The three-way battle had a massive impact, immediately sending the situation in the New World into a strange and turbulent state.
Subsequently, the news that Wilder had killed Cracker also spread, causing a major shock.
In the short term, the Yonko Big Mom launched three frantic attacks on the Kingdom of Morass, but each time she was intercepted by the Marines under the pretext of invading a Marine fortress and protecting the inviolable dignity of the Marines.
Afterwards, the Big Mom Pirates, as if possessed, began to launch frantic retaliatory strikes against the forces and pirate crews that had taken the opportunity to invade her territories, including, of course, the Blackbeard Pirates.
In the end, Big Mom even led her strongest Sweet Commander, Katakuri, to challenge the Blackbeard Pirates. Blackbeard himself and his main crew members were injured and suffered significant losses, forcing them to reluctantly withdraw from the sea territory they had just occupied.
At this stage, Blackbeard still lacked the ability to truly contend with the absolute top-tier powerhouses. But no one doubted his future growth; it would be extremely rapid and fierce. It wouldn't be long before he became a new Yonko, taking Whitebeard's place.
After this, the New World quickly returned to a state of calm. Big Mom eventually cooled down and didn't dare to divert more energy to cause trouble for Kaido. After all, that guy was even more of a madman than she was. The main reason, however, was that Kaido hadn't actually taken anything from her territory this time, nor had he occupied any islands. That was the crucial point; otherwise, Big Mom would not have hesitated.
None of the Emperors of the sea had good tempers. Each was more volatile than the last, and there was no compromise or show of weakness among them. This was one of the keys to maintaining their dominance.
Of course, when it came to personality, Red-Haired Shanks was the exception.
One matter that particularly concerned Wilder was how to handle the relationship with Germa 66. Undoubtedly, after ignoring their verbal agreement, Germa 66 had two choices. One, to go back to their old ways and seek cooperation with Big Mom. Wilder believed Big Mom would be willing, as profit could outweigh emotions. However, the fact that Vinsmoke Judge had been defeated by him would certainly lower his standing in Big Mom's eyes.
The second choice was to follow the "post-war agreement" with Wilder and be forced into an alliance. But judging by the fact that Vinsmoke Judge did not, as Wilder had instructed, announce an alliance with him, it was clear he had no intention of honoring the deal after the fact.
Despicable? Shameless? Brazen?
None of that mattered. This was the ultimate choice to ensure his own safety without offending a Yonko.
But Wilder was not so understanding as to empathize with others' actions and difficulties. He only cared about allies and enemies, grudges and alliances.
Undoubtedly, Vinsmoke Judge's current reaction was to create a grudge with him.
Wilder felt like he had let a tiger back into the mountains… no, more like he had been repaid with enmity for his kindness. Sparing Vinsmoke Judge's life was a kindness. Judge's lack of gratitude, his complete disregard for the mercy shown to him, was the enmity.
If it were a simple cause-and-effect relationship, it would be one thing. The problem was, just now, Vinsmoke Judge had called, saying he wanted to form an alliance with him. This was the very definition of a turncoat.
Wilder didn't give him an immediate answer. After much deliberation, he finally decided to leave him hanging for a while.
Both Wilder and Vinsmoke Judge were silent on the matter of announcing the alliance. The latter was trying to leave open the possibility of "adapting to circumstances," meaning he could still be a turncoat if he ran into danger in the future. As for the former, his current relationship with the Marines made it unsuitable for him to be friends with such criminals.
After all, he was just an innocent civilian. No, an innocent king.
The grand march had begun as soon as the battle ended. It took three days to reach the location temporarily designated as the capital.
The capital was located in the north-central part of the kingdom. The area itself was a vast, uninhabited land, so they could make it as wide as they wanted.
Next came the construction work.
Along with the grand army came refugees who had either joined voluntarily or been recruited along the way. They would contribute to the construction of the kingdom. Naturally, they would also become the first residents of the capital.
The Royal Palace, of course, would still be built in the location Wilder had originally chosen—a place that could be considered treacherous and deadly even within this vast, uninhabited land.
