"Three days ago, the G-51 branch stationed at Master Port was attacked. Branch Colonel Aster was killed in action. At the same time, Mantall Das, the chief royal steward of the Nismail Kingdom was also killed."
"Roy Amos, captain of the nearby Marine Detention Unit, rushed back to Master Port in an emergency and led the branch's Marines in an overnight search for the attacker, but no results have been found so far."
"In addition, the World Government has assessed that Chief Steward Mantall Das may have exposed the location of the Heavenly Tribute. Therefore, ships will be dispatched to transfer the Heavenly Tribute from Arashit Island."
...
Central Arashit Island is located within the Great Arashi Forest.
A Marine with a cigar clenched between his teeth was reclining on a lounge chair, basking in the sunlight that filtered down through the ancient, towering trees of the forest.
Leaning beside the chair was a massive silver ōdachi.
A subordinate standing in front of him was reading out the intelligence at that moment.
"Leave." The cigar-smoking Marine commanded in a deep voice.
"Yes, Rear Admiral Lanli." The subordinate Lieutenant Colonel nodded.
"They want us to withdraw. But first, you'll need to contact the battleships coming to transport the Heavenly Tribute and confirm the evacuation schedule."
Before he could finish, the Rear Admiral shot him an annoyed glare.
"Idiot. I meant you leave. You're completely blocking my sunlight. Can't you see that?"
Hearing this, the Lieutenant Colonel froze for a moment.
Only then did he notice that he was indeed blocking the sunlight while holding the intelligence in his hands, especially since sunlight was a rare luxury in the Great Arashi Forest, where the trees often exceeded fifty meters in height.
He hurriedly moved out of the way, laughing awkwardly.
"Sorry, Rear Admiral Lanli. I didn't notice."
"Pay attention next time. In my hometown, blocking someone from sunbathing is a serious crime." Rear Admiral Lanli snorted coldly.
"…"
Hearing this, the Lieutenant Colonel thought to himself, 'What kind of hellhole has rules like that?', while outwardly nodding obediently.
After that, Rear Admiral Lanli snorted again.
"As for relocating the Heavenly Tribute… what a bunch of cowards!"
He scoffed, clearly dissatisfied with the World Government's judgment.
Turning his head, he looked toward the enormous structure hidden deep within the forest behind him.
"This golden vault sits at the very center of Arashit Island, concealed by the great forest, it's a perfect stronghold."
"There are four defensive bases guarding the four coastlines of the island. The surrounding seas strictly prohibit ordinary ships, and the area lies extremely close to the Calm Belt, meaning the waters around the island contain massive whirlpools capable of swallowing even large-scale vessels."
"With a location like this, who could possibly break in? And with less than a month left before the Heavenly Tribute is transported, they want to move it now? Have the people up top lost their minds?"
He vented his frustration openly.
"But these are orders, Rear Admiral. And the message was personally relayed by Vice Admiral Yamakaji."
At this moment, the Lieutenant Colonel could only appeal to reason.
He knew very well that the man before him was a Marine supernova. At just thirty-five years old, he had already reached the rank of Rear Admiral.
He had mastered Armament and Observation Haki, was highly proficient in swordsmanship, and possessed formidable combat strength. It was widely believed that he would almost certainly be promoted to Headquarters Vice Admiral within a few years.
And the only person who could persuade or command him was his mentor, the veteran Headquarters Vice Admiral, "Yamakaji."
Strangely enough, although Vice Admiral Yamakaji was famous for his gentle yet powerful demeanor, his disciple turned out to be an unexpectedly unruly character.
And sure enough…
Upon hearing that the order came directly from Vice Admiral Yamakaji, Lanli frowned.
Then…
"So I need to contact the battleships, huh? Hand me the Den Den Mushi." He raised his hand unwillingly.
The Lieutenant Colonel inwardly muttered 'As expected', while hurriedly producing the Den Den Mushi in his hands.
"Rear Admiral, there are five battleships assigned to transfer the Heavenly Tribute. You can contact them individually using this Den Den Mushi, this is a special World Government model. It supports multiple communication channels and even has a message function. There's already a message waiting."
As he spoke, he noticed that the Den Den Mushi had already begun to speak.
"Rear Admiral Lanli, this is one of the 'transfer ships' assigned to relocate the Heavenly Tribute. We encountered extremely powerful gales along the route, so our voyage may be delayed by about half a day. We will enter the island from the southern base harbor."
"Beep. This message will remain stored for three hours."
The Den Den Mushi calmly announced the message and its retention time.
Rear Admiral Lanli's brows knitted together.
"Rear Admiral, please don't be angry. When sailing at sea, it's unavoidable to be delayed by wind and waves."
Seeing this, the Lieutenant Colonel assumed the Rear Admiral was upset again and hurried to comfort him.
