Chapter 315: Seizing the Spoils
"Haha! Out of steam already? My turn to shine!"
Caesar hefted his spiked club and brought it crashing down on Zogg.
CRACK!
A sickening sound rang out.
Zogg stood dazed, head drenched in blood, his gaze fading into emptiness.
"Brother!"
Ellison, still fighting desperately, looked toward his fallen sibling.
"Heh, distracted in battle? That's death."
Esdeath's eyes gleamed coldly. In a flash, she focused her Conqueror's Haki, sending a surge of pressure at the transformed werewolf before her.
Ellison's vision blurred. Though he quickly tried to recover his composure, it was already too late.
Slash!
Blood sprayed into the air.
His head flew from his shoulders.
"Captain!"
The remaining pirates cried out in horror.
"Run!!"
Panic surged as their leader's death crushed their will to fight.
"Clear the ice! Make a path!"
Someone shouted, but few responded.
Only a handful, smarter than the rest, began smashing the frozen sea.
Among them stood a four-meter-tall youth dressed in a gothic outfit, his face still tender with youth—just around ten or eleven years old. He stood out starkly among the panicked crowd.
Around him, several kids of similar age helped him frantically chip away at the ice.
"Moria! What do we do? The captain's dead! They're coming!"
someone cried, trembling.
"Shut up! Break the ice! If we don't, we're as good as dead!"
the boy roared, swinging a broadsword bigger than himself.
He was Gecko Moria, the future Warlord of the Sea.
But today, he was just a desperate boy trying to survive.
"Yes, yes!"
The group swung frantically.
Luckily, their ship was close by, and soon they cleared a path.
"Get on the ship—move!"
Moria led the charge and rallied his men.
"Yes, sir!"
The surrounding pirates quickly fell in line behind him.
Seeing Moria's vessel still able to move, other surviving pirates swarmed toward it.
Moria didn't stop them.
But the ship was small—barely fitting fifty or sixty people.
There was no more room.
"Moria! We have to go, now! They're getting closer!"
his crew urged.
"But… there are still so many—"
"There's no time! Even if we let them on, we'll be too heavy and too slow. We'll be slaughtered."
Seeing the desperation on everyone's faces, Moria bit his lip.
"Go! Now!"
he shouted at last.
The ship began moving, breaking away from the frozen battlefield.
"Bastard! I'm not even on yet! Damn you, Moria! I knew we shouldn't have brought you along!"
Angry screams rose from those left behind.
But the rage didn't last long.
Caesar and the others arrived.
The pirates had nowhere to run.
Caesar sneered.
"Heh. Nowhere left to run."
"Brother! One of the ships escaped!"
Gibetta pointed toward the shrinking black dot on the horizon.
Caesar's brow twitched.
"Tch. Whatever. Kill the rest. Leave none alive!"
The order rang out.
Panic spread. The trapped pirates began trampling over each other.
Caesar's forces slaughtered them with ease.
Only Moria's ship made it out alive.
—
With the field cleared, Caesar led the group back to the main ship.
Before them stood Charlotte, silent and expressionless, watching as the bloodied, wounded children gathered.
None dared speak.
Heads lowered, the air grew heavy.
Only Caesar and Esdeath met their father's gaze.
Caesar wore his usual indifferent expression—clearly unconcerned with what came next.
Esdeath stood tall and calm, splattered with blood like a grim statue.
Silence.
Then—
"I don't need to say much about what happened today. You all know how well—or poorly—you worked together. From now on, daily training begins. If I see anyone slacking, I'll hang you from the mast and beat you myself!"
Charlotte's glare swept over them like a storm.
"YES!"
The children snapped to attention.
Charlotte had seen it clearly: outside of Caesar and Esdeath, the others had performed poorly.
Robert and Deidara started strong, each taking out a captain—but quickly burned out.
If Barrett hadn't stepped in, they could've been dismembered.
Individual strength wasn't bad, but coordination was a mess.
Barrett stepped forward.
"Captain. The pirates included seven pirate crews, two royal forces, and a few armed merchant ships. Only one pirate ship escaped—the rest are dead. As for the loot, it's massive. I did a rough count—1.9 billion Beli, plus a lot of cargo."
He handed over a summary report.
Charlotte blinked.
Oh? So generous?
They came to rob him, yet delivered more wealth than he spent at the auction.
They paid him back double.
A month's salary, sorted.
Charlotte nodded with satisfaction.
"Sort the treasure. Give it to Illyana. Anything we don't need, sell it on the next island."
"And keep the pirate heads. We'll trade them for bounty rewards at the nearest Marine base."
Charlotte issued the orders quickly—he was used to this by now.
"Yes, sir!"
Barrett left to carry them out.
Charlotte turned back to the bloodstained kids.
"Well? Go wash up. Your moms will have a heart attack if they see you like this."
He waved them off.
The children, relieved, cheered and ran off to clean up.
---
Read up to 20 Chapters ahead on patreon.com/Fanglin
[Please leave a 5 Star review and power stone for this novel]
*Thank you*