Chapter 198: The War Is in Progress
In the boundless azure sky, one floating island after another hung high in the heavens. Together with the sailing ships flying various flags, they formed the terrifying fleet that had made the entire world pale in fear so many years ago.
A man in a golden kimono, with short golden hair and gripping twin swords, hovered in the sky. The Pirate Admiral of the Flying Pirates, Golden Lion Shiki, held an expensive cigar in his mouth, looking down through the swirling smoke at the Marine fleet rocking in the waves below.
"The ones who shouldn't be here are you dogs loyal to the World Government, right? Are you here because you want to rush over to that battlefield and pick up the scraps?"
The Golden Lion's arrogant voice spread across the entire sea, causing the several figures standing on the three exceptionally large warships below to frown slightly.
Marine Hero Garp looked at the insolent Golden Lion, a disdainful smile on his face, and mocked him mercilessly. "What kind of virtue do you have, Shiki? All the old-timers from the last era know it. Don't tell me you're blocking us here to prevent us from wiping them all out in one go?"
Hearing Garp's mockery, Shiki showed no anger at all. Instead, he revealed a wanton smile. "Shishishishi! No matter how they beat each other's brains out, this is a matter for us pirates. It doesn't allow for you loyal dogs of the World Government to interfere!"
Then, Shiki waved his large hand and gave the order to fire. "Open fire! Sink this fleet here and announce that the Flying Pirates once again reign over the seas!"
The next moment, in the sky, a dense mass of pirate ships gave a passionate response. Immediately after, cannonballs fell from the sky like rain, forming an unstoppable barrage that enveloped the Marine fleet.
On a giant warship on the other side of Garp, an old man with purple hair raised his hand and pointed at the sky. "Shoot them down!!" he ordered with a blank expression.
"Justice will prevail!!"
With one roar after another, the boom of cannons crisscrossed, piercing the entire sea area. A large-scale, top-tier naval battle had officially begun.
Beneath the sky, the Golden Lion Shiki looked at the warships below, which were constantly flashing with cannon fire, and a sinister smile curled on his lips. "Serpent!"
The next moment, one island after another fell, plummeting straight toward the warships.
Seeing this, Garp's brow tensed. His entire body burst forth with powerful Conqueror's Haki, which he wreathed around both his fists. Combining Geppo and Soru, he instantly disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already near the first falling island. Just as he was about to punch, a golden figure arrived in an instant. A blade wreathed in black and red arcs of electricity swept across, aiming straight for Garp's neck.
"SHIKI!!" Seeing this, the veins on Garp's forehead bulged, and his tone became even colder.
The sudden appearance of the blade forced Garp to give up on shattering the falling island and instead deal with Shiki's attack.
On the deck of the giant ship below, the old man with short purple hair expressionlessly swung the Justice cape behind him. He then wreathed his arms in the ultimate Armament Haki. However, the next moment, a sharp slash fell from the sky, directly tearing the atmosphere apart, shattering the sky-blotting barrage of cannonballs, and instantly falling toward the fleet that was rocking in the waves.
The former Marine HQ Admiral, Zephyr, saw this, his face ashen, and he spat out a name in an almost-low roar.
"OCHOKU!!"
In the sky, at the edge of one of the small islands, a tall figure in West Blue-style armor, with a long beard and holding a greatsword, stood proudly, as if he looked down on everything.
...
A bisento and a double-edged sword, both wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, clashed without physical contact.
With a tremendous roar as if the heavens were falling, the Conqueror's Haki clashed, directly tearing a canyon-like rift in the dark clouds of the sky that stretched to the horizon, causing the clouds to pour back into the higher atmosphere. One after another, black and red lightning bolts crisscrossed and collided, piercing the entire island at a speed that surpassed sound by an unknown amount.
Under the powerful impact, the surrounding seawater was pushed back, forming a giant tsunami that spread out in all directions with the island as its center.
In the very center of the collision, Louis, holding the Seven Star Sword, clashed with Whitebeard from a distance. The earth beneath them was instantly torn apart by the violent impact, turning into chunks of debris that were thrown into the air, flying to the horizon.
This scene was deeply engraved in the minds of everyone. Many pirates who had not experienced a top-tier battle from the previous era were dumbfounded, their backs drenched in cold sweat.
