"This marine officer assassinated the sole crown princess of Goa Kingdom, Sariey Nantokanet—kill him!"
"Huh?"
Both Lancelot and Sally Nandkanet froze in place simultaneously.
First, they hadn't expected Outlock III to have been waiting here for them all along, with his troops already in position.
Second, they never anticipated Outlock III would react in such a manner, instantly painting Lancelot as an assassin and her as the victim.
Lancelot turned to Sarie with some confusion.
"Has Outlock III gone mad?"
But as soon as these words left his mouth, he immediately understood.
When he looked at Outlock III again, his gaze had completely changed.
'Perhaps...' he thought, 'this old man was the true "king" all along, and Stelly was merely one of his pawns.'
At the same time, Sarie stepped forward, her voice ringing with royal authority.
"He didn't assassinate me—he was trying to protect me! The ones who truly want me dead are you, Outlock III, and Stelly!"
Yet the soldiers, their faces grim and determined, acted as if they hadn't heard a single word.
"Bang bang bang..."
In near-perfect unison, everyone pulled their triggers.
A hailstorm of bullets rained down, not toward Lancelot, but toward Princess Sarie Nantokanette, without the slightest hesitation, completely disregarding her royal status.
This clearly showed that these were all Outlock III's men, possibly even his most trusted, brainwashed confidants.
"Tekkai: Utsugi..."
Lancelot flashed in front of Sarie, his body hardening just as the bullets arrived, once again deflecting all of them back toward their source.
Instantly, the soldiers standing at the front fell in waves, screaming in agony as their own shots tore through them.
Outlock III's face drastically changed, his eyes filled with shock at the impossible defense.
But he quickly regained his composure, turning and calling out to the shadows on the other side of the courtyard.
"He's all yours! Won't you make your move?"
At this moment, a large, powerfully built man dressed in Native American-style attire emerged from the shadows.
"Oh?"
Seeing the person who stepped out, Lancelot couldn't help but show a surprised expression.
He recognized this man.
This was, by all accounts, one of the strongest warriors in the East Blue, besides Zoro's master, Koshiro.
Appearing in the non-canon movie "Clockwork Island Adventure," his name was Golass, a deadly mercenary, a "killer" hired by Eldorago with money.
In that story, when Eldorago's crew encountered an earthen mountain blocking their path, after Eldorago paid Golass four gold coins, Golass sliced the entire mountain into nothingness with a single sword strike.
Moreover, his slashing technique was different from others.
While an ordinary sword strike would split a giant mountain in two, his blade worked more like a shockwave—mountains would simply vanish into dust with one swing.
Regardless, anyone capable of launching flying slashes of that magnitude was undoubtedly at the level of a Sword Master.
Frankly speaking, the power displayed in that single strike... would earn him a place even in the Grand Line.
Yet... he had lost to Zoro, back when Zoro cant even cut an iron.
'Can you believe it?' Lancelot thought wryly.
'But then again, it's a movie. You know how it is... The protagonist's halo (plot armor) is always dialed up to the maximum.'
'However, what's this guy doing here? Ah, right. He's a mercenary—as long as you have Berries, hiring him as muscle would be as simple as saying the word.'
Lancelot thought to himself, finding the situation becoming increasingly interesting.
Golass slowly walked up to Lancelot, first giving him a sweeping, professional glance before his gaze finally settled on the black blade, Shusui, at Lancelot's waist.
His eyes lit up with a warrior's interest.
As a Sword Master himself, encountering another skilled swordsman naturally piqued his curiosity, especially when seeing a swordsman wielding such a fine, powerful blade.
However, he wouldn't show mercy just because his target was a swordsman.
He simply turned his head and coldly said to Outlock III, "This is a Marine, and a Rear Admiral at that. He must hold significant influence throughout the East Blue. So... the price needs to go up."
Outlock III: "..."
The corner of his eye twitched involuntarily.
But now wasn't the time to argue.
He immediately nodded. "Twenty million... that's the bounty of the highest-priced pirate in the entire East Blue."
Golass scoffed. "Fifty million. After all, he's a Marine... Once I kill him, I'll definitely get a bounty on my head."
Hearing this, not only did Outlock III's eye twitch, but the corner of his mouth also spasmed.
"You're an assassin, and you care about that?"
Golass shrugged. "Indeed I don't care... But why should I bear the risk of getting bountied for you? One word—either pay the Berries, or I walk."
"You..." Outlock III was left speechless with anger.
However, he understood that the most important thing now was to deal with this Marine.
Gritting his teeth, he swallowed his pride.
"Fine! Fifty million it is."
After successfully obtaining a price that satisfied him, Golass slowly turned around, his gaze sharp as a torch as he stared intently at Lancelot.
Then he said, "Sorry, business is business."
Before the words fully faded, Golass suddenly kicked off the ground with both legs, his entire body shooting forward like an arrow released from its bow, charging straight toward Lancelot.
Simultaneously, his right hand tightly gripped his gleaming long sword, and with a furious roar, he swung his arm with tremendous force, bringing the razor-sharp blade down upon Lancelot with mountain-crushing momentum.
Facing such a fierce and swift attack, Lancelot remained completely unfazed, calm and composed.
With just a slight flick of his wrist, Shusui—originally sheathed at his waist—instantly left its scabbard, like a lightning bolt cutting through the night sky, meeting Golass's incoming long sword head-on.
A loud "CLANG..." echoed as the two weapons violently collided mid-air, sparks flying everywhere in that instant, the metallic clang deafening to the ears.
Immediately afterward, a powerful, surging shockwave erupted from where the blades met, sweeping outward in all directions like raging tidal waves.
The area was filled with flying sand and stones, howling winds—the destructive force comparable to a Category 8 typhoon.
Even the surrounding soldiers were blown off balance, forced to retreat repeatedly.
Yet, surprisingly, Lancelot, standing at the epicenter of the storm, stood as steady as if taking a leisurely stroll, effortlessly blocking Golass's heavy strike.
Witnessing this scene, Golass couldn't help but feel shocked, his eyes wide open, his face full of disbelief.
It must be known that although he hadn't used his full strength in that strike, he had still employed forty to fifty percent of his power.
Throughout all his years dominating the East Blue, he had never encountered any swordsman who could so casually neutralize his technique like this.
Now, he couldn't help but reassess the Marine before him, thinking to himself.
'Who exactly is this person? To possess such unfathomable swordsmanship! Is this guy really a Marine? After all, in my impression, Marines are all worthless trash.'
'However, no matter what, he concluded, today I've truly encountered a formidable opponent.'
At this thought, Golass's gaze gradually turned solemn as he stared intently at Lancelot across from him and said in a deep, respectful voice.
"You are truly the most powerful swordsman I have ever encountered in my life!"
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