"Marines, if your reinforcements don't arrive soon, this island will become your final burial ground."
"Blade of Double Emperors!"
On the sea in front of the inner bay, King had transformed back into his pteranodon form with a wingspan of over ten meters. He flapped his broad wings, leaving a long black trail in the sky, and shot a barrage of fireballs at the sea below.
This fire came from his racial ability, not from his Ancient Zoan Pteranodon Devil Fruit.
King is the last member of the Lunarian race in the world, born with powerful innate abilities and the power to control fire.
A never-extinguishing flame burns on the back of his head.
When the flame on the back of his head goes out, King's speed increases several times over.
And when the flame reignites, his defense increases several times over.
This extremely special racial ability of his once made the members of the Lunarian race a hot commodity for various research institutions around the world.
Over the past few hundred years, pirates, Marines, and even research institutions from some affiliated countries have wanted to capture members of the Lunarian race for scientific experiments on bloodline factors or to create clone soldiers.
It was for this reason that the Lunarian race was driven to near extinction, leaving him as the only remaining member.
With this unique ability and the added power of his Ancient Zoan fruit, King, who already possessed great talent, has a strength level that rivals that of an Admiral and is the undisputed second-in-command of the Beast Pirates.
On the sea below, Gion held a heavily injured Shiliew with one hand, constantly stepping on the air and moving swiftly. The Konpira she held in her right hand would occasionally swing into the air, deflecting the incoming fireballs.
Seeing Gion about to enter the inner bay and land on G1 island, a fierce light appeared in King's eyes. He reached out with his right hand on his right wing and grabbed his scalp, pulling hard.
His pteranodon head was stretched long and narrow, his facial features twisted into a strange shape, and the skin on his head stretched like rubber. The moment he released his right hand, it snapped back.
The snapping skin released a narrow, arrow-like shockwave, which shot down from the sky like a laser beam, flying toward the back of Gion's heart with incredible speed.
"Dian Zunhuang!"
Gion's forward momentum stopped. Her tall figure spun like a whirlwind on the sea's surface, and the long sword in her right hand spun with her, creating a fan-shaped shield in front of her.
The next second, the shield of sword energy burst apart. A powerful force surged forward, hitting her long sword and sending Gion's body, which had been standing on the air, flying backward.
"Boom!"
The fortress wall in front of the inner bay exploded. Stones flew everywhere, and Gion, still holding Shiliew, crashed through the sturdy fortress with her back and landed on the plaza's ground, causing a gasp of alarm.
"Vice Admiral Gion! Vice Admiral Shiliew!"
In the sky, King, who had succeeded with his attack, was overjoyed and was about to press the attack, when he heard a series of dense rumbling sounds.
Then, several black cannonballs, many times larger than a normal cannonball, whistled through the air, heading straight for him. They were so fast that he couldn't dodge them immediately.
"It's a coastal defense gun."
King sneered inwardly. He flapped his pteranodon claw, and a flurry of fireballs shot out, meeting the incoming cannonballs.
Although the fireballs he shot out were small, there were many of them, and they soon hit and detonated the incoming cannonballs one by one in the air, a dozen meters in front of him.
Although his body wasn't hit by the cannonballs head-on, the shockwave from the powerful explosions caused by the coastal defense guns still sent King, who was in mid-air, flying back dozens of meters.
"Hmph! A boring trick."
At King's level of strength, he wouldn't even consider something as clunky as a cannonball.
Not to mention the power of the cannonballs, with his powerful Observation Haki, he could sense them coming from a mile away.
And even if he were hit by a cannonball, his Armament Haki would be enough to block it.
Under normal circumstances, unless a powerful fighter was subjected to a prolonged, large-scale barrage of cannon fire like a Buster Call, it was rare for them to be killed by cannonballs.
Of course, explosives as powerful as "Dynamite Rocks" were still a threat to powerful fighters.
King flapped his wings, turned agilely, and was about to bypass the three coastal defense guns in front of him, fly in a circle, and land on the island.
But just then, the huge coastal defense guns positioned in the inner bay all turned their barrels and fired a constant stream of cannonballs at King, who was flying in the sky.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of flashes of fire lit up at the muzzles of the coastal defense guns in all directions.
