One Piece: The Legend of Beasts

"It looks like the fun has already begun."

Seemingly feeling a little tired of standing, Satan found a relatively flat and smooth rock and sat down, gazing deeply into the war-torn valley in the southeast. He let the howling wind sway his hair and beard left and right, but he remained unmoved and didn't even blink.

Waves of killing shouts that were enough to cover any other sounds rang in Satan's ears one after another, but to him, they sounded like the sound of nature. His wrinkled face showed an expression of enjoyment, and the cane in his hand also beat the ground rhythmically. Every time it hit, it would leave a shallow dent on the hard stone ground.

"Although we were unable to stop Garp and his gang from heading into the island, so far everything has gone as expected."

At this point, he turned his gaze to the tall figure still standing like a rock on the edge of the stone tower, with a hint of a smile in his eyes, "If it weren't for your help, it would be harder than climbing to the sky to make those two groups of pirates kill each other."

"...Using the deepest memories in my heart to present them in a concrete form, is this the extent of what I can do?"

Hele Edmund, who had put on his eye patch at some point, covered his left eye with his hand. There was no joy on his face that a winner should have, but a strong chill, like a piece of thousand-year-old ice that would never melt. As if he had not heard what Satan said, his voice was low and hoarse, and he muttered to himself, "That guy's domineering aura is much stronger than I expected... Or should I say, because the stimulation he received was far beyond the norm, he was able to burst out with an aura that was different from usual?"

Hearing the unadorned seriousness in his tone, Satan narrowed his eyes and asked with interest: "Don't you think it's a pity to miss such a great opportunity to fight with that man?"

"When did I say I was going to give up?"

Helle Edmund suddenly turned around, his only remaining right eye emitting a sharper edge than an eagle's. He said word by word, "Whoever can survive this life-and-death competition will be qualified to fight me!"

If this was said by someone else, Satan would just be dismissive, or even scold the other person for being too arrogant. However, he just smiled, without showing any displeasure on his face because of the words, and responded in the same gentle tone as before: "Are you still sticking to your old habits? If it were you, I wouldn't have any objection..."

Precisely because he knew the man well enough, and because he had witnessed his unquestionable strength with his own eyes, any dissatisfaction in his heart would disappear in an instant.

The strong often have more capital to be arrogant than others. Conversely, no matter what their character is, they will be respected and supported by the world.

Therefore, the development of history is usually determined by the stronger party. This is an established reality that cannot be changed and cannot be questioned.

Not sure if he was satisfied with Satan's reaction, Hele Edmund snorted and ignored it. His cold expression softened a little, and his eyes moved towards the lower left little by little, finally fixing on a position with the loudest sound. "By the way, there was a guy who made a lot of noise just now. Thanks to him, many Tianlong people were seriously injured..."

Satan quickly understood what he meant and immediately stopped smiling. He followed his line of sight and saw that a huge mountain facing the hunting square had collapsed, turning into a pile of rubble that almost filled the entire square. Many Celestial Dragons and agents were buried under the rubble before they could even think of escaping. Only the faint groans coming from the cracks could barely indicate that there were still signs of life. Those who had luckily escaped were screaming like crazy around a collapsed area, their voices filled with fear and anger.

In the middle of the crowd, a thin man was lying on a pile of messy rubble with his limbs spread out in a "big" shape. His clothes were tattered and the rubble behind him was dyed red by the blood from his wounds. The mask covering his head was now shattered, revealing a face with a bruised nose and dislocated features, which was distorted to the point of being unrecognizable. There was only air coming out of his nose but no air coming in. Someone stared at him for a long time before recognizing that he was a member of the Knights of God. The square was immediately in chaos.

No one had ever thought that this knight, whose status was above that of ordinary Celestial Dragons and whose strength was no less than that of a vice admiral of the Marine Headquarters, would collapse to the ground like a dead dog, his entire body almost covered in blood. It was really unimaginable that someone in the world would beat him into such a miserable state.

