Chapter 192: Setting Out
King's Plateau, in the plaza within the dense forest.
One by one, the pirate captains gathered their subordinates, standing in various postures and discussing the matter amongst themselves.
"Hey, have you heard?"
"They say we're about to fight the strongest, the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"What, are you scared? Thinking of deserting?"
"Scared? If I were going to desert, I wouldn't have come here in the first place!"
To this, the several pirate captains present all expressed that they had had enough of their days in the New World of being beaten up by rivals with powerful connections. Now, they had finally fought their way through a thousand troops to successfully join a top-tier power that was in its early-to-mid start-up phase.
As everyone knew, the earlier one joined a power, the greater the chance of promotion in the future. What's more, this was under a top-tier powerhouse who was currently ascending to the pinnacle. Once they successfully climbed the ranks, fame and fortune would naturally follow.
Similar thoughts filled the minds of the pirate captains, compelling them to subconsciously focus their gazes on the front of the plaza, on the young girl with short, jet-black hair, dressed in a simple kimono.
"At that level, she can become a core member? At my level, I can definitely replace her." For a moment, the thought of replacing her rose in the minds of the pirate captains.
In the plaza, Kuina seemed to sense the numerous gazes from the plaza. She turned slightly, showing the group of captains her profile and her indifferent eyes. In that instant, a sharp, cold killing intent washed over them, kicking up a gust of wind out of thin air and heading straight for them.
"!!"
The next moment, the faces of more than half the pirate captains in the plaza changed drastically. The eyes of nearly forty percent of them changed subtly, while only three of them became even more resolute in their desire to replace her.
"..."
The heavy gate was opened, and a man with a two-handed greatsword on his back and long, loose black hair walked out, coming directly to the side of the plaza to stand. His arrival made the group of pirate captains withdraw their gazes, and the expressions on their faces became amiable. Although they hadn't been in Dressrosa for long, they had all heard of this man.
The gladiator - Kyros. A powerful existence who had won 3,000 consecutive victories in the colosseum.
Kyros met the pirates, who were all wearing amiable expressions, and nodded lightly. He knew that these pirates before him were all strong.
Just then, a tall figure, clad in heavy armor and with flawless white wings on his back, walked out of the gate and came directly before everyone. Behind him followed a young girl with red and white hair, a man in a black suit with short stubble, and a young girl in a maid's uniform, as well as several brats who were clearly children.
"Lord Admiral!"
Seeing him, the eyes of the pirate captains became eager. They all stepped forward, wanting to leave a deep impression on the Archangel to make it easier to get promoted in the future.
Louis first glanced at the crowd, then, under everyone's gaze, he raised his hand and summoned Avant Heim from the sky, letting everyone board one after another.
After a moment of daze, the group of pirate captains did not delay, leading their subordinates who were going to participate in the battle onto the rare Island Cloud. Then, Louis, Uta, Kyros, Daz, and the others also boarded Avant Heim, bringing the several brats with them. Since this was an all-out battle, Louis naturally would not leave the children in Dressrosa, but would put them inside Avant Heim, placing them at the edge of the battlefield.
Immediately after, the massive Avant Heim, under the watchful eyes of everyone in Dressrosa, rose into the air again and disappeared directly into the clouds.
The next second, many people who had been paying close attention to all the movements on the King's Plateau immediately took out their Den Den Mushis and dialed the powers behind them. However, just as they began to speak, their eyes went black, and they directly lost consciousness, their charred bodies collapsing to the ground.
According to the terrified reactions of the nearby citizens, today's thunderstorm phenomenon was abnormally terrifying. More than a dozen people had been struck by lightning one after another and had fallen to the ground, dead.
Ten thousand meters in the sky, on Avant Heim.
Uta looked at the dozen or so bolts of lightning that had fallen from the sky in an instant, subconsciously glanced at Louis, and said thoughtfully, "Did you find more spies?"
"That's right," Louis nodded, giving an affirmative answer.
With the battle approaching, Louis no longer suppressed his senses and Observation Haki, extending them over the entire island of Dressrosa. When those spies from other powers had opened their mouths to report, Louis had instantly locked onto their positions and controlled Thor to pick them off one by one from a distance.
After doing this, Louis turned and walked along the passage into the interior of Avant Heim. Beside him, Uta saw this and, without a second thought, hummed an unknown tune, following him with light steps.
As soon as they entered the gate, Louis and Uta saw a group of country bumpkins who had never seen the world, looking around the interior of the cloud cave. Among them, the one who was most oblivious to the world, Ulti, was the most direct. She directly grabbed Page One and, separating from the crowd, excitedly began her "exploration mode" inside Avant Heim.
