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worm novel 200 . xyz '
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The night passed in silence.
Waking up early the next morning, the group packed their belongings and donned black robes. The garments served a dual purpose of warding off the blowing sand and concealing their identities.
Once everyone stepped outside, Lius raised his hand and pressed a specific spot on the door.
Poof!
A muffled sound echoed as a cloud of smoke erupted.
Transforming into a capsule the size of a fingernail, the massive survival cabin vanished into thin air and dropped right into Lius's palm.
This scene looked like pure magic. Even though they had witnessed it the night before, Ace, Vivi, and her loyal servant still watched with sparkling eyes.
After all, even Nami needed some time to get used to it back then.
"Let's set off!" Lius waved his hand, leading the group into the city.
The wind continued to howl. Yellow sand filled the sky and severely obstructed their vision.
Without any transportation to navigate this extreme desert climate, Crocodile's plan would likely succeed before they could even reach the Royal Capital.
Thus, they rented a moving crab within the city.
Being a rather perverted desert creature, its eyes instantly turned into heart shapes upon catching sight of Nami and Vivi. However, it quickly feigned a disdainful expression as it clearly fantasized about watching dancing girls instead.
Reacting to this nonsense, Lius shot it a fierce glare and delivered a few heavy punches. That instantly made the beast behave.
He had not even enjoyed the privilege of seeing them in dancing outfits yet. For a mere beast to dare fantasize about such a thing was simply an unforgivable sin.
Riding on the moving crab's broad back, the group sped toward the Royal Capital located deep within the desert.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a daily check-in opportunity!]
[Do you wish to check in?]
Listening to the system's prompt, Lius remained completely unbothered. "Another daily one, as expected."
His luck had seemingly taken a nosedive ever since entering the Grand Line. The check-in grade every single day had been the lowest possible daily level.
To make matters worse, he had crossed paths with the navy hero Garp.
There was no telling when this streak of terrible luck would finally come to an end.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Lius casually initiated the process. "Check in."
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a Body Tempering Pill*1!]
Unsurprisingly, the check-in reward was incredibly meager. It yielded nothing more than a single Body Tempering Pill.
Ironically, this was actually the best reward he had received in recent days.
"Use it," Lius commanded inwardly.
The very next moment.
A faint tremor rippled through the cells of his flesh and blood. Thanks to his formidable physique, his body instantly digested the pill's medicinal properties.
Glancing at his personal attribute panel, nothing seemed to have changed.
[Host: Lius]
[Physique: S-]
[Haki: Conqueror's Haki (Max Level), Armament Haki (B+), Observation Haki (S+)]
[Skills: Swordsmanship (S+)]
[Physical Arts: Navy Six Styles (A+)]
[Other: None]
The raw data appeared largely unchanged. However, Lius knew perfectly well that both his physique and his Swordsmanship had experienced massive improvements.
At the very least, he would definitely not end up in such a miserable state if he were to face Garp again.
Of course, he was neither naive nor arrogant enough to believe that his current self could defeat a supreme powerhouse of the old era like Garp.
Had Garp actually wanted to fight, taking a hit from a Conqueror's Haki coating attack would never have caused him to lose his combat capability so instantly.
That old man clearly had his own reservations.
Otherwise, Nami would have already been forced to contact old man Shiki to come and bail them out.
Lius had kept quiet over the past few days. Despite his silence, a lingering sense of pressure weighed heavily on his mind.
He was not the only one feeling it. Even Ace had become significantly quieter, clearly grasping the reality of their situation.
Their smooth sailing journey from the East Blue into the Grand Line was likely coming to an end.
The group traveled in silence.
The howling wind and blowing sand began to weaken as they drew closer to the Royal Capital. The harsh weather eventually vanished completely. However, a growing sense of tension began to grip everyone's hearts.
The atmosphere itself felt somewhat peculiar.
"We are here! That is the Royal Capital right ahead!" Vivi suddenly raised her hand and pointed into the distance, shouting in pleasant surprise.
The vague outline of an ancient city loomed at the very edge of the yellow desert.
They had traveled continuously for an entire day and night. At the cost of the perverted crab nearly running its legs off, the group finally arrived at the main gate of the Royal Capital just as evening set in.
Rumble...
Still a hundred meters away from the gate, the moving crab collapsed directly onto the ground while foaming at the mouth.
"Thanks for your hard work." Patting the exhausted crab on its back, Lius was the first to jump down.
The rest of the group followed closely behind him.
Despite the evening hour, the ancient Royal Capital was already brightly lit and teeming with a bustling crowd.
However, the source of the noise and the massive crowds came from people dressed in ragged, torn clothing. They looked exactly like refugees, but they were actually members of the rebel army.
"Just as expected. The entire kingdom is being ravaged by sandstorms, yet the Royal Capital remains completely untouched. This must be the doing of King Cobra!"
"That despicable king. Does he intend to bury the entire country just to save the Royal Capital?"
"Exactly. I even heard that the royal family wants to pin the crime of kidnapping the princess onto our rebel army!"
"Princess Vivi is young and innocent. She has the purest smile. How could we possibly kidnap her?"
"That has to be another conspiracy plotted by the king. He just wants to target our rebel army!"
"Damn it all. If only the national hero would stand on our side, we could definitely overthrow the king's rule!"
"True, but a hero exists only to protect the people. He would never involve himself in a rebellion like this."
Standing just outside the Royal Capital, they listened to the indignant discussions of the rebel soldiers wandering around the perimeter.
Many of them were even openly expressing their hopes for the great hero of Rainbase to step in and take action.
Crocodile had truly spent years deeply creating his public image. He now commanded an extremely high level of public support throughout Alabasta.
He was like a glimmer of light that people desperately clung to in the endless darkness.
In the eyes of the masses, Crocodile had practically become a beacon of hope.
"I wonder if the Revolutionary Army has a hand in this." Lius muttered curiously while observing the massive rebel army occupying the outskirts of the Royal Capital.
The relentless sandstorms sweeping across the entire country had created countless refugees. Driven by desperation, they had all flocked to join the rebel forces.
Interestingly enough, the rebel soldiers made no attempt to disturb the regular residents or passing tourists.
Shrouded in their black robes, Lius and his group certainly attracted some curious glances. However, none of the rebels were foolish enough to actively seek trouble with them.
Unfortunately, the density of the rebel forces increased the closer they got to the royal palace.
The rebels had completely barricaded several major streets.
Countless rebels had heavily surrounded the main road leading directly to the royal palace's main gate. This massive blockade had forced the king's army to retreat and hunker down within the small confines of the royal palace.
"This is bad. The entire royal palace is heavily besieged. How are we supposed to get inside?"
Tilting her head back, Vivi looked up at Lius. Tears gradually welled up in her large expressive eyes.
Unlike the original timeline, she was currently far too young. She relied entirely on Lius and his group, treating them as her one and only hope.
"How are we getting in?" Lius looked down at her with an amused smile. "We are just going to walk right in of course."
Following those words, he looked over at Ace and Nami. The moment their eyes met, they could clearly see the sheer excitement burning in each other's gazes.
"Igaram!"
"Huh?" Hearing Lius call out his name out of nowhere, the captain of the king's guard looked slightly stunned.
Bang!
In the very next second, the previously smiling Lius launched a vicious kick directly at him.
The massive physical force sent Igaram flying through the air like a human cannonball. He crashed violently right into the distant rebel camp.
Whoosh!
Immediately after, three black robes were tossed high into the air. This sudden action completely exposed the true identities of Lius and his crew to the masses.
"Remember this lesson well. Never trust the words of a pirate!"