"Hmph! You little brat, Ichiji! When did I ever join Germa? How laughable. You're not worthy to speak to me."
A head emerged from the opened window at the top of the ancient fort, revealing a lean face of a man in his thirties or forties, his expression full of disdain. His black, neatly parted hair fluttered in the wind.
Mechanic Vade, 35 years old, bounty 90,000,000 Berries.
Originally from the Saintinus Kingdom in the first half of the Grand Line, he is a renowned scientist proficient in mechanics and physics. He loves researching mechanical weaponry.
He was once invited by the World Government but refused. Later, his mechanical weapons went out of control, massacring an entire small town's civilians and hundreds of Kingdom Army soldiers. He also destroyed a Marine battleship anchored in the town's port, killing a Marine Branch Captain and three hundred Marine soldiers.
Due to this, he was targeted by the Saintinus Kingdom, the World Government, and the Marines, making him a world criminal, not a pirate.
"Mechanic Vade! What exactly do you want? The supplies from last month haven't even been delivered. Are you trying to steal Germa's money for free?!" In the ancient fort's plaza, Ichiji furiously pointed at the man, shouting.
"Steal for free, my foot! From your shoes and combat suits to your weapons, how many of those aren't my designs? You dared to bribe my people to steal my blueprints, that bastard Judge! I'll slaughter him sooner or later, chop him to pieces, and carve him up bit by bit!" Vade glared down at the fuming Ichiji, yelling angrily.
Vade valued his inventions most of all. But his former assistants had all been bribed by Judge, attempting to steal his latest mechanical weapon blueprints. Fortunately, he discovered them. Enraged, Vade killed all his assistants and cut off all contact with the Germa Kingdom.
"Ichiji-sama, get out of the way, quickly!"
Suddenly, a Germa 66 soldier violently pushed Ichiji aside. A beast-type mechanical monster with four limbs on the ground faced them, its back-mounted turret's two thick gun barrels pointing straight ahead.
The next moment...
Bang, bang, bang, bang...
A heavy volley of gunfire erupted. The two thick gun barrels spat scorching flames, and large-caliber bullets shot out, forming a dense line of destruction. The line of fire swept like a whip, even cutting the strong bodies of the Germa 66 soldiers in half. Even a single bullet impact would leave a blood-filled hole larger than a fist, shattering limbs.
After one such sweep, only fewer than five out of the dozen Germa 66 soldiers remained, with three injured soldiers missing limbs.
"Bastard!"
Ichiji's eyes instantly turned red, not because of the loss of soldiers, but because he was nearly killed himself. No wonder the soldier had pushed him away instead of blocking him—they simply couldn't block it.
The large-caliber bullets fired from those thick gun barrels could practically be called autocannons. They could punch through steel plates, let alone flesh and blood.
"Die!"
A soldier hoisted a rocket launcher and fired a blast at the beast-type mechanical monster.
Boom!
The dark, scorching projectile directly struck the beast-type mechanical monster, instantly tearing it into pieces, sending countless metal fragments flying.
"Retreat! Destroy this place with the ship's cannons!" Ichiji surveyed his surroundings, then issued the order.
Hundreds of robots and mechanical monsters mostly required heavy weapons like rocket launchers to destroy. So, Ichiji knew that with the remaining few hundred soldiers, they couldn't breach the fort. It would be better to bombard it comprehensively with the cannons from the warships anchored by the coast.
Under Ichiji's command, the Germa 66 soldiers began to withdraw from the ancient fort, retreating towards the warships on the coast. Though retreating, they did so in an orderly fashion, moving step by step, showing their well-drilled elite nature.
"He's quite good at fighting for such a young age," Vade leaned out halfway, watching the Germa 66 soldiers all retreat towards the beach.
Many soldiers had already boarded the warships anchored on the sea. The three warships were all over a hundred meters long, with black sails bearing the white '66' emblem. The grim black barrels of the triple turrets at the bow were menacing. Looking at those large-caliber barrels, it was clear they were 32-pound heavy naval cannons. Their power was so immense that even a Marine Headquarters Giant Vice Admiral wouldn't dare to take a direct hit.
"Damn you, Judge! I'll settle scores with you someday!"
Vade withdrew his gaze, shrinking back into the laboratory room. The room itself spanned hundreds of square meters, filled with various bizarre instruments and tangled wires covering the floor.
Vade walked over to a strange instrument and pressed a series of buttons on it.
Beep-boop! Beep-boop! Beep-boop!
Red lights began flashing throughout the entire room.
"Warning! Warning! Self-destruct mode initiating in three minutes..." The instrument in front of Vade continuously blared warnings.
Below the ancient fort, the various robots and mechanical monsters paused for a moment, then became even more ferocious, frantically charging at the Germa 66 soldiers.
"Time to go. Good thing I packed everything a week ago."
Vade took a deep look at the room, then turned and left the research laboratory without hesitation.
...
On the sea, aboard the largest of the three warships.
"All forces, prepare! Heavy weapons, prepare! Hold off these monsters for me!"
"Naval cannons, prepare! Fire! Level the ancient fort ahead!"
On the deck, Ichiji saw the mechanical weapons pursuing them and issued two commands in quick succession. Immediately, the personnel on the three warships sprang into action, dragging out land-based artillery and rocket launchers from the lower level warehouses.
Click-clack, click-clack!
The bow turrets began to rotate, and the gun barrels adjusted their aiming points. The grinding sound of gears was clearly audible.
Boom!
Suddenly, a deafening explosion ripped through the air. The ground vibrated violently, and the entire ancient fort was engulfed in a ferocious blaze and black smoke. Soaring smoke and dust formed a mushroom cloud, rising from the fort's location.
The fort was gone.
The immense power generated by the explosion compressed the air, forming a terrifying shockwave like a raging gale, sweeping across hundreds of meters in mere breaths.
The mechanical weapons on the beach were immediately caught by this terrifying shockwave, shattering into pieces.
Hundreds of Germa 66 soldiers who hadn't made it onto the ships also suffered nosebleeds and shattered bones from the shockwave.
The three warships closest to the beach were pushed by the wide-ranging shockwave, literally shunted backward for over a hundred meters.
The people on the warships were almost all sent sprawling. If Ichiji, standing at the bow, hadn't been protected by his guards, he likely would have been blown away by the turbulent air currents.
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