Chapter 324: Destined to Join My Divine Sect!

Ah Jin nodded, his face showing not a trace of wavering, his voice utterly firm:

"He promised me that no matter when, no matter where, he would absolutely never abandon me!"

"Hiss—!"

The sound of breathing was grating.

Ah Jin's slightly recovered arm had already reached for another steel nail on his shoulder; exerting force, he shook the Seastone nail embedded deep into his bone, while threads of fresh blood trickled down his arm.

However, the bones in Ah Jin's left arm had already shattered from his earlier actions, unable to drive the muscles to exert force, so naturally, he could not remove the steel nail embedded in the right side of his shoulder blade.

Yet the pain remained bone-piercing, to the point that Ah Jin's complexion appeared extremely pale, his lips trembling.

Even so, Ah Jin had no intention of giving up.

Again and again, his wounds split open, blood flowing, soaking half of his body.

Lord Tai Zuo Luo sat up straight; seeing this scene, even his pupils trembled!

He could not understand such emotions, nor did he know what kind of thing could possibly drive Ah Jin to go to such lengths for the captain he spoke of...

No!

Lord Tai Zuo Luo's breath suddenly hitched; he thought of himself, thought of his Stella.

If at this very moment, the one in danger were Stella, I would probably go to such lengths as well, wouldn't I?!

He suddenly realized.

If what existed between himself and Stella was love, then what existed between Ah Yin and his captain was loyalty, was sacrifice!

The so-called... comrades?!

Lord Tai Zuo Luo's heart was stirred.

The only thing he believed in was money, money that could buy everything.

But now he had an inexplicable intuition that even if he gave his all, he feared he could not make the man before him bow his head, much less make him defect.

What kind of existence, what kind of promise, could drive this man to such extremes?!

The more he pondered, the more curious Lord Tai Zuo Luo became about the captain Ah Jin spoke of.

If previously he still harbored a sliver of doubt regarding Ah Jin's identity, now even that last trace of doubt had vanished like smoke.

To make such a man willingly serve as a subordinate was something no one who had abandoned their beliefs could achieve.

Even if one were to gamble on who might rise in this vast sea in the future, one should bet on such a person, not on Knight Gao Wen!

"Stop!"

"I have a way!"

Amidst the turmoil within his heart, Lord Tai Zuo Luo's body acted first; he said in a low voice:

"My subordinate is still in Britannias."

"Whether for self-preservation, money, or other reasons, he will come to save me; by then, we may yet have a chance."

"If you continue like this, even if you manage to remove the Seastone nails driven into your body, what will you do about the shackles locking your feet?"

"Cut off both legs as well?"

"Dragging such a body, even if you could return to your captain's side, I fear you would be unable to bring him any assistance!"

Ah Jin slowly lowered the hand gripping the Seastone steel nail; disregarding the blood soaking his upper body, he raised his eyes to look at Lord Tai Zuo Luo:

"Do you really have a way?!"

"Of course!"

Lord Tai Zuo Luo nodded:

"Venturing personally into such a place, how could I possibly make no preparations?"

"Just wait."

Ah Jin nodded, using the Six Styles to manipulate his muscles and plug the wound on his shoulder, then fell silent.

Although he had only met this man named Zoro once, looking into the other's eyes, Ah Jin inexplicably felt he could be trusted.

Moreover, this was the only chance Ah Jin could grasp.

Seeing this, Lord Tai Zuo Luo also fell quiet.

To be honest, regarding whether the fleeing Dai Si could find him, or even risk death to break in here and rescue him, he had no confidence whatsoever.

At this very moment, Lord Tai Zuo Luo even felt somewhat envious of the captain Ah Jin spoke of.

After all, if roles were reversed and that man fell into such a predicament, there was no doubt that Ah Jin, even wagering his life, would inevitably appear here.

From the perspective of a captain or a leader, such loyalty is something money cannot buy.

The prison cell momentarily fell silent, with only the continuous low moans of suffering from prisoners all around, accompanied by droplets of water falling from the ceiling.

Plop!

Plop!

Plop!

No one knew how much time had passed.

Suddenly, a loud roar erupted outside the prison cell, causing even the floor beneath everyone's feet to tremble.

In the shadows, Ah Jin and Lord Tai Zuo Luo opened their eyes simultaneously, their gazes flashing, both silently thinking:

He's here!

The next instant.

Boom!

Crimson flames exploded within the basement, knocking countless prisoners flat and rendering them unconscious on the spot; the churning blaze instantly illuminated the surroundings.

It was also at this moment.

Sitting in the prison cell, Lord Tai Zuo Luo, Luo, and Ah Jin clearly made out the figure of the newcomer.

It was unmistakably a giant man with a burly build.

