The carnival continued late into the night, but even the happiest times eventually come to an end.
In the early morning of the next day, the town residents spontaneously came out to clean the streets, where food scraps, streamers, glitter, wine bottles, and even a few wallets were scattered everywhere. Everyone chatted and laughed while wielding brooms, diligently sorting and disposing of the trash.
The Summer Dragon Festival each year was also Tanall Town's most profitable day. After all, it was an island primarily reliant on tourism, and the townspeople were very conscientious about maintaining the town's neat appearance.
This year, it was rare for no fires to occur during the Summer Dragon Festival, thanks to the advanced fireproof paper that the old town mayor imported from Saint Poplar, the City of Spring Queen.
Just as dawn broke, tourists had already begun to emerge from their hotels, stretching and heading towards their ships. A Log Pose only needed 20 hours to fully record in Tanall Town, which was very convenient compared to islands that took several months.
Suddenly, an urgent bell rang over the town. Tourists paused in confusion, while the town residents' faces changed dramatically.
"It's, it's pirates! Pirates are here!" A male resident dropped his broom and ran towards his home. Other residents also, as if waking from a dream, hurried towards their homes. Some brave men, however, grabbed shovels and brooms and rushed towards the dock, determined to defend their homes.
The tourists, meanwhile, all showed expressions of panic. Yes, no matter how wonderful the festival atmosphere, it couldn't change this damned Great Pirate Era.
Most tourists in this era traveled on fixed routes by tourist ships, and these tourist ships usually hired strong guards. The tourists on the main street scrambled to find their tourist ship captains, seeking the protection of the ship's guards.
The central street grew increasingly noisy and chaotic. Next to 'Beeman Superman,' in a three-story residential hotel, a window on the third floor was abruptly pushed open with a click.
Victor, wearing a fuzzy sleeping cap and spotted pajamas, stood by the window with a gloomy expression. He gazed at the distant port for a long time without speaking.
Yes, he had severe low blood pressure-induced morning grumpiness.
...No matter where you pirates came from, you are dead!
Victor, bursting with anger, shuffled in his slippers to the wardrobe and quickly began to change.
At the same time, a huge pirate ship was docked not far from the port. Many ships on the pier had been hijacked by pirates, who were extensively plundering valuable items from them.
It wasn't that there were no remaining guards on these ships who tried to resist, but without exception, they were beaten half to death by the skilled pirates and then hung upside down from their ship's mast as a warning.
On the pier, a large number of tourists were controlled by the pirates. A red-haired brute in a dark coat was brandishing a large wrench, loudly threatening the trembling tourists: "Everyone, if you don't want to die, quickly hand over all your valuables! We are the infamous 'Machine Guild Pirates'! That's right, the 'Machine Guild Pirates' with a total bounty of 240,000,000 Berries!"
Some tourist ship captains' legs gave out, and they sat directly on the ground, muttering, "M-Machine Guild Pirates... It's over, it's all over..."
Most of the ship guards who remained on shore also shook their heads and gave up resisting. They had, of course, heard of the 'Machine Guild Pirates.' Not to mention their cruel captain, they couldn't even defeat the pirate group's executives, so it was better to give up early.
Thud, thud, thud...
A series of heavy footsteps sounded, and two tall figures appeared on the pier.
At the head was a burly man at least 4 meters tall. His brown curly hair was braided into dreadlocks, and his thick, bushy beard coiled around his chin like a messy tangle of wires. He wore black hard-toed work boots, and his dirty beige coat was adorned with slowly rotating steel gear decorations.
Accompanying him was a well-proportioned young man with blond hair, approximately 25 years old. His sinister eyes seemed devoid of warmth, and he wore a neat black coat with an exquisitely crafted flintlock pistol holstered at his waist.
A somewhat knowledgeable guard swallowed, taking a few steps back.
The burly man's indifferent gaze swept over the guard. He pointed at him and slowly spoke in an unusually low voice: "You, introduce our 'Machine Guild Pirates' to these little darlings. Lest someone gets hot-headed and does something irrational."
The guard shivered, stammering, "The Machine Guild Pirates... total bounty of 240,000,000 Berries. Captain 'Black Gear' Jigg, bounty of 150,000,000 Berries, Chief of Staff 'Arc Gun' Bill, bounty of 90,000,000 Berries..."
The red-haired brute standing nearby shouted in dissatisfaction, "Captain! Why don't I have a bounty? Is it because I haven't killed enough people!?"
'Black Gear' Jigg slowly rotated the gear-shaped ring on his knuckle, letting out a low, cold laugh: "Heh heh... You're right, Downey. It's because we've been too merciful in the past that the Navy looks down on us! Bill, is this the right town?"
'Arc Gun' Bill, standing beside him, nodded indifferently: "That's right, Tanall Town. Yesterday was the town's traditional 'Summer Dragon Festival,' and every year this festival attracts a large number of tourists. We can make a fortune this time, Captain."
Jigg spread his arms and growled, "Lads, go plunder this town! Take everything valuable! If you fancy any women, you can deal with them on the spot! Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!!"
A portion of the pirates, upon receiving the order, howled as they picked up wrenches and rushed towards the trembling tourists. More, however, surged towards the circular archway at the end of the pier, which led to the central street. Clearly, they had thoroughly studied Tanall Town before arriving.
"Report! There's a strange ship here! Can't get in at all!" An out-of-place voice came from the pier.
'Arc Gun' Bill frowned and quickly walked over. As he approached, he realized it was indeed a strange ship.
The deep blue hull had 'ral' printed on its exterior. Everything above the deck was covered by a round arched resin dome, leaving no gaps. The strangest thing was that even the winged goddess of Victory figurehead had a resin sleepwear outfit on, and the goddess's head even had a resin sleeping cap askew on top.
Whose ship is so whimsical... 'Arc Gun' Bill felt like he was about to lose his cool, aloof demeanor. He shoved his hand into his pocket and fiercely pinched his thigh twice to maintain his expression.
"Putting on airs... Go get cannons, blast this ship into oblivion!" Bill angrily turned and ordered his subordinates.
Just as the two subordinates were about to reply, a clear, teasing voice suddenly rang out in everyone's ears on the pier.
"Oh? You want to sink my ship? Then I'll return the 'courtesy'... Metal Zipper - Sticky Fingers!"
A stream of golden light, shooting from far to near, appeared in the eyes of everyone on the pier. In just an instant, the 'Machine Guild Pirates'' proud giant pirate ship, moored not far from the pier, was directly cut in half by this golden chain blade! Even the seawater was carved with a deep gash!
'Black Gear' Jigg stared dumbfounded at the slowly sinking wreckage of the pirate ship on the distant sea, muttering, "My 'Brutal Justice'... Who? Who dared to harm my 'Brutal Justice'!!"
Screams erupted from the circular archway at the end of the pier. A few blood-stained pirates staggered towards the pier, only to be cleanly cut down by several swift flying slashes.
Several figures appeared at the archway.
Victor, in his refined black suit, hooked his extended right index finger, and the terrifying chain blade that had awed everyone swiftly retracted to his fingertip. Perona, Mai Hime, and Robin followed behind him; those flying slashes just now were Mai Hime's masterpiece. The white-haired, blood-stained mayor trembled behind them, looking at Victor with intense excitement.
Victor looked coldly at the dumbfounded pirates on the pier, and said each word distinctly:
"From now on, this town is under 'Coral's' protection. Want to fight? Sure, I'll be your opponent!"
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