Meanwhile, on Aznat Island in the New World, a brutal, week-long battle in a beautiful, sprawling valley had finally concluded.
The once-picturesque valley was now a wasteland, pockmarked with giant craters from what looked like meteor strikes and deep cracks as if a powerful swordsman had cleaved the earth.
The valley floor was a sea of blood and bodies, littered with broken swords, shattered blades, torn flags, ripped armor, and snapped spears—a veritable junkyard of shattered weaponry.
Countless corpses were piled up in the valley. There were tens of thousands of them, so much so that rivers of blood flowed through the landscape. It was a true scene of carnage.
In the center of the valley, a gigantic stone statue, over a hundred meters tall, still stood. This massive statue also seemed to have taken part in the brutal war; its body was riddled with countless small and large craters and cracks. Half of its head was gone, its right arm was severed, and the palm of its left hand was missing. A deep slash ran diagonally from its left shoulder to its right leg, almost cutting the statue in two.
In a large crater, a burly man over three meters tall was impaled to the ground by a two-meter-long greatsword.
Near the eastern entrance of the valley, a muscular man with dark skin was embedded in a rock, covered in blood, with shattered bones all over his body.
On a pile of corpses, a skinny man with a sharp monkey-like face was pierced by several spears, and a scimitar was lodged in his neck, the blade deep but caught on bone.
On the rock wall at the western entrance of the valley, a young man was pinned by a white spear, his pink suit soaked red with blood.
"W-we won?"
"We won! We did it!"
"Wuu… my brothers… wuu…"
"Doctor! Doctor! We have a wounded man here! He's dying! Hurry!"
On the battlefield, some of the surviving soldiers were in disbelief, some were cheering, others were crying, and some were searching for doctors to treat the wounded.
"Victory! We won! A great victory at the Battle of Amott Valley!"
The news quickly reached the palace of the Dunlite Kingdom, and when the news spread, the entire nation was elated.
Similarly, the news of the devastating defeat also reached the Barrid Kingdom, causing the entire nation to mourn. In a single day, more than sixty thousand families held funerals.
....
At the King's Plateau in Dressrosa.
"Fuffuffuffu! A great victory! What a great victory! Fuffufuhahahaha!"
Doflamingo looked at the intelligence report in his hand, laughing uncontrollably. "I'd love to see the look on that idiot Garfield Caesar's face right now! Fuffuffuhahahaha!"
"Nyeh, nyeh! Doffy, how many of those guys from the Garfield Pirates died?" Trebol asked, his nose dripping with snot as he leaned in close.
"You're too close, Trebol!" Doflamingo said, a black vein popping on his forehead.
"Behehehe! You're right! But… but…" Trebol sniffled, chuckling.
....
At the Palace Entertainment City in the Clifford Kingdom.
"Captain!"
Mina rushed into the room. "We won a great victory on Aznat Island!"
"Really?!"
Aeridar's expression changed, and he immediately sat up from the sofa.
"Yes, this is the report from Dimitri," Mina said, handing Aeridar a document.
"Let me see!" Aeridar quickly took the file and read it carefully.
Indeed, the document detailed the entire battle.
The fighting began on August 10th. The Dunlite Kingdom's Second Army, a total of 100,000 elite soldiers, and the Donquixote Family's Spades and Diamonds Armies, along with 6,000 elite pirate subordinates, were all mobilized.
The plan was to bypass the Barrid Kingdom's border camp and launch a surprise attack on their Goza Fortress. Goza Fortress was the enemy's supply hub, stockpiling a large amount of food, ammunition, and medicine.
Taking it would not only cut off the enemy army's retreat but also cripple their logistics. Without food, they would starve. Without weapons and ammunition, their strength would be severely diminished. Without medicine, the wounded would cause unrest, and the enemy's formation would fall into disarray.
However, this was just the plan on the surface and had been deliberately leaked to the enemy.
When the Dunlite Kingdom's Second Army and the Donquixote Family moved out, the Barrid Kingdom and Garfield Pirates also got the news. Thinking this was their chance to take out the Dunlite Kingdom's Second Army and the Donquixote Family's forces, they mobilized.
The Barrid Kingdom assembled an army of over 130,000 troops, and the Garfield Pirates sent their entire crew, including their First Mate, five Island Ruler-level executives, and 5,000 pirate subordinates.
As a result, when the Barrid Kingdom's main force arrived at Amott Valley, Pica, who was hiding in the valley's rocks, and the Chris Pirates, who were lying in ambush on the cliffs on both sides, launched a surprise attack.
Thanks to Pica's ability, the ambushing Chris Pirates were able to hide and launch their attack smoothly. The entire force then launched a surprise assault on the enemy's front and rear.
However, Amott Valley was too wide, and a battle with 100,000 soldiers ambushing over 100,000 others couldn't be perfectly executed. Their ambush was exposed before the attack on the front and rear forces, so only the enemy's central army fell into disarray, while the front and rear troops maintained their formations.
A brutal battle ensued. The most intense fighting took place at the valley entrances and in the center. After several days of vicious fighting, the Barrid Kingdom and Garfield Pirates were finally defeated.
According to incomplete statistics, the Barrid Kingdom's army suffered between 60,000 and 80,000 casualties, with another 20,000 to 30,000 taken prisoner.
The Garfield Pirates also suffered heavy losses. More than 4,000 of their 5,000 pirate subordinates were killed or captured, and four of their five Island Ruler-level executives died: Second Island Ruler Black Mountain, Gorath Bartley; Fifth Island Ruler Cracking Fist, Genno Gesen; Ninth Island Ruler Sharp-Toothed Mouse, Corda; and Tenth Island Ruler Female Deceiver, Adonis.
Only the First Mate, Speedster Elroy, and the Sixth Island Ruler, Coiled Tail Art, managed to escape, and both were heavily wounded. It could be said that this battle completely wiped out the Garfield Pirates' strength on Aznat Island.
As for their side's casualties, the Dunlite Kingdom's Second Army suffered 50% losses, and the pirates from the Donquixote Family and the Chris Pirates suffered about a third of their forces.
None of the Chris Pirates' executives were killed. A few were injured, but most only had minor injuries. Only Vito was seriously injured.
Because his lightning-fast speed made him the main fighter in the assault on Elroy, he was hit by many of Elroy's attacks. Fortunately, he was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user and recovered quickly, so he was not in any real danger.
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