A Pirate's Spring Awakening

A million. This number was simply too horrifying. If this place were exposed, one could only imagine the storm it would trigger in the outside world.

Don't be fooled by how everyone seems to disregard human life; the Marines clutched the banner of "Justice" tightly in their hands. If something like this came to light, the entire upper echelon of the Lvneel Kingdom would be dragged out and shot. With over a dozen tunnels leading from the city connecting to this place, not even a ghost would believe that nobles and royalty weren't involved. Bellamy even suspected that the royal family itself was behind this.

He suddenly recalled something Mia had told him some time ago: Revolutionary Army, pig farm… He was beginning to vaguely understand what "pig farm" truly meant. But raising pigs was for the profit derived from them. What purpose did the creators of this cavern have in killing so many people?

Effortlessly dodging the tentacles' attacks, Bellamy used their faint fluorescent glow to gaze at the countless skeletons below, lost in thought.

"Perhaps all the secrets are hidden even deeper."

This pile of bones was simply too thick. Even though he had blasted away a small portion, the area beneath was still a dense mass of white, stretching as far as the eye could see. Bellamy had actually uncovered most of the Lvneel Kingdom's secrets, yet a huge fog still shrouded his mind, refusing to dissipate.

Everything that happened here had nothing to do with him. But if he just walked away, how could he be content?

"Then I'll just tear this whole place apart!" It was just a sea of insects; what did they amount to under his fists and feet?

When Bellamy truly set his mind to do something, he wouldn't easily give up, no matter the cost.

"Tempest Kick!" "Tempest Kick!" "Tempest Kick!"

A torrential downpour of vacuum slashes shot out from Bellamy's legs, bombarding the ground. The sea of insects below instantly erupted into chaos. Countless beetles, as if sensing a fatal crisis, began to writhe frantically. When this disgusting black ocean writhed, it was enough to scare someone with trypophobia to death on the spot.

But they were merely insects; apart from their astonishing numbers, there was nothing special about them. Under Bellamy's determined assault, they couldn't even put up a fight. The swarm attempted to pile together, forming an insect pillar to attack Bellamy in the air. But under his furious kicks, the insect pillar was pulverized into fragments within moments.

This one-sided slaughter continued for several hours, only drawing to a close when Bellamy felt more than half his stamina depleted.

Within the cavern, the area originally covered by countless beetles and bones was now completely exposed to the air. At the center of the cavern, a massive stone monument had appeared. The moment he saw this stele, Bellamy had a feeling that the secrets hidden here were about to be unveiled before him.

With a slight sense of anticipation, he approached the stone monument and observed it carefully. The stele looked a bit dirty but was remarkably well-preserved. It was perfectly square, a complete, unbroken piece. The front of the stele was engraved with a large amount of unfamiliar text; Bellamy couldn't recognize a single character.

"Wait, could this be…?"

This shape, these characters. Bellamy suddenly punched the stele. The rebounding force made his fist go numb. This hardness was even more terrifying than Sea-Prism Stone.

"This is a Poneglyph!"

Bellamy hadn't expected that the secret hidden here would actually involve a Poneglyph. There were roughly thirty Poneglyphs in existence. In the original story, only four Road Poneglyphs and nine Rio Poneglyphs had appeared. This one was definitely an informational Poneglyph, meaning it recorded a segment of history from the Void Century.

So, what was the connection between these skeletons and the Poneglyph? Bellamy racked his brains but couldn't figure out why a Poneglyph would appear in such a place. The characters recording the Poneglyphs could only be deciphered by Nico Robin. Unraveling the secrets of this place seemed to have become an impossible dream.

But just then, Bellamy suddenly noticed that the tentacles which had been relentlessly attacking him were actually emerging from beneath this very Poneglyph.

"What are these tentacles?"

Poneglyphs were nearly indestructible; Bellamy had no way to destroy it either. If he couldn't destroy it, he could at least move it, right? Bellamy pushed hard against its side, forcibly shifting the massive stone monument a few inches.

"It can be moved."

Once the stele was shifted, the secret chamber hidden beneath was immediately exposed. The full form of the fluorescent blue tentacles also appeared within Bellamy's perception.

"This shape… could it be plant roots?" These tentacles were twisted and winding, with branches and fine hairs, looking very much like the roots of a tree.

His mind filled with questions, Bellamy dodged a tentacle attack and entered the secret chamber. By the faint blue fluorescence of the tentacles, he saw an exquisite stone platform. The center of the platform was concave, holding some kind of deep blue, mysterious liquid. Countless fine tentacles were wrapped around it, encasing the liquid. Unlike the four active tentacles that had been constantly attacking Bellamy, these tentacles were all lifeless; even when Bellamy approached, they showed no reaction.

Just then, one of the active tentacles suddenly sensed something and darted past Bellamy. It seemed someone else had been thrown down from the tunnels above. Sure enough, not long after, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from the cavern.

Soon, this tentacle rapidly retracted. Bellamy vaguely sensed that after its trip out, "it" seemed to have undergone some change. Before he could see this change clearly, the tentacle moved above the stone platform, and a minuscule droplet of deep blue liquid dripped from its tip. This droplet probably weighed less than a milligram; without careful observation, it was almost invisible to the naked eye.

A single human life could yield less than a milligram of this mysterious liquid. However, this small puddle here had to contain at least approximately 250-400 grams.

Bellamy finally understood everything. "So, this is what they wanted."