How can I become the Pirate King if you don’t work hard?.

Chapter 328 The Idol Standing in My Heart (6K)

"This country... is finished!"

Daisy's lips parted slightly, and his eyes trembled, because the scene in the distance was simply too horrifying.

Seeing this, Ah Jin fell into a long silence.

Before the three of them was a man-made platform, where several priests of the Heavenly Awakening Church dressed in white monk robes were preaching.

The platform was surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic civilians.

As the pastor continued his intermittent prayers, the expressions on everyone's faces grew increasingly frenzied.

A ragged woman looked down at the dying boy in her arms, her eyes filled with pity and reluctance.

"Noah~"

"My child, I love you."

The woman's voice was full of tenderness, but in the next instant, she plunged the sharp knife in her hand into the boy's heart.

laugh!
The boy's limbs suddenly tensed up, but quickly went limp again.

Blood splattered and landed on the woman's face.

From Ajin's perspective, one could even see the pity, reluctance, and a deeply hidden madness on her face.

Then an even more shocking scene unfolded.

The woman personally pulled his heart out of the boy's chest cavity.

Hold it in the palm of your hand.

Then it was carefully placed in the pastor's hands.

"My lord, in this way, Noah's sins can be atoned for?!"

"In her next life, she will be able to live a life where she doesn't have to go hungry, freeze, or toil like an ox or a horse."

"He will become a nobleman, a prince, born noble, and need not be as lowly as dust."

The woman's voice grew louder and louder, and the bloodshot in her eyes became more and more pronounced.

She was so thin and excited that she began to gasp for breath after only uttering a few words.

Until he received a positive answer from the pastor of the Tianjue Church in front of him:
"Yes, madam, he has proven his piety."

A compassionate smile played at the corners of the pastor's lips:

"Now...it's your turn."

laugh--!
Without the slightest hesitation, and before the pastor could even finish speaking, the woman plunged the dagger into her own chest.

Blood flowed out, forming a shallow pool of blood beside her gradually cooling body.

Snapped!
The priest stepped onto the blood-stained boots, the splashes of blood wetting his trousers, but this did not faze him. He slowly walked toward the next civilian.

The air gradually filled with the stench of blood, and the crowd gathered below the platform grew increasingly frenzied, as if they were enjoying a grand feast.

Akin's eyes were almost completely bloodshot:
"why?"

"To die a pointless death?!"

"What on earth could drive these civilians to such a frenzy?!"

He had been sailing at sea for over a decade and had naturally witnessed countless bloody and brutal pirates.

Even someone like Creek had never given him this bone-chilling feeling.

Those people seemed to be possessed!
For something so illusory, they would give up everything, even end their child's life with their own hands!

Tezzoro remained silent, his brow furrowed.

"Even the Celestial Dragons I've met probably wouldn't do something like this..."

“They can instill fear, they can make people submit to violence and power, but they can never do something like making people willingly give up their lives.”

"That woman's abilities?!"

"I can't help but speculate," Tezoro said.

"Why?!"

Tezoro was puzzled, and Akin still had the same question in his mind.

soon.

Another middle-aged man lay in a pool of blood, a blissful smile even on his lips, as if sacrificing his life was a supreme honor.

The madness and piety on the faces of the common people reached their peak.

Akin's eyes were bloodshot, and a white bone cannon several meters in diameter slowly materialized on Akin's shoulder:

"This is absurd! This is absolutely wrong! That man would never allow something like this to happen!"

"calm!"

"If we are discovered here, the Heavenly Awakening Church will surely find out, and we..."

Just as Akin was about to make a move, Taizoro and the other man quickly held him down, but they were a step too late.

A powerful recoil caused Akin to shatter the floor beneath his feet. The solid bone bullet broke the sound barrier with a loud bang, instantly blasting the distant platform to pieces!

The leading priest of the Tianjue Church exploded, and blood sprayed like a thin mist onto the faces of those around him!
The crowd fell silent instantly, filled with shock, bewilderment, and awe...

A complex mix of emotions shifted across everyone's faces, eventually culminating in a furious outburst—an uncontrollable, utterly insane rage!
“Someone is interfering with prayer services and even killing God’s pastor!”

"blasphemer!"

"Only by burning with fire can the wrath of God be appeased!"

Without the surviving priests needing to speak, the almost frenzied civilians surged toward Akin and his companions, as if it was Akin, not the Heavenly Awakening Church, who had truly killed them!

"crazy!"

"They've all gone mad!"

Taizoro launched into a tirade of profanities.

