[Your actions have triggered a special quest]
[Rob Krieg's fleet flagship and kill their captain]
[Reward: 500 system points.]
Arlo blinked in surprise at the information before him, even as he continued defeating one pirate after another.
He had already planned to do all of that, so an extra reward only made it better.
A squad rushed him with pikes. Arlo met them with a single palm-forward shove, and the men were thrown back as if struck by a wave.
Then, somewhere in the midst of it, Arlo caught sight of Don Krieg's banner. A creepy smile played on his lips. He had just discovered that fighting could be extremely fun.
Like a madman, he accelerated, going after his new target.
A broad-shouldered pirate lunged with a cutlass. Arlo danced backward, avoiding the swing, then counterattacked with impressive speed.
His fist connected with the pirate's jaw. The man spun, hit the deck, and slid across it. Not dead, but finished for the moment.
At that moment, the leader of the guard, realizing his formation was collapsing, ordered a countercharge.
Men surged forward, shooting at the pirates, who were still too distracted by Arlo.
The battlefield erupted into deadly chaos as many perished in the clash. Even more began searching for a way to flee the terrible battlefield.
Groans multiplied. Soldiers looked to one another, searching for orders. None came with conviction.
But Arlo did not care about the chaos and surged forward, closing in on his target. For him, the disorder only meant he could easily get himself one on one with Krieg.
"Asshole, I will kill you!" the captain screamed when he saw Arlo approaching.
He was furious at how Arlo had thrown his ranks into such chaos. The best way to restore troop morale at that point was to kill Arlo with his own hands.
Meanwhile, from the rigging above, Nami's shadow flickered. She had taken advantage of the chaos and slipped aboard the flagship.
She moved carefully, defeating one by one the few pirates who remained on the ship. As always, her specialty was this type of operation, eliminating men without letting them notice her presence.
Soon, that giant flagship would be entirely hers.
All she needed to do was eliminate everyone, then activate the ship's engine and set it on a route far away from there. The other ships would not be able to reach it. It was convenient that Krieg's main ship had such advanced technology.
He had truly invested a lot in his armada.
Boom. Outside the ship, Arlo and Krieg's fight was reaching its climax.
Arlo's grin widened as he locked eyes with Don Krieg.
"Come then!" Krieg bellowed. "You think you can defeat me, you filthy insect?!"
Arlo cracked his neck and flexed his fists, the System flickering faintly at the edge of his vision.
[Quest Objective: kill Don Krieg]
"You talk too much," he muttered.
Krieg fired first. The spear erupted with a deafening boom, launching a cannonball-sized blast that tore through the air. Arlo barely ducked under it, but instead of slowing down, he charged forward, sprinting through the smoke.
Krieg barely had time to raise his shield before Arlo slammed into it with enough force to make the iron shriek. The captain staggered, his boots digging trenches into the blood-slick planks.
"What…? Impossible!"
Without responding, Arlo twisted and drove his fist upward into Krieg's ribs with a sickening crunch.
The captain grunted, coughed blood, then swung his shield like a hammer. Arlo caught the edge on his forearm and threw the armored giant onto the deck with a loud metallic crash.
For a heartbeat, even the chaos around them seemed to pause.
Then Krieg roared, tearing off the damaged parts of his armor. "You worthless bastard! I am Don Krieg! I have slaughtered hundreds like you!"
He reached into his coat, pulled out a small device, and slammed it onto his chest. The plates shifted and clicked.
Boom.
A hidden mechanism fired, launching a flurry of grenades in all directions.
Arlo threw himself backward, arms crossed to shield his face as explosions erupted around him. The deck went up in smoke and fire, shockwaves throwing bodies into the sea.
For a second, Krieg laughed triumphantly. "Now you are…"
Arlo emerged from the smoke like a demon. His clothes were tattered, his hair singed, and blood ran down his cheek.
So that was the level of someone like Don Krieg. If he was honest, Arlo had expected more. Krieg only had a power level of 350. His weapons probably made him stronger, but most Marine captains could go head to head with him. At least most of the ones Arlo had met. The captains in the East Blue were probably weaker.
"You are quite weak," he said in a bored tone.
Before Krieg could reload, Arlo was already there. One leap, one blur of movement, and his fist slammed straight into Krieg's gut. The armor buckled like tin under the sheer impact. Krieg gagged, eyes bulging as blood splattered from his mouth.
Arlo did not stop. He followed with a brutal uppercut, then a knee to the ribs, then another punch that sent the massive man crashing into the sea.
[You have completed the mission.]
The anticlimactic message appeared before his eyes, confirming the kill.
Then he turned and saw it. The flagship was moving.
Nami had done it. Smoke poured from the exhaust vents as the massive warship's engine roared to life. The vessel began pulling away from the burning fleet, turning toward open waters.
Several pirates were desperately trying to drop anchors and chains to keep it moored.
"Oh no you don't."
Arlo broke into a sprint. Every step echoed through the wrecked deck, boots pounding wood and scattering embers. He leapt at the nearest pirate, disarming him with a single punch that sent teeth flying, then kicked another straight overboard.
Most of the men fled when they realized they would have to face Arlo. The few who tried to fight lost without much resistance.
The ship began drifting away faster now, the current and its engine pulling it free.
"Now it's time to take my ride," Arlo muttered, backing up and measuring the distance. Maybe twenty meters separated him from the warship's stern.
He inhaled deeply and ran.
The deck beneath him was cracked and burning, but he did not slow down. He jumped off the edge of the destroyed ship. For a second, he was flying through the night, the ocean below black and endless.
Then his boots slammed onto the flagship's railing. He almost slipped but caught himself, rolling onto the deck beside it.
Nami heard the noise and left the engine room to see what was happening. When she saw Arlo, her jaw dropped.
"You look surprised. Did something happen?" he asked with absolute confidence, stepping toward her. "You were not, by any chance, hoping to leave me behind, were you?" he added, a hint of threat in his voice.
"No, never," Nami answered immediately. "I already found the treasure room. Unfortunately, they seem to have spent most of it. But there are still around 8 million Berries," she said.
She was probably lying, but Arlo would leave her punishment for later. For now, he had gotten what he really wanted from all of this: meeting Nami. As an extra reward, he had gained 500 system points, which were considerably more valuable to him than a few million Berries.