Chapter 232: Reiner's New Pet
Nami's interest in 'archaeology' was piqued by money, and the group continued to advance along the two rows of pillars.
Until they reached the end of the river—or rather, the rift. A massive, motionless dark shadow gradually appeared before them.
The group stopped, each trying to illuminate it with their Light Dials, but they couldn't see its full form.
But even in the gloomy depths of the sea, its huge silhouette was still clearly visible.
Was that a palace built against a mountain cliff?
"Looks like this is the place," Nami said subconsciously.
A hint of shock appeared in everyone's eyes. Vivi murmured to herself, "This is a bit too big. For burying just two people, is this necessary?"
By now, no one was treating the legend as just a legend anymore.
Reiner decisively swam forward first, saying without looking back, "Let's go take a look."
After getting closer, their vision became much clearer under the light. This was, without a doubt, a palace, constructed from countless giant stones fitted together seamlessly.
But the main gate was tightly closed. The group circled around it once but couldn't find a way in.
"It's sealed. It seems it wasn't intended for others to enter when it was built," Nami mused.
Vivi pursed her lips and subconsciously said, "If that's the case, maybe there are some traps inside?"
"Probably. In any case, it won't be a smooth exploration."
Reiner swam forward, placed his hand on the wall, and tried to push it with force. He then probed it with his Observation Haki, understood the situation, and said:
"It seems there's no water inside. The wall isn't very thick. With this hardness, it won't be difficult to break through."
The group understood his meaning; he was going to make a hole and force his way in.
"Wait a minute!" Just then, Nami called out, stopping Reiner.
Seeming to have noticed something unusual about the water flow, she looked in a certain direction to the side and then gestured for the others to follow.
As they swam in that direction, they also began to feel a current flowing towards the palace.
Getting closer, they saw a square sluice gate constantly opening and closing, with a bottomless passage behind it.
"Looks like there's still an entrance."
"Not necessarily an entrance."
"What do you mean?"
The group looked at each other. They all knew in their hearts that this was definitely not a normal entrance, but if they didn't want to break the wall, this was the only way in for now.
"Let's go. I'll go in and see first," Reiner said, taking the initiative to go forward.
The gate continuously opened and closed. Reiner took advantage of a gap as it lifted and slipped through.
The passage was very long, and the water flow was rapid. Reiner quickly reached the end and only felt his body being thrown out.
Splash!
Breaking the water's surface, a sense of weightlessness came over him. He knew he was in mid-air. The light dispersed the surrounding darkness, and he could barely see the ground.
The water is gone?
Bang!
Adjusting his posture in the air, Reiner's feet landed steadily on the ground. He quickly scanned his surroundings; this was a sealed chamber.
He turned his head and shone the Light Dial. The water gushing from the passage formed a waterfall crashing down. He had just been thrown out like that.
The waterfall landed in a pool without spreading out at all, as if it were a bottomless pit that could swallow any amount of water.
There's probably some ingenious design. Reiner thought. He didn't understand things like mechanics or architecture. Perhaps Franky would be able to figure it out.
He summoned a fish-man undead, had it jump into the mouth of the waterfall, and swim against the current to report back to Nami and the others.
Reiner then turned back to observe his surroundings more carefully.
The walls here didn't have any exquisite murals. The space was also very small, just a very ordinary stone chamber.
There was a regular square opening, about four meters high, leading into the depths.
Splash! Splash!
"—Ah!!"
Several sounds of breaking water were accompanied by a scream. Nami and the others had arrived.
The sudden weightlessness and the dark environment made them panic for a moment.
Crackle! The elementalized Nami re-formed on the ground. Reiner leaped up and caught Vivi, landing and setting her down steadily.
Reiner didn't bother with the other two.
Bang! Bang!
"Ah!" Pell and Chaka fell on top of each other, and the bubbles around them popped under the pressure.
Vivi called out with concern, "Are you two okay!"
