I the King of bandits of the East Sea

At the moment when Sig was being aimed at by dozens of rifles, sweat beaded on his forehead, his mind racing with thoughts as his peripheral vision scanned the surrounding environment.

Between him and the dozens of allied riflemen opposite him, there were only a few dozen meters. However, the surrounding area was an open mountain clearing, devoid of thick trees or even large rocks for cover.

Running away or attempting to evade would result in the same outcome.

His only chance was to charge forward. With the help of the Imperial Engine, he only needed to disrupt the riflemen enough to make them miss their shots.

"That's the theory, but…"

Sig looked at the dozens of dark barrels in front of him, his scalp tingling and his heart pounding.

He watched as the navy colonel behind the allied riflemen waved his hand again to issue the order to fire. The barrels of the rifles were already aimed squarely at him.

Amid the drumbeat-like pounding of his heart, Sig had no time to think. His mind went blank as he charged forward at full speed, instinctively letting out a loud roar:

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"

In their eyes, it was as if a terrifying beast was roaring and launching a charge. The deafening roar of the Imperial Engine filled their ears, and the overwhelming pressure nearly suffocated them.

This sudden outburst, along with Sig's rapid advance, only heightened the tension among the riflemen. A few of them trembled, and some fired prematurely, sending a few scattered bullets flying.

Some failed to aim properly and misfired, others couldn't stop their rifles from shaking, and still others turned pale and started hesitatingly retreating.

"He's actually charging straight at us? He's not even afraid of our bullets?"

Behind the riflemen, Colonel Carvin turned pale.

"Did I miscalculate again? Or is Sig really this brave?"

Facing an opponent who didn't even fear a volley from dozens of riflemen, a chill ran down Colonel Carvin's spine.

An elderly lady doing group dances once said that if she danced fast enough, her loneliness wouldn't catch up to her.

A scavenger uncle once said that if he searched through garbage carefully enough, he could find the self he had lost.

A sanitation auntie once said that although she had been sweeping the same two streets for seven years, she still couldn't sweep away the flaws in her heart.

An old man staging accidents once said that if he acted convincingly enough, he could fool the fleeting passage of time.

And Sig wanted to say, as long as he charged fast enough, no one could shoot him.

By the time Sig stopped, the dozens of riflemen in front of him had completely lost their will to fight.

Some had fired their guns, but the shots went astray. Some had collapsed to the ground, and others had simply run away outright.

And Sig remained unscathed.

When he snapped back to his senses, Colonel Carvin was already slumped at his feet, looking up at Sig with despair on his face.

"Even against the combined volley of our riflemen, you showed no fear, Sig?"

"I admit, we in the Navy underestimated you. We dared to consider you just an eight-million bounty criminal…"

"This is no battle! This is outright humiliation for the Navy!"

"As the leader of mountain bandits, even now, you disdain lifting a hand against us…"

At this point, Colonel Carvin's gaze fell on Sig's sword, still sheathed at his waist. His expression turned vacant, clearly deeply shaken.

"This humiliation… I…"

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud shout came from the side:

"Sig! Let go of our colonel!"

A marine soldier charged forward, shouting, and swung a large axe at Sig.

Clang!

Sig instinctively drew his sword to block the axe, momentarily stunned.

Colonel Carvin, still sitting on the ground, abruptly stopped speaking.

He had just finished accusing Sig of refusing to draw his sword, only to see him unsheathe it—and engage in combat with an ordinary soldier.

"What's going on here?"

Not only Colonel Carvin, but also the distant marine soldiers and the Kingdom Army commander who had been preparing to retreat all froze, staring in confusion and disbelief.

Sig was equally puzzled.

Although the sound of his Imperial Engine wasn't as loud or dense as before, it hadn't stopped entirely, and Colonel Carvin, still collapsed on the ground, was proof of that.

But now, a marine soldier had actually dared to fight him head-on?

The soldier in front of him was burly, with short golden hair. He wore the standard navy white shirt, exposing two massive, muscular arms.

The soldier's hands were trembling, clearly showing that he wasn't immune to the pressure of Sig's Imperial Engine, yet he hadn't retreated.

Sig's eyes lit up. Throughout this battle, it was the first time he had the chance to use the sword at his waist.

"Could I finally gain some real combat experience?"

A surge of intense interest suddenly filled Sig.

After all, he was an eight-million bounty man and could clearly feel that the power transmitted through the navy soldier's axe wasn't significant.

The marine before him posed no serious threat.

Sig was practically moved to tears.

With the Imperial Engine as his core, most people wouldn't even have the courage to attack him, often collapsing in fear on the spot.

Of course, there were people who could resist the pressure of the Imperial Engine.

For example… Garp!

Thus far, Sig hadn't been able to find a single opponent to practice his combat skills against!

Though he wasn't sure why, he decided to just fight first and think later.

"Come at me!"

Sig roared, engaging the axe-wielding marine in what could only be described as a chaotic skirmish between amateurs. The clash of their weapons rang out loudly as they fought.

From the sidelines, the seated Colonel Carvin was nearly dumbfounded.

He realized that Sig's swordsmanship was entirely unrefined, completely lacking the structure of someone trained, and looked more like a novice swinging wildly!

Yet, Sig was still an eight-million bounty man. His sword strikes carried more power and speed than the axe-wielding marine, and even this random, chaotic slashing overwhelmed his opponent.

"Take this! My Wild Slash of Madness!"

"Here comes my Furious Pig Charge!"

Sig's face lit up with excitement as he launched attack after attack, steadily gaining the upper hand with each swing.

Finally, with a reverse slash, Sig sent the marine's axe flying out of his hands.

"As the king of mountain bandits, it's been a long time since I've had such an exhilarating duel with such a worthy opponent!"

"Marine, state your name!"

Sig's lips curled into a grin, his deep voice resounding across the battlefield.

"I… I am Morgan…" The axe-wielding marine panted heavily, kneeling on one knee but still glaring defiantly at Sig.

Sig froze, his mind racing with countless thoughts.

Morgan, at this point in time, was merely a soldier under this so-called colonel?

No, that wasn't the point!

The point was that he, Sig, had defeated Morgan!

Sig was astonished, his eyes widening slightly.

Who was Morgan? The man who struck down Garp with a single axe swing!

And who was Garp? The man who repeatedly forced Gol D. Roger into desperate situations!

And who was Gol D. Roger? The Pirate King, the man who stood at the pinnacle of an era!

Sig gasped hundreds of times in succession.

"Roughly estimating… does this mean I'm stronger than the Pirate King? Could I already possess power beyond that of an Admiral?"

__________

title of the upcoming chapters

Chapter 48:Crazy

chapter49:I Have Admiral Morgan, Capable of Defeating Garp

Chapter 50: Celestial Dragons and CP0