"Lord Maysfield!"
The residents hiding in the forest perked up at the sound of the child's voice. Excitement spread across their faces like wildfire.
In their eyes, Maysfield was a noble of the highest character. Not only had he repeatedly driven off the rebel forces that harassed their town, but he had also returned the food those rebels had stolen from them. Rumor had it that other nearby villages suffering from rebel attacks had likewise benefited from his protection.
"Everyone, let's go back and help! With Lord Maysfield there, we'll be fine!"
A young man raised his crude axe and shouted with conviction.
No sooner had he spoken than he dashed toward the town. The few able-bodied men in the forest quickly grabbed their weapons and followed.
Meanwhile, in the town itself "Maysfield," as the villagers called him was none other than Aaron's clone, Arik, who stood on a vantage point commanding his troops against the pirates.
Using his Observation Haki, he ignored enemy gunfire while coordinating support for his men.
At that moment, he looked like a living banner, one that radiated morale and courage bolstering the spirits of the soldiers locked in fierce combat against the invading pirates.
Like Aaron, Arik lived by the creed of survival of the fittest. On the battlefield, he was no babysitter; he would not offer excessive protection. His only promise to his men was simple:
"As long as I'm here, you'll never need to worry about an attack from behind."
One-on-one, his soldiers were no match for the hardened pirates who had survived countless battles at sea. But battles are never fought in duels. Through superior numbers and disciplined formations, each pirate often faced two or more trained soldiers.
Arik treated his troops well, good food, good lodgings. Their only duty was rigorous daily training, supplemented by real combat raids against rebel supply convoys.
Under his orders, Dalton taught them military swordsmanship, Kuromarimo trained them in close-quarters combat, and Chess instructed them in firearm tactics.
After over a month of such relentless drills and live battles, these hundred soldiers had become elite fighters. They knew formation tactics and cooperative maneuvers, their combined might far exceeding the sum of their parts.
Before long, Arik's disciplined army crushed the pirates completely. The invaders suffered heavy losses and chaos spread through their ranks.
"Retreat! Retreat!" shouted the pirate captain one of the stronger ones after cutting down a soldier and deflecting several bullets with his blade. He glanced up at Arik standing tall on the high ground, his eyes sharp and unyielding, and gritted his teeth in frustration before roaring the command again.
The pirates, already terrified by this sudden and overwhelming force, broke instantly. Their morale shattered, they turned and fled in panic.
Exposing one's back to the enemy is suicide on the battlefield.
Under Dalton, Kuromarimo, and Chess's coordinated command, the disciplined troops opened fire in synchronized volleys. Pirates dropped like flies, their bodies littering the snowy ground. After several rounds of gunfire, few remained standing.
Seeing the victory secured, Arik called out loudly.
His soldiers immediately echoed him with a unified, thunderous shout.
The sound alone made the remaining pirates tremble in terror. Whatever fleeting courage they had left evaporated, they threw down their weapons, dropped to the ground, and raised their hands in surrender.
"Cowards!"
The pirate captain cursed his subordinates as he ran at full speed. Despite his fury, his feet did not slow; if anything, he sprinted faster.
Just a little farther, he told himself, if he could reach his ship, set sail, and escape this cursed place, he could rebuild his crew elsewhere and reclaim his title as captain. He couldn't die here. He refused to.
But reality was cruel. The moment he reached the dock, he saw someone already waiting for him, Arik.
"Damn pretty boy! I'll show you what a real pirate is capable of!"
The captain's face twisted with hatred and envy at the sight of the handsome young man whose skin looked almost too perfect for a warrior's. With a snarl, he raised his bloodstained blade and charged.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Arik's revolver barked three times, spitting fire.
The pirate captain was skilled, without Arik's Observation Haki guiding him, he still managed to deflect five bullets in a row with his blade.
Clang!
Steel clashed as he closed the distance, locking swords with Arik's slender rapier.
A fierce duel erupted on the snowy dock.
Arik's soldiers stood by silently, not interfering in their leader's fight. None of them doubted the outcome. Some even turned to aid Dalton, who was coordinating efforts to extinguish fires with packed snow.
Two minutes later, the pirate captain, panting heavily, lost his grip as Arik disarmed him with a swift flick. Arik's rapier came to rest against his throat.
"Kill me," the captain said hoarsely, defeat written all over his face. "I lost fair and square."
After their brief clash, he had realized how utterly outmatched he was. The young man before him was a monster.
"Die? No, that's too merciful," Arik said coldly. "You and your men have done unspeakable things in this town. You'll atone for them."
He had deliberately refrained from using Observation Haki, not just to test himself, but also because he wanted to capture the pirates, not kill them. Even if he couldn't win their loyalty, they would serve as free labor.
After all, from this day forward, Frost Town was his domain, and he needed manpower to rebuild it.
A bad life is better than death. Realizing Arik's intent, the captain, already broken in spirit, quickly surrendered.
Once their leader yielded, the rest of the pirates' willpower collapsed. They became docile, lying prone and silent on the snow.
Then came the cleanup.
The pirates had recently raided a merchant vessel carrying food supplies. The ship's hold was stocked with grain, a fortune in this frozen land.
Arik, ever pragmatic, distributed part of the food to the local townsfolk.
Of course, he didn't do it for free. First, he used the grain to draw them in. Then he announced himself as the new lord of Frost Town, explaining that his troops would be stationed there permanently. Finally, he hired the residents with food as payment to help clean the docks.
Food was worth more than money now. And with Arik as their protector, the people were overjoyed. News spread quickly.
Soon, villagers from ten kilometers around, desperate and starving, flocked to Frost Town.
The goodwill Arik had been cultivating over the past month by redistributing captured rebel supplies finally bore fruit. Frost Town began to flourish once more.
But not everyone was pleased.
"What?! That damned traitor dares to occupy Frost Town and even call himself its lord?"
In the snow-covered fortress of Blizzard City, the rebel commander-in-chief Glynn sneered as he heard the report.
"Hmph. I don't know if he's overconfident or just a fool. Send a squad to eliminate him. Gilbert's already placed a death order on that man."
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