Chapter 81: The Statue, Footprints, Weapon, and Poneglyph
Geyr Island, an island of only a few hundred square kilometers. Such islands are countless in the Grand Line and even the entire world.
It has a population of only a few tens of thousands. Due to their inability to pay the exorbitant Heavenly Tribute, their government chose not to join the World Government and become a member nation. This was once a country with many religions, but due to the severe oppression of the people by the state and the various religious orders, the populace could barely breathe.
Eventually, a vigorous anti-religion movement began here. Countless believers and bishops died under the pitchforks and scythes of the common people. One by one, the churches and countless corpses were burned. Over the long years, the city once filled with churches became a forest and wilderness teeming with wild beasts, while the original wilderness was developed into a new city.
...
One by one, CP agents in black suits and Marine soldiers, after having all their communication devices confiscated, walked into this jungle and entered the abandoned churches to begin their search.
A tall man wearing a goat skull helmet and a jet-black cape stood in one of the abandoned churches. He looked up at the wave-patterned cross, which was covered in countless tree roots and moss, a hint of mockery flashing in the eyes beneath the skull. "The faith that protected the seas eventually became the evil dragon that oppressed them, only to be killed by the angry mob? How laughable... these failures."
Just then, a series of footsteps sounded behind him. An old man with silver hair and a gas mask, a sword at his waist, slowly walked over. "We've searched more than half of the church ruins in this forest. The number of statues we've found is a bit more than we expected."
A cold voice came from beneath the goat skull. "Compared to these things, I'm more interested in whether the agents in the town have found anything."
To this, the old man in the gas mask shook his head. "A population of tens of thousands... how could the agents and Marine soldiers we've brought over investigate them so quickly? I'd rather hope that fewer people have come into contact with this place. It would make the disposal much more convenient."
The old man with the goat skull helmet chuckled softly. "Heh... if more people have been in contact, it's actually easier to handle. The time it takes for us to finish this mission would be greatly shortened."
"A Buster Call?" the silver-haired old man said thoughtfully.
"That's right. Compared to staying here, I'd prefer to just have the Marines launch a Buster Call. It's cleaner. The firepower of a Buster Call is enough to destroy the remaining statues and murals in this forest, and anyone who might have come into contact with them will also be eliminated," the goat-skulled man said, shouldering his strange weapon, his words icy cold.
Meanwhile, in an abandoned church not far away, a young man with blond hair, dressed in fine clothes and carrying himself with an extraordinary air, walked slowly, a flintlock in his hand.
CRACK...
The sound of something breaking came from under his feet. Countless cracks radiated out from where he stood. Before the young man could react, the ground beneath his feet collapsed, forming a huge, dark hole that began to swallow dust and scattered debris. The "new blood" of the God's Knights was caught off guard and fell straight in, along with the collapsing floor.
BOOM—
A huge sound echoed through the entire forest, attracting everyone's attention. The two senior God's Knights' expressions changed, and they quickly rushed toward the source of the commotion.
"Ahem... ahem..."
In the dim cavern, dust swirled. The blond youth was half-kneeling on the ground, coughing violently. Soon, he came to his senses, picked up his rifle, and vigilantly scanned his surroundings.
The next moment, he froze on the spot. "What... is this?"
As the dust gradually settled, a stone statue about ten meters tall, holding a sword and shield in a strange pose, was revealed before the young man's eyes. Seeing it, the youth subconsciously took a few steps closer, wanting to get a clearer view of the giant statue.
Just then, two figures appeared behind him. They grabbed his shoulders and threw him upward.
THUD...
The youth fell onto the ground outside, making a dull sound. Several of his companions came over to ask about the situation. "What's down there?"
"..."
The blond youth shook his head with a strange expression, not answering them. From the attitude of the two seniors, the stone statue below was on a different level of importance than the murals and statues of various races they'd found in the abandoned churches. He felt that if he spoke up, even if he was a descendant of the Twenty Kings, he probably wouldn't have a good end.
...
Inside the cavern, what appeared before the two old men was a stone statue holding a greatsword and a shield, with flame-like clouds swirling around its upper body, and a wide, unrestrained smile on its face.
"..."
"This is... quite something..." The silver-haired old man lit a torch to illuminate the surroundings, taking in every detail of the statue. "Is this... one of those things that only Garling and the Five Elders are qualified to know about?"
"Look here..." the goat-skulled man said suddenly, his tone a little shaky with uncertainty.
"?"
The silver-haired old man turned with a puzzled look. Behind them, directly opposite the giant stone statue, a mural depicting twenty dark figures and a massive army was carved into the wall.
"Th-th-this..."
"The Twenty Kings and their army?!" The old man in the gas mask instantly knew the identity of the statue. The enemy of the Celestial Dragons!
Just then, a flash of fire from not far away caught their attention.
"Who's there?!" the goat-skulled man shouted.
"It's me!" a young man's voice called out. "Come and look at this!"
"It's the boy from the Nerona family." The two relaxed their guard and slowly approached.
After they got closer, they found the new blood from the Nerona family squatting on the ground, studying something.
"When did you get down here?" the silver-haired old man asked.
The youth squatting on the ground didn't even raise his head. "Don't think about chasing me away. I'm from the Nerona family. Knowing about this probably won't get me punished. Also, I found a hidden passage on the other side and came in through there."
"A passage?" the two old men were stunned.
"Wait, what are you looking at?" the goat-skulled man realized something was off.
"Twenty-eight footprints. Dated to about sixteen or seventeen years ago." The youth slowly stood up and held his torch forward.
"And..."
The burning flames illuminated the area ahead.
"This..."
In a corner of the underground space sat a square stone monument. Its surface was blue, and it was inscribed with indecipherable characters. On an altar in front of it, two dusty artifacts lay quietly. One was a double-edged sword, and the other was a shield.
The goat-skulled man saw this and subconsciously looked at the distant statue. It was also holding a sword and shield. "Could these be the weapons of the Twenty Kings' enemy?"
The youth from the Nerona family looked at the stone monument, which was unfamiliar even to him. He then recalled certain legends from his family and shook his head.
"No. They are likely forgeries."
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