Otherwise, even if he had been sidelined no matter how badly, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Services he shouldn't have been left without even a few capable subordinates.
If not for Kizaru's instigation and the temptation of pure gold, Steel Bone Kong would probably have lived out the rest of his life just like that. But now he possessed pure gold and had obtained the ability to remain forever young—why shouldn't he try to wash away the shame he carried?
After all, in Kizaru's plans for the future, there was no place left for pirates to survive. As long as he could assist Kizaru in wiping out all pirates, who would still remember that Steel Bone Kong had once been defeated by pirates?
"The Five Elders aren't planning to summon us… In that case, I'll go with you, Fleet Marshal Kong, and wait on standby at Army Headquarters!"
Spark Cello sounded a little disappointed, but he quickly pulled himself together.
Even if he couldn't have an audience with the Five Elders, getting the chance to build a good relationship with Steel Bone Kong, the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Services, was still a fine outcome.
"I am Marshal Kong's subordinate, so naturally I'll advance and retreat together with you!"
The guard captain, Wesk, responded just as straightforwardly. He had no excessive ambitions or improper thoughts. Toward the king who had raised him from a commoner to the position of guard captain, he felt only gratitude. When unsure what to do, going with the flow was undoubtedly the best choice.
"Once those damned pirates are eliminated, this old man will personally report the contributions of the two of you to the Five Elders."
A rare smile appeared on Steel Bone Kong's face. He then led the two vice legion commanders toward Army Headquarters to stand by.
Although nominally they were merely going to wait on standby at Army Headquarters, in the absence of the Five Elders, Steel Bone Kong—as Commander-in-Chief of the Three Services—possessed the authority to directly take over command of the Army.
What Kong hadn't expected, however, was that just as he was in high spirits and ready to assume control of the Army's command, he encountered someone who absolutely shouldn't have been there.
Iron Fist Luro!
The Army's current—and only—Admiral, once a rival of Steel Bone Kong. Later, when Kong was reassigned by the Five Elders to become Fleet Admiral of the Navy, Iron Fist Luro had taken over his position as Army Admiral.
"Why are you here, Admiral Luro?"
Steel Bone Kong frowned deeply. If anyone else had been in charge of the Army, he would have had more than enough ability and prestige to take over its command.
But Luro was no inferior to him in either strength or seniority. More importantly, he was the Army's sole Admiral. Even as Commander-in-Chief of the Three Services, Steel Bone Kong would find it difficult to suppress Luro within the Army's own system.
Moreover, as far as Kong knew, Luro should still have been conducting inspections on the Red Line. Even if he rushed back at full speed, there was no way he should have returned to Mary Geoise so quickly.
"What kind of talk is that, Commander-in-Chief Kong? Knowing that audacious madmen dared to attack the Holy Land, as an Army Admiral I naturally had to rush back at once to protect Mary Geoise. Or should we have relied on those seagulls instead?"
Iron Fist Luro—his body abnormally powerful, several sizes larger even than Steel Bone Kong—crossed his arms over his chest and shouted arrogantly.
Because the Army had long been at a disadvantage in the struggle for military funding, its high command liked to sneer at the Navy by calling them "seagulls," mocking the Navy for fighting over funds like bandits and thieves.
Everyone knew that Kong of the Steel Bone had once served as Fleet Admiral of the Navy. Yet during his tenure, not only did he show no favoritism toward the Army, he actually leveraged his Army background to seize a considerable portion of the budget that should have gone to the Army during funding disputes.
When Iron Fist Luro brought up these old grievances again, the Army's senior officers exchanged glances. Several Army generals who had originally intended to greet Kong and reminisce subconsciously chose to avoid making eye contact with him.
"So that's how it is. Since Admiral Luro has personally taken the field, I'll leave command of the front line to you. I am here on the orders of the Five Elders to oversee the situation. If you need any assistance, Admiral Luro, feel free to speak up."
Kong of the Steel Bone instantly saw through Luro's malicious intent. However, with his wealth of experience, Kong did not erupt into open conflict. Instead, he deliberately took a half-step back—while clearly stating that he was acting under the orders of the Five Elders.
Between the lines, it was almost as if he were pointing at Iron Fist Liuluo's nose and asking whether he had objections to the Five Elders' decision.
What frustrated Luro the most was that Kong did not leave after this veiled exchange. Having such a heavyweight remain at Army Headquarters was equivalent to constantly undermining his authority.
Even worse, if Luro made a mistake in command or suffered a defeat, Kong could seize the opportunity to take over Army Headquarters outright. At that point, those Army higher-ups who currently stood on Luro's side would instantly turn into fair-weather allies.
"Then I'll have to ask Marshal Kong for his generous guidance!"
Iron Fist Luro gritted his teeth as he spoke. Even though he had suffered a subtle but undeniable loss, he refused to fall behind in verbal sparring, repeatedly emphasizing that Kong—both Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and former Fleet Admiral—was not on the same side as the Army.
Unfortunately, compared to Kong's effortless, fireless display of "borrowing authority," Luro's reminder had little effect. The Army's senior officers present were all shrewd men who knew how to read the situation. Even those officers who had instinctively avoided eye contact earlier now took the initiative to cast friendly—or even ingratiating—looks toward Kong.
As long as Marshal Kong had not lost the trust of the Five Elders, he remained, without question, the highest-ranking military commander within the World Government's system.
Aside from Iron Fist Luro—his old rival and long-time enemy—even those Army leaders who disliked Kong the most had no desire to offend him for no reason.
Kong might not be able to promote them to the rank of Army Admiral, but he absolutely had the ability to sabotage them at the critical moment when they had a chance at promotion.
Just as a brief yet silent struggle for authority unfolded within Army Command Headquarters, the first batch of pirates riding bubble gondolas successfully set foot on Mary Geoise.
"Kill them!"
"Kill these pirates!"
"I want my freedom back!"
…
Almost the instant the first pirate appeared, the slave gladiators stationed at the terminus of the bubble gondolas let out hoarse roars and charged forward.
They, too, had been promised freedom if they killed pirates. And to further stimulate their fighting spirit, the World Government had promised that the more pirates they killed, the greater the rewards they would receive.
The highest reward was to be directly crowned king of some small nation. The next tier granted a noble title along with lands and fiefs. Below that came vast amounts of treasure as compensation.
Driven by the lure of freedom and enormous rewards, the fully armed slave gladiators erupted with astonishing combat power, at one point even managing to hold back the pirates who were trying to break through and seize control of the terminal.
Every year, the Celestial Dragons purchased large numbers of slaves from slave traders. Among them, the strongest were trained as gladiators and sent to the arenas to amuse even more Celestial Dragons.
These gladiators may initially have been ordinary people, but after countless bloody battles and ruthless elimination, every one of them could be considered battle-hardened and highly skilled in combat.
In particular, many gladiators came from gifted races—such as the Fish-Men, Longarm Tribe, Longleg Tribe, Mink Tribe, and even Giants.
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