Tonight's Elbaf was incredibly quiet.
However turbulent it had been when the battle began, now that the fighting had ended, silence was etched on every Marine and CP intelligence officer's face.
They had failed.
Strictly speaking, it was not really a failure.
The Marines and CP organization still held dominance over Elbaf. The giants had suffered heavy losses rescuing their Giant King, with large numbers of ordinary giants of average combat ability participating in this battle.
And their opponents were the Marines and CP organization's elite.
But in this world where might made right, no matter how many ordinary giant soldiers there were, they could not match a Giant King with Admiral-level strength, let alone the many giant elites.
They should have done better.
Through their surprise attack, they had already defeated Giant King Harald and captured large numbers of elite giant soldiers.
But the White Wolf Pirates' assault had made their efforts come to nothing.
"The Admiral went to deal with Silas, right?"
"Even if they rescued the Giant King, as long as we capture White Wolf Silas, everything will be worth it!"
"That is right. White Wolf Silas is the key!"
The Elbaf conquest battle was divided into two parts: one was attacking Elbaf and defeating the Giant King, the other was using Elbaf to lure the White Wolf Pirates and set the trap prepared for them.
Though the Marines and CP organization's intelligence officers were very unwilling, they believed that as long as Admiral Crimson Snake, Vice Admiral Kong, and CP0 Supreme Action Commander Grindelwald captured Silas, everything could be salvaged.
But what they could not believe was that when Rona, Kong, and Grindelwald returned, they all had grim faces. Their expressions are no better than their subordinates'.
Though they had not suffered too many injuries, their expressions revealed much.
They had... also failed!
Realizing this, the group of Marines immediately looked as mournful as if attending a funeral.
"Pft!"
Suddenly, they heard laughter.
"Oh my, there is nothing to be done about it. I guess I will get scolded by old man Yama later."
The red-haired female Admiral scratched her hair, her face showing a vibrant smile, as if she was not dejected at all by this mission's failure.
"Come on, come on. So what if the Giant King escaped? Elbaf is the world's strongest nation after all! Did we not also let White Wolf Silas escape? Really cannot help it. He is an old guy who has been active on these seas for decades. Who could have thought he still had such trump cards hidden away?"
Seeing Admiral Rona, who was clearly feeling bad inside but still comforting them, the group of Marines immediately showed moved expressions.
"Admiral Rona, we will definitely recapture the Giant King!"
"That is right. We will not give up so easily!"
"Damn White Wolf Pirates. Someday we will bring them to justice!"
To these Marines' declarations, Rona just waved her hand.
"Kong, I will leave the rest to you. I am going to rest for a bit."
"Admiral Crimson Snake!"
"Do not worry. I am fine now. Better than ever before."
The smile on Rona's face left even Kong somewhat dazed.
As the Marines' most outstanding, beautiful, and spirited female soldier, Rona had countless suitors since becoming a Marine.
Even Kong had once admired her.
It was just that though Rona showed everyone the same smiling face, no one had gotten close to her. It seemed that for Rona, her life's goal was bringing the White Wolf Pirates to justice.
But now, that goal had been shattered.
Having assembled nearly three Admirals' worth of power, they had still let Silas escape. Knowing Silas had such methods, getting headquarters to assemble such forces against Silas again was nearly impossible.
Even the World Government would have to consider whether dealing with Silas was worth it.
So Kong was certain. Rona's heart definitely was not as relaxed as she appeared on the surface.
But what right did he have to comfort Rona?
However, Kong did not know Rona's pursuit of Silas was not because of hatred.
Most Marines pursued pirates because of hatred.
But not Rona.
Rona pursued Silas, simply wanting to know why Silas had chosen the pirate's path, why he had given up being an adventurer to become a pirate.
And actually, she had known this answer long ago.
So her later pursuit had become an obsession.
Just wanting to give herself closure, to give closure to her ideals of becoming a Marine.
Now, everything had its conclusion.
"Sigh, if I straightforwardly said I did not want to be a Marine anymore, those bastards would definitely be very sad, would they not?"
It was not that Rona was narcissistic. She was quite popular within the Marines. Many Marine recruits had joined specifically because of her reputation.
At Marine recruitment offices, she had served as a propaganda ambassador for ten consecutive years.
"Let me watch a bit longer."
Rona lay on a reef, listening to the sound of waves.
"What kind of change you want to make."
One month later.
News that the Giant Kingdom Elbaf had been conquered spread throughout the world.
Another piece of news also spread like wildfire.
The Giant Kingdom Elbaf was the White Wolf Pirates' hideout. The White Wolf Pirates had always cooperated with Elbaf's giants.
And in this Elbaf conquest battle, the White Wolf Pirates had also appeared.
But unlike the situation at Sphinx, the Marines had repelled the White Wolf Pirates with absolute dominance and severely wounded Giant King Harald.
Marine prestige returned to its peak once again.
What White Wolf Pirates. Ultimately unable to contend with the World Government.
However, though they had conquered Elbaf and large quantities of Adam Tree lumber were being dumped worldwide, the giant slaves that many slave traders had eagerly anticipated did not appear in large numbers.
A piece of news gradually spread.
It turned out the World Government had conquered Elbaf from the start and captured Giant King Harald, but White Wolf Silas, knowing it was a trap, had not only rescued the Giant King but also simultaneously faced three Admiral-level Marine fighters and escaped unscathed.
When this news spread, all pirates were in an uproar!
If Silas facing two Admirals at Sphinx only represented him surpassing ordinary great pirates and officially becoming a maritime legend, then now his name officially resounded throughout this world, with no one questioning his power anymore.
Maritime Overlord.
White King Silas!
In this world that had no Pirate King yet, not even Emperors, Silas's name represented the strongest among pirates.
Thus people said:
This era bears the name Silas!
One year later.
When the new era arrived and the new era's waves surged through this world, Silas, who had disappeared for a year, finally appeared in Elbaf once again.