On the smoke-filled sea, the warships of the Beasts Pirates finally broke through the Duchy of Dook's maritime defense line, slowly drawing alongside the docks. The wooden hulls, scarred with bullet marks, emitted a harsh grinding sound as they crashed heavily against the stone quay.
"Hahaha, brothers, go!" A pirate captain with a face full of scars raised his cutlass and was the first to leap onto the dock. The ferocious scars on his left eye glinted red in the sunlight, and the Beasts Pirates tattoo on his right arm stood out prominently.
"Charge! Let them taste the might of the Beasts Pirates!"
"Kill them!"
Dozens of pirates swarmed down from the warships like beasts unleashed from a cage. They brandished cutlasses, axes, and all manner of strange weapons, faces wearing bloodthirsty grins. Some pirates even excitedly licked their blades, madness gleaming in their eyes.
However, what greeted them was the uniform bayonet formation of the Duchy of Dook's army. Soldiers clad in dark blue uniforms stood in three rows: the first kneeling, the second standing, the third ready to rotate. Commander Colonel Dook stood on higher ground, calmly watching the approaching pirates.
"Fire!"
At the command, a dense volley of gunfire erupted suddenly. The zips of bullets tearing through the air intertwined with the rat-tat-tat of machine gun fire, forming a lethal web of death. The pirates at the forefront had no time to react before being mowed down. Blood instantly stained the blue-gray flagstones of the dock, and screams rose one after another.
"Damn it! Everyone, be careful!" Several agile pirate squad leaders hastily retreated, each carrying wounds of varying severity. "Fall back! Let the Zombie Army take the lead!"
The pirates fell back with disciplined coordination, retreating near the warships. Simultaneously, the ship's hatches slowly opened, and a group of slow-moving, stitch-covered zombies shambled out. They wielded rusty weapons, eerie green light glowing in their empty eye sockets as they advanced mechanically towards the kingdom's forces.
"Continue firing!" an officer ordered calmly.
A new round of combined arms fire began. Bullets pierced the zombies' desiccated bodies, spattering foul black fluid, but failed to halt their advance. A cannonball exploded amidst the zombie horde, blasting several into pieces, but the remaining parts still dragged their broken forms forward.
"Monsters... they're monsters!" Some of the younger soldiers began to panic, their hands trembling as they gripped their rifles.
"What are you afraid of?!" A deep, robust voice came from the rear. General Godfrey Evans strode forward, wearing a silver-gray military cloak, a lavishly decorated officer's sword at his waist. "These are merely puppets created by a Devil Fruit user! If guns are useless, then prepare for close combat! Remember, cut off their heads!"
At that moment, a middle-aged man in ornate attire stepped out from among the soldiers. He drew a longsword from his waist, its blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "Brothers, follow me! For the Duchy of Dook!"
"It's General Powers!" the soldiers exclaimed. The appearance of the kingdom's former military commander gave their morale a significant boost.
"For the Duchy of Dook!" the soldiers chorused, drawing their own swords and charging toward the zombie horde alongside General Powers.
The moment the two forces met, the sounds of clashing metal, war cries, and screams filled the entire dock. The air was thick with the smell of blood and gunpowder. Amidst flashing blades and flying swords, blood sprayed, and severed limbs littered the ground.
General Powers charged at the forefront, his longsword flashing with cold light under the sun. With a flick of his wrist, the blade traced a beautiful arc. The heads of over twenty zombies flew off, rolling on the ground like harvested wheat.
"For the Duchy of Dook!" Powers shouted, his voice reverberating across the battlefield.
Inspired, the soldiers' morale soared. Some worked in pairs, one defending, the other attacking. Others fought back-to-back, forming defensive circles and cutting down the charging zombies one by one. The battlefield was a blur of swordplay, with zombie limbs and body parts flying in all directions.
Just as Powers was about to lead his troops in a further charge, a sharp blade of light suddenly came at him from the side. The battle-hardened general reacted with incredible speed, immediately swinging his sword to parry. The moment the two blades met, they sparked brilliantly, the clear, metallic ring standing out sharply amidst the battle noise.
"I didn't expect this country to have a swordsmaster of your caliber," Morris said, holding a longsword gleaming with cold light, locked in a stalemate with Powers' blade. A disdainful sneer played on Morris's lips, but his sharp eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
"Arrogant pirate! Since you dare to invade the territory of the Duchy of Dook, today you will not return alive!" Powers glared, the bulging muscles on his arm straining with force. Both exerted power simultaneously. The moment their blades separated, they immediately engaged again with even more ferocious attacks.
In the flurry of swordplay, their figures moved with lightning speed, their techniques fierce and ruthless. Amidst the flying sparks, the two weapons continuously clashed with sharp, ringing sounds.
