"So hard! It's actual metal!"
Tashigi's palm felt numb. Watching the metal gargoyle sink into the depths, her expression turned grim.
The stone flying monsters were troublesome enough, but these metallic ones were on another level. This wasn't a force an ordinary army could contend with.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The G-5 Marines, faces contorted with ferocity, fought like demons. Some clutched rapid-fire flintlocks, pulling triggers frantically to unleash a hail of lead; others shouldered rocket launchers, firing off rounds in desperate volleys.
Countless bullets hammered into the stone-animated constructs, sending stone chips flying like shrapnel. Large-caliber rounds managed to gouge out massive holes or shatter their heads entirely.
However, against the metallic constructs, bullets were useless. Even rocket launchers struggled to shatter them, though a lucky shot to a wing could occasionally send one spiraling down.
Marines crushed the constructs, and the constructs slaughtered the Marines. From the very first second, the battle descended into a white-hot bloodbath.
"I'll blow you to hell!"
A burly Marine, muscles bulging, hoisted a rocket launcher. With a crazed roar, he aimed at a giant metal bird with a wingspan exceeding five meters and pulled the trigger. A gout of flame erupted from the muzzle as a black shell shrieked through the air.
KABOOM—!
The explosion was a direct hit. Thick fire and black smoke billowed in mid-air, swallowing the metallic bird's frame.
The raw kinetic force of the shell knocked the metal bird back several meters, causing it to flip uncontrollably in the air. Its steel body was charred and riddled with scars, and it finally plummeted from the sky. With a massive splash, it hit the ocean, sending up a wall of spray.
Once in the water, the metal bird struggled briefly, but its sheer weight, and perhaps the sea's stifling effect on Devil Fruit-created lifeforms, quickly rendered it motionless. It turned back into a common, lifeless statue.
"That's it...!"
Seeing this, Tashigi's eyes lit up with hope. She shouted an immediate command: "Knock these monsters into the sea! Seawater is their weakness!"
Whether it was a definitive rule or not, Tashigi was convinced it was the key to victory.
"Long live our Captain!"
"Captain Tashigi, watch me take these freaks down!"
"Come on! Let Tashigi-chan see my heroic side!"
Hearing her words, the G-5 Marines' morale skyrocketed. Like a pack of frenzied alpha predators, they threw themselves into the fray with renewed vigor.
Facing the previously invincible metal monsters, the G-5 Marines began to coordinate. They used rocket launchers and large-caliber rifles to create a "firepower net," using kinetic force to shove the metal monsters into the ocean. Others used steel chains to hook the constructs and drag them down into the brine.
With this newfound strategy, the casualties among the metallic constructs began to soar.
But monsters were monsters. The combat power of hundreds of animated constructs was not something a normal army could withstand for long. Under the relentless assault, the G-5 Marines suffered staggering losses. In just ten minutes, over three hundred men were killed or wounded.
The roar of gunfire never ceased. Every second, a Marine was cut down. The strait was becoming a graveyard of bodies and broken stone, the seawater stained a deep, sickening crimson.
In the forest atop the cliffs…
ROAR—!
A massive metallic Black Dragon circled in the air, letting out a heavy, resonant roar.
SCREECH—!
The bronze eagle, Ikou, flew at low altitude, its piercing cry grating on the ears.
Led by the Black Dragon and Ikou, thousands of animated constructs lunged toward Malha in a relentless wave.
"Decomposition Ray!!!"
"Decomposition: Rain Wave!!!"
"Great Decomposition Ray!!!"
"Decomposition: Barrier Style!!!"
Green beams of light shot out like raindrops. Occasionally, massive pillars of green energy or transparent cubes would appear, clearing large swathes of the battlefield. At least four or five hundred constructs were pulverized by Malha's desperate defense.
"Damn you! Damn you all! Die!" Malha screamed, his face ashen. Large droplets of cold sweat fell to the ground; he was at his absolute limit.
The power of the Deco-Deco Fruit was immense, but it consumed a proportional amount of stamina. Combined with the loss of his arm, Malha was on the verge of collapse.
CLANG—!
The sharp light-sword collided with a pitch-black iron fist, sending fierce gales of pressure rippling outward.
"What a pain..."
Borsalino glanced at the faltering Malha. The easy-going smirk had finally left his face.
"Heh heh heh... When I want someone dead, they stay dead! Armament Hardening: Bear Pillar!!!"
Aeridar laughed crazily, his eyes tinged with a blood-red light. His murderous intent surged like a tidal wave.
His right arm swelled with power, swinging toward Borsalino with enough force to compress the very air. It carried a lethal, razor-sharp wind.
"Oh~ Not good!"
Borsalino hurriedly crossed the Ama no Murakumo in front of his chest.
CLANG—!
The obsidian fist smashed into the blade of light with a deafening metallic ring. Under that staggering force, the sword of gathered light actually seemed to bend. The ground beneath them shattered instantly, and a violent shockwave surged outward.
Even Borsalino couldn't fully withstand such raw power; he transformed into a streak of light and zipped into the sky.
"Yasakani no Magatama!!!"
In the next instant, a brilliant four-pointed star appeared in the heavens. Countless light motes rained down like a relentless deluge, pepper-spraying the flying constructs.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sky was filled with rising flames and brilliant flashes. The deafening explosions reduced a vast number of constructs to powder. Shards of stone and metal fell like a macabre rain.
When an Admiral gets serious, the results are undeniable. Whether made of stone or metal, the constructs were no match for the explosive power of the light beads. Borsalino's intervention was immediate and devastating, clearing hundreds of constructs from the air in a single salvo.
This highlighted a fundamental weakness of the animated constructs: they couldn't harm a Logia user, but they were incredibly vulnerable to a Logia's wide-scale "cleanup" attacks.
"Hey, hey... that's a bit much. I can't let you clear the board like that!" Aeridar grinned, drawing an exquisite ivory flintlock from his waist.
Click.
He chambered a round and aimed at the shining star in the sky that was still pouring out light.
Pere pere pere... Pere pere pere...
Just as Aeridar was about to pull the trigger, the clear sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out from his coat.
"Who is it at a time like this?"
Aeridar frowned. After a second's hesitation, he lowered his gun and reached into his coat to pull out a delicate, small Den Den Mushi.
Clack.
The call was connected.