"What are you panicking for?! I'm not dead yet!"
"Brothers, remember what I told you?"
Roberts stood in the middle of the street, blocking his subordinates. He raised Gae Bulg high and shouted, "The brave fear nothing! The brave are fearless!"
"You bastard, don't ignore me!"
Prodi instantly understood his opponent's intention. He roared and pulled the rocket launcher's trigger at Roberts. With a dull "thump," the dark muzzle glowed intensely. A Haki-infused cannonball shot out, forming a dazzling beam of light that flew forward at extreme speed.
"Don't get in the Commander's way!"
At this moment, Myna's face was ferocious. She casually flung the Marine corpse from her left iron hook. Her plump, muscular body was surprisingly agile, lunging several meters across. At the same time, she swept her intact, fleshy right hand to her waist, drawing a whip made of twisted steel wire, its sharp barbs unfurling. The steel wire whip cracked with a "whoosh" through the air, softly and flexibly intercepting the cannonball mid-air. After wrapping around it, she swung it in another direction.
Boom—!
The next second, the cannonball arced through the air and landed in the brick rubble dozens of meters away, creating a massive explosion. Violent shockwaves mixed with dust spread out, and shattered debris shot out like buckshot in all directions, shaking the very ground.
"This much power... Next time, I'll have to throw it even further!" Myna squinted, the fat on her face trembling slightly. Her neatly combed black hair was blown into disarray by the fierce wind.
Roberts glanced at Myna and Prodi but ignored them. He continued to wield Gae Bulg, shouting in an impassioned tone, "Would you rather be hunted to death by the incompetent Marines, or would you rather turn around, regroup, and teach those bastards a profound lesson?!"
"Tonight is the crossroads of destiny! Choose your fate!"
An invisible force spread out, influencing every member of the Roberts Legion in front of him. Gradually, the pirates present calmed down. Their previously panicked and bewildered eyes returned to normal, even becoming filled with fighting spirit, as if courage had flowed back into their hearts.
"That's right! We haven't lost yet!"
"The Commander is right! Let's teach those hypocrites a profound lesson!"
"You bastard Marines! You killed my brothers before! I'll definitely get my revenge!"
"..."
The pirates who had been routed on the battlefield regained their morale. They all raised their weapons high, snarling ferociously. Even Moratos and Myna were affected, their eyes gradually heating up. The commotion here attracted more pirates from the Roberts Legion, and an increasing number of them shed their panic, re-gathering around Roberts.
"Good! We are pirates! Unleash the bloodlust and brutality in your bones!" Roberts nodded in satisfaction, his voice a ferocious snarl.
"Brave and Fearless!!!"
"Brave and Unfraid!!!"
Following the direction pointed by his Gae Bulg, the pirates, now numbering several thousand, immediately charged like pouncing tigers, baring their fangs and claws towards an approaching Royal Army unit.
"Awoooo~!"
"Kill! Kill them all!"
"Die! Just die!"
"..."
The pirates' faces were fierce and twisted, their eyes mad and brutal. They let out terrifying roars, their wild aura instantly cowing the nearly thousand-strong Royal Army unit, making them tremble like sheep, their morale plummeting.
Immediately after, the nearly thousand fully equipped Royal Army soldiers, facing a large group of ferocious and brutal pirates, crumbled at the first contact. Their formation was shattered by a single pirate charge, and they were then mercilessly slaughtered.
The pirates let out joyous, beast-like howls, continuously swinging their blood-dripping weapons, striking down, striking down, striking down... without even blinking.
Soldiers fell to the ground as corpses, or scattered in all directions crying for their parents. Many, however, managed to escape the pirates' pursuit by relying on their familiarity with Doma City.
"This is troublesome now!"
Witnessing this, Prodi took a deep breath, unable to help but curse under his breath, "Damn that Paramecia-type Pump-Pump Fruit!"
Roberts possessed an ability that countless generals only dreamed of: the power to inspire people, to awaken the strength hidden deep within their hearts, and even to continuously draw forth power from those who were inspired.
In other words, Roberts could activate an "Encouragement Aura," allowing his soldiers to maintain high morale, making them brave, fearless, and unafraid of death! Such an army often proved unstoppable on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, such an ability had fallen into the hands of Roberts, a pirate. And to complement his Devil Fruit ability, he had even assembled a massive army-like pirate crew.
Roberts completely ignored Prodi, his opponent. Instead, he led his encouraged subordinates, even raising banners to rally the routed soldiers. Clearly, he intended to turn the unfavorable situation around and fight the Marines to the death.
Seeing this, Prodi didn't foolishly charge in. After all, that guy was leading several thousand fearless pirates. If he went in alone, he'd only be mobbed to death and wouldn't change anything.
"Phew—"
Prodi let out a heavy breath, looked back at Cross, who was fighting Mankervis, and Lavishur, who was battling Regedor, then hoisted his bazooka and went to rendezvous with the main Marine force.
"Great Eruption!"
At this very moment, on the fiery, ruined streets, Sakazuki led the charge. Molten, orange-red magma flowed over his body, and his arm directly transformed into lava, quickly forming a gigantic magma fist that he launched forward.
Boom—!
The massive magma fist, descending like a meteor, instantly buried several pirates beneath the lava. All around, more pirates were engulfed by hundreds of degrees of magma. They wailed and struggled in agony, but were quickly incinerated into charred corpses. Such a horrifying sight not only shocked the surrounding Marine soldiers but also terrified the pirates.
Before long, the pirates on this street were completely cleared out. Some were killed by gunfire, swords, or blades (as expected), while others were engulfed by the lava. Some depressions in the ground were even filled with scorching magma.
"Keep advancing! Don't let a single pirate escape!"
Sakazuki's expression was stern, his tone cold as he instructed his subordinates, "Only by completely annihilating these pirates, body and soul, can true justice be fully enforced. Only then... Hmm?!"
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly stopped, turning his head to look up the street. He saw a dense tide of people filling the street, rushing towards them with surging morale.
"It's the Marines!"
"Kill them all!"
"I see a Marine Vice Admiral! His head is mine!"
"Let me chop you all into minced meat and feed you to the dogs!"
"..."
Their unrestrained shouts, fanatical and savage expressions, and differing attire clearly indicated their identity.
"Hiss—!"
Rear Admiral Kadar gasped, exclaiming, "It's pirates! It's Roberts!"
——————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parenthesis ( )]
There are 100+ advance chapters available for you to read!