The surrounding soldiers and zombies involuntarily retreated, clearing a space for this breathtaking duel. An invisible barrier seemed to form at the center of the battlefield, with only the cold flashes of crossing blades flickering within.
The massive, seven-meter-tall frame of "Moonlight" Moria was exceptionally conspicuous on the battlefield. He advanced while swinging his longsword, letting out his eerie laugh. "Ihihihihi, so who will be my opponent?" Each swing of his blade easily sent several Duchy of Dook soldiers flying. The soldiers facing this behemoth wore expressions of terror.
"Pirate, don't get too cocky!" Hain Becker suddenly charged from the side. His right hand instantly transformed into a sharp spike, aiming for Moria's vitals. Moria swiftly swung his sword to block; the metallic crash was deafening. Looking at Becker's transformed body, he gave a strange chuckle. "A Paramecia? With Busoshoku Haki? Ihihihihi, looks like I can have some fun."
With that, Moria exerted sudden force, his longsword pushing Becker's attack aside. Then, in a flash of steel, he cleanly sliced Becker's body open.
To everyone's surprise, not a single drop of blood flowed from Becker's body. The slashed wound revealed a green, jelly-like substance that was rapidly healing. His left hand then transformed into a knight's lance, its tip coated in pitch-black Busoshoku Haki to enhance its piercing power, and thrust fiercely at Moria.
"BOOM——!" The lance punched a massive crater into the ground, sending stone fragments flying.
Moria nimbly dodged the attack, examining Becker with great interest. "A Special Paramecia? I've heard Big Brother Kaido mention them before, but this is the first time I've seen one that can 'elementalize' like a Logia."
"Pirate, you talk too much," Becker said coldly, both his hands transforming into knight's lances and attacking Moria in a torrential downpour of strikes. Moria retreated while parrying with his longsword, his trademark eerie smile still plastered on his face. "Ihihihihi, what a fascinating ability!"
Their battle stirred up gusts of wind on the battlefield, forcing surrounding soldiers to give them wide berth. Becker's ability gave him a myriad of attack forms—now a long spear, now a sharp blade—while Moria responded to each assault with astonishing strength and speed.
"It seems I need to get a bit more serious," Moria suddenly stopped, gripping his longsword with both hands, a red glint flashing in his eyes. Seeing this, Becker immediately grew wary, his entire body transforming into the green, jelly-like substance, ready to counter Moria's powerful strike at any moment.
At another end of the battlefield, a burst of dazzling flames erupted from the Duchy of Dook's ranks. Blazing fire shot skyward, illuminating half the sky.
"Fire Fist!"
Accompanied by a roar, a gigantic fist of fire over ten meters in diameter shot forth, screaming towards the densest concentration of Beasts Pirates personnel. Where the fire passed, the air distorted violently, and scorching heat waves swept the surroundings. Weeds on the ground instantly turned to ash; even rocks were baked red-hot.
"Get out of the way!"
"Help!"
Dozens of pirates scattered in panic, but over a dozen who couldn't dodge in time were struck head-on by the fire fist. They didn't even have time to scream before being reduced to charred corpses by the intense heat. This sudden, powerful attack immediately caught Bullet's attention.
Bullet turned sharply, his keen gaze piercing through the smoke and locking onto a young man clad in golden armor. The man was slowly retracting his smoking fist, his ornate cape flapping noisily in the heat waves. Sunlight reflected off his exquisite armor, dazzlingly bright.
"Lord Bullet, that is Dook III, the King of the Duchy of Dook," a pirate hurriedly reported.
"Hahaha, finally found you," Bullet laughed heartily upon hearing this, a blazing fighting spirit igniting in his eyes. He took two steps forward, then suddenly leaped into the air. His right leg rose high like a battle-axe before he kicked down viciously towards Dook III's direction.
"Rankyaku!"
A massive vacuum slash tore through the air, screaming as it shot straight at Dook III. Where the slash passed, the hard ground was easily split open, leaving a deep fissure in its wake, stones and dust flying everywhere.
"Not on my watch!"
At this critical moment, Evans flashed in front of Dook III. He swiftly drew the longsword from his waist, gripping the hilt with both hands, and swung with all his might to meet the vacuum slash. The instant blade met slash, a brilliant shower of sparks erupted. After a brief stalemate, Evans roared, every muscle in his body tensing, finally shattering the terrifyingly powerful vacuum slash completely.
Bullet landed firmly back on the ground, his fists clashing heavily before his chest with a dull, metallic thud. He strode forward with steady steps, a wild grin on his face. "So you're Dook III? I hear you're quite strong. I wonder how many of my punches you can take."
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!