The deck of the White Iron King was as quiet as if time had stopped.
Everyone looked at Kong Tai with fear, not daring to breathe.
"This guy... how dare he? How dare he... how dare he kill their king so easily!"
On the warship, Kedo watched Walpol's headless corpse, his brows furrowed.
"Trouble."
He hadn't expected his first mission as a Rear Admiral to fail in such a way.
Kong Tai stared at Walpol's body, still bleeding in front of him, his eyes filled with disgust. He extended his left hand and pushed forward.
Bang—!
He quickly flicked the corpse away, and then his spatial domain instantly expanded.
With a screeching sound, the deck below was torn apart. The long planks of wood, like strands of noodles, flailed rapidly. Each noodle, like a rope, precisely wrapped around a person's neck and tightened.
Those within the spatial domain struggled violently, trying to cry out but unable to make a sound.
With a series of "squeals," everyone on the deck was decapitated.
This included the archer, Jess.
He lowered his head, looking at the twenty doctors in their white coats, and said nothing.
He withdrew his gaze, waved his right hand, flicked the blood off his blade, sheathed his sword, and vanished from his original spot.
Drip—!
Drip—!
Drip, drip...
Blood dripped incessantly from the shattered deck. The sounds echoed loudly in the silent ship, as if dripping into the hearts of the many doctors aboard, quickly pulling their senses back from the shock of Kong Tai's gaze.
The emotionless look Kong Tai had given them earlier had made them think they were surely going to die!
Now that they had recovered, looking at the purgatory-like scene around them, even though they were all doctors, accustomed to patients, and had seen death frequently in recent years, they couldn't help but feel a twinge in their hearts.
Thump—!
Just then, a head rolled from the shattered deck.
It drew everyone's attention.
When they saw the appearance of the head, they didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
In any case, it was quite complicated.
Although this man had been tyrannical and autocratic, he was, after all, the king of their Drum Kingdom, the object of their loyalty. His sudden death left them all feeling lost.
"What will happen to Drum Kingdom now?"
Just then, Kedo jumped onto the White Iron King. He was indifferent to the corpses around him. Seeing that Kong Tai had left, he sensed living people aboard the White Iron King and jumped over to check.
He wanted to see if his mission could still be salvaged.
"Hey! You are Walpol's personal doctors, the royal physicians of the kingdom, so you should know Drum Island best."
"Now that Walpol is dead, do you know if there's anyone on Drum Island who can inherit Walpol's throne?"
This was his objective. Since Walpol was dead, they would just find another king.
The World Government didn't care who was king of a small country anyway.
As long as the country paid its Celestial Gold on time each year.
Let alone changing kings, they could even change the country's name.
He only needed to bring a king of a member nation to Marie Geoise to attend the World Conference.
Hearing his voice, the doctors quickly looked up. Seeing that it was a Marine, they breathed a sigh of relief.
They thought for a moment, then a spark of inspiration lit up in all their eyes.
They then looked at each other and nodded.
At that moment, they all thought of the same person.
One of the doctors looked up at Kedo and said,
"If there is anyone on Drum Island who can shoulder the heavy responsibility of kingship at this time, there is... and only one."
"Who?"
"That would be the former captain of the Royal Guard, Dalton."
"Dalton?"
Kedo thought for a moment and realized he hadn't heard of this person. He looked down and said directly,
"Where is this Dalton?"
"Lord Dalton was imprisoned in the dungeon of the royal castle by Walpol a few years ago."
"Oh!"
Kedo nodded. "So he's a prisoner!"
"Huh!"
Kedo's movements paused, and he looked at the doctor, asking in confusion, "How can a prisoner be king!"
The doctors exchanged glances, then looked up at Kedo and said loudly with firm eyes, "Because only Dalton can lead Drum Kingdom again, and only he can be worthy of the throne, because he is the only one on the island right now whom the entire nation loves and accepts."
"Oh..."
Kedo nodded and asked no further questions.
Someone who is loved and accepted by the entire nation must be a good king.
"Then let's hurry! Let's rescue your king as soon as possible, and I can complete my mission sooner!"
Hearing this, the doctors quickly climbed up the stairs, ignoring the hellish scene around them, and followed Kedo ashore.
They were convinced that with Dalton leading the new Drum Kingdom, its former glory would be restored.
Looking at Drum Mountain in the distance, their eyes were filled with hope.
Kong Tai paid little attention to the movements of the Marines and the twenty doctors.
As for Dalton being put forward by the doctors to be king, he had anticipated this from the beginning.
So he was not surprised.
He just hadn't expected that with Kedo's urging, Dalton would become king so quickly.
In less than an hour, Kedo, in his eagerness to complete the mission, had rescued Dalton.
And the royal guards, upon hearing that their king Walpol was dead, not only did they not obstruct the Marines and doctors, but they eagerly acted as guides.
This also showed the vastly different standing of Walpol and Dalton in the hearts of the people.
Kong Tai went ashore and walked straight towards his companions.
As he passed Mihawk, he reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him along.
Mihawk was about the same height as him, so they walked together quite harmoniously.
"Mihawk, is it okay if I call you that!"
With his shoulder slung, Mihawk felt a moment of awkwardness, but he still walked forward with Kong Tai.
"Whatever you like."
He shrugged, looking indifferent.
"Well! Then I'll call you that from now on."
Gulp—!
Kong Tai pulled down his wine gourd, took a drink, and then said, "You're not forty yet, are you? I don't want to call you 'uncle,' so calling you by your name feels more intimate."
As he spoke, he exhaled a puff of wine breath, turned to look at Mihawk, withdrew his right hand, stopped, and turned to face Mihawk, extending his right hand.
"Mihawk, my name is Kong Tai, K-o-n-g, T-a-i, for space, we are friends now, right? Please guide me."
Mihawk's lips twitched, but he still extended his hand and shook Kong Tai's. "Kong Tai, please guide me."
"Hahahaha..."
Kong Tai burst into laughter, withdrew his right hand, and turned towards his companions, "Let's go, I'll introduce you to my companions. As for our spar, we can talk about it later!"
"Besides, if we want to fight with all our might, it's impossible to do it on this island!"
"Don't you think so?"
Mihawk glanced at the distant snow-capped mountains and nodded.
If they were to fight here, they could trigger an avalanche at any moment, and a massive one at that. It would be an unstoppable natural disaster for the creatures and residents of this island.
Although he was a pirate, and indeed a sword fanatic, he had not reached the point of disregarding the lives of countless civilians for the sake of a battle.
Besides, there was an uninhabited island not far from here.
It wouldn't be too late to take Kong Tai and the others there later for a spar.