"Besides, it's only been three days since the attack on Master Port. Even the fastest ship would take at least a week to get here from there. There's really no need to rush the transfer of the Heavenly Tribute…"
But before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off by Rear Admiral Lanli's sharp shout.
"Idiot! Something's wrong!" Lanli said this as he straightened up from the lounge chair.
He was a sharp man, and by now he had already sensed that something was off.
"This is Arashit Island, an island near the Calm Belt. The surrounding seas might not see strong winds even once in an entire year."
He turned toward the Lieutenant Colonel.
"Contact the southern base. Confirm the weather conditions in the southern seas!"
"Yes… yes, sir!"
The Lieutenant Colonel immediately snapped to attention, gave a salute, and hurriedly took out a Den Den Mushi to place the call.
"Buru-buru!" "Buru-buru!" "Buru-buru!"
The Den Den Mushi's ringing echoed through the silent forest. But in the end, no one answered.
The already quiet forest seemed to grow even more oppressive.
"Call the other three bases."
Only when Rear Admiral Lanli's voice cut through the silence did the Lieutenant Colonel come back to himself. He hurriedly acknowledged the order and began dialing the remaining three Den Den Mushi.
And the result was the same.
All three Den Den Mushi continued to ring with the familiar buru-buru sound… yet no response came.
"Rear Admiral, this is…"
Only now did even the Lieutenant Colonel realize that something was seriously wrong.
"Contact the watchtower." Rear Admiral Lanli had already picked up his great odachi, standing upright with both hands resting on the hilt.
The Lieutenant Colonel's expression changed drastically.
The watchtower, located outside the great forest was the second-to-last line of defense of the Golden Vault. Even though he couldn't believe the situation had deteriorated this far, he still followed orders and placed the call.
"Buru-buru!" "Buru-buru!" "Buru-buru!"
The Den Den Mushi rang as it always had. Each ring felt to the Lieutenant Colonel like his own heartbeat roaring in his ears.
And finally…
"Hā… hā… ha…"
The Den Den Mushi connected at last.
But from the other end came only weak, ragged breathing.
"Who is this? What happened?" The Lieutenant Colonel immediately shouted.
From the other side came a broken, intermittent voice.
"I'm… watchtower… guard… hā… hā…" The speaker was clearly at death's door; even his words were slurred and indistinct.
"Attack… violent wind… monster… from the sky…" His words ended there.
The Den Den Mushi fell silent.
Just like the quiet Golden Vault.
And so…
"Rear Admiral, I'll go confirm the situation immediately! Oh… right! The defensive wall! I'll raise the forest's defensive wall at once!" The Lieutenant Colonel spoke urgently.
Yes… this was the storage site of the Heavenly Tribute, and the Golden Vault had been specially equipped with defensive fortifications. Once activated, it was a massive wall that even tens of thousands of troops would find nearly impossible to breach.
"Rear Admiral?"
But soon, the Lieutenant Colonel realized that Rear Admiral Lanli hadn't answered him.
Instead, the Rear Admiral had slung his massive odachi over his shoulder, letting the blade hang slightly at his side.
He stepped forward.
The Lieutenant Colonel recognized that stance.
It was Rear Admiral Lanli's battle posture.
And it was a posture he only assumed when facing a truly formidable enemy.
Then…
"No need."
The Lieutenant Colonel heard Lanli's reply, and at the same time saw the Rear Admiral lift his head toward a certain direction.
"The enemy is already here. And this presence… heh."
'Already here?'
After hearing Lanli's words, the Lieutenant Colonel instinctively raised his head to look in the same direction.
And at the very moment he did, he realized something was terribly wrong.
The wind had arrived.
And it was not the gentle breeze common to forests.
Not even a fierce but understandable storm.
It was a destructive torrent of air, accompanied by a thunderous roar!
"Bang!"
That was the sound of something enormous beating the air at extreme speed, a sonic explosion.
The violent gale made the Lieutenant Colonel feel as if he could barely keep his footing, while sand and grit carried by the wind slashed painfully across his face.
And along with the wind came darkness.
Yes, at this moment, the precious sunlight that once filtered through the gaps between the leaves vanished completely.
It wasn't that the sunlight had disappeared. It had been blocked by something colossal.
"That is… what?"
Yes… The Lieutenant Colonel could see it now.
Above the immense forest, over the countless towering trees, a gigantic silhouette had appeared.
It was a creature that should have vanished from this age. Its outstretched wings seemed to blot out the sky, the membranes colored a rock-like blue-gray.
"What is that? Do you even need to ask?" Compared to the Lieutenant Colonel, Rear Admiral Lanli was smiling now.
He tightened his grip on the great odachi, a blazing battle intent flashing in his eyes.
"That's a monster!"
(End of Chapter)
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