(TN: Chapter 22 was a announcement chap in the raws and I forgot to change my translations chap number and I'm also too ahead and too lazy to change them 1 by 1.)
A sudden chill ran through the hearts of the pirate grunts, but it was already too late for them to react.
The front-line pirates had just swung their blades and hadn't even pulled them back yet when the grunts in the back charged forward aggressively, crowding the violent battlefield until it looked like a packed train station during the Spring Festival rush.
Such a dense formation was exactly what any hero with an AOE (Area of Effect) skill would dream of.
With enemies lining up like this, even a twenty-nine kill combo wouldn't be out of the question.
"Judgment!"
Garen gripped his greatsword tightly and began spinning rapidly through the crowd like a meat grinder.
In the game, the skill [Judgment] always looked a bit ridiculous, and with Garen's character model, he came off like a spinning iron top.
But in reality, the brutality behind the word "Judgment" finally came to life.
His storm-spinning greatsword lived up to its name—once at full throttle, it instantly stirred up a death storm that no one could escape.
Frail human bodies stood no chance. A light brush from the high-speed blade would erupt into an eerie mist of crimson blood, and within a blink, their whole bodies were shredded to pieces.
This wasn't the noble, righteous image you'd expect—it looked more like a vampire had wandered onto the wrong set.
But justice in Demacia has never shown mercy to evil and hostile enemies.
The young sheriffs back on Samwell Island had nearly been left with permanent trauma just from cleaning up the aftermath left by the Steel Blade Pirates.
[Judgment] lasted for three seconds.
That didn't sound long, but for dealing with a crowd of closely packed pirate grunts, it was more than enough.
By the time Garen stopped spinning and slowly sheathed his sword, not a single enemy in front of him was still standing.
The few remaining pirate grunts immediately panicked. They didn't care how Captain Buggy would punish them—each one turned and fled like mad.
As for Captain Buggy and his two officers, Cabaji and Mohji, their faces turned an ugly shade, like they had just swallowed two pounds of dung.
"Mo-Mohji?"
Cold sweat poured down Buggy's face, and his bright red nose trembled uncontrollably.
"How about... you go test his strength again?"
"Eh?"
Beast Tamer Mohji froze for a moment, then forced a pained smile at Buggy.
"M-My lion... he's changing teeth right now..."
"Rooaar~"
His intelligent lion, Richie, covered its blood-stained mouth in sync and dramatically rolled on the floor in pain.
As it kept rolling, the lion somehow ended up ten meters away from the battlefield—and was still rolling even farther.
Buggy turned to his other trusty officer, the acrobatic swordsman Cabaji.
"Uhh..."
Cabaji's facial muscles twitched violently, and even his katana was trembling in his grip.
"Captain Buggy, why don't you handle it yourself?"
"You're a Devil Fruit user—you're not afraid of blades, right?"
"Ugh..."
Buggy glanced at the blood-drenched, godlike figure of Garen in heavy armor and felt his confidence waver.
As a user of the Chop-Chop Fruit, Buggy could split his body into floating pieces at will. In theory, a sword-wielding opponent like Garen should pose no threat to him.
But seeing Garen mow down enemies like a human meat grinder made Buggy—who was far from a fearless warrior—tremble instinctively.
"Captain Buggy?"
Cabaji was already quietly inching backward, his voice trembling as he addressed his captain.
"Just wait a bit longer..."
Buggy wiped the sweat from his brow and forced a smile.
"I'll show him my power soon... really soon."
His hesitation gave Garen the perfect opportunity to examine the changes in his system—
Right after he unleashed his spinning attack and wiped out the crowd of grunts, his experience bar shot upward from the massive gain.
He just barely reached the threshold to hit Level 4.
Garen's level jumped from 3 to 4 in an instant.
According to the game's progression, Level 4 would normally allow a character to assign another skill point to one of their abilities.
But Garen's three core skills had been maxed out from the start, so he had no use for additional points.
He had long wondered what would happen once he reached Level 4—and now the system answered him.
