fingertip. "Oil?"
...
Bright and luminous, the fluorite glowed on the white walls.
Even Sagittarius' hair reflected the light, adding another layer of radiance to the already glowing surroundings.
Aside from that, there was nothing else.
"What the hell? What's the point of this place? Is this even a royal palace?"
Sagittarius rolled his eyes, unable to hide his frustration.
As far as he could see, there were no signs of gold, jewels, statues, or weapons—all the usual trappings of a castle or royal palace. Apart from the bright, white walls, there was nothing.
White, white, and more white!
He currently stood in an exceptionally spacious indoor hall, with nothing but corridors and walls in every direction.
Initially, he had hoped to wander around in search of treasure, as was the way of pirates.
But now, Sagittarius had lost all interest.
What kind of royal palace is this?
The poorest royal palace Sagittarius had encountered before was in Alabasta, and even then, they had money. Their king may have been penniless, but they still had the essentials.
Sagittarius had expected to find riches here, considering the heavy taxes they imposed on their people, pushing them to the brink of starvation.
However, seeing their current state, he realized that this kingdom took the crown for poverty.
"They're so poor they had to hollow out a mountain? Might as well make it an open-air palace in the center of the kingdom."
"It wasn't like this before. When the previous king was in power, this place was wealthy. King Fernan sold everything."
As Sagittarius' words trailed off, an echo resounded in the spacious hall.
He glanced back and saw a middle-aged man with a white coat and a chef's apron walking out from another passageway behind him.
This man, with his unkempt beard and hair full of grime, looked like a vagabond, his clothes stained with various-sized paint splotches, making him look even more disheveled than Kuzan.
"Greetings."
He bowed slightly, performing a local custom.
"I am Grace, a flame chef!"
"Oh? One of my crew has been talking about you non-stop. Now that I see you here, it seems he was right about you joining this place?" Sagittarius inquired.
"No, no, I sneaked in. The king doesn't allow me to enter, so I had to do this. Earlier, I dug a hole underground, planning to plead with the king. But the guards are too strict. Aside from the sentry below, there's Highneel guarding the hall, and Hirode protecting the king on both sides of the passage. However, with your arrival, they're distracted, so I seized the opportunity to come over."
Grace's eyes shone with excitement and enthusiasm as he explained, "I've discovered a new method, and this time, I'm confident it will create a new flame that won't harm people. It's a real, usable flame!"
He gestured animatedly, "This flame doesn't conflict with the flame the king desires. He will definitely agree because with this flame, we can cook, and everyone can have their fill!"
"How do you plan to do it?" Sagittarius asked, intrigued.
"Look, this is my invention!"
Grace pulled out a transparent jar containing a substance that looked like liquid but also had the qualities of a gas.
"I call it the Fire Flow Jar. It's small, but if it collides violently in an enclosed space, it will explode. The gas released from the explosion is combustible, so we can start a fire!"
Sagittarius raised an eyebrow, "So, the explosions I saw earlier were caused by this?"
"No, that was me."
Grace scratched his head apologetically, "I just wanted to bring fire. I thought I would definitely succeed, but I failed again. However, it was through these continuous failures and my final adjustments that I discovered this method!"
"Since this thing emits toxic gas and can't be used directly, why not just blow up the mountain?"
Grace smiled, "According to my calculations, if we detonate it here, we can create an eruption similar to a volcanic explosion, triggering the volcano inside the island. After a brief eruption, some of the terrain will change."
"Although it's not a fire stone, the extremely hot rocks that will appear afterward can be used for boiling and grilling, but it's not fire, so it doesn't go against the king's order!"
"As long as it explodes, this country will be saved!"
"..."
Sagittarius paused, looking at Grace as if he were mentally challenged, and pointed to the ground, "And this is?"
"The Royal Palace?"
"Where is the royal palace located?"
"Our Yunshan Kingdom's royal palace is embedded in the mountain. It's a very representative kingdom. Before the old king died, this place was a tourist attraction, with some areas open to visitors."
"Hmm, then what are you planning to do?"
"Blow up the mountain."
"That's the problem."
Sagittarius laughed, "You've got a talent for clowning around, hahaha!"
Grace paused, realizing what he intended, and forced a bitter smile.
"Furthermore, if you do that, you won't be pleasing either side. You've probably been rejected by the people of this country, haven't you?"
"It doesn't matter."
Grace bared his teeth in a bright smile that contrasted with his disheveled appearance, "I'm already disliked, so let them continue to dislike me. I'm not the kind of person who cares about such things."
Thud!
As soon as he finished speaking, a dull sound echoed from the wall in front of them.
"Food! Isn't the food ready yet!"
A peculiarly heavy voice resounded from within the wall.
Indeed, heavy.
The word shouldn't be used to describe a voice, but Sagittarius couldn't shake the feeling.
He let out a soft exclamation, and a red dot appeared in his eyes as he extended his Observation Haki. A look of surprise crossed his face.
Thump, thump, thump.
Footsteps approached from behind, and a group of chefs emerged, pushing large food carts. They streamed out from the small passages on either side of the front wall and pushed their carts straight into the wall.
As if being absorbed, the carts entered the glowing wall and soon reappeared, but now they were empty, as if the food had never existed.
Only after all the food from the carts had been taken did the chefs breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hey, you..."
One of the chefs noticed Sagittarius and Grace and was about to speak when the huge white glowing wall shook again.
"Not enough! Not nearly enough! I can smell it! It's delicious, healthy, top-quality meat! Fine food, better than any ingredient!"
The heavy voice seemed to make the 'wall' quiver, like watery fat flowing down, rushing forward and stopping right in front of Sagittarius.
"Oh! That's the taste, that's it!"
The flowing white substance tinged with yellow began to take shape. Within the wall, a gigantic face emerged, its features distorted by layers of fat. At that moment, its nose twitched, and its eyes, obscured by the fat, signaled greed and longing to Grace, who took a few steps back.
The fat face wore an expression of extreme intoxication, "Tender meat, delicious meat, top-quality meat, that's it! I want to eat that!"
Sagittarius realized that this wasn't a wall at all but a mass of flowing fat.
The light emanating from the wall wasn't from some special device but was simply a layer of fat glistening in the light.
Disgusting...
"Ugh... Hey, Grace, is that your king?" Sagittarius asked, turning to his companion.
Grace swallowed hard, "I don't know. The last time I came, I was stopped from entering. Although King Fernande used to be overweight, he didn't look like this."
This... This wasn't even human anymore.
Yet, despite the distortion caused by the layers of fat, Grace could still make out the king's features. They bore a resemblance to Fernande's.
"I want to eat that! I want to eat that!" King Fernande roared, his voice heavy as if his vocal cords were being squeezed, escaping through a tiny gap and stretching into a thin line, resulting in the thunderous sound.
"Your Majesty! That's a person!"
One of the chefs nearby cautioned, "You can't eat that! Please wait a moment, and we'll prepare a new top-class dish for you right away!"
"No top-class dish will do! I'm sick of that food! I want that now!"
King Fernande's eyelids fluttered, sending waves rippling across his face, revealing a pair of enormous eyes devoid of lids. They were filled with a ravenous desire.
His mouth opened wide, and a stream of drool flowed, "This meat would taste good raw, too!"
(End of Chapter)
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