[Ding! Side Mission Triggered: Kill Xiao Lang. As a senior 'Brother-Protector,' how can you remain indifferent when witnessing someone maliciously verbally harming your younger brother?!]
Just as Dragon Soul was planning to use his scanner to see who this boy was before deciding whether to save him, the long-silent system suddenly spoke up.
This gave Dragon Soul the urge to hug the boy and weep with joy. Why had he come to this Lawless Zone? Wasn't it precisely for system missions?
Currently, the Magic Protector's energy was down to 1%, and while the ship was immune to undersea pressure, they weren't going anywhere without power. The items in the System Mall were obscenely expensive; though he coveted them, his pockets were empty. He simply couldn't afford them.
Now, he could only pin his hopes on system missions. At the same time, he resolved never to use large-scale spatial jumps or ion lightwaves unless absolutely necessary. They consumed way too much energy!
In the System Mall, a pack of 100 Magic Stones cost 10 million Berries—meaning 100,000 Berries per stone! The main problem was that they weren't sold individually; you had to buy the 100-pack.
Can't afford it, can't afford it...
[Mission Reward: 100 Magic Stones, one crate of Oxygen Helmets.]
The moment he saw the reward of 100 Magic Stones, Dragon Soul almost jumped for joy, but he restrained himself. With so many people around, he had to maintain his composure—otherwise, how could his Conqueror's Haki ever grow powerful?
Save him! He absolutely had to save him!
"Brat, you really like sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Fine then, enjoy your new life as a slave, hahaha..." Xiao Lang approached the boy, pulling a metal collar from his person. At that moment, Dragon Soul stepped forward, blocking his path.
"Hmm? What's this? Another meddler?"
Xiao Lang shot Dragon Soul a disdainful look and sneered, "What, you're going to save him?"
"No, I'm going to kill you," Dragon Soul replied flatly.
To be honest, he didn't feel like wasting words. He had no interest in killing brainless lackeys like this; it felt beneath his pay grade. But the Great System's decree could not be disobeyed. If he had to kill, he had to kill.
Dragon Soul slowly picked up the fallen dagger, took a step toward Xiao Lang, and slightly clenched his left fist.
BOOM! The previously dismissive Xiao Lang's face twisted into sheer terror. He felt as if a massive mountain had suddenly dropped onto his shoulders. His body lurched forward uncontrollably, right into the path of the incoming dagger.
"Ah... no... NO—!" Xiao Lang's pupils constricted. He screamed at the top of his lungs, but the pressure crushing his body was far beyond his ability to resist. He lunged straight onto the blade.
SPLAT...
The tip of the dagger emerged from the center of Xiao Lang's back, piercing his heart. He reverted to his human form, dead as he could be.
Pushing the corpse aside, Dragon Soul didn't give it a second glance. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the Celestial Dragon.
"You... you killed Xiao Lang..." Saint Charlos stammered, pointing a shaking finger at Dragon Soul.
"Isn't that obvious?" Dragon Soul shrugged.
At this point, Kenshin stepped up to stand beside Dragon Soul. He had heard much about the status of the Celestial Dragons, but he couldn't let Dragon Soul fight this battle alone.
"Your eyes make me very uncomfortable too," Saint Charlos said, raising his pistol again and aiming it at Dragon Soul.
He refused to believe someone would dare attack him so openly. That hateful "crazy brat" pirate from before had already been dealt with. In this world, the Celestial Dragons were the sky, the gods! Did ants have the courage to rebel against gods?
The answer was no. The problem, however, was that Dragon Soul wasn't an ant—he was the protagonist.
Vrummm... A red glint flashed in Dragon Soul's eyes as his Conqueror's Haki erupted, causing the remaining onlookers to collapse unconscious.
Celestial Dragons? Gods?
To others, these titles were like mountains that crushed the very air from their lungs. But to Dragon Soul, they held no authority. If he hit one, he hit one; if he killed one, he killed one. Having been baptized by the fires of the Paramount War, Dragon Soul had shed his initial naivety. He wouldn't hesitate to cut down scum.
Striking a Celestial Dragon brings a Navy Admiral?
Heh. As long as the Magic Protector had energy, let alone one Admiral—even if all three came at once—they wouldn't even see his exhaust.
"Dragon Soul, that's a Celestial Dragon."
"I know. Scum, right?" Dragon Soul nodded.
Kenshin: "..."
"Who... who are you?" Saint Charlos looked at Dragon Soul with pure terror. In a single instant, everyone around him had fallen. An inexplicable dread flooded his heart.
Only Dragon Soul, Kenshin, and the boy remained standing. As for the Celestial Dragon, Dragon Soul had intentionally kept him conscious. Otherwise, with his pathetic mental fortitude, he would have blacked out instantly.
Dragon Soul looked at the dim-witted noble with a hint of pity. He truly couldn't understand how such a waste of space could be "high and mighty." World Nobles. What a joke.
"You... you know I'm a Celestial Dragon and you still dare stand before me? You lowly commoner, do you want to die?" For some reason, Charlos suddenly regained his misplaced confidence, leaving Dragon Soul momentarily stunned.
Did he hear that right? Was the situation not obvious enough? His life was literally in Dragon Soul's hands, yet he still spat out such brainless drivel.
Charlos, seeing Dragon Soul's silence, thought he was afraid. He grew even bolder, puffing out his chest. "If you two capture this kid for me, I might let you serve me from now on. Commoners who resist us Celestial Dragons never come to a good end. Didn't that Straw Hat pirate think he was untouchable? Now he's dead!"
Hearing this, Dragon Soul was actually angered into a laugh. Just as he was about to speak, the system's voice rang out again.
[Ding! Side Mission Triggered: Kill Saint Charlos. As a senior 'Brother-Protector,' you must never allow anyone to speak ill of your younger brother!]
Dragon Soul was stunned. He looked at the oblivious Charlos with a different gaze. This guy's fate is sealed. He had originally intended to just teach him a lesson, but the system had issued a death warrant. As they say: when the King of Hell marks you for death at the third watch, who dares keep you until the fifth? Since the System had issued the warrant, you're dead whether you want to be or not.
He suppressed his excitement over the mission reward and maintained a calm facade. I'm not doing this for the reward, the System is forcing me... yeah... that's it.
Vrumm! A sharp light flashed in Dragon Soul's eyes. Since the decision was made, he moved swiftly. He slammed his hands together. The massive spatial compression instantly warped Saint Charlos's body. The glass bubble on his head shattered into pieces.
CRUNCH!
The man was dead before he could even process what was happening.
"Holy crap!" Kenshin's eyes nearly popped out. He looked at Dragon Soul in total disbelief.
Even the boy stared at Dragon Soul with an expression of awe, as if looking at a god. That foolish Celestial Dragon never imagined he would end like this.
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