The members of the Silver Pirates knew nothing of what had happened to the Marines, but at that moment they had indeed found themselves in a spot of trouble—neither too big nor too small.
Because on their way to the port, a group of people stood directly in their path, and it was a group with a very special identity indeed.
And right now, aside from the Silver Pirates and this other group standing, everyone else present was on their knees, heads bowed low, not daring to look up at what was unfolding before them.
"Who are these people? They actually dare block a Celestial Dragon's path—do they have a death wish?"
A pirate crew hiding in the shadows murmured in confusion, feeling a bit relieved at the same time. Had they been out there just now, they would absolutely be among those kneeling on the ground right now.
"But those few look so familiar. I feel like I've seen them somewhere before." A crew member racked his brain, trying to recall.
"I remember now! They're the Silver Pirates!"
He suddenly spoke up, excited.
"The Silver Pirates? What kind of pirate crew is that?"
The pirate captain asked, puzzled. From the look of it, he was the kind of man who paid no attention to the outside world.
"They're the crew whose captain has a one-billion bounty."
"What?! One billion?" At those words, the captain's face was instantly filled with shock and bewilderment.
Were there really pirates in this world with a one-billion bounty?
Seeing their captain's expression, the crew members rubbed their faces in resignation. Their captain's strength wasn't bad—it was just his head that had a bit of a problem.
"Tch, a Celestial Dragon again."
Jorah said helplessly. They'd just dealt with one Celestial Dragon not long ago—was the universe now asking them to deal with another?
Maybe the one down below was feeling too lonely, so he'd specially delivered this one right to Shirakawa and the others.
They held no good feelings toward Celestial Dragons, and Taeyeon was staring at the one before them with undisguised hatred in her eyes.
"Who are you people? How dare you not kneel before this esteemed lord!"
One of the Celestial Dragon's lackeys immediately snapped at Shirakawa, his tone thick with pride. Being a bodyguard to a Celestial Dragon seemed to fill him with a great sense of honor.
The Celestial Dragon himself appeared utterly indifferent to all this, his eyes fixed hungrily on Adara.
After staring for a while, he nodded in satisfaction and said to his bodyguard, "Bring that woman to me."
That woman was, without question, Adara.
"Yes, master." Though they were bodyguards, the way they addressed the Celestial Dragon was no different from slaves.
Just as the bodyguard was about to move, a figure flashed past him, and then he felt a burst of pain shoot through his arms.
Looking down—both of his hands were on the ground. When had that happened?
"Ahhh!" He screamed in agony.
Salar had appeared before Adara at some point, a kitchen knife in his hand without a single trace of blood. That's right—the one who had just struck was Salar.
"Captain, what do we do now?"
Jorah asked Shirakawa. Whether this Celestial Dragon lived or died was entirely a matter of a single word from Shirakawa.
"Kill him. Since he dared lay eyes on our crew member, there's no point in letting him keep breathing."
Shirakawa said it quietly, but not a single person present failed to hear those words. Even those kneeling on the ground all looked up in shock.
They stared at Shirakawa and his crew with disbelief—and fear.
Do you think this is a cabbage, something you can just chop up on a whim? Don't you realize the one standing before you is a Celestial Dragon, the world's highest nobility?
"You dare lay a hand on me? Do you have any idea that if you so much as touch me, a Marine Admiral will come to arrest you?"
The Celestial Dragon declared arrogantly. With the protection of a Marine Admiral, he felt very confident right now.
"So what if you're a Celestial Dragon? It's not like we haven't killed one before."
A cold sneer appeared at the corner of Jorah's mouth.
"Not long ago, we really did kill a Celestial Dragon. I wonder—does the Holy Land happen to have a missing Celestial Dragon right now?"
"What?! It was you who killed my cousin?!"
At that moment, the way everyone looked at the Silver Pirates changed once again. These people were lunatics—they'd already killed a Celestial Dragon, yet they still dared to stroll around the Sabaody Archipelago in broad daylight.
"Oh, so that was your cousin. No wonder the two of you look somewhat alike."
Jorah had been wondering about that earlier—why these two Celestial Dragons bore such a resemblance. He'd originally assumed all Celestial Dragons looked like that, but it turned out there was an actual family relation between them.
Though, given the current state of the Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land, they couldn't marry outsiders; the only people they could marry were other Celestial Dragons.
So every Celestial Dragon bore at least some resemblance to the others. It wasn't without reason that these Celestial Dragons were all such imbeciles.
"Protect me! Protect me right now!"
The Celestial Dragon seemed to have grasped the situation and urgently shouted at his bodyguards. His cousin had died at these people's hands, and he had no desire to be next.
The bodyguards immediately moved to shield him.
"Don't worry. You'll be joining him down there soon enough."
But after Jorah said those words, not a single person made a move. To them, their opponents weren't even worth the effort.
"Hahaha! You don't dare, do you!"
Seeing this, the Celestial Dragon laughed smugly. He felt the Silver Pirates were putting on an empty show.
"What, none of you are going to act? You want me to do it myself?"
"Let me." At that moment, Mutt stepped forward.
He hadn't had a chance to show himself in front of the crew for a while. This was the perfect opportunity to display his strength.
"Then I'll go too," Mor said, stepping out as well.
Against small fry like these, he felt he could handle himself just fine.
"Fine. Leave it to the two of you."
Shirakawa said.
For some reason, none of the bodyguards of the two Celestial Dragons Shirakawa had encountered were particularly strong. Were these Celestial Dragons really that confident—certain no one would want to beat them up or kill them?
Mor and Mutt exchanged a grin. As the two formerly weakest members of the crew, now was their time to shine.
Mor cracked his knuckles. Mutt tapped his toes against the ground. Then the two of them charged at the group before them at incredible speed.
Their opponents drew their guns, but they never even got the chance to fire.
"Bye-bye."
After dealing with the bodyguards, Mor appeared directly in front of the Celestial Dragon.
Then, under the man's terrified gaze, Mor drove his fist straight into his face. In an instant, the shape of his face changed.
He went flying. A sturdier man might have taken that punch and walked away fine, but a Celestial Dragon raised in luxury from birth stood no chance.
"Ahhh!"
Seeing the Celestial Dragon sent flying, the scene erupted into chaos.
Everyone who had been kneeling scrambled to their feet and fled in all directions. What came next was beyond anything they could get involved in—they didn't even have the right to stick around and watch.
"Captain... these people are absolutely savage."
The pirate crew watching from the shadows swallowed hard.
"Let's get out of here. Once the Admiral shows up, we won't be able to escape."
"Yeah."
/-\
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