Chapter 16: Steadfast as a Mountain!

Rorschach didn't understand why Major General Adilar suddenly decided to announce such an obviously unfair rule.

However, Rorschach could see that this was a test from Major General Adilar for him.

Facing 500 people alone, Rorschach wasn't sure if he could do it.

But when he thought of his father, old John, holding onto that piece of black bread even until his death, and his mother, Elizabeth, sitting in front of the cabin weaving bamboo baskets, who died from a simple cold.

He remembered the shattered and distorted bodies of the 187 people from Red Leaf Village.

He remembered the seventeen women who survived, who seemed fortunate but were actually subjected to the brutalities of the pirates, and whose futures would likely be filled with nightmares.

Without hesitation, Rorschach stepped onto the stage, his eyes slightly red, and before Major General Adilar could announce the start, his silver hair danced wildly as he roared:

"Recruit Rorschach! I invite you all..."

"To the stage for a battle!"

His shout shocked everyone!

"Kid! Don't be too arrogant! Do you really think you can defeat everyone? There are more than 500 recruits here!"

"Let me, Vierie, see how much you weigh!"

A burly man standing two and a half meters tall strode onto the stage and charged towards Rorschach.

His massive, muscular body, taller and stronger than Rorschach's two meters and three, looked like it was built from stone.

"That's... the two-star bounty hunter from the North Sea, Tiger Hunter Vierie! It's said that he once single-handedly hunted down a pirate captain with a bounty of three million berries..."

Before the anonymous recruit could finish his explanation, a violent surge of energy exploded on the stage.

Then, under the stunned gaze of everyone, Vierie, who stood two and a half meters tall, was struck in the chest by Rorschach's right punch.

Boom!

A deep, dull sound echoed.

Vierie's massive body was lifted off the ground, flying straight back for fifty to sixty meters, like a cannonball, smashing through the base wall and leaving a hole three to four meters in diameter.

The entire place fell silent, the sound of a pin drop could be heard.

Recruits were dumbfounded, mouths agape.

"What happened? Who just flew by?"

Someone asked in confusion.

Gulp.

Some recruits' legs trembled, making it hard for them to stand.

"Hey, hey, are you kidding me? That's the two-star bounty hunter from the North Sea, Vierie, who single-handedly killed a pirate captain with a three million berries bounty, and he was just sent flying with one hit? Is this a recruit? Navy! Did you bring an officer to challenge us?"

The leader of a kingdom's army wore an indignant expression, suspecting that Adilar was deliberately making things difficult for them.

"A bunch of wimps, scared already? Such easily frightened people are not needed in our North Sea branch!"

Adilar swept a cold gaze over the noisy training ground.

"Hand out the weapons."

A cold voice came from afar.

Looking towards the sound, everyone saw a three-meter-tall navy general in a red uniform, standing with his arms crossed, expressionless, looking over.

"Who is that guy? I've never seen him before. He's a bit arrogant..."

A well-known North Sea fighter began to comment before being silenced by several burly men who rushed to cover his mouth.

"Let me go! What are you doing?"

"Shut up! You fool! Are you trying to get us all killed? Do you not recognize the Navy Admiral!"

The men covering the fighter's mouth were pale, sweating profusely.

Not recognizing him was one thing, but to insult him... just thinking about it made the men feel like they'd taken a trip to hell and back.

"Navy Admiral? You mean..."

Boom!

A fist the size of a sandbag landed hard on the fighter's face, knocking out his teeth and causing him to faint.

The man who threw the punch stood up, face pale, only relaxing when he saw that Akainu in the distance remained expressionless. He then looked towards the white-haired youth standing on the stage.

"If the Admiral allows us to use weapons against that youth, doesn't that mean..."

The big man's face grew increasingly grim.

"Big brother, what do you mean?" asked his puzzled subordinate.

"I mean, when we charge onto the stage, stay on the outskirts first, let them go up!" the big man instructed seriously.

"Oh. And the weapons?" The subordinate still didn't understand but knew to follow orders.

"Of course, take the weapons! Even though the Admiral favors that youth, with so many people attacking, his stamina won't hold up. We just need to act at the right moment! If we seize the opportunity, this could be my chance to become famous in the North Sea!"

A sharp glint flashed in the long-legged martial artist Hanmore's eyes.

On the other side, after a brief silence, all the recruits, like they were injected with adrenaline, rushed to the navy soldiers distributing weapons, grabbed their favored weapons, and charged towards Rorschach on the stage.

Although Adilar said that whoever could defeat Rorschach would get an extraordinary promotion.

But if they stayed back and waited, hoping to take advantage of Rorschach's exhaustion, they would get no benefit.

Because the navy officers watching were not blind.

And most importantly, weapons are like claws for humans.

With weapons in hand, people's courage multiplies.

In just a few seconds, dozens of recruits holding long swords and spears surrounded Rorschach.

The recruits naturally held cold weapons.

Even though they were allowed to use weapons, Adilar wasn't foolish enough to distribute firearms.

Because even if Rorschach's body was strong, his eyes, ears, and nose were still vulnerable.

If he accidentally got shot in the eye, it would be disastrous.

The battle was about to begin!

"Kid, you can still surrender now!"

Snap!

The long sword broke, and a heavy punch was driven into the abdomen of the recruit who had been threatening Rorschach.

"Ugh!"

The recruit's body bent, the clothing on his back showing clear vertebrae imprints, mouth wide open, blood and bile spewing from his mouth and nose.

Boom!

The recruit's broken sword flew, his body arched, shooting backwards!

Boom!

His flying body crashed into the person behind him, the sound of bones breaking echoed.

Boom!

The person hit continued to fly back, crashing into the third, fourth, fifth person.

Boom boom boom boom!

Where the fist pointed, the stage was cleared, creating a trench.

In an instant, the recruits who had rushed forward fell like dominoes, collapsing like a human pyramid!

Rorschach didn't use any martial arts techniques.

The punches he threw relied purely on his physical strength.

The power he unleashed was intentionally restrained!

He didn't dare use too much force, otherwise, the recruits in front of him might turn into a pile of broken bodies.

Even Jericho, with a bounty of 16 million berries, couldn't withstand his attack.

And that was when his body was severely weakened.

Now, after five days of meticulous care by the chief chef Deno, Rorschach's body was fully recovered, at the peak of his strength.

A punch sent air exploding, clearing a large area in front of him.

"Come on! Defeat me! So I can become stronger!" Rorschach shouted, his feet stomping down, nearly cracking the stage floor.

His fists swung wildly, creating sounds of wind and thunder.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Hundreds surged forward, like a waterfall, flowing towards the center of the stage where Rorschach stood.

Yet, to the astonishment of all the recruits, the white-haired youth stood like a rock in the torrent, unmoved by the overwhelming assault.

The youth stood amidst the torrent, steadfast, like a mountain!

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