Dismaina Island, a medium-sized island less than fifty nautical miles from Dressrosa, was mostly grassland with a few small hills and scattered patches of forest. Its population was less than ten thousand, making it a resource-poor island.
On its east coast at this moment, a large prison ship lay stranded on the sandy beach. The ship had a massive hole over three meters in diameter on its left side, its main mast was broken, and the entire vessel was severely damaged, riddled with cannonball craters of various sizes.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble...
The intense roar of cannon fire was deafening, the air thick with pungent gunpowder smoke.
On the sea, four pirate ships, flying different skull and crossbones flags, were arrayed. Their cannons relentlessly bombarded the prison ship on the coast. Flashes of fire erupted, and dark cannonballs, trailing scorching flames, burst from the muzzles.
"Return fire! Return fire!"
"Don’t be afraid, reinforcements are on the way!"
"Those damned scoundrels!"
"Ammunition, ammunition! We need ammunition here!"
On the prison ship’s deck, Marines scurried back and forth, gunners firing back. But in the fierce cannon exchange, people constantly fell. The deck was covered in blood, severed limbs, and torsos, as few ordinary soldiers struck by cannonballs remained intact.
On shore, over a thousand people were locked in a chaotic battle; Marines and pirates clashing in a brutal struggle. The battlefield was already littered with corpses, blood flowing like rivers.
A middle-aged man in a black fedora, black suit, and a fur-lined coat moved swiftly across the battlefield. With lightning speed, his index finger plunged into the throat of a tall pirate wielding a spiked club, effortlessly killing him.
This pirate, it was known, had a bounty of 62 million Berries and had previously killed several thousand Marine soldiers in succession.
Withdrawing his index finger, Felix Gregory flicked off the blood and coldly surveyed the battlefield. He felt a slight easing of tension; the fight on shore was still under control, with the Marines gaining the upper hand.
"Officer, when will reinforcements arrive?"
At that moment, a man in a black suit approached Gregory and reported, "The prison ship is severely damaged. Those bastards are using it as target practice. If it weren’t for the sturdy external armor, it would have disintegrated by now."
Gregory looked at the pirate ships on the sea and asked, "What are the casualties?"
"Heavy casualties. Although Rear Admiral Benson’s warship sank, over five hundred people survived. The prison ship originally had seven hundred crew, lost two hundred in the initial bombardment, and now... probably only around eight hundred left. Additionally, our shore party is down to just a thousand men," the man in the black suit replied.
"Already half casualties..." Gregory turned his expressionless face to the battle on shore and said coldly, "Go all out. Take down the pirates who landed on shore first."
The man in the black suit nodded, glanced behind Gregory, and turned to leave.
"You didn’t ambush me? Have you changed your habits, Red Centipede Basel?"
Gregory turned around, mocking as he spoke.
Five meters behind him stood a tall, thin man with bronze skin, a centipede-shaped scar on his forehead. He wore a red captain’s coat with gold embroidery on the sleeves, a blood-red centipede tattoo on his bare chest, black leggings, and brown high-top leather boots. In his hand was a serrated longsword nearly two meters long.
"Heh heh heh~ If an ambush worked, I’d have already made my move," the man called Basel chuckled, shaking his head.
"It doesn’t matter. With a bounty of 210 million Berries, Captain of the Red Centipede Pirates, Red Centipede Basel, you’re staying here today," Gregory’s voice was as cold as winter, radiating an ominous killing intent.
"Is it really wise to talk so big? Heh heh heh~"
Basel raised an eyebrow, his body shifting.
Gregory let out a low growl, instantly vanishing from his spot.
In the blink of an eye, a figure appeared behind Basel, his blackened index finger like a gun barrel, thrusting straight forward.
A loud metallic clang echoed, and the air vibrated. Then, a blast of wind-like impact force spread outwards, sweeping over dozens of meters in every direction.
Basel’s upper body had spun around, his serrated longsword held horizontally across his chest, with a blackened index finger pressing precisely against the blade’s surface.
"Quick reflexes. As expected of a great pirate with a bounty over a hundred million. Not so easily dealt with," Gregory said, his expression unchanged despite his failed attack.
"Damn it, that speed... it’s somewhat terrifying!"
A few drops of cold sweat ran down Basel’s forehead. He had vaguely known that this World Government agent in front of him wouldn’t be easy to deal with, but he hadn’t expected him to be so overwhelmingly strong.
Immediately after, Gregory retracted his index finger, his right leg hardened with Armament Haki, and he kicked out directly.
His kick landed on the serrated longsword in Basel’s hand. The immense force sent Basel flying backwards, tumbling several times on the ground before stopping on the sandy beach, having even broken a tall coconut tree.
Basel, half-kneeling on the ground, suddenly his eyes widened. He quickly rolled to the right.
A large cloud of dust billowed up, and a massive crater suddenly appeared where Basel had been, its interior riddled with dense cracks.
Gregory pulled his arm from the ground and walked out of the dust.
But just as Gregory emerged from the smoke, a flash of a blade slashed towards him. The sharp wind from the blade stung his skin.
The sound of metal clashing continuously. Gregory’s blackened hand grasped the serrated longsword, his body sliding backward, his feet dragging two lines in the sand.
With a roar, Gregory’s arm suddenly exerted force, yanking backward.
Basel felt an incredibly strong pull, violently tearing the serrated longsword from his grip. If his palm hadn’t been protected by Haki, his skin would have been scraped raw.
"Give me back my sword!" Basel cried out in alarm.
Throwing the serrated longsword far away, Gregory grinned ferociously. "Without a weapon, how many more attacks can you withstand?"
Basel roared in fury, his fists immediately covered in Armament Haki, and he charged forward.
Gregory’s body flickered, easily dodging Basel’s punch, then flashed to his side and swept his leg into Basel’s waist.
Instantly, the immense force made Basel cough up blood on the spot, sending him flying dozens of meters, even smashing through a tall coconut tree before he finally stopped, landing on the sandy beach.
Just as Gregory was about to move in for the finishing blow, he seemed to sense something and abruptly halted.
Almost simultaneously, several air-tearing sounds came from the sky.
Following that, three translucent long spears rapidly descended from the air, embedding themselves less than a thousand centimeters in front of Gregory.
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