"What is that?!" Duke Valos and his men stared in horror at the sand giant towering several times higher than the fortress itself. It wasn't a man—it was a mountain.
"Fire the cannons!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of cannons mounted on the walls roared at once. Explosions lit up the giant's body, but the tightly compressed sand didn't scatter in the slightest.
The sand was condensed to an absurd density. Cannon fire continued, but the giant only grew stronger. The ground rumbled endlessly, shaking the entire fortress as if an earthquake had struck.
"Dragon-Slaying Arrows!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three massive bolts shot forth, their Seastone tips fast enough to pierce steel—and deadly even to a Logia user.
This was one of Duke Valos's trump cards, the ultimate weapon of the nation. They believed that even a Logia hit by these arrows would not survive.
"Armament." Rosen did not underestimate them. Humans had a talent for building weapons far deadlier than themselves. If even he sensed danger from these arrows, then for most warriors they would mean certain death.
A patch of the sand giant's body darkened, hardened with Armament Haki. The three bolts slammed into it with blinding sparks—only to fall uselessly to the ground.
"My lord, the Dragon-Slaying Arrows can't break his defense. What do we do?" one general asked grimly. If this continued, the enemy might breach the fortress with a single step.
"Don't panic! Redirect all firepower to the sky! Bring out the condensed gunpowder from the storage, ready the giant ballistae, and pack every round with Seastone fragments. We'll blow this monster to pieces!" Valos barked.
This was the fortress's deadliest weapon—new explosives gathered from the underworld, sealed in massive iron spheres and packed with Seastone. Rumor said the blast could flatten half an island, leaving no Devil Fruit user alive.
It was a secret stockpile Valos had built up over decades. Surely it would be enough to annihilate the sand giant.
"Yes, sir!"
Rosen, well aware of the fortress's durability, continued gathering sand in staggering quantities, compressing it to an incredible density. His aim was simple—one punch to shatter the castle's defenses.
He noticed the soldiers' preparations but didn't interfere. Instead, he was curious. He wanted to see what else this kingdom could throw at him.
The Dragon-Slaying Arrows had already impressed him. If not for their sheer size, which made them impractical for sea battles, he would have stolen one for his own ship. Against Marine or pirate vessels, one shot would split a warship in half.
"Almost ready. I hope they give me a few more surprises. The greater their hope, the deeper their despair—and the easier it will be for some to surrender." Rosen's voice echoed, booming from the giant's mouth. "Those who don't want to die, retreat five hundred meters."
People in both the inner and outer city saw the towering figure, larger than any giant they had ever heard of. Some thought it a man, others a construct of earth and sand.
"Could Ironclad Fortress be under attack? I heard cannon fire just now!"
"Impossible! Who would dare attack Duke Valos? His fortress has never been breached."
"The city garrison rushed toward the castle. Something's happening. Should we go see?"
"If you want to die, go ahead. I'm not going anywhere near it."
Behind Valos, the chief steward's face paled. He knew disaster was at hand. He also knew the explosives weren't what Valos thought. To line his own pockets, he had swapped much of the volatile powder for ordinary gunpowder and sold the stronger kind for profit.
He began edging backward.
"Where do you think you're going?" Valos's eyes locked on him like a predator.
"I… I…" The steward stammered, trembling too much to form a sentence.
Valos didn't let him finish. With a sweep of his massive axe, he cleaved the steward's head from his shoulders. Soldiers froze in terror. Valos might be arrogant, but as a veteran commander he would never tolerate deserters.
"My lord, the weapon is ready!" A cannonball over ten meters wide was rolled into place, crude but deadly, mounted on a siege engine like a massive ballista.
"Light it! Fire!" Valos ordered, his face like stone.
The fuse burned, and the colossal iron sphere shot into the air. With a target that huge, aim was unnecessary.
"Heaven Collapse!" The giant swung its massive arm. Despite its bulk, the punch was blindingly fast. Air split with violent shockwaves as the fist crashed into the incoming shell.
BOOM!
The collision exploded into a sea of red flames that spread across the sky. The air itself burned, and the shockwave engulfed the sand giant's upper body.
"Did we kill it?!" A general shouted in joy as the giant paused.
"No—it's punching again! Run!" someone screamed. The defense line collapsed instantly. Nothing could stop a fist like that.
"This is impossible! Why was the blast so weak?" Valos's face twisted. He had seen demonstrations of this powder in the underworld—it should have leveled half an island, not just singed the giant. Had he been cheated?
"No one runs! Anyone who flees dies by my hand!" Valos roared, but the giant's colossal fist was already descending. The moment one soldier broke ranks, a chain reaction of panic swept through them all.
"Damn worthless rabble!" Valos cursed, retreating himself. Even he couldn't stop this monster.
CRASH!
The fist struck, shaking the land like thunder. The fortress walls, once thought indestructible, shattered like paper under the blow.
The sand giant's arm drove straight through, splitting the fortress in half. Soldiers and warriors alike were crushed in an instant, countless lives snuffed out by a single punch.
(End of Chapter)