Chapter 151: Only Without Light Does One Fear the Dark

"Enough?"

The Fish-man was stunned. The villagers present were dumbfounded. Including Nami and Nojiko, everyone fell dead silent in an instant.

The wind was still.

It rustled the hem of Tang Shen's clothes, leaving only the soft, rhythmic sound of his footsteps.

"Haha? Haha!! Hahahaha!!!"

Following the brief trance came roaring, unrestrained laughter!

All the Fish-men looked at Tang Shen as if watching a joke, while the villagers wore expressions of sheer astonishment. The Arlong Pirates had occupied Cocoyasi Village for quite a few years now. At least in all this time, not a single person had dared to speak to a Fish-man in such a manner.

Those who once dared were long dead.

"Stupid human, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Do you know who we are? Hahaha~~"

The lead Fish-man laughed heartily, a fierce and murderous light overflowing from his eyes.

"We are the Arlon—"

The Fish-man behind him pointed proudly and boastfully at his own chest with his thumb, but the words froze right on his lips.

The arrogant laughter of all the Fish-men stopped abruptly.

Splat—

A bloody gash appeared on the lead Fish-man's chest, and a jet of fresh blood spurted out.

His eyes widened to the extreme in absolute terror. He stared at the scene in utter disbelief as his pupils slowly dilated, before finally crashing heavily to the ground amid the shocked gazes of everyone present.

Blood was still dripping from the longsword.

Drip, drop.

The hand holding the longsword belonged to a young man—a stranger whose face bore a warm smile capable of melting ice, unchanging throughout.

No one had seen him move. It was simply too fast!

Even the dead Fish-man hadn't noticed a thing.

The remaining Fish-men felt as though their throats were being choked. Shock was instantly followed by overwhelming fury, their eyes turning bloodshot in a split second. Utterly ferocious auras erupted from their bodies like ravenous beasts ready to devour flesh.

"You... you bastard! What did you just do?!"

"Damn you! How dare you provoke the Arlong Pirates!!"

"Unforgivable!!"

...

Nami, Nojiko, and the villagers gazed in stunned silence at Tang Shen, the "murderer" who had just slain the Fish-man leader. In their eyes, this eighteen-year-old youth had suddenly become unfathomably mysterious.

His exceptionally handsome and striking face still wore a brilliant, innocent smile, his eyes slightly narrowed, looking entirely harmless.

Tang Shen raised his chin, smiling as he looked at the Fish-men, placing his left index finger against his lips and whispering, "Shh... Use your heart to feel this very last second."

"..."

The Fish-man froze.

Then, terror made his pupils violently contract. In his field of vision, Tang Shen had already vanished.

Slash!

A streak of blood flew into the air!

Slash! Slash!!

Fountains of blood gushed from the throats of the Fish-men. They frantically pressed their hands against their necks, too terrified to utter a sound, before finally collapsing to the ground with looks of bitter resentment.

The entire process took less than three seconds.

In the blink of an eye, Tang Shen flashed past, sheathed his longsword, and left the fallen Fish-men behind. For a pathetic thirty-odd experience points, Tang Shen could only shake his head helplessly.

Nami, "..."

Nojiko, "..."

Villagers, "..."

Absolute silence.

You could hear a pin drop!

Everyone stared blankly as Tang Shen gracefully wiped the blood off his longsword and then walked straight ahead into the distance.

"Wai... Wait! Captain Ro... Roger!!"

Recovering her senses, Nami's lovely face shifted in panic. She rushed forward and grabbed hold of Tang Shen tightly. "Where are you going?"

The surrounding villagers cried out in alarm.

"Oh god! What just happened?"

"The Fish-men... are the Fish-men all dead? These damned Fish-men?"

"No! Ar... Arlong... will definitely come for revenge! We're... we're dead!!"

"Nami! Nojiko! Run away quickly!! Leave this to us!!!"

...

Panic spread rapidly like a virus. Once they realized Tang Shen had stirred up a catastrophic disaster, terror far outweighed any sense of surprise—a deeply ingrained fear of Arlong.

Yet this time, the villagers were actually taking the initiative to let Nami and the others escape?

"Everyone?"

Nami and Nojiko stood frozen in place.

Nami had never been popular in Cocoyasi Village—at least, that was what she believed. After all, she was... one of Arlong's minions! Earning money stained with blood and plagued by a guilty conscience. But now...

Nami, we all knew... what you were doing for this village."

"One hundred million Berries! Nami... even if you gave that bastard Arlong that much, he would never let us go!!"

"All these years, we were afraid you'd worry, so we... Nami, Nojiko! Hurry up and run!"

...

The villagers showed a complete reversal of attitude, looking at Nami with trust and reluctance to part for the very first time. In truth, they had long understood that Nami was secretly saving money for the village, and had even put away quite a bit of money themselves in private. But now...

"Everyone..."

Bathed in tears, Nami was rendered speechless. Could it be that all these years, these people had been doing it on purpose? Deliberately keeping their distance so Arlong would feel at ease regarding her?

Yet, emotional as it was, the most pressing matter right now was to make this bastard Tang Shen run away fast. Powerful though he might be, Nami firmly believed he could never be a match for Arlong!

If you truly care for someone, you certainly won't let them march to their death—such is the selfishness of human nature.

"Run away already, you jerk!"

Crying as she spoke to Tang Shen, Nami's lovely eyes were nevertheless filled with despair and lingering affection. Nojiko also bit her lower lip hard, her eye rims reddened as she lost herself in thought.

"Take me to Arlong's territory. I'll take his head and collect some bounty while I'm at it."

Glancing sideways at Nami, Tang Shen flashed a brilliant smile.

"Huh?"

Nami froze, thinking she had misheard. Her eyes widened, only to find Tang Shen wearing a completely serious expression.

"You've lost your mind! You're completely insane! Arlong is the strongest man in the East Blue! Even the Marines are no match for him! If you go there, you'll only die!"

Shrieking in terror, Nami dug her fingernails right into Tang Shen's arm.

"How would you know if you don't try? It's precisely because there is no light that people fear the darkness."

Gazing into the distance, Tang Shen spoke with a tranquil, lingering tone.

Try?

Nami and Nojiko were struck dumb.

Indeed.

For so long, everyone had lived in terror of Arlong's tyranny, and no one had ever dared to challenge him. The brave souls who once opposed him had all been executed and hung at the village entrance, serving as an everlasting nightmare in everyone's hearts.

Yet this fellow before them...

Why not give it a try?

He spoke of such a fatal undertaking with utter nonchalance. Yet for some unknown reason, a profound tremor rippled through the hearts of the two young women, fundamentally altering their perception of Tang Shen.

[Ding~~ Nami's favorability toward you +40!]

[Ding~~ Nojiko's favorability toward you +50!]

The system prompt rang out suddenly, leaving Tang Shen momentarily startled.

What the hell?

I just casually spoke a single sentence, and my favorability increased? Nami's favorability rating must have been negative in the past, and yet...