Blackstone Town.
"Come out! Everyone out!"
"Everyone gather at the plaza immediately! Anyone who dares to hide in their house will be punished for treason!"
Under those harsh orders, hundreds of townsfolk were dragged from their homes by heavily armed soldiers.
Some were still holding rice bowls. Some only wore one shoe. Some kept asking what was happening, while others looked around in panic.
The cold wind blew coal ash through the crowd, choking people and making it hard to open their eyes.
All the townsfolk were herded to the plaza in the center of town.
"What is going on? Didn't they say we just had to stay at home?"
"Yeah! How can they just force us out like this?"
"Looking at this setup, did the king come here himself?"
People whispered in the crowd. Although everyone was afraid of the dark gun barrels around them, they still had not realized disaster was coming.
They were scared, but they did not understand the danger.
Right at this time.
The muffled sound of horse hooves came from the direction of the town entrance.
The crowd turned toward the sound.
A huge, luxurious carriage slowly entered the plaza, escorted by two teams of men wearing white suits and strange masks.
Even under the gray sky, its gold decorations stood out sharply from the ruined stone buildings around it.
"What a beautiful carriage..."
"What big shot is this?"
The townsfolk, who had never seen the outside world, let out low exclamations.
Then the carriage door opened.
A figure wearing a bulky spacesuit and a giant transparent helmet stepped onto the back of a slave on all fours and climbed down from the carriage.
Perhaps because his body was too fat and his balance was poor, his foot slipped when he landed, and he almost fell.
The slave beneath him froze and pressed his hands harder against the ground. He did not dare to move.
The discussions in the plaza grew louder.
People stared at the strangely dressed big shot.
They did not look afraid yet. They only looked confused.
"Why is that person wearing a big fishbowl?"
"Is he sick? Or is he afraid of the cold?"
"He looks so strange, like a... funny clown?"
To these poor people, who had never left the Kalga Kingdom in their lives, the term Celestial Dragon was too far away. It was so far away that they completely failed to understand what those strange clothes meant.
"That is..."
At the very front of the crowd, the only old scholar in town pushed up his reading glasses. He narrowed his eyes and tried hard to see the strange man clearly.
He had worked as a navigator on the sea when he was young. He had been to big cities outside, so he knew more than most people in town.
At first, he was still confused.
But when the strange man got closer, he saw the transparent helmet clearly, as well as the golden badge on the man's chest.
The old scholar's face went pale.
That was someone ordinary people were never supposed to offend.
One of the rulers of this world.
"Ce... Celestial Dragon?!"
The old scholar let out a broken scream. His knees gave out, and he fell into the mud.
His teeth chattered violently as he used all his strength to shout.
"Kneel! Hurry up and kneel! Everyone kneel!"
"That is a World Noble! A descendant of the Creators! If you don't want to die, hurry up and kneel!"
This sudden scream startled the people around him.
"Celestial Dragon? Who is that?"
"What Creators? Is old Orban crazy?"
Most of the townsfolk still looked blank. They looked at each other and did not react immediately.
In this closed-off and backward small country, the fame of the Celestial Dragons was not even as loud as some great pirate on the sea.
However.
Before they could react.
Clack!
The soldiers guarding the area suddenly pulled their rifle bolts in unison. The dark gun barrels pressed directly against the foreheads of a few dazed townsfolk on the outermost edge.
"Kneel!!!"
The guard captain raised his rifle and shouted until his throat cracked.
This time, the townsfolk were finally scared.
Although they did not know who the fat man wearing the helmet was, they feared guns, and they feared death.
Rustle.
One after another, the townsfolk dropped to their knees. Soldiers struck them with rifle butts and forced them down while the old scholar kept crying for them to kneel.
They pressed their heads into the cold, dirty mud.
They did not dare to breathe loudly, but they still did not understand.
Is this the big shot?
Why do we have to kneel to that strange man?
The entire plaza became quiet.
There was only the heavy breathing of the slave on all fours, and the chattering sound of the old scholar's teeth.
Saint Jaygarcia Brax stood in front of the crowd.
Through his transparent helmet, he scanned the rows of bowed heads in front of him.
Brax clicked his tongue.
"Boring."
His words came through the speaker.
"Why are you all lying on the ground like dead pigs? I traveled all the way here, and it was not to look at a bunch of mushrooms growing in the dirt."
The CP0 captain beside him immediately understood. He bent down and smiled.
"Please calm down. These lower-class commoners have never seen the world, so it is normal for them to be terrified by your power. How about... I help you make them move?"
