Chapter 82: Players' Reputation is Harmed
Although the sandstorm had stopped under Crocodile's control, he was not a Wind-Wind Fruit user after all. The wind in the area that was originally covered by the sandstorm still did not stop, but the seemingly soft and light sand on the ground was as if it was being suppressed by a pair of invisible hands, showing no sign of being blown away by the wind.
Violet walked at the head of the group, her delicate parasol folded away, leaving only a straw hat with its brim fluttering rapidly in the wind on her head. Her black hair, for the sake of convenience in battle, had been styled into a basic braid, hanging down her back and swaying gently, allowing those following behind her to glimpse her translucent, fin-like ears from time to time.
Is it a hybrid of fish-man and human?
Crocodile, walking behind, took advantage of his height and long legs, and his gaze swept over Law and Sabo, the two brats who offered no cover whatsoever, and brazenly looked at Violet.
Not only do their appearances differ from the photos on the wanted posters, but even their abilities...
Crocodile frowned gravely as he recalled the thick layer of ice that had formed almost instantly around him, which drew out the hideous scar across his face.
Interesting. No wonder he's a little madman who dares to take action against the World Government.
Violet, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped. Crocodile slowly withdrew his gaze, showing no panic at the possibility of being discovered.
Violet pulled a [super telescope] from her pocket and held it up to her eyes. The diamond-encrusted gold eyeballs nimbly swung around and located a suspicious patch of sand spikes in the distance.
Violet said softly, "I've found you."
Icarum directed the members of the Kingdom Guard to place the prepared boxes on the sand. Peru stepped forward, half-squatted in front of the largest box, and slowly opened the lid with both hands.
Bang!
Perug pressed the box shut with both hands, looked up at the crowd, and his expression showed three parts doubt, three parts fear, three parts disbelief, and one part collapse.
Icarum looked at Peru: "...The things inside are missing?"
He couldn't imagine what else Peru would have such a complex expression about.
Peru looked at Icarus with a complicated expression: "No, it's... never mind."
He reopened the box, and a girl with blue hair, covering her bright red forehead, jumped out of it.
"Ouch, Peru, you've killed me!"
Icarum gasped, "Princess Vivi? Why are you in the box?!"
The girl standing next to the box, rubbing her forehead, is Nefit D. Vivi, the only daughter of the current King of Alabasta, Cobra, and the future Queen of Alabasta.
Icarum's hands were trembling.
If they hadn't checked the items prepared as offerings to the desert antlion beforehand, Princess Vivi might have been thrown to the desert antlion along with the box.
From the perspective of national continuity, the safety of the crown prince is, in some ways, even more important than that of the current king.
Many kings personally led their armies into battle after selecting an heir, but few crown princes risked their lives for their successors.
Icarum's expression was serious: "Peru, send Princess Vivi away from here now."
"yes."
“No.” Vivi shook her head vigorously, trying to persuade the two with the reasons she had already prepared. “I’ve already heard from Dad that the desert ant lion is a creature with a history as long as Alabasta, and it has already injured more than a dozen people.”
“I am the future queen, am I? No one can guarantee that it won’t rebel again during my reign.” Vivi was dressed in a set of clothes that allowed for easy movement, with a dagger strapped to her waist. “My father can’t come to such a dangerous place, but at least I want to see with my own eyes what kind of creature is harming the people of Alabasta.”
This is her responsibility and her duty.
The Royal Guard, Baroque Works, and even the new guests are all fighting for the safety of Alabasta. How can she, as the princess, sit in the safe palace and enjoy the benefits without contributing anything?
This wasn't a child's whim, nor was it a princess's capriciousness; Vivi wanted to stand with the warriors who were fighting for Alabasta's future.
Weiwei: "I, I can protect myself, I promise I won't cause any trouble for anyone."
Please let me stay here.
Peru frowned: "No, Princess, there's no room for discussion. I'll take you away from here right now."
Icarum raised his hand to stop Peru from forcibly taking Vivi away. He looked at Vivi, whose expression was firm, and his gaze swept over the dagger at Vivi's waist.
Ikaram asked seriously, "Are you sure you can protect yourself?"
Sensing the softening in his tone, Weiwei's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously: "I can do it. Although I may not be able to help everyone, I am very confident in my ability to escape and bandage."
"Then you can stay here."
Peru looked at Icarus in disbelief: "Captain?!"
Ikaram: "Princess Vivi is the future queen of Alabasta."
If Vivi were just an ordinary princess, she could naturally live a happy life under Cobra's protection and the royal guards' wings, without experiencing any pain or danger.
But Vivi is the future queen of Alabasta.
Peru gritted his teeth in resentment, but rationally he knew that Icarum's decision was right. The image of the little girl who used to cling to his leg and beg him to carry her high and fly high, and Princess Vivi with a dagger at her waist and a resolute expression, flashed through his mind, making Peru feel extremely conflicted.
Forget it! Peru turned to look at the grayish-white sand spikes. As long as they dealt with the desert ant lions, Princess Vivi waiting behind them would be safe.
Crocodile, who was already getting impatient but couldn't urge them due to his character, asked, "Can we make our move now?"
Peru turned her worries into fighting spirit, transformed into a falcon, and flew to the sand dunes with each talon, opening the treasure chests in mid-air and dumping all the jewel toys inside.
The gemstone toy rolled to the ground, leaving behind winding tracks in the sand like those of a small snake. Two sharp, crimson mouthparts pierced the sand, revealing dry, frizzy, fluffy hair, a shrimp-like pointed head, and an insect-like segmented abdomen.