"Only one strike...?"

Satan, who witnessed the scene below, frowned slightly and raised his dry fingers to touch the tip of his nose. Whenever he couldn't figure out something, he would subconsciously make this move. "Although that kid is not very strong in the Knights of God, as far as I know, there are probably no more than twenty people who can make him lose his combat effectiveness in an instant..."

"Humph, it's just a young tiger, showing off its might before the lion catches its prey."

Helle Edmund mercilessly interrupted his mumbling, stretched out his hand to smooth his long hair that was messed up by the wind, and said indifferently that it was hard to tell whether he was being sarcastic or praising. "In terms of momentum alone, he is indeed a great figure. There are only a few brats like him in the Knights Templar."

"Your subordinates are almost dying. Is it really okay to just leave them like this?" Satan asked the still indifferent man in a tentative tone, seeming to be very interested in his next answer.

"It doesn't matter."

Helle Edmund waved his hands without even turning his head. His voice was even colder than his expression. "Being defeated only means that he is too weak. My knights do not need such weak scum."

"Yeah......?"

After hearing his irrefutable tone, Satan stopped asking questions. Replacements and iterations within the Knights of God were a very common occurrence.

The law of the jungle is an eternal truth no matter in which world.

Therefore, usually when encountering such a situation, it is only necessary to deprive the knight of his Celestial Dragon identity and then give his vacant position to a more capable person in the same family.

This will not only deter other knights with ulterior motives, but also strengthen the armed forces of the World Government, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

"Compared to this, that guy is more likely to arouse my interest..."

As he spoke, Hele Edmund's gaze had turned to a valley that flashed purple light from time to time, accompanied by soldiers flying around in the air and screams one after another, and the light was approaching this side unimpeded. With almost all the masters on the island transferred to the front line, it was only a matter of time before they arrived here.

"Before dinner, let's do some warm-up exercises..."

Before he finished speaking, the man clasped his fingers together and stretched his arms straight, stretching his muscles. The armor on his body made a dull sound as his limbs moved. A strange color seemed to flash in his eyes that could not show any emotion. Usually only beasts would show such an expression after locking onto their prey. "I hope that when I appear in front of you, I can also maintain that unique spirit..."

Satan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said hurriedly: "In that case, why not use the 'Burning Fire Domain' I brought this time to send you off? No matter where you are on the island, you can reach it instantly..."

The old man stopped talking halfway because he saw a black shadow swaying in front of his eyes like a ghost. Then, the place where Helle Edmund had originally stood was empty, without even a trace of him left, as if he had never been there.

"Really? Everyone is so impatient..."

Satan looked up at the sky that was gradually covered by dark clouds, with a hint of complaint in his eyes, and then disappeared, muttering as if he was full of thoughts, "I really want to see what that kid looks like, but it's a pity that I will never have this opportunity again. When the 'Angel of Judgment' decides to impose sanctions on someone, no matter how hard he struggles, he cannot escape the fate of death..."

As he spoke, Satan slowly stood up from the rock. Although he was leaning on a long cane in both hands, he did not look old at all. He walked towards the edge of the stone tower step by step with a steady pace no less than that of a young man, and lowered his head to look at the west intersection leading to the hunting square. His pair of wrinkled eyes seemed focused and thoughtful. Even when a sharp, piercing and greedy laugh rang in his ears, his face did not change any expression. The corner of his mouth covered by his thick beard raised a malicious smile, "I didn't expect that the little brat would come to my door on his own initiative. I don't know if it was out of ignorance or naivety. Let me put an end to your sinful race..."

After saying that, without Satan making any move, a huge circular magic circle suddenly emerged from under his feet. Countless thick lightning bolts surged out, and a dark flame rose from the five-pointed star pattern in the center of the magic circle. At the moment when Satan was completely engulfed, the flame slowly faded away like a flowing liquid, and finally disappeared without a trace, leaving only the magic circle filled with a weird aura.