"Now the attention of the Marines and the World Government is on that assailant. The Marine forces in the New World have completely retreated into their strongholds, while the first half of the Grand Line has fallen into chaos," Arlan said with a smirk.
"The World Government has been pressing us several times. How's the plan coming along?" Aeridar asked with a smile.
"It's in the document. King Dasco XI is on his last legs; he'll die in as little as a week, or at most a month," Arlan pointed to the document in Aeridar's hand, implying that Aeridar hadn't even read it completely.
"Hehe~ Is that so..." Aeridar chuckled happily, lowering his gaze to continue reading the document in his hand.
"According to the doctors' predictions, King Dasco XI can't be saved. At most, some rare medicinal ingredients can prolong his life," Arlan explained concurrently.
"Then we should act. When King Dasco XI dies, it will likely be the time for the various factions to erupt into war, and also our time to make our move," Aeridar's grin deepened after finishing the document.
"Exactly. Thanks to Vito's help, we've connected with the Third Prince, Casey Dasco, and have secretly infiltrated and deployed five hundred people into the royal capital, Nakor. We have people from the Chris Pirates, the White Mane Pirates, and the Triangle Pirates. At the same time, our intelligence network now covers the entire capital," Arlan said with a smile, revealing that he had everything under control.
Aeridar nodded in satisfaction, then dropped his smile, stating gravely, "Then the plan can begin. First, notify all subordinate pirate crews to gather in the Brady Island sea. Assemble the main force of the Grand Fleet. When we make our move, the various noble factions will surely dispatch the troops stationed at the ports back to the royal capital to participate in the succession war..."
"Then the main force of the Grand Fleet can seize the opportunity to attack any port, fighting their way to the royal capital, Nakor, and eliminating all those guys," Arlan finished Aeridar's sentence before he could.
"Exactly. As long as we can take out the strong individuals of the Clifford Kingdom, the ordinary soldiers are nothing to worry about," Aeridar cackled menacingly.
For a great pirate like Aeridar, just the overflow of his Conqueror's Haki could make all nearby soldiers faint, rendering ordinary soldiers useless. While not effective against strong opponents, it was an efficient way to clear out fodder.
"Go, arrange a meeting in the conference room. We'll assign the personnel," Aeridar then excitedly commanded. "Also, arrange for me to go to the royal capital, Nakor, as soon as possible. I want to meet the experts there."
Soon, at Aeridar's command, the executives still on the island gathered in the fifth-floor conference room.
This meeting had only one purpose: to assign personnel for the invasion of the Clifford Kingdom.
On one side, Oliver, Arlan, Backan, and Angus Abel of the Chris Pirates, Galan of the White Mane Pirates, and Vito and Marcus of the Triangle Pirates would be led by Aeridar to infiltrate the royal capital, Nakor, and deal with the strong individuals there.
The remaining personnel, Dimitri, Gorbo, Otto, Millie, and Mina of the Chris Pirates, Enrod of the White Mane Pirates, and Rock of the Triangle Pirates, would rendezvous with the Grand Fleet.
When the port armies were redeployed, they would launch their attack, fighting their way into the royal capital and seizing the Clifford Kingdom.
As for Dalt, he was a researcher. Although he had decent strength, he wasn't a combatant, so they couldn't risk him. Thus, he was assigned to remain on Alvis Island.
For this operation, the Chris Pirates were deploying almost their entire force. As for Vito and the two other members of the Triangle Pirates, they were participating because their pirate crew had been severely weakened and hadn't recovered yet.
Only three hundred people were left guarding Alvis Island, but over three hundred hunters on the island had joined the Chris Pirates and were all being deployed together this time.
While the Grand Fleet, numbering in the thousands, was quantitatively inferior to the Clifford Kingdom's army, their strength was far superior.
Moreover, the alliance included not only the Triangle Pirates but also the Paperman Pirates led by Paperman - Bright Ward. Although it was an alliance, the Paperman Pirates completely deferred to Aeridar's leadership and had agreed to deploy their entire force to assist.
Overall, Aeridar's side had a significant advantage in terms of skilled fighters.
After the meeting, the entire Alvis Island was bustling. Ships and cannons were being maintained, and various supplies were being moved from the warehouses onto the pirate ships.
Arlan continuously checked the supplies in the warehouses. In the event of a fierce battle, ammunition would be consumed extremely quickly, so it was crucial to know exactly how long the ammunition in the warehouses could sustain intense combat and how long it could last in regular skirmishes. All this had to be clear; there was no room for carelessness.
As the days passed, pirate ship after pirate ship, flying skull flags, began to gather at an uninhabited small island in the Brady Island sea. Different pirate crews arrived daily.
"Hahaha~ You got here even earlier than I did!" A brawny man with a buzz cut, carrying a cannon on his back, laughed heartily as he disembarked and stepped onto the island's sandy beach.
"Of course. I wouldn't dare be sluggish with Captain Aeridar's orders," on the shore, a brown-haired man with two large revolvers tucked into his belt also smiled faintly.
"I can't believe Captain Aeridar's target is the Clifford Kingdom! That's a powerful kingdom that even the Marines dare not provoke," another burly man with a spiked club and several scars on his face exclaimed in awe.
"I heard the Clifford Kingdom has a very formidable swordsman. Because he possesses the ability to cleave huge ocean waves with a single sword, he's known as 'Ocean Cutter.' Even Hawkeye Mihawk went to challenge him a few years ago," a man in black with a katana at his hip said from the side, his tone filled with admiration.
After all, these new pirates had been active in the New World for several months now and understood things better; they weren't the novices they once were.
Some pirate crews would have been wiped out by now if they hadn't been under the protection of the Chris Pirates' flag. The New World was far more brutal than an amusement park.
This was why, even though they knew of the Clifford Kingdom's strength, they still came. They had immense faith in the Chris Pirates' power, in their boss, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Golden Ring Aeridar's strength, to the point of reverence.
"Hey, you guys! Meeting's starting! Hurry up and get over here!"
Suddenly, a pirate with a long sword ran out of the forest, shouting loudly.
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