New World. Uninhabited Island.
The island was shrouded in green, characterized by everyday humid and hot temperatures. Massive trees scraped the sky, ancient trees offered shade, and the dense canopy made it difficult for sunlight to penetrate.
A group of several dozen people walked along a muddy path strewn with dead branches and leaves, their steps producing a crunching sound.
"Are you sure this cursed place is it?"
In the middle of the formation, Lucien, the Death Gun, carried his beloved sniper rifle, constantly wiping sweat from his brow. He didn't even have the black half-dog, half-crow mask that he usually wore on his face.
"Woof~"
The large black dog, Uken, beside him panted with its tongue hanging out, letting out a weak whimper.
"I gathered a ton of intel, and we had to wipe out three pirate crews just to piece together this treasure map. It absolutely cannot be wrong!" Mina wore jungle gear and a wide-brimmed hat. Her fair face was slightly flushed and slick with sweat—she was clearly suffering from the heat.
Nevertheless, she shot a displeased glare at Lucien and shook a slightly yellowed but clearly patched-up piece of paper in her hand. The paper, covered in lines and text, was clearly a map.
"That's good. I really don't want to delay any longer. I haven't been to a casino in over half a month! Here, Uken, drink some water!" Lucien rolled his eyes, pulled a canteen from the green pack on the large black dog's back, and offered him a drink.
"Woof! Woof!"
Suddenly, Uken, who was drinking water, seemed to sense something. His nose and ears twitched, and his eyes flashed ferociously as he barked at a nearby thicket.
Roar!
The bushes shook, and with a roaring beast howl, a nearly three-meter-tall giant striped tiger burst out. It carried a gust of foul-smelling wind, violently opening its massive, blood-filled mouth and lunging toward Mina in the team, seemingly intent on tearing her apart and swallowing her.
"Get lost!"
A fierce shout erupted, and a dark, hooked metal baton-like weapon suddenly appeared before Mina, smashing violently into the giant striped tiger's abdomen mid-air.
Bang!
With a muffled thud, the immense force contained within the hooked batons sent the nearly three-meter-tall striped tiger reeling. Blood spurted from its orifices, and it flew backward into the bushes.
"Mina-san, are you alright?"
A man with a somewhat dark, greenish complexion grinned, holding two black metal hooked batons, and stood in front of Mina.
"Gin! Did I tell you to interfere?"
"I can handle this kind of thing myself!"
Looking at the man in front of her, Mina's pupils turned red like blood-colored gems, her canines jutted out, and a hint of killing intent emerged.
"Of course, Mina-san. How could I let such a trivial matter trouble you? Even if it was for training, there's no need to waste time on something this small." Gin didn't mind the killing intent emanating from Mina, replying with a smile.
Mina stared at Gin, the red glow in her eyes gradually fading. She snapped, "Next time, you are not to act without my command!"
"Understood!"
Gin nodded, shouldered his batons, and returned to the formation.
"Mina-san!"
At that moment, Edmond, who was acting as a scout, ran up, his body drenched in sweat, carrying his knight's greatsword on his back.
"What did you find?" Mina asked.
"There are traces of a road and people. In a valley three hundred meters ahead, there's a wild man tribe," Edmond licked his dry lips and replied.
"A wild man tribe!"
Mina's beautiful eyes brightened. She quickly instructed, "Hurry! Lead the way! We might find clues about Captain Homans's treasure!"
The group accelerated their pace and soon arrived at a dense forest. Inside the woods were three other men who had been scouting with Edmond.
As expected, less than fifty meters outside the dense forest, they could see a small valley. The valley entrance was narrow, about twenty meters wide, protected by a five-meter-high wooden stockade fence and a watchtower that reached up to the trees.
A quick glance revealed seven or eight skinny, dark-skinned wild men wearing simple animal skins. Their faces were painted with multi-colored patterns, and each one held either a wooden spear tipped with sharp stone or a man-sized wooden bow.
Inside the dense forest…
"I went up the hill to take a look earlier. It's a tribe of a few hundred wild men, backed up against the mountain. There is only this one entrance, and deep inside, there's a strange stone altar," Edmond relayed the intelligence he had gathered.
"A strange altar? What's strange about it?" Mina raised a delicate eyebrow, asking curiously.
"Usually, the altars of these native wild men feature stone statues of ferocious beasts or imaginary monsters. But the altar in this tribe worships a human statue holding a Western-style curved saber," Edmond glanced at the valley, stating his confusion. "The key is that the human statue looks like a pirate Captain! Moreover, behind the statue, there's a stone door, which is probably some kind of secret chamber. "
"A human statue! In the image of a pirate Captain!"
Mina's beautiful eyes grew brighter, and a red glow flickered in her pupils.
"The wild men of this tribe are definitely connected to Captain Homans's treasure!" Lucien grinned. "I have a sharp intuition. That statue might even be Captain Homans himself! There must be a great secret behind that stone door!"
"No kidding! Captain Homans's fragmented diary mentioned he stayed with a native tribe."
Mina rolled her eyes, pulled a black-covered diary from her bag. The diary was old, and a quick flip showed many pages had been torn out.
Immediately, Mina turned to the man next to her, Sriya, and asked, "Are you confident?"
"With over thirty Super Soldiers whose Doriki exceeds 500, plus Weapon S1 providing cover, we could break into even Big Mom's treasury!" Sriya said expressionlessly.
"Then let's go!"
Mina's red lips curled up slightly. Her ruby-like eyes flashed with a bloody light, and her canines were exposed, giving her an odd, alluring look.
"Charge!"
Sriya coldly waved his hand and was the first to rush out.
Immediately, a group of fully armed, large men, all over three meters tall, burst out of the dense forest like fierce tigers descending a mountain.
Because the path from the dense forest to the valley was too open and unobstructed, the wild men in the watchtower at the valley entrance spotted the group of several dozen people immediately.
"Aoooh— Enemies!"
The wild man on the watchtower let out a strange howl, loudly calling out to the interior of the valley.
At the same time, the wild men guards on the wooden wall drew their bows and arrows or prepared to throw their long spears.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Several crude arrows with wooden shafts, bone arrowheads, and feather fletching whistled through the air, along with two long spears.
"Sword Wind!"
Edmond violently drew the knight's greatsword from his back and swung it mid-air. An immediate burst of violent gusting wind blew the wooden arrows and spears to the ground.
"Hmph. Hand me the bow!"
Sriya snorted coldly, reaching out his hand.
One of the Elite Strike Team's Super Soldiers took a large, brown strongbow from his back, it was the height of a normal person, and pulled a heavy arrow from his quiver, handing it to Sriya.
The arrow, as thick as a thumb, was entirely forged from fine iron. The arrowhead was a three-sided prism, and the whole thing weighed nearly ten pounds.
"Bullseye!"
The heavy arrow was fitted to the strongbow by Sriya. The powerful bow was instantly drawn back, and with the twang of the bowstring, the fine iron heavy arrow transformed into a black streak, flying out with a whoosh!