These ordinary people held nothing more than ordinary pitchforks, hoes, or even short sticks picked up from the roadside.

For Tesoro, whose fighting strength was not weak even among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a single bullet or even a casually generated punch could easily defeat these people, but he felt a chill from their very bones.

They were used to the death of their companions, even regarding it as a great honor, but they turned on them with swords and hated them to the extreme for disrupting this so-called prayer!
Akin is right!

These guys have gone mad; they don't think like normal people at all!

Is this true only for the people here, or for all the common people of Britannias...?

Tezzo looked at the magnificent church in the center of the town, surrounded by rows of dilapidated and low shacks, and felt a chill run down his spine.

It was at this very moment.

A sharp shriek came from the distant sky.

Phew——!
The piercing cry of the eagle stirred up a cloud of dust on the ground.

"A Yin!"

"withdraw!"

"That guy's strength is terrifying!"

"Even if the two of us join forces, we are no match for him!"

"This country, these people, they've all gone mad. If we don't leave now, we'll never have another chance!"

Taizoro was extremely anxious.

Akin nodded, and two layers of dense bone armor covered his entire body, instantly transforming him into the Two-Bone - Undead Knight form.

boom!
The spiral-shaped bone spear flew out of his hand, bursting out with a series of whooshing sounds and creating a sonic wave, shooting towards the eagle knight Bevel in the sky!

when!
The impact was deafening. Bevel managed to withstand the incoming spiral bone spear, but was still knocked back hundreds of meters by the powerful impact of the spear.

With a slight flick of his wrist, he dissipated the force from the spiral bone spear. When he looked up again, the three figures in the distance had vanished without a trace.

All that remained at the scene was the completely destroyed prayer altar and a few surviving pastors.

Their eyes were filled with fear, showing none of the piety and madness that ordinary people often possessed.

soon.

Beville then learned what had happened from the surviving priest.

He glanced at the civilian corpses, then at the massive bone spears deeply embedded in the wall.

Eyes lowered.

His fingers, gripping the sword hilt, turned white.

“Lord Beville, those blasphemers have ruined the sacred ritual. Only by punishing them with the most severe punishment and burning them in flames can their sins be atoned!”

"That's right!"

"Burn them alive, skin them alive, and suck their blood!"

Anger and curses rang out from the crowd.

Bevel looked up at the common people of Britannias, and the only thing echoing in his mind was the Welsh phrase, "I am Britannias."

a long time.

The giant eagle took flight again, chasing after the direction in which Akin and the others had disappeared, like a knight chasing the sun.

It was also at the same time.

News of what was happening in the town reached Avalon and then Wales.

At this moment, Wales sat upright on his throne, listening to the message coming from the Den Den Mushi, and the corner of his mouth curled up, tearing open the wound that had almost split him open.

The original compassionate demeanor was shattered by the scars, making her face appear grotesque and distorted.

"The once most unruly eagle rider is now nothing more than a plaything."

"Ah……"

"Aren't you curious about why I'm doing all this?"

"To spread fearless suffering?"

Wales abruptly turned to look at the priest waiting to the side, and seeing the panic and fear in the latter's eyes, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Only in suffering and sin can the most devout faith be born!"

"Only then can they firmly believe that everything they've done is worthwhile and right!"

“Those lowly people will not question the existence of God, because they can no longer bear the cost and consequences; there is only one path before them!”

"With unwavering faith and vain hope, we walk toward death!"

The pastor slowly opened his mouth, his face pale and his body trembling. He was not afraid of what Welsh said, but of his own life and death.

"Keep your head up."

A soft, gentle voice came from Wales.

The pastor felt a slight sense of relief, but when he looked up, he saw a horrifying scene.

At this moment, Wales was bathed in golden light, and six wings unfolded from behind him, with a golden halo gathering above his head.

"An...angel?!"

The pastor gaped, finding it hard to reconcile Wales' current appearance with the things he had done.

But he no longer had the chance.

"Don't look at me like that in your next life."

With a detached voice from Wales, his fingertips touched the priest's forehead.

puff--!
The priest's head exploded, the headless corpse swayed, and then fell to the ground with a thud.

Wales took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands, then turned to look at the angel statue behind him.

Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
A series of crisp footsteps gradually came from behind, and Joan of Arc, wearing a hood, slowly entered the hall.

She ignored the corpse beside her, bowed to Wales, and then said, "Your Holiness."

"According to the intelligence we obtained earlier, there is also a group of people in Mary Geoise who are plotting to seize the five fruits of flesh, bone, soul, and spirit. Their goal should be the same as ours, which is to achieve immortality through them."