"You have reached Level 4."
"Random reward—drawing in progress."
The next moment, a new slot appeared out of thin air in Garen's skill bar:
"You've gained a new skill: [Warrior Trickster]."
After a brief moment of surprise, Garen was ecstatic.
He hadn't just become stronger—he could actually get random bonus rewards upon leveling up?
That meant the benefits of leveling weren't just physical improvements; they opened up endless possibilities for future growth.
The new skill, [Warrior Trickster], was the signature move of Wukong, the Monkey King, in the game: "You enter stealth for 1.5 seconds, leaving behind an uncontrollable clone. After 1.5 seconds, the clone disappears."
While slightly different from the game version, the skill remained powerful and practical.
After understanding the new system changes, Garen eagerly tried out his new skill:
"Warrior Trickster"
In an instant, Garen felt his body become ghostly and insubstantial—like a transparent figure.
He quietly took a few steps forward and saw that a perfect clone of himself still stood where he had been, drawing all the enemies' attention.
Captain Buggy, still frozen in indecision, was intently focused on the decoy version of Garen.
Garen was a little surprised by how effective the skill was, and he immediately saw its value—for both sneak attacks and retreats, it was ideal.
While still in stealth, Garen raised his greatsword again:
"Decisive Strike!"
The blade suddenly shone with golden light—the light of justice—though no one else could see it.
With his speed boosted by thirty percent, Garen's enhanced body moved like an arrow shot from a bow, vanishing from his original spot and lunging toward Buggy like a pouncing tiger.
Just as the tip of the sword was about to strike the clown-faced Buggy, Garen's stealth wore off.
The decoy vanished in a puff of smoke.
Garen cursed inwardly for wasting too much time:
If only the stealth lasted a bit longer, he thought.
Then I could use it for so much more—like everyday life. I'd practically have the Clear-Clear Fruit.
Still, even without perfect timing, the attack was terrifying enough.
Buggy, who had been locked onto the decoy, was now suddenly face-to-face with the real Garen.
With the blood-soaked sword inches from his face, Buggy panicked and activated his trump card:
"Chop-Chop Split!"
His body instantly broke into multiple clean-cut, black-edged segments that scattered through the air.
The power of Devil Fruits truly was bizarre. Even with his body in pieces, Buggy was still full of life.
"Hahaha!"
Buggy laughed, though his voice wavered with fear:
"I'm the great pirate with a 15 million berry bounty! A legendary Devil Fruit user!"
"You'll never be able to hurt me!"
But no sooner had he finished boasting than a thud echoed across the deck—the sound of sword hitting flesh.
Buggy's floating head twisted in agony.
"Still managed to hit you?"
Garen was just as surprised.
The moment Buggy split into pieces, Garen's greatsword suddenly adjusted its trajectory, slamming into the largest chunk of Buggy's torso.
It seemed Buggy's fruit didn't make his body completely untargetable—at least, not to the system.
As long as he maintained enough physical presence, Garen's "Decisive Strike", which had a built-in hit guarantee, could still land.
The blow connected solidly, making Buggy convulse in pain.
Even so, he was no ordinary grunt. Despite the devastating strike, Buggy's unnaturally durable body only suffered a moderate injury.
But the real damage wasn't just physical—
Buggy's body parts, suspended in mid-air, suddenly lost all momentum.
With his control over the fruit's power gone, every piece of his body—including his head—crashed to the deck like hailstones.
Though his body remained split, Buggy was horrified to find he could no longer manipulate the parts.
He couldn't make them float—or reassemble them.
Buggy had become nothing more than a scattered pile of limbs on the floor.
"This... this can't be happening..."
His helpless head finally mustered enough energy to scream in disbelief.
Garen looked calmly at the dismembered Buggy and asked,
"So, Captain Buggy?"
"What was that bounty of yours again?"
"Ugh..."
Buggy's head gave a ridiculous, obsequious smile:
"Slip of the tongue... just fifteen hundred."
(End of Chapter)