Chapter 11: Loop Quest

Wearing gas masks, the pirates who had been fighting in the smoke were almost all stunned by the sudden scene.

"Did… did it thunder?!"

"Oh no, Deputy Captain Lennon was struck by lightning!"

The pirate who reacted first shouted, pointing at the charred figure on the ground.

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing and, seeing Lennon's miserable state, showed expressions of extreme fear.

Meanwhile.

Vivian, who had somehow ended up squatting on a large tree, sheathed his sword and lit a cigarette.

"Hiss~~~ burp!"

"Great, I think I performed perfectly just now."

Vivian muttered to himself, nodding in satisfaction.

"When everything is over, seeing the traces left at the scene, they will most likely attribute it to a natural disaster. No one will suspect me…"

After all, with an agility attribute of over ninety points on his panel, his speed far exceeded that of ordinary people. When he fully unleashed it, no one could catch a glimpse of him.

Therefore, he didn't have to worry about anyone linking this incident to him.

As for why he didn't want to be discovered…

Do you even need to ask?

Of course, it's to avoid drawing attention.

What if he gets promoted too quickly, attracts jealousy, or gets noticed by his superiors and is transferred to headquarters? What then?

Compared to the perilous Grand Line, he much preferred the East Blue—comfortable, peaceful, and on days without pirates to catch, he could leisurely lie on the beach outside Loguetown, enjoying the sea breeze…

There he was, squatting on the tree, using the dense foliage to hide himself, puffing away.

Meanwhile, the navy soldiers were just like the pirates of the Giant Blade Pirates, standing there with their mouths agape, holding their flintlock rifles, stunned.

What's going on?!

Is this divine retribution?

"It's exactly the same as what happened last time!" Papanov's eyes widened as he looked at the grassland split by lightning, a memory immediately surfacing in his mind.

He remembered it was about half a year ago when he encountered danger while capturing pirates. Just as he was about to be beheaded, a flash of lightning, just like now, struck, electrocuting the pirates surrounding him, leaving them lying on the ground, covered in blood.

"The same miracle happened to me twice…"

This couldn't just be a coincidence!

"Could it be…"

Is this really divine protection?

As if grasping the key to the problem, Papanov's expression became somewhat excited.

Nearby, Kuto, who had just taken down a pirate minion with a single slash, looked up at the forest, his sharp eyes catching the faint red dot flickering through the gaps in the leaves.

…

"Attack!!!"

After a brief shock, the battle resumed.

But perhaps because their deputy captain had been "roasted," the pirates' morale was severely affected, and they completely lost the ability to fight back, allowing the navy to push them back.

Just as the more than a hundred pirates present were about to be captured, a towering figure emerged from the rear, wielding a two-meter giant blade, instantly scattering the navy's formation.

"Ashburn?!"

"Captain!"

Both the navy and the pirates exclaimed simultaneously.

Just look at the middle-aged man who suddenly appeared on the battlefield. He stood over three meters tall, his bare upper body rippling with muscles that bulged with each swing of his blade.

In less than ten seconds, a large number of navy soldiers were sent flying into the air and then fell heavily to the ground. The remaining soldiers, seeing this, slung their flintlock rifles over their shoulders, drew their sabers, and charged forward to engage Ashburn in close combat.

"Don't be afraid, everyone! Attack together! He's just one man; he can't beat all of us!"

Papanov, who had just been blown away by the gale from the giant blade, crawled up from the ground in a sorry state and shouted to his soldiers.

This was a pirate with a bounty of over ten million Berries!

If they could capture him, Papanov would likely be promoted to lieutenant Captain upon returning!

But just as he finished speaking.

"Wind Slash!"

Ashburn roared, swinging his blade horizontally. The navy soldiers who had just surrounded him spewed blood simultaneously, scattered like petals by the gale from the giant blade.

At the same time, not far away.

Vivian flicked away his cigarette butt, sighed at the scene, and jumped down from the treetop.

He glanced at the options in his mind.

[Follow-up Task: Defeat the Deputy Captain of the Giant Blade Pirates (Completed)]

[New Task: Defeat or Assist Colleagues in Defeating the Captain of the Giant Blade Pirates (Current Second Loop)]

Yes, he had received another follow-up task.

Vivian was all too familiar with the system's routine after two years of experience.

It was no different from the "loop quests" in role-playing games from his previous life.

You think you've completed all the tasks? Sorry, there are more follow-up tasks waiting for you.

As for how many loops there would be, that depended on the system's mood.

Sometimes there could be ten, sometimes only two.

This was also why, even though Vivian had become stronger, he was still reluctant to choose the earlier options when he saw them pop up.

He pulled the flintlock rifle from his back, aimed it with his right eye, and, having freeloaded his way to intermediate shooting skills, adjusted the trajectory slightly before pulling the trigger.

Bang—!

The lead bullet flew out of the barrel, covering a hundred meters, and hit Ashburn's back with an incredible arc, leaving a deep blood mark.

Ashburn roared in pain.

But when he turned around to find the culprit who fired the bullet, he saw no one, and instead, Kuto, who had closed in, slashed his abdomen.

"Damn it!"

With bloodshot eyes, Ashburn swung his blade again, his intense anger making him want to smash Kuto's head.

But before the giant blade could fall.

Bang—bang—!

Two more gunshots rang out. One bullet hit the blade, causing Ashburn to stagger, while the other bullet embedded itself in his calf, bursting into a spray of blood.

"Ah!!" Ashburn screamed instinctively, looking in shock at the bloody hole in his calf.

How could this be?

I am… a man with a body of steel!

Ordinary flintlock bullets shouldn't be able to penetrate his defense, especially from such a distance.

His face was full of disbelief.

Meanwhile, deep in the dense jungle, another bullet flew out from the gaps in the leaves, heading straight for his face.

…