Chapter 76: The Princess Arms Dealer

In every young girl’s dreams, there exists a gallant and extraordinary knight, embodying the most beautiful ideals of youth’s longing for the opposite sex.

Princess Vivi was no exception.

Yet, once burdened with the weight of her homeland, the knight in Vivi’s fantasies ceased to be the charming figure of romantic tales. Instead, he became one who stood against injustice, aided the weak, and rescued those in peril—a righteous knight.

Handsome knights were easy enough to find; the great kingdoms were never short of noble cavaliers whose physiques, appearances, manners, and conduct were flawless.

But a righteous knight seemed to exist only in the realm of imagination.

So, after reading a feature in the newspaper about “The East Sea Knight Garen,” Vivi had more than once envisioned scenes of herself in the company of such a knight.

These imagined moments were always grand and moving—

The righteous knight radiated a warmth that comforted all, reaching out selflessly to the girl trapped in darkness.

Against formidable foes, the righteous knight stood without fear, sword raised to shield the maiden.

After dispelling the shadows, the knight and princess basked in the light, savoring the joy of victory together...

Vivi’s fantasy had come true, at least at the outset, just as she had dreamed.

She met that righteous knight, and to her astonishment, he truly summoned a light that warmed the heart.

That dazzling, radiant glow entranced Vivi, and Garen’s deeds—slaying pirates and liberating laborers—fulfilled her every vision of a righteous knight.

So even now, when she was stranded within Krieg’s mansion by the army of laborers, unable to escape, Vivi felt no anxiety.

She was merely quietly anticipating her meeting with the righteous knight.

Vivi believed that, once she revealed the hardships she was enduring, the knight who stood for the light would surely offer her his help.

However, Vivi did not encounter the righteous knight first, but rather his “squire”—Nami.

Nami did not come alone; behind her were dozens of laborers armed for battle.

Nor had Nami deliberately sought out Vivi; she simply happened upon Vivi and her party while confiscating Krieg’s assets.

Vivi carried two suspiciously large suitcases, trailed by a dozen subordinates from the Baroque Works, all within the luxurious halls of Krieg’s estate.

Upon meeting Nami’s group, the Baroque Works grunts instinctively showed hostility, confronting her for a moment before surrendering in the face of overwhelming numbers.

“Who are these people?”

Once the situation was under control, Nami turned briskly to a laborer beside her and asked.

A laborer, full of indignation, stepped forward, pointed fiercely at Vivi’s face, and declared,

“She’s the arms dealer!”

“I saw with my own eyes this woman unloading weapons onto the island today!”

“Arms dealer?”

Nami repeated the label with some distaste, scrutinizing Vivi closely:

Her face was painted with heavy, rather unflattering makeup; a high blue ponytail tied behind her head; a tight top adorned with odd circular patterns; white denim shorts so brief they barely covered her; and a pair of white, nightclub-style high-heeled boots.

The look gave off a strong impression of a gangland delinquent.

Nami commented directly, “She certainly doesn’t look like a good person!”

Vivi’s expression darkened at once.

She disliked this attire as well, but had donned it to fit her undercover role as a Baroque agent.

Before Vivi could explain, Nami decisively ordered the laborers,

“Take all these arms dealers to the plaza and tie them up with the pirates!”

“What?”

Vivi immediately protested anxiously, “I’m not an arms dealer!”

Nami said nothing, but strode over to Vivi and picked up the two large suitcases at her feet.

Nami gauged their weight and size, then smiled at Vivi,

“These cases—are they all filled with dirty money?”

“If you’re not an arms dealer, what else could you be?”

“Are you here to tour the Krieg Pirate Crew with a suitcase full of cash?”

Vivi’s face froze; she could only admit reluctantly,

“I am indeed an arms dealer. The arms deal with the Krieg Pirate Crew was orchestrated by me.”

“But I had no choice—I have my reasons.”

Her gaze grew heavy, the sharp demeanor she had cultivated crumbling under the weight of genuine emotion.

Seeing this, Nami felt a strange sense of familiarity—just like the person she once was.

Unconsciously, Nami let go of her hostility toward Vivi.

She spoke in a gentler tone, “Do you have some hardship?”

“I...”

Vivi glanced back at her Baroque Works subordinates, hesitated for a long moment, then said,

“I’d like to explain this privately to the knight. He’ll surely help me.”

“Privately to the knight?”

Nami fixed her gaze on Vivi’s attractive face, and the recently vanished hostility inexplicably flared back up.

“Whatever the issue, just tell me!”

“I’ll relay it to Garen.”

..................................................

After many uses, Garen had grown familiar with the moral judgment system of [Demacian Justice]:

Anyone with more than a 60% damage amplification was, in Garen’s view, a waste of food—a scoundrel.

Among the dozens of pirate officers Garen had selected, half were criminals deserving death.

After all, those who could climb the ranks in such a vile organization were rarely decent people.

Thus, once he had judged them, Garen efficiently sent those detected by his mighty sword to join their deceased leader, Krieg.

Having witnessed those successive columns of light, both pirates and laborers had developed some immunity to the dazzling effects.

Yet, they were awed by another miracle—

The knight’s sword could distinguish good from evil!

One by one, the notorious villains of the pirate crew were exposed by the beam, and in quick succession fell under Garen’s great sword.

Pirates nervously lowered their heads, reflecting on their past misdeeds;

Meanwhile, opportunists hidden among the laborers shrank into the shadows, anxious to avoid Garen’s scrutiny.

Those gathered around Garen dwindled noticeably.

Unwittingly, he had completed an ideological and political screening of his “subordinates,” ensuring a pure leadership among the laborers.

And Garen successfully gained the last bit of experience from the pirate officers, advancing to level seven.

The long-awaited level-up reward arrived:

Random upgrade reward selection...

Acquired random skill [Laurent Insight Blade]:

“Parry all incoming damage and control effects for 0.75 seconds, then unleash a powerful sword wave toward the target.”

This skill originated from the hero Fiora, the Grand Duelist.

But, as with Garen’s other abilities, its effect differed greatly from the original game:

The control effect was completely removed, and “thrust” replaced with “sword wave.”

The direct result of this change was—

“I can perform flying slashes now!”

Garen looked excitedly at the golden slash he had sent forth.

The sword wave was two meters wide, flying dozens of meters before dissipating, leaving a deep scar in a wall.

Garen sensed:

The power and size of the sword wave were entirely under his control, and its damage was significantly amplified compared to his base strength.

Meaning, as Garen grew stronger, the [Laurent Insight Blade] would scale to terrifying levels.

But the most crucial aspect of this skill was not its damage, but the 0.75 seconds of “invulnerability.”

Used wisely, it could turn the tide at critical moments.

While Garen was engrossed in studying his new skill, Nami returned from confiscating Krieg’s assets, bringing with her an unfamiliar girl.

“Who is she?”

Garen curiously examined the blue-haired girl dressed like a delinquent beside Nami.

“Arms dealer.”

Nami first stated the identity Vivi had already admitted,

“She’s the one who brought the weapons to the docks.”

“Smuggling arms?”

Garen’s impression of Vivi deteriorated further.

“But...”

Nami added, with an odd expression,

“She also claims to be a princess from a great kingdom on the Grand Line.”

Garen’s gaze toward Vivi turned incredulous.

“You say you’re a princess?”

Vivi nodded frantically, eager to recount her difficult journey.

“Why does that story sound so familiar?”

Garen’s expression grew as strange as Nami’s, and he said to Vivi,

“Miss Arms Dealer, don’t tell me your next words are...

‘If you let me go now, I’ll make you a noble when I return home as thanks?’”