I'm at the top of One Piece

Mercer's lips curled into a smile as he reached out and stroked the bear cub that had crawled up to him, whispering:

"Did you see that? Oh, I forgot, you're a blind little bear, you can't see that. Did you hear me? Since you've followed us, you go and attract their attention while I hunt from behind, understand?"

Xiong Bao turned his head to look at Mercer, tilted his head, then covered his ears with his paws, buried his head in the snow, and his short tail swayed as he twisted his hips.

Moses laughed in exasperation. Now that you're here, you have no choice.

With his right hand, he grabbed the boy by the hind leg and easily flung him away. In mid-air, the bear let out a sharp "howl," which immediately attracted the attention of the deer herd not far away.

Splat~

A lump of flesh landed in the snow, but Xiong Bao didn't feel any pain. He pulled his head out of the snow and shook it vigorously. His nearsighted eyes were fixed on the herd of deer in front of him, and he bared his teeth and roared fiercely.

A series of intermittent roars lasting for more than ten seconds.

Successfully attracting and provoking the attention of the deer herd, several male deer, led by an adult scarred reindeer, lowered their heads and raised their powerful antlers, gradually closing in on the bear cub.

Amidst heavy snowfall.

After throwing the bear cub out, Mercer rolled down the snow slope and, taking advantage of the deer herd being distracted by the bear cub, circled around to the side of the deer herd.

Watching as the deer herd began to become agitated.

Even the smallest bear is still a bear, regardless of whether it eats meat or vegetables.

It was also noted that, led by the alpha deer, several reindeer frightened the bear cub, causing it to back away.

Behind a crooked tree.

Mercer observed the herd of deer, which was less than a hundred meters away, and kept searching. A few seconds later, he spotted his target in the herd: a rather fat male deer whose antlers had not yet keratinized and were still velvet.

Glancing at Xiong Bao's location again, and estimating that he could hold on for another minute, Mercer began to make snowballs. Pile of snow was gathered up, and high-quality snowballs the size of a palm were shaped.

As the count in my mind reached zero, more than twenty "hard" snowballs had already piled up in front of me.

Swish!

Mercer rose from his knees, extended his left hand to aim, and held a snowball in his right palm behind his head, aiming at the deer. He took a deep breath, locked on with his Observation Haki, and focused his attention. Then, he suddenly swung his right hand out.

Whoosh!

A spinning snowball, forming a line of snow, was thrown with pinpoint accuracy. Amidst the whistling wind, a crisp "smack" resounded as the snowball struck the deer's head, hitting it squarely in the eye.

"Huh!?!"

A startled cry of a deer rang out, and the lead deer suddenly leaped two meters into the air. The next second, another snowball struck the deer's head in mid-air.

It didn't hurt, but it was painful.

As soon as it landed, the deer panicked and darted away.

The lead deer panicked, and the entire herd began to scatter. The next moment, snowballs mixed with stones began to hit the herd. With their Observation Haki, even adult four-legged creatures could not escape the simple tricks of the two-legged cubs.

Driven by the constant shovels and snowballs, and with his Observation Haki predicting the next move of individual deer in the herd, the deer was eventually pushed out of the group. Moses knew the time had come.

With his right hand, he quickly grabbed the rope of the throwing stone rope, raised it above his head and spun it rapidly. His upper arm, forearm and wrist worked in perfect coordination. In the instant the reindeer turned its head, the throwing stone rope was thrown out. With a "whooshing" sound, the rope, which was straightened by the stones at both ends, wrapped around the reindeer's two front legs.

With a "thump," a reindeer rolled headfirst into the snow, a sight that made the already disorganized herd even more panicked.

Wearing a Laban fur coat, Messer ran out with an axe in hand, throwing the last few stones to drive the deer herd away.

Mercer appeared beside the fallen reindeer. Without hesitation, he swung his axe down, the end of which resembled an ice axe but was like a dagger, piercing the reindeer's neck and instantly creating a long, narrow gash.

Wow!!

After a mournful cry, Moses pulled out his axe and stepped back to prevent his prey from struggling in its death throes.

This male deer is nearly 1.6 meters long, close to adulthood, and has a robust build. At this moment, its hind legs are kicking wildly.

Seconds later, the stag's head, its throat ruptured, crashed into a pool of blood, while the rest of the herd watched anxiously from a distance.

As the stag breathed its last, an irregular crystal shimmering with a mysterious luster appeared above the stag's carcass.

Mercer knew that this was a sight only he could see, or perhaps something that "mortals" could not perceive.

Without making a sound, he reached out and summoned the rice-grain-sized soul crystal into the palm of Messer's hand.

A thought flashed in his eyes, and at the same time, a message appeared on his retina.

[Obtained 1 F-grade Soul Crystal]

Soul Crystals: Obtained through killing, Soul Crystals of varying qualities can be used to enhance attributes and bestowed abilities. (Soul Crystals are refined and forged from the spiritual essence of life.)

A line of small print appeared after the name of the Soul Crystal, which did not surprise Messer, as this was a characteristic of the "Orb of Light".

It was referred to by Moses as "identification".

After focusing your gaze on an object for a few seconds, detailed information about the object will appear on your retina.

