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"It's over!"
Argus froze on the spot as soon as he heard the report from one of his men. He collapsed weakly to the ground, the same two words — It's over — echoing in his head over and over again, despair spreading across his face.
Who was Willard?
He was one of the highest-ranking officers of the Dars Gang, a legendary swordsman long renowned throughout the Drum Kingdom. His self-created dual-blade style once earned him the title of "The Strongest Swordsman of Drum Kingdom." He only lost that title over ten years ago after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Reggie.
Even so, Willard remained a terrifyingly powerful man — the Dars Gang's trump card for intimidating their rivals at the docks. Just a few years back, he had effortlessly slain a pirate captain with a bounty of 89 million berries.
To most people, even the current "Strongest Swordsman of Drum Kingdom," Reggie himself, would find it difficult to gain any real advantage against Willard. And yet, today, Reggie had killed him.
Thinking about it that way, Reggie's strength was far greater than anyone had imagined. Perhaps back in their duel all those years ago, Reggie had even held back.
Regardless, the fact that Reggie had slain Willard was bound to cause an earthquake in Velia Port. This was the biggest news the port had seen in years, and it would undoubtedly shatter the existing balance of power. Every faction would now have to reassess the threat level of the Akio Gang.
More importantly, Reggie's act of personally killing Willard sent an unmistakable message — those who break the rules will pay the price, and that price will be paid in blood.
Yesterday, the Dars Gang had ignored the unspoken rules and sent two well-known sub-leaders to assassinate Aaron, who was still considered a junior. Today, Reggie had responded by killing their direct superior — Willard himself. It was a bloody warning not just to the Dars Gang, but to every faction in the city harboring reckless ambitions.
If Reggie could kill Willard, then he could just as easily cut down the rising young talents of any faction.
It was precisely these implications that had left Argus in such a state of panic. When he heard that Aaron was coming to seize his territory, he knew full well he wasn't a match for him, and so he had thought of asking his superior to send reinforcements.
But now that Willard was dead, there was no chance he'd receive any support — and no one else would dare to help him either.
After all, Reggie was Aaron's master. If anyone dared to use overwhelming force or bully Aaron again, provoking Reggie's wrath once more, who would dare face the consequences?
Argus knew that his own superior had once been defeated by Willard. Now that even Willard had fallen to Reggie's blade, how could his superior possibly stick his neck out for a small-time underling like him? He'd be too busy distancing himself from the situation.
Meanwhile, news of Willard's death had already spread throughout the city. Leaders of every faction rushed back to their headquarters to convene emergency meetings.
The Dars Gang — the side that had suffered the loss — was the first to hold such a gathering.
"Damn it… damn it! Are you all pigs? Someone snuck into our base and none of you even noticed! That bastard Reggie just strolled in here, killed Willard right under our noses, and then walked out as if nothing happened! Once this gets out, the Dars Gang will be a laughingstock!"
Inside the Dars Gang headquarters, their leader — Dars — was in a furious rage. As a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user who had eaten the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Snow Wolf, he had transformed into a towering werewolf nearly four meters tall, exuding an overwhelming aura of menace. His bloodshot, savage eyes swept over the gathered officers as he roared at them.
The Dars Gang's power structure was similar to that of the Akio Gang, though they had six top officers in total. With Willard dead, only five remained.
Faced with their enraged leader, all five lowered their heads, enduring his fury in silence. Three of them trembled uncontrollably under the crushing weight of his killing intent.
"Blood Wolf" Dars — a name that struck fear throughout Velia Port. He was a powerhouse who had risen to prominence in the last decade. Many whispered that he was nothing more than a dog raised by Gilbert, the city lord, a pawn used to keep the Akio Gang in check.
But few knew the truth — Dars and Gilbert were equals, and in fact, Gilbert was the weaker party in their alliance.
The reason was simple. Before Dars even seized control of the Dars Gang from its former leader, he had single-handedly slaughtered an entire Drum Kingdom battalion of 2,000 soldiers.
That day, his massive snow-white lupine form was drenched in blood, and it was then that he earned the name Blood Wolf.
With the power to command entire packs of snow wolves, and the strength of the Snow Wolf Zoan fruit, Dars had become the Wolf King to more than a dozen packs of over a thousand wolves each living within Drum Kingdom's borders. He could, at any moment, transform into an army all by himself — a dire threat to the kingdom's rule.
His own combat strength was equally terrifying — he had once fought Akio, the leader of the Akio Gang, to a standstill in single combat.
It was because of that overwhelming power that Gilbert had sought Dars' cooperation in the first place, forming an alliance to challenge the once-unrivaled Akio Gang.
And now, this terrifying man was in a state of rage. No one knew if he might suddenly lose his reason and summon tens of thousands of wolves to wage an all-out war against the Akio Gang. If that happened, not only would the Akio Gang suffer devastating losses — the entire city would become a blood-soaked battlefield.
Even so, none of the five top officers dared speak a word to calm him down. They all knew it would be pointless — worse, they might become targets of his wrath.
At a time like this, there was only one person who could soothe Dars. The moment they heard the news of Willard's death, they had immediately sent someone to summon her.
Judging by the time, she should be arriving any moment now.
Suddenly, the doors to the room opened, and a stunning silver-haired woman was wheeled inside. The five officers all breathed sighs of relief the moment they saw her.
Lady Sheffia had arrived.
Sheffia was Dars' only daughter, his most precious treasure. Unlike the massive and imposing Dars, Sheffia was breathtakingly beautiful, with rare silver hair, snow-white skin, delicate features, and a graceful figure. She was one of the most renowned beauties in the entire city.
Tragically, fate had not been kind to her. Ten years ago, she had contracted a strange illness that left her lower body paralyzed, unable to stand ever since.
It was for the sake of curing Sheffia that Dars had left his homeland for the Drum Kingdom. To afford her treatment, he founded the Dars Gang in Velia Port. In truth, the gang had been created entirely as a means to save his daughter's life.
It was clear just how deeply Dars loved her.
Even now, that love was on full display. He had been moments away from slaughtering whoever dared to barge into the meeting room without permission — but the instant he saw Sheffia, he reverted to his human form and suppressed his terrifying aura, afraid of frightening her.
He quickly walked up to her, knelt down so they were eye-level, and spoke softly with a face full of concern:
"My darling… it's cold today. Why aren't you resting in your room?"
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"Teacher actually killed Willard, huh? Hah, the old blade's still as sharp as ever!"
Elsewhere, in District B of the slums, Aaron grinned from ear to ear as he received the news of Reggie's victory.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a Den Den Mushi and began summoning his men.
He had originally planned to make his move the next day. But since his teacher had created such a perfect opportunity, there was no way he was going to miss the chance to ride on Reggie's coattails and strike while the iron was hot.
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