One Piece: The True Codex

In Kalmar City, the night had deepened. From an aerial view, the slums were almost entirely shrouded in darkness, with only a few scattered lights emitting faint glows.

In contrast, the civilian area, just a step above the slums, was considerably brighter. Surrounding and guarding the center was the noble district, which was brightly lit, with street lamps illuminating every inch of the roads for the residents living there.

Andre, accompanied by three trusted subordinates, walked along a small path in the civilian area. Unlike the noble district, which was filled with street lamps, their pace was somewhat slow.

Although the country's laws and bans were often mere formalities for the nobles, the prohibition on alcohol did affect nobles like Andre. While they had ways to drink if they truly wanted to, it was inconvenient to drink freely at any time. The noble district, being under the palace's watchful eye, couldn't conduct alcohol trade as openly as the slums or even the civilian area.

Thus, after being humiliated today, Andre suddenly decided to vent his frustration by drinking, forcing him to go to the civilian area, which he considered dirty and chaotic. As for the slums, he saw them as a garbage heap and would never go there to drink.

"There's no law more ridiculous than the prohibition on alcohol," complained a soldier from the guard squad as he nearly stumbled on the uneven path. "Prohibition, prohibition—alcohol isn't banned; it's just made drinking a bit more difficult and added a bit to the cost."

Andre remained silent, his expression sour not because of his subordinate's words but due to his injuries.

William's claw not only had immense force but also released five streams of scorching steam, leaving Andre with five bloody wounds on his skin. Despite the wounds being treated, they still throbbed with pain as he walked.

This intensified Andre's hatred for William, the instigator.

Andre was contemplating how to trouble William in the future when he noticed that one of his trusted subordinates walking ahead suddenly stopped.

Andre was puzzled, but a glance ahead revealed the reason.

Standing on the path ahead was a short and stout man. Due to the darkness, Andre couldn't see his face clearly, but the knife in his hands gleamed faintly in the moonlight.

This path was quite secluded, with no one else passing by except Andre and his three trusted subordinates. The stout man holding a weapon clearly had malicious intent.

"Who are you!" The leading guard squad soldier grasped his sword hilt, stepping forward and shouting warily.

But as soon as he spoke, the stout man's hands suddenly moved, and a flash of cold light vanished into the leading guard soldier's neck. The immense force caused the soldier to stagger two steps before collapsing directly to the ground.

Andre instinctively raised his arm to protect his head and vital areas as soon as the stout man lifted his hands. In the next instant, he felt a sharp pain in his arm. Lowering his arm, he discovered a heavy throwing knife deeply embedded in it.

At this moment, Andre regretted not wearing his armor due to his desire to drink.

Meanwhile, the stout man had already charged forward, his hands continuously moving, throwing several knives that whistled through the air.

Andre swiftly grabbed a nearby guard squad soldier and used him as a shield. A series of muffled thuds followed, and the struggling soldier let out a groan before falling silent. The last guard squad soldier was also struck by knives in the vital areas of his chest and forehead, collapsing to the ground.

Sweating profusely, Andre tried to retreat with the corpse to escape back to the noble district, but suddenly heard footsteps from behind.

Turning around, Andre saw a burly man with a terrifying scar on his throat, holding a curved sword and looking at him coldly. Beside him stood a young man with slightly curly black hair, also holding a slender blade. The two had somehow blocked Andre's retreat.

The gleam reflecting off their blades was piercing, and Andre's gaze met the young man's eyes filled with desire and excitement.

These two were none other than Harden, the vice-captain of the Morgan Pirates, and Oliver, whom William had recently brought aboard from the Isshin Dojo.

The stout man throwing knives earlier was naturally Diego, the helmsman of the Morgan Pirates.

Blocking the retreat, Oliver felt some initial anxiety about killing for the first time, but his desire for achievement far outweighed everything else. Suppressing his negative thoughts, he was the first to rush toward Andre, followed closely by Harden.

With pursuers ahead and a blockade behind, Andre's mind raced. He threw the corpse of the guard squad soldier toward the stout man with terrifying knife accuracy, intending to hinder him, then turned and charged backward.

His right hand was injured, so he awkwardly drew his longsword with his left hand. However, standing nearly three meters tall, the weapon he carried was a longsword to him but could be a greatsword to others.

Andre swung with force, the longsword slicing through the air with a whooshing sound. Despite using his less-practiced left hand, Andre's terrifying brute strength was enough to cleave Harden and Oliver in half together.

Harden sneered, leaping past Oliver with a quick step, his heavy curved sword horizontal. His muscles bulged as he firmly blocked Andre's sword strike.

Simultaneously, Oliver took advantage of Harden blocking Andre's attack, rolling forward with momentum, sliding beneath the longsword. His previously clean clothes became instantly dirty, but he didn't care, rolling to Andre's leg and decisively severing his shin with the blade.

Andre screamed, losing his balance. Harden, a seasoned pirate with rich combat experience, wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

Harden exerted force with his curved sword, pushing Andre's longsword aside, then took a step forward, slashing diagonally across Andre's abdomen.

With his shin severed and abdomen slashed, Andre howled in pain, collapsing to the ground with a thud.

At this point, Diego had already put down his throwing knives and picked up a curved sword from his waist, charging forward. Even half-kneeling, Andre was still much taller than him, so Diego accelerated and lightly leaped, holding the curved sword backward, using the momentum to stab the blade tip into Andre's chest.

Andre's screams abruptly stopped, the force driving him to the ground, blood frothing from his mouth as his consciousness blurred. Even now, he didn't know who wanted him dead.

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