He wore a suit, yet his muscles bulged so fiercely they stretched the fabric to its limit, the shirt buttons bursting open to reveal chest muscles of extreme robustness.

Like them, he had been caught in the explosion, and many parts of his body still bore burn marks.

Yet on his rugged face, there was not a trace of pain, only an indescribable flush of redness.

"Kinoji~"

The distorted, pinched voice echoed through the cell, sending a wave of chill through many who still retained consciousness.

But the two figures at the deepest part of the cell simultaneously lit up with excitement.

"You're too late, Dai Si!?"

There was a hint of reproach in Lord Tai Zuo Luo's tone, yet the smile on the corner of his mouth was completely unmistakable.

Ah Jin, standing nearby, widened his eyes as if beholding a supreme treasure that made one drool; in truth, he had indeed seen something similar.

That something was Dai Si!

"Such a robust physique, such a talent for turning pain into pleasure..."

"Hiss—!"

Ah Jin turned to look at Lord Tai Zuo Luo and could not help but speak:

"This guy was born to be a companion on our ship! Only on our ship can this talent be pushed to its limit!"

"Mr. Zoro, I wonder if you would be willing..."

Lord Tai Zuo Luo paused slightly, looking at Dai Si with suspicion; all that met his eyes was a face nearly climaxing from pain!

For a moment, Lord Tai Zuo Luo felt that his previous promise had been somewhat impulsive.

He truly could not imagine what kind of scene it would be if all his partners were masochists like Dai Si.

Hiss—!

Lord Tai Zuo Luo could not help but inhale sharply, shaking his dizzy head to dispel the horrifying images from his mind.

He directly ignored Ah Jin's words, raised a hand toward Dai Si, and said:

"Unlock me!"

"Understood, boss!"

Dai Si punched through the outer wall of the cell, then reached into his bosom to pull out a string of keys and unlocked the shackles on the two of them.

He then placed a hand on Lord Tai Zuo Luo's shoulder and reminded him:

"Endure it!"

"Mm."

Lord Tai Zuo Luo nodded, clenching his teeth tight. Hiss!

Hiss!

Two successive jets of blood shot out; Lord Tai Zuo Luo felt his shoulders nearly go numb from pain, yet his body simultaneously recovered some strength, feeling incredibly light.

"Phew~"

Letting out a sigh of emotion, Lord Tai Zuo Luo clenched his fist, feeling the long-lost power, and could not help but curl the corner of his mouth into a slight smile:

"Freedom~"

"Stop smiling; the enemy has arrived. It's time to escape!"

Ah Jin looked up into the distance, where rows upon rows of guards clad in silver-white armor, bearing a cross emblem on their chests and holding flintlock muskets, swarmed in from afar.

Among them were even elites who mastered Haki and possessed formidable auras.

"It's the Crusaders, the most elite unit under that old bastard Wales."

Lord Tai Zuo Luo's brows furrowed slightly:

"These guys are no weaklings; I'm afraid it won't be easy for us to escape!"

"This is slightly troublesome."

"Tch—!"

"If only there were enough gold..."

His strength was not weak; under well-prepared circumstances, he considered Donquixote Doflamingo far from being his match.

The Gold-Gold Fruit allowed near-unlimited manipulation of gold, even enabling him to infuse gold into the air or liquids, thereby restricting an opponent's Devil Fruit abilities or physical capabilities.

Furthermore, after awakening, he could manipulate gold to construct a giant god over a hundred meters tall, releasing heat rays from its eyes that could destroy an entire fleet with a mere sweep.

Such combat power could almost be said to place him among those closest to the Emperors in this sea.

But the more powerful an ability, the greater its constraints; without gold at hand, the Gold-Gold Fruit was completely useless.

Just as Lord Tai Zuo Luo was at a loss, he suddenly felt his body become light; he could not help but turn his head, only to be stunned speechless by the scene before his eyes.

Ah Jin had transformed into a strange form with six arms and four legs, standing over ten meters tall at the shoulder, his entire body covered in bone armor as pure and white as jade, appearing ferocious yet imbued with a hint of divinity.

He held Lord Tai Zuo Luo in one hand and gripped Dai Si in another.

"Hiss—!"

After a heavy intake of breath, Ah Jin hurled a spiraling bone spear, slaughtering all the attacking Crusader guards, then blasted a path through the walls of the underground prison, shooting off toward the distant sky.

Silvery moonlight poured down from the sky, falling upon Ah Jin and reflecting off his skeletal frame, making him look like a silver-white knight bathed in moonlight.

Brilliant and dazzling.

Feeling the ferocious aura emanating from Ah Jin, all the surrounding Crusaders were struck with terror.

No one dared to step forward; they could only watch helplessly as Ah Jin's figure disappeared before their eyes.

