One Piece: A Warlord's Path-Chapter 702: Bivins Kingdom - The War of National Extinction (3)
By this point, Valanfort Harbor had completely fallen, transformed into a twisted playground for the aerial animated constructs. The defending soldiers were like chicks being hunted by eagles, left with no choice but to flee for their lives.
"Soften!"
Razalo let out an explosive shout. Suddenly, a nearby high-rise, already half-destroyed by the bombardment, began to tilt and collapse without any apparent cause.
RUMBLE!
The massive section of the building slammed onto the silver demon wielding the executioner’s blade, pinning it instantly under tons of brick and mortar. The ground quaked, and thick dust billowed through the streets.
"Retreat!"
Seeing the other demon take to the sky, alert and wary, Razalo gritted his teeth and shouted the order. He knew the command was largely redundant, most were already fleeing, but a few fanatical priests were still holding their ground. He had to save whatever combat strength the Church of the Night had left.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Razalo noticed the light fading. A shadow had blotted out the sun. He reflexively looked up.
Gulp.
"The... the Grand Flying Fleet? Impossible... isn’t Golden Lion Shiki dead?"
Razalo’s jaw dropped. His throat felt tight as he swallowed hard, cold sweat drenching his clothes.
Over a dozen massive pirate ships were forming a literal "black cloud" that eclipsed the sun. They descended with the terrifying momentum of a collapsing sky, bringing with them a howling gale. The legend of Shiki’s Flying Fleet was known throughout the world; even though Razalo had never seen it in person, his first instinct was that the Golden Lion had returned. The sight was simply too spectacular, too similar to the myths.
"Wait... the Float-Float Fruit ability... it’s ’Golden Ring’ Aeridar!"
Razalo snapped back to reality. Shiki was gone; the one who now wielded the power to command the heavens was the Lord of the Neutral Zone.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
One by one, the colossal pirate ships made landfall in the harbor. Their immense weight crushed the cobblestone streets into fine powder.
"Kill them all!"
"Charge! Plunder every treasure you find!"
"Wipe out those bastards from the Church of the Night!"
"Long live the Chris Pirates! Long live Captain Aeridar!"
Roars of bloodlust erupted from the ships. Thousands of pirates leaped from the decks, some twenty meters high, with a fanatical zeal that rivaled even the most brainwashed religious zealots.
Simultaneously, an endless tide of metal and stone animated constructs poured off the ships: knights wielding swords and axes, ferocious beasts, giants standing over ten meters tall, and legendary monsters like centaurs and chimeras. Some barked orders in human tongues; others merely roared. It was an army pulled straight from the pages of a dark fantasy novel.
"The scent of blood..."
Oliver jumped down from the ship, taking a deep breath. His usual lazy expression shifted into something predatory and bloodthirsty.
KRAAAK... BOOM!
A thick bolt of lightning struck a ruined tower. Enel materialized from the sparks, gripping his golden staff. Looking down at the wreckage of the harbor, he threw his head back and laughed: "Yahahaha! Lowly mortals and that disgusting ’False God’... crumble beneath the power of a True God!"
"El Thor!!!"
RUMBLE!
Deafening thunder shook the air as several massive pillars of lightning cascaded from the sky, slamming into the harbor. The earth shuddered violently as millions of volts of pure energy pierced through the crust. Any soldiers within the blast radius were instantly carbonized, some reduced to drifting ash.
Beyond Oliver and Enel, the other cadres began to appear on the battlefield: Mountain Axe Backan, Steel Devil Abel, Rain Scorpion Smythe Betilla, Death Gun Lucien, White Mane Swordsman Enrod, and Black Ghost Galan.
Including the six already in action—Dimitri, Mina, Cavendish, Vito, Rock, and Marcus—nearly the entire elite core of the Chris Pirates had been deployed.
"Heh heh heh... I’ll go on ahead!"
Aeridar grinned, his body lifting off the deck as he flew brazenly toward the heart of Valanfort.
Watching Aeridar leave, Dimitri turned to issue orders: "All ships, cease fire! Proceed to dock at maximum speed!"
With Valanfort Harbor in ruins and its defensive fire net destroyed, nothing remained to stop the four pirate ships from making a landing.
...
"Damn it! Is that guy insane?"
Mondos Bank gripped his Great Grade Blade, Kurokawa, and bolted without looking back. He didn’t even dare to stand and fight; he knew Valanfort could not be held.
Oliver the "Slayer" and Enel the "Thunder God" were already enough to turn the tide, but a dozen more cadres were appearing. And when he had risked a glance back, he saw the monster "Golden Ring" Aeridar himself taking the field.
This level of military might was something only a Yonko crew could hope to match. Not even the Revolutionary Army could stand in their way. Even if the full force of the G-1 and G-5 Marine Bases were mobilized, they would likely be forced into a purely defensive position.
Seeing Aeridar in the sky from a distance, Razalo didn’t say a word; he turned and fled, abandoning his subordinates in the Dark Tribunal.
"Madman! That absolute madman! Does he not care about destroying the world’s balance with such a massive operation?"
Razalo sprinted for his life, his heart screaming in terror. He had been present during the battle at Micity Port that had shocked the world. Those apocalyptic scenes were etched into his brain, the kind of power that defied human resistance.
Monsters. That was the only word Razalo had to describe the participants of that battle.
"Hahahaha!"
"Destroy! In my name, and carrying my will... bring me all the treasures of this castle!"
Aeridar stood suspended in the air, laughing arrogantly. His overwhelming presence rolled out like a tide; ordinary men collapsed in paralyzed fear just from catching a glimpse of him.
"Impact Wave!!!"
A blinding white halo erupted as a massive shockwave tore through the air. The ground shattered inch by inch as the force obliterated everything in a straight line for several hundred meters. Gale-force winds howled, 4.5 sweeping up debris and sending plumes of dust into the sky.
"Whoo! Long live the Captain!"
"All treasure belongs to the Chris Pirates!"
"You small fry from the Church, just stay still and die!"
The thousands of pirates grew even more manic, their morale soaring. they slaughtered every enemy in sight, showing no mercy whether they begged for it or not.
"My, how chaotic. This is what a true Great Pirate Fleet looks like."
Flying through the air atop Uken, Lucien cradled a large, uniquely designed sniper rifle. Wearing a brown mask that was half-bird and half-canine, his eyes shone with a cold, frigid light.
BANG!
A heavy, muffled gunshot rang out.
Splat.
Hundreds of meters away, the upper torso of a clergyman vanished instantly, exploding into a mist of blood.
