Chapter 11: The Attack of the Sea Kings
Charlotte stood at the bow of the ship, staring at the massive Sea Kings, each over a hundred meters in length.
"How did so many Sea Kings get attracted here?" he muttered, disbelief evident in his voice.
"Boss! The Sea Kings are attacking us!"
Terrified cries from the stern jolted him back to reality.
Charlotte frowned and dashed toward the back of the ship, where he saw a gigantic tail swinging down toward the vessel.
Without hesitation, Charlotte charged forward, putting all his strength into a punch.
Boom!
The impact created a gaping hole in the Sea King's tail, eliciting a pained roar from the massive creature.
"Bwoooaaah!"
The beast, its head alone the size of a small building, thrashed in agony, its cries triggering a chain reaction among the other Sea Kings.
Within moments, seven or eight Sea Kings launched a coordinated attack on Charlotte's ship.
Through his Observation Haki, Charlotte could feel their overwhelming rage.
"Damn it! Why can't these things just stay in the depths where they belong?"
He couldn't believe that a mere pile of corpses had lured such a massive group of Sea Kings.
Seeing the coordinated assault, Charlotte's expression darkened.
"Hold on to something! Don't let go!" he shouted, his voice carrying over the chaos.
Then, without another word, he dove into the sea, charging toward the Sea Kings.
Using his makeshift Geppo, Charlotte skimmed across the water, landing on the head of a seventy-meter-long Sea King.
Drawing his sword, he slashed downward, sending a ten-meter-long flying slash slicing through the beast's body.
"Roar! ROOOAR!"
The Sea King let out a bloodcurdling scream as the slash cleaved through its body, from head to tail, leaving a deep gash. Blood spilled into the ocean, staining the waters red.
As the wounded beast thrashed in pain, its massive body churned the waves, creating chaos.
Through his Observation Haki, Charlotte sensed another threat—someone had fallen overboard.
Cursing under his breath, Charlotte quickly finished off the injured Sea King with another flying slash before dashing toward the struggling crew member.
"Help! Glub glub… Help!"
The sailor was being tossed about by the waves, his desperate cries barely audible over the roaring sea.
Charlotte leaped to his side, grabbing him and hurling him back onto the ship.
"Hold on tight and don't let go! I'll handle the rest!" he commanded.
The crew clung to the ship's railings, their faces pale with fear.
Meanwhile, the remaining Sea Kings had closed in on the pirate ship.
"This ship is mine! Don't you dare destroy it!" Charlotte growled.
The vessel was in good condition and could be a valuable asset once refurbished. He wouldn't let it be ruined.
He jumped onto the nearest Sea King, driving his sword deep into its skull. Sword energy exploded within the creature's brain, shredding it from the inside.
The beast's enormous body went limp and sank into the water.
Charlotte wasted no time, moving on to the next target.
Seeing two of their own fall so quickly, the other Sea Kings turned their focus to Charlotte.
The beasts abandoned their attack on the ship, instead surrounding the lone swordsman.
Standing atop a Sea King's corpse, Charlotte gripped his bloodied sword tightly, his eyes scanning the remaining creatures.
The standoff didn't last long. A colossal squid, clearly the leader of the group, lashed out with its tentacles.
Charlotte dodged nimbly, unwilling to face the full force of the hundred-meter-long squid head-on.
As the squid moved, the other Sea Kings joined in the assault.
Charlotte, however, used their large sizes against them, darting between them and causing their attacks to collide.
Within moments, two more Sea Kings fell to his flying slashes.
"ROOAR!"
The surviving Sea Kings let out enraged cries, though some began to show signs of fear. Smaller ones dove beneath the waves, disappearing from Charlotte's Observation Haki.
Now only three remained, including the giant squid.
The chaotic sea suddenly grew eerily calm.
The three Sea Kings circled Charlotte warily, while the ships carrying his crew had been pushed far from the battlefield by the waves.
The sailors watched through telescopes, holding their breath as they observed Charlotte's battle.
Charlotte licked his lips nervously, sensing the tension in the air.
Suddenly, a vision flashed in his mind—a warning from his Observation Haki.
Without hesitation, Charlotte leaped into the air just as the squid released a massive cloud of ink.
The inky black substance spread across a hundred meters of ocean, staining the water where Charlotte had just been standing.
From his vantage point in the air, Charlotte's eyes widened.
The ink wasn't just dark—it was corrosive.
"What kind of Sea King is this? Even its ink is dangerous!"
The corpse of a nearby Sea King, caught in the ink cloud, began to dissolve, shrinking visibly.
"Good thing I saw that coming. I could've died today!"
Charlotte wiped the sweat from his brow, anger flaring in his chest.
His eyes locked onto the squid. Raising his sword, he unleashed a massive flying slash.
The squid couldn't dodge in time, raising a tentacle to shield itself.
Slash!
The tentacle was severed, eliciting a piercing screech from the beast.
Ink spurted from the wound, spreading further across the water and forcing the other Sea Kings to retreat in panic.
Seizing the opportunity, Charlotte launched himself forward, his sword aimed at the squid's body.
With a powerful swing, he cleaved the massive creature in half, its body sinking into the blood-stained sea.
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