The desert antlion waved its stacked mandibles twice in the air, then grabbed a gem-carved colorful ball from the ground with its forelegs on its chest and abdomen, examined it for a few seconds, and then stuffed it into its mouth.
[The universal pointer is worn out]
To be honest, in Violet's opinion, this desert antlion with its rich backstory looks a bit... silly?
Whether it's because of its overly large white eyes or the two black tufts of hair on its head, it doesn't look very intelligent.
Under everyone's gaze, the desert antlion chewed twice, then spat the gem-like ball aside with a "poof," its black ahoge twitching rapidly.
The three-legged foreleg scratched at the overly fluffy, dry yellow hair, then forcefully pierced the ground!
Bang!
The familiar tremors returned, and this time they finally saw how those strange, collapsed pits had been formed.
Desert antlions cause the sand to vibrate by piercing the ground with their forelegs, expelling air from between the sand grains, compressing the sand below, and causing the ground above to naturally collapse downwards.
Grayish-white sand spikes rose up around everyone. Peru, flying in the air, watched as everyone narrowly avoided the spikes. He breathed a sigh of relief and was also glad that Princess Vivi was hiding behind and was not targeted by the desert ant lion.
The crowd scattered to avoid the sand spikes, and just then, sandcastles rose up one after another, forming a circle that trapped them inside. The shadows cast by the tall sandcastle walls almost covered half of the sand, and after the first barrier was formed, new sandcastles quickly emerged from the sand near the inner edge.
At this rate, it would only take about ten minutes for them to be squeezed out of any space to maneuver or dodge the sand spikes.
Daz Bonis raised his hand and swung his fist at the sandcastle. Several sharp slashes tore through the air and struck the sandcastle, leaving deep, ferocious marks on it.
Gravel fell in a rustling sound from the severed areas, but the edges of those cuts were quickly restored to their original state with the replenishment of more sand.
Icarim: "It's no use. If we don't defeat the Desert Ant Lions first, these sandcastles can be replenished in the next second no matter how many we destroy."
Crocodile, who can manipulate sand, already expends more than half of his energy fighting sandstorms, so it's not worthwhile to waste the rest of his energy on sandcastles and sand spikes.
Crocodile: "Once we defeat it, we can get out."
What if they are the ones who get defeated?
Then there's no need to worry about whether we can get out or not.
Pirates who have lived on the edge of death are used to battles where life hangs in the balance, and Crocodile is even a little excited about this rare battle that allows him to use his full strength.
Crocodile: "Desert Blade!"
Crocodile's right arm transformed into a giant sand blade as it charged toward the Desert Antlion, sending sand and gravel flying everywhere. Sensing danger, the Desert Antlion let out a beastly roar and plunged its forelegs into the ground once more.
This time, the sandcastle appeared directly in front of it. The sand blade struck the sandcastle, instantly slicing it in half. The sand blade, still possessing residual force, struck the desert antlion's abdomen.
[Desert Antlion] hp-70
This attack was quite powerful; even with the most powerful weapon currently available, the tentacle spikes, Violet could only inflict 51 points of damage.
However, the Desert Ant Lion, the map boss found by the universal pointer, has a whopping 6000 HP.
Well, Crocodile only needs to attack it 86 more times to defeat it.
With a blank expression, Violet conjured an ice staff again. Magical power flowed through the sapphire, and a thick, hard layer of ice covered the entire ground, centered on Violet.
Crocodile, who was about to step forward to fight the desert ant lion one-on-one, almost slipped and fell.
"ah!"
"What?!"
My back!
The Kingdom Guards, who had never seen snow before and had zero experience walking on ice, comically danced a few seconds of street dance on the ice before collapsing helplessly into a heap.
Xiao Feng: "Human-Demon Fist Technique - Fallen Swan Ball!"
Xiao Feng spread his arms and spun wildly on the ice: "Haha, a perfect and gorgeous spin, a combination of power and elegance, this is my gorgeous dance... Wait, wait, stop!"
As the sandcastle rapidly enlarged in his field of vision, Xiao Feng screamed and desperately tried to brake, but unlike naturally formed ice, the ice surface created by the Frost Staff was so perfect that it had no flaws.
Xiao Feng: "Transvestite Leg Technique - Super Friction... It doesn't exist at all!!!"
Without slowing down at all, Xiao Feng crashed headfirst into the sandcastle, his head disappearing into the doorway. His limbs twitched for a moment before slumping down limply.
Everyone: ...
Vera: ...
[Von Clay HP-120]
[Bon Clay gains the status "Stun" (Countdown 29:59)]
[You defeated Bon Clay and received the reward: [She-girl Stockings]]
[She-girl stockings]
[Description: Indescribable loot, is this even worthy of mention? The system feels its own code is no longer clean. Wearing this grants a one-day gender-swap experience... You wouldn't wear it, would you?]
Luo slowly turned his head to look at Vera: "Island Lord..."
Having been "snatched" food from Luo's mouth countless times, Vera subconsciously stuffed the fluorescent pink leopard-print lace stockings in her hand into her pocket.
Luo: ...
Vera: ...
Vera: "I can argue, no, I can explain!" That damned system ruined her; she doesn't have a penchant for stealing other people's pants!
Vera extended her hand to the crowd, while behind her, Xiao Feng's legs, now bare of stockings, fluttered in the wind.
Everyone tacitly took a step back in the direction away from Violet.
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Author's Note: Don't reward everyone who gets defeated!!!
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