After this brutal clash, the Elbaf giants seized their chance to defect from the Ice Demon Pirates, fleeing back to their homeland.
Word had reached them days earlier: Blue Ogre Dorry and Red Ogre Brogy, captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, had returned to Elbaf and were rallying their old crew. With their race's leaders back home, the Elbaf giants in the Ice Demon Pirates had no desire to stay, serving as cannon fodder in a war for supremacy under the Ice Giants' banner.
In the past two years, the Ice Demon Pirates had suffered heavy losses in the battles for dominance. Now, with Rocks storming in and pummeling their captain, Wilank, the giants made a snap decision: time to cut and run!
And so, a once-mighty overlord, the Ice Demon Pirates, crumbled.
Learning from the fall of Dawei's Siren Pirates, Rocks refused Wilank's plea to keep his territory as a vassal crew.
"Disband the Ice Demon Pirates and join the Rocks Pirates as our giant army, or die right here!"
Wilank's eyes bulged with fury. Disband the Ice Demon Pirates, a legacy spanning centuries? Never! Sure, he was cunning like a human, maybe even a coward at times, but that didn't mean he'd forsaken the pride of the Ice Giants or the honor of the Ice Demon Pirates!
The remaining eighteen Ice Giants, each towering forty meters, glared at Rocks. Their sacred Ice Demon Pirates, the pinnacle of their race's honor, to be dissolved? Unthinkable! Even in decline, they believed their reclusive elder, the Old Ice Demon, and their secluded Ice Kingdom would one day produce a new leader to revive their glory.
Weapons in hand, the giants stood defiant, ready to face the Rocks Pirates. They awaited Wilank's call. If their captain chose to fight to the death, they'd charge without fear. But if he dared dissolve the Ice Demon Pirates, they'd disown the spineless coward!
"Hold on, Captain Rocks. Give me ten minutes to talk some sense into my kin," Wilank pleaded, his voice dripping with groveling desperation, playing the part of a sniveling survivor to perfection.
Rocks nodded, his expression darkening with barely contained savagery. Wilank scrambled to his feet and shuffled toward his crew.
...
Suddenly, Wilank spoke in a tongue even Rocks couldn't decipher—the ancient dialect of the Ice Giants. A chill ran through Rocks; did these giants have some secret plan?
Under Wilank's words, the eighteen Ice Giants' defiance melted into sorrow. Their raised weapons lowered, and a few younger ones looked ready to cry.
In mere minutes, he'd turned a raging mob into a defeated crowd. Even Rocks grew curious—what had he said in that cryptic language?
Soon, Wilank returned, all smiles and flattery, like a traitor cozying up to his conqueror.
"All done, Captain Rocks! My giants won't fight back anymore."
"Come, come, let me show you to the Ice Demon Pirates' treasure vault!" Wilank bowed low, his servile act polished to a shine.
Rocks smirked, pleased. He didn't care for cowards, but a groveler who kissed his boots? That he could tolerate.
...
As Wilank led Rocks into the Ice Demon Pirates' stronghold, Captain John, lured by the promise of treasure, was hot on their heels. Silver Axe, ever loyal, followed his captain. But Ochoku sensed something off.
Wilank was right there, so what could go wrong? Still, Ochoku stayed behind with the Rocks Pirates' elite, keeping an eye on the eighteen Ice Giants.
As Wilank guided Rocks inside, the giants turned and marched toward their massive pirate ship.
"Hey! Stop right there! What're you up to?" Ochoku bellowed, unleashing a massive sword aura that carved a trench in the giants' path.
The giants muttered among themselves in their native tongue. Then, the eldest, a grizzled veteran, stepped forward to face Ochoku.
"Captain Wilank ordered us to fetch treasure and fine liquor from the ship for a grand feast!" the elder giant rumbled, his voice deep and earnest.
Ochoku's eyes narrowed. "You don't need all of you to haul stuff. Half of you, stay put!"
The swordsman's instincts screamed trouble. The elder giant's respectful tone and honest face didn't fool him—there was a flicker of malice in his eyes. Ochoku trusted his gut; it never lied.
"No, no, sir, there's a ton of cargo up there! With the Elbaf giants gone, we can't disobey Captain Wilank's orders!" the elder giant protested, subtly shifting his massive frame to block Ochoku's view and path.
The thundering footsteps of the other giants quickened. Ochoku's realization hit like a cannonball—they were making a break for it!
"You're running? You'd abandon your precious Captain Wilank? Don't care about your own lives?"
Ochoku drew his blade and slashed, a colossal sword aura slicing through the air with lethal precision, a testament to his great swordsman's skill.
"Hahaha! The Ice Demon Pirates will never disband! We'll live on forever!"
The elder giant swung his massive iron sword, clashing with Ochoku to buy his kin precious time to escape. He fought with reckless abandon, ready to die for his cause.
...
Inside the Ice Demon Pirates' treasure vault, Rocks' ears twitched at the sound of battle outside. His gaze turned deadly, locking onto Wilank's simpering grin.
Wilank's face hardened, dropping the act. He snorted with quiet defiance but said nothing.
"Why?!" Rocks growled, his voice like a death knell. Conqueror's Haki erupted from him, so intense it froze even Captain John, who'd been frantically stuffing treasure and Belly into his pockets.
"Why? You wanna know why?" Wilank roared back, his cowardice giving way to fire. "You think I'd let the Ice Demon Pirates' flag fall under my watch? I may fear death, but I'll be damned if I let our legacy die in shame! I won't be the Ice Giant who betrays our pride!"
His voice thundered, raw with passion. He didn't want to die, but to let Rocks force him to dissolve the Ice Demon Pirates—a stain that would haunt him for eternity—was a humiliation he'd never endure.
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+300 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg