By the dock, a considerable amount of stones had already been piled up, and everyone else had left.
Ada and Boton had already moved two cannons onto the deck, and Vik began to experiment with them after asking how to adjust their angles.
The pirate ship was not yet within range, and Vik wanted to thoroughly understand the cannons first, to give the pirates a good taste of their own medicine.
By the time the pirate ship came within range, all the cannons on the ship had been moved to the deck, lined up and aimed at the distant sea.
Vik fired a shot at a 45-degree upward angle towards the pirate ship; it missed, hitting the side of the ship and splashing water, scaring the pirates on board, as it almost hit the ship.
With Ada and Boton helping to load, each cannon was test-fired once, all missing, so Vik adjusted with each shot.
The pirate ship was terrified; although they weren't hit, the shots were getting very close.
Pirate Captain Bradrick was extremely anxious; he wasn't afraid of a head-on fight, but he feared his ship would sink before they even reached shore.
Bradrick shouted loudly, "Quickly hoist the sails! You lot, grab the oars and row! Get to shore quickly, or if the ship is hit, we'll all end up in the water!"
"And you few, go bring up the cannons and return fire!" he roared at a few henchmen nearby, but before he could finish speaking, the ship's main mast was blown apart by a cannonball.
The falling mast crushed two men, who bled from their mouths and fainted with their eyes rolled back.
Bradrick was startled; the mast had fallen right beside him, almost crushing him.
He roared in fury, "You idiots, don't sail in a straight line! Speed up! Don't move any more cannons; our ship is already done for!
We need to seize that merchant ship, not damage it!"
"Oh!!!" the henchmen shouted.
To think I, the mighty Iron Fist Bradrick, with a bounty of 5 million Berries, summoned by the Pirate King to search for the one piece, could not possibly fall here.
I will personally finish off the one who fired those cannons once I get ashore, and let him know my terror.
The shore grew closer, and although the ship wasn't sailing in a straight line, several cannonballs still hit the deck, injuring several henchmen.
"Captain, this ship is probably done for, it won't last much longer.
Let's prepare to swim over," suggested Bert, the ship's second-in-command.
"Swim over? Won't that make us lambs to the slaughter? No way."
"How about this, Captain: we swim over and pretend to be captured.
Both of us have bounties on our heads, so they won't immediately take our lives.
Then we can suddenly burst out; with our skills, carving a bloody path won't be difficult."
He turned and glanced at the rowing henchmen, "As for them, they'll have to pray for good fortune."
Bert said calmly.
Bert was originally a bounty hunter.
To find the one piece, he got involved with Bradrick, gathered a group of people, and formed this pirate crew.
His strength was not as great as Bradrick's, so he could only be second in command, and his bounty now also reached 3 million Berries.
"Let's wait a bit longer," Bradrick said after thinking.
"We'll jump into the sea when the ship is truly beyond saving.
For now, let's advance as far as we can."
Vik saw that the ship wasn't sailing in a straight line and knew it would be difficult to sink it with cannons, but he still tried his best to fire, occasionally hitting a shot.
A moment later, the ship was already within a hundred meters.
Vik looked at the few remaining cannonballs, then at the pirate ship less than a hundred meters away, a cold smile playing on his lips.
He immediately got off the ship and went to the pile of stones.
Picking up a stone, he weighed it in his hand, then spread his legs and threw it directly at the pirate ship, punching a hole in its side.
Vik's lips curved; the effect was quite good.
His practice with throwing knives wasn't in vain; it was much more accurate than the cannons, and he had a better feel for things when they were in his hands.
He instructed Ada and Boton to pick up stones for him, while he rapidly threw them at the pirate ship.
His posture was exactly like a young Garp.
Just as Vik was throwing stones, the Mayor had already arrived at the dock with the security team, seeing that Vik had already riddled the pirate ship with holes.
"Hahaha, Vik, well done! This pirate ship is already Wasted ! You've become so powerful!
Your parents would surely be very happy if they knew," Mayor Andre said with a laugh, then became a little sad.
Olens was his secretary, and they had worked together for over ten years, developing a deep bond.
He was very pleased to see Vik's growth.
Vik turned to look at the group of people behind him, and smiled at the leader, saying, "Uncle Andre, you've arrived.
This pirate ship can't hold on much longer; I estimate the pirates will jump into the sea and swim over.
Please have everyone spread out and guard the coastline; not a single one can be allowed to escape."
"Good, we'll do as you say.