"We're fine."
"We've made the princess worry." Pell and the other patted their clothes and stood up, then scanned their surroundings together.
Besides the passage ahead, they didn't find anything else.
"Let's go. This is the only way," Reiner said, taking the lead.
Nami, on the other hand, condensed several thunder orbs. The blue and white lightning instantly illuminated the area, and under her control, two floated in front and two in the back.
Reiner walked in front, Pell and Chaka brought up the rear, with the two women surrounded in the middle.
The passage was very long. After walking for a while without finding an exit, they instead came to a fork in the road. The group stopped.
Reiner rubbed his chin and murmured, "It's a pity Zoro isn't here, otherwise it would have saved a lot of trouble."
Nami: "..."
Reverse directions, is that it? Is that how you use Zoro?
"Hmm?"
Trying to spread out his Observation Haki, Reiner frowned and looked to the left. "There's the presence of a living thing over there."
"A living thing?!" Nami was startled and subconsciously grabbed Vivi's arm.
It was unclear what she was hoping for.
The group was somewhat shocked. A living thing in a mausoleum was much more exciting than seeing a dead person.
Reiner walked straight ahead. "Let's go and see. It might not even be a person."
"Isn't that even more terrifying, you bastard! What kind of thing can live for so long!" Nami yelled, baring her teeth.
"We'll know when we see. Vivi isn't scared, so what are you scared of?" Reiner said, speechless.
Vivi, upon hearing this, gave a sheepish smile and waved her hands. "Actually, I'm very scared too. It's probably just that the excitement has overshadowed the fear."
"Don't worry, Vivi," Nami said, holding her hand and hiding behind her, speaking serenely, "I'll protect you."
Not very convincing, Pell and Chaka silently complained in their hearts behind them.
The group continued to walk forward for a while. Suddenly.
Reiner, in front, stopped and squatted down, seeming to have discovered something.
"What's wrong?" Nami poked out half her body and looked over with a puzzled expression.
"It's nothing."
Reiner held up a decayed skull and shoved it in Nami's face, saying lightly, "It's just a skull."
"Don't bring it over here, you bastard!!"
Bang!
Nami rolled her eyes and roared angrily, her long, fair leg sending both the person and the skull flying.
"Ahem." Reiner brushed off his clothes and stood up, unconcerned. That felt good.
Only then did the group notice.
Right at Reiner's feet, the surrounding area was scattered with a floor of decayed, disjointed bones. The clothes on them were tattered and had been corroded into rags.
Before the group could wonder, suddenly.
Clang!
A large rock above Reiner's head extruded dense sharp spikes. Time had coated them with a layer of rust. The entire rock smashed down fiercely!
"Watch your head!" Nami hurriedly shouted.
"What kind of tetanus blade is this?" Reiner looked up, leaped towards the rock, and imbued his wrist with Haki as black as ink.
He bent his arm slightly and slapped his palm in a gap between the spikes, then forcefully pressed down!
"Annihilating Rush Fist: Crush!"
An invisible impact was injected into it and instantly exploded outwards, spreading a dense web of cracks from the inside out!
Boom!!
The thousand-jin rock shattered into countless pieces and exploded!
Pell and Chaka hurriedly stepped forward to block the flying stone fragments for the two women.
Leaving aside Luffy, this level of trap was just a decoration for a strong person.
Before the group could advance again, a rustling sound came from all directions.
"What is it this time?!"
The group looked around warily. One by one, black beetles the size of a palm drilled out from the corners of the walls and cracks in the stones.
In no time, they had gathered into a black mass, surging towards them like a black tide.
"It's the Pointed-Foot Scarabs!" The three who lived in the desert recognized these creatures at a glance.
"So disgusting!!"
"Don't come over here!!"
Nami and Vivi's faces turned pale with fright, their legs trembling as they hugged each other tightly.
