A steady stream of bombs rained down from the Annihilator Flying City like beans scattered from a bag, relentlessly bombarding the pirate alliance.
Although the World Government claims to have three military branches, the Navy, Army, and Air Force with Kong as the commander-in-chief, the public has only ever seen the Navy and Army.
The so-called Air Force had never made an appearance, until now.
The Annihilator Flying City was the first true "Air Force" unit to appear in this world.
The pirate coalition was completely stunned.
Air superiority has always held a major advantage over ground forces. Whoever controls the skies is already halfway to winning the war.
Boom! Boom!
Explosions roared through the battlefield as the bombs smashed into pirate ships, tearing them apart. Many vessels were destroyed instantly by the surprise airstrike.
Some Devil Fruit users managed to resist the attack, but most pirates could only suffer helplessly under the relentless bombing.
"Damn it! Who the hell can deal with that monster in the sky?!" pirates shouted as they scrambled to escape.
They had never felt so powerless, unable to touch the flying fortress hidden above the clouds.
But the real terror was just beginning.
From the Annihilator's airstrip, 150 T-model fighter jets took off and soared into the sky.
They streaked over the pirate fleet, and the twin machine guns mounted beneath each jet opened fire, strafing the decks of pirate ships below.
Looking up, the sky was filled with the shadows of fighter planes darting back and forth, with three massive Annihilator Flying Cities hovering in the center.
"What an annoying thing!"
Smoothie grumbled after finally slicing down a fighter jet.
The small aircraft flew too fast and too high, hitting one from a distance was nearly impossible.
The T-type fighter wasn't a traditional aircraft. It was remotely operated and only one-fifth the size of a regular plane.
In close combat, Smoothie was confident she could cut down a dozen of them with a single swing.
But when she saw Queen casually firing a machine gun without moving an inch, she quickly gave up the idea of taking the lead.
After all, she wasn't called the Queen of Slacking for nothing.
In this situation, whoever flew into the sky first would become an easy target for the enemy's top fighters.
Without her mother present, Smoothie knew she wasn't a match for Lynch.
If she got killed, there'd be no one to complain to.
And it was clear she wasn't the only one thinking this way.
Both the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates were quietly hoping the other side would be the first to act.
The hardest thing in the world is running a business with partners.
People are always scheming and calculating behind each other's backs.
"West Blue has scientists who can fully apply technology to war. Their tech is at least 800 years ahead of the other three seas," Quinn sighed from the bottom of his heart.
Ever since he entered West Blue, his understanding of science had been shattered again and again.
He'd gotten so many new ideas. If he made it out alive, he was determined to bring them to life.
"Lick! Candy Barrage!"
Perospero swung his staff, creating a thick syrup wall in the air to block the bullets.
The mini bullets hit the candy shield, only leaving tiny dents—it was harder than steel.
"Technology… technology…" Perospero muttered, his long tongue twitching.
He was smart enough to realize just how important technology really was.
But knowing something and achieving it were two different things.
The World Government had been developing for 800 years, and even now, the Marines still used sailboats. How long would it take for them to catch up?
"Unless… we can kidnap West Blue's scientists after we win!"
"If that happens… the Perospero Pirates…"
A spark of ambition lit up in his eyes. Just imagining it made him laugh out loud.
With the arrival of the Annihilator Flying City, the tide of battle shifted sharply in West Blue's favor.
Covered by air support, the mechas wiped out 5,000 pleasure and every pirate who had boarded the warships. Together with the soldiers, they successfully reclaimed the front lines.
At the rear, under Loki's lead, dozens of Kaido's pirate ships were also completely destroyed.
Although West Blue suffered some losses during the elite Imperial Regiment's surprise attack, the overall outcome was positive.
"I guess I've managed to straighten out this world's crooked tech tree just a little," Lynch thought as he looked at the fighter planes soaring through the sky.
Everything was moving in the right direction… until suddenly, Big Mom's massive figure shot through the air like a bolt of lightning.
Her emperor's sword crackled with thunder as she raised it high.
"Mama-raid!"
Blinding purple lightning burst from Big Mom's sword, swirling with stars and spreading across the sky for dozens of miles.
Thunder rumbled like crashing waves, shaking the air.
Bolts of lightning twisted like dragons, dancing through the darkened sky, painting everything a deep violet.
Each strike of lightning moved with purpose chasing down fighter planes and striking them out of the air.
In just seconds, all 150 fighters were destroyed.
"The Four Emperors… and she shows up just to ambush a bunch of small fry?" Lynch couldn't help but be stunned by Big Mom's shamelessness.
She had been hiding all this time just to launch a sneak attack like this?
This… this is what it means to be a pirate.
"Well, well, well, kid, remember, I'm a pirate!"
Big Mom grinned proudly at Lynch. Riding on her thundercloud, she launched her fat body toward the three Annihilator Flying Cities with incredible speed.
Originally, Big Mom had planned to ambush Lynch directly while hiding.
But since he never left the warship or took any action, she never found the right moment to strike.
However, once the Annihilator Flying Cities entered the battle, she knew she couldn't hide anymore.
The power of West Blue's air force was too overwhelming. If left alone, the pirate coalition could be crushed.
Kaido was off handling other important matters, and she was the only one strong enough to eliminate all the airborne threats at once.
"We can't let Big Mom destroy the Annihilator Flying Cities," Lynch said, standing up to stop her.
Losing fighter jets was manageable and the cost wasn't too high.
But if the Flying Cities were destroyed, it would be a huge blow.
Building just one Annihilator was a massive effort, expensive, time-consuming, and complicated.
It took tens of thousands of skilled workers laboring day and night to complete one.
So far, West Blue had only managed to build three.
"Kid, your second gift is here!"
Kaido appeared in the sky, seemingly in coordination with Big Mom.
This time, he wasn't dragging a pirate ship with his flame clouds instead, he was pulling a giant island from who-knows-where!
"Wororororo~ Let's see how you handle this, little devil!"
Kaido flew to the center of the West Blue fleet, then canceled his flame clouds dropping the island straight down.
If that island hit, the impact and the resulting tsunami could wipe out at least 300,000 West Blue troops!
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TO BE CONTINUED
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