Eternal Night

Chapter 742 The Favored Ones and the Punishers

(PS: Sorry, only one chapter. I'm exhausted. I couldn't update yesterday. I arrived at the hotel early today and finally managed to write one chapter. After editing, it's this late. I'll try to update again tomorrow. I'll arrive at my destination around the 12th, and then things will be better.)
Wu Pifu was struck by lightning again in a daze. As "Wu Pifu", his existence immediately shattered into pieces, but each fragment of "him" was still connected, and then gradually healed together, even becoming more condensed.

Where the lightning originated, the purple and cyan lightning had almost completely dissipated, coalescing into a small ball that seemed to be hesitating or wondering about something. However, Wu Pifu, in a dazed and confused state, ignored this and charged towards the small ball of lightning once again, provoking another bolt of lightning that blasted Wu Pifu to pieces once more.

The town of Estano, in the first half of the Grand Line.

As the first half of the Grand Line, and at the entrance to that first half, Estano Town is not far from the port. Therefore, the town has a false sense of prosperity. It is neither ruined by too many pirates and monsters, nor does it have a geographical advantage. It can benefit from the adventurers, merchants, or any sea people who live by the Grand Line.

Today, another adventure team arrived in the town of Estano. There were six people in total, all wearing black robes that covered their entire bodies. Judging from their size, four were ordinary humans and two were either sub-giants or large-sized hybrids. The local residents seemed to be used to it and didn't even bother to give these six outsiders a second glance. The six people also seemed to be used to their attitude.

"This is a territory affiliated with the World Government. Don't cause trouble here. They've all paid Heavenly Gold."

The leader of the six said in a deep voice.

The other five people nodded slightly.

The six walked silently into the town. Then the smallest member stepped forward and silently sensed the situation. After a moment, he said, "Captain, I can sense it, but it's intermittent, and it seems to have... the scent of divine punishment."

The other five people stiffened slightly. The captain forced out a voice from his throat and said, "They really have guts. Even after being punished by the heavens, they still dare to venture into this realm. These kinds of people are truly terrifying... Let's go. Find the chosen one and hunt down the one who punished the heavens. That's our mission!"

Everyone responded with a resounding "yes," and they followed the smallest member of the team as they searched...

On the other side, on the outskirts of Estano, lies the living quarters of serfs, bankrupts, the poor, and members of the lowest rungs of the underworld, a place of dilapidated buildings, lifeless people, and filth everywhere.

In a dilapidated shack, Leon and his sister May were eating "heart-nourishing vegetables," a dish made of rotten vegetable leaves mixed with clay and scraps of meat from an unknown animal—a food that could barely keep you from starving, but would cause bloating and abdominal pain if you ate too much.

Even with this kind of food, the siblings could only eat enough to fill their stomachs.

Leon looked only seven or eight years old. He quickly finished his portion of hearty vegetables, then clutched his stomach and said, "Sister, I'm still hungry..."

Mei, however, coldly ate her food bite by bite, saying as she licked her fingers, "Just bear with the hunger."

Leon said with a disgruntled look, "Sis, don't we still have one left? We can each have half... Why are we keeping that useless person around?"

Mei's expression remained unchanged: "I've said it countless times, this is the last time... He had been soaking on the shore for six days and six nights. I found him early on, but he had nothing on him, was thin, and covered in wounds. He was either a merchant ship servant who had been dumped, or a loser from a competition on a pirate ship. Either way, he was worthless, so I ignored him at first."

"But six days and six nights have passed, and not only has he not died, his wounds have not continued to worsen. Anyone... let alone soaking for six days and six nights, even soaking for one day and one night would be fatal; their skin would rot. So I saved him, or rather, I didn't save him, because the seawater couldn't kill him, and six days and six nights without food or water couldn't kill him either. But remember this, even if we saved him, it must be 'saving,' understand?"

Lyon nodded as if he understood, and May continued, "He's been in a coma for over three months, but his injuries haven't worsened. The food I've been feeding him is barely enough to keep him alive, yet his body has become much stronger after three months. He's a 'rare find'!"

Mei looked at Lyon, her eyes cold and scrutinizing: "Our father was a member of the Maritime Merchant Alliance, although only a low-ranking member. Our family's wealth and luxury were no less than that of any minor noble in a town. You were too young then to remember, but I do remember that we had endless fine clothes and delicacies, countless rare and exquisite dishes, and hundreds of servants. Our residence was a manor, a manor!!"

Lyon still seemed to understand, but his expression held a sense of anticipation.

As Mei spoke, her face was filled with deep hatred: "But our mother, that bitch, that slut, that damned thing who deserves to be cursed for ten thousand years, betrayed our father, betrayed you and me, under the guise of love, and ran away with the money she got from the betrayal. Our father, on the other hand, was ruined because he broke the contract, and even his last chance was betrayed by that bitch... So now we are the lowest of the low, the lowest of the low who see no hope!"

