"Sorry, I didn't sense it in time." Enel descended as a bolt of lightning, landing beside Rosen, whose face was dark with anger. Rosen was holding Robin and Natalie in his hands.
Daz Bones leapt into the air. Though he was shaken by the explosion, his steel-like body was unscathed. As for Mr. 5, he was likely enjoying the chaos of the blast.
Hathaway tended to Valentine, Migs, and the others.
After the explosion, none of them were seriously hurt. Despite its immense power and wide range, their Observation Haki had warned them just in time, allowing them to react instantly.
The entire inner city had become a blazing inferno—a living hell. Though the dead were citizens of the royal capital, most of them were innocent civilians.
"It's not your fault. A royal family always has its own tricks. I just didn't expect the entire underground of the inner city to be packed with explosives—and buried so deep and hidden," Rosen said grimly. Explosives buried that far below couldn't be detected by Observation Haki.
"Monstrous," Robin muttered, her face pale. Watching thousands of lives vanish before her eyes in such a way only reaffirmed that their war was entirely justified.
This was the work of a true tyrant—one who valued no life but his own.
"Keep moving."
They crossed the sea of flames and reached the sealed gates of the high citadel. Though there were fewer than ten of them, their survival had sent shockwaves through the enemy ranks.
"They're still alive?! Not one of them died?"
"The enemies survived and have reached the high citadel!"
"Impossible!" The king's face went pale in disbelief. That explosion could kill even an admiral. Though difficult to deploy, its power was undeniable.
Once, long ago, that same weapon had gravely injured a defected Marine admiral who had come to challenge the Andia Kingdom.
Could these intruders be even stronger than him? Impossible.
Indeed, the explosion had been devastating—any normal body would have been obliterated unless they were Logia-type users.
Unfortunately for him, Rosen's crew had two powerful Logia users, including Rosen himself. No matter how strong an attack was, if it didn't land, it was meaningless.
Just like now.
"So they survived... but not a single casualty?" Raymond muttered in surprise. It was reasonable that Crocodile might escape such a blast—but for none of his crew to die? That gave him a bad feeling.
It seemed the Dawn Pirates' strength wasn't limited to one or two individuals.
"As long as we hold the citadel, they won't break through easily. Wear them down. Even if they get inside, we'll have the advantage. Set the traps—when the time comes, who kills who might not be so certain." Raymond remained calm.
They had their own means of survival. If executed properly, it might be the enemy who lost their heads.
Then Rosen's voice echoed through the flames.
"King of Andia! Don't you want to avenge that worthless son of yours? I'm right here! I remember—when he died, he begged me to spare him. Will you beg too? Hahaha…"
The king froze, his face twisting into a demonic snarl of rage. "Crocodile… It's Crocodile! Not an assassin from Xia?!"
Damn it! That insolent pirate hadn't just evaded capture—he had come to taunt him in person. Unforgivable. Unbearable. He must die!
The king's fear vanished, replaced by fury. He had thought Xia's army was attacking—but now it seemed these pirates were the ones taking advantage of the chaos.
To this day, he still didn't know that the mastermind behind Xia was Rosen himself.
Raymond, however, sensed danger. He hadn't expected Crocodile to provoke the king now of all times.
"Open the gates! Deploy all elite troops! Kill them all! Every last one! If they don't die, you will!" the king bellowed to his three thousand royal guards—the very core of the kingdom's power.
They were the strongest, most fanatically loyal soldiers—trained and brainwashed since childhood to obey without question, only unleashed in times of war.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The captain of the royal guard saluted. Leaving five hundred to protect the king, he led the remaining two thousand five hundred forward to attack.
"My king…" Raymond frowned. This was not what he wanted. The royal guard was indeed powerful, but using them now to wear down the enemy would leave no one to form a proper encirclement later. The smarter choice would have been to send in lesser troops first.
But the king was beyond reason.
"Silence, Duke Raymond! Know your place. Send your army as well! I want them wiped from existence!"
Raymond said nothing.
"I said deploy! Did you not hear me?! Or do you intend to defy me?!" The king roared, grabbing Raymond by the shoulder, his face contorted in fury.
Alan and Colson tensed, ready to protect their master at the slightest provocation.
"No need," Raymond said quietly. "They're already here."
Boom!
A thunderbolt struck from above. Rosen had no intention of wasting time on a battle of attrition. He and his crew descended from the sky, surrounding the king's group in an instant.
"That one's mine," Hathaway said coldly, pointing her blade at Colson. She had a score to settle from their last encounter.
Cold sweat beaded on Colson's forehead—the woman's killing intent and Haki were suffocating.
"Activate the traps!" Raymond ordered. There was no avoiding the fight now—only the strong would survive.
Boom!
But before the traps could be sprung, Rosen stomped the ground. His powers erupted, turning the entire floor into flowing sand, swallowing hidden soldiers and strange metal cages beneath it.
"The same trick won't work twice," Rosen said coldly. Since the explosion, he had been pushing his Sand-Sand powers to the limit. His sand had already seeped into every inch of the citadel. It drained his stamina heavily—but he couldn't afford any more surprises.
He didn't know what those underground cages were for, but judging from their detachable structure and the Seastone aura they emitted, they were clearly designed to capture people.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Soldiers appeared on rooftops, firing strange cannons that launched cages toward them.
"Sandstorm!" Rosen unleashed a swirling sand tornado, sweeping the projectiles away.
"If this is all you've got," Rosen said coldly, "then die here. Kill them all!"
The battle erupted instantly.
"Protect the king!" Allen shouted, charging straight at Rosen. He believed that defeating Rosen would end it all. This time, the numbers were in their favor—unlike when he'd ambushed Xia. This time, he wouldn't lose.
"Attack together," Raymond ordered calmly as tens of thousands of soldiers surged forward.
"I've got this," Enel stepped forward, unleashing a God's Judgment, obliterating a vast swath of enemies in an instant.
"The king is mine," Rosen said. "End this quickly."
There was no room for retreat. The final battle had begun—and Rosen was certain that the king's faction could never stop them.
(End of Chapter)