Regan had defended against multiple cannons that had come his way. To his relief, Tina wasn't on any of the marine ships that were still pursuing them, instead opting to stay behind on Rakers island. Perhaps to continue spreading her vile concoctions that implicated him as Strawberry's murderer.
It wouldn't be too hard to believe. Considering that Regan had killed many of the other marines.
''Clam!'' Regan yelled at the man below deck. ''Bring me the cannonballs! And Izgrim, stop cowering like a scared little girl dammit! Get on your feet and pass me the cannonballs!''
The constant explosions had shell-shocked the poor boy. He took to curling himself up in a ball like some human-bakugan and would only rise at the sound of Regan's voice, slick it was with anger and frustration.
He had passed Regan one of the cannonballs, and Regan dashed it at one of the navy ships, sending it and the crew into a watery grave.
[You Have Gained 40 Gun Points]
Regan regained his cutlass, and waited for the remaining ships to get closer to his own vessel.
There were bullets flying, but Regan paid them no mind. He dodged, swayed, weaved, and lunged his way on to one of the navy ships. He cut down every single man and woman he saw, not giving a damn about their pleads. It only made them look pathetic.
The system's voice continued ringing in his head with every kill he made with his cutlass, and he could see his armament haki points rising as his haki-coated sword kept siphoning away the souls of the marines.
The deck was wet with blood, grief, and corruption. Many of the marines ran to the sides of the ship, preparing to jump overboard. Regan chased after them and placed deep gashes on their backs with his cutlass.
For some cruel reason, a reason that adhered to the farming method, he hung their bodies over the sides of the ship and leaned forward to slit their necks so that their blood would fall into the ocean. He proceeded to do this with many of the corpses. Hanging their bodies on the sides, slitting their throats, and watching on as their blood continued flowing out from their wounds.
Once he was done with the navy ship that he was on, he moved on to another one, a single hop bringing him up into the air to land gracefully on another navy vessel. The marines onboard ran from him. There was a captain and a rear admiral on board that were not named in the official One Piece manga.
They were fodder anyway. Regan put a swift end to their lives and then moved on to their men who were even easier to deal with. Every kill he made reminded him of Strawberry, and then he was subsequently reminded of Tina. When he was done with that ship, he moved on to the last one and took out every marine all the same.
He then made his way back to the merchants ship, sword still in hand, though the metal was now swathed in blood.
And now we wait
Regan sat down cross-legged and set his cutlass down, his arms folded. He hoped this plan would work.
It has to!
He ignored Izgrim's incessant questioning and his dejected ramblings about Rose's death. Regan had since moved on from it. He had been saddened by it, there was no doubt about that, but he had not shed a single tear for the girl. Death was sure to occur in his life of piracy, and he had experienced death firsthand.
It was inevitable. No matter where you went, it would always rear its head in the most unexpected places.
''Do you have any idea what you've done!?'' Izgrim screeched. ''Rose is dead because of you! Because of you!'' Regan could feel him pelting something at him. But he ignored it.
''Yes. Rose is dead. But I wasn't the one who shot her.''
''If you had left her alone she wouldn't have been shot!''
''If I left her alone she would've been killed anyway!'' Regan bellowed. ''They killed Jinkota and Randi! They would've killed you, too!''
Izgrim was in utter disbelief. He grew silent after that, and backed away from Regan, his head in his hands.
Yeah, sit there in si--
Regan felt the ship rocking violently, cutting off his train of thought. The ocean rumbled and Regan felt something large and sinister rising up from the water. No, not a single thing, multiple of them. Some felt larger than the others, and some were just as malicious if not more.
''Oh shit! Here they come!''
From the depths of the ocean, a myriad of sea kings bloomed up to the surface. Regan counted 4 in total, and two of them looked just like the sea king he had killed earlier.
While the other two, much larger in comparison, had long, serpentine bodies that resembled zebras. Their eyes were dark and empty, and their heads were shaped like that of Walrus's, tusks jutting out from their maws to curl backwards, their sharp points glinting with malice.
This had been the plan all along. He had found that, earlier, when he had killed the pirates at sea, the sea king he killed was drawn to the scent of blood. Similarly, the sea kings that appeared now were drawn to the blood of the marines.
If he kept this up, if he kept killing more of the beasts at sea, he could gain the required essence to continue plowing through the ranks all whilst gaining enough stat points at the same time.
Call it sea king farming
Regan coated his cutlass in haki, and pointed his blade at one of the sea kings. He jumped a couple feet up into the air and brought his sword down on the beast. The sea king bared its fangs and roared at the approaching figure. But before Regan could reach it, its twin, one of the green sea kings, swallowed him whole and dove back into the sea.
Regan was now shrouded in darkness, and summoned his windows to illuminate the space he was confined in. He found a forked tongue and a myriad of razor-sharp teeth all around him. The beast had brought him into its mouth, a big mistake on its part. Regan pierced the inside of its cheek with his sword, and then sliced open its tongue, making the beast cry out in pain.
It swam back up to the surface and spat him out, hurling him into the air with enough force to make everything below him look like tiny motes.
Dumb beast thought it could just eat me
He was plummeting through the air, and, like Tina, he raised his sword over his head and brought the cutlass deep into the beasts neck. The blade moved through its hard scales and the meat of its flesh like butter thanks to his haki.
He scaled the beasts body until he reached its face, thick veins burgeoning all across it as the deep gash on its neck assailed it. Regan then blinded it by stabbing both of its eyes, and then brought the blade down into its skull. Putting an end to its life.
[You Have Slain A Warrior Sea King]
[You Have Gained 1000 Essence]
[You Have Gained 1500 Sword Points]
He moved on to the other sea king, the one that looked just like it, and slit its neck, the cut even deeper than the one he had made on other beasts neck. This one was weaker, perhaps it was the same rank as the one he had killed earlier.
[You Have Slain A Novice Sea King]
[You Have Gained 250 Essence]
[You Have Gained 500 Sword Points]
It was the same rank! I see, so I only got 250 essence this time. Must be because we're the same rank
The beasts fell into the ocean, and Regan jumped off of their sinking corpses and landed on one of the remaining marine ships. He brought up his points and stats while shaking blood off of the blade.
[Dedmond Dantes Points]
Total Available Points: 3300
Melee Points: 223
Defense Points: 1389
Sword Points: 1648
DF Points: 0
Gun points: 40
[Dedmond Dantes Stats]
Rank: Novice [1274/2000]
Melee: 2000[MAX]
Defense: 2000[MAX]
Sword: 105
DF Power: 0
Gun: 60
''Deposit everything.''
[Cannot Deposit Melee Points As You Have Reached The Max Capacity]
[Cannot Deposit Defense Points As You Have Reached The Max Capacity]
[Sword Points Deposited Successfully]
[Gun Points Deposited Successfully]
Regan then turned back to his new stats.
Melee: 2000[MAX]
Defense: 2000[MAX]
Sword: 1753
DF Power: 0
Gun: 100
Still a long way to go. I'll surpass everyone in no time. Even you, Tina.