"General, bad news. They got away."
Not long after Baichuan and the others left that city, inside an exceptionally grand building, a soldier knelt humbly before someone.
"What did you say?" The man's tone turned sharp. The wineglass in his hand was crushed on the spot, and red wine ran down his fingers onto the floor.
"G General… they escaped." The soldier on the ground spoke with a trembling voice, full of fear.
"Useless trash." The general strode forward, drew a broad saber from who knows where, and under the soldier's terrified gaze, chopped down.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
"Spending that much money raising you every day would be worse than raising a dog. Someone, come."
At his call, a person pushed open the door and walked in. Seeing the soldier already dead on the floor, the newcomer's eyes were numb, clearly used to this by now.
"Clean this up." The general's voice was cold. "And bring me my horse. I'm handling this myself. Outsiders actually dared to investigate our affairs. They're asking for death."
"Yes, General."
Once everything was ready, the general finally stepped out of the shadows, revealing his appearance.
He was under 1.61.6 meters tall, weighed close to 200200 jin, with a huge head and big ears. Gold and silver hung all over him. Each of his ten fingers wore a ring, but the rings were so small they'd been swallowed by flesh, and only occasionally could you see the diamonds catching sunlight.
Don't let the fat fool you. He was extremely nimble. He walked up to his horse and vaulted onto it in one smooth motion. And this horse wasn't ordinary either. Its body had scales. It looked like some kind of hybrid breed, otherwise it wouldn't be able to bear his weight.
"I'm going on ahead. You follow behind."
"Yes, General."
Mounted on the white phosphor horse, the general barked orders to his soldiers.
"Look, that bastard's at it again. Whoever he sets his sights on never ends well."
"Yeah, yeah."
The townspeople watched the general ride out on his white phosphor horse, their faces full of worry and pity.
"Looks like Baichuan and those three are going to run into trouble."
Rayleigh, who had just finished gambling and was sitting at a roadside stall drinking tea, naturally saw the general too. From the man, he sensed a heavy stench of blood. You only reeked like that after killing a lot of people. This was a ruthless one.
Rayleigh had only felt that kind of thick blood aura on Barrett before.
Of course, that didn't mean this general's strength could be compared to Barrett's. Barrett could deal with this kind of trash in ten moves, maybe even three.
But that bloodstink was real.
Which meant he'd killed very, very many people.
It made Rayleigh worry about Baichuan and the others, but he didn't move to support them. He believed this man could only pose an ordinary threat to Baichuan's group.
While Rayleigh was watching the general, a figure walked up to him, sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip as if it was his own table.
"What are you looking at, Rayleigh?"
"Nothing," Rayleigh said. "I just have a feeling that guy's ending won't be pretty."
"Because of Baichuan and the others?"
"You already know, Captain?"
That's right. The man sitting in front of Rayleigh was Roger.
"No. I guessed." Roger grinned. "They caused such a big commotion yesterday, it'd be hard not to hear. By the way, you got involved too, didn't you?"
"Haha." Rayleigh laughed awkwardly at that.
"I got dragged in passively. It's just… it's been a long time since I felt what it's like to be chased around. Kinda nostalgic."
"You really are a masochist." Roger snorted. "Besides, didn't we just escape from Garp's hands a few days ago?"
"That monster doesn't count." Rayleigh's expression shifted the moment he heard the name.
"Monster? You call him a monster, but aren't you a monster too?"
"At least I'm still not on his level." Rayleigh glanced aside, then asked, "By the way, aren't you worried about Baichuan and them?"
"Worried? What's there to worry about?" Roger spoke casually. "Even if they can't beat that guy, they can run."
"Today I even saw Baichuan flying through the sky holding a girl. Who is that girl anyway? What's her relationship with Baichuan?"
Roger's face lit up with pure gossip.
"No idea," Rayleigh said. "But that girl's identity should be the princess of the Mol Kingdom on this island."
"Then they're escorting her back to her country?" Roger leaned in. "Why?"
"They said they want to get an Eternal Pose for the next island, then go train on the battlefield for a while."
"Oh, I see." Roger nodded. "Training is good. As for the Eternal Pose, they don't need it."
"How so?" Rayleigh asked, suddenly alert. Was Roger planning to stay on this island for three years?
"Because I already have one."
Roger reached into his pocket, pulled out a pointer, and set it on the table.
"How do you have that thing? Where'd you get it?"
"Bought it, obviously." Roger said it like it was nothing. "It's not rare on this island."
This country hadn't produced any outstanding navigators, and its navigation skills were poor, so there were plenty of pointers that had already recorded the next island. You could buy one in any random shop.
"Oh, so that's how it is." Rayleigh nodded. "Then Baichuan and the others are going to end up working for nothing this time."
"Who knows." Roger shrugged. "If they gain something on this country's battlefield, then it won't be for nothing."
He looked out toward the city and clicked his tongue.
"But this island really is a mess."
"What, you've got ideas again?" Rayleigh asked.
Roger had a flaw.
He loved sticking his nose into other people's business.
When he ran into trouble, he wanted to step in. When he saw something he didn't like, he had to find a way to make it pleasing to the eye. And ordinary people trapped in war just happened to be one of the things he couldn't stand.
"Who knows." Roger smiled. "We'll take it one step at a time."
As he said that, the corners of his mouth curled up, and even his teeth showed.
Seeing that smile, Rayleigh rubbed his forehead helplessly. He knew Roger was definitely going to get involved. He just didn't know how.
But making three countries live peacefully together was bound to be an enormous headache.
"I'm honestly starting to regret getting on your ship," Rayleigh said with a sigh.
"Haha! You want to get off now?" Roger threw an arm around him. "No chance. It's too late."
Roger laughed brightly, not caring about Rayleigh's complaint at all. He understood Rayleigh's personality. He might complain, but when it came time to do things, he'd never slack off.
"Come on. Why drink tea? It's boring. Let's go drink."
After paying the bill, Roger hooked an arm around Rayleigh and walked toward the tavern.
Why could Rayleigh become the vice-captain?
Not just because he was the first to board Roger's ship, but because he fit Roger's tastes the most.
"If only it could always be like this…"
Rayleigh thought that, but the moment he thought of Roger's illness, even the happiest mood would instantly sink into gloom.
/-\
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