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I see. Just like Captain said, we can't let our guard down! This is what happens when you have a lot of high-quality soldiers.
The female soldier had been with them since before they had the 'Black Cat' flag, when they were just Silent Step's crew. Later, she officially joined them and carried the Black Cat symbol. Now she was Amisu, the leader of the elite guard that protects Silent Step, Captain Kuro.
She cut down the soldiers with identical faces who tried to crush her using wounded soldiers as shields. She pushed back the threats attacking the regular fighters from behind with guns, bows, and spears.
The guard members beside her—the former marines—also swung their swords, creating piles of bodies of soldiers with the same faces.
Unlike the battles they had fought before, they were swinging their swords to kill for sure.
Even if these enemies lost an arm or a leg—no, even if they only had their life left—they would fight to the very end. They were more like zombies than the zombie soldiers they had fought before.
Toya was the only one in the elite guard who was good at fighting with his bare hands using Fish-Man Karate. He focused more on moving quickly to help weak spots in their defense and on blowing enemies away to reset the situation, rather than defeating them.
Just as Captain predicted, they ignore the empty ships. If we can finish moving all the crew to this side quickly, we can keep our forces together better, Amisu mused.
While desperately using the survival moves she had finally learned after being crushed by Mihawk many times, Amisu remembered the strategy meeting they had before.
-- If we try to protect our ships badly, they'll just sink them. So first, we move everyone to the first enemy ship that becomes the battlefield, like we're emptying all our ships. This is important.
-- Germa is a fleet nation. They don't have land that can really be called their country.
-- That means it's much harder for them to get materials like wood needed to repair or build new ships compared to other countries. Or it costs a lot of money.
-- We can tell from the photos Bege's men took. Some repair marks on the ships show signs of reusing ship materials that were already used before. For the enemy, ships are valuable resources.
-- So they should try to capture ships without damaging them as much as possible. The ships that attack don't need cannons. Just make them light. Also, load plenty of ladders and ropes to move people and equipment.
-- If we don't let them choose the battlefield and we choose it instead, we'll win because we have better quality people.
As always, where does he get all that knowledge and insight…
In fact, just as Captain Kuro said, the battle was going well.
Each enemy soldier was of high quality, and the regular fighters were taking some damage. But that was all.
It wasn't too hard to break apart enemy groups whose lines were broken by the special-level fighters Kuro and Mihawk. After that, pushing the battle line forward using the enemy ship's structures wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible either.
"Amisu!"
She heard the voice of the girl she lived with in her ear.
"The enemy is trying to break through the deck from below to make an escape route!"
"...Miakis, Cazarie!" Amisu shouted.
"Yes!"
"Yeah, I'm here."
She called two female soldiers from the elite guard who were unusual—one who fought with two small swords and had been training on defense since being overwhelmed in the zombie soldier battle, and one who liked using guns.
Both were guard members known for their good solo defense in training and many real battles.
Amisu ordered, "Wait in the back. The enemy is trying to break through the deck from below to create chaos on the battlefield!"
"...I guess they figured out we're thin in the back?" Miakis muttered.
"Can you tell exactly where?" Cazarie asked.
Robin heard the two members' questions as they approached Amisu.
"I'll bloom my hands right above that spot."
She suggested.
Hearing this, Catherie asked:
"Is the location a hallway? Or a cabin?"
This mattered because she used guns and her fighting style would be different.
"A hallway," Robin answered. "The width is about enough for three enemy soldiers to walk side by side."
"Got it, Robin," Cazarie confirmed, then turned to Amisu. "Captain, can I borrow one more member? The enemy is elite. Without Miakis and one more front fighter, they might break through."
The enemy kept moving while they talked.
As the elite guard captain, Amisu had to give orders right away.
Looking at the battlefield, Mihawk sent a slash flying up in the front, and Captain Kuro, who was probably there, bounced it back down. Then Mihawk cut it into smaller pieces with another slash and scattered the slash pieces like shotgun pellets across the deck, literally wiping out the enemies.
Once we push the front line that far, it becomes a battle to take control inside. There are probably many enemies inside the ship too, but I want to keep as many guard members as possible to hold the enemy's attention...
On the deck, Kuro and Mihawk were cutting open the front line. The elite guard led the fighters and pushed forward. Perona's bombing crushed spots where enemies were packed together.
