Flevance was the jewel of the North Blue, its lands rich with rare Amber Lead deposits.
So much so that the entire country seemed dyed in white.
Like a spotless, pristine land.
A dreamlike white kingdom.
That was Flevance.
It was a place of endless business opportunities.
A source of ceaseless wealth.
People from the surrounding seas often came here, dreaming of striking it rich, mining gold, and settling down.
Merlin's father had been one of them. But his luck ran out; he encountered a mining accident and was buried here forever.
Merlin didn't have a perfectly clear picture of this world's future. He knew about "King" Luffy entering Dressrosa and defeating Doflamingo, but beyond that point, his knowledge came mostly from scattered forum posts and videos.
However, Merlin was very clear about the future of Flevance: baptized by artillery fire, burned to ashes by monstrous flames.
Survivors would be nearly non-existent.
Merlin didn't want to die. He had to survive; only by surviving could there be any future to speak of.
The royal family of this country had known for a hundred years about the toxicity of mining Amber Lead, yet they chose to conceal it along with the World Government.
They feasted on "human buns"—profiting from human lives.
After deceiving the world and making a fortune, the royal family had already left on government ships.
Carrying the immense wealth accumulated over a century, they would likely buy land and people on another island, continuing their lives as royalty of some nation.
Living freely and enjoying it all.
Weaving through the streets and alleys, Merlin recalled this information.
Bang! Bang—!
Gunshots rang out again from a distant street. Merlin's pace quickened.
Two minutes later, just as he ran out of an alley, Merlin abruptly stepped back. Three soldiers in hazmat suits, armed with rifles, appeared on the street not far away.
Catching his breath, Merlin looked up at the 2.5-meter wall beside him. He crouched slightly, jumped up, grabbed the top edge with both hands, and hoisted himself over.
Lying prone on top of the wall, he watched the soldiers running toward his direction in the distance. He glanced at the courtyard inside the wall and vaulted over lightly, landing steadily on the lawn.
This was the central district of Flevance, where most residents were either wealthy or noble.
In Merlin's memory, this seemed to be the manor of a certain Viscount.
He heard the Viscount liked to collect rare swords and weapons.
But right now, the place was silent, and the villa was pitch black.
With the [Rat] equipped, Merlin gained a weak night vision trait.
He pressed himself against the wall, remaining motionless. A moment later, hurried footsteps sounded on the other side of the wall, followed by voices.
"That guy disappeared?"
"Must have run off!"
"Maybe he ran into the surrounding villa area."
"True. Should we go in and search?"
"Forget it. One little rat isn't worth the trouble. Let's focus on clearing out the infected here. They all have the same ending anyway."
The footsteps began to fade. Merlin's gaze remained calm as he continued to breathe slowly. But a minute later, the hurried footsteps returned.
They had doubled back.
"Looks like the little rat really ran. Let's go into the villa area and clear out the trash here too."
"Alright, let's start here."
Merlin slowly looked up toward the top of the wall. A soldier climbed over. After observing for a few seconds and declaring it safe, he jumped down.
Merlin's eyes went cold. Looking at the figure landing half a meter in front of him, he didn't hesitate. He stepped forward, locking his left arm around the soldier's neck. With his right hand, he drove the dagger ruthlessly into the side of the neck, then sliced forward horizontally. Crunch! The throat cartilage was severed.
Blood sprayed out.
At that moment, another soldier had already straddled the wall and jumped down.
Merlin abruptly shoved the convulsing soldier toward him. The second soldier was clearly surprised, but in the darkness, he couldn't see clearly and instinctively reached out to steady what he thought was his comrade who had lost his footing.
Seizing the moment, Merlin lunged forward, driving his left knee viciously into the man's groin. Smack! A dull thud echoed.
The soldier's mouth fell open, his body went limp, and he collapsed to his knees. In the next instant, a bright arc flashed. Merlin, gripping the dagger with both hands, stabbed it violently into the back of the man's neck. The tip of the blade pierced through and poked out of his open mouth.
