Big Snail City, King's Capital Market.
When Mingde arrived, he only saw Loya there - Tony was nowhere to be found.
But worrying about the rookie Tony would have to wait. Right now, Loya looked pretty beat up, which had Mingde freaking out a bit.
There was a huge bruise on Loya's chest from when he tried to freeze Beard's dagger. His short hair was a mess, covered in dust, making him look even rougher next to all the clean ice crystals around him. Bruises and cuts covered his body, including a nasty gash on his face.
"Loya! You okay, man?" Mingde asked, eyes wide with concern. He was worried about his friend, sure, but also thinking - if someone as tough as Loya got this banged up, just how scary were these Scavenger Pirates?
"Oh, hey Mingde," Loya mumbled from where he sat on the ground, out of breath. He picked up some ice from the ground and started munching on it.
As a Dragon Slayer, Loya could eat stuff with properties matching his magic to restore his strength and power. He could even devour other types of energy to amp up his attacks, though that had some nasty side effects. The one thing he couldn't eat was his own magic, even if it was the same element.
The ice on the ground had been made by Loya's magic, but once he stopped actively controlling it, the dragon-slaying essence quickly faded, leaving behind regular ice he could chow down on.
Loya had taken out Beard with his Ice Dragon's Roar while in Pseudo-Dragon Awakening state, making it over three times stronger than usual. He'd also cranked up the magic output for maximum damage, draining most of his power reserves. It had worked - Beard was toast - but it left Loya's magic levels below 500 and his body totally wiped out. He could barely stand.
As Mingde watched Loya eating ice, something crazy happened. Those nasty bruises started disappearing right before his eyes. Even the gash on Loya's face was healing, shrinking from a open wound to just a thin red line in no time.
After a big burp and brushing the dust off, Loya hopped up from the rubble and stretched. "Ahh, that's better! So Mingde, how's the refugee rescue going?"
Mingde snapped out of his amazement and quickly replied, "Oh, right! In Big Snail City, only the DC area still has pirates fighting back. Our guys are dealing with them now. The rest of the city's pretty much clear. Aludo's leading soldiers to mop up and get the refugees out. Not sure about the other towns yet - we're spread pretty thin."
"Nice work!" Loya nodded approvingly, making Mingde feel pretty good.
"But wait, weren't there three of you? Where's Tony?" Loya asked.
"Uh..." Mingde's face twitched. "Would you believe me if I said he probably got lost?"
"..."
Well, that was... awkward.
Maybe after seeing all the tragedy in the country and then justice being served, even the heavens were moved to tears of joy.
The rain was coming down hard, pelting against a massive ice umbrella. Underneath, dozens of refugees huddled together for warmth.
This rescue ship wasn't exactly built for comfort. Supplies were running low, and there wasn't even enough to go around. No hot soup, not enough clothes - these folks were struggling.
The deck was packed with people. Refugees had turned the whole area around the warship into a makeshift camp. That's why Loya had whipped up this ice umbrella.
From all around, people were sneaking glances at Loya. He was standing at the ship's bow like some kind of unbreakable pine tree in the downpour. You could see the respect and awe in their eyes.
His recruit uniform was pretty beat up, but it couldn't hide that quiet strength he gave off. Just having him there made everyone feel safer. Like even if the sky came crashing down, Lord Loya would keep them safe.
Loya hadn't expected his angry decision to save these refugees would turn him into such a celebrity. And man, were they fans. The crazy kind.
In their eyes, Loya saw that wild devotion you'd only see from obsessed K-pop stans back in his old life. You know the type - "So what if my bias does drugs? You're not worthy to even talk about them!"
It was over-the-top, but true. Loya figured these folks would probably find a way to justify it even if he decided to take them all out right now. They'd convince themselves it was for their own good.
Having grown up in a pretty sheltered life, Loya couldn't really get his head around how these refugees were thinking. All he could do was sigh and try to let it go.
Through the pouring rain, Mingde sprinted up to Loya and snapped a salute. "Loya, sir! We've got pretty much all the refugees from Big Snail City here now. We put up tons of bulletin boards around town like you said. If anyone's still alive out there, they'll find their way here for sure."
After everything that went down, Mingde was totally sold on Loya. His insane strength, smart rescue planning, and that whole cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside thing - it all added up to some seriously impressive leadership.
"Man, I don't even come close," Mingde thought with a sigh.
Loya nodded at the report, then asked, "What about Tony? Still MIA?"
