When the [great love immortal venerable] arrived at Elbaf's Underworld Tavern,
Fang Huo and his group were immediately greeted with a warm welcome from the Giant Race.
Loki had learned of Fang Huo's arrival and had been waiting for him in his own Prince's Tavern for a long time.
Fang Huo presented a massive iron hammer as a gift to Loki.
This was a super war hammer crafted from the Gate of Justice, Elbaf's ancient robot, and various alloys, rivaling the level of a supreme grade blade.
While it couldn't compare to Elbaf's national treasure, thundor ragnar, it was still a rare weapon.
If Loki could turn it into a black hammer infused with Armament Haki, it would truly be a top-tier supreme grade iron hammer.
"Even if you're nice to me, I'll still hammer you!"
Loki, wearing Aizen-style black-framed glasses, happily accepted the giant iron hammer, though his words remained stubborn and tsundere.
Seeing Loki receive a gift, Hajrudin, who was peeking from not far away, had eyes full of envy.
Like his father Harald, he used a double-edged sword.
Currently, he was using a standard Elbaf longsword, and the blade was already full of nicks.
But he couldn't bear to replace it, nor did he have the money to do so.
In Elbaf, ironware is extremely precious, as a single giant's longsword consumes a vast amount of iron ore.
And in the Sunny World and Heavenly Realm of Elbaf's Tree of War, iron ore simply doesn't exist.
The Giant Race can only go out to sea to plunder ironware and ore, or mine in the cold and dangerous frozen soil and snow mountains of the Underworld.
However, the yield of these iron ores is very low, and they must face attacks from Underworld beasts and Mountain Lords.
Therefore, many giants don't even have iron tools; they directly use adam wood dropped from the Tree of War to craft giant wooden hammers, maces, and shields as weapons.
This is also an important reason why the giants of Artisan Village like to go out to sea.
Without materials, no matter how good the technology is, it's useless.
Thousands of years ago, giants who went to sea worked with humans in Water 7 to build the Pluton warship and also built the Noah, for Fish-Man Island.
The Great Hammer Corps that went to sea hundreds of years ago numbered as many as a hundred people.
Their adventures at sea were mainly to collect and plunder materials.
Every generation of the Giant Warrior Pirates, besides plundering food and treasure,
made iron ore and ironware one of their primary resources to plunder.
Elbaf has enough adam wood, but not enough iron ore.
And the giants of Elbaf would never touch that Super Giant Sword they revere like a deity.
Otherwise, that Super Giant Sword could provide Elbaf with countless iron tools.
---
"Can I really go out to sea this time?"
Thirteen-year-old Loki's eyes were full of longing; he really wanted to go out and see the wonderful life of the Outer Seas.
But his father, King Harald, had always forbidden him from going to sea and specifically arranged for guards from Orsto Castle to watch over him.
"Your whole family is going to take a trip out to sea!"
Fang Huo's voice was full of seriousness. This time, never mind Harald and Loki, he intended to take Ida and Hajrudin to the West Blue as well to witness the brutality of the Celestial Dragons.
Otherwise, Ida might still influence Harald's judgment.
"That's great!!"
Loki pumped his fist in excitement, even wanting to take his new giant hammer out for a swing immediately.
"Keep it low-key!"
"Is Harald back yet?"
Fang Huo used gravity to press Loki back into his seat. He had notified Ida and Loki in advance; surely that brute Harald wasn't still in the Outer Seas visiting those New World Alliance and non-alliance countries?
"Father is already on his way back!"
"I heard he had a conflict with the World Government's Cipher Pol agents and rescued some citizens of a non-Affiliated Kingdom."
"Those Cipher Pol agents wanted to capture the citizens of that non-Affiliated Kingdom as slaves, and that nation happened to be one of the countries that helped Elbaf during the Great Famine back then."
Loki shared the information he knew with Fang Huo, clearly very dissatisfied with those World Government Cipher Pol agents.
Those rats actually insulted his father, saying that his father had joined the New World Alliance while still wanting to join the World Government, and was now even obstructing World Government operations.
Those Cipher Pol agents cursed Harald as a hypocritical and despicable king.
The World Government has the right to act against non-Affiliated Kingdoms, and Harald has no right to interfere.
In the end, Harald couldn't help but strike at the Cipher Pol agents, saving those non-Affiliated Kingdom citizens.
This made Harald a bit more disappointed in the World Government.
"Just a conflict?"
"If it were me, I'd just kill all those Cipher Pol agents!"
Charlotte Linlin stuffed a large mouthful of Elbaf caramel puffs, a satisfied smile on her face.
She couldn't understand how King Harald, being so strong, could be like a sissy, letting a few CP rats provoke and insult him.
It was much more refreshing following Fang Huo and Rocks; if you see an annoying enemy, just destroy them all!
"Actually, I think so too."
Loki was a bit gloomy; he actually wished his father would become a straightforward and domineering man like Rocks.
---
Fang Huo waited in Elbaf for two days before Harald returned to Elbaf, looking dejected.
Fang Huo and Harald had a major fight in the Underworld.
Fang Huo was testing his Conquerors Haki Infusion, and Harald just happened to want to vent some frustration on Fang Huo.
Because the Celestial Dragons of Holy Land Mary Geoise had not made a move yet, Fang Huo did not leave Elbaf.
In any case, when the Celestial Dragons depart from Holy Land Mary Geoise for Red Soil Island in the West Blue, they can also cross the Calm Belt directly from the New World to reach the West Blue.
The Celestial Dragons' Native Purge Competition usually lasts for three weeks.
These inhumane World Nobles deceive the slaves and civilians, telling them that if they survive for three weeks, they will regain their freedom.
But the World Government has no intention of fulfilling this promise.
Even if they are lucky enough to survive the three weeks, they will ultimately be ruthlessly purged.
After all, the Celestial Dragons and the World Government will not allow this news to spread.
Even if someone escapes, the news will be suppressed by the World Government.
Almost all news agencies in this era are basically controlled by the World Government.
If those escaped slaves dare to expose the news, they will face relentless pursuit by Cipher Pol agents.
In the God Valley Incident of the original timeline,
even though Kuma had already saved over five hundred slaves, even though most of the pirates from the Rocks Pirates and Roger Pirates had escaped, even though a large number of Marines witnessed the massacre... even the young reporter Morgans had been to the waters of God Valley... the news of the God Valley Incident was still covered up by the World Government, and even Morgans did not dare to report the true truth.
The world remained blinded, and even some righteous Marines were ruthlessly 'disappeared'.
Perhaps it was because he knew part of the truth about God Valley that Morgans established his own World Economic Journal, which dares to report anything, and gradually became the [Big News] of the underground dark world.
A small news agency supported by Fang Huo is already mastering the breeding technology for News Coos; by then, they will have their own News Coos and give the World Government and Celestial Dragons a hard slap in the face.
Fang Huo also intends to capture Vegapunk to properly research and improve the technology of live broadcast den den mushis, aiming for the strongest technology to achieve forced broadcasts.
He wants to seize control over global broadcasts and completely break the World Government's monopoly on the world's voice.
The days passed for Fang Huo's group in Elbaf.
Unknowingly, February had arrived.
Charlotte Linlin welcomed her eighteenth birthday...