Chapter 188: Lunarians and Buccaneers
Calm Belt - In the dense jungle.
Yelena stood in Gerd's palm, gazing at the endless ocean of green before her, a strange light in her eyes. After a moment, she took off the gas mask from her face and quietly felt the unique environment around her.
"It's really just like the rumors say. Not a single breeze."
Hearing this, Gerd held Yelena up before her eyes and replied with a smile, "That's right. Because there's no wind, the environment here is very different from other places. The forest floor is often shrouded in the smell of decay."
Nearby, Hajrudin stood with his arms crossed, his eyes sweeping over several dense patches of forest, his tone gradually becoming heavy. "Not only that, but the probability of encountering a Haki-using beast on a deserted island in the Calm Belt is far higher than in the New World!"
Goldberg stood with his giant shield in hand and his kanabō on his shoulder, his face rarely serious. "That's right. The Calm Belt isn't just a nest for Sea Kings at sea; even the deserted islands are extremely dangerous!"
As people who had passed through the Calm Belt to the West Blue more than once, Hajrudin and the others had always held a considerable degree of reverence for it. This had not changed in the slightest, even after their strength had undergone a world-shaking transformation. There was no civilization here; as far as the eye could see, it was all wilderness.
Yelena heard their cautious replies and nodded thoughtfully, indicating she understood.
Just then, the trees beside the giants trembled violently, and a pair of cold, bloodthirsty beastly eyes were faintly visible.
Road, who was closest to the trees, saw this, coughed lightly, and then put on a nonchalant expression. "Ahem, it's fine, leave it to me—"
The next second, a ferocious snake's head shot out from a tree that was only as tall as Road's chest at the speed of lightning, biting straight for his neck.
"Watch out!!" Hajrudin's face changed. He subconsciously reached a hand out toward Road.
Road heard him and instinctively turned his head to look. The next moment, his eyes filled with an incomparably terrified look. He subconsciously drew the giant longsword from his back and swung it to meet the attack.
SPLAT—
With the sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh and blood, the giant snake's head was instantly split in two, and foul-smelling blood rained down on Road.
This sudden turn of events made the others turn to look. Hajrudin's hand was frozen in mid-air, a strange light in the eyes under his helmet. Gerd and Goldberg looked at each other, feeling as if they were seeing Road for the first time. They had originally thought that Road would be directly pounced on and would be waiting for Hajrudin to rescue him. But they hadn't expected that although he was terrified, he had still killed the beast that attacked him in an instant.
This scene made Goldberg and Gerd's opinion of Road improve considerably. However, the next moment, Road's performance left them speechless again.
"AAARGH!!!"
"I've been sprayed with snake venom! My face is burning! It stinks!" Road covered his blood-stained face and let out a piercing wail, rolling around under the leaf-littered ground. "My face is going to rot off!!"
"..." Yelena saw this and shook her head.
Gerd and Goldberg, however, raised their hands to their faces, a look of helplessness on them.
"This guy is a lost cause—"
"As I thought, we shouldn't have any special expectations for him!"
Hajrudin saw this and wanted to reach out and pull Road up, but the foul-smelling blood and mud on his body made him hesitate. In the end, he silently took a few steps back and looked away.
Just then, another commotion came from the distant forest, attracting everyone's attention. Unlike before, this commotion was larger and more widespread.
"Were they attracted by Road's screams?"
"They've surrounded us. Is it a wolf pack?"
Seeing this, the group immediately became vigilant. Even Road ignored the burning sensation and the stench on his face, quickly getting up and holding his longsword, standing in front of the others.
In Gerd's palm, a look of confusion appeared in the eyes under Yelena's gas mask. Because in her Observation Haki, these unknown creatures rushing over from the distance gave her a considerable sense of familiarity.
Soon, one dark figure after another walked out from under the trees, surrounding them.
Gerd saw this and subconsciously said, "Are these... dogs?"
One by one, giant dogs with yellow fur, square heads, and large ears came forward on the decaying fallen leaves. They lowered their heads in an offensive posture, their tails hanging behind them, without making a sound, their beastly eyes fixed on the group.
"You all came too?" Seeing them, scene after scene from several years ago flashed in Yelena's eyes. Then, she leaped down from Gerd's palm, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a large cloud of decaying leaves.
Gerd and the others saw this, and although they were confused, they said nothing. Yelena was a powerhouse who could beat them all to the ground even after they had eaten Devil Fruits. She must have her reasons for doing this.
