Chapter 273: Eating Shit

Chapter 273: Chapter 273: Eating Shit

"T-The Heavenly Punishment Pirates?" The Captain felt the name sounded somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had heard it for a moment.

Beside him, the bespectacled first mate looked as if he had been struck by lightning. His face turned pale as paper, and he tugged tremblingly at the Captain’s sleeve, his voice choked with tears:

"C-Captain... The Heavenly... The Heavenly Punishment Pirates... They are a Pirate Crew from the New World! They are... one of the strongest major Pirate Crews in the New World right now! It’s the fleet of the ’Queen of Thunder,’ Charlotte Linlin!!"

The first mate’s words were like the final straw that crushed the Captain’s remaining hope. His legs went weak, and with a "thud," he knelt on the blood-soaked deck, his sword clattering to the ground.

"S-Spare us! My lady! We were blind! We offended your fleet! We are willing to hand over all our treasure, just please spare our wretched lives!"

The Captain kowtowed repeatedly, his heart filled with endless humiliation and resentment.

He swore that if he could survive this calamity, he would find a way in the future to make these women pay the price and taste humiliation far worse than what he was suffering today!

Melo watched the Captain and first mate begging for mercy on their knees, along with the surrounding remnants of the Pirate Crew who had also lost their will to fight and were trembling in fear. A cold curve tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Our Heavenly Punishment Pirates do not take in trash like you." She gave a light wave of her sword. "Do it. Clean them up."

The other three Mermaid warriors nearby instantly turned into four streaks of light, pouncing toward the remaining pirate elites on the deck. They had some skill to have survived the previous rain of arrows.

But to Melo and the others, they were no different from the pirates who had already died.

With their weapons shimmering with the faint black light of Armament Haki, whether one-on-one or even one-on-two, for these Mermaid warriors who had been baptized by even crueler battles in the New World, dealing with these "elite" pirates from the South Blue was like cutting vegetables.

Amidst the flashing sword light, the remaining pirates fell one after another, unable to put up any decent resistance at all.

"Damn it! Fight them to the death!!" Seeing no hope of survival, the Captain’s vicious nature was completely ignited. He grabbed the sword on the ground and, along with his equally desperate first mate, roared as they lunged toward Melo, attempting a final struggle, a desperate last stand.

But the Mermaids would not die, yet their net would definitely break.

The two swung their blades to slash, but Melo easily dodged. With a slight flick of her wrist, her longsword traced two arcs.

"Clang! Clang!" The Captain and first mate felt their hands lighten; their high-grade steel longswords had been effortlessly severed by Melo!

"H-How is this possible..." The Captain looked at the broken blades in his hands, his face full of disbelief.

They couldn’t even touch the hem of her clothes with their attacks, yet her casual strike could destroy their weapons!

"Are... are all the people in the New World such monsters?!" The first mate collapsed to the ground, utterly despairing.

The battle, or rather, the one-sided cleanup, was declared over in a very short time.

When the massive shadow of the St. Freya approached, only the Mermaid warriors of the Heavenly Punishment Pirates remained on the deck.

At the railing of the St. Freya, several heroic-looking Female Warriors carrying longbows leaned out, watching the battle below that had ended so quickly. One of them called out to Melo with a smile:

"Captain Melo, you guys are too fast! I really envy you guys who can come and go freely in the water; we haven’t even warmed up yet."

Melo sheathed her longsword and looked up at her companions, a faint smile appearing on her cold, beautiful face:

"It’s mainly because these guys are too weak. At this level, they wouldn’t even qualify to guard the gates for those major Pirate Crews in the New World."

Just then, a taller figure appeared by the railing of the St. Freya. Her long pinkish-purple hair fluttered in the sea breeze, and her purple eyes calmly scanned the carnage below, finally resting on Melo and the others.

"Captain!" Melo and all the Mermaid warriors immediately straightened their bodies, their eyes revealing heartfelt respect and... a glimmer mixed with awe and admiration.

"It’s Captain Linlin!"

"Every time I see the Captain, I feel she is so stunning..."

