"Deliberately taking my lightning strike head-on, yet in the blink of an eye you swung out a razor-sharp slash that caught me completely off guard… and you even saw through my identity as a Logia-type Devil Fruit user at a glance. You… really are something else…"
Facing the guard captain whose expression had suddenly changed, Mieko curled his lips into a faint smile, a spark of interest flashing in his eyes.
With the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he could move at a speed the naked eye couldn't track—but, when you really counted it, he'd only trained for a little over three months. His own reflexes and awareness still couldn't truly keep up with the Fruit's capabilities, which was why he'd just gotten split clean in two.
Even so, he could tell this guard captain was no ordinary figure.
With that level of strength, the man could've easily dodged Mieko's Chidori-style assault. Instead, he intentionally took it—then, the instant Mieko let his guard down, he unleashed that vicious, decisive strike.
It had to be said: this man acted decisively—seasoned, ruthless, and brutally efficient.
He'd judged that Mieko's Chidori-style attack wouldn't be lethal, and chose to trade injury for a kill.
A true hardcase.
"Hmph. I never expected you to be a Logia-type Devil Fruit user," the guard captain snorted. "Go on, then. I don't have a Seastone weapon in hand—I can't harm you at all. I'm not your opponent…"
With that, he thrust his greatsword down.
Thunk!
The blade buried itself into the Cloud Road. He spread both arms wide, closed his eyes, and waited for death—so straightforward it was almost shocking.
"You're an interesting one," Mieko said, watching him. "No idea why you're willing to stay stuck as a mere guard captain, but with talent like yours… it's a waste."
When facing death, most people—even knowing they couldn't win—would still fight like cornered beasts.
But this man? In battle he was vicious and decisive, willing to trade injury for a kill. Once he saw there was no chance, he accepted death calmly.
Mieko had never run into someone like this before.
Whoosh!
Mieko's body flickered—he shot straight past the guard captain.
His feet moved like flying as he sprinted directly toward the palace.
"You're not going to kill me?" the guard captain asked.
Not long after, he slowly opened his eyes. He shrugged, then grabbed that heavy greatsword with both hands. With a leap, he jumped down from the Cloud Road.
He didn't try to stop Mieko again—he turned instead to check the other soldiers' injuries.
"The intruder is up there! We can't let him barge into the palace!"
"Stop him! Don't let him succeed!"
"Cloud Arrows—fire!"
Mieko hadn't gone far before a large force of Royal Army soldiers rushed in and blocked his path.
"Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh…"
Cloud arrows streaked into the sky like meteors, crisscrossing and weaving together into an extremely dense Cloud Road—like a spiderweb—dizzying to look at.
Lightning danced around Mieko's body. He looked like a god descending to the world, and the pressure alone made many Royal Army soldiers' scalps go numb.
"I don't have time to play with small fry like you… Thunder Bird—manifest!"
Mieko spread the fingers of his right hand, aiming at the Royal Army soldiers charging up along the Cloud Road.
Brilliant lightning flared in his palm, rapidly expanding—vaguely shaping into a massive bird.
"Gaa—!"
A gigantic thunder bird, bathed in lightning, threw its head back with a piercing cry. Its lifelike thunder wings beat once—
And it burst forward like a bolt.
Its beak opened wide, and it spat a blinding sheet of lightning straight at the soldiers ahead.
"Zzzzt…"
"AAAAH—!"
Amid the crackling web of electric arcs, screams rose one after another.
That dazzling thunder bird flashed through the ranks at terrifying speed, harvesting Royal Army lives in an instant.
It soared higher, wings beating. Any soldier it passed through—or even brushed with those arc-sparking thunder wings—went pitch-black, tumbling from the Cloud Road, their fate unknown, and slammed hard onto the Island Cloud below.
"Run!"
"Don't let that thunder bird touch you!"
"This guy's a devil!"
The brilliant lightning almost swallowed the entire area, bleaching everything in a deathly pale glow.
The atmosphere was so oppressive and horrifying it made people's lungs feel tight.
Some of the surviving Royal Army soldiers had already gone ghost-white, trembling all over. The crowd scattered in panic, sprinting in all directions—the scene plunged into chaos.
Whoosh!
With a sharp hiss, Mieko moved like lightning and jumped onto the thunder bird's back.
Electric arcs erupted continuously from his feet, feeding it a steady stream of energy and keeping it in flight.
"Gaa!"
The thunder bird beat its wings and surged forward, passing over the panicked, fleeing soldiers below—charging straight toward the palace.
"Who the hell is this bastard?!" someone cried out.
"I can't believe it… that kind of power from the legends—someone actually mastered it…" another person muttered, stunned.
At this moment, inside the palace grand hall, most of the royal family members and a portion of the ministers had gathered. They were restless, arguing in an uproar.
"Silence!"
On the throne, the current king—Arthur Westin—looked worried, yet he forced himself to remain composed.
He stared down at the noisy royals and ministers. His expression hardened, and he barked with a stern voice.
"All this shouting—have you no decorum?"
Arthur Westin drew a deep breath, working to steady his emotions. He stood, then said firmly, "Things have come to this. We have only one choice—meet him, and find out what he wants!"
"Your Majesty, you can't!" someone urged, alarmed.
"Exactly! What if he has evil intentions—" another echoed.
"Hmph!"
Arthur Westin swept his gaze coldly over the crowd of cowards, and continued.
"Relying on you—can you stop him? Even if we summon more Royal Army soldiers, they may still not be his match. Besides facing him, what do you want me to do—run from the palace with you and cling to life like a rat?"
They claimed to be worried for the king's safety, but it was obvious they were afraid for their own lives.
"Moreover, even if we wanted to flee…" Arthur Westin said icily, "it's already too late."
With that, he walked down from the dais.
He didn't even spare a glance at the ministers and royals who wanted to stop him but didn't dare make a sound. He strode out of the grand hall.
"Gaa!"
The thunder bird's cry drew nearer from afar.
Mieko stood atop the thunder bird's head, looking down at a middle-aged man below—someone who'd waved off a dozen guards with a single hand, his face grave as he lifted his head to look up at Mieko.
Judging by the golden crown on his head and the ornate royal robe on his body, the man's status was clearly extraordinary.
The one standing there now had to be Birka Kingdom's thirty-third monarch—Arthur Westin.
Arthur Westin stared upward at Mieko, who was wrapped in lightning above. Even as a flicker of panic passed through him, he forced himself to stay calm, raised his voice, and called out:
"I am Birka's current king, Arthur Westin. What business brings you to me? Speak plainly, if you have something to say…"
At the same time, dozens of meters behind him, at the entrance of the palace grand hall, a group of cowardly royals and ministers stood with pale faces. Their eyes were locked on the enormous thunder bird in the sky—and on Mieko standing upon it.
"Submit to me," Mieko said. "You can keep your identity as Birka's king, and the Arthur family will continue to exist as Birka's royal bloodline…"
(End of Chapter)
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