Up on the floating island, the battle situation changed in the blink of an eye!
"Ice Age!"
Along with a shout heavy with pressure, endless freezing air spread rapidly along the edge of the floating island. In an instant, it froze a vast area as a tall figure slowly walked toward the battlefield.
It was the Marine Admiral, "Kuzan"!
And at the very moment Kuzan appeared, a golden figure soundlessly appeared right in front of him!
Beth!
Her gaze was razor-sharp now, locked firmly onto Kuzan. She didn't speak. The massive greatsword in her hand lifted slightly, and a condensed, boundless aura erupted—forcing a hard cut through Kuzan's overwhelming cold wave!
Kuzan's movement stalled, his pupils shrinking at once. He felt an immense pressure that didn't lose to his in the slightest! This blond woman was terrifyingly strong! Just standing there made him feel like he had nowhere to start!
"Your opponent… is me." Beth's voice was calm, but carried an unquestionable firmness. And at this moment, her original opponent, Marcus, lay powerless in the distance—clearly having already lost the ability to keep fighting.
Facing Marcus, Beth had also been forced to go all-out just to make him lose combat capability in a short time. A Zoan Fruit's Awakening state was simply too clingy—its insane defense and rapid recovery both made Beth feel it was troublesome.
Kuzan looked at Beth in front of him, then at Marcus in the distance. His expression immediately turned grave, and the freezing air around him surged even more violently.
On the other side, Alicia's fight with Peter-sei had entered a white-hot stage.
Peter-sei, transformed into a gigantic sandworm, let out a deafening roar. The worm's head thrashed crazily as its huge maw opened, spraying a highly corrosive acid breath! His attack range was enormous, turning the surrounding ground into a wrecked wasteland.
Yet Alicia's figure darted through his attacks as she pleased. She was fast—faster—and her movements became even more lethal!
Her golden eyes after Yoki Release stayed locked on the sandworm's core—its head, seated atop that massive body!
"Annoying fly!!" Peter-sei couldn't land a decisive hit for a long time, and his irritation grew. Especially after seeing Marcus and Saturn-sei collapsed in the distance, he understood that if this continued, defeat was only a matter of time.
With that thought, he immediately curled his enormous body up, then smashed down toward Alicia with a crushing, overhead force! A wide-area attack—no way to avoid it!
Facing that sky-blotting slam, a cold glint flashed in Alicia's eyes. She didn't retreat—she drove off the ground and charged straight into that huge mass of flesh! Yoki and Haki spread over her blade!
Pshhk—!!
The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh!
Alicia's sword tip stabbed with perfect precision into the giant sandworm's body. Highly compressed Conqueror's Haki exploded out in an instant, tearing the worm's body open!
"ROOOO—!!!"
Peter-sei immediately let out an agonized howl. His massive body crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a sky of dust. His presence withered sharply, and his eyes filled with extreme weakness.
Ronan took it all in, clarity settling in his heart.
So that was the Gorosei's strength.
By observing the battlefield, Ronan could clearly sense it: these five supreme rulers of the World Government were powerful mainly because of their near-undying defense and terrifying recovery ability. Whether it was the awakened vitality of Zoan types, or Imu's contract ability, it made them extremely hard to truly kill.
But in pure offense and speed, they hadn't reached the level of Marine Admirals.
"Relying on an undying body and powerful recovery to wear down your opponent and hunt for an opening… so that's your tactic?" Ronan sneered inwardly. "Too bad. The ones you met are Beth and Alicia. What they're best at is finding that sliver of life in absolute disadvantage—then delivering a fatal strike!"
Ronan looked at Kuzan, firmly blocked by Beth and stuck in a deadlock, then glanced at Marcus and the other two who had temporarily lost combat capability.
The situation on the floating island was tilting more and more in his favor.
Of course, Ronan wasn't relaxing in the slightest. He knew the Gorosei couldn't possibly have only this much. And the God Knights hadn't fully appeared—back during the hunting in Lulusia Kingdom, only five of them had shown up. Ronan knew how strong the God Knights were in the original story; even Shanks had once been one of them.
And in this battle, only a small number of knights had appeared. Clearly, more of them were protecting the Celestial Dragons as they evacuated to somewhere safe—and there might still be people handling missions elsewhere in the world.
But the fact that the God Knights weren't all in Mary Geoise was definitely good news for Ronan. He'd never expected that a handful of them plus clone soldiers could take Mary Geoise—but he certainly didn't mind giving the World Government a lesson they would never forget.
Deep inside Pangaea Castle, in the council chamber that symbolized the world's highest authority, the usual solemn grandeur had been replaced by a heavy, post-disaster gravity—and a humiliation that couldn't be described.
Marcus, Peter-sei, and Saturn-sei—three members of the Gorosei—had already returned to human form.
However, their bodies were badly damaged. Exposed skin was covered in wounds, and some were deep enough to show bone. Though they were no longer bleeding, traces of a lingering energy still clung to the injuries—proof of how hard it was to quickly heal wounds inflicted by Conqueror's Haki. Their faces were pale, their auras unsteady. The earlier battle had clearly cost them dearly.
Among the five, only Topman, relying on his powerful defense, was still entangled in battle with Enel, the one who manipulated lightning.
Farther away, Fleet Admiral Sengoku—transformed into a golden Buddha—was fighting that catwoman at full throttle. Elsewhere, Admiral Kuzan was also locked in an even battle with Beth, the one who had slain Golden Lion.
Watching the fiercely escalating situation that had far exceeded expectations, and feeling the terrifying strength displayed by those Lulusia guardians, the three Gorosei who had temporarily escaped danger all looked grim.
"I didn't expect it… we still underestimated the Lulusia Kingdom." Peter-sei covered a sword scar across his chest. His voice was hoarse, and his tone carried a lingering fear.
(End of Chapter)
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