Lyon opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

Mei immediately sneered, "You mean to say we're going to find Mother, that we have her blood, right? If you want to die, then you can go ahead, of course, if you can afford the ticket. She's in Dice City, the gambling capital. But your worst fate is to disappear into the sewers of Dice City, or into the stomach of any strange beast, a few hours after you meet her. She won't let outsiders know her past. She meticulously infiltrated Father's trial for twenty years, all for the sake of sudden wealth. In fact, over the years I've roughly figured out what she was like before she married my father... a lowly, rotten prostitute from a rural shack. And my foolish father, believing in the name of 'love,' and blinded by her submissive attitude, finally died completely. A fool who believed in love, a whore who played with love—they were a perfect match!"

As Mei spoke, her hatred was palpable, so intense that Lyon, listening nearby, trembled and got goosebumps. Mei took a few deep breaths, suppressing her hatred, and said in a low voice, "But we haven't completely given up hope. You're useless, but you're a man. Our blood ties make it difficult for us to betray each other unless the benefits are great enough to transcend these blood ties. Otherwise, if you betray me, no one else can trust you. So I can wait for you to grow up and become my right-hand man. Secondly, there's my knowledge. My foolish father did at least one thing well: he valued his children's education. Before that bitch betrayed me, I learned the languages ​​of five races. Although I'm only proficient in three of them, I can at least understand the other two."

"Secondly, knowledge of geography, navigation, Devil Fruit identification, identification of noble crests in different regions, commercial terminology, prices and products in different regions, various major powers, the Celestial Dragons of the world... and so on."

"What I lack now is the initial pot of gold, and at the same time, I need the strength to protect it. In fact, they are the same thing. The initial pot of gold... This man is our initial pot of gold. From the fact that he survived being submerged in seawater for six days and six nights without dying or decaying, and from the fact that he gradually grew stronger after being unconscious for more than three months, I believe that his strength is at least at the colonel level. Even if he is just a major, it is enough for me to have my initial pot of gold!"

Lyon, who managed to survive in this slum area, wasn't exactly a pushover. He rolled his eyes and said, "Sis, what if he's the kind of person who repays kindness with enmity, or what if he doesn't even see it as a favor?"

Mei picked up the remaining head of cabbage, walked to the man's side, pried open his mouth, and slowly stuffed the torn cabbage into his mouth, saying as she did so, "If he repays kindness with enmity, then I will be his servant, his subordinate, his bed warmer, or anyone he desires. As long as I can gain his trust, I am willing to do anything. This is also my first pot of gold."

“If he acknowledges this favor, then he should regard his benefactor as his partner, companion, and assistant.”

“If he is like our father, then I love him deeply and am willing to follow him to the ends of the earth for this love.”

May looked at Lyon and said, "All I lack is an opportunity, an opportunity to make my first fortune, and he... is that opportunity that God has given me!"

clap clap.

Suddenly, applause came from outside the shack. May and Lyon were both startled, and May's face immediately turned pale.

"A poor woman, the daughter of a small merchant, has so many ulterior motives."

"Captain, she actually wants to use the Chosen Ones as her first pot of gold!"

“...Kill them, then take the chosen one away.”

The shack collapsed completely. It was a haphazardly constructed structure made of rotten wood and rags, and it would collapse with the slightest force. As it collapsed, six people wearing black cloaks stood outside the shack. The tallest was four meters tall, and the shortest was only about 1.2 meters tall.

Upon seeing this, Mei's face turned even paler. She suddenly knelt down and immediately kowtowed, saying, "My lords, I dare not ask for anything. Spare my life! I remember nothing!"

None of the six spoke. They simply walked casually toward the man on the rotten bed, treating May and Lyon as if they were ants about to be trampled on.

"...Is this the Heavenly Favorite Wu Pifu? I didn't expect him to be such a weak being. I feel like I could easily crush him with a single finger." The tallest person said before even getting close.

The captain walked at the front, waving to May and Lyon as he spoke, "Even the weakest are still chosen ones, reserves for the Celestial Dragons. Show some respect. Besides, the Heavenly Punishment mission issued by the Heavenly Dao requires him to complete the search for the Punisher Wu Pifu. We're lucky enough to have gotten there first. Our master will surely... will..."

Killing intent...

Although it was only a trivial killing intent directed at May and Leon, as insignificant as the killing intent directed at ants, the captain's fist was clenched the moment it erupted...

He was being held by the man lying on the bed, a man who looked thin but was about two meters tall, even though his eyes were still closed.

And then the next moment.

Amidst the astonished expressions of the six, the tall, thin man casually swung his hand, just as they had done to May and Leon, as lightly as swatting away ants…

A dragon-shaped energy blast, hundreds of meters in diameter, shot up and swept towards the six people!

(End of this chapter)