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"Screee!"
"Enemy attack!!"
"Someone broke through here, they actually blasted a hole in the wall! What are they trying to do?!"
The sudden appearance of Rojen's group of four left the surrounding Marines utterly stunned. What shocked them even more was the impossible fact that the wall, four to five meters thick, had been punched through by one man.
What kind of monstrous strength was that?
As they were still processing what happened, the Marines reacted instantly. A flood of elite soldiers surged forward, filling the area in seconds.
"Jason! Trens! Crocodile! Get across, now!"
Rojen's face hardened as he saw dozens of elite Marines leaping down from the rooftops. These weren't ordinary grunts, each of them possessed unique combat techniques, moving with frightening speed.
Even the weakest among them had the power equivalent to a pirate with a bounty over ten million berries. In this large-scale war against Golden Lion Shiki, there wasn't a single weakling stationed at Marine Headquarters.
"Hurry!"
Seeing the three still hesitate, Rojen shouted again, his voice filled with urgency.
"But, !"
Jason hesitated, and the other two also froze. The overwhelming might of the Marines rushing toward them was terrifying, even Rojen himself, if surrounded, could easily fall into mortal danger.
"I'll cover the rear! Don't worry, I have my own way out!" Rojen roared, his tone full of command.
The three finally stopped hesitating. Seeing the Marines closing in fast, they gritted their teeth, turned, and rushed through the hole that Jason had smashed open.
"Stop! That's…!!"
The Marines chasing after them suddenly turned pale.
Through the massive breach in the wall, they could now see what lay beyond, rows of magnificent golden buildings, dazzling and resplendent, reflecting the sunlight in blinding brilliance.
That was, the Celestial Dragons' palace!
Rojen's senses had been spot-on. Jason's punch, though it hadn't opened an official entrance, had indeed brought them perilously close to the Celestial Dragons' domain. Jason and the others sprinted through the hole, but barely ten meters in, they froze, faces draining of color.
"Captain!!" Crocodile's voice trembled as he shouted back.
Rojen's expression grew even grimmer. Only by personally facing this mass of elite Marines could one truly feel the crushing pressure they radiated. It was like having Mount Tai press down on your body, an oppressive, suffocating force that could shatter one's mind and grind one's flesh and bones to dust.
He understood it perfectly. This pressure wasn't only due to his current lack of power, it was also because the enemy before him was simply too strong.
"Hundreds of ranking Marine officers… ten Rear Admirals… and countless elite soldiers from staff sergeant level and above…"
From all directions, Marines poured in, across rooftops, through alleys, and over open ground. From above, they looked like a swarm of black dots, converging rapidly, sealing Rojen inside a tightening ring of steel.
"Don't even think about running! Behind that wall is a bottomless abyss! You dare to trespass into Marine Headquarters, your courage exceeds your sanity!"
The leading Marine officer shouted sharply as he advanced.
Rojen immediately understood. Jason and the others must have stopped because they had seen the abyss beyond the wall.
No one could explain why there was such a massive chasm between Marine Headquarters and the Celestial Dragons' palace. Perhaps it was because the palace lay along the edge of the Red Line, or perhaps it was an intentional measure, a man-made abyss created by the Marines themselves, meant to isolate and protect the Celestial Dragons, leaving only one narrow path leading inside.
"The road's gone!!"
Jason's voice trembled as he looked down at the seemingly endless drop to the churning sea below. Furious winds howled up from the depths, nearly tearing their words away.
"The captain's still back there!" Crocodile's voice shook as well.
Trens gripped his gun tightly, then suddenly turned around.
"What are you doing?!" Jason shouted.
"I'm going to help the captain!" Trens said grimly.
"Get back here!" Jason roared. "You can't help him right now!"
"Even if I can't help, I have to try! He's facing at least three thousand enemies,
and most of them are powerhouses!"
Trens didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood exactly what he meant.
It was dangerous, far too dangerous! No one could stand head-on against such an enormous Marine army right now, especially when so many of their terrifying military weapons hadn't even been deployed yet.
Just moments ago, everyone had witnessed with their own eyes the battle between the Golden Lion's crew and the Marines. That overwhelming might, no words could truly describe it.
Thousands of cannons fired in unison, turning the land into a scorched wasteland.
Every pirate was annihilated.
"Crocodile, pull him back." At that moment, Jason's voice was unusually calm.
"Captain will figure something out!" Crocodile exhaled slowly, his gaze sharpening. With a flick of his right hand, sand surged into the air in front of Trens, blocking his path.
"Crocodile!" Trens roared.
"The big guy's right," Crocodile said coldly. "What we need to think about now is how to get across from here. As for the Marines, Captain will have his way."
"He sent us ahead because he's afraid we'd slow him down."
It was rare to hear Crocodile explain things so plainly. Just as he finished speaking, Rojen's voice came from behind them.
"Ha ha ha ha! Crocodile's right, Trens, don't worry about me! If you three stayed here, I wouldn't be able to unleash my full power!"
Those words finally put the trio at ease.
Facing away from them, Rojen's voice carried no hint of tension or fear. Instead, it brimmed with confidence.
He truly had a plan.
"Find a way to cross!" Rojen shouted again. His right hand slapped against his waist.
The Jasper Gourd shot out a streak of light, whistling through the air before landing in Trens's hand three breaths later.
"In a critical moment, it'll help you. Remember, find the Lordling and bring her back! I'll come for you as soon as I can!"
With those final words, Rojen's gaze grew sharper as he looked ahead.
There, countless Marines swarmed like ants, less than fifty meters away. His lips moved slightly, and his Prediction technique activated.
"Heed my words, All flaws in the world shall be mended; all destruction shall be restored!"
Behind him, the massive hole in the wall began to hum, dust swirling as it quickly sealed itself up.
"Bold move!" Marines shouted furiously as the wall finished repairing itself. Trens and the others had already vanished.
Rojen watched them go, then smiled faintly.
"So plans can't keep up with change after all."
Fixing his eyes on the advancing Marines, he took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"I was planning to act alongside you…"
"But it seems the tail's caught up."
He took another step, the Marines drawing closer with each stride.
"No helping it then. Guess I'll just have to take care of these guys before we meet again."
"My comrades… give it your all."
"As for what lies within the Celestial Dragons' palace…"
"I don't know."
"But, "
"I believe in you all!"
(End Of This Chapter)