"You're joking… right? That's impossible!"
The squad captain stared in disbelief, craning his neck just to see Roldy's face.
Roldy raised an eyebrow and gave him a "kind" smile.
"Sorry. I don't joke with strangers."
The moment he finished speaking—
He stopped concealing his aura.
The presence of a top-tier powerhouse who had walked through mountains of corpses—whose bounty stood at 2,000,000,000 Berries—erupted outward without restraint.
A massive hand descended like a falling sky.
The ground trembled.
In the blink of an eye, the squad captain beneath his palm was reduced to a smear of flesh.
"M-Murder!!!"
The Kingdom's soldiers, supposedly elite warriors, went pale and scattered in blind panic.
Roldy shrugged and walked toward the royal castle as if nothing had happened.
Behind him, Sheen glanced back at the trembling nobles of the inner capital.
These were the "superiors" who fed upon the poor.
With pirates like Shiki—
None of them would survive.
Meanwhile — Inside the Royal Castle
King Charlesbarjon III of the Kingdom of Karl was celebrating.
Specifically—
He was celebrating his dog's fourth birthday.
For a king, nothing was trivial. Even his pet's birthday required lavish tribute from his ministers.
The officials didn't mind.
Money could always be squeezed from the peasants later.
A minister rose, raising his wine glass with exaggerated reverence. He praised the king's dog as noble and magnificent, then launched into shameless flattery of the king himself.
The performance was so obvious a child could see through it.
The king, however, basked in it.
"Your Majesty," the minister declared, "you are heaven's gift to Karl! Under your reign, we have never suffered pirate attacks. The people live in prosperity and joy! In fact, they are secretly planning to erect a golden statue in your honor!"
The people could barely afford boiled leather scraps.
Gold?
The king neither knew nor cared.
Overjoyed, he generously "rewarded" the minister by lending him the queen for one month.
"Your Majesty's grace is boundless!"
The minister's face turned slightly green.
The queen was the only daughter of the kingdom's sole duke—
And weighed over five hundred pounds.
The king, meanwhile, looked pleased. Freed temporarily from his wife, he waved his hand.
Moments later, over a dozen beautiful dancers entered.
The nobles drank and critiqued their figures as music played.
It was a "peaceful and prosperous" scene.
Until—
The doors burst open.
The captain of the royal guard crashed in, falling to the floor before scrambling forward on hands and knees.
"Y-Your Majesty! It's terrible! A violent intruder has stormed the capital!"
The music stopped.
The king's face flushed crimson.
He hurled his ornate goblet to the floor.
"Idiot! Have you lost your mind? This is Karl—MY kingdom! An intruder? Then why haven't I heard cannon fire?!"
The ministers smirked.
Karl was one of the New World's strongest kingdoms.
Who would dare attack it?
"It's true, Your Majesty! Please—run!"
The guard captain's father had once served the king faithfully. Out of old loyalty, he had rushed to warn him.
But the king was enraged.
"I'll stake my honor as king of Karl on this! If there's truly an intruder, I'll eat this table myself!"
His bold declaration rang out like a heroic vow.
As everyone knows—
Some flags should never be raised lightly.
Clap. Clap.
"Ah… Your Majesty is quite spirited," a calm voice echoed. "Will you eat it plain? Or with a bit of salt?"
Silence fell.
Roldy stood at the entrance.
The king's raised hand froze midair.
The nobles turned pale.
The generals who once boasted of their valor crawled under tables.
Roldy was terrifying.
His towering height.
His monstrous physique.
The blood staining his body.
Any fool could see—
A man like this did not arrive alone unless he didn't need to.
"Who… are you?" the duke asked, forcing himself to remain composed.
Roldy ignored him.
He walked toward the king.
The dancers fled in panic.
Roldy spared them a glance, mildly curious about their minimal attire, but remained focused.
No one dared to stop him.
He reached the throne.
Grabbing the king by the head, he slammed him to the ground—
Then casually sat upon the royal throne.
The moment he settled in—
Two sharp sounds cut through the air.
Flying blades.
"Oh?"
Roldy's interest was piqued.
Naturally, even a corrupt kingdom of this scale would have some capable guards.
It didn't matter.
He didn't even bother to dodge.
The blades struck his skin—
And failed to pierce it.
His flesh remained unscathed.
Roldy picked up a wine jug from the table and flicked it casually.
A body slammed into the wall.
Eyes wide.
Dead.
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