At this time, Akainu and the others defending the outer seas of the Red Line also received news that the Neo Navy had launched the decisive battle.
After all, the Neo Navy did not conceal its movements at all and was almost advancing straight across the sea toward the Red Line.
As the first line of defense protecting the Red Line, the Navy would be under unprecedented pressure.
That was because the Navy had not stationed its forces on the Red Line itself, but instead chose to intercept the Neo Navy in the surrounding seas.
Akainu did not understand why the Four Elders had given such an order.
If that was the case, there was no real difference between stationing the Navy at the Red Line or at Enies Lobby, since neither achieved the effect of concentrating all forces in one place.
If the goal was to buy time, it would have been more effective to have the Navy harass the enemy elsewhere.
However, he could more or less understand the Four Elders' thinking.
Perhaps they feared that if their forces were split in two, Caelan would ignore the Navy's harassment and directly attack the Red Line.
In that case, the Red Line would lose one layer of expendable defense.
The Four Elders were simply too cautious about their own lives, and they did not even dare to gamble on whether Caelan would value the lives of ordinary civilians more than his own determination to kill them.
A bunch of cowards who did not even have the courage to face their enemy head-on.
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, a large number of warships have appeared in the sea ahead."
"Caelan and his forces are leading the charge."
Keyes brought the frontline intelligence and reported loudly to Akainu.
Akainu came back to his senses and said in a deep voice, "How many are there?"
"There are over a thousand warships, all fully manned, with around a million troops," Keyes reported in detail. "We have also confirmed the presence of several admirals. Sengoku, Borsalino, Zephyr, Gion, Fujitora, and Aokiji are all there."
"And Caelan will definitely appear in the final battle."
Even just reciting the lineup made his heart feel tense.
In fact, their side also had thousands of warships and nearly a million troops.
But these forcibly conscripted civilians could not be compared to the elite soldiers and officers of the Neo Navy.
Moreover, most of their mid-level vice admirals had already fled. Caelan had taken in that entire group, causing them to lose a huge amount of mid-level combat strength.
In terms of top combat power, the difference was not large. They had Fleet Admiral Akainu, Commander-in-Chief Kong, and three newly appointed admirals, only two fewer than Caelan's side.
If reinforcements from Mariejois descended, they would even have the numerical advantage in admirals.
However, Caelan alone was enough to render their top fighters ineffective, leaving them at a disadvantage once again.
With the situation evenly matched at best, even as a staunch supporter of the World Government, he could not help but feel panic.
"So you have come with everything you have. You really intend to settle everything in one battle."
Akainu looked into the distance, where dense black shadows were emerging at the horizon.
Facing such a lineup, he only felt a heavy sense of pressure.
The enemy had mobilized all their forces without leaving any room for retreat, even emptying Dressrosa, their main base.
If the World Government still had the courage to launch a surprise attack with an elite force, Caelan would suffer heavy losses and be forced to adjust his strategy.
But now, it was clear that the Four Elders lacked that resolve.
"Fleet Admiral Akainu, give the order."
Kong narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice.
Akainu glanced at him and said firmly, "All units, prepare your firepower. Load all ammunition and suppress the enemy the moment they enter firing range."
"Ryokugyu, Castellon, Urther, and Commander-in-Chief Kong, follow me and engage the enemy head-on."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Akainu."
Keyes jogged away and relayed the order to the entire Navy through the Den Den Mushi.
Admiral Castellon and Admiral Urther showed no expression and simply nodded.
They were members of the Knights of God, hiding within the Navy as a front.
In essence, they represented the interests of the Celestial Dragons, and a confrontation with Caelan was inevitable.
Naturally, they would not retreat.
"Didn't they say the World Government had a trump card?" Ryokugyu said with a carefree grin. "Now that the enemy has come right to our doorstep, it's time to use it, isn't it?"
When he had been recruited, he believed that a regime which had ruled the world for eight hundred years must possess a deep foundation and a trump card capable of dealing with Caelan.
Yet now that the enemy had arrived, they were still stuck on the defensive. This was far from what he had imagined.
"A trump card?" Akainu glanced at Ryokugyu and smiled for the first time. "Aren't you the trump card?"
It was laughable to still expect the World Government to have some hidden ace.
After the immortality of the Four Elders had been broken and the destruction of the ancient weapon, he believed there was nothing left stronger than the World Government itself.
If there had to be a trump card, it would be expendable pieces like Ryokugyu, who still firmly believed in the World Government.
"Me, the trump card?"
Ryokugyu felt like someone who had made a fortune in the stock market by accident, uneasy and uncertain.
For the first time, he felt a hint of regret.
He supported pure aristocracy and had once believed that the Celestial Dragons, with their eight hundred years of history, were the most legitimate rulers.
Now, it seemed that Caelan's side looked even more like true nobility.
"Fleet Admiral Akainu is just joking," the bald Castellon said to reassure him. "Saint Saturn told me that we are only buying time. The real trump card is still being prepared."
"Yes, the real trump card is being prepared," Urther nodded in agreement. "That is the ultimate power behind the World Government's eight hundred years of rule."
They had also heard from the Four Elders that Imu was planning something major, something that would soon deal Caelan a crushing blow.
As long as they held out a little longer, Imu would be ready.
As members of the frontline Knights of God, they would gain new seats among the Five Elders after the war.
What they did not know was that these promises were nothing more than empty bait.
"Oh, I see."
Ryokugyu steadied himself and smiled.
As time passed, the Neo Navy's forces soon entered the Navy's firing range.
Just as the hastily assembled Navy troops were preparing to aim and fire, a golden figure leaped down from the sky on the opposite side.
"Yasakani no Magatama."
Countless golden beams scattered from the figure, targeting the Navy's deployed warships.
The beams fell at incredible speed, carrying destructive power like that of a mountain collapse.
In an instant, dozens of warships were destroyed.
"Ice Age."
An overwhelming wave of freezing air surged in from afar.
In the blink of an eye, the entire sea area where the Navy was positioned, along with all the warships, was frozen solid, forming an enormous ice field.
The Navy soldiers who had been preparing to fire their cannons were immediately seized by the cold, unable to even stand steadily.
Before the two sides officially clashed, the Neo Navy had already dealt the Navy a heavy blow.
"Borsalino. Aokiji."
Akainu felt complicated emotions as he watched his former colleagues take action.
The memory of competing with Aokiji for the position of Fleet Admiral felt like it had happened yesterday, and Borsalino, who was always slacking off, seemed as though he were still napping in the chair beside him.
In the blink of an eye, Akainu had become the Fleet Admiral, yet he felt no joy.
After composing himself, his gaze sharpened. "Move out. Let's go meet our old friends."
With that, Akainu charged forward first, with Kong and the others following closely behind.
(To be continued.)