"Isn't this just a bunch of dung beetles?" Reiner was instantly speechless and urged, "Why don't you use your lightning?"
"What do you know!" Nami yelled. "What if they explode and juice gets everywhere! They usually eat—"
"Ugh!" Vivi hurriedly covered her mouth, a few drops of cold sweat appearing on her forehead, her face turning even paler.
Now that Nami mentioned it, Reiner also felt a bit disgusted.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's run."
Before his voice had even faded, Reiner had already taken off and disappeared. He didn't want to touch these things at all.
Nami transformed into lightning and shot out at high speed, instantly surpassing Reiner and reaching the end of the passage.
The two of them, with a tacit understanding, fled without any hesitation!
"Don't leave us behind, you bastards!!" Vivi roared, baring her teeth.
Just then, two sharp claws rested on her shoulders and lifted her up. Pell transformed into a falcon and flew away with Vivi, escaping the swarm of insects.
Chaka also transformed into a jackal and ran out on all fours. The ferocious beetles, surging like a black tide, chased after them from behind.
Reaching the end of the passage, Reiner turned and squatted down. As the three passed him, he pressed down hard with both palms!
"Rush Fist: Crush!"
Boom!!
A dense web of cracks spread out, instantly causing the passage to collapse. A large amount of falling rock, accompanied by dust, buried the exit.
Reiner stood up, clapped his hands, and grinned. "All settled."
Duang!
Duang!
"You two are too heartless, you bastards!" A vein popped on Vivi's forehead as she cursed irritably, her fists smoking.
Reiner and Nami, with large bumps on their heads, stood together and bowed their heads obediently. "Sumimasen~~"
"Honestly." Vivi sighed helplessly and didn't say any more. She looked at the buried exit and said with concern, "How are we going to get back later?"
"If it really comes down to it, I'll just use my undead," Reiner said easily.
Although he generally didn't use his undead to fight enemies during his training, a living person wasn't going to be trapped by a little pee.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Just then, several flames suddenly lit up in the dim chamber. The group couldn't help but look up and warily scan their surroundings.
Compared to when they first entered, this place was clearly much more spacious. The walls were carved with a large number of murals.
They were all connected, even covering the semi-circular dome of the ceiling. Each adjacent painting had a certain connection, as if recording some story.
"If only Robin were here. She would definitely understand these things at a glance," Nami couldn't help but sigh.
While the group was observing the murals, the suddenly lit flames seemed to have awakened some slumbering fierce beast.
In the darkness, a pair of cold, vertical pupils slowly opened, slowly shifting towards the several figures who had broken into the underground palace. A bloodthirsty glint flashed past as it dragged its body and slowly approached.
The group was engrossed in the murals on the wall, completely unaware of the deadly crisis quietly approaching...
...is what they thought.
"Something's coming," Reiner said, reminding the others from a corner in the distance.
Hearing this, Nami and the others turned their heads and followed his gaze. In a corner, they saw a large snake, nearly ten meters long and as thick as a calf, with a body of flowing black and gold, and a pattern like an eye on the back of its neck, slowly crawling along the corner of the wall.
Sensing their gazes, the snake stopped, and with a human-like expression of astonishment, it seemed a little bewildered.
"A cobra?"
"It's so big."
"This is the seabed a few thousand meters down, right? Can cobras dive this deep?"
The group looked at it, chattering amongst themselves, seemingly not taking it seriously at all.
If it were dung beetles, perhaps they would have felt threatened, but a snake was a different story.
"Princess, step back."
Clang!
With a flash of cold light, Pell drew the longsword from his waist and stepped forward, his gaze cold and hard. "A species I haven't seen before. I will slay it."
"—Hiss, hiss." The cobra flicked its forked tongue, raising its upper body to face Pell.
A strange light flashed in its cold, vertical pupils, as if it were hesitating.
So hungry... but this group of people doesn't seem to be afraid of me at all. They're different from the tomb robbers who came before.
