Chapter 5: The Traitor and the Marine Assault

Click!

A long sword pressed down on Jamila's shoulder, forcing him to swallow all his next words.

A hurried voice came from the miniature Den Den Mushi, but it stopped a few breaths later; clearly, the person on the other end had realized Jamila might already be exposed.

Gao Wen glanced at the Den Den Mushi in Jamila's hand and said coldly:

"Have I not treated you well?"

As if resigned to his fate, Jamila set down the Den Den Mushi in his hand, his eyes lowered:

"The captain has treated me very well."

"But your actions now have disappointed me greatly."

"Does the captain know how many people die from pirates every year?"

"So, have I ever attacked ordinary people?"

"But you are a pirate!"

"So what?"

Gao Wen sneered:

"Even if you haven't been with me long, you should know that apart from Lancer and those surrendered prisoners, almost everyone on this ship is a commoner forced to go to sea because they could not pay their taxes."

"Do they deserve to die?"

"I..."

Jamila was momentarily speechless, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes.

But Gao Wen gave him no chance, striking off Jamila's head with a single sword slash.

Boom!

The headless body slowly fell to the ground, blood gushing from the carotid artery, quickly pooling into a blood pool on the ground.

Gao Wen looked at the corpse before him, his heart not shaken in the slightest.

Jamila might have had his own reasons, but the moment he sold him out, he had already made his choice.

Having done all this.

Just as Gao Wen was about to turn and leave, a low, hoarse voice suddenly came from the miniature Den Den Mushi on the ground:

"Even without news from Jamila, I know where you are. I will grind your bones into pieces one by one."

The voice of the speaker was filled with absolute confidence, as if stating a fact.

Gao Wen recognized it; the owner of this voice was Monca, who had once severely injured his predecessor, and is now the Marine Lieutenant Colonel relentlessly pursuing Gao Wen.

If the original body were here, he would probably already be planning to run away, but the current Gao Wen is no longer the man once nicknamed 'Knight'.

He looked at the blood-stained sword in his hand, a ferocious glint flashing in his eyes:

"Then I will wait for you right here!"

Having said that, Gao Wen kicked the Den Den Mushi, crushing it; warm blood on the ground splashed everywhere.

Early the next morning.

Jamila's body was discovered by the crew, and the information that he was a Marine spy gradually spread.

Panic immediately swept through the pirate crew.

Everyone suddenly realized at this moment that they had indeed been working hard on cultivation recently and had truly grown immensely compared to before.

But there was still an insurmountable chasm between them and the Marine elites, let alone Monca.

Moreover, the Marines possessed superior equipment far beyond their own, making this battle even more impossible to fight.

In just a few minutes, someone had already suffered a mental breakdown, wailing loudly on the beach.

"Are the Marines coming?"

"Damn it!"

A terrified pirate cursed under his breath, looking out toward the beach, but in the end, he only saw a stranded ship.

The hull was covered in scars, and on the broken mast, the pirate flag still fluttered in the wind.

Several carrion vultures circled high in the sky, their sharp eyes scanning everywhere, before slowly landing beside Jamila's corpse, greedily stretching their heads into the abdominal cavity to peck at the soft internal organs.

The horrifying scene nearly caused the pirates present to break down.

"The mast is broken, and the keel is almost completely cracked; this ship is completely unable to sail. Is the only path left to us truly death?!"

"No!"

"It is still not too late to build a ship now! As long as we can reach a nearby island..."

"The nearest island is hundreds of nautical miles away; even if the hull structure can withstand the wind and waves, you cannot stop the bloodthirsty Sea Kings."

Gao Wen unhesitatingly shattered everyone's last shred of hope and drew their attention.

Gao Wen, who had beheaded Lancer with a single sword strike and displayed an unprecedentedly dominant posture, had once brought them hope, but now everyone in their hearts felt only a sense of powerlessness.

Gao Wen had been wholeheartedly devoted to teaching his subordinates swordsmanship these past days; with his injuries barely healed, it was already good enough in everyone's eyes that he could maintain his original combat power.