Other female Crew members on the St. Freya also gathered around, whispering in admiration, their gazes burning.

Charlotte Linlin was already used to the "lovestruck" gazes around her and nodded at Melo:

"Well done." She then turned her gaze to the damaged pirate ships. "Check what’s in the cabins, count the treasure, and also, focus on searching for any kidnapped civilians."

"Yes! Captain!"

The Crew members on the St. Freya immediately sprang into action, nimbly leaping onto the pirate ships and entering the cabins to search.

Soon, boxes of treasure were carried out and piled together. Afterward, dozens of terrified, trembling women and children were brought out.

Their eyes were filled with fear for the future. Even seeing that their rescuers were a group of good-looking people, they still couldn’t feel at ease; after all, this was clearly also a group of pirates.

The Crew members of the Heavenly Punishment Pirates handed over fresh water and food, patiently comforting them: "Don’t be afraid, you are safe now." "We won’t hurt you." "We will send you back to the shore or to a safe place in a while."

Upon learning that they were not only saved but would also be sent back to their hometowns or a safe place, these traumatized women and children gradually regained their composure, tears of survival welling up in their eyes as they thanked them incessantly.

Under the comfort of the crew, the rescued women and children gradually stabilized their emotions. Wrapped in blankets, sipping hot water in small mouthfuls, a glimmer of vitality began to return to their terrified eyes.

The treasure chests brought over from the pirate ships were neatly stacked in a corner.

Charlotte Linlin stood by the railing, glanced at the pirate ship, and slightly raised her hand, black lightning quietly emerging.

"Sshh—!" The black lightning streaked across the sea, and the pirate ship disintegrated into countless fine fragments, sinking into the ocean.

"Let’s go, to that island." Charlotte Linlin turned around, preparing to order the ship to set sail for Gray Bream Town.

Just as the Crew members began to handle the follow-up matters, one of the large wooden chests in the pile of treasure on the deck suddenly moved slightly.

Inside the chest. Kuzan slowly woke up from a deep coma. A splitting headache and a dull ache on his forehead made him moan out loud.

Everything before his eyes was dim. His body was aching from being pressed against hard objects, and the tip of his nose was filled with the scent of metal, dust, and... a faint smell of blood? Memories flooded back like a tide—pirate invasion, hiding, being knocked unconscious...

"Damn pirates!" He gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice, his youthful voice filled with anger and helplessness.

He struggled to move, only to find his body pressed down by many hard, cold objects.

Just then—"Grumble, grumble..." His stomach let out a thunderous protest, a beast of hunger awakening, instantly devouring all other discomforts.

He was too hungry; from yesterday until now, he had eaten almost nothing.

Coincidentally, a strange fruit appeared in his peripheral vision.

"Food?" This was the first thought that popped into his mind.

In a state of extreme hunger, anything that could be stuffed into his mouth would be regarded as food.

Moreover, this thing was stolen by the pirates; eating it could also be considered a form of revenge!

An inexplicable urge drove Kuzan, as if the fruit itself was exuding a temptation of "Eat me."

Kuzan didn’t think much. He lifted the strange fruit with both hands, opened his mouth, and used all his strength to viciously swallow a bite!

The next moment—"Blech—!! Ptooey! Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!!!"

An indescribable, extremely disgusting taste exploded in his mouth! Kuzan’s face twisted instantly, his stomach churning, and he almost vomited up the stomach acid that was already empty.

"Ah—!!! So disgusting!!!" At this moment, tears and snot were choked out of Kuzan. "W-What the hell is this thing?! How can there be such a disgusting fruit?! It’s just like... just like eating shit!!"

After cursing, he was stunned himself. Wait... "Like eating shit"? He was an orphan who had struggled to survive in the slums since he was a child. Although life was difficult, he had never actually eaten that kind of thing. Why did such a specific and disgusting metaphor suddenly pop into his mind?

Just as Kuzan was left dizzy and starting to doubt his life by the indescribable taste of the fruit and the strange associations in his mind, an inexplicable energy began to surge wildly within his body...

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