“They have even found the abilities of blood, flesh, and soul. Their next target will definitely be the Bone-Bone Fruit user that Beville and I are currently pursuing.”

"In other words, they will inevitably appear in Britannias!"

"Ha~"

Wales smiled dismissively:
"Is he yet another one unwilling to become that monster's slave? Does he really think his actions can be kept secret from that monster?"

"Speaking of which..."

between words.

Wales turned his head, his questioning gaze landing on Joan of Arc:

"The more familiar you are with me, the more surprised I become. You even know these secrets that are hidden by the government."

"Are you really just an ordinary descendant of the fairy race?!"

Joan of Arc's expression remained unchanged:

"of course."

"There is no secret in this world that can be hidden from the Heart Fruit?!"

“As you can see.”

"I have lived for far too long, and even with the lifespan of a fairy, I am nearing the end."

"What I ask for is the same as yours: to live a little longer."

"Yeah……"

Wales remained noncommittal, slowly returning to his throne, his expression softening, and said gently:

"Whatever you're planning, you'll be after me!"

"As you wish."

Joan of Arc bowed slightly, her eyes smiling.

"Humph~"

After a cold snort, Wales looked through the floor-to-ceiling window at the front of him and across the entire Avalon.

"All that's left for us to do now is wait."

"If I can obtain eternal life, I will have time to expand the Heavenly Awakening Church to the whole world!"

"By then, even the World Government, and even the monsters hiding in Mary Geoise, will be no match for me."

"One Piece?!"

"A boring lie!"

……

……

……

The new world has become so unpredictable that its weather has reached a point of being truly bizarre.

The ubiquitous storms, the alternating hot and cold ocean currents, and even the erupting volcanoes and flowing cold waves have created this almost hellish sea area.

But similarly, this is also the closest sea area to the top of the world, to One Piece.

Countless pirates flocked from all corners of the world and Paradise, but the vast majority perished at sea within months, with very few surviving.

But as long as they can gain a foothold in this sea area, they will surely have their own name in the whole world!

But for Gao Wen, this problem did not exist at all.

He doesn't need to adapt to the new world; rather, the new world adapts to him!
Weather, giant waves, unpredictable storms?
Annihilated in one strike!

The Lionheart Knight's voyage was smooth and even faster than when it was in the park.

In just half a month, they crossed nearly 10,000 nautical miles and entered the waters where Britannias is located.

"This...is Britannias?!"

Gao Wen looked up, his eyes filled with an indescribable excitement.

Countless islands surround the central continent, with lush vegetation almost completely filling the entire island, reaching an astonishing height of hundreds of meters.

Compared to them, humans are nothing more than insects crawling on tree trunks.

The earth's energy, so dense it was visible to the naked eye, flowed through the canyons and fissures as a pale blue glow.

"This trip... was the right one!"

"This is my home turf. On this land, the Crimson Dragon has no rivals!"

An unprecedented sense of comfort resonated within Gao Wen.

He spread his dragon wings on his shoulders, leaped into the air, and flew close to the sea towards the distant island.

Even though Gawain was still tens of meters away from the ground, he could already feel the almost endless earth vein energy trying to flow into his body.

Here, he doesn't even need to touch the ground to draw energy from the earth's veins.

Even the combined power of all the ley lines he had ever seen in the past was less than one ten-thousandth of what was here.

In just a few breaths, the energy of the earth veins began to overflow from between the scales of the wings.

Originally, Gawain's combat strength was only close to the upper level of the Legendary rank, but here, even the highest level of the Legendary rank is not without the power to fight.

According to Gawain's own prediction, the only person in history who truly reached the legendary level was Joy Boy, who once rivaled Im and whose remaining Haki could shatter the projections of the Five Elders.

This is already the theoretical upper limit that humans can achieve under normal circumstances.

To go further and touch upon realms that do not belong to humans, what is needed is beyond Gawain's current understanding.

A few minutes later.

Gawain slowly descended back onto the deck of the Lionheart Knight.

Seeing this, Chloe couldn't suppress her curiosity:

"How do you feel?!"

"Very good!"

Gao Wen looked at his palm; wisps of pale blue earth vein energy swirled at his fingertips.
“Better than ever!”

"If the battlefield is in Britannias, I fear not to fight any being!"

“In the Drum Kingdom, in Alabasta, and in Water Seven, I was able to roughly estimate how long it would take to deplete the ley line energy.”

"But here..."

"As you can see."

Kro looked up and saw only pale blue veins of earth energy flowing through the cracks in the earth.

