Bang!
Inside the tavern, a burly man with a shockingly hairy chest slammed a barrel of liquor down onto the table.
"So what if it's the Donquixote Family? That just means they're exactly who I want to rob!"
"Scared? If you're scared of everything, then why the hell did you ever go out to sea and become pirates? You might as well all crawl back home and drink milk!"
The big man's mockery immediately darkened the expressions of many people sitting across from him. A few of the more hot-tempered ones were already reaching for their weapons, clearly ready to teach this bastard a lesson.
"What did you say? Who the hell is scared?!"
"Watch your mouth. I'm talking to your captain. Since when does a little nobody like you get to bark?"
"Damn you, I'll...!"
"Shut up and get back!"
This time, the one who spoke was a man wearing a tight green combat suit, with a rapier hanging at his waist. His outfit was bizarre enough to be hard to ignore.
Once the captain spoke, the man who had just been insulted could only swallow his anger, no matter how bitter he felt.
"Black Bear Miles, your men came to me and said you wanted to discuss a big deal, so I brought my people here in person. And it turns out you want to hit a Donquixote Family smuggling ship. Setting success or failure aside, have you even thought about the consequences of doing that?"
"Hah! What consequences? At worst, it just means fighting those bastards to the bitter end. That damn Donquixote Family has been getting on my nerves for a long time already! I always thought Silverlight Sword Lawrence was someone worth taking seriously, but now that I've met you in person... hah, turns out you're just a coward. If your Hundred Blades Pirates don't dare move, then my Giant Bear Pirates will handle it. But let me say this in advance. If your people come over and try to mess things up, then don't blame me for not showing mercy."
That was a straight-up attempt to kill with words.
Every member of the Hundred Blades Pirates was furious, fire practically shooting out of their eyes. Even Lawrence himself had gone dark-faced, murder in his gaze.
"If that stupid bear really wants to die, I can send him on his way right now!"
He had already been insulted to his face. If he still did not respond, then he could forget about keeping his captain's position.
"You? A coward who starts trembling the second he hears the name Donquixote Family? Hahahahaha!"
Black Bear Miles roared with laughter, and the men he had brought with him doubled over laughing right alongside him.
Even though Lawrence knew full well that the man was deliberately provoking him and trying to push his buttons, he still could not tolerate that kind of humiliation.
In the next instant, silver light burst forth!
Lawrence drove his rapier straight into Miles's chest.
The title Silverlight Sword was exactly what had made his name famous.
But what left Lawrence horrified was that his blade only sank half an inch into the man's body before refusing to go any farther.
When he looked up, Miles was grinning viciously at him. Then, right before his eyes, the man transformed into a gigantic black bear over five meters tall.
That thick hide was the perfect armor.
"Was that supposed to tickle?"
Miles raised one massive bear paw and brought it smashing down.
Boom!
The solid hardwood table shattered into pieces on the spot.
Fortunately, Lawrence was no fraud either. At the last possible second, he retreated fast enough to avoid being hit, so he remained uninjured.
But his expression had turned extremely grave.
"A Devil Fruit user?"
"Not bad. Looks like you do know a thing or two."
Black Bear Miles sounded openly proud.
He was a Zoan-type Black Bear Fruit user.
Once transformed into a black bear, both his strength and defense were massively enhanced. Smashing a few skulls apart with one swipe was as easy as playing around.
At the same time, he was also a rising new force in the North Blue over the past two years, with a bounty of 33 million Beli.
Lawrence, on the other hand, had entered the game earlier and had more "achievements" under his belt, so his bounty was a little higher, at 35 million Beli.
But judging from that brief exchange just now, Lawrence might not actually hold the advantage.
Of course, who would win and who would lose could only be decided by fighting it out.
"Again!"
Lawrence charged once more, sword in hand, while Miles met him head-on, both massive bear paws swinging forward without hesitation.
In just a short while, the poor tavern was reduced to rubble.
And once the two captains started fighting, the rest of their crews began growing restless as well.
They could not interfere in the captains' battle, but there were plenty of enemies standing right in front of them. Added to the resentment that had already built up, more than a few were on the verge of losing control.
Yet not long after that, the two captains who had seemed ready to fight to the death suddenly pulled back at the exact same moment.
That left everyone staring in confusion.
Why stop now?
Because neither of them wanted to end up with both sides ruined.
On one side, Black Bear Miles had extremely high defense and enormous power, but he had trouble catching Lawrence, who was faster and much more agile.
On the other side, Lawrence's quick sword could not deal effective damage. All he could do was dodge and search for weak points like the eyes.
In the short term, neither of them could do anything decisive to the other.
But if they really fought to the bitter end, then Black Bear Miles would clearly have the better odds.
He could tank many of Lawrence's attacks head-on, while Lawrence only needed to make one mistake to suffer a devastating blow.
And in terms of stamina, Miles, as a Zoan Devil Fruit user, clearly outclassed Lawrence as well.
At the same time, Lawrence was not truly without chances either. His strength was still there, after all.
Because both sides understood that once the fight kept going, it would spiral completely out of control, they stopped in perfect unspoken agreement.
"You're strong. No wonder you had the confidence to set your sights on a Donquixote Family smuggling ship."
Lawrence, who had been at a slight disadvantage earlier, took the initiative to hand the other man an exit.
Miles did not keep pressing, either. He returned to his human form at once and laughed loudly.
"You're not bad yourself. We fought all that time, and I still couldn't land even one solid hit on you."
If you did land one, I'd probably be dead already.
Lawrence thought that inwardly, but what he said aloud was, "I'm a little more interested in your proposal now. How about we change locations and discuss it properly?"
Miles was delighted. "Good! If the two of us join forces this time, then even if their ship has officers guarding it, they still won't be able to stop us!"
Of course, if you wanted to cooperate, then both sides had to be roughly equal in status and strength. Otherwise, bringing along a pig teammate would just be digging your own grave.
So that fight had not been pointless at all. Both sides had now seen what the other was capable of.
You could call it getting acquainted through battle. The gunpowder-filled atmosphere from before vanished so suddenly that the underlings around them started wondering if they had lost their minds.
Then again, that was exactly why those two were captains, while the rest of them could only remain lackeys.
If you could not understand the key point behind it all, then you were destined to be cannon fodder forever.
Naturally, August had no idea that two pirate crews had already set their sights on the wealth and supplies aboard the Donquixote Family smuggling ship, and had even begun acting together.
At this moment, his attention was fixed on the system.
Because three days had already passed, he had gained another search chance.
What he was hesitating over now was whether he should use it immediately.
If he waited until after going out to sea, then the available resources would only be even scarcer than they were right now.
And he still had no idea whether his next plan would go smoothly.
If he could complete a new order as soon as possible, then perhaps he might get some reward he could use immediately.
Once that thought crossed his mind, he made up his decision.
He was going to gamble on it.
Even if he ended up with an order that was difficult to complete, he still had the [Four-Star Positive Review Card] as a fallback.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]