Chapter 164: The Final Trial of the Royal Family of Goa (4)
"Watch your step..." Ace, as Luffy's older brother, led the way with Luffy following behind.
"Ace..." Luffy tightly grasped his older brother's hand, walking closely behind him.
The two of them cautiously walked through a street littered with severed limbs and remains. Although they didn't step on any bodies, their shoes were covered in blood.
The stench of blood in the air was so strong, and the metallic scent so heavy, that the mood of the two young boys became incredibly heavy.
Ace couldn't help but say, "We don't have to kill them all, do we...?"
"Oh?" Esdeath turned back and glanced at him. "Do you have a way to control them?"
"No..."
"Do you have a way to make them unconscious for a whole day?"
"No..."
"Last year's fire, they were accomplices of the nobles, right?"
"Yes..."
"Do you think they should be shown more mercy?"
Ace and Luffy were speechless and could only remain silent.
"This world is a world where the strong prey on the weak. The dead have no voice, and the defeated are silent!"
Even after coming to this world, Esdeath had changed her personality somewhat because of Eric, but the bloodthirsty warrior within her still ran through her veins. She still longed to fight, to battle stronger opponents!
In fact, she sought to find opponents that would give her joy in battle. And these two boys had excellent potential; she had a feeling that they would one day become excellent sparring partners.
"Grow up quickly, and then face me!" Esdeath walked ahead, and when the two boys couldn't see her, a dangerous and excited smile appeared on her face.
...
"What?! The troops sent to the southern gate of the High Town to capture the invaders were all wiped out?!" The elderly king was stunned, "Who did this? How many people came?!"
"Your Majesty!" The king's attendant bowed, "I received word that the last soldier, before he died, reported that the one who came was the 'Ice Queen' Esdeath!"
"!" The elderly king immediately lost his composure, "Is she the same pirate who cruelly tortured Char Marco Saint, the Celestial Dragon?"
"Yes!"
"Is she the one who killed a large number of kings and nobles of allied countries in the slave trade store?"
"Yes!!"
The attendant's second confirmation caused the elderly king to slump down into his chair.
'No! I must escape quickly!' The thought filled the king's mind. She had dared to torture even the world nobles, and she would certainly dare to kill a king of an allied country!
"Your Majesty?" The attendant cautiously approached, "Should we gather the kingdom's army and go after Esdeath? After all, she's alone now..."
"Yes! Yes!" The elderly king immediately regained his focus, "Order all the troops to stop Esdeath!"
While the attendant went to relay the orders, the king was commanding his maids to quickly pack enough treasures.
"Your Majesty? Your Majesty?"
The attendant, returning, hurriedly searched for the elderly king, "Your Majesty, where are you going? There's a snowstorm outside..."
"Hurry up!"
"Slap!" The king slapped one of the maids.
"What are you dawdling for?! Hurry and get my coat!"
In a dark corner, a voice sounded: "No need for a coat, this 'merciful' king."
"Who's there?" Several attendants immediately rushed forward and stood in front of the king.
A black shadow slowly rose from the ground, shifting from a dull black to purple.
"Scáthach , here to take your life!"
"!" The king instantly froze in fear, dragging himself backward, "Where are the guards? Where are the palace guards?! Why couldn't so many guards stop a single intruder?!"
"Ah!" An attendant screamed, rushing at Scáthach .
"Too slow." The purple figure passed through several attendants, and red light flashed a few times as the guards who had been charging fell to the ground.
"!" The elderly king grabbed the hand of the attendant who helped him up and pushed him towards Scáthach , then turned and ran towards the door.
"Oh? To think that an old man like you could have such strength." Scáthach , not sure whether she was complimenting or mocking him, shot a bullet at the person flying toward her.
"Freeze!"
The elderly king's body was instantly nailed in place, with the laws of inertia no longer applying at this moment.
'The movements of my real body cause changes in my shadow. On the other hand, the shadow can also be used to control my real body's movements. Eric was right, if I master the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, my combat effectiveness will increase greatly.'
The elderly king screamed, "What kind of sorcery is this, let me go!"
He then shifted to a humble plea, "Please, let me go. You can take anything you want from here..."
"As a king, you couldn't lead your people to live happily. Instead, you became a bloodsucker, leeching off the people. And when faced with an enemy, you abandoned them and ran away..."
Scáthach spoke calmly, "Don't worry, I won't kill you... but I can't speak for what Esdeath will do to you."
"…!"
The elderly king's face changed rapidly, as if going through an extreme transformation. From his joyous expression upon hearing he wouldn't be killed to the realization that he would be handed over to Esdeath, his face turned red, then blue, and finally purple.
"Please let me go, don't..."
Scáthach didn't wait to hear the king's nonsense and slammed the bedroom door shut, blocking the noisy sounds from inside.
"Next, we'll gather all the royals in this room. We don't have enough people..."
Perona's head popped out to make a suggestion: "We can threaten the palace guards to help us move them."
"Mm, that's a solution. What about the other royals?"
"They've all been controlled by my Negation Ghosts. They're lying on the ground, depressed. I really want to show them what it's like when they're face down. Heh heh heh."
"Intruder this way!"
The palace guards quickly mobilized, surrounding Scáthach and Perona.
The guards raised their weapons and shouted, "Surrender!"
Scáthach slowly spoke: "There are too many of you. I need to reduce the number of your underlings."
The crimson spear spun in her slender hand, creating bursts of sparks.
"I won't really kill you. Mm, that's right—"
Dozens of crimson spears appeared behind Scáthach .
"…!"
The palace guards in front of them began making chaotic noises.
"Heh!" Scáthach swung her spear forward, and the spears, like red streaks of light, flew into the hallway filled with palace guards.
"Ahhhhh...!"
The human bodies couldn't withstand the sharp blades of the spears, and dozens of guards fell to the ground, unable to stop the advance of the weapons.
The crimson spears left blood holes in the guards' bodies and trails of blood in the enclosed hallway.
Numerous palace guards' bodies couldn't resist Scáthach 's casual strike.
"Hah..." Scáthach sighed heavily, "So, no one here can withstand my attack? I thought the palace guards would be stronger than the kingdom army." She glanced at several guards already on the ground, their pants wet from fear.
The guards trembled, dragging their weak legs as they kneeled before Scáthach : "We'll do anything, please don't kill us!"
Scáthach 's eyes glowed red, and to the guards, it seemed as though the demon itself had returned. But in reality, she was only using her prophetic abilities.
"You, go and bring all the royals here."
"Yes!" The guards helped each other up and quickly went to complete Scáthach 's orders.
(END CHAPTER)
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