Chapter 157: Arlong, Who Was Killed in Seconds

The first floor of the Qiqiang Jita,

The tightly sealed tower gate suddenly opened, and a gale mixed with yin energy swept in all directions, kicking up waves hundreds of meters high, nearly turning the sea into an Abyss trench.

Fortunately, an invisible Barrier blocked the spreading gale.

Otherwise, all the ships present would have been swept into the seabed and turned into a pile of debris.

Looking at the portal that resembled a vortex,

Everyone acted as if they were crazy, steering their ships to charge into the bottom floor of the giant tower.

"It's Hawkeye!"

Two Pirate ships followed the current, nearly brushing against each other.

Yet, following behind was a Coffin Ship with a cross for a mast, and Hawkeye sat on the ship with a burning gaze.

"Run, don't provoke the world's greatest Sword Master!"

The Pirates let out exclamations, hurriedly trying to clear the current's path to let Hawkeye enter the tower first.

But suddenly, someone noticed something wrong.

A light screen panel appeared before their eyes, displaying the four-dimensional attributes and skill bar of their game shell.

The two Pirate Captains looked at each other, revealing shocked expressions as they said, "Are you the same? Has the force of your sword swings become weaker?"

The Qiqiang Jita seemed to have a binding ability; the strength of all players approaching the Trial Tower would be weakened to the same level.

Only the skills and power from Contract rewards were retained.

They looked around,

And upon seeing that all players were the same as them, their hearts immediately settled, and their gaze toward Hawkeye changed from fear to malice.

"Even if he is a Great Swordsman, it's impossible for him to be stronger than me; how dare he be so arrogant?"

Watching the Coffin Ship getting closer and closer,

The two Pirate Captains looked at each other and formed the same thought: to reduce the number of competitors.

Hawkeye, is it?

The world's greatest Great Swordsman, is it?

Now that everyone is standing on the same level, he actually dares to charge at our Pirate ship alone; he simply doesn't take us seriously.

"Mountain-Splitting Chop!"

"Bone-Dissolving Slash!"

Two skills wrapped in faint light struck toward Hawkeye.

Hawkeye also noticed the change in his game shell; he could not use the Black Blade Yoru on his back, so he took out the Novice Iron Sword from his equipment slot.

【Bimang Sword Art】.

Originating from the previously purchased destiny item 【Bimang Sword Formula】, it came with sword skills and sword moves that, once cultivated to the extreme, allowed every swing of the blade to bring forth bursts of Bimang sword Qi that scorched the soul.

Hawkeye's strike was tricky and ruthless.

A burning green flame sword Qi slashed diagonally across the two men; the flames scorched them, causing them to wail instantly.

Yet the skills released by the two were nimbly dodged by him.

At the top of the Qiqiang Jita, Fang Yi shook his head slightly and sighed: "Although Hawkeye's 【Bimang Sword Formula】 is a Purple Skill, stronger than the two Pirate Captains' Blue Potential skills, without upgrading, the gap in strength does not reach the level of being killed in one hit."

The higher the skill quality, the stronger the attributes attached after upgrading.

Within Lv. 5, the gap in skill values is not as large as one might imagine.

That the two Pirate Captains were killed in one hit was purely due to the gap in combat experience and technique.

To be able to reach the throne of the world's greatest Sword Master, the slaughter and battles Hawkeye has experienced are simply not on a level that ordinary Pirates wandering the East Blue all day can compare to or challenge.

Half a minute later, a flash of white halo passed.

The two Pirate Captains touched the places where they had been slashed by the sword Qi with lingering fear, discovering that they were actually unscathed.

"One doesn't truly die within the Trial Tower domain, but the cost of resurrection is actually millions of Beli!"

The two shivered as they looked at Hawkeye's back, feeling the pain of the Reward Points required for resurrection.

It wasn't just near Hawkeye;

Throughout the entire Trial Tower area, chaotic fighting erupted everywhere, all wanting to eliminate competitors in advance.

When they discovered that the killed could not die, this chaotic fighting temporarily ceased, and they all rushed into the tower gate, successfully landing on the huge island of the first floor.

"Isn't this Nami?"

The fish-man Arlong revealed a disgusting smile, opened his slimy purple arms, and said: "Why haven't you come back yet? The Arlong Pirates really need a cadre like you to help us hunt monsters and seize the draw counts for the Lucky Roulette!"

Not far away was a ship so small it was pathetic.

Luffy and Zoro squeezed at the stern, leaving the steering position at the bow to the pretty girl with orange hair.

"Arlong?!"

Nami's pupils suddenly constricted, and her heart skipped a beat.

Every time she saw that disgusting face, the pain and oppression she had suffered over these years surfaced.

Being forced to become a member of the Arlong Pirates, her mother being killed, the villagers being threatened—everything felt like a heavy stone pressing down on her, making her unable to breathe.

Arlong let out a harsh laugh and said: "I thought a cadre of the Arlong Pirates had forgotten the appearance of this Captain?"

He shifted his gaze, landing on the dim-witted Luffy and the seemingly not-so-smart Zoro, and sneered: "Are these two unlucky guys your new targets for deception? They don't look like they have much money."

"So amazing, a fish that can talk!"

Luffy pressed his straw hat with one hand to keep it from being blown away by the sea breeze, his eyes fixed straight on Arlong's jagged, shark-like nose.

Crack.

Arlong's face turned angry; his large fish-man webbed palm crushed the railing of the Pirate ship, and wood splinters fell into the sea.

His expression turned cold as he said: "Hey, Nami, kill them!"

Having lorded over the East Blue for many years, no one had ever dared to stare at him directly, as if looking at some kind of special species.

This feeling made him very uncomfortable.

It brought back some unpleasant memories of Fish-Man Island.

"I refuse."

Nami came back to her senses, her expression equally cold.

She was no longer that little girl who would lie in the chart room, crying helplessly and praying to be saved by others.

She was now a Reincarnation Game Player capable of defeating the Pirate Buggy, who had a bounty in the tens of millions.

She no longer needed to keep hoarding Beli to fulfill that utterly ridiculous agreement.

She only needed to rely on her own two hands to defeat Arlong and save Kokoyashi.

"Is that so?"

Arlong's expression turned gloomy, and he smiled cruelly: "Are you trying to betray the Arlong Pirates? If so, I can hardly guarantee that I won't do some bad things to Cocoyasi Village."

As if just remembering, he clapped his hands lightly and added: "Right, I just recalled, it seems Colonel Nezumi of the Navy branch has gone to Cocoyasi Village to investigate the Thief's stolen goods."

What he loved most was seeing the expression of despair on a human's face.

The scene of someone longing to fulfill an agreement, desperately collecting Beli in the East Blue, only to have it all confiscated at the very last moment—that should make this cadre of his break down and cry, right?

Thinking of this, the cruel smile on Arlong's face widened even further.

Hum.

Nami remained expressionless, raised her hand, and fired a burst of Magic energy that looked like a star bullet.

【Magic Creation Light Electric Eel】.

A small snake covered in electric light flew out rapidly and coiled around the Magic Xindan; the Magic alchemy fused in an instant, becoming an improved version of the Magic Xindan.

In the blink of an eye, a line of electric light shot straight toward Arlong.

Zzzzt.

Without even having time to react, Arlong was struck by the improved Magic Xindan, his whole body enveloped in lightning, twitching and shaking incessantly.

One-shot kill.

Within the Trial Tower domain, Arlong, lacking the advantage of his fish-man physique, was instantly taken out by a single move from Nami.

"From beginning to end, I was never a member of the Arlong Pirates. You despicable fish-man pirate, go to Hell and repent!"

(End of chapter)