Everyone, spread out, take out your weapons, and guard the surroundings well.
If any pirate resists, kill them on the spot," Andre agreed, then said coldly to the security team.
Vik watched Andre arrange the distribution of the security team, then had Ada and Boton bring over the remaining few cannonballs.
At this point, the pirate ship was less than fifty meters from shore, battered and broken.
The pirates on board were stunned; there was a little monster on this island!
Could they even survive once they reached the island?
The pirates grew somewhat uneasy.
Bradrick and Bert exchanged glances and nodded.
They knew the people on the island would be difficult to deal with and were preparing to feign weakness.
Vik picked up a cannonball, glanced at the pirate ship, and threw it directly.
The cannonball hit the ship's plank, collided, and immediately exploded.
After three cannonballs, the ship stopped, slowly sinking.
The pirates all jumped into the sea and were swimming towards the shore.
Just then, Rebecca also arrived at the dock, moving very fast.
Andre only saw a shadow before Rebecca was beside Vik.
Andre was very surprised; Rebecca's strength was not weak, truly worthy of being her daughter.
Rebecca, hearing the notification, grabbed their weapons and rushed over at top speed.
Now her chest rose and fell rapidly, and she was breathing slightly.
Rebecca held Vik's sword out to him, panting, "Vik, here, your sword."
Then she turned to look at the silently sinking ship, pouting slightly, "The ship's almost sunk, why did you call me here? To watch the show?"
Hearing Rebecca's words, Andre interjected, "Rebecca, you can't say that.
Pirates eliminated in the sea are good pirates.
Once they're on land, they're harder to deal with, and a large-scale melee would definitely result in casualties.
This is the best outcome, all thanks to Vik."
Vik also chimed in, "How was I supposed to know this pirate crew was so weak?
A few cannonballs and a few stones were enough to cripple them."
Vik had thought that pirates would all have some special moves to deflect cannonballs, like the Straw Hat Crew, where cannonballs couldn't get close to them.
Besides Rebecca, the corners of the mouths of the others nearby twitched.
To actually complain that pirates were too weak, how bizarre.
Actually, this couldn't be blamed on Vik and Rebecca.
After training for so long, they also wanted to see what level they could reach now, and how they compared to pirates.
It was like a small test.
However, Vik was still too cautious, sinking both the people and the ship at once.
With people on the shore holding guns, the pirates, not wanting to drown, could only surrender.
One by one, the pirates who came ashore were held at gunpoint, tied up, and gathered together.
The pirates also looked at the group of people who had tied them up, their gazes especially falling on Vik, with fear in their eyes.
They had never heard of someone throwing cannonballs with their bare hands; out at sea, they had all seen this young man firing cannons and throwing stones.
If Vik knew what they were thinking, he would surely say, "There's an old man in Windmill Village who always does that.
Even the Pirate King can't do anything about it and has to flee everywhere.
I'm nowhere near that level yet."
The Mayor and the security team were all very excited.
Catching so many pirates this time was a great achievement.
The Mayor had Bradrick and Bert brought forward.
He looked at the tall, burly man wearing a Captain's hat, and then at the man beside him with a sword at his waist, finding both of them a little familiar.
Not entirely at ease with the two, he said solemnly to Rebecca, "Rebecca, go confiscate the sword from that man's waist."
He feared it wouldn't be safe to send others, as Rebecca was much stronger than the rest.
What no one saw was that behind their backs, both men were taking out small knives to cut their ropes.
This was something they had prepared beforehand, specifically for this moment.
You might ask if ropes can really bind people in the pirate world, and if they really need knives to cut them, couldn't they just break the ropes?
Actually, no, they really couldn't.
Breaking ropes depends on the situation.
Ropes can genuinely bind people.
Look at when Wang Lufei first met Zoro; if Wang Lufei hadn't taken the bullet, Zoro, tied to a pillar, would have been shot dead.
He only freed himself after getting his sword.
Do you think this Bert is as strong as Zoro?
Zoro, when he first appeared, defeated pirates with bounties of several million Berries as if it were child's play.
Back to the main story.
Rebecca didn't pay much attention to the group of tied-up pirates.
She walked over with a sword in one hand, arriving in front of the man.
The two exchanged glances, both seeing the sharpness in the other's eyes, knowing that the other was a swordsman.
Just then, Bert suddenly burst out, breaking the almost-severed ropes, quickly drawing the sword from his waist, and placing it on Rebecca's shoulder, the blade less than a centimeter from her neck.