"Are you... kidding me?"
"Pops and that Archangel's weapons didn't even touch!"
On the other side, the dozen or so commanders not far away saw this, and cold sweat also trickled down their faces. This scene reminded them of their encounter with the Roger Pirates on a deserted island many years ago. It was just that this time, the scale was larger, and it was even bloodier.
It seemed like a second, or perhaps a long time, had passed. The two who had clashed were both thrown back, facing each other from a distance of dozens of meters. But the next second, the two once again locked onto each other. Without any words, they charged forward with their weapons wreathed in Conqueror's Haki.
In that instant, three weapons wreathed in Devil Fruit abilities and Conqueror's Haki clashed one after another. A series of loud roars burst forth, and an unstoppable shockwave spread out, directly shattering the battlefield under their feet and sending the crowd flying. Wherever the two of them passed, everything turned to dust.
This situation made many pirates abandon their respective opponents and flee in all directions, as if dodging the aftershocks of a natural disaster.
Soon, the battling Louis and Whitebeard both consciously controlled the battlefield, moving away toward an uninhabited area.
Marco the Phoenix saw this, spread his wings, and flew rapidly toward the spot where Whitebeard had landed. However, the next moment, a biting cold current spread rapidly, and ice clung to Marco's body, restricting his movements. Although Marco's phoenix flames allowed him to break free of the ice in less than a second, that brief moment was all it took. A pale figure holding a war hammer had already arrived instantly. She swung the cold World-Breaker war hammer, smashing it into Marco's head and sending him flying.
Marco, transformed into a phoenix, crashed through dozens of pirates and smashed a huge pit in the ground. When he quickly got up, the pale figure had already arrived again, directly blocking his path. This situation made Marco frown, his heart filled with anxiety.
On the other side, Whitebeard, after once again briefly knocking Louis back, turned his head, glanced at Marco, and said in a deep voice, "Marco, take everyone and retreat from this island."
"What? But—" Marco was extremely confused and asked subconsciously.
Whitebeard first glanced at Louis, who was holding his sword and spear, then frowned and looked toward the distant forest. "The Archangel Pirates... besides this person in front of me, there is another formidable monster hiding in that forest. That person, plus these powerful executives, is enough to wipe all of you out here."
At first, Whitebeard had thought that the one hiding in the forest was Archangel Louis. But when Louis had appeared and displayed a power that was completely unafraid of him, and the aura in the depths of the forest still remained, he had gradually realized the gravity of the situation. That aura, although it seemed a little weaker in his opinion, could, while he was being held up, easily kill the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates if its owner were to burst forth. Therefore, he had decisively given Marco the order to retreat.
Marco heard him, his face filled with disbelief. But he did not delay. He decisively fell back, intending to carry out his pops's order.
But Yelena, transformed into her hybrid-beast form, had no intention of giving him that chance.
"Grave Spike Annihilation!" Yelena brazenly stepped forward, raised her digitigrade deer hooves, and stomped heavily on the ground.
CRACK—
Marco felt the tremor from the ground and decisively transformed into the great bird wreathed in azure flames, flying away from the ground. The next moment, countless icicles, gleaming with a dangerous sharpness, pierced through the earth, occupying the ground within his line of sight and impaling everything on the surface.
Seeing this, Marco's already grim face became even uglier.
A massive figure flew through the sky, its shadow covering the flying phoenix. Marco subconsciously turned his head and saw grotesque antlers with wisps of ice and snow hanging from them, swaying like tattered human skin. The scarlet light from the gas mask flickered with a chilling light, making one shudder.
A hoarse voice, not like one a human could produce, sounded, speaking with unparalleled dominance.
"The sky... only angels may soar!"
As the words fell, the war hammer, wreathed in Haki lightning and a gray, shimmering light, descended with a terrifying roar of thunder.
Marco couldn't dodge in time and subconsciously covered his head with Armament Haki.
BANG! With a loud crash, Haki lightning ravaged the area. The powerful shockwave blasted a visible wave of air through the atmosphere. The great azure bird fell like a meteor, crashing into the earth and creating a pit hundreds of meters wide.
"!!"
