An hour later, a fleet of super-sized Den Den Mushi Warships, looking like floating fortresses, finally appeared on the vast sea in front of Merluse Port.
Rows of muscular, identical-looking clone soldiers holding various advanced weapons stood at the bow of the ships.
They all looked like they were carved from the same mold, and their faces were expressionless as they looked at the Royal Guard of the Rubuniru Kingdom lined up in the port.
This sight of an army of soldiers all with the same appearance, physically stronger than ordinary soldiers, and holding various sophisticated weapons and equipment, instantly created enormous psychological pressure for the guards in the port.
Before the battle had even begun, more than ninety percent of the soldiers had looks of panic in their eyes.
Sensing the fear surging in the hearts of the guards beside him, Clyde sighed inwardly. He let out a loud roar, his voice booming, "All hands on deck! No one is allowed to fire without my command!"
"I told you to remove the guard! Clyde! Are you trying to kill me? I declare that you have been removed from your position as the kingdom's great general! Get out of here before you anger the esteemed guests from the Germa Kingdom. Otherwise, you'll be executed here like your ancestor, the great liar Noland!"
From the street behind, King Sid XVII of the Rubuniru Kingdom ran over, panting. He pushed aside the guards who were trying to persuade him to stay away from the dangerous port and shouted angrily at Clyde. He then ordered the soldiers around him to arrest Clyde.
The guards looked at Clyde and then at the furious Sid, not knowing what to do.
Facing Sid's angry scolding, Clyde did not leave. He remained where he was and said in a heavy tone, "Your Majesty, if I leave, who will protect your safety? Please allow me to stay just in case. If Germa truly gets angry at the kingdom because of my preparations, then I am willing to bear the consequences alone. I will give them my head to appease their anger."
"You...!" Sid was speechless at his words.
He thought about it carefully. It was indeed true. If Clyde, the kingdom's strongest warrior, also left, then he would truly have no sense of security at all. Besides, now was not the time to be thinking about this. The Germa army was already approaching.
The twenty Warships, carried by super-sized Den Den Mushi, were completely covered in steel and stone, and equipped with steam-powered paddle wheels, making them look like fortresses. From all directions, a series of dark cannon muzzles emerged, looking like a huge honeycomb, which made Sid's legs go weak.
The line of Warships stopped slowly fifty meters away. A figure with a red cape floated directly from the Warship on the opposite side, treading on the air, and effortlessly flew to the top of Sid and Clyde's heads. He crossed his arms and looked down.
"Who is Sid?" Ichiji crossed his arms, wearing sunglasses. He looked down at the soldiers filling Merluse Port, completely ignoring the cannons and muskets aimed at him. His voice was indifferent.
Sid took a deep breath, squeezed a fawning smile from his hollow-eyed face, and stammered, "G... Germa's esteemed guest, hello. I... I am Sid, the king of the Rubuniru Kingdom. May I ask..."
"You are Sid?"
Ichiji's gaze moved away from Clyde and looked at the bald old man in luxurious clothes with hollow eyes. A cold look appeared in the eyes behind his sunglasses.
"Yes, I am Sid." Sid nodded again nervously.
"On behalf of the Germa Kingdom, I now inform you to immediately surrender to Germa. From now on, everything in this kingdom will belong to us Germa..."
Ichiji's words were interrupted by Sid. He shrieked, "No! You can't do this! We are all member countries of the World Government. You can't take away my throne. You... do you want money? I can give it to you! I have money. There are more than 2 billion Beri in my national treasury, and my Sid royal family also has a lot of treasures. I can use these treasures to exchange for Germa's friendship."
"Friendship?" Ichiji laughed as if he had heard a joke. A sinister smile appeared on his indifferent face. He slowly descended from the sky. Under the nervous gazes of the guards, he walked step by step to Sid.
"Stop!"
Clyde stepped forward, blocking Ichiji's path with his sturdy body and standing in front of Sid.
"Get out of the way." The smile on Ichiji's face disappeared.
"I know you. Sparking Red, the first prince of the Germa army, Vinsmoke Ichiji." Clyde did not give an inch. He looked at Ichiji seriously and said, "The Rubuniru Kingdom and the Germa Kingdom are both member countries of the World Government. It is forbidden for large-scale wars to break out between member countries. This is the first rule that the World Government emphasizes at every World Meeting. Mr. Ichiji, if you Germa Kingdom disregard the rules of the World Government and forcefully invade an ally, and if we report this to the World Government..."
"How noisy!"
Ichiji's eyes narrowed. His right hand, wearing a red gauntlet, suddenly shot out and smashed toward Clyde's chest.
Clyde's heart sank. He gritted his teeth and had no choice but to clench his fist and meet Ichiji's punch.