His lips twitched slightly, and he glanced back at Gao Wen, finding the smile on the man's face incredibly irritating.

Instead of dwelling on this topic with Gawain, he changed the subject and said:

"Ah Jin has already escaped."

"According to our predictions, the Knights of God should also appear here. They are probably here for the legend of immortality as well."

"As for the Kingdom of Treasures, Big Mom hasn't shown up for quite some time. She's probably been captured by the Knights of God, probably after the battle in Water Seven ends."

"In other words, there is a very high probability that the Knights of God have already obtained the power of the soul, while the power of the heart is in the hands of that woman named Joan of Arc."

"The power of blood and flesh is probably also in the hands of these two sides!"

"That means there might be a possibility of achieving immortality in Britannias next."

"Aren't you tempted?!"

Gawain nodded.

It would be a lie to say that I am not moved.

Eternal life, endless time—who can resist the allure of these?
But where is the first king of Britannias, who is said to have completed the ritual and gained immortality?!

Moreover, Doflamingo had hinted that only immortal beings could possess the Mary Geoise national treasure. How could Im possibly tolerate such a potential threat to his rule?!
If he were in a different place, Gao Wen believed he would absolutely not allow such a person to exist, not even with the slightest possibility.

Or perhaps, as Robin said, there is some kind of will among these fruits that resists their simultaneous appearance.

Or perhaps there is some flaw in the so-called immortality that allows Im to rest easy.

Gawain, however, believes that perhaps both of these factors exist simultaneously.

Therefore, Gawain has always maintained a wait-and-see attitude towards this kind of immortality based on five abilities.

He would not choose to take the risk until he actually saw someone achieve immortality through ritual, or until he was forced to take such a risk at the end of his life.

Seeing that Gawain had little interest in this, Kro stopped discussing the topic with him and instead turned his attention to the group of cultivation fanatics on the deck.

After more than half a month of training, everyone's strength has increased slightly.

Sanji, Zoro, and Cavendish are steadily making their way towards the Gold rank. Although there is still a considerable distance to go, it is foreseeable that they will reach the Gold rank in no time.

After Van Augur broke through to Silver rank, his rate of improvement slowed down.

However, a large part of his strength is affected by guns and ammunition, and he has been spending a lot of time with Franky lately, tinkering with something.

In short, the two men could be seen testing their weapons at sea from time to time, and the commotion was getting bigger and bigger each time.

Luo's potential gradually came to fruition, and thanks to extensive basic strength and endurance training, his physical strength was much greater than in the original timeline.

At least they won't be so exhausted from running the slaughterhouse a few more times that they won't be unable to resist.

Their combat strength has reached the threshold of silver, basically securing their position as the second main force on the ship.

Bepo and Chopper, the two beloved members of the group, have also made rapid progress and have gradually reached the ceiling of the Bronze level. Their combat power has increased significantly, and they now have the ability to protect themselves in most situations.

Bepo has now been assigned to Nami's navigator team, which is a good fit for his major.

After entering Britannias, the voyage was surprisingly smooth.

Gawain and his group had already obtained some information about Britannias from Akin, but they still did not have the same shock as witnessing it firsthand.

soon.

Then he saw it.

a few days later.

The Lionheart Knight docked in a port on the edge of Britannias, where Gawain witnessed the same scene that Arkin had seen.

Countless ordinary Britannians gathered around the church and performed what they called prayer in an almost cruel manner.

They firmly believed that this would please the so-called gods in exchange for happiness in the next life.

But Gawain knew all of this was utter bullshit!
If there truly are gods who can bless humanity, then the first to go to hell should be the Celestial Dragons.

But Tianlong is still alive and well, and even indirectly controls the entire world in Mary Geoise, sucking the blood of the whole world and maintaining his privileges and excessively luxurious life.

Therefore, Gawain only had one strike against such an existence.

boom!
The earth was torn apart, the pastors standing on the prayer platform were all killed, and even the church behind it collapsed with a crash because of Gawain's blow!

The blade's momentum remained undiminished, parting the clouds in the sky and illuminating the shattered glazed tiles on the ground with a golden sheen.

The minds of the ordinary believers completely shut down at this moment. Such power had surpassed their understanding and reached a higher realm!
"If even a god were to intervene, perhaps this would be the best they could do?"

"monster!"

Is today our last day?

Some people felt despair because, faced with such power, there was no point in resisting.

Some people, knowing they were doomed, sat there on the spot, their faces still showing piety.

This strike could destroy his body, but it could not extinguish the idol that stood in his heart.

(End of this chapter)