"Mushussu's Assault!!!"
"Mushussu Thunderstorm!!!"
"Sky Ring!!!"
"Great Dragon!!!"
"..."
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
Hundreds of enlivened creatures swarmed from all directions, furiously attacking Doma Mankervis in the center. Intense roars continuously echoed under the night sky, and large amounts of rubble rained down, leaving the castle below in ruins.
However, Mankervis's claws were incredibly sharp, and the force in his tail was immense. Whether it was enlivened stone statues or even harder metal sculptures, they were as fragile as tofu, easily torn into pieces like paper.
In just one minute, over a hundred enlivened creatures perished at the hands of Marquis Mankervis, turning into piles of rubble and metal fragments. Yet, they could not impede his advance.
Suddenly, Marquis Mankervis's eyes lit up. He realized he had broken through the monster encirclement; only a few gargoyles still lingered around him. However, in the distance, a large "dark cloud" guarded Cross and Shanna, already far above the royal castle, making pursuit impossible.
"Damn it all, ahhh...!"
Marquis Mankervis, transformed into his Mushussu form, stood suspended in the air, watching the "dark cloud" disappear into the night, roaring in a hysterical fit of rage. His roar seemed to startle the birds, causing the surrounding gargoyles to quickly depart, no longer delaying him.
A thousand meters away, Cross, riding a griffin, seemed to hear someone's enraged roar. He couldn't help but look back at Mount Gangoma, which was getting smaller and smaller, yet still glowing brightly.
"I'll be back!"
He touched the four scars on his chest, which had barely stopped bleeding, his eyes growing darker as he whispered.
If it weren't for the burden of Doma Shanna, he could have led nearly a thousand enlivened creatures to clash head-on with the aristocrat faction. But as a member of the Marines, his priority was naturally the interests of the Marines. Protecting Doma Shanna was enough to give the Marines a legitimate standing and prevent them from being rejected by the people of the Bion Kingdom. Furthermore, the Royalist faction still held considerable power. If they could ally with the Marines, the chances of defeating the Roberts Legion would greatly increase.
"Captain Cross, can you deliver this letter to my royal uncle?"
At this moment, Shanna, riding the white stone Pegasus, waved a blood-stained piece of cloth, shouting at Cross. Cross knew that the blood-stained cloth was actually a blood oath, detailing everything that had happened in the royal castle tonight.
This included the betrayal of Viscount Solmen, the Royal Palace Guard Commander, and Siren, the Mad Elf, who colluded with the aristocrat faction to launch a coup, leading to the death of Doma Attawa. It also exposed the truth of the aristocrat faction's collusion with pirates and Shanna's decision to ally with the Marines.
"Leave it to me!"
Cross nodded, beckoning a two-meter-tall stone Harpy to fly over. It took the blood oath from Shanna's hand, then flew towards Doma City without looking back. At the same time, he sent most of the surrounding enlivened creatures back to Doma City. Firstly, to protect the blood oath, and secondly, to aid the Royalist faction, preventing them from being suddenly attacked by the Roberts Legion and then backstabbed by the Royal Guard who had defected to the aristocrat faction, leading to a complete collapse of their forces.
"Thank you!"
Shanna's beautiful eyes shimmered, tears subtly appearing, as she expressed her deep gratitude to Cross.
Meanwhile, over ten thousand Marine officers and soldiers, in a long, snaking column stretching for several kilometers, were painstakingly trekking through the mountains and jungles within the Bion Kingdom.
They had underestimated the complex terrain of the Bion Kingdom, thinking that being thirty kilometers from Doma City and sandwiching the Roberts Legion would allow them to react promptly to any of the legion's movements.
Who would have thought that the interior of the Bion Kingdom was filled with overlapping mountain ranges, requiring constant traversing of mountains and rivers? What seemed like only thirty kilometers on the map was actually twice that distance on foot.
The Roberts Legion could move freely within the Bion Kingdom because they had guides provided by the aristocrat faction, allowing them to use wide mountain paths or shorter shortcuts.
