Rumble—!
Rubble and stones flew everywhere as a massive shadow crashed through the roof and landed on the ground.
As the dust settled, Charlotte Linlin's towering figure appeared, while Gloriosa, who was on her shoulder, landed gracefully.
"Who is it?!" The Marines already fighting in the room instinctively raised their muskets, pointing them at the uninvited guests.
Charlotte Linlin didn't spare a glance at those dark muzzles; instead, her gaze fell upon Shakky, who was surrounded in the center, and the Marine Soldiers lying scattered around her.
Raising an eyebrow, she spoke with a hint of mockery, "Yo~ It looks like you're living quite the life, aren't you? Still having the leisure to stretch your muscles."
Shakky gave Linlin a dry look, her tone carrying a trace of unmistakable disappointment.
"Thanks to you all, I'm not dead yet. But... after making such a huge commotion, the one who finally came to save me turned out to be you."
"Hey now!" Sensing Shakky's disappointment, Charlotte Linlin couldn't help but bare her teeth.
"What's with that look? This lady came to save you personally; is that not good enough for you?"
By then, Gloriosa had already rushed to Shakky's side, anxiously checking the Sea Stone shackles on her wrists.
She tried to pull them apart with force and searched for a keyhole, only to find it was futile.
She suddenly looked up, her beautiful eyes sweeping sharply across the trembling Marines, her tone as commanding as a queen's: "If you don't want to die, hand over the key!"
"Oh! Yes, right away!" A young Marine, intimidated by her aura, subconsciously began fumbling through his pockets.
But a second later, he seemed to remember something; his movements froze, and his face turned pale as he waved his hands frantically.
"Wait, wait! I'm sorry... I, I don't have the key..."
He was telling the truth. Originally, CP Agents were guarding Shakky, so the keys were naturally in their hands.
However, after the large-scale pirate attack began, those CP Agents immediately escorted the Celestial Dragons to evacuate. This Marine squad had received orders to "recover the Celestial Dragons' prize," but they were never given the keys.
"Forget it, don't be so troublesome." Charlotte Linlin waved her hand impatiently and strode over to Shakky's side.
She took the nodachi from her waist and lightly tapped it against the Sea Stone chain between Shakky's wrists.
Crackle—!
Black electrical arcs flashed across the surface of the scabbard, and with a faint sound of shattering, those supposedly indestructible Sea Stone handcuffs snapped and fell to the ground!
"?!" Shakky rubbed her freed wrists, her eyes filled with unconcealed shock as she looked at Charlotte Linlin and the sword in her hand.
"You... your ability is truly bizarre. It can even affect Sea Stone?"
This completely overturned her understanding. Sea Stone had always required a special key to unlock; when had she ever seen it destroyed so effortlessly?
The surrounding Marines felt their scalps tingle even more. They recognized who this pinkish-purple-haired Female Giant was—the great executive of the Rocks Pirates, the "Queen of Thunder," Charlotte Linlin!
Take action? They had no doubt that any reckless move would instantly make them one of their unconscious colleagues on the ground, or even worse.
Just then, a conversation drifted in from outside, breaking the silence in the room.
"You lot! You should have taken Shakky out of here by now, right?" An obviously arrogant and impatient voice rang out.
The Marine guard at the door spoke with trepidation, "Sa-Saint Samaz! That... inside..."
Hearing the Marine's hesitant reply, the person outside roughly understood the situation.
"—You were taken down by a woman in shackles?! A bunch of useless trash!"
Saint Samaz's voice was full of twisted resentment. "A woman who knows her own value yet still dares to resist... that's really quite unpleasant!"
Footsteps approached, accompanied by the harsh sound of metal dragging across the ground. Before the person arrived, his voice did, filled with malicious imagination.
"Sha—kky—!! You're certainly popular! Those damn pirates have made a mess of the sacred competition!"
"Even if you manage to survive by some fluke, you'll only end up belonging to that fellow Galin Saint in the end!"
"So... why don't I just kill you now! No one shall have you! That would be a 'truly touching' ending!"
"When those pirates who came for you find this place, all they'll see is the scarred, unrecognizable corpse of their beloved! Hahahaha!"
"I really want to see what kind of wonderful expressions Roger and Rocks will make then..."
He stepped into the room laughing maniacally. However, when he clearly saw the pinkish-purple figure standing like a small mountain besides Shakky, his laughter stopped abruptly like a choked rooster.
"Ah?! Cha-Charlotte Linlin! Why are you here?!"
The wanton smile on Saint Samaz's face instantly froze, replaced by shock and a hint of fear. Fine beads of cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.
"Hmph hmph~" Charlotte Linlin gave a cold laugh, her gaze falling on the weapon in Samaz's hand.
"It seems you... have a rather large problem with our Shakky, don't you?"
"Heh, hehehe! Mis-misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding!" Samaz's expression shifted instantly, replaced by a fawning smile, as he smoothly hid the spiked Mace behind his back, making it disappear.
"I-I heard there were pirates causing trouble and came specifically to rescue Miss Shakky! After all, Miss Shakky is so beautiful and moving, even I couldn't help but be charmed! Just now... that act was just for the surrounding Marines to see, to deceive them, yes! Deceive them!"
As he explained incoherently, his feet involuntarily shuffled backward. As a member of God's Knights, he was far more aware of the terror of the woman before him than ordinary Celestial Dragons.
Although he possessed an "immortality," he was a coward who always bullied the weak and feared the strong; he didn't want to experience the feeling of being used as a punching bag.
"You... are also a Celestial Dragon?"
Charlotte Linlin sized up Samaz with interest. It was the first time she had seen a Celestial Dragon who emitted a not-weak aura and was clearly a Devil Fruit ability user.
In her impression, most of those pampered "gods" had low personal strength and generally despised the "imperfect" power of Devil Fruits.
But she had heard clearly when the Marines outside called him "Saint Samaz."
"However..." The mockery on Charlotte Linlin's face vanished, replaced by a cold stare as she looked at Samaz.
"Since you're a Celestial Dragon, then you can stay right here!"
She hadn't forgotten the tragedy occurring on this land, or who was leading this "hunting game" that treated countless lives like weeds!
As she spoke, Haki coiled around the nodachi in her hand. A terrifying, oppressive aura swept through the entire room, locking onto Samaz as he tried to retreat!
Samaz's face changed drastically. He knew that begging for mercy and making excuses was no longer of any use.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"