"Ugh, yeah," Mingde groaned, clearly annoyed. "No clue where that idiot ran off to! But some refugees said they spotted a Navy guy in a recruit uniform heading through the forest towards Green Leaf Town, northwest of here. And get this - not long ago, they saw blue sword energy shooting up into the sky from that direction. Sounds like our boy Tony, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, that's gotta be him," Loya said, relieved. He didn't want to lose anyone on his first mission as team leader. Sure, Tony was pretty weak compared to Loya, but he was still Elite Camp material - a cut above the rest with tons of potential.
"You take a break, Mingde. I'll head to Green Leaf Town and drag his lost butt back here," Loya said, rubbing his temples. "Seriously, is getting lost some kind of required skill for swordsmen?"
"Yes sir, thank you sir!" Mingde saluted again and turned to leave.
As Mingde walked across the deck, he had a weird look on his face. He muttered under his breath, "What a monster... How's he not exhausted after using his powers non-stop for half a day?"
Mingde thought he was being quiet enough, especially with the rain, that Loya wouldn't hear. But Loya's hearing was way sharper than he realized. To Loya, that whisper might as well have been through a megaphone.
Next thing Mingde knew, Loya popped up beside him, throwing an arm around his shoulders with a mischievous grin. "Heh, jealous much?"
"I'm just a kid, have mercy!" Mingde yelped, bowing so low he was practically folded in half.
Truth was, Loya did need rest. But as a Dragon Slayer, he had a trick up his sleeve - he could keep munching on ice to recharge. He could do this over and over until his mind gave out before his body did. It was his secret weapon.
Loya could see how this would be a game-changer down the line. Once he got as physically tough as guys like Aokiji or Akainu, he'd be unstoppable. Ten days and nights of fighting? Try a whole month! Who needs to be immortal when you've got that kind of stamina?
But it wasn't perfect. This recharge trick couldn't heal injuries. Against a really tough opponent who could make him bleed or hit him with poison, he'd be in trouble.
That super-fast healing Mingde saw earlier? That was thanks to Loya's Six Powers training. He'd touched on "Life Return," and combined with his dragon body's natural recovery, wounds closed up crazy fast.
The dragon body didn't just make Loya strong and tough - it gave him insane healing powers too. But this is also why Loya was wary of the system. This healing ability might be beyond what a normal Dragon Slayer should have.
Was it a glitch in the system? Just how Dragon Slayers work? Maybe it's specific to Ice Dragons? Loya had no clue.
All he knew was that he couldn't use this passive healing too often, and it had some weird limitations he didn't understand. So he needed to step up his Six Powers training and master Life Return ASAP. Otherwise, one bad injury could take him out of a fight for good.
Green Leaf Town, Mayor's mansion.
The mayor of this place? Total jerk. Crazy high taxes, stealing from his own people. Guy thought he was hot stuff 'cause of his royal blood. Treated citizens like dirt, saying they had to obey him no matter what. Almost as bad as that Wapol creep from Drum Kingdom.
So when word got out he'd kicked the bucket, the Dora Pirates were shocked. The townsfolk weren't scared - they were pumped! Ready to throw a party and everything.
This ticked off the pirates something fierce. They offed a few respected elders to make a point. After that, Green Leaf's residents fell in line. Pirates forced families to send their men to attack Big Snail City.
The choice was simple and brutal: retreat and your whole family dies, or charge ahead and maybe only you bite it. For the young guys, the answer was pretty clear.
Tony rolled up just as they were rallying the militia for the next attack. Some garbled pirate speech was blaring from a speaker by the door.
See, the mayor thought he was too good to live with regular folks. Built himself a fancy manor on a hill outside town. One road in, one road out.
That road used to show off the mayor's power. Now? It was the Dora Pirates' death trap. Any pirate trying to sneak past Tony on that road ended up in pieces, scattered over a hundred meters.
The pirates on guard spotted Tony coming. One laughed, "Look, another swordsman! Think he's got a death wish?"
"Let's make it interesting," his buddy said. "You get his left eye, I'll get his right. Loser hands over the captain's booze from last time."
"You're on!"
These Dora Pirates? Just as bad as the Scavengers. Kill for any reason. They hadn't massacred the town yet, but only 'cause they needed meat shields against Beard's crew.
Beard was so tough, the Dora Pirates couldn't handle him alone after their in-fighting. They barely kept Rocky's goons at bay by using the town's young men as cannon fodder.
But this new guy? Didn't look familiar. Probably just another revenge-seeking swordsman. They'd seen plenty lately. Nothing a bullet couldn't fix.
This might not be the weakest sea, but how tough could a South Blue nobody be? One shot, problem solved.
Tony's clothes were a bloody mess from fighting, so he'd torn 'em off. The pirates didn't realize he was actually a Marine.
They raised their guns, grinning.
BANG! Shots fired, but no exploding head.
Instead, the pirates felt a chill on their necks. Their heads were already rolling.