25 Chapter 25

Chapter 25 - King and Overlord

The Wind King Barrier, usually a technique Artoria employed on her sword, altered the refractive index of light around the sword's blade, making it invisible and hiding her weapon's true form. This allowed her to conceal her identity and potentially mislead foes about the weapon's length.

Moreover, this technique could be applied to vehicles to reduce drag and increase speed. With Riding skills, it could even rival Noble Phantasms in speed.

Currently, the Wind King Barrier enveloped the bubble bikes, causing them to appear as if they were donning streamlined armor. Their speed surged, allowing them to catch up with Tom in an instant and then overtake him.

Tom, unwilling to give up, continued to chase. Adrian's view of the surroundings raced backwards rapidly, 48GR, 47GR, 46GR...

They zoomed through various islands like the wind, dodging pedestrians and overcoming uneven terrain. Surprisingly, they managed to ride the bubble bikes even faster than regular motorcycles and adeptly navigated around obstacles.

However, there was one downside to their high-speed adventure: Adrian's heart wasn't handling the excitement well. He had ridden motorcycles before, but off-road motorcycles were a whole different level of thrilling!

It was just too much excitement!

They couldn't stop now; Artoria was determined, and Tom was chasing hard. Adrian's only course of action was...

"Aaaah!"

He let out an embarrassingly loud cry. He could only cling to the bike's body and hope that Tom's bike skills were reliable enough, all while praying that Artoria would protect him if he got flung off.

At this moment, Adrian recalled the instances from the original where Victoria Cindry fell off the stage and died, and Gekko Moriah rolled down the stairs and died in the East Blue...

No, no, I want to get stronger, be the kind of Teacher Kaido who can survive jumping from a sky island!

But I can only say that if I survive; for now, I can only hold onto this bubble bike for dear life and prevent myself from flying out.

Finally, it was Tom who stopped first. He was almost exhausted, his upper body slumped over the handlebars, his tongue hanging out as he gasped for air. His body was covered in sweat drops—more like they were flowing directly out of his fur rather than coming from his skin.

Artoria, the victorious one, dispelled the Wind King Barrier. She executed a neat drift with the bubble bike, coming to a stop before Tom. Extending her hand through the bubble, she gave Tom's hand a firm shake, wearing a slight smile. "You're quite strong, Tom."

However, Tom was too worn out to respond.

Adrian patted Tom's head in consolation and then lightly tapped his head, complaining, "I thought I was going to die here!"

Though the words were directed at Tom, Artoria's cheeks reddened. Whenever it involved victory or defeat, she tended to get quite serious involuntarily.

For her, it wasn't something a competent Servant would do, to put their Master in danger due to their own whims. Even though she wasn't exactly a Servant here, she still felt a similar responsibility as a protector.

After a while, Adrian's heart rate calmed down, and Tom's breathing evened out.

They were in a wide open area, with no buildings or people around. It seemed to be the outskirts of some island.

Adrian looked at the tree's number tag, 32GR, and also noticed the towering bubble Ferris wheel and bungee jumping platform in the distance.

So, Island 30 wasn't far off. Thanks to Tom and Artoria, they had saved at least an hour of travel time.

"Up ahead is the Sabaody Park. Do you want to go in and have some fun?"

Not receiving a response, Artoria's gaze was fixed on a person not far away, her expression unusually serious.

Adrian followed her gaze and saw a tall man with red hair, a black cloak, and a sword hanging at his waist. The visible part of the sword hilt looked quite similar to a Western-style sword.

"No way? Red-Haired Shanks?"

"Does Adrian know him?"

"Yeah, he's the captain of the Red-Haired Pirates. He's incredibly powerful, and he's still growing stronger. Once he enters the New World this time, he'll probably become an Emperor of the Sea before long.

Fortunately, compared to regular pirates, he's one of the good ones. But I still think it's better to avoid any trouble he might bring."

Shanks, well, when watching anime, he's quite likable. Strong, composed, with a sense of presence. He also has a fun, goofy side when he's with his friends.

But seeing him now, Adrian couldn't help feeling a bit flustered. No matter what, he was a pirate, and his reputation was built on battles fought time and again. Even if he didn't consider Adrian a threat, it wouldn't be pleasant to accidentally experience Conqueror's Haki, right? It was sort of like that saying about the leopard not being able to change its spots.

"He's noticed us, but he doesn't seem hostile." Artoria's hand was already on her sword's hilt.

Adrian understood that hiding wouldn't do any good at this point. He silently considered what he could use to save himself—milk, firecrackers, firearms, mousetraps...

Alright, none of these things were reassuring. He could only hold onto Tom tightly, hoping that Shanks, in person, was as harmless as his appearance suggested in the anime.

As Shanks approached, the air seemed to grow quiet and oppressive. His face remained expressionless, his gaze resting on Artoria with mild curiosity.

When they were less than three meters apart, an invisible wave radiated out from Shanks, causing Tom's fur to stand on end and Adrian's heartbeat to race. As he looked at Shanks, it felt as though he was facing a ferocious beast with its jaws wide open...

Almost simultaneously, Artoria's tuft of hair at the top of her head seemed to stir. An intangible ripple spread out from her, countering Shanks' aura and also affecting Adrian and Tom.

This effect was positive, causing Adrian to feel the oppressive sensation Shanks brought fade away completely. Even though he still knew rationally that he stood no chance against Shanks, he felt completely at ease, able to meet Shanks' gaze without any panic. He could even calmly think about how to respond next.

The first thing to do was to hold onto Tom, as he seemed even more affected, and was already rolling up his sleeves, ready to take on Shanks.

"This must be Artoria's B-ranked Leadership quality. She possesses the power to inspire her troops and boost morale. Its manifestation in this world seems to be similar to Conqueror's Haki, but it counters the effects of the enemy's Conqueror's Haki. In terms of strategic value, it's more practical than Conqueror's Haki.

I recall there was a Revolutionary Army commander with a similar ability to inspire, so there should be some similarities... but that's not important right now. The key is, what does Shanks want? Was it just a whim?"

Without waiting for Adrian to figure it out, Shanks had already drawn his sword, "Gryphon."

In the next moment, a silver armor materialized on Artoria, her hands gripping the sword as she clashed with Shanks' blade.

Clang! The clash of blade and sword created a powerful gust of wind.