Chapter 154: Heavenly Yaksha And White Horse
“Bell.”
“It’s your turn.”
Eschbach stood at the ship’s bow, his burly figure like an iron-cast tower, giving his companions an indescribable sense of security just by looking at him, and similarly, enemies who saw his figure often felt heavy pressure.
Ever since Dillon was transferred away by Elus, Eschbach and Dick were responsible for the smooth operation of the New World maritime transport network, constantly traveling on the sea, chasing and striking down pirates who dared to attack ships flying the Eckmond Kingdom’s flag.
Pirates are lawless madmen.
The laws of the World Government and various kingdoms mean nothing to them, and similarly, not all pirates obey the rules of the Four Emperors; every year, pirates continuously pouring into the New World from Paradise are not only trouble for the World Government but also for the Four Emperors.
These newcomers might become subordinates of the Pirate Emperors, but they might also become trouble for the Pirate Emperors.
These lawless madmen are also trouble for Elus.
Because the maritime transport network covers a vast area, and with the rich profits it brings, it’s very common for envious pirates to take risks, even though so far, enough pirates to fill a large lake have been killed by Elus’s subordinates, and Dillon’s name as executioner comes from this.
But,
This still doesn’t stop those arrogant or insane pirates from challenging Elus.
Today, the enemies Eschbach is dealing with are a group who think they can go five-five with Elus; they attacked a merchant ship flying the Golden Coffee Tree Flag and even boldly didn’t run away, waiting for Eschbach’s fleet to arrive, trying to take him down to boost their reputation further.
Unfortunately, they clearly misjudged the relationship between Paradise and the New World.
Being able to strut around in Paradise, fearing nothing but the Navy, doesn’t mean the same in the New World.
Even Fire Fist, that extremely arrogant Supernova, became famous across the Four Seas after defeating a Navy Vice Admiral at Sabaody Archipelago, but in the New World, he was first chased around like a dog by Zephyr, then beaten badly by Whitebeard, and after some twists and turns, was won over by Whitebeard’s personal charm.
They’re far inferior to Fire Fist!
After these ambitious guys witnessed Eschbach’s terror and lost two-thirds of their pirate ships, they finally lost their nerve; the pirate ships in the rear ignored their comrades who were still exchanging fire ahead and decisively chose to flee.
This flight immediately shattered their already crumbling morale.
However, the pirate ships in the midst of combat couldn’t withdraw easily; the cannon battle was at its hottest, and if they slackened for even a minute without restraint, the opposing cannon fire would surely send them all to the seabed—at least until they were ready to raise the white flag, they couldn’t stop firing.
Eschbach stood at the ship’s bow, needing no telescope to widen his view, and clearly saw the enemy pirate ships fleeing in the rear.
Thus,
The order was given.
“Don’t let those cowards escape, Bell.”
The man standing not far behind Eschbach stepped forward; his clothing and attire were completely different from those around him—he wore a white headscarf on his head and a white robe on his body, with many black four-pointed star patterns on the headscarf and robe, and a long sword at his waist.
Compared to Eschbach, who was fully three hundred fifty centimeters tall, his height was just a bit over half of Eschbach’s, but though his stature was small, none of the big guys around dared to underestimate this little guy from Paradise.
“Leave it to me!”
Bell replied proudly.
He stepped forward, leaving the crowd, and with a ‘flap’ of wingbeats, a pair of brownish-gray wings unfolded from behind Bell; he vibrated his wings, stirring up gusts of wind, and flew toward the high sky, to a height unreachable by cannonballs, causing screams from the pirates on the opposing side who had already begun raising white flags one after another.
They watched helplessly as this ‘big bird’ flew overhead, chasing after those who had betrayed them.
The battle came to an end.
White flags and black pirate flags fluttered in the wind; the pirates with dead hearts were easily subdued, and Eschbach showed no mercy to the die-hard stubborn ones, beating them until they were left with only a breath, hanging them at the ship’s bow to intimidate the others.