In the sky, King, still flying, shot out fireballs from his body to detonate the incoming cannonballs while skillfully maneuvering through the barrage of cannonballs, getting closer to the plaza.
When he was less than fifty meters from the plaza, a brilliant flash of a sword slash suddenly flew out from the plaza. It was faster than a cannonball and shot toward King's face with a whoosh, forcing him to reveal himself and block with his sword.
"Clang!"
With a crisp sound, the incoming sword slash was blocked by King's sword.
But in that brief moment of hesitation, dozens of cannonballs, which had been flying at him from all directions, all slammed into him at once.
Then.
"Boom!!"
Dozens of cannonballs, each more than ten times more powerful than a regular cannonball, exploded in front of King at almost the same time. The rising fire illuminated the sea of the inner bay and rose dozens of meters high, looking like a magnificent mushroom cloud.
With such power, even King had the corners of his mouth bleeding from the shockwave that was right next to him, and his body was sent reeling backward.
"Damn it!"
King gritted his teeth, barely managing to steady himself before he fell into the sea. He flapped his black wings, and they carried him up into the sky, straight into the clouds.
Looking at the G1 plaza, which was getting farther and farther away, King sneered again.
"Shoot! Why aren't you shooting anymore?"
To prevent Gion from blindsiding him again while he was flying, King flew several hundred meters high, flew over the inner bay, and then swooped down, aiming for the back of the Marines.
It was at this exact moment that the thousands of Marines guarding the inner bay's port finally saw the countless pirate ships that had appeared on the sea in front of them.
As far as the eye could see, a countless number of pirate ships covered the entire sea in front of G1 island, making the hair on the back of the necks of the Marines guarding the inner bay stand up.
There were too many.
There were just too many of them.
From the symbols on the pirate ships, which were becoming clearer, they could tell which pirate crews they belonged to.
The skull with pink curly hair, wearing a captain's hat, and red lipstick was the Big Mom Pirates.
The skull with two giant horns and six bones pierced through its head was the Beast Pirates.
The one with the long beard and a long sword piercing through the back of its head was Wang Zhi's Pirates.
The one with a lion's head, flowing golden hair, and crossed swords was the Golden Lion Pirates.
The total fighting force of the four super pirate crews was at least 150,000.
The scale of this war was one of the largest in naval history.
Looking at the pale-faced Marine soldiers around him, Gion dusted herself off and stood up, sighing inwardly.
A war of this scale, even with prior mental preparation, was enough to make even the most battle-hardened soldiers of the G1 branch feel fear.
There was nothing they could do. The difference between their side and the enemy was just too great.
Both in terms of total troops and high-level fighting power.
She turned her head and looked behind her, seeing large clusters of buildings in the depths of the G1 base island constantly collapsing and shattering. Flashes of crimson magma or black and red lightning would occasionally burst forth from the area.
That was Akainu and Kaido fighting fiercely.
On the other side, Charlotte Linlin, with a bizarre laugh, was riding on a cloud of fire, chasing Gion's figure as he jumped up and down. She was using Zeus, the thunder cloud she held in her right hand, to tear up the ground, and a significant number of Marine soldiers were being caught in the crossfire and either killed or injured.
In the sky, King was swooping down, heading for the back of the Marines.
And on the sea in front of them, a massive number of pirates were charging toward them, like a tsunami.
Shaking her head hard to get rid of the distracting thoughts that kept popping up, Gion raised her sword to the sky and shouted loudly, making her voice heard clearly by the Marines holding their ground in the inner bay.
"Everyone, listen up! This is the time for us to completely uphold the justice we believe in!"
"Hold your swords tight! Get your guns ready! When the pirates get within range, blast them all to pieces!"
"There's no need to panic! The vanguard force led by Rear Admiral Rorschach, along with powerful reinforcements, including Admiral Kizaru, Admiral Aokiji, and Vice Admiral Garp, will be here soon! As long as you do your job and hold your ground, we Marines are sure to win this war!"
In the oppressive atmosphere, Gion's voice was clearly heard by every Marine.
