"Golden Lion, this just shows your strength isn't enough. The Holy Land wasn't even defended, and yet you still couldn't destroy it," Rosse spoke casually, but there was an unshakable heaviness in his eyes.
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[Nerona Imu]
[Combat Power Rating: SS]
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Because he was already prepared, he had truly seen the trajectory of Imu's move.
'That should be a space-type ability.'
In an instant, it froze the island and that building.
Although the collision continued, the kinetic energy that should have caused impact vanished due to the frozen space.
This kind of power, Rosse couldn't completely comprehend either, but Imu's strike just now had allowed him to see the opponent's panel.
And this time, the panel wasn't a comprehensive rating, but purely a combat power rating.
A rating as high as SS, it was that dazzling.
A full two tiers above even top-tier human monsters like them.
'Should I say, as expected of the ancient monster left over from 800 years ago? Truly troublesome...'
"Golden Lion, let's leave now," Rayleigh said with a solemn expression, standing mid-air and remaining ever-alert toward Rosse's side.
"But they... seem a little unwilling to let us go," Golden Lion narrowed his eyes slightly, his lion's pupils locking tightly onto the few below.
After the island fell, the people below seemed to return to their earlier posture, a stance ready to keep them from escaping.
"Leave one person behind, just to give us an explanation," Rosse smiled and looked up, the Sea God Trident in his hand aimed at Golden Lion and the others in the sky.
Thinking they can fight and then just run off, how could it be that easy?
Leave one behind, let him kill an experience baby.
Otherwise, he wouldn't mind leaving all of them behind.
Don't be fooled by their equal numbers. He was still at full power, Golden Lion and the others were not.
If he wanted to, working with the others, he could keep them all.
Not to mention, his reinforcements had already arrived.
"Tch, if this old man wants to leave, do I need your permission?", Golden Lion sneered and was about to take people and retreat.
But before he could lead them to take off, a dazzling golden light shot over from the distance.
Buzz!
The golden light, like a solid entity, smashed into Golden Lion and his group.
Unfortunately for the attacker, Golden Lion and the others were all extremely powerful; with just a wave, they shattered the golden light.
But their expressions inevitably grew a bit more serious.
"Yo, how scary. The Holy Land's been wrecked beyond recognition," Borsalino's exaggerated voice came from the sky, his figure transforming into light and appearing beside Rosse.
"Saint Rosse, looks like I arrived a little late," As he said this, Borsalino still wore a playful smile, seemingly not caring at all about the destroyed Holy Land.
"Just in time, Vice Admiral Borsalino," Rosse gave a faint smile, patting Borsalino on the shoulder.
Long before he reached the Holy Land, Borsalino had already arrived on the Red Line.
He had simply stayed far away, not participating in the battle.
Joining the fight required a signal from Rosse.
And now, it was the perfect time to wrap things up.
"Golden Lion, make a decision, leave someone behind, or try to break out? The longer you wait, the more people will arrive," Rosse's lips curled into a smile, not looking anxious at all.
And he truly wasn't.
Now, on their side, top-tier powerhouses outnumbered Golden Lion's side by one.
Dragon was missing, but they still had Saint Peter.
Even without going all out, if he wanted to keep them all, they might suffer some losses, but they would succeed in the end.
And there was one very crucial point.
The Pirate Alliance wasn't actually united in heart.
Maybe the leading few could maintain unity through relationships, but not everyone trusted one another.
Just like Golden Lion didn't trust Dragon and Bullet, Kozuki Oden wouldn't trust Golden Lion.
They also wouldn't give up their own escape chances for others.
Now, at this point, the pirates had already completed their conceptual objective. They no longer had much will to fight.
And how to retreat had become the biggest problem.
Rosse wasn't going to just watch them run away. He had already shown, even with an island falling on the Holy Land, Rosse and his group didn't lift a finger to help.
Even those two CP0 powerhouses, because Rosse and the others didn't act, had to grit their teeth and stay.
"Split up and break out!", Golden Lion and the others exchanged a look, they didn't plan to do as Rosse said.
Let someone stay behind? They were pirates. Did they have no pride?
But breaking out together wasn't realistic either.
Golden Lion didn't dare run with this group. His stamina was down to one-third.
If he made the wrong call and got betrayed, he'd be finished.
"SHIRAHAHAHA, Celestial Dragon brat, don't be too arrogant!", Golden Lion let out a wild laugh, and with his words, all the pirates unleashed their own abilities and scattered in all directions.
Seeing this, Rosse let out a mocking snort.
'Pirates, after all, still just a loose bunch of sand.'
Rosse gave a glance to the others, and instantly, everyone moved.
They didn't each chase separate targets.
Instead, they moved as one, intercepting the group with the most people, Rayleigh's group.
Rather than trying to stop everyone and risk a worse result, it was better to leave just a few.
That was Rosse's idea.
He had worked hard to build such a good setup, he didn't want to upset the balance again.
Now it was known that Imu had SS-level strength, two levels above his. That made every S-level experience pack extraordinarily valuable.
This time, his goal was just to leave two people behind, to provide a satisfactory explanation.
Since Imu didn't even want to make a move, the responsibility couldn't be pinned on the Jaygarcia family. That was enough.
As for the heavy losses to the Holy Land and the Celestial Dragons, who would really care?
None of those who died were his people. In fact, with those Celestial Dragons dead, the Holy Land might even be a bit cleaner.
"They're running even faster now that they saw you guys blocked. Rayleigh," Rosse's lips curled slightly as he and the others intercepted Rayleigh's group.
Within the encirclement were only Rayleigh, Gaban, and Bullet.
Even Kozuki Oden hadn't looked back.
He and Roger had only been partners, they didn't share deep feelings.
Better the friend die than oneself.
At this point, he could only run. He still had Wano to liberate.
He could only offer silent apologies to Rayleigh and the others in his heart.
"Sigh, your goal is achieved. I won't resist. Let those two go, how about that?", Rayleigh sighed, stepping forward with sword in hand.
When disaster strikes, everyone flies alone, this was the pirate way.
But he didn't want to say much either.
They had stepped into the Holy Land ready to die.
Death, it was nothing.
Old friends had already gone long ago.
It was about time for him too.
[T/N: Respect!]
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