Chapter 309: The World Society Attacks
At first, they were worried the other party might become suspicious—
after all, two complete strangers had suddenly appeared at Huo Manor. No normal person would trust them so easily.
But with the help of the quest item,
Huo Butian only paused slightly, noting their strange attire.
When he saw the Jianghu Token in Shanks' hand,
a hazy memory surfaced in his mind—vague, but it seemed this man was indeed a chivalrous hero he had once met.
"Thank you, Red-Haired Hero, for your help."
Huo Butian eagerly grasped Shanks' hand.
Anyone willing to come aid him at a time like this, regardless of strength, possessed a righteous heart worthy of his admiration.
As he leaned in closer, he whispered with resignation,
"Red-Haired Hero, very few of the chivalrous are willing to help the Huo family now. I fear we won't escape this calamity. This matter has nothing to do with you two—leave while you still can."
Huo Manor was doomed.
He didn't want to drag any more innocent lives to their deaths.
"It's fine."
Shanks burst out laughing, not even remotely intimidated by the might of the World Society.
Seeing this, Huo Butian was deeply moved.
[Huo Butian's Favorability +70, now Friendly (70/100)]
"There's actually a favorability system?"
Shanks was surprised. He sent a message to Mihawk in the team chat.
Safe zones on the Arad map had something similar—NPCs in towns had favorability values.
If favorability was high, they'd give quests first or offer special hidden items.
But—
He hadn't expected that just two casual lines would raise it so much.
Mihawk thought for a moment. "It's likely related to the World Society."
"Huo Manor is about to be massacred, and we're siding against the strongest faction in the Fengyun world to help Butian. In his eyes, we're facing certain death. That's why the favorability increased so much."
Under normal circumstances, it'd never rise that quickly.
"If you two don't mind," Huo Butian said loudly,
"please follow me. I'll find a few suitable weapons for you in Huo Manor's inner vault."
These two were willing to risk their lives for Huo Manor. How could he be stingy?
"Let's take a look."
The two exchanged a look and followed Huo Butian into the vault.
Clank.
Thick chains and bronze locks fell away, and the vault door creaked open.
Mihawk narrowed his eyes.
Just the chains locking the door were made of top-quality refined steel.
In the pirate world, that would be enough to forge a supreme-grade sword. But in Fengyun, it was just a gate lock?
Was this wasteful excess?
Or was the pirate world simply too poor?
Even Mihawk, who never cared much about his environment, felt a flicker of envy.
Just as the Game Merchant had said—
The pirate world was like a barren wasteland,
yet still feared being eyed by the Game Merchant. How laughable.
What Mihawk didn't know was—
it was precisely because worlds like the pirate and ninja realms were Tier-1 that the corrupted continent ignored them.
Tier-2 worlds like Fengyun, rich in origin power,
even if temporarily impenetrable, were always targeted first for pollution.
Their world consciousness would be the first to get corrupted.
"If you see something you like, take it," said Huo Butian.
He didn't even enter the vault himself—standing at the door, a sign of complete trust.
The two didn't decline and stepped inside.
The spacious vault was lit by luminous pearls, casting a soft glow over everything.
"Even the Celestial Dragons' treasury isn't this luxurious…"
Shanks swallowed hard.
He was talking about the value of the items. Just by looking,
there were over a dozen purple-grade items scattered around.
And this was just a minor faction in Fengyun World.
How obscenely wealthy must the major powers be?
They felt like country bumpkins seeing the big city for the first time.
This was the foundation of a Tier-2 world.
Before long,
Mihawk's gaze landed on a particular blade.
Its edge gleamed coldly, the patterns on it like intertwined dragon fangs wrapped around its purple-red body.
[Wasteland Dragon Blade]: Forged from ore tainted by divine dragon blood. Attacks have a chance to inflict "Dragon Aura" damage.
Note: This item can only be taken out of this world after completing the main quest.
"A fine blade."
As Mihawk gripped the hilt, he felt the savage aura of dragon blood seeping into him.
It seemed to disturb his mental state.
He immediately opened the Interworld Shop and checked the general rule-type items at the bottom.
These were universal items across all shops,
but still required Contribution Points to purchase.
[Gear Devour Scroll]: Consumes this scroll to feed one piece of gear into another. The devoured item enhances the other's stats and may pass on special traits.
Note: Use gear of the same type for best results. Mismatches may cause damage or useless enhancements.
"If I feed this blade to my Black Blade, it could significantly boost my power rating."
Mihawk made no further selections.
He picked up the Wasteland Dragon Blade and left the vault.
Shanks came out shortly after, holding a herb that increased energy capacity.
[Selected treasure from Huo Manor Vault. Huo Butian's Favorability -50]
The max cap remained, only the value dropped by 50 points.
"Well done—treasures suit heroes."
Huo Butian laughed heartily.
"Today also happens to be my birthday. You two must stay for the feast."
In the courtyard—
To give the family a chance to flee,
Huo Manor's loyal disciples laid out food and wine for guests, trying to maintain a sense of normalcy.
Unbeknownst to them—
A slender figure who had already left had silently returned.
"Huo Jingjue, why didn't you leave with the others?"
Huo Butian was stunned, then barked harshly.
Shanks also froze slightly upon seeing the boy.
A strange feeling surged in his chest.
He had sharp instincts—not on the level of Roger's "Voice of All Things" or Luffy's beastlike intuition,
but he could still sense when someone was different.
Back then, it was this sense that led him to entrust Roger's straw hat to Luffy.
Now—
He was getting an even stronger feeling from this boy.
He couldn't explain it—
just that this kid felt like a hidden gem buried in the sand,
demanding attention with a single glance.
Stronger even than what Luffy had once made him feel.
"Listen to your father. It's not too late to leave. Go now!"
"I'm not leaving."
Huo Jingjue's expression didn't change. He sat quietly in the corner of the banquet, unmoved no matter how much Huo Butian scolded.
Just as Huo Butian called for disciples to take him away—
A piercing scream echoed across the estate.
Every Huo disciple heard the pained wails.
Thud.
Two corpses were thrown into the manor.
"It's the World Society's Darkblood Skeleton and Suddenstrike!"
One of the disciples whispered in terror.
At that moment—
Black system prompts appeared before Shanks and Mihawk:
[Darkblood Skeleton – Xue Antian – Lv.23 (Lord-tier)]: Elder of World Society, expert in dark internal energy. Extremely powerful.
[Suddenstrike – Lv.24 (Commander-tier)]: Elder of World Society, expert in taming venomous beasts and snakes.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1