The entire sequence took less than five seconds. A third man climbed over the wall, realizing something was wrong. Merlin pulled out his dagger and leaped up, bracing his left hand on the wall top while driving the dagger into the man's thigh with his right.
Releasing the dagger, he grabbed the man's collar and yanked him down from the wall.
Merlin landed on the ground, picked up a rifle, grabbed it by the barrel, and swung the stock hard against the back of the man's head.
Dull thuds mixed with screams. After swinging for over ten seconds, the soldier stopped making noise.
Merlin quickly bent down, pulled his dagger from the man's leg, and thrust it into his neck.
After confirming the kill, Merlin sat on the ground, panting heavily.
The pungent smell of blood filled his nose. His throat bobbed, and his stomach churned. Merlin took deep breaths to adjust.
Looking at the three corpses around him, Merlin gasped for air, muttering to himself:
"If you don't die, I will. This ending just means I'm stronger than you right now."
He had no deep hatred for them, nor did he have any patriotic feelings for Flevance. But since they chose to attack him, they must have been prepared to be killed in return.
As for the fate of Flevance, Merlin couldn't say he hated it, but he couldn't say he cared deeply either.
The real culprits weren't these soldiers.
But he would show no mercy in dealing with them.
This was war.
Even if he was alone.
Merlin's gaze firmed. He looked at their equipment and began to loot.
Five minutes later.
Nine oval-shaped grenades lay beside him, along with three five-round repeating rifles and a set of the hazmat suits these soldiers wore.
Merlin stripped off his own clothes and changed into a suit that fit his build relatively well.
The boots were a bit loose, too big, but it didn't matter. Merlin used his dagger to cut up another soldier's undershirt and stuffed the fabric into the boots to make them fit snug.
He stuffed his own belongings into their sturdier backpack, strapped it on, clipped a gas mask to his waist, took a rifle he didn't know how to use, and hung eight grenades on the right side of his belt.
Merlin looked at the grenade in his hand. It resembled the German M39 from his past life.
After a simple inspection, he pressed the safety lever, pulled the pin, and threw it hard into the distance, counting silently in his head... one... two... three... four... BOOM!
A deafening explosion mixed with fire erupted sixty meters away.
Merlin estimated a blast radius of about five meters and a fuse time between four and five seconds.
His eye twitched. Merlin clicked his tongue; the weapon development in this world was truly bizarre.
In his memory, the East Blue mostly used single-shot flintlock pistols and smoothbore muskets.
But here in the North Blue, repeating rifles, repeating revolvers, and even grenades and flamethrowers were already in use.
He shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside, and looked toward the main villa building.
He remembered the Viscount here loved collecting rare swords. He wondered if any were left.
Gripping his dagger, Merlin walked lightly toward the main building.
Moments later, he arrived at a floor-to-ceiling window on one side of the villa. He smashed the butt of his rifle against it. Crash! The glass shattered.
However, Merlin didn't rush in. He hid outside the window, listening carefully for any movement inside.
Then, a hoarse meow came from within. Merlin's eyes flashed with thought:
"Doesn't this Viscount also raise a young lynx in addition to collecting swords?"
Thinking of this, a light appeared in Merlin's eyes. He stepped through the broken window.
The dim interior didn't hinder Merlin's vision. The decor was luxurious. To his right, there were three sword stands.
Two were empty, but one still held a katana-style longsword. Merlin's eyes lit up with joy.
He walked over quickly, sheathing the dagger strapped to his right leg. He reached out to grab the sword, but just then, a cold voice came from behind:
"Freeze. Drop your weapon, or I'll shoot."
Merlin's gaze instantly hardened. He dropped the rifle in his hand to the floor.
"Turn around."
The voice spoke again.
Slowly turning around, he saw a middle-aged man with blood-soaked bandages wrapped around his chest standing by the floor-to-ceiling window.