"Carlo! They're catching up!"
On the vast sea outside the Rulusia Kingdom.
The field of vision became incredibly wide as a result.
The silhouettes of the warships pursuing them from behind were soon exposed to the eyes of John and the others without any cover.
"Yeah, I know. Prepare for battle," Carlo said, biting his cigar with a calm expression.
"Tch, no other choice then. We'll just have to fight them!" John's mouth curled into a ferocious grin as he suddenly roared at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, listen up! Prepare for battle!!"
"Prepare for battle!!"
Roars from over a thousand pirates immediately erupted from the six pirate ships.
Facing the warships chasing them from behind, these pirates who had fought their way out of the New World weren't afraid at all.
Hearing the massive commotion and Carlo's orders.
Ivankov and the others nervously climbed onto the ship's railing and looked back.
Dragon also struggled to stand up, trying his best to look at the warships behind them.
Soon, he seemed to see a tall figure standing like a spear at the bow of the leading warship, fists clenched, with a snow-white cloak fluttering wildly in the wind behind him.
Seeing the striking purple hair, Dragon was stunned and then blurted out in shock, "It's Vice Admiral Zephyr!!"
Realizing things were bad, he quickly turned to look at Carlo.
"Uncle Carlo! That's Vice Admiral Zephyr! Are you going to fight him? Are you... really going to have a naval battle with the Marines here? If you do... many people will die, right?"
Carlo didn't speak, but John grinned and said:
"Kid, isn't that obvious? How can there be a battle between pirates and Marines without people dying? Weren't you a Marine once too? How can you still be so naive?"
Dragon said anxiously, "I know people will die! That's not what I meant!
"What I mean is... we don't need to slaughter each other with Vice Admiral Zephyr and his men, do we?
"Uncle Carlo, you aren't a bad pirate, and the attack on Rulusia Kingdom wasn't caused by us. We could just explain everything clearly to Vice Admiral Zephyr. There's no need for a naval battle. Cannonballs have no eyes; there will definitely be casualties!"
"Explain? What's the use of explaining! We are pirates, they are Marines. Marines catching pirates is only natural! Kid, stop whining. If you're afraid of dying, go hide in the cabin!"
John snorted coldly and gave Dragon a disdainful look.
He thought Dragon was just scared.
Dragon didn't look at him, but instead looked at Carlo beside him with pleading eyes.
However, he only met Carlo's calm gaze.
Carlo only said one sentence.
"We are pirates."
Dragon opened his mouth, understanding Carlo's meaning, but he still wanted to make one last attempt.
"Uncle Carlo! How about we just run? If we can just pull away and lose them, we won't need a naval battle... then everyone will live..."
"Dragon, stop it, it's useless!" Ivankov, standing beside him, pulled him back and shook his head.
"You were a Marine, so you should know how fast warships are. Their special construction ensures that the sailing speed of most pirate ships is far inferior to that of a warship. We can't lose them at all; we'll only be caught eventually. And..."
"Do you think we would run away?"
Ivankov grinned, revealing a row of white teeth, and gave a thumbs-up to Carlo behind him.
"Don't waste your energy. We... are the Sky Pirates!"
"When faced with a challenge, the challenger Sorus Karlo has never retreated a single step!"
As soon as Ivankov finished speaking.
The deafening sound of cannon fire instantly tore through the calm sea, exploding across the vast ocean like the roar of a giant beast!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The three warships rapidly approaching from behind were the first to open fire.
The massive turrets at the bows of the warships shook violently, firing three specially-made shells dozens of times larger than ordinary ones. Like small meteors, they whistled toward the pirate ship bringing up the rear.
"They're giant cannonballs!"
On the pirate ship at the very back, three tall pirates grinned and suddenly leaped up, drawing their swords.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Several Sky Break slashes shot out from the long swords in their hands, accurately cutting into the incoming shells and causing the three giant cannonballs to explode in mid-air.
Three massive fireballs exploded at the stern of the pirate ship, and the resulting hot wind caused the ship to rock violently.
Many pirates on the deck were blown over.
The three pirates who had slashed the shells fell back onto the deck, each gripping their long swords. There was no fear on their faces; instead, they watched the approaching warships with smiles.
Although they looked unremarkable.
But they were veteran pirates who had fought their way out of the New World alive.
Each of them was a skilled fighter with a bounty exceeding 50 million Berries.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to become combatants for the Sky Pirates and serve as the main force on this ship.
These three detonated shells seemed to serve as the fuse for all-out war between the two sides.
The moment the massive roar exploded over the sea, Carlo's thunderous voice rang in the ears of all the pirates.
"Counterattack! Crush the Marines!"
Following his command.
Under the control of their respective helmsmen, the six fast-sailing pirate ships suddenly fanned out, turning their broadsides—filled with gun ports—toward the side of the warships.
In the next moment, the pirates responsible for loading the shells grinned as they lit the fuses.
From the six pirate ships, a total of hundreds of cannons fired simultaneously at the three warships charging from behind.
In an instant.
Hundreds of dark cannonballs whistled out from the roaring, vibrating black muzzles, streaking across the sky like rolling thunder toward the warships.
"Fire at full power!"
On the warship, Zephyr waved his hand and gave the order to fire.
The three warships, encased in dark green iron armor like steel beasts armed to the teeth, roared at the same time—or even slightly earlier—launching even heavier and larger shells from their barrels, which thundered toward the pirate ships.
The battle was triggered!
The warship under Zephyr's feet took the lead, braving the rain of incoming shells like a shark slicing through the water, boldly crashing straight into the pirate ships' encirclement!
Facing the overwhelming barrage of shells, the grim-faced Zephyr simply threw a punch into the air.
"Smash Impact!!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"
Streaks of black fist shadows blasted through the atmosphere, like hundred-pace divine punches, flying over a hundred meters in a Sky Break and detonating all the incoming shells outside the warship.
Not a single one slipped through to hit his warship.
"John! Don't let them die. I'm going to meet an old friend!"
Carlo reached out, and a gale howled across the deck, condensing into invisible Storm Chains that dragged the pitch-black halberd from the cabin into his hand. Gripping it, Carlo took a step forward and stood on the bow of the pirate ship.
Violent physical strength erupted at that moment.
As Carlo's foot landed, the bow of the entire pirate ship dipped nearly sixty degrees toward the sea, almost diving straight into the water.
The pirates on the deck, including Dragon and the others, felt like they were on a slide, sliding down the cliff-like deck and letting out cries of terror.
"Boom!"
Amidst a world-shaking explosion.
The sea within a hundred-meter radius beneath the pirate ship suddenly erupted, sending spray flying everywhere.
Simultaneously, a tall, white-haired figure shot out from the spray like a cannonball, charging toward Zephyr's warship!
"Teacher Zephyr, long time no see!!"
Carlo's eyes flashed with brilliant light as he gripped the heavenly dragon halberd and swung it down toward Zephyr's head.
He had no intention of holding back!