A prince riding a white horse is a hero, and usually leads to a series of love stories.
If it's a monk riding a white horse, you can listen to him chant scriptures, and if you're brave enough, you can trim his nails, maybe even get some unexpected benefits.
But if it's an ugly half-orc, muttering in an orcish language no one understands, waving a big club while drooling, it's hard to see him as a hero; instead, he'd be seen as another monster.
So, image is quite important.
If nothing unexpected happens, these mechs will later be converted into the Imperial Guard. As the Imperial Guard, they need not only combat power but also a strong presence.
"Hero… Is it not good for us to say that? It feels a bit strange."
"Yeah, why don't you be the Hero, Oran Big Brother? We'll just assist you. After all, you invented all of this, and you prepared the plan."
Both Kuma and Ginny seemed a bit awkward about the word "Hero." Deep down, they never thought they would be associated with such a term one day.
Ginny even wanted Oran to enjoy the reputation of a Hero himself. In a sense, Oran had some experience; he had done something similar once before, though that time he was a masked Hero, and not many people even knew his name.
"You overestimate the word 'Hero.' It's not as distant as you imagine. Of course, I'm not asking you to verbally declare yourselves Heroes; even a play wouldn't be performed that way.
We need to prove it with our actions, to make others genuinely call us Heroes. A savior in times of crisis—that's the most suitable script for a Hero.
It's cliché, but effective."
The identity of a Hero is frequently used on the Grand Line.
Doflamingo's actions in Dressrosa and Crocodile's actions in Alabasta are both examples; they both established a positive image for themselves before acting.
Those two nations had inherent monarchies, unlike here, where order had long collapsed. The appearance of a Hero here is actually more logical.
"If you're really struggling, think about who the current Marine Hero is, and how he became a Hero."
"Hmm, Oran Big Brother, if you put it that way, I suddenly feel there's no problem."
If saving the Celestial Dragons can turn someone into a great Marine Hero, then it seems perfectly reasonable for them to be called Heroes for liberating the people here from dire circumstances.
They are not being hypocritical; they are genuinely acting.
"So, Papa, are we going to defeat all the bad guys, and then, like the Heroes in storybooks, receive cheers from everyone? Just like Sky?"
"Warrior of the Sea: Sky" is a serialized storybook published on Morgans's World Economic News, written by the Marine. It is currently the most popular storybook on the sea.
The villain BOSS in it is based on Germa. This storybook even made Oran discover some strange issues. After Judge left MADS, he returned to the North Blue to begin his own research and has not yet achieved his goal of revitalizing Germa.
In other words, the Marine's villain template is the past Germa, and coincidentally, the abilities Judge developed match those in the storybook.
For a moment, Oran didn't know whether Judge, in order to revive Germa, chose to replicate abilities displayed by his ancestors in his Lineage Factor research, or if some of his technology also came from archaeology, or if Judge got a bit carried away and conducted his research based on the Marine's storybook.
According to the standard that ancient technology is the primary productive force on this Grand Line, Judge might truly have been secretly conducting archaeology in the North Blue.
"Hmm, something like that, but what we need to do is much more complex than what's in the storybook.
How about it, Lyley, do you want to be a Hero?"
The current meeting still felt more like a family gathering, very relaxed. Even Lyliana could participate, and Oran didn't mind her occasionally childish remarks, instead guiding her to continue growing.
"If it's just defeating bad guys, I think I can do it!"
"Good, you'll have a chance to show what you can do then."
Afterward, Oran and the others finalized some details and then left the Book World. This was, after all, a Marine warship, and staying in the book wasn't wise.
First half of the Grand Line, Firefly Island.
Its total area is comparable to Wano Country in the New World, referring to the total area including Wano Country's inland sea, which is the size of the entire walled area of Wano Country from a top-down perspective.
Since losing its status as an Allied Nation sixteen years ago, this island has fallen into decline, and living standards have plummeted. The current population is even less than half of what it once was.
Currently, a considerable number of pirates and gangs are gathered on this island. The indigenous people have become the most vulnerable group.
On Luffy's route in the original timeline, many pirates gave up the idea of continuing forward because the Log Pose pointed to Sky Island, gathering in Mock Town. The situation here on Firefly Island is similar.
Most of the pirates who dared not continue sailing on this route are gathered here.
Although this is an lawless zone and usually chaotic, it hasn't devolved into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. After all, gangs and pirates also need to survive; they know that if everyone on the island is gone, they will have no one left to exploit.