Hearing that reinforcements were on their way and were being led by two Marine Admirals and Vice Admiral Garp, the Marines felt as if they had received a shot of adrenaline. They finally managed to push down their panic and, under the command of their respective superior officers, turned the bases of the coastal defense guns and aimed them at the approaching pirate ships.
Gion turned to Shiliew, who was hurriedly putting on some clothes, and said in a deep voice, "Shiliew, can you hold on?"
Shiliew's skin was scorched black all over, and his hair and eyebrows had all been burned off by the flames from King's sword slashes.
His exposed face was covered in blisters and scabs, as well as burnt skin, which made him look no different from a demon that had climbed out of hell.
It was hard to imagine that a person who had been burned like this was still alive.
Not only was he still alive, but Shiliew was also grinning. He was stuffing a large cigar into his mouth, which was bleeding profusely from being pulled apart.
As he lit the cigar and took a deep puff, letting the smoke pour out of his nostrils, he curled his lips, revealing a mouthful of bloody teeth, and looked at the sea in front of him with bloodthirsty eyes like a demon.
"Blood. I see enough blood. You go and deal with King. After I've had my fill of blood, I'll come and have some fun with him."
Seeing Shiliew's bloodthirsty, demonic expression, Gion no longer hesitated. She took a step, shot forward, and with her sword raised, she charged toward King, who was fighting a dozen naval officers in the distance.
In just a few seconds, a large number of Marine soldiers were lying on the ground at King's feet.
Severed necks and shattered bodies had stained the ground a dark red.
King was like a tiger in a flock of sheep, and the average Marine was no match for his casual slashes.
Watching as the dozen officers, who were moving together, were forced to retreat by King's onslaught, Gion gripped her sword with both hands. The gleaming golden blade radiated golden light in the night sky, piercing through the darkness and outlining a constantly spinning golden mandala flower in front of Gion.
The petals of the golden mandala flower were made up of golden sword slashes, and they were incredibly sharp. They spun and shot toward King's back, slicing at him.
"Hmph! A desperate struggle." King turned, swung his sword fiercely, and a torrent of flames surged from the blade, heading toward the charging Gion.
Gion's expression was resolute. The blade of her Konpira burst with light, and Haki flowed and swirled on the blade, creating more radiant golden mandala flowers in mid-air that shot toward King's body with a whoosh.
"What's wrong with dying?! Don't underestimate the justice of the Marines!"
"Bloom! Mandala flowers that bloom in the underworld!"
"Clang! Clang!"
The Haki-infused blades clashed with lightning speed, creating a series of sparks.
Gion, who was completely focused, was at this moment performing her swordsmanship to its absolute limit.
With every slash, a spinning golden mandala flower shot toward King's body.
Even though the sword-light flowers that flew toward him were savagely destroyed by King's fiery sword, the vivid golden flowers still kept coming, stubbornly pelting King's body, causing the flames on the back of his head to flicker. The onslaught of Gion's relentless slashes forced his large body to keep retreating.
"This woman has some good swordsmanship."
King gritted his teeth and gripped his sword with both hands, using his pure brute force to block another one of Gion's slashes. Taking advantage of the moment their weapons were locked in mid-air, he let out a powerful kick with his long right leg, sweeping it across Gion's waist. Taken by surprise, Gion was kicked in the abdomen.
"Bang!"
With a loud bang, Gion was sent flying by King's kick. She crashed into a nearby building, smashing through countless walls and kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
Looking at Gion, who had the corners of her mouth bleeding and was quietly getting up, a hint of playful mockery showed in King's eyes behind his black mask.
"I never said I was a swordsman."
With that, he turned his head and glanced at the inner bay's port, where cannon fire was lighting up the sky. A smirk formed under his mask. "This cannon fire truly sounds like a funeral bell. A funeral bell that you Marines are ringing with your own hands."
In the distance, on the sea of the inner bay, a massive ship with an elephant's head was charging forward, ignoring the constant cannon fire that was causing wooden planks to fly off its hull.
On the bow of the ship, a giant cyborg who was ten meters tall, with flesh and gleaming metal intertwined, held a large iron hammer that was five or six meters long in his steel hands. He grinned with his mouth full of jagged, saw-like teeth and roared with a murderous look in his eyes: "Get the ship closer for me!"
End of Chapter)
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