The Marines, however, did not have this luxury. In fact, if not for Cross's enlivened army helping to pull artillery and carry supplies, the Marine's marching speed would likely have been even slower.
Boom—!
A large, leafy tree was pushed over, crashing heavily to the ground. Vice Admiral Lacroix looked irritated. He wiped sweat from his forehead, cursing unhappily, "Damn it, what kind of place is this?!"
As a giant, walking through such complex, towering mountains and ridges, Lacroix, who was long accustomed to the vast ocean, found it unbearable.
"Hahahaha~ It's my first time fighting in such an environment, what a novel experience!" Vice Admiral Prodi grinned, patting Lacroix's calf.
"Vice Admiral Prodi, this march is too slow! We might not even reach Doma City by tomorrow morning!" Rear Admiral Massol rushed over, complaining. Accompanying Massol were Rear Admiral Gobert, Rear Admiral Sicily, and Rear Admiral Pegasus. They all agreed that this march was taking too long and might delay their opportunity, causing them to miss the best chance to rescue Doma City.
The news of the aristocrat faction's coup and the Roberts Legion's invasion of Doma City had already been reported by Cross to the Marine punitive fleet. Furthermore, Marine intelligence agents within Doma City and World Government agents had corroborated this fact.
Although the people present belonged to different Marine factions and held different ideologies, their commitment to "Justice" remained unchanged, and they would certainly not miss a critical opportunity on the battlefield.
Especially the Dove and Hawk factions, who saw this mission as capital for future promotions. The Hawk faction, in particular, was even plotting to elevate Sakazuki to the rank of Admiral, making them even more eager to reach Doma City and engage the Roberts Legion in a satisfying battle.
"Being anxious is useless, because we are unfamiliar with the terrain. We can only proceed step by step according to the map..." At this point, Vice Admiral Prodi paused, then continued, "Besides, the flying units of the Enlivened Legion moved out ahead of us. They've probably already reached Doma City and joined the fight. They should be able to help the Bion Kingdom's army hold out for a while!"
"What kind of joke is that?!" Rear Admiral Pegasus said discontentedly, "Are you saying all of us can only rely on one kid?"
"Don't underestimate Captain Cross, he's very reliable!" Rear Admiral Gobert interjected, defending him.
"I'm not underestimating that kid!" Rear Admiral Pegasus replied calmly, his expression unchanged, "But with just him, and at most a thousand enlivened creatures, such combat power is like a monkey trying to stop a bull against the Roberts Legion!"
"That's right. While I also acknowledge Cross's strength, I'm more worried about his youthful impetuousness, thinking that by killing a lone Moria, he can contend with the numerous Roberts Legion!" Rear Admiral Sicily said with concern.
Vice Admiral Prodi scratched his head, his expression a bit troubled, clearly agreeing with the Rear Admirals' words.
As the saying goes, if you're not impetuous when you're young, are you even young?
Especially those rookie pirates on the Grand Line, how many of them didn't immediately challenge the rulers of the New World, hoping to become famous overnight?
But what were the results? Most either died or surrendered to those pirate rulers. Occasionally, a few lucky and capable individuals managed to escape, but they were all left completely drained of spirit and vigor.
For examples, one could look at Gecko Moria, Crocodile, and others. Cross was essentially the Marine's Super Rookie. As for the Roberts Legion, although they weren't a Pirate King-level force, they were a powerful pirate crew capable of challenging for that position.
Cross alone simply couldn't defeat the entire Roberts Legion. In fact, it was highly probable he would die under the encirclement of those pirates.
"Vice Admiral Lacroix! Vice Admiral Prodi! Is Vice Admiral Sakazuki here?"
Just as Vice Admiral Prodi and the others were slowly marching and deep in thought, a familiar voice suddenly echoed from the sky.
"Hmm?!"
"Cross?!"
"That kid?!"
"..."
Everyone looked up in surprise, and saw Cross riding a bronze griffin, with a woman beside him riding a Pegasus, surrounded by hundreds of animated creatures, appearing above them.
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