A few minutes later, Bevil, riding a falcon, slowly landed outside the prison cell.

Looking at the nearly pierced-through wall, he wore an expression of deep contemplation.

A guard responsible for watch duty summoned his courage to step forward and said anxiously:

"My Lord Beville, the strength of those two individuals cannot be underestimated; we..."

Beville clearly had no intention of blaming them harshly and gently shook his head:

"This is not your fault."

"But what should be done regarding My Lord Wales?"

"I will go and try to capture the escaped prisoners; you first stabilize the situation and ensure no further accidents occur."

Having said this, Beville leaped onto the back of the giant eagle and gave the reins a gentle tug.

Screech—!

The giant eagle let out a cry, flapped its wings, soared into the sky, and sped away toward the distant heavens, vanishing from everyone's sight within a few breaths.

"My Lord Beville is just as he was back then, never overly harsh in blaming his subordinates."

That guard raised his eyes to gaze into the distance and could not help but emit a sigh of emotion.

But the horse-faced guard standing beside him let out a cold sneer, his face filled with mockery and disdain:

"Indeed~"

"He is not overly harsh in blaming his subordinates, yet he has bones of rebellion growing at the back of his head—!"

"What did you say?!"

"Do you not understand what I am saying?!"

"If not for him, My Lord Arthur would not have died, and how could Britannias have fallen to such a plight as today."

The guard who had just spoken fell silent, gripping the long spear in his hand so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand bulged, yet in the end, he could find no words to refute.

With the elite Crusaders arriving, the dungeon quickly restored order.

One by one, the key escaped prisoners were captured and brought back; even if some were missed, they were mostly inconsequential small fries.

The turmoil subsided.

Only that massive hollow, which nearly pierced through the entire dungeon, remained to tell of just how terrifying the strength of the person who struck had become.

After the three of them—A Jin and his companions—escaped the dungeon, they sped all the way toward the beach.

As dawn approached, the three had already fled hundreds of kilometers away from Avalon, the capital of Britannias, into a dense forest.

It was only now that they had barely shaken off their pursuers and gained a moment to catch their breath.

Within an abandoned building, a faint firelight glowed; the warmth of the flames slightly dispelled the exhaustion clinging to the three of them.

Dai Si hunted a elk from the woods and gathered fruits and vegetables; after simply boiling them, the three, disregarding their appearance, began to wolf down the food to replenish their dwindling stamina.

Lord Tai Zuo Luo recovered some of his spirit, while A Jin was nearly fully healed.

His Six Styles of the Navy had long been cultivated to an extremely profound level, and he had already mastered Life Return, allowing him to control every cell in his body.

Through massive consumption of food, he could repair the injuries on his body in a short time.

At this moment, the wound on his shoulder had already healed; only two scars piercing through his collarbones remained, still shocking to behold.

"Truly astonishing healing ability."

Lord Tai Zuo Luo, with bandages wrapped around his body and a pale complexion, could not help but emit a sigh of praise.

As a powerhouse of the Seven Warlords level himself, he still walked somewhat unsteadily; if his movements were too large, his wounds would split open.

Clearly, speaking solely of physical capabilities, Lord Tai Zuo Luo was absolutely no match for A Jin.

Yet he was equally confident.

As long as he held sufficient gold in hand, even when facing enemies of the Four Emperors level, he could manage to withdraw with his life intact.

This was the confidence he had built up over these years, and precisely the reason why the Gold City could maintain its footing in such a predicament.

"However..."

Recalling the encounters during their escape, Lord Tai Zuo Luo's expression became somewhat strange:

"That knight riding the giant eagle approached us several times yet never attacked; his behavior seemed less like a pursuit and more like a expulsion..."

"Looking at it this way, My Lord Wales's subordinates are not a monolithic block."

"Even setting aside the Eagle Knight Beville, the Heavenly Destiny Holy Maiden Jeanne has hidden many things; at least according to the information I have gathered, her name was already circulating in this land two hundred years ago."

"The Fairy Tribe?!"

Lord Tai Zuo Luo could not help but guess.

However.

He did not dwell on this question for too long, turning his head to look at A Jin beside him and speaking:

"Mr. A Yin, what do you plan to do next?!"

"After suffering such a great loss here this time, can you really swallow this grievance and just leave?"

A Jin's eyes flashed, and in an instant, a decision formed in his heart.

The captain's target for the next stop was originally Britannias; whether it be as short as half a month or as long as one or two months, he will inevitably appear here.

Since I have already extricated myself, I must maximize my value to the limit!

The corner of A Jin's mouth curled up into a ferocious arc:

"Then let us make a scene!"

"However, the prerequisite is that we must find a way to counter that woman's ability!"

(End of Chapter)