"Barb!" Durd cried with red eyes. Barb isn't the same as the unruly bunch of pirates he recruits, he is his friend from a small age.
He's a man Durd can trust his life with, but now he's gone. His ice-cold eyes were filled with endless killing intent as he looked at the assaulter but like Barb, he was shocked to see Blaize's face.
"You little bastard, I should have killed you along with your parents." Jumping from the ship, Durd roared and shot towards Blaize.
Nearing Blaize, he wielded his sword and waved at the latter with full power. Yanking the sword he stabbed Barb with, Blaize blocked Durd's long sword.
An explosive force traveled from Durd's sword, shoving him two steps back. The sword he held vibrated intensely meeting the latter's sword, 'He's strong!'
Just a single strike, Blaize knew Durd is a tad stronger than he anticipated. He wasn't a skilled sword expert and wasn't interested in it either but his knowledge is enough to Judge Durd's sword skills.
Not giving any chance for him to relax, Durd swung his sword again. His slashes were powerful, rampant, and wild. Furthermore, his physical strength has also far exceeded what Blaize expected.
'Is he hiding his strength the entire time?' Blaize isn't a greenhorn too. He trained and honed his combat skills in these few months by battling countless peoples.
Even so, Blaize found Durd is different from all the people he fought with before. The murderous aura emanating from Durd pressured him to the ground, limiting his strength.
Durd is far more experienced and his combat techniques are refined after killing countless living beings. Furthermore, all his strikes are delivered with an intention to kill.
Blaize knew he was being drawn into his opponent's pace, he has to do something. With three backflips, he created some distance between him and Durd.
Unrelentless, Durd slashed his sword bridging the gap between them at breakneck speed. Blaize was forced to block the attacks with his sword while looking for an opportunity to strike back.
Suddenly, with a powerful thrust, he lunged at Durd and punched the sharp edge of the sword with his entire strength.
'Boom!'
Durd blocked the attack by skillfully deflecting it with his sword. At the same time, Blaize threw a punch at the latter. Burd blocked it by raising his left arm, the ground below him cracked and the impact swirled the wind around them showing how powerful Blaize's punch was.
Durd was horrified. He couldn't believe his eyes. 'How can he be so powerful? It's only been 4 months, he can already fight me evenly?'
Blaize's strength only intensified his killing intent and a thought came to his mind. 'I have to kill him otherwise my heart won't be at peace!'
'Clang...Clang...Clang!'
Durd and Blaize exchanged few blows, while Durd left two sword wounds in his body. Just as they continued their fight, Blaize sneakily drew a throwing knife stashed in his back—prepared specifically for Durd.
Using the chance Blaize was distracted, Durd knocked the sword from his hand with a fast swing. Blaize didn't panic about losing a weapon, he quickly evaded Durd's sword strike by whirling left.
At the same time, using the whirling body movement he hurled the throwing knife from Durd's blindspot.
Since Durd didn't see the knife, he couldn't evade it from piercing his spleen. The knife injury didn't even make him flinch, this kind of small wound is nothing to him.
But what he didn't know is, Blaize already coated the knife with poison. This kind of underhand method may seem despicable but in this cruel world remaining alive is important.
For that, a man can do whatever it takes.
'Ting!'
Pulling the knife out, Durd flung it away casually. "Do you think this type of small knife wound will affect me?"
"No!" Blaize said.
Hearing his answer, Durd's expression changed. "You poisoned the knife? Shameless! I didn't expect you to be a sly one."
"Hehe. To deal with a wicked and rotten person such as you, any kind of means is a noble one." Blaize commented with a smile. He didn't wait for the poison to take effect and launched an attack.
Few minutes passed but Durd still fought with his full strength. Obviously, the poison hasn't affected his entire body yet. From this one can imagine his immense physical strength and vigor.
As minutes passed by, Durd began to exhibit signs of influence done by the poison; his speed reduced, his sword swings slowed down.
Using the opportunity, Blaize sliced Durd's stomach with his dagger and forced him to take a few steps back. Spitting blood in his mouth, Durd took the initiative to attack Blaize again.
'What a monstrous physique! If even such a low-level pirate with a bounty of 28 million is this troublesome what about the pirates with Billion bounties.'
Eventually, Durd lost his strength, and the sword he clutched in his hands loosened. Blaize didn't expect him to possess such endurance and willpower.
Even after reaching such a weak state, he didn't fall but still persisted. It's really commendable. It's not limited to him, most in the one-piece world possess such will.
Lifting his sword high in the sky, he directly chopped Durd's head off his neck and kicked his flaccid headless body to the ground.
As soon as he killed Durd, a heaviness in his mind faded. Blaize let out a sigh, looking at the star-filled sky. 'As I promised, I avenged your parent's death.'
Even so, he felt a little uncomfortable killing Barb and Durd as this is his first time taking a life. Taking a deep breath, he firmed his heart.
He recalled the things Durd and Barb did during the six months the previous owner stayed in their ship. Thinking through it, the uncomfortable feeling disappeared.
"Killing them is me being merciful!"
At that moment, a notification sounded in his heart. With a thought, the system interface appeared before him.
[ ~Trial Task: Revenge is a dish best served cold
Description: Defeat Redscarf pirates and Kill Durd and Barb.
Time Limit: 20 days
Reward: 1 Free attribute point
Staus: Completed
Accept the reward: Yes/No ~]
Blaize was excited as he screamed in his mind. "Yes...Yes...Yes!" As soon as he thought 'Yes', there was a change in the interface.
[~ Name: Blaize Hunt
Constitution: 4.8 [Strength: 4.8, Speed: 4.7]
Devil Fruit: None
Haki: None
Items in storage: Sun Sun Fruit
Tasks: Currently none
Free attribute point: 1 ~]
Tapping his chin, Blaize pondered, "How to use the free attribute point?"
"Let's first improve the constitution to 5." With a thought, his constitution rose by 0.2 while his free attribute point reduced to '0.8'.
It was just an increase in 0.2 but he felt his entire physique is undergoing a massive transformation. Blaize knew it's due to him passing the '5' bar limit.
Clenching his fist, Blaize felt a raw power in his hands. He once again checked the interface and as he expected, there was a change in his Constitution attribute.
Constitution: 5.0 [Strength: 5.1, Speed: 5.0]
What excited him is, now he can eat his devil fruit.