Those who remained on the island had no choice. The environment of the Grand Line isn't something you can just sail into; if you're not well-prepared, the day you set sail will become your death anniversary.
On the day the nation lost its Allied Nation status, World Government ships stopped coming here, and the islanders lost their chance to leave.
Those with power had already fled with the king, and the brave ones had also ventured out to sea in groups to find a livelihood. Those who remained were mostly helpless people.
Some struggled to survive in the cracks, while others became part of violent groups, ensuring their quality of life by exploiting others. In this place without rules, the evil of human nature has been infinitely magnified.
"Marine! The Marine is back!!"
A person busy by the sea ran towards the settlement nearby, shouting excitedly.
For sixteen years, Marine warships appeared on Firefly Island's coastline again. The residents who saw this were incredibly excited for a moment, thinking the Marine was finally coming to restore order here.
But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. The Marine did nothing. After half an hour, they silently left, under the hopeful gaze of those people.
Aside from dropping off some people here, the Marine showed no intention of taking any action.
"Alas."
With a long sigh, the recently gathered people dispersed again, resuming their efforts to survive. As for those who disembarked from the warship, no one paid them any attention. In the eyes of the locals, they were just a group of exiles.
How could powerful and influential people return here? It seemed those Marines were merely escorts.
Not many people were initially willing to leave Sorbet Kingdom with Oran and his group. In fact, disembarking wouldn't have taken half an hour. The reason for the delay was that some people had changed their minds.
The port here had become somewhat dilapidated after years of neglect; without management, no one would maintain it daily. As long as it was usable, it was enough.
Even though Ginny had repeatedly stated before departure that the destination was not wealthy, and possibly even worse than Sorbet Kingdom, preparing them mentally.
Yet, this environment still exceeded many people's expectations.
For such individuals, Oran did not force them, but instead had Duoduo Li take them to a nearby island with order before dropping them off.
Boarding was voluntary, and changing their minds at the last minute always came with some cost. Returning them to their original location was basically impossible.
Oran needed a core group willing to endure hardships and develop together, so he naturally wouldn't force them to stay, as that would leave thorns in his foundation.
After all this trouble, exactly 200 people were still willing to stay.
"Dr. Sidilier, the mission is complete. We should leave now. I wish you smooth sailing in your future endeavors."
Duoduo Li didn't linger much. He knew Oran was a Natural Type ability user, and as a Natural Type, self-preservation in such a place was certainly not a problem.
"Everyone, you will not regret your choice today. I promise you that in just a few years, this island will become an island that others will be scrambling to immigrate to!"
After leaving his promise, Oran chose a relatively flat piece of land to temporarily set up camp. What he had found out before was only the historical situation here; the current state still needed to be investigated.
"Zack, it's up to you. Figure out the general situation around here."
"Leave it to me, my dear master."
Zack's body began to actively split, and after splitting into several parts, they surged in all directions. Meanwhile, Ginny resumed her old trade, using a den den mushi to eavesdrop, trying to find some useful information.
"Kuma, you and Fran go for a walk nearby and gather some information from the locals. You can also go to the town center and observe the situation."
"Okay, don't worry, Oran Big Brother."
"Understood, Father."
Frankenstein and Kuma went into the depths of the island as a pair. Both were ability users, sufficient to handle most situations here.
"Kate, keep an eye on the surroundings. I need to do some final adjustments."
"Meow, understood. I won't let even a single mosquito get through."
As she spoke, Kate released a burst of electricity, zapping a mosquito attempting to approach Oran into ash, literally fulfilling what she had just said.
When the artisans and immigrants arrived at the chosen camp, Oran had already used giant books to create a simple enclosure. The Book-Book Fruit's covers were controllable, so the book covers were each clad in ready-made rock skin, looking like an earthen city.
The group began to work, each performing their duties. Ginny quickly obtained some intelligence.
"The largest force on Firefly Island right now is a pirate alliance, but their alliance is a bit sloppy, and they're not harmonious internally. One of the pirate crews has already discovered us and is considering whether to act."
On the table in front of Ginny was a map, and she was currently marking the general location of the opposing side on it.
"There's a gang in the town, also a considerable force, but not as strong as those pirates. They can only secure a small territory."
There were many den den mushi communicating on the island, and Ginny gradually compiled some valuable intelligence from those fragmented conversations.
Firefly Island's total area wasn't small; Oran and the others were currently only at one end of the island. Although the few people who had gone deep into exploration had sent back intelligence, none of them planned to return tonight.
The people on the island had also welcomed their first night in a foreign land.