"Idiot! Who told you to make a move without my permission? Clyde! Stop right now! Are you trying to defy my order? Do you still want me to clear the name of your ancestor, the great liar Noland?"
When Sid saw this, his heart went cold. If Clyde were to injure the first prince of the Germa Kingdom, even if he gave them more money, the matter would probably not end well.
A hint of unwillingness appeared in Clyde's eyes. The fist he had thrown stopped in mid-air. He stopped his punch, but Ichiji completely ignored it and punched the thick armor on Clyde's chest.
Where the punch landed, the armor dented like paper. With an unmatched force, Clyde's chest bone collapsed. He spewed blood from his mouth, and his body flew backward like a cannonball. After hitting Sid behind him, he knocked over more than a dozen guards and fell heavily to the ground.
"You're too weak. Even if you continue to punch, it's just a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot."
Ichiji glanced indifferently at Clyde, who was bleeding from the corner of his mouth and lying on the ground. He walked up, reached out, and grabbed Sid's neck, lifting the king, who was half-dead from being hit by Clyde, from the ground.
"Stop! Let go of the king!"
"Stop it! Or we'll shoot!"
The soldiers shouted as they raised their muskets and aimed at Ichiji. Ichiji just looked at Sid.
Sid's heart was filled with panic and despair from his indifferent and cold gaze. Tears flowed from his eyes. He opened his mouth and begged, "Prince Ichiji, I... I can give you money. I have a lot of money..."
"Your money, of course, belongs to our Germa Kingdom. Not only the money, but the entire kingdom, all the land, resources, population, and wealth, all belong to us. Of course, if you still want to continue to be the king of this country, it's not impossible."
A glimmer of hope appeared in Sid's eyes. Like a fish about to die of thirst seeing water, he said eagerly, "What are the conditions? What do you want me to do? Whatever it is, I am willing to do it, as long as... as long as I can continue to be king."
"It's very simple." Ichiji looked at Sid and said coldly, "You kneel down and express eternal surrender to my father, and immediately announce that you will build our Germa weapon factory here, and conscript all the laborers in the country to work for our weapon factory..."
"No! Absolutely not!"
Before Sid could speak, Clyde, who was lying on the ground coughing up blood, shouted in a hoarse voice, "You absolutely cannot agree to him! Your Majesty Sid! If a Germa weapon factory is built in Merluse, our Rubuniru Kingdom will become Germa's flesh factory. At that time, countless innocent people will die! Cough, cough!"
"Shut up! Soldier! Kill him! Kill him now!"
Sid shrieked. Then, he squeezed out a fawning smile and looked at Ichiji, who was gripping him. "First Prince, I am willing. As long as I can continue to be king, I will do anything. I can kneel down and express my surrender to the great His Majesty Judge. I can also build a weapon factory in Merluse and let those lowly people come to work. As long as you don't hurt me, as long as my Sid royal family is still the royal family of the Rubuniru Kingdom, our Rubuniru Kingdom is willing to surrender to the Germa Kingdom."
Ichiji was silent for a few seconds. Under Sid's hopeful gaze, he shook his head coldly. "No. The Sid royal family also has to go to the factory to work. We need all the laborers to work for Germa and to speed up the revival of the Vinsmoke family."
"I... I also have to go? I also have to work in the factory?" Sid seemed to find it unbelievable, so much so that his voice was off-key. He shrieked in a questioning tone, "I am the king of the Rubuniru Kingdom, Sid XVII!"
"You are the king because we think you are. You can continue to be your king after you get off work. The twelve hours during the day are for you to be a worker in the weapon factory." Ichiji was indifferent to his questioning.
"No! You can't do this! I don't agree! I will never agree!"
Sid began to shriek and struggle, trying to break free from Ichiji's hand. But with his weakling-like strength, how could he possibly break free from Ichiji's hand? Instead, because of his loud voice, Ichiji became impatient. He tightened his grip, and Sid felt like he was suffocating and that death was approaching.
Sid, who was filled with despair, suddenly seemed to think of something. His eyes lit up, and he said with difficulty in a stern voice again, "You can't hurt me! Do you know that the new Marine hero, Vice Admiral Rorschach, the third Admiral candidate, is from our Rubuniru Kingdom? If you hurt me, Vice Admiral Rorschach will definitely kill you! He is a strong man who can kill Golden Lion! He will destroy Germa..."
Crack!
It would have been better if Sid had not mentioned Rorschach.
As soon as he said Rorschach's name, Ichiji was instantly enraged. His five fingers on Sid's neck closed, and he directly broke Sid's neck. He grinned sinisterly, looking at the terrified soldiers around him with bloodthirsty eyes.
"So that bastard Marine is from your kingdom? Good, very good!"
End of Chapter)
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