"No need."
Saint Brax scoffed and pulled the specially made golden flintlock pistol from his waist.
He took heavy steps and walked in front of a white-haired old man kneeling on the outermost edge.
The old man was shivering on the ground, still muttering prayers for safety.
"Hey, old thing."
Saint Brax gently tapped the old man's head with the gem-encrusted gun barrel.
"Raise your head."
The old man raised his head and tried to smile.
"S... Sir..."
Bang!
Without any warning.
Fire burst from the muzzle.
The old man's body jerked back, and blood exploded from half of his shoulder. He collapsed into the mud, blood spreading under him as his body twitched in pain.
Blood splattered onto the face of a little girl nearby.
The plaza went silent.
No one moved.
"Ah... ah..."
The little girl touched the warmth on her face. She finally reacted and screamed.
"Grandpa!!!"
That scream broke the plaza.
"Mur... murder!"
"Run! He's going to kill us all!"
The people who had been kneeling on the ground scrambled up in panic. Survival pushed past their fear of authority. The crowd cried and shouted as they scattered in every direction.
"That's more like it!"
Looking at the crowd fleeing in all directions, Saint Brax laughed and raised his gun again.
He clumsily climbed onto the slave's back, waved the golden gun in his hand, and shouted excitedly.
"Run! Run faster! Whoever runs slow dies!"
"Chase! Chase them quickly!"
The slave beneath him pushed off with all four limbs and charged into the chaotic crowd.
Bang!
Another gunshot rang out.
A strong young man who was holding a child and trying to climb over a barricade was shot in the back. He screamed and fell from midair.
"Tsk! I missed!"
Saint Brax smacked his lips in annoyance.
"I wanted to shoot his head! Now it only counts as a torso hit!"
The CP0 captain beside him immediately pulled out a small notebook. He forced a smile and wrote it down.
"Saint Brax! Even though this shot was not a headshot, you hit the man's spine! Look at the way he crawls on the ground. Watching him struggle is more interesting than killing him right away! Not even the sharpshooters in the Marines could match this shot!"
"Oh? Really?"
Saint Brax looked at the man crawling painfully on the ground and suddenly found him much more pleasing to the eye.
"Now that you say it, it really is! Then count it as 3 points! Hahaha! This game is so interesting!"
As he spoke, he raised his gun and aimed again at a young woman wearing a floral dress.
"Don't... don't come over..."
The woman's legs gave out. She sat on the ground and kept backing away.
Bang!
"Hahaha! 2 points! Women's screams really are the most pleasant to hear!"
Meanwhile, outside the warning line.
Dozens of kingdom soldiers responsible for the blockade stood frozen at their posts.
Their backs were turned to the town, but the screams from inside and Brax's laughter kept reaching them over the barricade.
A young soldier's gun shook in his hands. Tears kept falling down his face.
He heard it.
It was Aunt Mary from next door, the woman who always smiled and brought him sweet potatoes.
From that moment on, he would never hear Aunt Mary again.
"Captain... I... I can't take this anymore..."
The young soldier suddenly turned around, wanting to rush in.
Smack!
A rough, large hand pressed firmly against his helmet. The force was so great that the helmet bent slightly.
"Don't look back!"
The old captain pressed him down harder.
"But Captain! That was Aunt Mary! Those are living people!"
"I said don't think about it!"
The old captain forced the words out through clenched teeth.
"Tell yourself! Those are the sacrifices that must be offered for the country to survive! Only by sacrificing them... can we live! Can this country live!"
"If you turn around... if you fire your gun... the dead won't just be these few hundred people! The entire Kalga Kingdom will be turned to scorched earth! Do you want your old mother and sister at home to end up like that too?!"
The young soldier's body stiffened.
He opened his mouth wide but could not make a sound. Tears and snot ran down his face, but he did not move.
The gunshots in the town continued.
Each gunshot made the soldiers flinch, but none of them moved.
...
On the route heading to the Kalga Kingdom.
The giant royal ship of Alabasta broke through the waves and moved forward at full speed.
The weather on the Grand Line changed without warning.
It had been a cloudless, clear sky not long ago. Now, thick dark clouds covered the sky, and the waves had grown much larger.
The ship rose and fell with the waves, letting out faint creaking sounds.
Yawn...
Aiden stood by the side of the ship. With the regular swaying, he could not help letting out a big yawn.
This swaying feeling was a lot like sitting in the back row of a long-distance bus in his past life. It did not make him seasick. Instead, he started getting sleepy.
"This damn weather changes really fast."
