Chapter 23: Provincial Military Commander Krik

“Are you men of Provincial Military Commander Krik?”

Keluo nodded and said:

“No wonder. Pretending to be Marines to infiltrate the port and launch a coordinated attack—that’s his signature move. Shall we move?”

Gao Wen shook his head:

“Better to avoid trouble. That guy’s strength is average, but he commands a massive fleet of thousands, dozens of ships attacking together. Taking them down by force isn’t hard for us two, but we’d lose most of our crew.”

“Not worth it.”

“Hurry up. Once we’ve restocked, we leave.”

“Understood.”

Keluo replied.

Gao Wen turned to look at Akin, still standing on the deck; after meeting his gaze, Akin turned and walked toward the cabin.

Gao Wen quietly activated his badge function and launched a direct scan:

【Name—Akin】

【Potential—Bronze】

【Rating—Iron:】

【Grateful for kindness, utterly loyal!】

【Though talent is mediocre, no boss doesn’t love an employee like this!】

【】

“Grateful for kindness, utterly loyal…”

Gao Wen stared at the keywords on the panel and grew interested:

“Bronze-level potential, nearly equal to Keluo’s—decent experience fodder. If I get the chance later, I’ll definitely recruit him.”

“But first, I need to handle the supplies.”

Closed the badge interface.

Gao Wen left most of his men aboard to guard against possible surprises, then followed Keluo to find the contact person, Habinjie, as arranged.

…

Elsewhere.

After returning to the ship, Akin found Palu awake from his coma.

Seeing the shattered shield beside him and Akin’s silence, Palu instantly understood what had happened and spoke apologetically:

“Akin, I’m sorry.”

“Saying that now is pointless. Stay aboard and heal. The rest is my responsibility.”

Akin patted Palu’s shoulder, but his mind kept replaying Rat’s strange reaction—he suspected something.

He pulled out his phone-worm linked to Krik and dialed.

Soon.

A low voice came from the other end:

“Akin?”

“Done?”

“No.”

Akin shook his head, voice grave:

“Besides us, two other groups have arrived here.”

“One is Marine Colonel Rat—he’s already left, no longer a threat. The real problem is the other group.”

“They haven’t even moved yet, and Rat was left babbling in fear.”

“Either a powerful pirate, or a monster from the Grand Line—neither is easy.”

“From their aura, the two leaders are stronger than me.”

“Captain, should we postpone this operation and wait for another chance?”

Akin asked tentatively.

“Another chance?”

The voice on the line let out a scoff:

“Akin, do you know how much it costs to run a 5,000-man fleet for a month? Do you know how long our food will last? Do you know how many rounds of ammunition are going bad from dampness every day?”

“Combat is your duty. Understand?”

Krik’s voice rose sharply, brimming with unshakable confidence:

“It’s not that I won’t wait—it’s that this path allows only forward motion, never retreat!”

“I command this massive fleet so that only my voice echoes across this sea.”

“Dozens of pirate ships, one broadside can destroy a town—what use is individual bravery against such power?”

“Besides, the weapons for survival are already forged. I don’t believe anyone is stronger than me!”

“I understand.”

Akin nodded. He would never defy Krik’s orders, even if the path ahead led to certain death.

Moreover, he truly agreed with Krik’s words.

On this sea, individual bravery has limits—flesh and blood cannot withstand blades, bullets, or warships!

Ended the call.

Akin’s gaze sharpened. After counting enough men, he moved swiftly, scouting the city’s troop deployments and ammunition storage sites.

He quietly positioned key forces from the ship at these locations.

Once given the order, they could instantly dismantle the port’s resistance—even seize the entire harbor without firing a single shot.

He had done this countless times, never failed; each success proved Krik’s unmatched strategic insight.

“This time, we won’t fail—even with other factors involved!”

Akin calmed himself and personally led the team to observe Gao Wen and the others’ movements.

…

Elsewhere.

Krik studied the intelligence returned from the port, his brow slightly furrowed.

Two worn bounty posters lay on his desk.

“Captain, based on Akin’s report, we can confirm the other force in the port is these two.”

“Knight Gao Wen, bounty 8 million Berries.”

“Keluo the Cunning, bounty 15 million Berries.”

Krik’s assistant presented his compiled data and added:

“However,”

“We haven’t updated our ship’s bounty posters in a while—this information may be outdated.”

Krik nodded:

“Pirate bounties rarely change drastically within a few years.”

“No issue.”

“Besides, Gao Wen only rose to fame two years ago, and Keluo the Cunning is rumored to be considering retirement.”

“Hah.”

Krik sneered:

“For a pirate, thinking of retirement means death is already near.”

“But pretending to be Marines to enter the port—they’re clearly trying to seize Crow Port from within.”

“If they get there first, it’ll be trouble.”

“Strike first! We move now!”

The assistant froze:

“But Akin and Palu are still in the port—isn’t that a bit…”

Krik’s lips curled into a cruel smile.

To him, subordinates were merely expendable—anyone could be sacrificed to complete the plan, even his second-in-command, Akin.

“No problem.”

“I’m confident they can survive the attack.”

“If they can’t, then they’re just weaklings—such crewmembers can never be my right hand!”

The assistant swallowed hard, eyes filled with fear.

He didn’t know when he, too, might be discarded by Krik—perhaps far in the future, perhaps in the next second.

But the more he thought this, the more he wanted to prove his worth, the more he dared not defy Krik’s will.

As the assistant trembled in dread,

Krik turned, gently caressing the golden armor beside him, his eyes filled with rapture.

“This armor, forged from special alloy, can withstand direct hits from naval cannons—even the strongest swordsmen cannot cut through it.”

“And beneath every plate lies a deadly weapon.”

“Armor-piercing rounds, high explosives, poison gas shells—each can easily kill a man. And I have this too!”

Krik gripped a grotesque spear, its sheer weight exceeding a ton, feeling its power—his eyes blazed with fierce confidence.

The stronger the force with which you swing, the more powerful the explosion that follows...

With just this armor, I deserve a place on the Grand Line—let alone a tiny Donghai ?!

Who can stop me?!

(End of Chapter)