Chapter 273 – The Deal
"The last time Esdeath made a move, she froze the entire sea; and this time, in just the blink of an eye, she created such a massive iceberg. Every time I witness her power, I can't help but feel fear."
The masked Kisame spoke with a tone of admiration.
Though he didn't voice the thought in his heart: 'I really want to fight her myself.'
"Hororororo, that was just a casual strike of hers." Perona, puffed up with pride, tilted her head and asked curiously, "But doesn't wearing that mask feel suffocating?"
"It doesn't, and besides, this is the captain's order." Kisame had already guessed why Eric wanted him to wear the mask. 'And this task truly does suit me perfectly…'
Behind the mask, his lips curled into a faint grin.
[Kisame's Affection Increased, Bond Level Unchanged]
Boom, boom!
A series of explosions rang out as several more figures landed within Germa's territory.
Akame, Kurome, and the modified Weevil descended right behind Judge, cutting off his path of retreat.
Reiju cautiously shifted her position, moving step by step toward Judge's side.
Esdeath asked curiously, "These three children… they don't feel fear? What's going on?"
"You'll have to ask him." Eric lifted his chin toward Judge. "In order to create 'superhumans,' he personally erased their feelings of pity and sorrow."
Judge's eyes widened. "How do you know so much?!"
"That's practically not even human anymore…" Esdeath arched a brow. "No wonder they dared to make a move against me."
Click—Akame suddenly tightened her grip on her sword hilt, eyes hidden in the shadows, locked firmly onto Judge.
"Protect His Majesty the King!" At that moment, Germa soldiers began to assemble in massive numbers, rushing toward them in a swarm.
"Why do all these soldiers look like the same person?" Esdeath frowned as she observed the charging troops. "It's such a strange feeling… This is the first time I've felt something so unnatural in the middle of battle."
"You're right to feel it's unnatural," Eric explained. "They're clone soldiers—products of Germa's science. They don't fear death, and they'll never betray their king!"
"I see… So that's the source of this unease."
"Weevil, go. Stop them!" Kurome commanded.
The modified Weevil, now nearly seven meters tall, launched himself forward like a living cannonball.
Slash—!
Even the strongest, heaviest Germa soldiers couldn't withstand his strike. His massive polearm swept horizontally, slicing a dozen soldiers clean in half. Their upper bodies spun through the air, spraying blood in crimson arcs. Torn intestines and organs splattered across the ground, while the lower halves, still running forward by sheer inertia, staggered two more steps before collapsing with a sickening thud.
Judge's eyes widened in shock as he watched his proud army crumble under Weevil's rampage.
Yet the Germa soldiers were unfazed by the carnage. Without hesitation, they pressed the attack. Their beam rifles couldn't pierce Weevil's exoskeleton, and their hardened lead bullets shattered into dust upon impact.
None of them could even get close. Every weapon they carried only became tools for their own death. Weevil's polearm, forged of seastone, was like a meat grinder—every sweep of its blade harvesting lives mercilessly.
Perhaps within him, some of Weevil's original bloodthirsty instincts still remained. The crimson glow in his helmet's right eye grew brighter, while his internal CPU rapidly calculated the most efficient ways to kill.
"Your three sons—if you don't hurry and save them, they'll suffocate inside." Eric reminded him, as the three 'punk-styled' boys trapped inside the iceberg were already turning blue in the face.
Judge tore his gaze away from Weevil, gritting his teeth. "What do you want from me?!"
"Why don't you have your soldiers stop first, and we can talk?" Eric shrugged, extending his Haki perception. "As of now, one-third of Germa's troops are gone already. Surely you don't want to see the rest buried here, do you? Besides… no matter how many ants gather, they can't kill an elephant."
"…!" Judge clenched his jaw tight and growled, "All Germa soldiers, obey my command—stop attacking!"
The clone soldiers, mid-suicidal charge, froze in place. Under Kurome's control, Weevil also stepped back.
His towering frame loomed like a wall between Judge and his troops, polearm crossed before him. Pieces of human remains still clung to the back of his blade.
"Electro-Heat!" Eric partially melted the iceberg, pulling free the three punk-haired youths trapped inside.
Cough, cough, cough! Though they had nearly suffocated, they recovered quickly, coughing lightly before regaining their vigor. They even tried to counterattack, but Eric stomped each of them down one by one beneath his feet.
"Ichiji, Niji, Yonji…" Reiju whispered her brothers' names, unable to conceal the worry in her eyes.
Eric glanced at the young woman. 'She still hasn't gone out to fight—she keeps her hands "clean" of bloodshed.'
'It hasn't been easy for her… Living for thirteen years under a cold-blooded father who treated her as a weapon, and with three "inhuman" brothers, all while clinging to her own kindness.'
"Yonko Eric," Judge finally spoke, breaking Eric's train of thought. "You've left the New World and come all the way to the South Blue just to find me. What do you want?"
"I go wherever I please—no one can stop me!" Eric snapped, glaring viciously. He felt no goodwill toward this selfish, power-hungry man.
"…" Judge swallowed back his retort, grinding his teeth in silent fury.
"Now that's more like it, Eric." Esdeath clapped her hands, eyes alight. "That's the kind of man I approve of—one who tramples every enemy that stands in his way!"
"…"
"I heard you once worked with Vegapunk, and that you possess data on the Lineage Factor. I want it—"
"Impossible!" Judge cut him off with a roar.
"That is Germa's core secret! There's no way I'd ever hand it over!"
"What's the problem? The Lineage Factor was Vegapunk's discovery anyway—you only benefitted from it."
"…!"
"I'm only asking for a copy, not the original. You can still use it to build—" Eric jerked his chin toward the clone soldiers. "—an 'invincible' army. Besides, Germa once dominated the North Blue for 66 days even without clone soldiers."
"I said no! I'll never hand the Lineage Factor to you!"
"Then that's fine too. I can just wipe out everyone in Germa and take it from here myself."
"…!" Judge's eyes bulged in fury, his teeth clenched so hard that blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
"I can already sense it. The place where you produce the clones… it's right there." Eric pointed toward the underground factory.
"!"
"I'm not asking for it for free. Let's make a deal."
Judge ground his teeth and asked word by word: "What deal?"
"A few years ago, Donquixote Doflamingo led his family and allied forces to drive Germa out of the North Blue, didn't he?"
"So what if he did?"
"Don't you want revenge? I can help you eliminate the Donquixote Family. In return, you'll seize their remaining forces and assets in the North Blue, setting the stage for your kingdom to rise again. Well? Not a bad offer, right?"
(END CHAPTER)
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