Amisu made her decision, "Take two people from the starboard side and go to the spot Robin marked. Take as many fighters as you want."
"We push from inside?" Miakis, the small sword user, asked.
Amisu nodded at her words.
She said firmly, "If you get attacked from both sides, hold your ground there and put pressure on the enemy. The elite guard can do it."
"Understood," Miakis replied.
"Of course," Cazarie added.
They actually could do it.
The elite guard members were people who had kept trying despite Mihawk's harsh training that could have cost them their arms and legs.
These two who used unusual weapons instead of swords—no, that's exactly why these two were counted among the strongest in the elite guard.
The elite guard was mostly made up of former marines who were going to be sold as slaves.
They deeply understood that if they weren't strong, everything would be taken from them, even their dignity.
That's why they desperately tried to become strong in both training and real battles. That's what made them the elite guard.
–
"That bastard!" I yelled. "Who shoots a slash at someone in the middle of a messy fight like this!?"
I was going to look at the enemy positions from the air and ask Perona through Robin for bombing support when that automatic killing machine suddenly shot a slash at me.
No, I understood what he was trying to do. Look what's happening down there now.
But still... there should be a better way! I imagined the slash and reflexively used Slash, and this is what happened!
"Robin, what are the enemies doing?" I shouted.
Her voice came from my shoulder, "A hole will open in the deck soon. Then the elite guard will rush inside and put pressure from within."
"Who did they pick?" I asked.
Robin's ability was perfect for understanding the battle and for communication that didn't need to worry about being intercepted.
But the only problem was that she couldn't talk to multiple people at once.
Robin reported, "Miakis, Cazarie, and they're pulling back Chris, who was following Mihawk."
Miakis who was getting good at both attack and defense, Catherie who fought in the middle and back, and a member who could keep up with serious Mihawk for at least ten minutes.
Good, no problems with the balance.
If they put pressure from inside, the enemy won't have time to make many holes for surprise attacks.
I should go inside soon too.
Bege and his crew were doing a good job stopping the enemy's movements.
It was worth giving them lots of cannons with the understanding that I could abandon them if needed.
Besides, we have too many cannons for us to use anyway.
Only Bege, who literally has a 'castle,' can make good use of them.
Really, after this is over, I want to focus on running our country...
The foundation needed to expand our power is still weak.
I was planning to focus on development at least until winter came so we could really get moving, but no way, please tell me it's a lie, you abuse and neglect bastard, you really had to do this unnecessary thing!!
...No, the real cause is the pirate nation and the countries around it.
Right now Bege's men are messing up your countries, so be ready after I finish off these guys!
Robin's voice suddenly cut in, "Captain, the biggest ship is coming around!"
It's coming. But--
"No problem," I said with a grin.
"He wouldn't miss it."
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
The man with a spear had the nickname 'Garuda.'
He used science to fly in the sky and moved at high speed with science to defeat enemies faster than the eye could see.
He had always done this.
The man crushed enemies with an army protected by science. He fed his nation's citizen-soldiers with science, increased citizen-soldiers with science, and took everything with the power of science.
This time was the same.
The pirates were certainly much stronger than he expected.
But pirates are still just pirates.
Even among the soldiers, only about 50-60 could be called elite. He heard that among them, only about 20 were a real threat.
If he wore down the others, no matter how strong they were, he could crush them with numbers.
"Ugh... no..." Judge grunted.
He would attack from the side, scatter the weak soldiers, and create chaos from behind.
Then he could trap the elites holding the front line from both sides.
"Impossible..." he choked out.
He thought this and used his equipment from the ship he brought close. He took off flying toward his own ship's deck where the enemies were gathered.
"Even though you have a Devil Fruit, a child like this can stop me!?" he roared.
But the enemy pirates suddenly backed away. His proud spear was caught and stopped by the bare hands of a single child left alone in the empty space.
The child spoke, his voice flat, "I believe you are the King of Germa Kingdom, Vinsmoke Judge."
"You are--"
The child, Daz Bonez, cut him off, "Captain's orders. I'll stop you here."
There was a hunter waiting to hunt the 'Garuda.'
Judge yelled, "15 million berry bounty... Daz Bonez!"
The pirate nicknamed 'Steel Blade' was waiting there.
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