His kindness and softness are not extended equally to everyone; for pirates, his habit is to kill if possible rather than let them go—if not for needing these guys to be sent back domestically for construction or as experimental materials, he would have long sent this trash to the seabed to feed the fish.
Bell went fast and returned just as quickly.
After taking out the leaders on the fleeing pirate ships, facing Bell’s sharp claws and astonishing flying speed, the pirates who felt they couldn’t escape and didn’t want to die just like that had no choice but to obey orders; the fleeing pirate ships turned back, and all surviving pirates became Eschbach’s prisoners.
“Mr. Eschbach, mission accomplished.”
Bell landed lightly on the deck.
“Well done, your skills have become more agile lately.” Eschbach praised him.
Although he could order Bell to act, Bell was actually not Eschbach’s subordinate; he was only training under Eschbach, and whenever Bell felt he had learned enough, he could leave Eschbach’s fleet at any time, so there wasn’t much of a clear superior-subordinate relationship when they spoke.
“I’m still far from it!”
Bell said humbly, neither arrogant nor impatient.
This wasn’t just humility; after sparring with Eschbach and even Dick, who commanded another fleet, he deeply realized that he was still a weakling.
Although he had gained miraculous power from that mysterious potion, his age and foundation were what they were; the growth wasn’t infinite, and facing Eschbach, who had been carefully trained by Elus and enhanced by multiple potions, Bell naturally couldn’t easily close that gap.
Just to fully master the increased power, he had spent enormous effort, and now he was still following Eschbach, hoping for further improvements, both in power and technique.
Once the battlefield was fully cleaned up, the fleet set sail again.
After taking a bath and changing clothes, Bell returned to Eschbach’s side, glanced at the direction of travel, and asked, “Mr. Eschbach, where are we heading next?”
Heading east, preparing to return home for rest?
“We’re going to Dressrosa next.”
“Dressrosa? That Heavenly Yaksha’s territory?” Bell’s eyes widened; because of the suffering brought by Crocodile, they had investigated all members of the Seven Warlords to some extent, and Heavenly Yaksha—Donquixote Doflamingo—was among these dangerous guys.
Before Elus joined the Seven Warlords, Hawk Eyes was publicly known as the strongest among them, and even the other six never voiced any differing opinions; the title of world’s greatest swordsman carried enough weight.
Setting aside the strongest Hawk Eyes, there were many versions of rankings among the others—Tyrant, Empress, Heavenly Yaksha, Sand Crocodile—as to who was stronger, but it was universally acknowledged that Heavenly Yaksha was the most troublesome, and his second nickname, Sea Rogue, vividly illustrated how not to mess with Doflamingo.
“Latest intelligence: Donquixote Doflamingo and White Horse Cavendish had a fierce battle in Dressrosa; Cavendish was at a disadvantage, but Heavenly Yaksha couldn’t achieve a clean victory either, and after a day and night of entanglement, the battle was halted; shortly after it ended, the Navy sent an invitation to White Horse—”
“A new Seven Warlord has been born!”
Eschbach tossed a latest newspaper to Bell.
Skimming the front page at a glance, Bell once again felt that Crocodile had truly been defeated—not only losing his Seven Warlord title, but now even a newcomer had filled the vacancy; this was good news!
He didn’t care who the new Seven Warlord was; as long as Crocodile kept getting more miserable, he was happy.
“Does this have anything to do with us going to Dressrosa?”
Handing the newspaper back to Eschbach, Bell was still puzzled.
“We’re going to issue a warning.” Eschbach said seriously, making it up: “White Horse Cavendish has some history with Lord Kurosel; shortly after White Horse entered the New World, he challenged Lord Kurosel, fled after being defeated, and now he’s made a comeback as a Seven Warlord; His Highness doesn’t want White Horse causing trouble for Lord Kurosel again.”
“But His Highness is tied up with important matters domestically and can’t go to Dressrosa personally; since we’re the closest to Dressrosa, he entrusted this task to me; we’re going to warn that freshly minted Seven Warlord.”
These words were all nonsense.
As one of Elus’s most trusted aides-de-camp, he naturally knew that Cavendish was now his colleague.