It can be a living thing or an object; it's a most fundamental kind of insight.

It must be said that this is an exceptionally convenient ability, and also a near-perfect auxiliary ability.

As for what aspect is perfect, it is of course the exploration of the unknown, such as a newly developed potion whose effects are completely unknown.

With the results of the investigation, we can also know its specific function.

Returning the Soul Crystal to your body, or more accurately, to the Soul Crystal section on the panel, provides a convenient way to store Soul Crystals.

Soul Crystal: [Rank F * 1]

Moses looked at the deer in front of him, swung his axe, and with a "crack," a thirty-centimeter-long, branch-like antler was cut off at the root.

With another swing of the axe, another, slightly shorter, deer antler was also chopped off.

Pack it in a bag you carry with you.

The first hunt was a great success.

Just then, a black and white ball of fluff came over and whimpered softly, its voice full of grievance.

Indeed, even a bear cub less than a year old would feel aggrieved and scared if threatened by several adult long-horned creatures.

Mercer covered Xiong Bao's chubby face with both hands and rubbed it hard. Instantly, Xiong Bao made a happy "gurgling" sound.

Mercer played with the black and white ball of fur while keeping a watchful eye on the deer herd that kept turning back every few steps. He didn't immediately finish off the stag he had hunted, lest the herd turn around and attack again.

It was at this moment that...

Bang bang bang.

A series of gunshots rang out from the woods to the left and in front of Moses, followed by loud shouts and cries.

Almost instantly, the deer left behind several carcasses and, startled, dashed off to the right from in front of Moses, kicking up a flurry of snowflakes.

Mercer quickly grabbed Bear by the scruff of the neck and hid behind the stag's carcass to protect against stray bullets, while glaring angrily at the group of people who had arrived.

They all carried knives and guns.

The number of people is fifteen.

Leading the group were two boys protected in the middle, one around thirteen or fourteen years old and the other around seven or eight years old. Judging from their appearance, they were probably brothers.

At this moment, the man with the purplish-red bowl-cut hair and a long face, resembling the older brother, held a flintlock pistol in his hand, his face full of anger.

"You bunch of useless trash! You can't even kill a herd of deer. You've only killed a few. When I become king, I will definitely drive you all out."

At this moment, the younger brother with dark purple hair also wore a cruel expression, his fat face appearing extremely ugly.

"That's right, you bunch of useless trash, hurry up and kill all those reindeer, I want to have a whole deer feast tonight."

All thirteen guards looked aggrieved, daring not to speak out, except for the leader, who had some backbone and calmly said:

"I apologize, Your Highnesses, but the soldiers are exhausted after just leaving the ruins. Besides, the deer are very wary, and the snow is very heavy now."

Mshuru, looking impatient, waved his hand, his long face stretching even longer as he couldn't help but sneer:

"If I hadn't made some gains at the ruins earlier, do you think I would have just given you a few simple insults?"

Wapol picked his nose, smeared it on the coat of the guard beside him, puffed out his cheeks, and looked unhappy, making his already large face look even fatter.

“My older brother is right, you guys are really useless.”

"Huh?" Walbourne then noticed a dead reindeer in the snow to their right rear, and also saw Messer watching them: "Labang?"

The next moment, the guards all raised their guns and aimed, their faces full of vigilance.

Labang,

A social carnivorous rabbit species on Drum Island, possessing the agility of a rabbit and the physique of a bear. It is extremely fierce, only recognizing those it considers strong, and will "friendly" gang up on any other creature it encounters.

Even amidst the heavy snowfall, visibility was still around 100 meters.

But after looking around, there was no Laban in the surrounding environment, and the only thing Walbourne pointed to was a dead reindeer and a hunter.

Who's there?

The lead guard frowned and shouted, "We are the Kingdom Guard. Don't play tricks. I'll count to three, and if you don't come out, I'll shoot."

The king's only two sons are here, so he has no choice but to do so.

The safety of the royal family is of paramount importance.

Moses looked annoyed, but he recognized the newcomer as the "tyrant" of the future nation.

The snowflakes in the sky had become increasingly dense, and the cold wind was howling.

Mercer was already considering retreating. He was still young and it wasn't worth risking his body, which wasn't much stronger than an average person's, going head-to-head with gunfire.

He reached out and patted the bear cub beside him, then leaned down and whispered in the bear cub's ear, "You go first, I'll cover you. We'll meet up at that little snow slope."

Although the bear was still young, it was incredibly clever. With a gesture from Mercer, the ever-intelligent cub crawled around and turned to face the attacker. Meanwhile, the attackers continued their shouting, spewing all sorts of vulgarities.

Messer used his Observation Haki to lock onto Wapol and his group, who were about 60 or 70 meters away.

His hands were already gathering the snow, and he began to make snowballs. To evacuate safely, they needed to disrupt their formation.

Otherwise, with his back to them, Moses couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be shot in the back.

One, two!

Five or six.

At this moment, urged on by the two brothers, the guards opposite them surrounded Moses.

Fifty meters. Forty-five meters. Thirty meters.

The eldest prince, Mshuru, urged from behind, "You're so slow! Hurry up, I want to see who's playing tricks on me. Open fire!"