But even Gao Wen in his original peak state would face only a path of death against Monca.

Now, he is even less of a match.

"Even you, Captain, cannot contend with Monca..."

A pirate shook his head in disappointment, and everyone else held the same posture.

Seeing this, Gao Wen said nothing, silently walking over to the pirate ship; the long sword at his waist instantly drew a streak of cold light through the air.

Boom!

After a piercing roar, a cloud of dust and smoke rose from the beach.

Gao Wen's voice came calmly from within the dust and smoke:

"Monca is mine."

"You only need to cultivate with all your might before they arrive, doing everything possible to increase your chances of survival."

"This is not for me, but for yourself!"

The voice landed.

The smoke and dust gradually dispersed.

The crowd finally saw the scene in the distance clearly, yet one and all were so shocked they could not speak.

All because the pirate ship, dozens of meters long, had now been neatly severed in two from the middle, with everything inside, including the keel, completely cut through.

One slash to cleave a ship?

In their understanding, only those monsters active on the Grand Line could achieve such a feat; at the very least, the original Gao Wen could absolutely not accomplish this.

"Is the Captain's strength really this great?"

"No! The Captain's strength previously could never reach this level; he has grown stronger during this period!"

"We all guessed wrong; he must have been working hard when no one was watching!"

"He is the hardest-working person in the pirate crew!"

Hearing these words, Gao Wen paused slightly, his old face flushing red, yet he did not open his mouth to explain; after all, the existence of the System was his greatest secret, and their thinking this way saved him much trouble.

The surrounding pirates gradually became excited.

"With swordsmanship like this, even against Morgan, we have the power to fight!"

The pirates who had just been shouting about building a boat to flee gazed at the severed pirate ship, their eyes lighting up once more.

The crowd, which had gradually become restless, suddenly fell silent, looking at Gao Wen with hearts full of hope.

"Return to cultivation now."

"Yes!"

At this moment, Gao Wen's prestige in the hearts of the crowd rose again, reaching a level that was nearly insurmountable.

They picked up their swords and blades, returning once more to that state of diligent cultivation from before, their bodies instinctively practicing every move and form they had learned following Gao Wen.

Some even switched to wooden sticks and began pairing off to spar.

Watching the crowd before him regain their conviction, a sudden realization rose within Gao Wen's heart.

In the original story, Moria's attempt to rely on the power of companions to become the Pirate King was completely wrong.

He had put the cart before the horse.

Only when the Captain himself possesses great strength, capable of repelling all invading enemies, can he unite the hearts of the pirate crew and forge an undefeated pirate band!

Time quickly moved into deep night.

In Gao Wen's mind, the familiar System prompt sounded once more:

Swordsmanship-LV-5: 11/1600 ——> Swordsmanship-LV-5: 58/1600

Physique-LV-4: 366/800 ——> Physique-LV-4: 418/800

On this day, the Swordsmanship and Physique experience Gao Wen gained had directly doubled compared to before.

In the days that followed, the experience points provided by these pirates, who cultivated like madmen, basically remained around this level.

The Physique attribute was now less than one hundred experience points away from leveling up.

Several days later.

Deep night.

The bright moon hung high, myriad stars filled the sky, and the fishy-salty sea breeze blew, bringing a hint of coolness.

Just as the crowd, having finished their cultivation, prepared to return to the mountain to rest, they looked up to see the entire night sky illuminated by countless crimson fireballs, with innumerable cannonballs falling upon this deserted island like meteors.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

After a series of explosions, a Xiong Xiongdahuo ignited within the forest.

Heat waves churned; the previously cool sea breeze now felt like a scorching knife, licking at everyone's skin.

"The Marines are here!"

Under the cover of night.

A massive warship stood silently upon the sea surface, like a wild beast baring its sharp claws.

A burly man stood at the bow, holding a sharp axe.

If it was not Morgan, then who could it be?

(End of Chapter)