Chapter 66: Slaughter

"Purupurupuru..." Bellamy fished out a Den Den Mushi and placed a call to his ship.

"This is Bellamy."

"Drake, come over here. Take these two brats back; I still have some things to take care of."

Hanging up, Bellamy gestured towards the interior of the intelligence shop. "Go inside and grab some money for yourself."

He'd slaughtered everyone in the shop; its wealth was naturally ownerless now.

Hearing Bellamy tell him to take the money, Eddy's eyes instantly lit up. "Boss, how much can I take?"

"Take as much as you can carry."

Bellamy didn't feel the need to elaborate on exactly how much Eddy should take. The kid needed to have some sense himself. If anything went wrong later, Bellamy would be long gone, miles away, and unable to help him.

The main issue with using Eddy was loyalty. He'd surely be obedient at first, but given time, people's hearts tend to wander.

But it didn't matter. From the very beginning, Bellamy had only seen him as a tool, a disposable pawn. Later, he'd send a few others over to take over Eddy's work.

After dealing with these miscellaneous tasks, Bellamy rummaged through the intelligence shop for a while.

He managed to gather a large box filled with materials for making Vivre Cards, three special Den Den Mushi, ten regular ones, and a small assortment of rare medicinal herbs, metals, and other materials.

There was also a considerable amount of gold, silver, jewels, and Beli bars. However, his own ship was already overflowing with such treasure, so Bellamy didn't bother taking any, leaving it all for Eddy.

Additionally, he found a list inside a safe. Looking at the long column of names, Bellamy felt a flicker of complex emotion.

There was a slave auction scheduled in the black market today; this was the list of those slaves.

"The black market."

What a disgusting place.

After some time, Drake arrived at the intelligence shop without issue and collected the two children. Bellamy had Drake take the gathered materials back with him as well.

Once Eddy had slipped out the back door, laden with his newfound riches, Bellamy had finally tied up all the loose ends.

"Before I leave," Bellamy mused, a grin spreading across his face, "I might as well turn Neon Town upside down!"

He observed the bustling scene in the black market streets, crowded with people heading towards today's slave auction.

Bellamy's expression slowly twisted into a predatory snarl. "Seeing scum like you... it just makes me want to kill."

"So, I think I'll start with you."

"Gyahahahaha!" Bellamy burst into frenzied laughter.

His crazed cackling quickly reached the ears of others nearby. "It's the Hyena! What's he doing now?"

In Neon Town, Bellamy's reputation for savagery perhaps even eclipsed that of the former Red Flame Chardin.

Just as the bystanders were wondering what madness had seized the Hyena this time, Bellamy's figure abruptly vanished using Shave.

"Where'd he go?!"

A pirate stared ahead uncertainly. Suddenly, a panicked cry reached his ears from behind.

"Look out!" He whipped his head around towards the sound.

But the turn seemed unnaturally forceful... why had his entire torso swiveled around? Just as the pirate was bizarrely wondering how he could possibly twist his body in such a complete circle so easily, an indescribable agony ripped through his waist.

Only then did he realize, with sudden, stark horror, that his body had somehow been cleanly sliced in two.

"When—?!" Filled with confusion and bitter resentment, the nameless pirate collapsed heavily onto the blood-soaked ground.

He wouldn't be lonely for long, however. Today, the entire street—perhaps the whole black market—would be joining him in death.

Bellamy spun, unleashing a devastating kick. "Tempest Kick: Sweeping Cut!" A wide, crescent blade of compressed air shot out, instantly bathing the entire street in blood and viscera.

After this brief warm-up, he didn't stop. He advanced towards the black market shops lining the street. They were the main course today; the pirates and thugs walking the streets were merely appetizers.

The moment he finished clearing the street, the already chaotic black market erupted into outright pandemonium. Those further away saw the ground littered with mangled corpses and rivers of blood, terrifying them out of their wits.

One man who had unfortunately witnessed the massacre up close was scared so badly he wet himself on the spot. Where had this murderous demon come from?!

A few faint-hearted slave traders nearby looked as though they might lose their minds entirely. Anyone who glimpsed the incredibly bloody scene immediately turned tail and fled for their lives, looking as if the hounds of hell were nipping at their heels.

"RUN!"

People tend to follow the crowd, especially when faced with an seemingly unstoppable disaster. As the first group bolted, nearly half the people in the black market followed suit, desperately scrambling to escape the carnage.

Ignoring the fleeing dregs, Bellamy turned his attention to a nearby brothel. "Might as well start the real killing here."

Its owner, he knew, was also involved in today's slave auction.

In a cesspit like the black market, you could obtain anything if you paid enough. Fish-Men, Merfolk, Giants, members of the Longleg and Longarm Tribes, Minks—all sorts of rare and exotic races were available to the highest bidder.

As for humans, they were simply the most numerous commodity among the slaves.

Bellamy recalled hearing that this particular brothel housed an attractive Longleg woman, reportedly kidnapped from her home tribe by pirates and forced into prostitution.

To find such "high-quality goods" even in a relatively minor sea like the North Blue spoke volumes about how deeply ingrained and developed the slave trade was in this world.

Bellamy's reason for wanting to obliterate the place, however, had little to do with moral outrage. He simply didn't like establishments like this. No reason other than pure, capricious dislike.

With such a massive commotion rocking the black market, even the slowest person would have sensed something was terribly wrong. The brothel's madam had just poked her head out of the building to see what was happening when she saw Bellamy raise his leg, aiming a kick directly at her.

"Tempest Kick: Vacuum Slash!"

A focused blade of vacuum energy, over ten meters long, shot forward like an arrow. It sliced effortlessly through everything in its path before slamming directly into the brightly lit, multi-story brothel.

The building shuddered violently under the impact, and then more than half of it instantly collapsed inwards with a deafening roar. Countless screams erupted from within the wreckage; it was impossible to know how many were crushed instantly under the debris, or how many died directly from the force of the Tempest Kick.

Tempest Kick was originally the technique Bellamy had valued least among the Six Powers. However, after using it more often, he'd gradually come to appreciate its effectiveness. If one lacked swordsmanship, Tempest Kick was actually quite useful for clearing out hordes of rabble.

Just as Bellamy prepared to deliver another kick, intending to bury everyone still alive within the brothel's ruins, an unexpected sight gave him pause.

"Hm?" A rather interesting scene unfolded before his eyes.

The Longleg woman he'd thought of earlier was scrambling desperately out from under the collapsed timbers, immediately breaking into a frantic run to escape.

Bellamy clearly saw the small, metallic collar fastened around her neck. A slave collar.

It was an extremely vicious device; standard models were designed so that if the wearer moved too far from their registered owner, the collar would immediately detonate.

So why did this woman dare to flee so recklessly? Bellamy quickly deduced the answer. His earlier Vacuum Slash had likely killed the madam instantly.

Normally, upon the owner's death, the collar should have exploded. However, this slave wasn't just the madam's personal property; she represented a significant asset belonging to the powerful figures who backed the brothel. Therefore, that particular deadly failsafe – detonation upon owner death – had likely been deliberately removed to protect the investment. With the madam dead, the woman was, quite unexpectedly, free.

"She must utterly despise humans by now," Bellamy mused aloud, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. After all, humans had captured her, subjected her to endless torment, and forced her into the life of a prostitute.

"Things might actually get interesting." He watched her disappear into the chaos. "Don't die too easily now... lucky woman."

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