To this, Louis merely glanced at her and then paid her no mind. Ulti might seem like a blockhead, fearlessly biting anyone she came across, but she was actually very smart and knew what she shouldn't do. When she had been wandering around the castle in Dressrosa with Page One, she had also been self-aware enough not to go near the places she shouldn't. Therefore, Louis just let the two siblings wander around.
Soon, after having Daz settle the dozen or so pirate captains and their several hundred subordinates, Louis walked directly toward a room deep inside the cloud cave.
Meanwhile, in the depths of the New World.
A giant Island Cloud hung high in the sky. Following the guidance of the navigator, Road, it changed course and headed straight for the direction of the Whitebeard Pirates' fleet, according to the intelligence.
On the back of the giant Island Cloud, one after another, tall figures stood. Their gazes were fixed on the distant blue horizon, their eyes flashing with an indescribable excitement. These Buccaneers had lived in the depths of the Flower Country for many years, keeping company with giant dogs and fighting with wild beasts. It wasn't until a few years ago that they had accidentally learned that they were not the "Longbo people" they had believed themselves to be, but a tribe persecuted by the World Government—the Buccaneers.
From that day on, they had longed to become stronger in battle, until they could play a greater role in the action against the World Government. And before that, they would have to change their opponents from Haki-using beasts to the human pirates of the New World.
And this time, they were about to face the World's Strongest Man and the largest, most powerful force with the greatest number of strong fighters—the Whitebeard Pirates. Therefore, the Buccaneer blood flowing in the bodies of the group gradually began to boil, and all the Buccaneers became visibly agitated.
On the other side of the Island Cloud, Artemis, who had likewise come from Baal, turned pale after hearing that the entire world would be watching this battle. Then, under everyone's gaze, she walked straight up to the members of her tribe who had originally been living a migratory life in the depths of the Calm Belt, her face flushed with embarrassment as she tried to persuade these rather wild kinsmen to put on proper clothes, so as not to give the world the stereotype that they were all savages.
However, the rather wild group of Lunarians were all listening, but not doing. They nodded frequently, but just didn't change.
This scene made the several people from Hajrudin's group, who were paying attention, shake their heads.
Beside them, Gerd sat on the ground, holding up a giant dog several meters tall in her hands, carefully examining it. Looking up, the scene of Gerd holding the giant dog was just like a human girl holding a slightly larger cat. The giant dog, being held by the giantess Gerd, showed no fear at all, but wagged its tail, stuck out its long tongue, and showed a human-like, simple and honest expression.
"So cute!" A smile of seeing something she liked appeared on her beautiful face, her eyes filled with joy. "I suddenly miss Paipa, who I left back in Elbaf!" Paipa was a pet owl that Gerd had raised in Elbaf. Its height and size were slightly larger than their Buccaneer partners.
Nearby, Road heard her and pouted, assuming a thoughtful pose. "A pet? I wonder how my pets are doing now? Are they eating well?"
To this, Hajrudin, who was sitting on the ground, heard him and, without a second thought, replied, "In that case, then after the battle is over, find some time to go back and bring your pets here. Right?"
"Go back to Elbaf?" Gerd stopped petting the dog, a worried look on her face. "Even with Captain Dorry and Captain Brogy returning, they still couldn't stop Loki... If this goes on, Elbaf will definitely have problems again!"
Hearing this, Road thought for a moment and then asked tentatively, "Then... should we ask the captain to make a trip to Elbaf and stop Loki?"
Hajrudin heard him and fell into thought. After a long while, he let out a long sigh. "Let's wait a little longer. Maybe Dorry and the others still have a chance."
Nearby, Goldberg, who was cooking, said thoughtfully, "But for the Giant Warrior Pirates to have failed so many times without suffering any casualties... as expected, Captain Dorry and Captain Brogy are too strong!"
Gerd heard him, and a smile returned to her face. "Of course! They are the legends of the giant race! The heroes second only to Lord Jorul and Lord Jarl!"
What none of them noticed was that Hajrudin inexplicably pulled down his steel helmet, burying half his face in shadow. "Loki... are you really incapable of killing his crew members in front of the two captains? Or are you... letting them go?" Hajrudin said to himself, a shadow of gloom flashing in the eyes beneath the shadow.
Gradually, Hajrudin recalled the questions Yelena and Louis had once asked him, about whether there was a hidden reason for Loki's actions.
Soon, as time passed, the Island Cloud entered a new sea region. At the end of the horizon, the shadow of an island was growing larger in everyone's eyes.
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