Could they be very strong? Maybe I should forget it.
It took two steps back.
But I'm so hungry. If I don't eat something, I probably won't survive the next long slumber.
It took two steps forward again.
Nami looked on, bewildered. "What is it doing?"
"Maybe it's hesitating whether to eat us or not?" Reiner said casually.
Hearing this, the cobra looked at Reiner with a shocked expression, as if to say, How did you know?!
Reiner was also stunned for a moment. This thing understands human speech?!
But on second thought, there were many animals in this world that could understand human speech, so it wasn't that strange.
The cobra's pair of emerald vertical pupils suddenly emanated a fierce light!
Sensing the killing intent, Pell's gaze focused. He charged forward with his longsword, the sharp blade glinting with a cold light as he slashed upwards diagonally!
"Die!"
The cobra's speed was unexpectedly fast. It leaned its upright upper body backward, dodging the blade!
Pell was feeling incredulous when the opponent's tail suddenly whipped towards him. He immediately reacted, raising his longsword to meet it, about to chop off that section of the snake's tail.
Clang!
Fierce sparks flew. The power and hardness were far beyond his expectations. A single whip of its tail actually sent both him and his sword flying!
Bang! Pell crashed heavily against the wall, his entire body embedded in it!
Everyone showed an expression of disbelief. The cobra was also surprised. You're not that strong, bro?
"Is that Armament Haki?!" Nami exclaimed in shock.
Reiner glanced at Vivi with disbelief. Your Alabasta produces animals that can use Haki?!
"Could that be... Apis, the Lord of the Desert!?"
Vivi seemed to have thought of something and said urgently, "Legend has it that they are the rulers of the desert, extremely powerful, but with a gentle temperament, and they don't easily attack people."
"It is said that they can obtain eternal life through hibernation. Occasionally, people have heard of seeing this kind of snake in the desert, but no one has ever captured one."
Capture...
A corner of Nami's mouth twitched. One flick of its tail almost turned Pell into a meat patty. It's amazing just to have survived an encounter.
And...
Looking at its seemingly proud expression, this thing seemed to have a high IQ as well.
"—Hiss, hiss!" The cobra flicked its forked tongue again, making a threatening sound, its cold pupils greedily looking at the few people before it.
Looks like I can live for a long time again.
"Didn't you say its temperament was gentle?"
Crackle!
Nami's hands burst forth with lightning, her expression wary. "It doesn't look like what the rumors describe."
Reiner leaped lightly into the air. He could clearly see a collar on the opponent's body, with barbs on the inner ring digging fiercely into its flesh!
"So that's how it is. When you're hungry, you have to eat."
The cobra raised its head and stared deadly at Reiner, opening its mouth to reveal ferocious fangs and pouncing at him!
Reiner let his body free-fall, Armament Haki wrapping around his fist like a black flame!
Bang!!
A dull impact sound exploded in this secret chamber. A strong gust of wind transformed into a shockwave and spread out, making the hair of the few people dance wildly.
"This thing is that strong?!" Nami couldn't help but frown.
In the year of training, she had encountered less than ten beasts that could trade blows with Reiner, and they were all massive lions, tigers, and elephants.
This cobra, less than ten meters long, actually had such explosive power.
"Not bad, little fellow."
Reiner exerted force again and pushed the opponent back. He never had the habit of holding back when he punched. He couldn't help but grin. "If you can withstand a hundred of my punches, I'll let you be my pet."
"—Hiss, hiss!"
The cobra tilted its head back, feeling a little dizzy. A trace of anger couldn't help but appear in its eyes. A mere human dares to look down on a snake!
Immediately, its body turned, and it frantically fled towards the passage!
The iron chain attached to the collar on its body dragged on the ground, making a clanging sound.
Running away, running away!
"Coward!"
Reiner couldn't help but curse under his breath and chased after it. "Come back and help me train!"
(End of chapter)
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 25 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you