"You scumbags, your boss Sig has been captured! Put down your weapons and surrender, all of you!"
Colonel Calvin shouted angrily, his voice trembling slightly, carrying an undertone of forced bravado.
His voice was loud, echoing through the forested mountains, clear enough for everyone to hear.
The bandits engaged in the skirmish turned to look back, but their reaction wasn't the panic Colonel Calvin had anticipated. Instead, a trace of mockery appeared on their faces.
"Is the Navy out of their minds?"
"They dare to lay a hand on Boss Sig?"
"Haha, they must really not know their limits. Boss Sig hasn't even made a move yet; he's just testing us, and now they're provoking him directly?"
"Ridiculous! This time, Boss Sig will definitely take action, won't he?"
The bandits with troll-like faces continued their battle while chatting among themselves, their tone carrying not a shred of worry.
This wasn't an act—they genuinely thought this way.
"Damn it, I should have known things wouldn't be so simple. I got careless!"
Colonel Calvin suddenly felt his heart pound with unease.
No wonder he and his subordinates had managed to subdue Sig so easily in secret!
It turned out this was all part of Sig's trap! He had used himself as bait to lure the Navy into making a move!
"This cunning mountain bandit Sig—he actually has this much foresight. Not only does he employ strange tactics, but he also dares to use his own life as bait. Is this confidence in his own abilities?"
"Earlier, seeing him standing still at the rear of the battlefield, I thought he was just a fool who freezes on the battlefield! Turns out it was all an act!"
"Brave and cunning—no wonder he dares to call himself a king among bandits!"
Colonel Calvin's heart raced wildly, his palms breaking out into a cold sweat, making it harder to hold his knife steady.
"Sig, behave yourself! You've been captured—stand still! If you resist, you'll lose your life!"
Colonel Calvin shouted again.
But unknowingly, his breathing grew heavier.
Hearing Colonel Calvin's threat, Sig, who was surrounded by the Navy, finally reacted.
Maintaining his original posture, he stood motionless, like a statue. With his back to Colonel Calvin, his lips moved slightly.
"Resist? Don't kid yourself."
The deep voice carried no emotional fluctuation, no trace of warmth.
Sig glanced backward, locking eyes with Colonel Calvin, who stood behind him with the knife.
"Don't overestimate my courage!"
Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
At that moment, Sig's heartbeat suddenly grew louder, like the heavy pounding of a hammer striking everyone's chest.
In that instant, Colonel Calvin's breath subconsciously halted, his scalp tingling as he broke out in a cold sweat.
Even though he held a knife to Sig's neck, he felt absolutely no sense of safety!
In his eyes, Sig's unmoving figure stood like an immovable mountain, towering before him!
At this moment, Colonel Calvin was drenched in sweat, his palms slippery as the knife pressed against Sig's neck slipped from his grasp.
Clang.
Colonel Calvin's eyes widened as he yelled:
"He's some kind of ability user—he disarmed me!"
"Sig is resisting! Attack him, now!"
As he gave orders to the nearby Navy soldiers, Colonel Calvin quickly retreated backward.
He couldn't stay near this dangerous man for another second.
But this time, no one executed Colonel Calvin's orders. The Navy soldiers surrounding Sig neither fired their guns nor swung their swords.
Clang. Clang.
The weapons in the hands of those Navy soldiers one after another slipped to the ground, and their bodies froze in place.
The overwhelming and terrifying pressure, surging like a tide, left them completely without the courage to make a move.
"Damn it! What kind of ability user are you...?"
A Navy soldier, standing a bit farther away, nervously raised his rifle, but the barrel was trembling uncontrollably.
Bang! A gunshot rang out.
At such a close distance—just three or four meters—he still missed his target.
Sig turned his head, gazing thoughtfully at the Navy soldiers surrounding him.
Suddenly, he recalled a similar scene he had experienced before.
Back when he had just left Windmill Village, he encountered a group of mountain bandits who challenged him... At that time, the bandits couldn't bear the immense pressure of the King's Engine.
Forget about making a move—those bandits directly dropped to their knees.
Thinking about this, he narrowed his eyes and took a probing step toward the rifle-wielding Navy soldier.
The Navy soldier swallowed hard, his face filled with extreme nervousness.
One step.
The soldier's grip loosened, and his rifle fell to the ground. His expression turned to sheer terror as he fled in panic, shouting:
"He's a Devil Fruit user!"
In just a brief moment, the seven or eight Navy soldiers who had surrounded him, including Colonel Calvin, had all retreated.
And all Sig had done was take two steps forward.
Standing in place, Sig was momentarily stunned. It was as if the doors to a new world had been opened for him.
"The King's Engine really can exert an effect similar to Conqueror's Haki's intimidation... though its range is a bit smaller."
"So that's why the rifle-wielding soldier, standing farther away earlier, didn't immediately flee?"
Sig pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the rapid yet powerful beating of his heart.
The essence of the King's Engine was the sound of his heartbeat. No matter how loud it became, it wasn't an actual subwoofer, so its range of influence was naturally limited.
"So, in conclusion, I don't need to fear these ordinary soldiers at all?"
"With the King's Engine, as long as I chicken out fast enough, their blades can't even touch me!"
"This time, I've got this in the bag!"
A surge of boundless confidence filled Sig's heart.
Say what you will—when it came to his own cowardice, he had complete faith in himself!
Useless at fighting, undefeated at running!
This was the foundation of the confidence and swagger of the King of Mountain Bandits in the East Blue!
"Just a measly three or four times their numbers, and they dare to challenge me, the King of Bandits? Even if I don't lift a finger, you lot can't withstand the overwhelming aura of a powerhouse like me!"
With a cold snort, Sig clasped his hands behind his back, leisurely strolling through the battlefield with an air of utter calm and ease.
For the first time, he took the initiative to walk toward the frontlines, where the two sides were engaged in fierce combat.
On a distant mountaintop, Ivankov watched the scene from afar, his gaze blank with disbelief.
Sig's pace was unhurried, as if he were merely taking a casual stroll through the battlefield. Yet every time he neared the skirmish line, the allied soldiers' expressions would change dramatically, as though bearing an unbearable weight, before ultimately fleeing in panic.
From Ivankov's vantage point, Sig resembled a shark charging into a school of fish. Wherever he went, the fish scattered.
"What is Sig-boy playing at? Since he's already using something akin to Conqueror's Haki, why not go all the way and directly knock all his enemies unconscious?"
"Is this some kind of cat-and-mouse game? Just how much bad blood does he have with these Navy folks?"
Ivankov's large face twisted into an expression of utter bewilderment.
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16 power stones left to reach 60 which means 2 extra chapters
let's do it together guys