Chapter 34: Chapter 34: The Fall of Golent Kingdom
"It's over! The city guards have surrendered! General Zoro is dead, and Golent Kingdom is doomed!"
As Sharlo led nearly a hundred pirates swaggering into the city, chaos erupted in what was once a quiet town. Citizens scattered in panic through the streets, while former thugs and ruffians seized the opportunity to loot, kill, and commit other heinous acts, unleashing their darkest desires. Sharlo dispatched these criminals with a swift stroke of his sword, a show of force that kept his men in line, their greedy eyes quickly losing their luster.
Under the guidance of an officer, Sharlo and his crew soon reached the palace. As they approached, a cannonball was fired directly at them. Sharlo casually deflected it mid-air with his sword, and with another powerful swing, he blasted open the palace walls.
"Go and plunder!" Sharlo ordered softly.
The pirates around him brightened at the command. "Brothers! Follow me!" one of them shouted, leading the charge through the now-breached palace gates. Sharlo knew better than to suppress his men entirely—after all, they were pirates. Nearly a hundred of them surged into the palace, but Sharlo remained calm, observing the trembling officer beside him.
"Take me to your king," Sharlo said, his eyes cold and indifferent.
"Yes, yes!" the officer stammered, quickly leading the way. The palace echoed with screams and laughter as Sharlo walked straight to the grand hall.
"Damn it! Damn you all! You've betrayed your king!" a disheveled, stern-faced middle-aged man shouted in the empty hall. This was the king of Golent Kingdom, the man who had insulted Rocks and rejected his demands, sealing his own fate. Sharlo couldn't help but admire the king's defiance, even as he walked into the hall.
"Rebel! Scoundrel! You will die horribly!" the king cursed upon seeing Sharlo. He then raised his sword to his own neck.
Clang! The sword fell to the ground as the king collapsed, lifeless. Sharlo was taken aback by the king's resolve but remembered that Rocks wanted his head.
"Cut off his head," Sharlo instructed the officer.
The officer, who had been trembling moments before, stared in shock. "Hmm?" Sharlo raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, yes!" the officer, unable to contain his fear, picked up the king's sword and, with eyes closed, decapitated the king. Sharlo was pleased; he found beheading distasteful and preferred to delegate the task.
"Bring the head with us," Sharlo commanded, turning to leave. Outside, he surveyed the chaos with a sigh. It was his first time leading a crew to conquer a kingdom, and he found it disconcerting. He stopped two pirates, instructing them to secure the head and prepare for their return.
After an hour, the pirates regrouped, each laden with bags of gold, jewelry, and stacks of Beli. Sharlo frowned, feeling it was insufficient. Spotting an officer in a luxurious uniform, Sharlo's eyes lit up.
"Do you know where the nobles' quarters are?" Sharlo asked.
The officer, silent since beheading the king, looked at Sharlo in shock. "You devil!" he exclaimed, swinging the king's sword at Sharlo.
Sharlo smirked, catching the blade with his Haki-covered hand. The sword shattered in his grip. Grasping the officer by the neck, Sharlo extracted the location of the noble quarters, realizing the officer's defiance was because he too was a noble.
"Let's go rob the nobles!" Sharlo declared.
"Yeah! Long live the boss!" the pirates cheered, brandishing their weapons as they followed Sharlo out of the palace.
By the next morning, they returned to their ship laden with treasures. Sharlo marveled at the wealth of the nobles compared to the king's treasury, which had yielded only three hundred million Beli. The nobles' district, however, provided fifty billion Beli in a single night.
"Killing and looting is the quickest way to get rich!" Sharlo remarked, looking at the treasure piled on the deck.
"We've hit the jackpot, boss!" the pirates cheered.
"Half of this goes to Rocks. The rest is ours," Sharlo said, his anger simmering at the thought of giving up twenty billion Beli to Rocks.
The pirates fell silent, the greed in their eyes replaced by resignation.
"Five million each, no more," Sharlo declared, aware of the need to reward his men. He didn't want to end up like John, who hoarded his treasure and was ultimately killed by his own crew. This way, the remaining twenty billion Beli would be enough to sustain him for a year unless some urgent need arose.
"Long live the boss!" the pirates shouted, satisfied with their share.
"Set course for Hachinosu!" Sharlo ordered.
"Yes, Captain!" they replied in unison.
As the ship sailed away, leaving the smoldering ruins of Golent Kingdom behind, Sharlo reflected on the destruction and chaos they had wrought. The kingdom was no more, reduced to ashes by his crew's relentless greed and brutality.
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