One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 223 We're in Big Trouble

"Okay, I think you might be right. We're in pretty big trouble this time."

Roman glanced at the enormous object in the sky, not forgetting to affirm Lillian's earlier statement.

"No, is this the time to talk about this? Shouldn't we be running?" Smoker had lost control of his emotions. His already agitated state had become even more anxious after seeing the legendary creature.

"Calm down, Smoker. From what I know about the legends, dragons are almost always area-of-effect attacks, which means escaping will be difficult."

"Don't believe any legends, just do what we can do."

"Huff—huff—" The giant dragon in the sky was panting heavily, and its black skin seemed to be slowly turning red.

"Based on my speculation, it might be about to go all out."

Roman's Observation Haki told her that the dragon in front of her was extremely angry, furious, and agitated.

Moreover, the sharp-eyed Roman noticed that it had wounds on its body and was bleeding.

It seems the chaos caused by the pirates earlier was due to a direct conflict with it.

"Shut up, stop speculating." Smoker really wanted to sew Roman's mouth shut; not a single word of his was kind.

But Roman's idea might be correct; Smoker only felt the temperature suddenly getting higher and higher.

Then he saw a huge fireball appear high in the sky, and it was getting bigger and bigger.

Feeling the increasingly outrageous heat, Roman sighed: "Direct cremation into fertilizer, one step at a time, environmentally friendly and energy-saving."

“Shut up!! If I can go back, I’ll tear your mouth apart!” Smoker yelled in despair.

"If you can really do that, I don't mind. And don't be so angry, I just wanted to tell some lame jokes to cool things down." Feeling the temperature rising, Roman didn't forget to crack a joke.

……

I wonder when she will discover that secret?

Bentley is now munching on a sweet slice of bread, wondering when the woman will discover the secret she's hidden in the book.

Although he didn't actually intend to accept the money she offered, she gave it to him anyway.

I really don't understand what she's thinking.

Well, there are plenty of strange people in the world, and I'm a weirdo in other people's eyes too, so I don't really have the right to judge others.

Moreover, thanks to those two people, he was penniless when he was a pirate, but became very wealthy after retirement.

Although they are all pirates whose main purpose is to record history and what they have seen and heard.

However, they sometimes also collect legendary treasures.

After all, their pirate crew also needs to eat. Not to mention other expenses.

However, there are always some arrogant individuals in the group who say that if the paper quality is too poor, it will tarnish the records of what they see and hear.

Ironically, the captain endorsed this theory and even used it as a guideline for writing his book.

Therefore, their pirate crew spent an astronomical amount on paper, and they were often cheated.

Recalling his past experiences of being wronged, Bentley couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It was a wonderful time in the past.

The discovery of that place was purely by chance; they simply wanted to know why the island had been abandoned.

But to their surprise, they actually encountered the legendary creature—a dragon.

Ultimately, that map wasn't just about the location of the treasure; more importantly, it was the architectural blueprint for the Dragon Cave.

If she really discovers it, can she defeat it, or will she die at the hands of that dragon? Or will she leave with regrets like her pirate crew?

Although the captain said that his crew members were his most valuable asset and that he couldn't take the risk.

But if he hadn't had those heartbroken tears in his eyes, Bentley would probably have been incredibly moved.

I still hope she succeeds.

As for whether there will be any unexpected events...

However, it's impossible to acquire treasure without taking any risks.

……

"You're lucky to be alive. Are you alright, Smoker?"

Roman was covered in dust and dirt, but he wasn't injured, so he still had the leisure to check on Smoker.

Are you a monster?

After getting up, Smoker, equally covered in dust, posed his own profound question.

"The real monster is in the sky. And you'd better pray that I really am the monster, otherwise I can't guarantee we'll survive." Roman's expression turned serious as he looked at the giant dragon in the sky.

The reason they were able to escape the flames was because Roman forcefully punched through the ground beneath their feet.

This area is actually an underground cave, so the underground space in the middle is almost empty.

Therefore, the effect of Roman's full-force punch was exceptionally significant, and the area of ​​the ground that was cracked was even greater than she had imagined. As a result, Roman, Black, and Smoker all fell into a bottomless underground cave.

That's how they barely escaped the dragon's flames.

Although falling from a great height is a terrifying experience, Roman can moonwalk, Smoker can become elemental, and only Black was truly left half-dead.

He was already seriously injured and had suffered a lot of abuse at Lillian's hands, and now he was completely unconscious.

As for Lillian, Roman knew she had no chance of survival.

In the attack just now, Lillian was already seriously injured by her. The fact that she could get up and continue speaking shows her strong will. She should have been annihilated by the dragon's flames.

"What do we do now?" Smoker once again held back Black, after all, this was his indulgence, and then asked Roman about his next steps.

"It's hard to say. I'm really worried about one thing: is this dragon just trying to vent its anger, or will it not stop until it kills us? If we're looking at the worst-case scenario, then it won't stop until it sees our corpses."

Only then did Roman understand why Bentley hadn't taken the treasure.

Legend has it that dragons are greedy creatures that love things that glow, which is why their homes are filled with amazing wealth.

However, any creature that covets their wealth will be ruthlessly suppressed by them.

Even so, driven by the allure of wealth, many adventurers still flock to it.

This is also the main reason why the number of dragons has decreased sharply and even almost become extinct.

Because dragons are indeed dangerous creatures, but their existence tells you that their dragon lair contains a huge amount of treasure.

This temptation is enough to make some people risk their lives.

As a result, this powerful creature suffered annihilation over thousands of years.

However, these powerful creatures almost all perished due to cooperation within their groups.

A one-on-one kill is not so easy.

Otherwise, Ryoma wouldn't have been so popular back then.