In the huge, deep pit, a look of pain appeared on Marco's face. He spat out a mouthful of blood, an unshakable agony flashing in his eyes. Despite the protection of his Armament Haki and his Phoenix fruit, Marco still felt the pain of his soul being crushed. This was a corner that the unawakened Phoenix fruit could not heal.
Yelena once again landed on the ground, kicking up a cloud of snow and ice crystals. She strode toward the fallen bird amidst the biting blizzard.
Suddenly, a sharp slash, wreathed in petals, tore through the blizzard, slashing toward Yelena's neck.
An annoyed look flashed in the eyes beneath Yelena's gas mask. She wreathed her war hammer in Armament Haki, raised her hand, and knocked it away, causing it to land on the earth behind her, tearing open a fissure dozens of meters wide, like a canyon.
Then, Yelena's eyes fell on the spot behind Marco the Phoenix. She slowly exhaled a breath of extreme cold, which dissipated from the vents of her gas mask.
One by one, men covered in blood, with many wounds, holding twin swords, came forward. Beside them was a tall man, clad in light armor, with half his body turned to diamond, as well as men holding wooden war hammers, swords and pistols, and wearing kimonos.
"Hajrudin... he's fallen too?" Yelena's eyes fell on the man with the twin swords, and a flash of understanding crossed them.
"I see. Flower Sword Vista. A top-tier great swordsman in the world. One of the few who, as Louis said, can compete with Hawkeye in swordsmanship. It's no shame for Hajrudin to lose to him."
Then, Yelena tightened her grip on her war hammer, leaped high again, and charged toward the several commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates.
At the same time, a beautiful mermaid in a gorgeous long dress swam from the sky, holding a sword-like violin and bow, and elegantly hovered in the center of the battlefield.
In the battlefield, one after another, pirates saw this scene and stood frozen in place, not even noticing the weapons falling from their hands.
"A mermaid from where?"
"So beautiful... the Pirate Empress is nothing compared to this, right?"
Further away, pirates who couldn't see clearly saw this and subconsciously roared at their comrades, "What are you doing?! That's the Siren of the Archangel Pirates!!"
With the roars, the pirates in various locations opened fire on the mermaid in the center of the battlefield. In that instant, countless bullets and cannonballs fell like rain, enveloping Uta.
Seeing this, the smile on Uta's face did not fade. She raised her hand, grasped the slender sword, placed it on the strings of the greatsword, and gently drew it. Golden, musical-note-like soundwaves rose around the body of the sword, forming an impenetrable barrier that blocked the rain of bullets and cannonballs.
For a time, violent explosions rang out in mid-air. Firelight flared, and smoke filled the air. After the smoke dissipated, the flawless, beautiful mermaid was once again revealed. A faint smile appeared on her lethally attractive and exquisite face.
The thousands of pirates saw this, and one by one, they came back to their senses. They angrily raised their weapons and aimed at the Siren, preparing to send this person who was mocking the Whitebeard-allied pirates to hell.
However, the next second, one after another, figures with jet-black wings and flames burning on their backs descended from the sky, surrounding the songstress, protecting her like stars around the moon. The group of Lunarian warriors, while protecting her, glanced at the Siren they had not seen in so long, a faint longing flashing in their eyes.
In the crowd, Artemis looked at the beautiful, graceful, and infinitely charming young songstress, a hint of amazement appearing in her admiring and envious eyes. "Perhaps... she really is more suitable than me—"
The Lunarians' actions not only astonished the members of the Whitebeard Pirates, but also made Uta, and Kuina, Kyros, and the allied pirate captains who were following, feel puzzled.
Soon, Uta pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind and took a deep breath. The next moment, the songstress named Uta hovered amidst the thousands of troops, revealing a bright and moving smile. Using her sword as a cello, she began her fatal performance.
In that instant, an incomparably beautiful melody sounded, and along with the young girl's singing voice, it spread throughout the entire battlefield. Everyone who heard the song had a mysterious purple light appear in their eyes, which gradually became vacant.
The next moment, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates collapsed one after another.
One hundred people, one thousand people, ten thousand people.
In just a moment, with Uta as the center, over thirty thousand people who had heard the song instantly lost consciousness and collapsed onto the bone-chillingly cold snow. Among them were many powerful pirate captains under Whitebeard's flag, and even famous division commanders of the New World.
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