Chapter 61: The Arriving Dog Head Battleship!
Just as the four sides and the center of the Tutmos Kingdom were plunged into War and chaos, unnoticed by both enemy and friendly forces, a Headquarters Warship with a dog head decoration on its bow slowly sailed from the distant Sea Surface.
"Vice Admiral, it seems Rear Admiral Aven and the others are in a tough fight. Should I take some men to help?"
Wearing a black-grey Suit with a matching Hat, a pure white Coat of Justice, and a black-sheathed Long Saber strapped to his waist, this was none other than Vice Admiral Garp's exclusive Adjutant.
There was a legend in Marine Headquarters: the strongest Swordsman in Marineford might just be this Rear Admiral Bogard, who was relatively unknown to the outside world!
The main reason was that for the past decade or so, every time Garp caught up to the Roger Pirates, it was this Adjutant who was responsible for stopping the 'Dark King' Rayleigh.
Someone once said that if Rayleigh was considered Pirate King Roger's right arm, then Rear Admiral Bogard was Marine Hero Garp's left fist!
"Puhahaha, forget it. This is that kid's Mission. For now, let them handle it themselves," Garp said with a loud laugh, looking towards the depths of the Island.
"But in my opinion, with Rear Admiral Dorag's current Strength, the probability of defeating 'Slave King' Taklama is very low..." Rear Admiral Bogard showed a hint of worry.
Although their location was quite far from Shabak City, the power of Observation Haki allowed them to see the intense battle situation clearly.
"Isn't that great? Only by defeating a difficult opponent can one become Stronger." At this point, Garp's expression became slightly serious.
"You and I both know that Haki can only be further improved in the limit state of actual combat. Although long-term high-intensity training also has an Effect, the Efficiency difference between the two is too great!"
Why did he train his fists by punching mountains back then? Wasn't it because he couldn't find opponents of the same level willing to accompany him? Whether it was Sengoku or Zephyr, they all had a pile of work to be busy with.
"..."
Regarding Vice Admiral Garp's remarks, Rear Admiral Bogard chose silence, because he knew he couldn't change the other party's decision.
"Moreover, this Slave King's Strength, in my opinion, is just so-so. His Armament Haki is just so-so, and his Observation Haki is even less worth mentioning. Only his Development of Devil Fruit Ability is decent. Although his overall Strength is slightly stronger than Dragon's, it hasn't reached a point where Dragon cannot contend with him."
For some reason, Garp was talking a lot more than usual, and his Adjutant Bogart behind him served as the best listener.
"In this old man's opinion, this guy is the most suitable opponent for that kid at this current stage. I guess he's also the opponent that kid is most satisfied with himself. Listen carefully, that kid is excited right now!"
After speaking, Garp laughed loudly again, looking happy. To be honest, he now felt a trace of goodwill and gratitude towards the World Government.
Because without the decision of the World Government's high-level, Dragon would have had no chance to become the Commanding Officer. After all, he was just a Rear Admiral, and he had even shown rebellious behavior before.
If Marine Headquarters had decided on its own, the lineup for this Mission to capture King Taklamakan and thoroughly investigate Tutmos Kingdom would most likely have been led by Sengoku himself, or he himself would have been sent, with Dragon at most being an Attendant Officer.
But the Five Elders, for some unknown reason, overruled all objections and specifically chose Dragon as the Commanding Officer, and did not allow any Combat Power of Vice Admiral rank or higher to be brought along.
To this day, Fleet Admiral Kong and Sengoku still suspect that the World Government deliberately intended to trap and kill Dragon.
He initially thought so too, but now, observing the actual battle situation, he found that this was not the case. The Slave King was not an opponent that Dragon was completely unable to match.
On the contrary, a Mission like fighting for hundreds of thousands of Slave would only ignite the endless Will and Strength within Dragon's Heart, and this was the best catalyst for the improvement of Haki!
Rear Admiral Bogard also nodded in agreement upon hearing this last statement. Although Dragon was being severely suppressed by the Slave King and looked quite battered in appearance, he could also feel the increasingly intense Haki Presence.
