Chapter 26: Apex of the North Blue
"Heheh~~ What do you want to say?"
Alucard didn't refuse the service of beautiful women, letting several voluptuous beauties intimately pour his wine. He just drew the line at them feeding him; that would make him feel like he was in a subordinate position.
Cnut said meaningfully, "You should know, the Vinsmoke Family was a family that once dominated the North Blue. Although I don't know why they abandoned their rule over the North Blue, I've heard rumors that the 66th Vinsmoke Family head is gradually making a name for himself in the underworld of the Grand Line. If you intend to seek revenge alone, you'll undoubtedly be outnumbered and outmatched."
After speaking, Cnut extended a hand to Alucard. "How about it? Become my right hand? Before the Vinsmoke Family makes its comeback, let us two rule the North Blue first. I will assist you in your revenge. How does that sound?"
Alucard crossed his arms over his knees, laughing silently with his head bowed. The more Alucard laughed, the more uncertain Cnut felt. After a long while, he finally couldn't help but ask, "What's so funny? Don't you want revenge?"
Of course, Alucard couldn't reveal that he had never truly cared about revenge. He was laughing at the words of the man before him.
Although he was one of the four kings of the North Blue, Cnut's overall power level was simply not up to par. Could he possibly associate with a flock of sheep?
"If you want to increase your power, it's best to first understand your current level."
Cnut immediately bristled. He understood perfectly well that Alucard was mocking his country's weakness. "No matter how strong you are personally, you won't be able to touch a single finger of Vinsmoke Judge. To get revenge, you need collaborators."
Despite the insult, Cnut didn't want to give up on recruiting Alucard. This man before him was the foremost strongman in the North Blue and possessed the potential to create powerful soldiers. With his addition, his country's military strength could definitely be further enhanced.
"Interesting, really?"
Alucard suddenly said. After a moment of surprise from Cnut, Alucard continued, "Meaningless things hold no reason for me to stay. Rather than dying on a throne, I'd rather die in the belly of a Sea King on the open ocean."
After speaking, Alucard rose and walked towards the palace exit. As he reached the doorway, Alucard paused, then chuckled again, "But you wouldn't understand that feeling, would you?"
Alucard was the type who lived life as he pleased.
Guarding a palace, guarding treasures, guarding a nation for an entire lifetime? How utterly boring!
In Alucard's view, drifting on a dilapidated ship was far more enjoyable than sitting on a so-called throne, commanding the world.
Effman, on the side, gave Cnut a glance. Cnut shook his head. There was nothing he could do; within the palace, and indeed the entire Harald Kingdom, there was no one who could stand against Alucard.
A week later, the war between the Harald Kingdom and the Joris Kingdom concluded successfully.
An additional clause was added to the Joris Kingdom's surrender treaty: "Hand over the body of Nelson Cahill, the criminal who harmed the lives of the Harald Kingdom's soldiers."
After the decisive battle in which Alucard participated, Cnut had heard from Draugr that although he had been reduced to monstrous chunks of flesh, Cahill's body was still recovered.
Even though Alucard had left, they could still investigate the cause of Cahill's mutation. Perhaps they could find a breakthrough that would make their soldiers stronger.
Facing Cnut's demanding stance, the Joris Kingdom had no choice. Although already buried, they had to retrieve General Cahill's body and hand it over to the enemy nation.
The technology in the world of pirates was unique. Aside from the inexplicable inability to create flying devices, most other technologies vastly surpassed modern technology from Alucard's past life.
Upon receiving Cahill's body and seeing the chunks of flesh inside the coffin, Cnut was startled. Such a monster actually existed in this world. However, he immediately became excited, ordering immediate research into this phenomenon to discover the reason behind Cahill's immense power increase after his mutation.
However, Cnut's joy lasted only a few days before the Marines issued an arrest warrant—no, more accurately, a search warrant, demanding that Cnut hand over the body of the enemy general Cahill he had obtained and immediately cease all research into the invincible army.
Unauthorized biochemical research on humans was illegal. However, to prevent this matter from escalating, the Marines minimized Cnut's and the Harald Kingdom's crimes.
When Cnut heard that the Marines had discovered his research only a few days after it began, he inwardly cursed his terrible luck.
Cnut still didn't fully understand that in this era, before the Great Pirate Era, when powerful and troublesome pirates were generally fewer, the Marines maintained a high level of surveillance on those who were highly likely to cause trouble for powerful pirates.
This was especially true for Alucard, a pirate hunter who was rapidly approaching the level of the Apex of the North Blue, not to mention that he was someone mentioned by Marine Chief Instructor Zeff.
-------
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanFiction [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are over 100 advance chapters available for you!