As Yelena walked slowly on the leaves and branches, she reached up and once again took off her gas mask, revealing her true face and white hair.
"!!"
Seeing this, the ears of the lead giant dog instantly perked up, and the long tail dragging behind it began to wag gently. Immediately after, the ears of the other yellow giant dogs perked up one after another, like a chain reaction.
Yelena stopped in front of the lead dog, reached out and stroked its neck, letting her scent reach its nose. The next second, the giant dog's tail instantly began to wag like a propeller, and a joyous expression appeared on its face. Immediately after, the rest of the dogs also became enthusiastic.
The several giants saw this and were at a loss. "What's going on?" they subconsciously asked.
Yelena turned her head, a smile with a hint of nostalgia on her face. "They... are the partners of the Buccaneer race."
Yelena sat on the back of the lead dog, letting it carry her through the jungle. These giant dogs from the West Blue were quite considerate. To prevent Yelena and the others from being harmed by the poisonous creatures in the primeval jungle, they directly carved a path with their sharp claws and cavernous mouths, causing many of the native creatures living there to flee in panic. And behind them, a group of strong giant dogs followed from a distance, as if guarding their rear.
The scene unfolding before them made Gerd remark with emotion, "I don't know why, but I'm suddenly reminded of someone..."
"Is it Loki?" Hajrudin asked in a peculiar tone. It was clear he had a similar thought.
Gerd heard him and nodded. "That's right. I was thinking of Loki and the giant beasts he raised in the underworld of Elbaf."
Loki was infamous in Elbaf. On the surface, no giant was willing to associate with him. Therefore, he had tamed the beasts of Elbaf's underworld and kept them as companions. As people who had known Loki since they were young, they had naturally also seen him go out with giant beasts that even other giants would find massive. That scene was similar to the one before them now.
Hearing this, Yelena couldn't help but turn her head. She raised a hand to her chin, a puzzled look on her face. "Hajrudin, that younger brother of yours, Loki... is he really as evil as you all say? Could there be some hidden reason?" Yelena asked subconsciously, recalling a topic Louis had once mentioned to her and Uta.
To this, Hajrudin decisively shook his head and replied in a deep voice, "There's no such possibility. We have all seen Loki commit numerous evil acts more than once. He's the kind of guy who is just born evil!"
To this, even Gerd nodded. "Based on the crimes Loki has committed, even if there is a hidden reason, it would be very difficult for us to forgive him!"
"I see." Yelena heard him, nodded, and did not mention it again.
"..."
Not long after, the giant dogs led the group directly to the coast on the other side of the island. The area at the edge of the coast had been completely cleared, and a temporary settlement was revealed before them.
One after another, tall figures sat on wooden stakes, looking with great curiosity at the giants who had followed the dogs.
Not far away, a group of Lunarians, dressed in animal skins and bone ornaments and exuding a wild aura, were talking with some of their kinsmen who were dressed in togas. Seeing the arrival of the giants, they also cast curious glances.
"So these are the Buccaneers?"
"Although I've heard of them more than once, today is the first time I've seen them—"
"Some of the captain's kinsmen... they look a bit like savages," Road subconsciously moved closer to Hajrudin and whispered.
Hajrudin ignored Road's question. Instead, he inconspicuously reached out and pushed the foul-smelling Road away, then looked up at the distance, at something that had caught his interest.
At the edge of the horizon, a huge Island Cloud was slowly moving away. Its size far surpassed that of Avant Heim and the giants' ship, reaching the level of a true island. The sharp-eyed Hajrudin even saw specks of green on its back. Without a doubt, that was not just an Island Cloud, but a real sky island.
Just then, a young female voice sounded nearby, answering Hajrudin's question. "That is the Sky Island - Baal. It is the largest moving sky island in the world. As for its origin and method of movement, that is a secret—"
At these words, not just Hajrudin, but the rest of the group also looked in the direction of the voice. A tall figure, about four meters high, walked over from not far away, stopping directly in front of the group and revealing her true face.
Long, pale hair, brown skin, and black wings identical to the other Lunarians. Her features were above average, and she was dressed in a pure white toga.
"My name is Artemis. If I'm not mistaken, Louis should have mentioned this name."
"..."
Hajrudin was completely bewildered. They didn't remember ever hearing this name.
But a flash of understanding appeared in Yelena's eyes. She already understood the identity of the person before her. The one who was beaten up by a five-year-old Louis and cried for several days.
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