Besides, even if he truly lost in the end, it was nothing. Hadn't Vice Admiral Garp and he already arrived?
"Let's wait and see how long it takes for this Slave King to ignite Dragon's limit..." Garp watched the direction of Shabak intently, his arms crossed.
The sky above that Zone was already filled with a large amount of Yellow Sandstorm, with a tenacious streak of Green Whirlwind appearing from time to time.
At this moment.
The battles involving the other Marine Officer had already ended. After all, the Effect of Powerful Water only lasted for five minutes, after which they would automatically die.
Therefore, although the fifty Elite brought by Dragon were all injured, fortunately, not a single one died. However, due to the Gale and sand being too strong, they had to retreat from Inside the City and gather on a high Sand Dune to watch the battle.
But the problem was, they couldn't see anything...
"Everyone, the situation is clear to all of us now. We are no help to Rear Admiral Dorag here; we're just wasting Time. So, I suggest we go support the Battlefields on all four sides."
At this moment, a Lieutenant Colonel stepped forward and proposed this to everyone.
"Indeed..."
"We can't waste Time like this!"
The Lieutenant Colonel's words immediately received agreement and Support from many people. But at this moment, another Colonel counter-asked, "How are we supposed to get to the various Battlefields?"
"What does that mean?" The others looked over in confusion, thinking to themselves, "How else could we go? Of course, by running."
Seeing the Gaze of these Officers, this Colonel understood that they hadn't realized the key point. He helplessly Shake Head and said, "It seems you don't know much about the Desert."
"I am from Alabasta and am willing to tell you. Although this Tutmos Kingdom is not as large as my Hometown, it is still a medium-sized Island."
"We currently have no Fresh Water, no tools to discern direction, and no mounts or vehicles whatsoever. If we just run into the Sand Sea like this, we will only be trapped to death and die of thirst."
After this Colonel said this, everyone suddenly realized.
Indeed, when they came, they rode on a Warship and flew over from the sky. Even so, it took quite some Time. So, if they were to walk back on their own feet...
Looking out at the boundless golden yellow Sand Sea stretching as far as the eye could see, they fell silent.
As for that flying Warship, who knows where it was blown by the distant sandstorm. Even if they found it, Rear Admiral Dorag was busy right now. How could he have Time to take them flying?
"What should we do then?"
"We can't just do nothing here, can we?"
These Elite Officers from Marine Headquarters felt as if they had full Combat Power but nowhere to use it.
"Let's go save people!"
"Let's recall, the Core objective of this Mission is to save the hundreds of thousands of Slave Underground, not just to come here and slaughter the Soldiers."
"Most of them are either on the Battlefields on all four sides or have been dealt with by us, so there won't be many guards Inside the City."
Finally, a rare Major who was good at thinking stepped forward, pointing out a new direction for everyone and making everyone's eyes light up.
"Well said, Lieutenant Colonel Amos!"
"Saving hundreds of thousands of Slave is also a great achievement!"
"But how do we get down? I remember the passage leading Underground is Inside the City..." Another Major raised his question.
"Leave it to me!"
At this moment, a burly figure wearing sharp Claw Gauntlet on his hands walked out with a smiling face. At the same time, he activated the Ability of the Animal System Mouse-Mouse Fruit, Mole Form, and directly entered Beast Form, transforming into a giant Mole with dark skin.
"Isn't it just digging holes? Follow me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his entire body drilled into the Sand Layer like a large black drill, digging out a pitch-black large hole wide enough to accommodate two people walking side-by-side...
Extremely grateful for the 5100 Qidian Coin Tip from Reader Xue! Also two Monthly Passes and 5 Recommendation Tickets, I bow, thank you again, this is truly the biggest surprise today!
Very, very grateful for the 100 Qidian Coin Tip from Reader Hammer Haze Don't Know the Way Back Cat Character Bar! I bow, I bow!
Also, I've realized this plot section is a bit long, so I'm also shortening the process of the battle.
(End of this chapter)