Chapter 18: The Raid on the Fill Kingdom

“Knock, knock, knock!”

Karl sat inside the cabin, deep in thought, when he heard someone knocking at the door.

“Come in!”

“Lord Karl.”

“We’ve arrived at the Fill Kingdom.”

Krell opened the door, excitement shining in his eyes as he spoke to Karl.

“Oh? We’re here already?”

“Let’s get moving then.”

Karl headed for the deck.

Krell followed closely on his heels.

Just moments ago, Karl had been communicating with the System, trying to find out if joining the Rocks Pirates had impacted the One Piece World’s timeline.

But the System told him that with so much time still before the main plot began, his joining the Rocks Pirates caused barely a ripple—maybe even something the world itself would automatically correct.

So all in all, the timeline hadn’t changed much at all.

Karl realized that if he truly wanted to shake up history, he’d need to get involved in some of the world’s pivotal events.

After all, even the legendary God Valley incident had all but vanished from memory. Compared to that, his joining the Rocks Pirates barely mattered.

He didn’t let it get to him though. Karl knew if he took part in more major events, even small ripples would add up. Eventually, he’d make a real mark on history.

“Alright, boys, we’re heading straight for the Fill Kingdom capital!”

A sly smile tugged at Karl’s lips as he stood at the ship’s prow, barking orders to his pirates.

“Fire the cannons!”

The gunners quickly aimed the cannons and unleashed a barrage toward the Fill Kingdom’s harbor.

“Charge! For the gold!”

The rest of the pirates leapt ashore, slashing their way toward the heart of the Fill Kingdom.

“This is bad! Pirates! Notify the Royal Guard!”

As soon as the cannons roared, the guards on shore realized these pirates were here to attack. Usually, other pirate ships just came to resupply, so they hadn’t bothered alerting the Royal Guard right away. This time, they’d made a fatal mistake.

“Come at me if you dare!”

“Hahaha!”

“All of this is mine!”

By now, it was already too late—the pirates had swarmed the port, embarking on a spree of burning, looting, and slaughter.

The sounds of cannon fire and battle filled the air, blood turning the sea red.

Karl strolled leisurely toward the center of the Fill Kingdom. Since he was already making a scene, his plan was simple: take out the strongest enemy, then leave the chaos to his crew. After all, he still clung to some sense of morality. He had no desire to hurt innocent people.

Slaughter hadn’t been Karl’s intention for coming to the Fill Kingdom, but now that he was a pirate, this was a road he had to walk.

“Fire!”

“Raise your rifles!”

Hundreds of armed guards appeared in the distance, rifles raised, with even more Royal Guards rushing over from afar.

The Royal Guard had finally arrived.

“Ready!”

“Bang, bang, bang!”

Suddenly, a storm of gunfire erupted on the battlefield.

“Fish-Man Karate—Shoulder Throw!”

Krell stood at the port, unleashing Fish-Man Karate and hurling waves of seawater at the guards. In an instant, a hundred guards were sent flying.

“Excellent work, Lord Krell!”

“Follow Lord Krell! Charge!”

The pirates cackled madly, fighting their way toward the guards without fear.

In just moments, the fallen guards had been wiped out.

“Damn pirates, how dare you invade our Fill Kingdom!”

A voice called out from Karl’s right.

Karl turned to see a burly middle-aged man in golden armor sprinting toward them.

“I’m General Klein!”

“Pirates, your doom is here!”

“Wave Slash!”

Seeing the carnage, General Klein immediately drew his sword and swung at Karl.

A blue wave of sword energy burst forth out of nowhere.

“A swordmaster? How interesting.”

Karl hadn’t expected the Fill Kingdom to have a swordmaster.

“Overlord Fist!”

Karl coated his right hand with Armament Haki. By now, he could already cover his entire arm, proof of how quickly he was mastering Haki.

He met Klein’s sword energy with a punch. Fist clashed with blade, unleashing a powerful shockwave that shattered nearby buildings.

The pirates hurriedly gave the two space, not wanting to be caught up in the aftermath.

Klein watched in shock as Karl shattered his attack, but his face betrayed nothing.

He instantly realized Karl was no ordinary opponent and centered himself, ready to fight with everything he had.

General Klein brandished his blade, displaying a dazzling sword style.

Wave after wave of sword energy crashed toward Karl from every direction.

Karl didn’t flinch—his Armament Haki turned his arms rock-solid.

He dodged and weaved, using his Haki-covered right arm to block Klein’s attacks while closing the distance. Sword and fist collided again and again.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

Dozens of rapid exchanges followed. The longer they traded blows, the more Karl’s powerful physique proved its worth.

General Klein slowly began to fall behind.

“Warm-up’s over.”

Now the real fight began.

Karl’s whole aura changed—light radiated from his body, muscles tensed, and danger seemed to roll off him in waves.

He vanished in a flash of speed, almost impossible for the naked eye to track. In the blink of an eye, his powerful physique carried him to Klein’s side, and his fist swept out with unstoppable force.

Klein’s eyes went wide in disbelief. Had Karl just been playing with him until now?

Instinct took over. He raised his sword to block, but in the next instant, the blade shattered into pieces and he was sent hurtling through the air, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

He couldn’t withstand Karl’s punch at all. Klein felt his life slipping away and knew he didn’t have much time left.

“Enough of this farce.”

Karl didn’t spare Klein another glance, heading straight for the royal palace.

He knew the general wouldn’t survive much longer—his life was fading fast.

From what Karl could sense, Klein had been the strongest life force on the island.

“W-what’s your name?”

General Klein clutched his chest, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. His voice trembled. He couldn’t believe this was just a trivial skirmish to Karl.

He knew the end was near, but he was bitter he couldn’t protect his kingdom.

“When you reach the afterlife, let them know it was Karl who sent you.”

Karl kept walking, tossing back a casual reply.

He respected loyal warriors like Klein, but that didn’t mean he’d go easy.

Fighting with all his strength was its own kind of respect.

“Karl… I really tried… for the Fill Kingdom…”

General Klein slumped to the ground, his breath fading away.

“Lord Karl, some of the people rescued from the slave pens want to join us.”

“Most of them were from the auction house.”

Just as Karl was sauntering toward the palace after the fight, Krell trotted over to his side.

“Oh, there’s even an auction house on this island?”

Karl was surprised. The island’s population was so small—could the king himself be running a secret slave trade?

“All these people were slaves freed from the Fill Kingdom auction house. Most of them want to join us.”

Krell led a group of skinny, desperate people over to Karl.

They gazed at Karl hopefully. Krell wanted to take them in; after all, he’d once been sold as a slave himself, so he felt some sympathy for them.

“If you follow me, your lives will no longer be your own.”

Karl didn’t mind. Looking at the hungry faces before him, he knew none of them had chosen this life. Still, he couldn’t change things for them now.

“Thank you for saving us, my lord. We’ll give you everything we’ve got from now on!”

One by one, the group bowed deeply to Karl.

They understood the truth. If they tried to run, they’d just get caught and sold as slaves again. They had no better option. If they joined the pirates, at least they’d never have to face that kind of darkness again.