One Piece: A Warlord's Path-Chapter 707: Bivins Kingdom - The War of National Extinction (8)
A certain sea area in the New World.
Several massive pirate ships flying the flag of the Blackbeard Pirates lay anchored across the waves.
Marshall D. Teach sat leisurely on a sofa in his cabin, draped in a magnificent captain’s coat. In one hand, he held a cherry pie he was savoring; in the other, a glass of premium red wine. He looked the picture of contentment.
"Admiral Teach, I just acquired some photographs. You’d better see these!" Laffitte, clad in his fur-collared overcoat, hurried into the room and handed a stack of photos to Teach.
"Zehahaha! Laffitte, want some cherry pie?" Teach grinned broadly, setting down his wine glass and gesturing toward the coffee table.
He took the photos from Laffitte, glancing at them with feigned nonchalance.
"This is..."
In an instant, Teach’s pupils contracted. He sucked in a sharp breath, his voice laced with shock: "The Grand Flying Fleet!"
The first photograph captured a scene of over a dozen pirate ships piercing through the cloud layer, descending from the heavens like divine judgment. The pirate flag flying from the main mast was a sight all too familiar to Teach.
"The Chris Pirates’ Grand Flying Fleet!" Laffitte added gravely. "They were seen gathering at Unzan Port only the morning before last. In just a day and a night, they traveled through the sky to reach Valanfort in the Bivins Kingdom, crushing the Church of the Night forces holding the castle."
"A standard sailing vessel would take at least ten days to get from the Clifford Kingdom to Bivins. Even the Chris Pirates’ steamships would need four or five, and that’s not accounting for the New World’s erratic weather!" Teach’s grin turned into a strange, knowing smile. "And yet, they made it in one day... Zehahaha! The power of the Float-Float Fruit is as terrifyingly exaggerated as ever!"
As a veteran of the Whitebeard Pirates who had lived through the era of Roger, Teach had witnessed the might of Golden Lion Shiki’s original fleet. At its peak, it was a force that even the Whitebeard Pirates preferred to avoid.
In that era, Roger, Newgate, and Redfield were all masters of the sea. But Shiki? Shiki was the master of both the sea and the sky. He occupied the ultimate high ground, practically invincible.
Now, another invincible king had arrived. Even without the official title of Yonko, Aeridar’s military might clearly placed him on their level.
Teach leafed through the other photos: the tide-like swarms of Animate constructs, the thousands of pirates pouring from the ships, the terrifying scenes of Enel unleashing lightning at will, and the domineering image of Aeridar standing suspended in mid-air with absolute arrogance.
Each photo clearly demonstrated the overwhelming power displayed by the Chris Pirates in the Battle of Valanfort.
"Clifford Kingdom is currently vulnerable. Should we..." Laffitte’s voice trailed off into a cold silence as he made a sharp downward cutting motion with his hand.
The advanced technology possessed by the Chris Pirates was enough to make anyone salivate. Any faction that secured those secrets would see their power skyrocket. It’s a temptation almost too great for the newly formed Blackbeard Pirates to resist.
Teach’s eyes flickered, clearly considering it.
However, the thought lasted only a moment before he suppressed it. He raised a hand, stopping Laffitte’s suggestion firmly. "No!"
"Why?" Laffitte asked, confused.
Teach narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "Back during the war at Marineford, the man known as ’Golden Ring’ already showed his ability to float entire islands. If I were him, I’d keep my most valuable assets in the safest place possible."
"The sky!" Laffitte realized.
"Even if you destroyed the entire Clifford Kingdom or sank the island into the sea, the main force of the Chris Pirates remains intact. Their trump cards are still in play. Anyone who dares touch them would face a localized apocalypse from the heavens," Teach said with a meaningful grin. "Besides, who knows what other secrets he has hidden in his nest?"
...
Bivins Kingdom.
Red River Wasteland.
Revolutionary Army Camp.
Inside the main tent, Sabo was speaking with Dragon via Den Den Mushi.
"Dragon-san, must it really come to this?" Sabo asked, leaning over the table, his voice tight with frustration.
"Unless we mobilize every single resource the Revolutionary Army has!" Dragon’s somber voice crackled through the snail.
"Dammit!" Sabo hissed, a feeling of powerlessness washing over him.
"Withdraw. That man is clearly making a point. If we stay in the Bivins Kingdom, we’ll simply be ruthlessly wiped out," Dragon said, sounding equally helpless.
"But..." Sabo’s face darkened. "What about the hundred thousand people in this camp?"
Dragon was silent for a moment. "I can arrange ships. If they are willing to leave..."
Suddenly, before Dragon could finish, a cacophony of noise erupted from outside the tent.
"What is that?"
"It’s a ship!"
"Impossible! How can a ship be flying in the sky?!"
"Incredible... this can’t be real!"
Sabo frowned and turned toward the exit, intending to demand order.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion suddenly rocked the earth. The ground shook violently as a massive shockwave, mixed with flying debris and dirt, pelted the tent like hail. The entire structure wobbled precariously.
"What happened?!"
The tremor was as strong as a major earthquake. Sabo stumbled, quickly grabbing a support pole to steady himself.
SHIIIIII—!
A high-pitched whistle followed immediately after.
"Sabo! What’s going on?!"
The Den Den Mushi had been knocked onto its side on the table. Dragon’s voice came through again; he had clearly heard the explosion from the other end.
"I don’t know yet! I’m going out to check!" Sabo shouted. He hung up and sprinted out of the tent like a gale of wind.
Lifting the flap, Sabo stepped into a scene of utter chaos. Weapon racks had toppled, tents were leveled, and the crowds were in a panic.
A few hundred meters away, on a hillside dozens of meters high, a massive crater over twenty meters in diameter had appeared. Wisps of blue smoke drifted from the scorched earth, leaving Sabo speechless.
"Sabo!" Koala ran toward him, her face pale with anxiety.
"What the hell is going on?" Sabo asked, rushing to meet her.
"Look at the sky!" Koala pointed upward, her expression grim.
"The sky?"
Sabo felt a knot tighten in his stomach. He looked up.
Thousands of meters above, over a dozen pitch-black ships were breaking through the clouds, slowly descending toward the wasteland.
The sight was majestic, but it didn’t inspire awe in Sabo, only a bone-chilling cold.
"The Chris Grand Flying Fleet!"
Sabo’s face was ashen. He hadn’t expected them to set their sights on the Revolutionary Army so soon.
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