But these secrets obviously couldn’t be revealed to Bell yet; on the contrary, using Bell’s outsider perspective to prove that Cavendish and Eckmond Kingdom were enemies, not friends, might provide some convenience for Cavendish’s future actions.
“I see.”
Bell nodded, not prying into the history between [White Horse] Cavendish and [Beautiful Sword] Kurosel; such matters were Eckmond Kingdom’s business, and as an outsider, knowing too many secrets wasn’t good.
“Warning White Horse? But will that work? From some reports in the newspaper, White Horse seems like a very willful guy; issuing a warning in person might even provoke him instead?”
“White Horse’s reaction doesn’t matter.” Eschbach shook the newspaper in his hand, flipped the page to look at another section’s news, and said: “The important thing is to let the World Government know that we’ve stated His Highness’s position on his behalf; if White Horse really doesn’t know better, it’s not His Highness intentionally disrupting the Seven Warlords’ order—it’s just some people throwing themselves onto the blade.”
Hearing this, Bell suddenly understood.
So that’s how it is,
Their mission was less about warning White Horse Cavendish and more about signaling the World Government’s stance; as for what stance?
Just as Eschbach said: Elus has no intention of disrupting the Seven Warlords’ order.
A little thought reveals that from the establishment of the Seven Warlords to now, all personnel changes have been related to Elus: Sea Knight voluntarily left the Seven Warlords and recommended Elus to take his place; Crocodile was defeated by Elus’s subordinate and exposed for his grand plot to steal a country.
If White Horse Cavendish were also toppled from the throne by Elus, the Seven Warlords would really be ruined by him.
“I hope White Horse knows better.”
Bell thought for a moment and voiced his sentiment.
He had a good feeling about Eckmond Kingdom; though his contact with Elus was limited, after spending these days acting with Eschbach, he had a very good impression of this seemingly fierce but actually soft-hearted big guy, which also boosted his fondness for Elus.
Someone Eschbach loyally follows couldn’t possibly be some villain.
“Even if he has opinions, I think the World Government and Navy will try their best to dispel them.”
“That makes sense; the World Government aside, the Navy is still good.”
Bell clearly had little trust in the World Government’s corrupt and sluggish system, but held some confidence in the Navy.
······
Dressrosa.
The battle between Heavenly Yaksha and White Horse broke out near the port; their fierce fight destroyed most of the port, but fortunately, both had abilities suited for large-scale destruction; Doflamingo didn’t use all his trump cards, holding back both Birdcage and fruit awakening.
In terms of results, Doflamingo’s strength surpassed Cavendish’s.
But it wasn’t an absolute gap; without going all out, the current Cavendish was no longer someone Doflamingo could easily manipulate; after a day and night of entanglement, confirming he wasn’t Zephyr’s illegitimate son or anything messy,
Relying on decent strength to escape from Zephyr multiple times, plus no major evil deeds, he was ultimately recommended as a Seven Warlord by Zephyr, who had inexplicably changed his temperament.
Finding no interesting secrets to exploit, Doflamingo immediately chose to cease fighting, had Vergo, who had arrived on the island early, extend the invitation to Cavendish; White Horse was also sensible and readily accepted the invitation from Vergo on behalf of the World Government and Navy.
After Cavendish accepted the invitation, Doflamingo acted as if nothing happened and held a banquet, inviting Cavendish to attend, trying to win over this seemingly gullible young colleague.
Until—
“You have a grudge with the Black Prince?” Suddenly receiving news that Black Prince’s aide-de-camp, Eschbach of the [Earthquake] moniker, would represent Elus in coming to Dressrosa, Doflamingo, quickly clarifying Eschbach’s intent through his powerful network, realized pulling in Cavendish might not be a good idea.
“The [Beautiful Sword] name will belong to me sooner or later.”
Cavendish gently swirled his goblet, the crimson liquid spinning rapidly at the rim, his elegant posture like a noble young master stepped out of a painting.
But this appearance was quite punchable in Doflamingo’s eyes!
He didn’t want to provoke that monster, the Black Prince!
