"Damn it! I won't accept such terms! I won't condone this filthy act of treason either!" Chad's voice was filled with sorrow. He slashed off the royal emblem embedded in his left shoulder armor, then scraped away the kingdom's mark on his chest, raising his sword and shouting, "I hereby rebel against the Dasco Royal Family! I no longer fight for the monarchy! From this moment on, I fight only for the people of this nation!"
Chad's act of cutting off the royal emblem symbolized his rebellion against the Clifford Kingdom's monarchy, while defacing the kingdom's mark declared his rejection of the Dasco Royal Family's rule over the nation.
"We fight only for the nation and its people! We no longer recognize the Dasco Royal Family!"
Seeing Chad's actions, over a thousand remaining knights of the Black Spot Pirates immediately followed suit. Close behind, a large number of knights and soldiers also scraped off the kingdom's marks from their armor.
There were men loyal to the First Prince, the Second Prince, even the Third Prince, and even some from Benson's own retinue, all signaling the same intent.
"Tsk, tsk, rebelling against the monarchy, eh?" Bowen shook his head, his body rapidly shrinking back to its normal size.
"Quite a rare sight, indeed." Limmings retreated to the side, leaning on 'Valkyr.' He himself was a knight from a country in the West Blue, but he had chosen to set sail precisely because he disagreed with his own kingdom's royalty. Still, he had never witnessed such a large-scale rebellion against a monarchy.
Colby Genno, the kingdom's strongest warrior, glanced around, sneered, and rested his spiked club on his shoulder, withdrawing to a corner to indicate his non-involvement.
Backan, who had been confronting him, also stepped back, sheathing his great axe, signifying a truce between them.
Though over ten thousand soldiers and knights had betrayed the Dasco Royal Family, the majority of the army remained in a state of observation, or perhaps, fear—fear of the monstrous strength displayed by those before them.
"Brothers! All of this is a conspiracy by these pirates! They want to seize our nation, to plunder everything here! As Horst Chad, a soldier and a knight, protecting our home and country is paramount! We must kill these pirates!" Chad declared loudly and righteously, raising his sword and charging forward first.
"Protect our home and country!"
"Kill these pirates!"
"Kill! Eradicate these filthy pirates!"
"..."
Immediately, over ten thousand soldiers and knights in the plaza, their faces flushed red, roared and swarmed forward.
"Tch, a bunch of trash." Arlan scoffed dismissively, not even bothering to look at them.
"Captain, leave them to me! Let me cut them down!" Bloodshot eyes appeared in Oliver's eyes, his face contorted into a savage grimace, emanating an astonishing killing intent.
The crew of the Chris Pirates, facing a swarm of ten thousand soldiers, remained utterly disdainful. Their eyes held either contempt, mockery, or scorn; not a single one felt fear.
They knew their captain was a monster, capable of destroying a city or annihilating a nation single-handedly.
"It seems not enough people have died today!"
Ignoring Oliver's request, Aeridar stepped forward a few paces, standing before his crew, looking up at the sky, arms outstretched.
Hum!
A faint, almost imperceptible hum. An invisible force rapidly radiated outward, and the entire space seemed to dim, turning monochrome. An unseen oppressive aura swept in all directions.
"Ugh..."
Thump, thump, thump...
Immediately, the ten thousand shouting soldiers and knights who were swarming forward stiffened. Their eyes rolled back into their heads as they collapsed to the ground, almost all of them unconscious.
The sight of ten thousand people collapsing in collective unconsciousness was magnificent. The unbetrayed royal army in the plaza stared, their eyes nearly popping out in shock. Their hearts were filled with overwhelming dread, some even slumping to the ground with weak knees.
"Co-Conqueror's Haki!" Chad's mouth twitched as his body froze, almost petrified. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and the back of his clothes was completely soaked.
"Oh my... There are still nearly ten people who haven't fallen. That's quite good!" Aeridar scanned the area. Out of the ten thousand-strong army, including the Black Spot Pirates, barely ten individuals remained standing and conscious.
"De-Demon! Monster!"
Those who were practically sprawled on the ground or could only stand by leaning on their weapons were utterly terrified. They would likely live their lives under Aeridar's shadow.
"What if I'm a pirate? Pirates can conquer even the great seas, while you are merely weaklings who have barely ventured out to sea a few times. Weaklings among weaklings will only remain weaklings!"
Aeridar grinned maniacally, walking up to Chad, and stated with certainty, "This world operates on the principle of 'might makes right,' where the strong are revered. The strong make the rules, and the weak obey them. And you weaklings, if you wish to defy the rules of the strong, you will only die, a worthless death!"
"No! The people will not accept pirate rule! Even if I die, I will surely awaken the spirit of resistance in the people!" Chad stubbornly met Aeridar's gaze, tightening his grip on his sword.
"So what? It's human nature to obey the strong, and besides..." Aeridar took a few more steps, closing the distance to Chad, a murderous glint in his eyes as he spoke cruelly, "If one person resists, kill one person! If ten resist, kill ten people! If a city resists, destroy the city! If an entire nation resists, exterminate the nation!"
"You... you... aren't you afraid of... divine retribution?" Chad's breath hitched, his eyes wide in disbelief as he looked at the man before him.
"Divine retribution? Hehehehahaha..." Aeridar clutched his face, laughing so hard he almost choked.
Suddenly, Aeridar abruptly stopped laughing, a flash of killing intent on his face. He roared and slammed a fist into Chad: "If so-called divine retribution could kill me, then it would be the strong one! If I die at the hands of the strong, it's only because I wasn't strong enough!!!"
Facing Aeridar's sudden attack, Chad instinctively raised his sword to block.
Clang!
A pitch-black fist, imbued with powerful Haki, smashed heavily against the sword.
Under the immense force, the longsword let out a violent clang, and the colliding energies transformed into a wild whirlwind, forming a fierce, white air blast that expanded outward like a shockwave. It immediately sent everything within dozens of meters flying and knocked over people within a hundred meters.
Crack!
A clear breaking sound echoed. Chad's royal longsword shattered into two pieces under the intense vibration.
"Dual-Stage Impact Fist!" Aeridar uttered with a sinister grin.
"No!" Chad's pupils contracted violently. He watched helplessly as Aeridar's fist, still brimming with power, unleashed another surge of force, striking directly into his chest.
Boom!
Under the burst of new power, Chad was sent flying, instantly soaring hundreds of meters away before crashing into the ground, creating a large crater where he finally stopped.
"You think you're a hero? Don't you know that heroes always die young? Hmph, foolish man." Aeridar scoffed, withdrawing his fist.
"Cough, cough!"
Within the large crater, Chad's chest armor was utterly shattered, his chest slightly caved in. He coughed up large gouts of blood.
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