Harald, the Giant King of Elbaf, was also one of the strongest warriors among the surviving giants.
Under Yaruru's guidance, Silas had just arrived at the castle when he met the Giant King.
"Long time no see, Silas."
The Giant King sat on his throne, looking down at the aged pirate from his elevated position. "You've gotten old."
Ten years ago, Silas had not shown signs of aging yet, and his combat power was near its peak. Harald still remembered his battle with Silas that lasted nearly a day and a night, destroying forests and vegetation that covered a small portion of Elbaf.
But now, Harald only saw an old man with white hair. It made one wonder how much of his peak strength the current Silas still retained.
"Haha, everyone gets old, don't they?" Silas replied without offense. Harald's words were the truth. His appearance had indeed aged considerably compared to ten years ago.
However, this aging was infinitely better compared to two months ago. At least now, even when facing Elbaf's strongest giant warrior, Silas could still hold his head high and meet his gaze without showing the slightest hint of fear.
An invisible aura rose from both men.
Sizzle~
"This is..." Yaruru's pupils contracted as he stood nearby. What was he seeing?
A bone-chilling pressure suddenly erupted from Silas's body, while Giant King Harald responded with an equally unyielding aura. The two forces collided, and fierce winds suddenly whipped through the spacious hall. Red and black lightning spread between Silas and Harald.
"Conqueror's Haki!?"
Seeing Silas standing in the hall, facing Harald directly without losing any ground in terms of presence, a flash of disbelief passed through Yaruru's eyes.
How could Silas have Conqueror's Haki?
If he did not know Silas personally, Yaruru would never have believed that such a great pirate would not possess Conqueror's Haki. But that was the reality. Even though Silas had made such a tremendous name for himself on these seas, ten years ago, during his battle with Harald, he had never released Conqueror's Haki even once.
Silas did not have Conqueror's Haki. This was the biggest reason why Silas, as a pirate, was merely a great pirate who could not ascend to the level of an Emperor and could not earn recognition from other pirates.
Silas lacked the bearing of a king!
But after ten years, Silas was suddenly able to unleash Conqueror's Haki? Was this reasonable?
Silas was already seventy years old. In giant terms, that would be nearly three hundred years old. An old man about to be buried had awakened Conqueror's Haki before his death? Who would believe such a thing?
Yaruru finally understood why Silas, at his advanced age, still refused to give up and continued to choose the path of a seafaring pirate. Because of his Conqueror's Haki! How could someone with Conqueror's Haki allow themselves to die in mediocrity?
"Haha, Silas, is this the confidence that brought you to see me?" Harald looked at Silas, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.
"After all, if I really had become just an old man, I would not even have the qualification to stand before you, would I?" A smile appeared on Silas's face as well.
Regardless of whether Harald was a genuine or fake pacifist, he needed to possess sufficiently powerful strength to suppress the other giants and make them obey. Power was the very reason for becoming king!
"Kururururu, who told you to set your sights on the 'The Treasure Tree Adam'? Without some ability, my people would not agree to any trade, no matter what it is."
One of the colliding auras suddenly withdrew, and Harald's face broke into a smile. "Silas, my friend, forgive me for greeting you in this manner. After all, the moment I see you, this scar you left on my face ten years ago starts to ache."
Harald pointed to the scar on his face. "If you had grown weak, I definitely would not have been able to resist attacking you and giving you a beating."
"You only got a scar on your face. I had my arm broken by you, and it took a whole week to recover." Remember, the most outstanding ability of Zoan fruit users is their recovery power!
"Kururururu!"
"Pfft-hahahaha!"
While saying this, both Silas and Harald burst into laughter.
"Bring wine!"
Harald descended from his throne and casually sat in front of Silas. His height of over forty meters made him look like a mountain.
Among the giants, there were ancient giant species with horns growing from their heads. Regular giants were only about twenty meters tall. But giants with ancient giant bloodlines far exceeded this height.
"Speak. What can you offer?"
Having already learned of Silas's purpose for coming to Elbaf from Yaruru, Harald did not beat around the bush and asked directly, "What do you have that can move me to trade branches of the Sacred Tree?"
"It's simple." A smile appeared on Silas's face. "Peace and prosperity."
"Oh?"
Hearing Silas say this, Harald's expression immediately became serious.
If Silas wanted to trade treasure for Adam Wood, although he was not entirely unwilling to agree, he definitely would not trade enough Adam Wood for Silas to build a complete ship. Friendship was friendship. The relationship between Silas and Elbaf was not good enough to casually give away Adam Wood.
"I heard that you, Harald, want to find a new path for Elbaf."
Since forty years ago, when the two captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates fought a duel due to their disagreement, the Giant Warrior Pirates had been disbanded for a full forty years.
Perhaps ordinary giants did not feel it. But Harald was well aware that the supplies in the warehouse, previously plundered by the Giant Warrior Pirates, were slowly dwindling. Once they were completely consumed, there would be no way to replenish them.
This gave Harald a sense of crisis. He began to think: did the giants only have the development path of going out to plunder? Besides plundering, was there no other way to make Elbaf prosperous?
Carmel's arrival had given Harald inspiration. Perhaps plundering was not necessary. Trading with people from the outside world might also make Elbaf prosperous and flourishing.
Harald's thinking had already been evident ten years ago when Silas first met him. It was just that at that time, Silas did not care about these matters. He was not the king of Elbaf. Why should he worry about Elbaf's affairs?
Now it was different. If Silas wanted to obtain large quantities of Adam Wood from Elbaf, he had to gain Harald's approval.
"You have a way?" Harald asked.
"Yes, I have a way to help Elbaf establish relationships with countries outside," Silas replied.
A great pirate who had sailed the seas for so many years... What did he have the most of? Experience, knowledge, and connections!
"Harald," Silas asked, "what do you think of the Fish-Men?"
[Chapter Complete]
***
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