BANG!
A bullet struck the large man's body, drawing blood.
Even with his incredible offensive and defensive capabilities, those were only active when he was in a controlled or vigilant state.
This was akin to a ninja in Naruto: no matter how strong they became through training, if they were asleep and completely unguarded, a fruit knife could send them to the afterlife. But if they covered their body with chakra, they could become immune to blades and bullets.
This large man had believed Alucard was already thrown far away, so for a brief moment, he relaxed his guard, completely unaware that Alucard would appear in his shadow.
Alucard seized that instant of laxity to fire a bullet that struck his body.
However, it must be said that the bodies of people in this world defy common sense. A Casull bullet, capable of easily piercing even elephants and Sea Kings, struck this large man, yet remarkably, it failed to penetrate his body. This spoke volumes about how supremely he had honed his physique.
...
Ding!
Defeated a Fleet Admiral-level powerhouse, Zephyr: One Wound.
Ability Development Progress:
Mature Vampire Physique: 45%
Bat Shadow (Mature): 20%
Weapon: Casull LV3: 105%
Blacklight Virus LV1: 110%
Hidden Shadow LV1: 5%"
...
Alucard hadn't expected that simply inflicting one wound on his opponent would push two of his abilities to their limits, further highlighting the terrifying nature of the man before him.
Alucard suddenly recalled: 'Zephyr, wasn't he that Marine Admiral? One of the iconic figures of the Marines, a top-tier powerhouse of the era.'
Having recognized his opponent, Alucard grinned. 'So that's it, that's why! No wonder fighting him yielded so much experience.'
This time, it was just one wound. If he were to kill Zephyr, the experience gain would probably be insane.
"Chief Instructor Zephyr!"
At that moment, countless Marines, no less than three hundred of them, stood around the stone quarry. In front of these regular Marines stood a man as tall and formidable as Zephyr himself. He jumped to Zephyr's side, examining his wound.
"Kuzan, lend me an ice blade!" Zephyr said coldly. With a flick of the young man's hand, a small, fruit-knife-sized blade of ice mist condensed into his palm and was handed to Zephyr.
An Ice-Ice Fruit user! The future Marine Admiral, Kuzan!
Zephyr took the ice blade, pulled open his collar, and sharply cut into the wound on his shoulder. To the disbelief of the World Government employees, he used that ice blade to pry out the bullet.
Seeing this, Kuzan quickly raised his hand and froze Zephyr's wound to prevent infection.
At this point, Maswick popped up again, yelling at the surrounding people, "After insulting the government, this kid wounded Chief Instructor Zephyr! Eliminate him immediately! Eliminate him!"
Zephyr turned and glared at Maswick.
The killing intent honed from countless battlefields was something a mere profiteering government stooge couldn't possibly withstand. Maswick immediately stumbled backward, falling onto his backside.
"Are you the pirate hunter Julius spoke of, the one who took down the 35 million Berry bounty pirate?" Zephyr turned and asked Alucard.
"Pirate hunter... interpret it as you wish."
Alucard shrugged, a strange smile on his face. He glanced at the large Marine contingent surrounding them. It seemed a continued fight was impossible for now.
"I'm going back to sleep. I still need my afternoon nap." Alucard turned to leave, but several Marines immediately blocked his path. Many had witnessed the young man's fight with Zephyr.
"Wait! Let him go!"
Zephyr's cold command made the soldiers blocking Alucard's path look at him in surprise. A few seconds later, they stepped back, clearing a path for Alucard.
"Tell me your name, pirate hunter," Zephyr said, pulling his collar back to cover his wound.
"Dracula D. Alucard." Alucard left his name.
Kuzan took one last look at Alucard's retreating back, then turned and asked lazily, "How should we handle this?"
"Don't worry! I need to resolve this matter here first."
Zephyr walked up to Maswick, who was sprawled on the ground.
When Zephyr's shadow fell over him, like an immovable mountain, the awe-inspiring presence he radiated left Maswick speechless with fear.
Although the government usually paid little mind to the Marines' opinions, if they were to weigh him and Zephyr on a scale, Maswick wouldn't even leave a speck of dust behind.
"I need you to thoroughly explain the full sequence of events to me, Executive Maswick. Of course, it's fine if you want to lie; I will investigate each and every resident here individually."
Zephyr was originally the instructor for Kuzan's current class of Marine students, tasked with escorting Maswick to purchase Amber Lead on behalf of the World Government, then returning.
This was their practical training mission.
Zephyr hadn't paid much attention to the Amber Lead purchase itself. However, when the Marine Captain of this branch mentioned a pirate hunter, only around fifteen years old, had taken down a 35 million Berry bounty pirate here, it piqued Zephyr's interest.
Alucard's actions during this period had already been observed by the Marines, so Zephyr easily found out Alucard was at the mining site. He came to investigate, and unexpectedly, he stumbled upon this scene, leading to everything that just transpired.