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Chapter 26
Training Room.
A resolute-looking girl with long wine-red hair was diligently practicing her swordsmanship.
When she saw Vilin enter with Rouge and Annie, her serious expression immediately bloomed into a bright smile.
"Captain!"
This girl was Fiona.
She was one of the young women Vilin had rescued from a slave ship earlier.
Noticing her exceptional talent for swordsmanship, Vilin had given her his former sword, Green Bamboo, hoping she would one day achieve great things.
Seeing that Vilin had no instructions for her, Fiona returned to her focused sword practice.
Vilin watched her obsessive dedication with a helpless smile.
Annie and Rouge burst into bell-like laughter at Vilin's rare moment of awkwardness.
"Today we'll do live sparring. Both of you attack me together."
"No Devil Fruit abilities allowed."
Seeing the two women teasing him, Vilin decided to help them gain more real combat experience.
The moment they heard "live combat," Annie and Rouge's eyes lit up with excitement.
They had been feeling stiff lately anyway—this was the perfect chance to loosen up.
"Alright, but you'd better be careful!"
"We won't hold back!"
With that, both girls used Shave and shot toward Vilin at high speed.
Vilin began guiding them through the fight.
The three clashed fiercely, filling the room with the sounds of flesh and bone colliding.
Watching the intense battle, Fiona set her sword aside.
She observed their movements with serious focus.
Her eyes burned with fighting spirit.
Vilin, Annie, and Rouge fought continuously for three full hours.
Only when both girls collapsed from exhaustion did Vilin finally stop.
"You two did very well. Your progress is impressive."
Once they caught their breath, Vilin looked at them gently and encouraged them warmly.
"Captain, could you please guide my swordsmanship too?"
Just as Vilin was helping the two exhausted girls to the training room seats, Fiona's shy voice came from the side.
"Of course."
Seeing her restrained demeanor, Vilin couldn't resist ruffling her wine-red hair.
Fiona's tense face immediately brightened with a happy smile.
"Come on—let me see how far your swordsmanship has come."
Vilin beckoned her over.
Without hesitation, Fiona gripped her sword tightly.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
Then she charged toward Vilin.
A flash of steel—
an ink-green sword light slashed straight toward Vilin's chest.
Vilin casually raised a palm and blocked her full-power strike.
Feeling the force transmitted through his hand, he shook his head.
"Your power is still too weak."
Suddenly, the pressure lightened.
Fiona quickly withdrew her sword and thrust again.
Vilin immediately noticed Fiona's sword style characteristic: extreme flexibility.
She never committed full power to any single strike— always holding back about twenty percent for adaptability.
"Good thinking. But right now, your training focus should be on developing powerful, decisive slashes."
"Not just speed and flexibility."
Fiona's eyes showed understanding.
Her gaze instantly turned sharp and focused.
"Excellent momentum."
"That's what a swordsman needs—a fearless, forward-pushing spirit."
"Never hesitate or second-guess."
Seeing Fiona's aura sharpen, Vilin smiled approvingly.
Fiona gripped her sword with both hands and unleashed her full strength in a rapid slash toward Vilin.
She poured every ounce of speed she could muster into the strike.
From that moment, Fiona's swordsmanship grew smoother and more ferocious with every clash against Vilin.
Unknowingly, the two fought for a full hour.
Finally, Fiona's stamina was completely exhausted.
She dropped to her knees on the training room floor.
Sweat dripped steadily from her hair onto the ground.
Though exhausted from the battle with Vilin, Fiona's face wore a satisfied, exhilarated smile.
Seeing she couldn't even stand, Vilin gently lifted her by the waist.
Fiona felt the solid strength of Vilin's embrace and smelled his masculine scent.
Her eyes grew misty; she couldn't help pressing her cheek against his chest.
Only when Vilin set her down on a chair did she reluctantly snap back to reality.
Seeing all three women were now thoroughly tired, Vilin carried them back to their rooms one by one.
Then he resumed his own body training.
After exhausting every last bit of his stamina, Vilin realized this level of training had become somewhat redundant for him.
It seemed he needed far more life energy to continue pushing his physique further.
For now, he would shift focus to Haki training.
Both Armament and Observation Haki needed serious work.
Exiting the training room, Vilin casually lay back on a soft lounge chair to rest.
Just then, two beautiful women in black-and-white maid outfits approached him.
"Captain, we've recently developed a new massage technique. Would you like to try it?"
One of the maids smiled sweetly at Vilin.
"Sounds good, Lilith."
"I do feel a bit tense—let's give it a go."
Vilin naturally wouldn't refuse such a request from beautiful women.
Soon the two maids removed his shirt.
Lilith swallowed visibly when she saw Vilin's sculpted muscles.
As Lilith and Shirley's cool little hands began kneading his body, Vilin closed his eyes in bliss.
"Feels amazing… you two are doing great!"
He couldn't help praising them.
Encouraged, Lilith and Shirley worked even harder, carefully relieving every knot of tension.
Vilin felt two soft mounds pressing repeatedly against his back.
His blood began to heat up.
But in the end he restrained himself.
However, with all that pent-up energy, it ultimately fell to Rouge's delicate body to bear the brunt that night.
The next day, Vilin woke up feeling refreshed and invigorated.
After tucking in the exhausted Rouge, he got dressed and headed to the kitchen.
Inside the mess hall, several maid-dressed girls had already prepared breakfast.
As more crew members trickled in, they all greeted Vilin with sweet, shy smiles.
"Good morning, Captain Vilin!"
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