Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three large warships, emblazoned with the '66' symbol, sped across the sea. The ship's triple turrets at the bow roared with astonishing fury, launching scorching black cannonballs that soared hundreds of meters through the air before crashing into the sea hundreds of meters away, sending countless waves splashing.
A submarine-shaped iron-clad boat tossed and turned in the turbulent sea, like a tiny leaf. Cannonballs crashed on either side of it, and the resulting splashes almost submerged it.
"Damn it, that bastard Judge! How could he develop such an impressive intelligence network? Infuriating!" Inside the submarine-shaped iron-clad boat, Vade grumbled from the driver's seat, constantly peering behind through his mechanical monitors.
Since escaping from Bovanja Island, Vade had been racing day and night towards Clifford Kingdom. However, yesterday, he took a brief stop at an island for rest and resupply. But upon setting off this morning, he was attacked by a torpedo. If not for the custom-built submarine's incredible sturdiness, it would have been blown wide open.
Then, Vade discovered that the torpedo had also been launched by a submarine, but that submarine bore the Germa Kingdom's insignia. Although Vade retaliated with a torpedo of his own, destroying that submarine, the main problem was that three Germa Kingdom warships were rapidly approaching on the surface, and his own submarine was damaged from the torpedo attack, preventing it from submerging. He could only travel on the surface.
Fortunately, when Vade first built this submarine, he had specifically modified it for fast surface travel. So, in this emergency, Vade couldn't repair the submarine and had to brazenly continue on the surface, attempting to shake off the Germa 66 warships.
However, having finally caught a trace of Vade, the Germa Kingdom would not give up easily. They had been in pursuit for three hours now.
On the central warship of the three Germa warships.
A tall, golden-haired middle-aged man wearing a metal helmet stood at the bow, directing the attack. He had two pointed, upturned mustaches on his face. Dressed in a black combat suit adorned with the Germa emblem, a white cape, a belt, and combat boots, he commanded the scene.
It turned out that the one leading the charge was none other than the Vinsmoke Family's BOSS, the King of the Germa Kingdom, and the commander of Germa 66—Vinsmoke Judge.
Judge knew that Vade was the Germa Kingdom's most important scientist, second only to himself. Most of the equipment worn by Germa 66 soldiers was designed and produced by Vade. However, Vade had never actually joined the Germa Kingdom; their relationship was purely a cooperative one.
In fact, when the two parties first began their collaboration, what Judge valued most was Vade's research into mechanical weapons.
At that time, Judge dreamed of re-conquering the North Blue, believing that if he had those fearless new soldiers combined with powerful mechanical weapons, he might not dominate the North Blue entirely, but he would at least take a significant step towards that goal.
However, Vade was unwilling to share his mechanical weapon technology. Although the equipment designed by Vade was excellent, it paled in comparison to the mechanical weapons themselves.
Thus, after several years of waiting, Judge grew extremely dissatisfied and began secretly bribing Vade's research assistants, hoping they could steal the mechanical weapon blueprints.
Unexpectedly, Vade discovered their plot at a critical moment and resolutely severed his cooperation with Judge.
Later, after nearly a month without news, Judge sensed something was wrong and dispatched Ichiji. However, Ichiji was outmaneuvered by Vade, and the forces he brought suffered heavy losses.
This infuriated Judge, who personally led the charge. He even activated the intelligence network he had established in the New World over the years, practically catching Vade red-handed.
"Commander, we're nearing the Brady Island sea area, but that's the territory of Golden Ring Aeridar, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Should we continue the pursuit?" A man even taller and more robust than Judge, wearing the special black combat suit of Germa 66, walked over and respectfully asked with a slight bow.
"Why not chase? Chase!" Judge turned his head slightly, saying coldly, "I'm just here to catch someone. I have three warships and two thousand elites. Starting a war would not benefit that fellow."
Judge had always been arrogant, a firm believer in strength, and thus always disregarded the weak. He was cold and ruthless. Although he understood the power Aeridar represented, he showed no fear.
With the power of Germa 66, only the Four Emperors in the New World could make him back down. A single Warlord of the Sea was not enough to make him retreat when apprehending an important figure, let alone backing down before even entering their territory or meeting them face-to-face.
If word of that got out, what face would he have left in the New World?
...
One nautical mile outside Micity Port, within Brady Island sea area.
The Chris had already entered the open sea, and everyone on board was performing their duties in an orderly fashion. At this moment, Oliver, who had been dozing off under the main mast on the deck, was woken by a distant sound like rumbling thunder.
"Too loud! What's going on?" Oliver rubbed his sleepy eyes, stood up, and walked to the ship's rail to peer towards the source of the sound.
"Three large warships spotted ahead, and a... uh, a submarine?" The uncertain voice of the observer in the crow's nest came over the loudspeaker.
"A submarine?"
Aeridar, who had just emerged from the captain's cabin, heard the broadcast and couldn't help but wonder. Had a submarine somehow ended up sailing on the surface?
"Give me the binoculars!"
Oliver extended a hand, and immediately, a subordinate handed him a monocular.
"That's... a submarine that can run on the surface?" Through the binoculars, Oliver spotted a strange iron-clad boat a thousand meters away, and he was utterly bewildered.
Submarine construction technology was extremely advanced, and there were very few shipwrights or mechanical scientists capable of building them. Even Aeridar's own subordinates didn't have such shipwrights or scientists who could build submarines. But that didn't mean Oliver hadn't seen one before.
The incredibly fast iron-clad boat sailing on the surface was clearly a submarine. However, submarine technology in this era wasn't that advanced yet. Current submarines primarily operated underwater and absolutely couldn't run as fast on the surface as the one before them, so fast that even warships struggled to keep up.
"Wait, the flags on those three warships..." At that moment, Aeridar, also observing with binoculars, noticed something. The three warships were chasing the fast-moving submarine, but the crucial point was that the flags on those three warships bore two black '66' symbols.
"Damn it, isn't that the Germa 66 symbol... How dare they enter our territory without permission?!" Oliver cried out, sounding rather indignant.
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