The Black Serpent, or rather, the Kingdom of Morass, had an abundance of talent and funds. Therefore, its establishment was not as difficult as that of other kingdoms. They had talent, machinery, science, and even explosives for clearing mountains and building bridges, as well as stone and timber.
Of course, the basic building materials, stone and wood, were not transported from elsewhere. Although the environment of Morass was predominantly swamp, it was not without these resources.
Soon, two teams were dispatched, each with a large number of refugees, to a large, barren mountain of stone to quarry for materials.
Another group naturally went to the dense forest to fell trees.
At the same time, people who had just learned that the war was over continued to flock from all over the country. In the end, the number of refugees participating in the construction reached a total of one and a half million.
Without a doubt, this was a massive country. And one had to remember, this was the number of people who had survived years of devastating war. One could only imagine how large the population would be in a peaceful environment.
Three days later, on a temporarily erected high platform, loudspeakers developed by the Science Department were placed all around. Wilder stood on the platform, a microphone in front of him. Below, the collective body of Morass and the army were arranged in two columns that stretched far into the distance. In the middle were the civilians and refugees, a dense, black mass of people with no end in sight. All of them looked at Wilder on the high platform with eyes full of admiration, gratitude, excitement, and anticipation.
Above the platform was a large screen, allowing those further away to see Wilder clearly.
Wilder was about to deliver his first speech as king to his people.
According to the draft, the speech was divided into four parts. The first part was to encourage the people and bring them hope. The second part was a promise of what he, as king, would do next—that he would bring them a better life.
"From now on! You will no longer suffer from the ravages of war! You will no longer have to worry about the arrival of foreign forces and pirates! We have the best army! They will protect every single one of you!"
These words, broadcast through the loudspeakers, entered everyone's ears. Everyone fell silent. Although they already knew the war was over, at this moment, a feeling of rebirth rose from the bottom of everyone's heart.
Rebirth.
The feeling of being born anew. Everyone's eyes widened, excitement gradually welling up in them, like cracked earth finally receiving the first drop of spring rain. The thing that countless people had thirsted for, that was filled with such intense longing, had finally arrived at this moment.
Peace!
"WHOA!" At that moment, the thing that struck the depths of their souls transformed into an indescribable excitement, erupting from their throats in a thunderous roar. The sound, carrying the hopes of countless people, shot into the sky, circling and lingering for a long, long time.
Even Vice and the others felt a profound shock in their hearts. A strong emotion was stuck in their chests, desperate for release. They couldn't help but join in the shouting.
The subsequent part of the speech was the announcement of some basic laws, the most important of which everyone had to know. Then came the encouragement for the people to build. This wasn't about building the capital—that was a paid job. He encouraged them to, in addition to participating in the capital's construction, build their own houses, their own homes, in the designated areas.
This was one of the keys to development. Only when the people were settled could infinite opportunities be created.
As for the problem of the unsuitable environment, Wilder naturally had a plan. Just as those who live by the mountains live off the mountains, and those who live by the sea live off the sea, what about those who live by stone? Do they eat stones?
Of course not.
Humanity's greatest talent is adaptation. They can create an environment suitable for their own survival even in the most desperate situations, be it through architecture or other means.
Just like the famous Water 7, they lived in a place constantly eroded by high tides and tsunamis, yet they had survived for generations with their unique architectural style.
It was a city built on water.
And what Wilder needed to do was simply to follow such a precedent and build a city on a swamp.
The initial construction would require Wilder's abilities, and Claire's as well.
After a large amount of wood and stone was transported over, Wilder and Claire began their work.
The residential areas for the common people naturally couldn't be built directly on the swamp, but they couldn't completely eliminate the swamp either, as that would greatly reduce its defensive threat and the combat boost it provided Wilder.
Under the expectant and curious gazes of countless people, the ground where Wilder stood began to change. His powerful soul endowed him with immense spiritual strength, and his control over the swamp grew stronger day by day. Standing still, the swamp beneath his feet was already surging.
