Chapter 94: The Gift
Inside the cloud cave of Avant Heim.
Louis turned his head to look in the direction of Geyr Island, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"To think they could teleport four people here so quickly, and all of them are powerhouses rarely seen on the sea."
"Do the Celestial Dragons not need coordinates to teleport? Or did the last group to land on the island already set the coordinates in advance?"
But soon, Louis reined in his thoughts and turned to walk toward the others, who were gathered and preparing for a banquet. As he turned, Louis, through his connection with his Fantasy Species, gave a command to the Natural Water that was always following beneath Avant Heim.
"Turn around, go to the other side of the island and deliver a big gift to the Celestial Dragons. Then, take a detour and catch up with us from another direction."
The next moment, the Natural Water changed course, heading for the other side of the island. After doing this, a thoughtful smile played on Louis's lips.
Geyr Island.
Several figures in cloaks gathered in a flame-scorched area, carrying corpse after corpse.
The Commander of the God's Knights—Saint Figarland Garling—knelt on the ground, carefully examining the numerous wounds on Cabanha's body.
Just then, an aged female voice sounded from behind him. "Only a portion of the new bloods' bodies have been recovered. One or two are still missing. One was caught in Cabanha's crossfire and was killed by the swordsman. The bodies of the others have been severely burned and need to be taken back to the Holy Land to determine their specific cause of death."
"In addition, the vast majority of the Marines who were carrying out the Buster Call are missing. Only a little over two thousand bodies have been found on the battlefield. Based on the combat traces left behind, it was the work of giants."
The elderly woman in the cloak explained that the battlefield was too heavily damaged to find more detailed information in a short amount of time.
Garling heard this, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Giants."
If he remembered correctly, Cabanha seemed to have captured several giants in the West Blue. They were supposed to be given to one of the new bloods he favored, to be used as combat slaves. After receiving his own orders, Cabanha had brought those slaves directly here.
A moment later, he spoke slowly. "So, there's a possibility that this incident was started because of the giants."
Then, another figure slowly put down a body that had no visible fatal wounds and said thoughtfully, "His death is very strange. There are no fatal wounds on his body, but he is indeed dead. That battlefield also has traces of being frozen; it was a user of an ice-controlling ability."
Just then, the young man with red hair and a bit of stubble on his face coolly uttered two words: "Swordsman, electricity."
Garling was silent for a moment, then slowly stood up and spoke with an unquestionable tone. "Giants, freezing, a means of killing without leaving wounds, and a swordsman who can release electricity. As long as a combination like this appears on the sea, we can confirm who the culprits of this incident are."
The two elderly women heard this, exchanged glances, then nodded in response. "We will keep an eye out."
With that, the two of them turned and walked toward the still-smoldering town, preparing to gather any possible information from the residents who had not yet fled.
After the two left, Garling turned to look at the red-haired young man, who had one hand on the hilt of his saber, and instructed, "Shamrock, you come with me."
With that, Garling turned and left, searching the shattered battlefield for the huge cavern mentioned in the report. The young man named Shamrock did not answer, but silently followed.
Soon, the two arrived at the cavern, which had become even more conspicuous, and saw the things mentioned in the report. Inside the huge cavern, the two of them emotionlessly examined the Nika statue, which had been mostly destroyed by the aftershocks of the battle.
"Shamrock, destroy it." Leaving this sentence behind, Garling turned and walked deeper into the cavern.
SHING.
Shamrock gently drew his saber. A sharp slash flashed past, instantly destroying the half-ruined statue.
Just then, a clamor in the distance caught Shamrock's attention. He frowned, leaped up to the outside, and turned to look in the direction of the noise. The next second, a subtle change came over his face.
On the distant azure sea, a massive tsunami was rampaging, sweeping straight toward Geyr Island. Soon, Shamrock's face returned to calm, a flash of understanding in his eyes. I see, he thought to himself. So the Buster Call was left with only three ships and two thousand men because of the impact of a tsunami of this scale?
In the distant town, a figure almost completely shrouded in a cloak stood in the street. They casually tossed a blood-soaked and unconscious middle-aged man into a burning house. She turned and walked toward the battlefield, completely ignoring the terrified and desperate gazes not far away. A thoughtful expression appeared on the face hidden deep within her hood.
"A Buster Call, women with white wings on their waists, and..."
Suddenly, her steps stopped. She abruptly looked up at the sky in front of her and subconsciously said, "A tsunami?!"
TAP—TAP—
Garling returned to the outside and, looking at the tsunami that was gradually blotting out the sky, said flatly, "So we've been played..."
The next moment, he slowly drew the magnificent saber from his waist and met the tsunami that was crashing down on him head-on.
Meanwhile, Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Marine HQ Communications Center.
The originally solemn atmosphere had disappeared at some unknown point, replaced by a strange, oppressive feeling, like the calm before a storm.
"Have all the warships carrying out the Buster Call been contacted?" At this moment, Sengoku's face was extremely ugly. Anyone could see his current unrest. Ever since receiving the support order from the Five Elders, his nerves had been stretched taut. He needed to know what had happened on Geyr Island! But he had been unable to contact the fleet sent to carry out the Buster Call, which gave him a huge headache.
In front of Sengoku, a soldier in a Marine uniform with headphones was sweating profusely, trying to adjust the Den Den Mushi channels over and over again.
Facing the extremely stressful inquiry from the Fleet Admiral, the soldier braced himself and replied, "Reporting, Fleet Admiral! Still unable to make contact!"
Sengoku's heart sank to the bottom.
He didn't understand. Why would this simple Buster Call mission receive a direct support order from the Five Elders? Why would a powerful lineup of five Vice Admirals lose contact so suddenly? What kind of surprise attack could have happened that not a single one of the ten warships was able to successfully send out a distress signal?
This series of questions troubled Sengoku, making him extremely agitated.
After forcing himself to calm down, Sengoku looked at his adjutant, who was also sweating profusely, and asked, "Have the support warships been dispatched?"
The adjutant heard him and answered solemnly, "Reporting, Fleet Admiral! All the Marines from the nearby branches have been deployed. If there are no surprises, they should arrive at the island where the Buster Call is being carried out shortly."
Just then, one of the communicators stood up and saluted Sengoku. "Reporting, Fleet Admiral! A message has come from the support fleet! They have encountered an extremely rare super-tsunami and are taking evasive action!"
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