Aiden rubbed his eyes, turned around, and waved at Cobra, who was standing at the bow and watching the sea.
"Cobra, this ship's swaying is making me sleepy. I'm going back to the cabin to nap for a bit. Call me when we get there."
Cobra turned his head. Looking at Aiden's sleepy face, he shook his head.
"Go ahead. Traveling these past few days has indeed been tiring. I'll have someone call you when we arrive."
"Thanks."
Aiden waved his hand and did not stand on ceremony. He pushed open the cabin door and walked in.
Although there was still a long way to go before they reached the Kalga Kingdom, and the surroundings were still endless sea, Cobra became more and more uneasy.
"Cobra, about this Kalga Kingdom..."
Pell stood behind him, looking at the sea chart in his hands. He frowned over the map and tapped one point.
"I heard that because it lacks resources and isn't under the Marines' protection, its economy is extremely bad. It is a favorite hunting ground for pirates. For your safety, it's best we leave immediately after resupplying and don't stay long."
This was the reality of non-member nations.
They survived between pirates and the World Government. Just staying alive already exhausted all their strength.
Cobra looked toward the horizon and sighed.
"I hope we can reach the Kalga Kingdom as soon as possible. I heard that King Hark works himself to exhaustion for his citizens. If there is a chance, I really want to meet him. If possible, we can buy more supplies this time. It can be considered doing our small part to help."
The ship continued forward.
When they passed through a thick layer of gray sea fog, the port of the Kalga Kingdom finally appeared in everyone's sight.
However.
The expected dock, which should have been poor but at least full of life, did not appear.
There was only dead silence.
A few broken fishing boats drifted near the dock.
The dock was empty. There was not a single porter in sight.
Only the cold wind swept dust across the ground.
"Strange..."
Chaka rested his hand on his sword hilt and looked around carefully.
"Why is there no one here? Even if it is a non-member nation, it shouldn't be this empty, right?"
"Cobra! Look over there!"
Suddenly, the navigator holding the telescope shouted. His finger trembled as he pointed to one side of the dock.
Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.
On the muddy ground, a bright red carpet lay across the mud. It stretched all the way to the end of their vision.
And beside the carpet.
A huge white ship rested quietly in the sea fog.
As the royal ship got closer, the outline became clear.
It was an incredibly large white ship.
Its entire body was pure white and decorated with gold. Against the gray background, it looked clean, expensive, and wrong in this place.
When they clearly saw the flag hanging on the highest mast of that ship, no one spoke for a moment.
A white flag background.
A bright red pattern.
That was the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon.
"Ce... Celestial Dragons?!"
Cobra gripped the railing.
"Why are they here? Why would they appear in a place like this?!"
It made no sense to him.
As a clan that called themselves gods, how could they lower themselves to come to such a poor small country where even the air smelled bad?
"Cobra... are we... are we still going to dock?"
The navigator swallowed and took half a step back.
In front of that flag, no one could stay calm.
That flag meant trouble.
Running into Celestial Dragons usually meant absolute trouble.
"This..."
Cobra hesitated.
Reason told him that turning around and leaving right now was the wisest choice.
But.
Looking at that strange red carpet and the silent dock, Cobra could not shake the bad feeling.
What exactly had happened here?
Just when Cobra was stuck in a dilemma.
Creak.
The wooden door of the cabin behind him slowly opened.
The sound was sharp on the silent deck.
Cobra turned toward him.
"Aiden... did we wake you? We just arrived, but the situation is a bit..."
The rest of his words died in his throat.
Aiden stood at the cabin door.
He had his Marine coat over his shoulders. Thin arcs of electricity snapped around him, raising the edge of his coat.
He was fully awake now.
A vein stood out on his forehead. His hand hung by his side, clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Electric sparks snapped between his fingers.
Thunder rolled inside the heavy clouds above the port.
Aiden did not look at Cobra. He looked through the sea fog toward the town beyond the port.
"Cobra."
Aiden spoke without looking away from the town.
"Dock and resupply, then leave immediately. Do not stay."
He stepped forward. More electric arcs crawled over his shoulders and down his arms.
"I am going to deal with some filth."
"Do not wait for me. I will find a way to catch up with you."
----------------------------------
Check out my Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/c/LIZBETH1242
Thanks to all of you, we've already reached 180 free members and 30 paid members!
Seriously, thank you so much for all your support. It helps me a lot.
There are currently 60 chapters available in advance on Patreon.
I also want to apologize for the lack of updates this month, haha. My PC completely died, and uploading chapters from my phone was pretty complicated.