Most of those who followed Oran and his group from Sorbet Kingdom and ultimately didn't regret staying were people who had immigrated to Sorbet Kingdom from elsewhere, and they had long adapted to immigrant life.
Although the current environment was crude, they felt no discomfort. The surrounding Guard Mechs also gave them an endless sense of security; those forearm-thick muzzles looked quite reliable.
"Oran, a group of people is approaching the camp. Their number is about thirty, and they are all carrying weapons. Should we just eliminate them?"
In the nearby woods, Kate squatted on a tree, his crimson pupils scanning the unknown group moving below.
"Correction, I saw a skull flag mark on them. This group are all pirates."
"Understood. Are you sure there are no others?"
"None in the woods. I don't know about further out."
"Continue to be vigilant. We'll handle that group. It just so happens we need a practical combat test."
"Understood."
Kate retracted his extended claws and continued to lurk, while in the camp, Ginny moved first.
"Big Brother Oran, let me do it. I've been simulating with this thing in your ability for almost a month. This time, I have to try it out."
Ginny had already entered the Mech. She wasn't afraid of combat; in the original timeline, after joining the Revolutionary Army, she was also the Captain of the East Army, leading teams on the front lines.
"Go. Take No. 1 and No. 2 with you. Three units are enough to deal with this situation."
Oran didn't stop Ginny. He had confidence in his creations. If he went himself, he wouldn't even bring other Mechs. In this regard, Ginny shared the same idea as him.
"Big Brother Oran, you're still too cautious. If you ask me, one unit is enough."
"And test your command ability along the way. Go, don't be careless."
"Don't worry, don't worry. While Xiong Zai was studying, I also worked hard. I'm the older sister; I can't let Xiong Zai surpass me."
The Mech's outer shell closed, a red light flashed at the position of the head detector, and the three Mechs walked out of the camp gate one after another.
"Big Brother, didn't the Captain tell us to wait for news? Isn't it a bit bad for us to act so rashly?"
"Yeah, didn't the Boss say he wanted to discuss it with the others?"
"Are you guys stupid! How many people did those Marines put down in total? The Marines aren't here for a vacation. Those people must have been exiled. How much loot can people like that have? Not enough for everyone to share.
'You must never act alone.' The Boss's words mean we must act first, understand?
This is why you can only be underlings, and why I, who joined later, can become the Vice Captain. You need to learn to understand the deeper meaning behind Big Brother's words."
The person called Big Brother was named Si Tewe, originally an island resident. Under constant pirate harassment, he eventually joined a pirate crew and, with a relatively flexible mind, fared quite well.
At this moment, he had a look of disappointment, as if he was very dissatisfied with his subordinates' performance.
"Big Brother, there's a red firefly on your head."
"Who told you to care about fireflies! Is there anything worth paying attention to about that thing?!"
His subordinates' focus made him very angry. He was teaching them to grow with such dedication, yet these people were actually paying attention to fireflies.
There were indeed many fireflies on this island, otherwise it wouldn't have been called Firefly Island. But was that important?
"Besides, where do fireflies emit red light? When will you guys get a little smarter?"
"Big Brother, there really is one. Now it's even on your chest."
Upon hearing this, Si Tewe looked down at his chest and indeed saw a red dot shining there.
Si Tewe raised his hand to try and swat it away, but not only did he not touch the "firefly," he also let it land on the back of his hand.
Compared to a group of people whose average cultural level was illiterate, Si Tewe was indeed smarter, but the problem was, he had never seen anything like a laser pointer before, and the technological level of this island hadn't reached that point yet.
"What the hell is this?"
"It can't be a ghost fire, can it? I used to hear the old people in the village say that if a person dies unjustly, they'll turn into a ghost fire and follow others, looking for a scapegoat."
"Is it that scary? Speaking of which, Big Brother Si Tewe seems to have wronged quite a few people. That girl yesterday said she wouldn't let go even as a ghost…"
"Stop standing there like an idiot! Help me get this thing off!"
Listening to his subordinates' idle chatter, Si Tewe's psychological pressure grew heavier, and he immediately started cursing. But no matter what he did, the position of the red dot didn't change.
"Big Brother Oran, I think… perhaps we can lower the alert level a bit? If the pirates here are all such idiots, we can sleep soundly."
That red dot was naturally the Mech weapon's laser designator. Because Ginny had adjusted the light source to be quite low, those people hadn't discovered the source of the red dot.
Seeing that these people were about to start researching exorcism methods, to prevent herself from seeing anything dirty, Ginny adjusted the intensity of the light source, causing a bright red beam of light to appear in the night.
