Chapter 181: Why Make Such a Vow?
Amidst the towering smoke and violent explosions that pierced the sky, the Little Sun of the Blazing Emperor gradually vanished, and the Thousand-Handed Giant was also largely destroyed.
"A draw?! That Piercing Grand Duke actually managed to fight Captain Ace to a standstill!"
The Whitebeard Pirates still had full confidence in Fire Fist Ace. Only Diamond Jozu's mood was extremely heavy.
"Ugh~"
Fire Fist Ace coughed up another mouthful of blood, clutching his shoulder as he knelt on the ground, panting heavily, his muscles trembling, his stamina completely depleted.
"Ace!"
Diamond Jozu immediately rushed over to help the weak Ace up, staring intently at Aramaki opposite him.
"You actually managed to destroy my Forest God." "Your bounty shouldn't be as low as 550,000,000!" "However, victory still belongs to this Grand Duke!"
Aramaki, with his feet connected to the ground, coldly watched the exhausted Fire Fist Ace and the wary Diamond Jozu. However, he soon burst into unrestrained laughter; the shattered, charred giant actually began to recover at an exaggerated speed. He looked down on everyone with the posture of a god!
"Damn it! What kind of monster is this! He still has such strong stamina!"
Fire Fist Ace immediately cursed, wondering if this Logia-type Mori Mori no Mi user had no stamina consumption.
"An Imperial Grand Duke, yet so powerful!"
Diamond Jozu looked at Aramaki with immense pressure, giving a hand signal to his subordinates to safely take Ace away. He had to continue holding off Aramaki!
"Wait, Imperial Marquis is already history; from now on, call me Grand Duke!" "Vlad the Impaler Aramaki!"
Aramaki grinned widely, but when he saw that Issho had already suppressed Vista, who had a higher bounty, and even casually subdued the 4th Division Commander, his good mood instantly soured a bit. He hadn't completely defeated Diamond Jozu yet, though Fire Fist Ace was already exhausted. Although Fire Fist Ace's strength far surpassed Thatch, their bounties were similar. Under the Goa Empire's Hereditary Title system, Fire Fist Ace and Thatch were of the same rank.
"No time to waste!" "All of you, get down!"
Aramaki didn't bother using the Thousand-Handed Giant anymore and charged directly forward.
"Take Ace away!"
Diamond Jozu quickly threw the exhausted and injured Ace behind him, while he himself slammed into Aramaki.
"Retreat quickly!" "Has reinforcement arrived?! Has Pops arrived?!"
The Whitebeard Pirates were in complete panic. Captain Atmosphere, Captain Thatch, Captain Vista, and Captain Ace had successively fallen, and Captain Jozu's situation was not optimistic either. They had truly been defeated this time. The Whitebeard Pirates' Allied Nations had lost their will to fight and were retreating while fighting. There were also loyal Allied Nations who madly charged towards Issho's side, wanting to rescue Vista and Thatch.
The Goa Empire's Hereditary Titles were like a roaring force, fighting more fiercely as they went. Three-Sword Style Zoro and White-haired Saga, battling Great Whirlpool Spider Squard, finally gained the upper hand. Under the pressure of this New World elite Captain, both their swordsmanship had greatly improved. Bartolomeo's Barrier blocked several fierce attacks from Allied Nations for Desire and Eric, making a large number of pirates look at him with new respect. This Goa Baron definitely had the strength of a Supernova and a New World elite Captain.
Even Bege, with his Castle Body, managed to block an Allied Nation and, in cooperation with Laffitte, almost ambushed and killed the Whitebeard Allied Nation Paburiku. Each Imperial Hereditary Title was making their mark in this war. Eldoraggo, who was wildly firing sound wave laser cannons everywhere, had extremely violent destructive power, but he was targeted and almost assassinated by Wandering Knight Doma's sneak attack.
Fortunately, Emperor Kael intervened in time, banished Eldoraggo, and slashed at Wandering Knight Doma with a single sword. The terrifying sword energy swiftly wounded Wandering Knight Doma, and there was even a Time Slash that severed one of his hands. Carrying a monkey on his shoulder and constantly wearing a golden hook on his hand, he truly didn't live up to this pirate image. From now on, Wandering Knight will become Severed Hand Knight or Golden Hook Knight! When Eldoraggo reappeared, he only saw an exaggerated sword energy gully at his feet and Wandering Knight Doma fleeing madly. That terrifying feeling of death made Eldoraggo furiously bombard the injured Wandering Knight Doma.
Kael also noticed Desire, who was as frantic as Burgess; why was this woman fighting so desperately? If he hadn't intervened several times, this woman would truly have fallen on the battlefield. She seemed to know that Kael was protecting everyone and fought even more recklessly. Kael knew that it seemed he needed to find a Devil Fruit for her. Otherwise, she would die in battle sooner or later.
"Boom boom boom~"
The dull sound of the Diamond Meteor Hammer resounded again. The rampaging Diamond Jozu once again followed the previous path, caught by Aramaki again, and became a randomly smashing meteor hammer.
"Emperor Kael! We admit defeat!" "Stop!"
Watching Jozu being brutally beaten, it was Thatch, the good-natured one, who took the initiative to embrace the shameful and cowardly act. He knew that the Whitebeard Pirates' Division Commanders and Allied Nations were all arrogant and might truly fight to the death rather than beg for mercy. He would not let his comrades die on this battlefield.
"Originally, for you captives, I would demand 10 times your bounty as ransom before releasing you." "However, I hear you charge protection fees even lower than the Allied Nations, and you usually spend your time eating, drinking, and having fun, so it seems you don't have much money." "How about this?" "I intend to plant a flag on this island. This time, if you agree that the Whitebeard Pirates will not cause trouble for the Goa Empire in the future, I will let you leave." "Consider this a meeting of equals, a greeting, and a chance to witness each other's strength." "How does that condition sound?"
Kael flew up on Atmosphere's back, flying in front of Vista and Thatch, asking nonchalantly. Planting a flag on Silver Island was just a casual move by Kael, serving as a bridgehead for infiltrating the New World's dark underworld. It wouldn't matter if it failed.
"This…"
Thatch fell silent for a moment; he still wanted to go back and vent his anger on Whitebeard Pops. If he agreed to Kael's condition of not causing trouble, how could he vent his anger? Thatch looked at Vista, the combat leader, to ask for his opinion. But Vista merely snorted lightly; the Whitebeard Pirates would never bow their heads.
Thatch became awkward. His heart was full of helplessness; did he think he wanted to give in? If it weren't for Vista and Jozu, these combat Division Commanders, being unable to defeat others, and being suppressed and captured, what could he do? Did he really want to be captured by Kael and handed over to the Marines? As for 10 times the bounty as ransom, they genuinely couldn't come up with it.
"Alright! I promise Emperor Kael, as long as I live, I will not let the Whitebeard Pirates attack the Goa Empire's territory." "If I violate this oath, then let me, Thatch, die miserably by another's blade."
Thatch, seeing Vista who didn't want to lose face, could only grit his teeth and bear this humiliation. For everyone's safety, he was willing to bear all blame and disgrace. And Kael, after hearing Thatch's oath, looked at this guy with a strange expression. Why would he make such an oath? Damn it. You short-lived guy, you really will die by Blackbeard Teach's blade, won't you?
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