Chapter 45: Mockery
Major Hammer’s head fell to the ground. All his “valuable” life experience dissolved into experience points for Garen’s level up.
Smoker, however, remained motionless, his back to Garen, quietly smoking. The thick cigar clamped in Smoker’s mouth burned down to the stub with his heavy breathing, yet, unusually, he didn’t reach for another. The ever-present haze of cigar smoke slowly dispersed, and the fresh air without secondhand smoke felt strangely unfamiliar to Garen.
“Smoker!” Garen walked over and gently patted Smoker’s shoulder. “Don’t let yourself be affected by that sort of person’s words!” he said. “He’s twisted beyond recognition, yet shamelessly tries to pass on his so-called ‘life wisdom’ to juniors. If the sea were full of such ‘clever men,’ then truly, the world would be beyond saving.” Genuine disgust played across Garen’s face as he spoke solemnly, “As a Navy man bearing justice, your duty is—never forget your original intention, and always remember your mission!”
“I understand,” Smoker replied, his tone stiff.
Garen was still a bit uneasy, so he continued, “Then why aren’t you smoking anymore?”
Smoker cast Garen an odd glance. “I finished it.”
“Uh…” Garen, addicted to lecturing, blushed. “Forget I said anything.” The trouble with people is their eagerness to play teacher—Garen’s self-righteous speeches were of no use to a mature, independent adult like Smoker. Even if Garen hadn’t stepped in, Smoker’s ten-hand would have crushed Hammer’s skull without hesitation. After all, Smoker was always the type to hit even his superiors when the mood struck.
Major Hammer was beheaded by Garen’s greatsword; Lieutenant Charles, battered by Smoker’s mighty club, hovered on the edge of life and death—now the corrupt garrison of Loguetown was leaderless. Yet chaos continued to rage within the base, growing even more intense than when Hammer was alive. The fall of their leader did not bring the corrupt Navy underlings to their knees; instead, it provoked a desperate, ferocious fight for survival.
Surrender meant prison; risking everything, just outside the base lay the boundless sea, where any scoundrel could revel in limitless freedom.
Dash kept thirty Headquarters Navy blocking the main gate, fiercely battling the numerically superior corrupt Navy. Flames suddenly erupted within Loguetown base, gunshots, cries, screams, and the clash of steel surged in waves, like a relentless tide.
Smoker spat out his cigar stub, seized his heavy ten-hand, and transformed into a cloud of smoke, soaring skyward. Garen, too, wasted no time, grabbing his greatsword and running toward the commotion.
Aside from wanting to harvest a few more experience points from minor enemies, Garen intended to test his new skill. After slaying the powerful Major Hammer, he received a generous experience reward and instantly leveled up to five.
Then came the familiar system prompt:
Random reward draw...
You have received: Skill [Frenzied Taunt].
This skill originated from the game’s Armored Dragon Turtle, Rammus, but like all Garen’s skills, its effect differed somewhat from the game:
“Taunt a unit, forcibly making the target attack you for 2 seconds.”
“Usage range limited to 30 meters.”
The description was far removed from the original, and Garen sensed the [Frenzied Taunt] would function very differently in reality than it did in the game.
Intent on testing the skill, Garen soon arrived at a small skirmish. Several Headquarters Navy soldiers who had charged in with Dash were locked in bitter combat with bloodlust-crazed corrupt Navy, oblivious to the powerful support now at their side.
Rather than wading in with his sword as usual, Garen stood by, carefully observing the battlefield. His gaze flickered indecisively before settling on a burly man locked in close-quarters combat with a Headquarters Navy, both wielding large blades.
Garen invoked [Frenzied Taunt] in his mind, then couldn’t help but shout at the unfortunate target, “Hey you scoundrel! Come and try to cut me!”
“Huh?” Everyone present paused, slightly bewildered.
If the skill worked like in the game, the man should immediately turn and charge at him...
Garen thought so.
Then—a gunshot rang out. A bullet struck Garen’s armor dead on.
The burly man’s first reaction after being taunted was to drop his blade and draw a flintlock pistol from his waist, firing at Garen from a distance.
Garen was momentarily stunned, quickly understanding the skill’s hidden effect: it simply forces the target to attack him, regardless of the method.
A bit disappointed, Garen mused: In the game, Rammus’s taunt forced enemies to use only basic attacks, compelling fragile mages to brawl hand-to-hand with a tank, its control power self-evident. His own Frenzied Taunt seemed less potent than imagined.
However, Garen soon revised his view of the skill…
The two-second duration hadn’t elapsed yet. The taunted man, after firing once, frantically reloaded, determined to get off another shot at Garen, his murderous intent clear.
But the Headquarters Navy soldier he’d been fighting was still there...
After a brief shock, the soldier reacted quickly and slashed at the taunted man.
At point-blank range, with a blade swinging toward his face, the man acted as if he saw nothing. He only cared about attacking Garen.
Yet terror and confusion were etched on his face, clearly not mindless. It seemed some irresistible force was manipulating his will, compelling him to attack Garen by any means necessary.
The blade fell upon his shoulder, crippling half his arm and sending blood spraying.
The corrupt Navy screamed uncontrollably in pain, his features twisted with agony. Even so, he struggled relentlessly, still trying to attack Garen in the distance…
Only after two seconds did he collapse in terror into the blood, instantly losing consciousness from his wounds.
The whole process resembled a scene from a horror film.
As the skill’s user, Garen himself felt a chill.
The field fell silent…
Garen, the Headquarters Navy, and the corrupt Navy exchanged looks, unsure what to say.
The twelve-second cooldown for [Frenzied Taunt] ended unnoticed.
Garen quietly eyed another enemy grunt and muttered to himself, “Frenzied Taunt!”
The second unfortunate soul froze, then involuntarily grabbed his blade and charged at Garen.
“What’s—what’s happening?!” he shouted in panic, yet couldn’t resist the compulsion, his mind obsessed with attacking Garen.
It was a deeply contradictory and terrifying experience.
He knew it was dangerous, wanted to dodge, but his brain was overridden by a singular thought: Must find a way to strike him!
To reach Garen, he abandoned all defense and evasion…
A Headquarters Navy behind him quickly raised his musket and fired a bullet.
The man screamed and dropped.
Even lying in the blood, he scrabbled up a handful of earth and hurled it at Garen from afar.
The second victim died en route to attacking Garen…
The battlefield was eerily silent.
Such a power to distort human will was uncanny and frightening.
Seconds later, the remaining enemy grunts all knelt, wailing, “Spare us! Don’t curse us!”
“Uh…” Garen waved at the Headquarters Navy. “I’ll leave them to you.”
“Yes, sir!” The soldiers nodded hastily.
Garen turned to leave, but a familiar voice sounded nearby:
“You…”
“How did you do that?”
It was Smoker.
After transforming into his element, Smoker had swept through the base, eliminating every rebel. When he returned here, he happened upon this bizarre scene.
“Well…”
Pressed by Smoker, Garen pinned it all on the non-existent Devil Fruit: “It’s also a power of my Knight Fruit.”
“Knight Fruit?” Smoker questioned, clearly skeptical. “How is any of this like a knight’s ability? That invisibility was sneaky enough, and now this…”
“Ahem…” Garen explained earnestly, “As the saying goes: ‘In warfare, avoid strength and attack weakness.’ Invisibility and substitution are a knight’s application of military strategy! As for just now…” Garen pondered a moment, finally organizing his words: “When candlelight is silent, moths come unbidden. Their madness to attack me… perhaps it’s because I’m simply too outstanding.”