In the town, Bellamy was initially overseeing the battle, but suddenly saw his subordinates scattering. He was momentarily stunned, then grinned ferociously, licking his lips and said:
"Encountered a strong opponent? Everyone retreat, I will handle him!"
He crouched down, his calves transformed into springs, and he suddenly jumped upwards. His body bounced swiftly against nearby buildings, the powerful force overturning roofs and crashing through walls. After gathering momentum, he launched a punch toward the person in the center.
"Roar!!"
However, just as Bellamy was about to strike, the person turned his head and opened his mouth wide. A lightning-like ray shot out, striking Bellamy's body.
Bang!!
Amidst the explosion, Bellamy, covered in blood, flew far away. Just before he crashed to the ground, he trembled, then immediately spun and landed.
"Cough!"
He knelt on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his facial features continuously streaming with blood.
"You bastard!"
Bellamy growled lowly, clenching his teeth, ready to stand and continue fighting. But at that moment, a figure quickly flashed before him.
"Lady Lily!"
He gritted his teeth and said, "Please allow me to continue fighting. I can definitely defeat him!"
"Sage doesn't want to waste too much time in this small town. Stand down."
Lily spoke without turning her head, while looking at the center of the fighting crowd, at the tall, well-dressed man, "Ability User?"
"I am a Sound Wave Person who ate the Scream-Scream Fruit and can attack by gathering sound waves through my roar!"
The man shouted, "Likewise, I am the mayor of this town, Pirate, you..."
"Alright, that's enough."
Before the Ability User mayor could finish, Lily's figure flashed again, emitting a sharp 'zing' sound, bringing forth a lightning-like white ray across his body.
Lily appeared behind the mayor, her slender sword being sheathed.
"Hey, you..."
The mayor's eye twitched. He turned his head, about to speak but saw the blonde woman sheathing the final segment of the glowing blade.
Click.
Splurt!
The sight of blood spraying from his vision left him dumbfounded, but before he could process, his body swayed and fell to the ground.
Lily turned and walked toward the Death Star, casually saying as she passed Bellamy, "Alright, the rest is up to you. Remember to bring that person back. Also, if more time is wasted, I will only question your abilities, Bellamy."
"I won't let you down!"
Bellamy blushed, watching Lily leave. He then turned to those who, due to the mayor's fall, began losing the will to resist. His legs once again transformed into springs, crouching as a vicious expression emerged, and he began bouncing around again.
The New World might be formidable, but ordinary people are still ordinary, not exceedingly powerful. Perhaps they only have somewhat more combat experience.
But for Ability Users, it only requires a bit more effort.
With Bellamy personally joining the fight, the remaining resistance couldn't withstand and quickly died, suffered injuries, or fled, allowing the pirates to enter the manor and loot the spoils.
As boxes were carried out, including the Ability User, they were brought onto the ship. The Black Ship set sail, leaving behind a group of terrified civilians.
Were they pirates?
Why didn't they rob us?
This confusion didn't last long; some intelligent individuals quickly realized that without the mayor, there would be no need to pay taxes!
On the Death Star, the captured Ability User was similarly dealt with by Sage and taken to join the Smelt-Smelt Fruit Ability User. But using the North Star Divine Fist, he pinpointed the mayor's Secret Hole, extracting several truths.
"Sage, about this raid..."
In the captain's quarters, Lily entered shortly after Sage and began to report when Sage waved his hand, "I don't care about a few million Belly, give me half and let them divide the rest themselves. But there's something else, you come and help plot."
He sat down at his desk, pouring himself a drink from a partly filled bottle, saying: "The mayor didn't have that much manpower; the town's three hundred or so people came from surrounding islands..."
Connecting islands across the sea is challenging, especially on the Grand Line. However, it doesn't mean there is no exchange. At least in the surrounding seas, some daring people will journey between islands.
The mayor recruited these people for the same reason as Barnaby—to go to the Gares Kingdom, invited by the Great Noble, to fight for him.
Apart from wealth, the Great Noble also promised that significant achievements could earn a piece of land and become a noble of the Gares Kingdom.
That's far better than this small, impoverished town.
"From this we can see, the plate of the Gares Kingdom is quite large, recruiting everywhere, not just a few tens of thousands of troops."
Sage chuckled, gulping down his drink, saying: "Such a grand scale, it would be a pity if I missed it. Lily, I have devised a plan. Listen up: first, we are going to attack Augustine Castle, break open its gates, occupy Augustine, then recruit soldiers. Then we will split forces to attack and eliminate Gares and Timadon's resistance forces, and thoroughly seize this territory, how's that!"
Lily: "..."
She remained silent for a while, then said: "No problem."