Elbaf, Midgard.
"Little ones, kill those Marines and rescue His Majesty Harald!"
Yalulu, already 346 years old, roared.
Dozens of young adult giants simultaneously charged out from the branches of the treasure tree Adam, wielding various weapons and launching attacks on the Marines and CP0.
"These giants still dare to come out?"
"Hold the line, do not worry. Our forces are stronger!"
"Leave the powerful giants to the Vice Admirals!"
Compared to the giants' reckless charge, the Marines' and CP0's defense was much more orderly, even including cannons transported down from warships.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Facing the Marines' cannons, the giants' massive bodies immediately became perfect targets. Cannonballs landed on the giants one after another, making them fall and cry out in pain.
Not all giants knew Haki. Even among adult giants, those who understood how to use Haki to protect themselves were a minority.
And this minority of giants was now fighting the Marine officers.
"Hmph, a desperate struggle?"
"Reckless action."
"White Wolf Silas is nothing special."
Originally, when Silas appeared and the three supreme commanders mobilized, the Marine Vice Admirals had worried for a while, suspecting a trap.
But until Silas was surrounded by Kong, Rona, and Grindelwald, no surprises occurred.
This made the Vice Admirals feel that White Wolf Silas had exhausted his tricks.
"Do not be careless!"
"Keep watch on Giant King Harald. Do not let him escape."
"Do not worry, there are enough guards over there!"
Just as Silas had observed, the Marines had a full seven Marine Vice Admirals and over a dozen Marine Rear Admiral-level fighters on Elbaf's perimeter.
Besides that, there were the Marine and CP organization members currently resisting the giants' counterattack from Midgard.
With the giant race's main forces completely annihilated...
"These guys pose no threat at all!"
Underground caves of Elbaf.
This was an area known only to giants, hidden at the base of the Adam Tree's roots.
When the Adam Tree's root system breathed, it produced waste gases that expanded the soil. Over time, Elbaf's underground gradually formed intricate, interconnected passages.
If you entered the wrong passage, you would suffocate from inhaling the Adam Tree's waste gases. Even Admiral-level fighters could not survive long in such an environment.
This was why, even after conquering Elbaf, the Marines and CP0 still could not capture all the giants, even planning to outsource Elbaf to slave traders.
The children from the House of Lambs were hiding here.
"Mother, how is it outside?"
"The giants' counterattack should have begun."
Carmel's face was grim as water. Due to the Marines and CP0's attack, Giant King Harald had been captured, causing some giants to blame them.
If not for Yalulu, the giant race's hero, stopping those enraged giants, they would probably have been driven out by now.
Even so, their current situation was very dire.
"Food is almost gone. If it were just us few, it would be fine, but Linlin eats too much. If she does not eat enough, it might trigger her eating disorder..."
Before the giants took action, Yalulu had specifically sent word, so Carmel knew exactly what was happening outside.
"We cannot just sit and wait for death!"
Carmel did not know how Silas planned to single-handedly hold back three top-tier fighters, but she knew that on this island right now, she might be the only one who could help Silas.
Carmel's strength was not weak.
She was a Paramecia Devil Fruit user with the Soul-Soul Fruit, capable of taking others' souls and lifespans and imbuing dead objects with souls and lifespans, creating anthropomorphic life.
It was just that her age had greatly diminished her stamina.
Moreover...
"My lifespan probably is not enough!"
Carmel was already 81 years old, a full ten years older than Silas. Even in this world, that was considered advanced age.
And the Soul-Soul Fruit's power largely depended on the user's soul strength.
There were alternatives, but to collect souls from enemies, the enemies had to feel fear.
Carmel turned her gaze to Linlin beside her.
The past half month of rationing had turned Linlin into a bitter face. Not eating enough each day, even her sleep was not as sound.
Until she heard Carmel's voice...
"Linlin, there are bad people outside who stole our house and our food. Do you want to get our food back?"
"Get it back!?"
Hearing Carmel's words, Linlin's eyes immediately brightened.
Saliva flowed uncontrollably.
"That is right."
It had been a long time since she had deceived a child, but when Carmel spoke, she seemed to remember those pure times again.
Hehe, she actually missed those days spent with that bastard.
"Linlin, let us go fight the bad people now!"
"Fight the bad people!"
"Get back everything that belongs to us!"
"Get it back!"
Linlin never doubted Mother's words. In Linlin's eyes, if Mother said those people outside were bad, then they were definitely bad.
Moreover, if not for those bad people, they would not have been driven into this dirty cave with nowhere to go.
No comfortable big bed, no delicious food.
So those people outside were all bad people!
"Leo, Luca, you hide here and do not go out. We will be back soon!"
After instructing two older, more stable children to watch the others, Carmel led Linlin outside the Adam Tree's root system.
At this moment, scenes of Marines and giants fighting were everywhere throughout Elbaf.
Though it was not raining, continuous rumbling came from the island's eastern side.
Over there?
Carmel roughly knew where Silas and those Marine fighters were battling, not too far, not too close from them.
Walking there was definitely impossible.
But they did not need to go that far.
"Linlin, do you see those ships? All the food stolen from us is on those ships. If you destroy those ships, we can get our food back!"
"Yeah!"
Linlin nodded heavily. Looking at those ships now, they completely appeared as food to her. Those bad people who stole their food, she would drive them away!
Elbaf's coast.
Though the giants' counterattack was fierce, the Marines on the warships were not worried.
After all, their situation was completely different from Sphinx's this time.
Their top-tier combat power was overwhelmingly strong.
"Huh, what is that?"
"A giant child?"
"Should we attack?"
"Capture her first. Command said capturing one giant child gets us promoted a rank!"
Hearing this, many Marines' eyes immediately lit up. Most of those selected for the elite force attacking Elbaf were hawks within the Marines. In their eyes, ordinary people from non-affiliated nations had no value worth protecting.
"Let me handle this!"
A Marine Colonel took the lead, charging at Linlin. He had long envied those guys assigned to attack squads. Though just a Colonel, he was confident he was not weaker than average Rear Admirals.
"Little girl, are you lost?"
The Marine Colonel approached Linlin, showing what he thought was a kind smile.
But seeing him, Linlin's expression changed.
"You are a bad person!"
"What?"
Hearing Linlin's words, the Marine Colonel was stunned, then saw Linlin's fist coming at him.
"Hmph, Iron..."
Before the Marine Colonel could assume the Iron Body stance, he was sent flying by Linlin's punch.
In the original timeline, Linlin was a monster who debuted with a 50 million bounty at age six.
And that was limited by her age.
Even now, Rocks might not be able to defeat Linlin.
Let alone an ordinary Marine Colonel.
There were three Marine ships docked at the coast, but the highest-ranking Marine guarding them was just an ordinary Marine Vice Admiral.
And one not skilled in Armament Haki at that.
For a moment, Linlin was like entering an undefended territory.