Wilder's initial plan for the capital was to use the great cliffs of the Royal Palace as a backdrop and radiate out from there, creating six straight longitudinal avenues. Then, six horizontal avenues would be built to cross the longitudinal ones, creating a grid that divided the area into twenty-five massive districts. What Wilder had to do now was to harden the swamp in these twenty-five districts into land that people could walk on normally, and then to keep or process the twelve avenues into a swampy state.
This was a massive undertaking. Wilder spent half a month on it, countless times exhausting nearly four-fifths of his stamina, only managing to complete this enormous project by replenishing himself with large amounts of meat.
Apart from the area directly connected to the Royal Palace, which was named the Direct Rule District, the completed twenty-five districts were named by number.
Wilder had no intention of establishing a system of nobility. That sort of thing brought nothing but corruption to a nation.
All twenty-five districts would be used for construction. There would be no division between commercial and residential areas, but a natural inclination would develop over time.
In addition, there were also streets within the districts, which further divided them into smaller neighborhoods. But that was not something Wilder had to worry about.
This would be the center of economy, culture, politics, and military power. Future development would certainly not be limited to this. When the time came to expand, they could simply add more horizontal and vertical avenues.
Of the twelve avenues, except for the central one that led directly to the Direct Rule District and the Royal Palace, which was hardened and paved with stone slabs, the other eleven were all built to resemble canals. Except, the canals were not filled with water, but with swamp.
Blocks, perfectly square, appeared out of thin air, neatly arranged along both sides of the canals. Then, at regular intervals, pillar-like blocks appeared, standing a head taller than the others.
Soon, a magical and spectacular scene unfolded. Long, flat blocks appeared, spanning the canals neatly, fitting together seamlessly. These blocks were actually filled with dense holes, and on both sides, they were raised half a meter high by the pillars.
The overall effect was that the "bridge" over the canal ran the entire length of the canal, creating a walkable surface. However, the "bridge" and its "piers" on both sides were half a person's height taller than the actual ground. So, at short intervals, small ramps were added on both sides to allow people to get onto the "main bridge." This way, since people's footing was lower than the canal bed, it also prevented anyone from accidentally falling into the canal. The shorter a person was, the less likely they were to fall in.
Part of the reason for doing this was so that Wilder could draw on these swamps at any time to boost his own power. Another reason was that it gave him an underground-like world. Transporting goods, troops, and so on could all be done without anyone knowing.
Wilder could dispatch soldiers or other things, such as ferocious beasts, from the Royal Palace through these swamp canals at any time. He could also move freely within the canals, doing things that others couldn't. And Wilder could expand the routes or even create underground spaces as needed at any time.
And then, there was the matter of these blocks.
That, of course, was the ability Wilder had given to Claire.
The Paramecia-type Block-Block Fruit!
It created blocks harder than anything produced by any other Paramecia-type fruit. It had the function of building and stacking. At the same time, the blocks created and built would not disappear even if the user lost consciousness.
The user could create blocks of various shapes out of thin air, but they had to be regular shapes, like squares, rectangles, even circles and ovals. It couldn't create irregular shapes, like a pile of dung, for instance.
Of course, if you stacked them, it was a different story. You could create several circles of decreasing size and stack them on top of each other.
This ability also had a terrifying rule: it could not be moved by external forces. That is to say, no matter how powerful an attack, it could not move the blocks, even if they were in mid-air. Only by shattering them could this rule be broken.
Only the user themselves could freely control the blocks and make them move.
This ability…
To be honest, Wilder was a little envious. It was much stronger than his Swamp-Swamp Fruit, with so many possibilities.
Claire could now fly without using Moon Walk. She could just step on a block and go up or down, fast or slow as she pleased. She could even drift in the air. And according to her, there were still abilities she hadn't developed yet. Once she did, the Block-Block Fruit's power would likely not be limited to the physical realm.
"Claire, build me an airplane. I want to fly," Wilder said, his face a little dark as he watched Claire flying happily in the air, like an immortal riding a sword.
Without a doubt, Claire was now the number one fighting force under Wilder. Even Vice had to admit it.