Sunken Castle of Rica Island

Rica Island that was not too far away from the end of the first half of the Grand Line and was in the perfect place for Alyssia to setup a temporary place to stay.

The whole island except some certain places that were cleared out were covered in forestation and the old walls, buildings and tombs were sunken partly into the ground after many centuries of changes with the ground and dirt levels shifting, even trees and weeds had grown within many of the buildings and covered the walls.

Each of the remaining structures were either being used by the current residents of the island, left abandoned, had fallen apart due to various reasons or were built upon by the current people occupying them.

The strong stone walls were able to keep those within safe from attacks from other humans or beasts that live within the lands and most tribes or larger groups were quite separated from each other unless they belonged to the main capital of Rica Island but even the people from the capital live secluded lives as they usually wish to avoid conflicts with outsiders.

Another name for the island would be the Sunken Land which Alyssia witnessed as she stopped onto the land and made her way through the forest.

In some places, parts of stone buildings or monuments were sticking slightly out of the ground within the forest area and she continued onwards as she kept meeting many different types of beasts. "Go Ghost!"

In a short time, Ghost had adapted to the use of its body and its fighting instincts so upon encountering many different types along the way, she had remained quick and flexible as she avoided being harmed and countered by constricting or biting her prey to death as the poison took effect.

Her long and thin body allowed for her to avoid being hit but even if she was, she would not suffer damage from the beasts because she had a powerful skeletal structure, muscles and scales that made her superior to even the god beast of Shandora, the Yuda and very strong Sea Kings while her poison was more deadly than that of the Yuda which further increased her lethality.

Following the map and navigating through the land, she found herself in front of four walls which had a small entrance suitable for the entry of an average carriage but the gate seemed to have been replaced and the walls had been modified a little to allow better protection around the area after they had sunk into the ground.

Beyond that she could see a stone castle at the central part and as she stealthily climbed the unmanned wall, she saw below where more than half of the castle had been swallowed by the earth around it over time while the surrounding area looked quite fertile as weeds and plants grew around it. "Tsk.. I just hope that the insides are okay and remain intact. Digging out and removing the dirt from within to get to the lower floors will be troublesome but if it is completely fine inside then that would be much better. The surroundings look great for building some small homes and raising cattle or building a garden or farmland to raise some crops. The area is surrounded by beasts so it is a good place for training for some people and will provide an additional food source. There is clean source of drinking water very close by securing water will not be difficult. Most importantly, this place is secluded so I will not be bothered that often.

Meanwhile within the sunken castle of Rica Island, a large group of people were resting while a couple were resting out in the open or by the walls after failing their duty to guard the walls and look out for intruders.

The leader among them was a man with a pistol on his waist and he looked like a cruel individual as he lay against the wall with two weak women sleeping by his side which seemed to have been abused frequently.

The Flintlock Pirates were lead by their leader who carried a specially made flintlock pistol which gave them the name after he had used it to kill many people earning him a bad reputation.

He was the kind of person that won battles through various tactics and subdued his enemies and then took his time personally executing them with his flintlock pistol from a point blank range leaving blood splatters on his clothes giving him the nickname 'Bloody Flintlock' Leno.

Leno and his crew were especially cruel and had occupied the castle for a very long time and had set up a profitable scheme using the land or property deed.

They frequently sold it to different places as they continued to occupy the castle within the protection of the four walls and its strong gate, anyone that purchased the deed and that travelled to occupy the land would be met with a poor fate as they were robbed of their belongings, humiliated and either killed by Leno or sold off as a slave.

Any unsuspecting people that believed they were purchasing a fortress of their own were lured out and taken advantage of.

Since Leno and his crew had a fifty million berry bounty but remained hidden within Rica Island and the walls of the castle most of the time they were able to avoid being captured and win many battles against their enemies but this made them grow arrogant as most of the previous people that purchased the deed were either merchants wishing to use the land, a noble family wishing to move to another island with their family guards and build up their strength before returning to their homeland or any unsuspecting group which planned to use it for their own secret or nefarious purposes.

Suddenly they were awakened from their deep sleep as a voice spread within the walls and castle. "Dear squatters! Please vacate the premises! The owner has arrived with the legal ownership documents so please pack your things and leave. This is a warning! Please go peacefully and leave within half an hour otherwise I will remove you all myself!"

Leno sat up with a flustered look on his face before turning cold and bloodthirsty. "Men! Prepare for combat!"