Above the abyss, the Jasper Gourd drifted forward slowly.
The three crew members surveyed the golden cluster of buildings ahead, which seemed to stretch endlessly. An aura of grim, inherited nobility radiated from the structures, creating an instinctive sense of heavy pressure.
This was the core residence of the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons… Mary Geoise.
From afar, the oppressive feeling hadn't been obvious, but the closer they drew, the heavier it settled upon their hearts.
"Trens, get ready."
Jason stood up on the gourd. They were now extremely close to the palatial complex.
Trens nodded, raised the black rifle in his hands, brought his eye to the scope, and rapidly adjusted the focus and range.
Soon, his vision captured details within the dazzling golden complex.
"Not many people. Mostly black-clad bodyguards and security details." Trens spoke quickly, relaying all the visible intelligence.
"The palace is very complex, divided into several clusters of buildings. They must belong to different Celestial Dragon families."
"The scale of the clusters varies, probably reflecting the relative power and history of those families."
He shifted the scope and continued observing.
"The density of the guards is very high. A frontal assault is practically impossible!"
Through the scope, Trens saw the guards' stern expressions, their iron-blooded aura, and their solid, powerful builds. They were clearly no weaklings. Under these circumstances, trying to overpower them purely by force was out of the question.
"We have to find a weak point," his eyes flashed as he began searching rapidly.
Crocodile exhaled a puff of smoke. "Before that, we need a general understanding of this palace."
"We don't need to know everything, but we absolutely must figure out where the Lordling is being held!"
"What Crocodile said makes sense. In that case, let's just grab a Celestial Dragon, beat him up, and ask!" Jason shouted, voicing the most direct solution.
Trens's face momentarily betrayed a look of profound resignation, but he had to admit that this was the simplest and most effective way. Compared to the well-trained security detail, the Celestial Dragons themselves, being the holders of the highest authority, were obviously the best, albeit most volatile, sources of information.
"Jason's right," Crocodile nodded, agreeing instantly with the suggestion.
Seeing that no one objected, Jason burst into laughter.
The three moved swiftly. When the Jasper Gourd reached the opposite side of the complex, they leapt down. Trens carefully put the gourd away, then followed the other two as they sprinted toward the wall.
"Three hundred fifty-six meters to the right, there's a recessed section of the wall. The defenses are weakest there!" Trens communicated while running.
The three soon spotted the recessed wall. It was about thirteen meters high, forged from some unknown, light-refracting material. They had no time to study it, though. Stomping the ground, they used Geppo (Moonwalk) and quickly vaulted over the barrier.
Just as Trens had said, this was indeed the weakest point in the defenses. They glanced around, then swiftly vanished into the complex.
The area near the wall was an immaculate Celestial Dragon street. Flowers and trees lined both sides, filling the air with a refreshing, pleasant fragrance. The three ran quickly along the street, weaving and dodging as they went.
"At the left corner, there's a lone Celestial Dragon!" Trens pointed it out.
From long-range observation, Trens had already gained a solid grasp of the immediate area and directed them with practiced precision.
They exchanged a glance and, without the slightest hesitation, launched their sprint. They'd already killed one Celestial Dragon before; kidnapping another didn't really change the situation. When you owe enough, you stop fearing the debt.
Saint Chaporos was in an excellent mood today.
His beloved elder brother was getting married, and out of sheer magnanimity, that brother had gifted him the woman he was originally meant to marry. This made Chaporos exceedingly happy.
Right now, he was on his way to see what that newly acquired woman looked like.
Rumor had it that she also possessed some Celestial Dragon blood, but her status was low. His elder brother had originally agreed to the political marriage only under family pressure. But now, it seemed the woman had committed some serious mistake, her status had been further demoted, and his elder brother no longer found her worthy of his attention.
That was how this opportunity had come to him.
For Chaporos, who was already eighteen and frequently indulged in relations, ordinary women no longer interested him. On the contrary, this supposedly minor Celestial Dragon woman filled him with intense, perverse excitement.
"A Celestial Dragon… I never thought that I, Chaporos, would one day get to make a Celestial Dragon my plaything."
"My elder brother is really too stupid, completely uninterested in women, only knowing how to train, train, train every single day."
"What's so fun about training? How could it possibly compare to women! As the descendants of the Twenty Kings, we Celestial Dragons rule the world! What lowly commoner would dare resist us?"
"Even those Admirals at Marine Headquarters, aren't they summoned when we call and dismissed when we wave them away?"
Chaporos lifted his chin arrogantly, strutting forward with his legs splayed outward, each step slow and deliberate. When he was young, he had seen the adults walking like this, so he copied them, and later discovered that walking this way actually felt pretty good!
Amazing! I'm a Celestial Dragon after all! Since I don't even breathe the same air as commoners, of course my way of walking should be unique as well! Otherwise, how would we show how different we are?
"That brat's walking posture really deserves a beating. It's got to be him, right?" Jason muttered, his voice tight with suppressed rage, hidden in the nearby flowerbed. For some reason, just looking at that kid with the bubble helmet in the distance made him want to punch him hard.
"Yeah, he really looks punchable. That walking style is ugly as hell," Trens complained, sharing the visceral reaction.
"I suggest we kill him after we're done questioning him," Crocodile said, taking a deep, calming breath of smoke. He truly couldn't stand it anymore.
It wasn't that they lacked patience; this Celestial Dragon's way of walking was just begging for violence. Where did this kid even learn to walk like that? Head tilted toward the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, staring upward, feet spread wide, swaying with every step—wasn't he afraid of slipping and tripping himself to death?
"Get him!"
In the end, Jason clenched his fist, and the three of them rushed out from cover like a gust of wind.
Chaporos was still immersed in his fantasies of being attended by his new woman when, suddenly, a violent gale swept across his vision.
"Protect His Highness!"
"Enemy attack!"
"Where did this lunatic come from, daring to ambush a Celestial Dragon?!"
Alarmed shouts rang out one after another, but they lasted only three breaths before abruptly vanishing.
"What's going on?"
Two shadows suddenly loomed in front of Chaporos. Confused, he awkwardly adjusted his neck, trying to see more clearly.
But in the next instant, a voice rang out.
"I can't hold back anymore!"
Bang!
A heavy blow slammed directly into Chaporos's head, knocking him unconscious in a single, satisfying hit.
"That felt great!" Jason pulled back his fist, looking at the limp Chaporos on the ground, and let out a satisfied breath.
"Drag him away. We'll give him a proper lesson later," Crocodile said coldly.
(End Of This Chapter)
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