At the same time, Ginny also opened the loudspeaker and shouted at this group of pirates.
"Hello, hello! Pirates, look here!"
"A woman's voice?! Is it really that girl's spirit coming? She's here for revenge!"
However, this seemed to have the opposite effect. The pirates, busy trying to extinguish the ghost fire, even associated it with something more terrifying.
"Idiots, where are there ghosts in this world! It's all that guy's doing!"
Not everyone was blind; at least Si Tewe had already seen Ginny, who had walked out from the direction of the camp and was approaching.
The special material didn't reflect Moonlight, so at this time, only a dim silhouette could be seen.
Realizing he had been played, Si Tewe slapped the subordinate who had just "scared" him and pulled out a pistol with three barrels, aiming it in Ginny's direction.
"You sneaky fellow, you actually dare to play tricks on me! Come out now!"
"Big Brother Oran, can I really not just shoot this guy? This guy feels so stupid. I feel like every word I say to him will affect my intelligence."
"Bear with it. This should be a leader. We might be able to dig up some information from his mouth."
Ginny unhurriedly operated the Mech to walk forward, while complaining to Oran about the enemy's uselessness.
Seeing that they had been discovered, the pirates no longer hid their figures and lit their torches to illuminate the front.
The black and red armor cut through the night, appearing before the pirates, and the "ghost fire" emitted by the crimson single eye swept over them one by one.
"So… so cool!"
"This armor is so handsome! It even has a cape, I love capes the most!"
After a moment of silence, a noisy sound came from among the pirates, but it wasn't panic, but joy. They were actually commenting on the Mech.
"This thing is simply a man's romance. How can a little girl wear it?"
"Wouldn't it be better to just snatch it? The armor is ours, and the person is ours too!"
Although their thought processes weren't quite normal, these guys were still pirates, and their nature of plunder hadn't changed.
"I can't stand it!"
"I can't stand it!"
The same voices came out at the same time, but one male and one female. At this moment, Si Tewe was almost driven to brain hemorrhage by this group of subordinates.
That thing was indeed very cool. Even without touching it, one could tell it was a metal product, and it was more than half a head taller than them.
Such a thing, even if they simply punched it, they might not be able to withstand it.
Most importantly, it was the enemy's weapon, and a group of people saw the enemy's weapon and actually thought it was cool?
Si Tewe could still agree with this point, after all, the Mech's coolness was obvious to all, but the problem was, this thing seemed to be used to hit them.
Inside the cockpit, Ginny reached for her waist, and the Mech made the same movement. A black metal tube was grasped in her hand, and then thrown forward with force.
Bang!
The immense force contained within directly sent a pirate flying and, after several bounces, landed back on the ground.
Hiss!!!
A deflating sound came, and a large amount of white smoke billowed out, instantly filling the entire forest.
"Cough, cough… What is it?!"
"Kill her, quickly deal with her! Cough, cough!!"
Under the irritation of the dense smoke, a group of people coughed incessantly, running around in a panic, wanting to get out of the smoke's range, while Ginny had already raised the large gun in her hand.
Through the thermal imaging system, she could clearly see the scrambling pirates.
Bang!
A gunshot, and dense pellets shot out from the muzzle, instantly knocking down a swath of running pirates.
This shot also seemed to point the way for those pirates. Scattered gunshots immediately rang out in the smoke.
A few pellets shot through the smoke towards Ginny, but they couldn't even leave a small white mark on the Mech.
Tap, tap…
Ignoring the pirates' attacks, Ginny walked into the smoke and, with one pull, dragged out Si Tewe, who was covering his mouth and nose with his shirt and hiding in the fallen leaves.
"Cough, you… cough, cough."
The thick smoke choked Si Tewe, making him cough constantly, unable to speak a complete sentence, and his eyes were stimulated red by the smoke. However, Ginny didn't care about these things. They were just a group of pirates; eliminating them was the correct course of action.
"Target acquired. Annihilation mode activated."
Under Si Tewe's terrified gaze, two Mechs of identical appearance walked out from different directions and began to unleash firepower into the smoke.
Bang! Bang!
The shotguns in their hands roared like heavy cannons. Each gunshot was accompanied by a scream, and trees as thick as bowls were directly blasted in half like withered grass.
This situation did not last too long. After four gunshots, there was no longer any sound coming from the forest, only dead silence.
It's hard to break chapters, so the remaining six thousand words will be put together.
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T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/DaoistRoeoNQ
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