Ronaldo had been right about one thing.
Denison had once served in the Imperial military as supreme commander of the Second Unit of the Norvind Legion.
His strength was no small thing.
The reason people called him a former soldier was obvious. He no longer was one.
Denison’s sense of justice was stronger than Hardaway’s, and far more intense.
During one incident, he stopped a noble from killing innocent civilians. The noble was furious, and under that noble’s pressure, the military had no choice but to punish him.
His situation was not as severe as Hardaway’s had been.
But Denison did not have a Legion Commander protecting him.
Because of that, the punishment the military imposed on him went far beyond any reasonable limit.
In a fit of rage, Denison destroyed that military branch and killed the noble.
From then on, he became a wanted criminal with a bounty of 250 million.
Even higher than Ronaldo’s.
In truth, Denison was stronger than Ronaldo.
He had come from one of the military’s training bases and had been cultivated from the start as both a senior officer and high level combat force.
Not only was he proficient in the Six Forms, he had also mastered Observation Haki and Armament Haki.
Ronaldo, who relied mainly on brute force, was not someone he feared.
Denison drew on his cigar.
"I will finish you in two minutes."
Inside the tavern, everyone’s eyes widened.
The crowd grew excited at once.
"They are fighting!"
"Both of them are strong."
"Who do you think will win?"
"Denison!"
"Ronaldo!"
"Of course Denison. His bounty is 50 million higher than Ronaldo’s."
"A bounty cannot fully represent strength. That difference does not really prove much. Some people do not even have bounties, yet they are still absurdly strong."
"True."
Just as everyone thought the show was about to begin, and a great battle would erupt, Denison, who had only just spoken so confidently, suddenly changed expression.
He turned and ran.
The crowd froze.
Ronaldo did not care about any of that. He was just about to attack when a figure suddenly dropped from the sky and blocked Denison’s escape.
A crash rang out.
The newcomer landed and smashed a deep pit into the ground. The impact became a gust of wind that swept across Denison’s face.
Denison stopped.
His face turned grave at once.
"What happened?"
"Who came?"
The onlookers were all curious.
This show seemed to be growing more interesting by the moment.
In that instant, every hair on Ronaldo’s body rose.
His beast like instincts sensed an extremely dangerous presence. A faint pressure, barely visible yet unmistakable, disrupted even the rhythm of his breathing.
Strong.
Ronaldo’s attention immediately shifted from Denison to the newcomer.
Excitement flashed in his eyes.
The stronger the opponent, the more he wanted to challenge them.
The newcomer walked out from the dust.
That powerful gaze and pressure made Denison’s entire body tense. His vigilance rose to the limit, and sweat seeped from his forehead.
It was Hardaway.
Sixteen years ago, he had crossed paths with Caelum once in Blackwood City.
Because of that incident, the former First Legion Commander, Theron, died at Caelum’s hands, and Caelum’s name began shaking the Empire.
Now sixteen years had passed.
Hardaway had become the First Legion Commander of the Empire, and his strength was even greater than Theron’s had been back then.
Denison knew very well how powerful a Legion Commander was.
And standing before him now was the strongest among them, the First Legion Commander.
He had no chance of winning.
Sending a Legion Commander just to catch him?
Was that not thinking too highly of him?
Denison swallowed.
"Legion Commander Hardaway."
"Mm."
What surprised Denison was that Hardaway did not attack him.
He even answered.
From the look of it, Hardaway had not come for him?
At that thought, Denison secretly let out a breath.
Then, from behind him, came a roar.
Ronaldo, who did not know the height of heaven or the depth of earth, charged over with excitement written across his face and threw a punch straight at Hardaway.
"Hahahaha, the Empire’s First Legion Commander? Looks like today really is my lucky day. Let me see just how much strength this so called Legion Commander has."
Denison quickly moved aside.
"This idiot."
If he wanted to die, did he have to be so impatient?
People who had never seen a Legion Commander’s strength had no idea how powerful they could be.
These were top level fighters, only five of them in the entire Empire.
Who among those able to sit in that position was not strong to a degree that barely seemed human?
If Ronaldo thought he could challenge them just because of bloodline inheritor power and an Imperial Relic, he was far too naive.
The next moment, under everyone’s gaze, Hardaway caught Ronaldo’s fist steadily with one hand.
The power of a bloodline inheritor, added to the power of an Imperial Relic, failed to move him in the slightest.
Ronaldo’s pupils shrank.
"How is that possible?"
Only then did he sense that something was wrong.
But before he could make another move, pain arrived.
A force so powerful he had no way to resist slammed into Ronaldo’s body.
In an instant, a thunderous crash burst out.
Ronaldo’s eyes bulged, and his entire body flew backward.
Carrying terrifying force, he smashed straight through half of Gemstone Town, destroying every building along the way and leaving a long trench in the ground.
The onlookers had no words for a moment.
"What just happened?"
They had not even seen Hardaway’s attack clearly.
Ronaldo, whose bounty reached 200 million, had already been sent flying.
From the look of it, that strike had not been light.
Following the trench to its end, they saw Ronaldo there, coughing blood, barely breathing.
He had already lost consciousness completely.
What surprised them was that his body had been stopped in midair by someone’s hand.
The remaining force of Hardaway’s attack had been forcibly blocked.
The crowd froze.
"Who is that?"
Ronaldo was casually tossed aside.
Caelum and Hardaway faced each other from afar.
Then Caelum flashed and appeared before Hardaway.
"The Empire’s intelligence ability is as powerful as ever. I had only just arrived in Gemstone Town, and you came right after to greet me."
Seeing Caelum again, Hardaway’s gaze sharpened like a blade.
His fists clenched before he noticed.
Memories from the past surfaced in his mind.
Back then, he had not even possessed the right to stand before Caelum.
That had been the greatest unwillingness of the first half of his life.
The Empire had indeed learned that Caelum had returned inland, but it had no intention of targeting him.
This action was entirely Hardaway’s own decision.
As Caelum walked forward, an aura even more terrifying than Hardaway’s swept outward.
Denison, watching from the side, suddenly found his breath catching. Alarm showed on his face.
A strong one.
And not merely strong.
Absurdly strong.
Yet he did not recognize the young man before him.
For a moment, Denison was confused.
Was there really such a monster among the Empire’s new generation?
"That is..."
A cry broke the silence in the tavern.
The middle aged man who had mentioned Caelum earlier stood up in excitement.
"Owl!"
The crowd was immediately startled.
"What?"
"He is the World’s Strongest Sword Master from sixteen years ago that you were talking about?"