Chapter 68: The Knight Arrives

This island served as the capital of Creek's territory and was the barracks for the five thousand fighters of the Creek Pirate Crew.

Garen, bearing the title of "Pirate Hunter," appeared at the dock and quickly became the focus of all attention. Hundreds of pirate patrol members, armed with blades and guns, surrounded Garen's small sailboat on the shore, and the toughest among them, Iron Wall Paru, stood at the forefront, watching him like a hungry tiger.

At Garen's side, only Nami, Wallace, and the old man Dux remained.

"Pirate Hunter!" Iron Wall Paru shouted, "We have you surrounded! Surrender at once!"

But Garen's face showed no panic; he didn't even respond to Paru's shout. Instead, he turned with interest to Dux, who lingered beside him, and asked, "Old man, aren't you going to run with the others?"

Dux gazed deeply at the relaxed expression on Garen's face. He didn't answer directly, but instead mused, "As expected, you noticed something was off, didn't you?"

"How could I not?" Garen cast a disdainful glance at the group of 'good citizens' cowering behind Iron Wall Paru. "Those fellows were so eager before, it's a wonder they didn't try to shut your mouth entirely."

"Sigh..." Dux let out a long breath, his tone complex. "If they could earn the merit of 'reporting a Pirate Hunter,' the bottom-tier laborers would qualify to become professional fighters. To those young men, you were like a pie falling from the sky."

The professional fighters of the Creek Pirate Crew were highly paid employees, absolutely superior compared to the laborers who lived like slaves.

"Heh..." Garen chuckled lightly, his brow furrowing. "Suffering under the weight of privilege, yet still scrambling to break into the privileged class, even if it means risking one's neck."

"You could say..." He paused. "It’s very much how society works."

Garen and Dux chatted as if no one else were present, naturally angering Iron Wall Paru, who led the group hunting the Pirate Hunter.

Paru shouted even louder, his voice booming like a loudspeaker, "Pirate Hunter! If you don't surrender now, the pain you'll suffer will be ten times worse!"

Yet Garen still ignored him. He looked at Dux again, returning to his original question. "Since the rewards are so great, why don’t you join those young men and take a chance? If you win, you'd never have to work at sea again."

"Hahaha..." Even in this situation, surrounded on all sides, Dux smiled as easily as Garen. "The gamble I'm taking is much bigger than theirs! And now, it seems I placed the right bet."

Dux's smile widened.

"The terrifying sea beast that appeared earlier—it was you who scared it away, wasn’t it?"

"Yes."

"That stupid bull met its match with me, which is why it roams the seas now," Garen replied, putting down his sword to chat with Dux, who was far too calm for an ordinary elder. "To be honest, the way you behave... you don't seem like just a regular old fisherman."

"I..." Dux's expression grew wistful. "Back when law and order were better here, I served as town mayor for several years. But that was long ago, and over the years..."

Before he could finish, Paru’s furious roar echoed from afar once more.

"You scoundrels! How dare you ignore the dignity of Lord Paru!"

Garen frowned, barking back, "Shut up! You’re interrupting my conversation!"

His fearless, even contemptuous manner stunned Iron Wall Paru for a moment. After several seconds of hesitation, Paru finally remembered: he was the one with hundreds of brothers, here to catch a lone prey.

"Damned fool!" Paru pounded his thick shield and strode toward Garen.

Only then did Garen really look at Paru, amused by what he saw. Paru’s "Iron Wall" nickname came from the sturdy shields he wore like clothing. Most eye-catching were the two enormous shields strapped to his chest and back—at a distance, Paru looked like an Oreo sandwich pressed between shields.

More absurd still, the large shields bore concentric circles, making them look like bullseyes.

"Looks like we'll have to chat later," Garen sighed, then raised his greatsword in a peculiar stance—not to swing it, but as if preparing to throw a javelin.

A greatsword and a javelin have entirely different aerodynamics, mass, and balance; this was not a suitable posture for such a throw. But when the gap in strength is absolute, technique hardly matters.

Now a level six, Garen had more than enough power to look down on the likes of Iron Wall Paru, a petty pirate cadre.

Garen hurled his sword with all his might. The heavy blade tore through the air like a javelin, tracing a perfect arc in midair.

Paru, charging toward Garen, managed only two steps before the flying sword, coming at incredible speed, scared him witless.

He desperately tried to dodge, but the weight of his shields made it impossible for him to move effectively. Worse still, the bullseye shield on his chest practically guided Garen’s aim—the sword struck dead center.

For a sword, the tip is always the most penetrating and deadly part. Under the impact of Garen’s greatsword, the shield Paru prized was pierced as easily as paper.

The flying sword passed through the shield and thrust directly into Paru’s chest and abdomen. It pierced flesh and bone, then exited through his back, puncturing another shield.

The force of the heavy blade was still not spent. Paru didn’t even have time to scream before he was knocked backward, impaled like a skewer, pinned to the ground by the sword.

"Ah..." Paru’s feeble cry finally escaped his lips, blood bubbling at his mouth.

"Come back," Garen said calmly, reaching out with a grasping motion.

The sword quivered and pulled free from Paru’s chest, flying smoothly back into Garen’s hand. By then, Paru, suffering a second wound, had breathed his last, and blood still dripped from the blade.

"Not worth anything..." Garen sighed in resignation.

Paru’s strength was inferior even to the Fishman Pirate Crew’s officers, and the experience he provided was negligible for Garen, who needed more and more to level up.

"At least there are plenty of them," Garen thought maliciously, eyeing the mass of pirates ahead and stepping forward with his sword.

"Lord Paru is dead!" a panicked voice cried from the crowd.

A commotion erupted among the pirates. Another, who looked like a squad leader, tried to steady the group. "Don’t panic! We have hundreds here, he’s only one man!"

Encouraged by this, the pirates quieted down, mustering up some courage to fight.

Garen was quite satisfied by this.

But it didn’t last long.

Suddenly, a more terrified voice trembled from within the pirates: "He’s the righteous knight from the newspapers!"

"What?!"

"He’s the swordmaster who rivals Marine Hero Garp!"

Panic spread like an epidemic. Within seconds, the first pirate turned and fled.

Seconds later, Garen watched the spectacular sight of mass escape, utterly bewildered.

"The East Sea Knight is here! Run!"

As they fled, they shouted in terror, as if to boost their own speed.

"Wait... Don’t run!" Garen chased after them, sword in hand. "I’m not—don’t spread rumors!"