Above the clouds, on a nameless Sky Island, some people were hunting for some Thousand-Year Dragons. Many small boats were launched from two large ships, with the people on them carrying specially made harpoons, charging towards the Thousand-Year Dragons.
There are individual differences between species, and this is also true for the Thousand-Year Dragons. The Thousand-Year Dragons living in the East Sea face the least danger, and the prey they hunt are weaker, leading to their overall lower strength.
But this is the New World, where the dangerous climate forces creatures to evolve stronger to adapt to the ever-changing weather. This climate affects not only the Blue Sea but also the White Sea in the sky.
Even though these Thousand-Year Dragons live in the sky, their strength is much greater than their kin living in the East Sea.
Although they don't have any special abilities, their speed, strength, and physical endurance are much stronger than their brethren living in the East Sea.
This added difficulty to these people's hunting expedition.
Their original goal was to capture these Thousand-Year Dragons alive, as a live Thousand-Year Dragon is definitely more valuable than a dead one. However, the Thousand-Year Dragons would not surrender easily. Even the big white geese in one's backyard can chase people around, let alone these creatures with 'Dragon' in their name.
The Thousand-Year Dragons usually scatter in small tribes across various seas, only gathering worldwide when Dragon Island surfaces once every millennium.
There weren't many Thousand-Year Dragons here, only a dozen or so, some of which were still young.
With the advantage of wings, they should have the ability to escape, but the situation is complex. The organ trafficking assassination group captured a few Thousand-Year Dragons, using this to enrage the others, driving them to choose to fight rather than flee.
Moreover, Thousand-Year Dragons have a strong sense of territory. Facing these intruders, they didn't choose to flee but to fight for their homeland.
The corpses of Thousand-Year Dragons and broken ships that fell to the Blue Sea are proof of the battle.
"These guys are really stupid. If they escaped directly, there would be fewer losses."
"After all, they're just beasts. Even if they're called Thousand-Year Dragons, they're just rarer beasts, and isn't that good?"
"Of course, it's good, but this way, a lot of preparation is wasted."
"Never mind. Quickly send people down to salvage the corpses. The sea clouds here are too thin, and the corpses have fallen back down."
The dead men didn't matter to him; the New World never lacked manpower. But losing the corpses of the Thousand-Year Dragons would be a huge loss.
"I already sent them out, rest assured…"
At this moment, a Thousand-Year Dragon suddenly burst out from below the sea clouds, overturning one of their small boats.
The Thousand-Year Dragons here prey on Sky Fish, allowing them to maneuver briefly in the sea clouds. The long fur on their bodies doesn't get wet when entering the sea clouds. Instead, it tightly bonds together, forming a special membrane that keeps moisture out while reducing resistance.
Seeing the Thousand-Year Dragon burst out, eyes on the boat filled with the symbols of wealth, a single piece of Dragon Bone could sell for an astronomical price after speculation.
If consuming it doesn't work, it must be that your method is wrong, certainly not the problem of Dragon Bone.
And if Dragon Bone sells for such a high price, not to mention Dragon Blood and Dragon Meat, this group was adept at organ trafficking, and a Thousand-Year Dragon was a treasure trove to them.
"You guys, hurry up and catch it! Another Thousand-Year Dragon came out to die!"
Several small boats approached, but before they could act, a stream of seawater burst through the sea clouds, along with a ship that rode the rising sea wave — their previously dispatched salvage ship.
The way they descended was special: they first released a prepared film for diving and opened giant parachutes after breaching the sea clouds for a smooth landing. But halfway down, they encountered Arceus, who controlled the Sky-reaching Sea Flow.
"Men! Show these guys what we're made of!"
No further explanation was needed; it was clear that they allied with the Thousand-Year Dragons. With the enemy identified, the battle needed no other reason.
Arceus was right behind, and Babanuki's experience was still fresh in their minds. Initially, they were all ordinary members, but because of a Monster Strength Technique, Babanuki had been promoted to a minor officer.
Higher status, strong abilities—who wouldn't want that? Although a lottery might yield something poor, making Arceus happy might grant you stronger powers directly.
Though their goal was treasure hunting, they didn't skimp on bringing guns and cannons. Once the order to attack was given, they demonstrated absolute artillery dominance.
They only had one ship, but their cannon range was nearly a third longer than the opposite side.
In the sea, artillery battles are always essential, whether for the Navy or pirates. Only a few can outdo artillery damage by manpower alone.
For most, the threat of cannon fire is stronger than manpower.
Since the last fight with Wald, where they ran out of cannonballs and were forced into a boarding combat, some Hundred Beasts members seemed to have developed a fear of lacking firepower, always stuffing the ammo hold during voyages.
"Damn it, where did these sea pirates come from?!"
The sudden cannon fire stunned the organ trafficking assassination group. Although they had many enemies, this operation was secret, and they spent much time finding the Cloud Ladder to reach this Sky Island.
How could they be attacked here out of nowhere?
Worse yet, their main objective was hunting Thousand-Year Dragons, preferably capturing alive, thus primarily carrying harpoons, nets, and strong anesthetics; they only had half the usual amount of cannonballs and had used many en route.
Even though not confronting the same enemy, for the Hundred Beasts members, a reversal situation still occurred.
They had indeed prepared various contingencies, but all were aimed at the Thousand-Year Dragons; the abrupt arrival of the Hundred Beasts Pirate Crew disrupted all their setups.
Moreover, their personnel were so scattered that they couldn't mount an effective counterattack quickly.
The troubles didn't stop there. The Thousand-Year Dragon saved earlier by Arceus roared loudly, its call echoing amid cannon explosions, reaching the ears of the other Thousand-Year Dragons.
The meaning was simple: these are our allies, here to help us.