Chapter 143: Morgans's King Engine
"W-w-wait, Your Majesty Nereus, I... I might not have heard clearly what you just said. Could you repeat it?"
Morgans blinked, then slapped himself hard across the face. He suspected his ears were playing tricks on him.
Earlier, Morgans was agonizing over the lack of major news for the front page these past few days. He hadn't expected that right after turning his head, an explosive piece of news would land directly beside his ear.
The sting on his face still left Morgans in disbelief. He casually pinched the shoulder of the person next to him. Hearing the other party cry out in pain, he finally confirmed he wasn't dreaming.
"I said, no matter who it is, until that Harding's head is brought before me, Fish-man Island will seal off the sea. Not a single plank of wood is allowed to cross. Do you hear me clearly?"
"O-of course..."
Dead silence fell over the headquarters of the World Economic Journal. Morgans had just turned on the Transponder Snail's speakerphone, and Nereus's voice echoed throughout the entire agency.
The rustling of pens and the noisy flipping of pages vanished. Aside from the voice on the other end of the phone, only the heavy thump-thump of Morgans's heartbeat remained, beating as loudly as a "King Engine."
Looking at Morgans's pale face, his heart seemed ready to leap out of his chest at any moment.
"But, Your Majesty Nereus, I personally believe that using the newspaper to announce such a massive piece of news might not be as effective. The World Economic Journal now has quite the reputation on the sea.
If you are not in a rush, I can arrange a live broadcast for you to announce this news personally. Following it up with a newspaper detailing the specifics would yield much better results. Of course, if you are in a hurry, I will pull the current front-page headline immediately and publish this news right away."
Morgans knew exactly what sealing the sea meant. Having struggled in the underworld for years and controlling a massive newspaper agency, he knew how terrifying the geographical chokepoint of Fish-man Island could be.
If Fish-man Island had mediocre military strength and just holed up to protect itself, it wouldn't impact the outside world much.
But Nereus's martial prowess underwater was the absolute definition of "Invincible in the Ocean." Morgans couldn't imagine anyone defeating him in the deep sea.
Although Morgans didn't know Nereus's exact details, there was no doubt: he was about to hold all the pirates of the Grand Line and the people of the underworld hostage to accomplish one thing.
"A live broadcast? That works. It'll save me the trouble of things being unclear. I'll wait for you on Fish-man Island."
Visual Transponder Snails could broadcast images natively. With the scale of the World Economic Journal, broadcasting events to the whole world via Transponder Snails wasn't difficult.
It was just that on this sea, newspapers were the mainstream medium of information. After all, the public's channels for receiving information were limited; not every household had the means to receive such video broadcasts at home.
The "live broadcast" Morgans spoke of was more of a tiered relay broadcast, using massive numbers of Transponder Snails to continuously transmit the feed to other islands.
If he hadn't anticipated what kind of massive uproar this event would cause, Morgans wouldn't have expended this much effort.
"President, what do we do now?"
A reporter nearby saw Morgans hang up the phone and leaned in with an excited expression, a fanatical fervor dancing in his eyes.
If Nereus's past made him an anomaly among pirates, then Morgans was a madman in the journalism industry. The reporters following Morgans all had their own fervent pursuit of "Big News" and smelled the gunpowder hidden within this message.
"What else is there to do? Notify all branch offices to prepare to receive our signal. Now... everyone move out! Destination: Fish-man Island!"
Whoosh... Whoosh...
The headquarters of the World Economic Journal began to transform. A massive hot air balloon emerged from the top, and pulled by a large flock of News Coos, it flew in the direction of Fish-man Island.
Because the things he did inherently offended people, Morgans had always fought a guerrilla war. Even his headquarters was designed in a style that could relocate at any time.
If he were prioritizing speed, Morgans should have just dispatched personnel from the Sabaody Archipelago branch to dive down directly. But he absolutely refused to miss out on this massive news personally. Plus, since Nereus had indicated he would wait, Morgans simply rushed over himself.
While Morgans was advancing toward Fish-man Island, the interior of Fish-man Island presented a completely different scene.
The expansions over these past few years didn't just include the academy island for education, but also several camps for the Neptune Army.
In these camps, aside from the soldiers still on patrol outside and a few absent due to illness, all remaining members had returned to their posts.
And their most direct observation was that their meal standards over the past few days had been elevated, resembling the feasts usually reserved for festival celebrations.
The interior of the Neptune Army had naturally received Nereus's orders early on and made preparations in advance.
"As expected, we're going to war..."
Nereus's old subordinates from back on Beehive Island all knew what these changes meant. In the past, before major operations, it was always like this.
However, in the eyes of these old subordinates, there was no worry or panic, only excitement.
"A-are we really going to... to war?"
Although the Neptune Army had been reorganized for over three years, during this time they had mostly been training and hadn't experienced any large-scale wars.
In the eyes of Nereus's veteran subordinates, even though these soldiers had experienced some minor skirmishes, they were still a bunch of greenhorn recruits.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. Didn't they already say it? This operation will solely take place in the deep sea.
Ten thousand meters deep is our home turf. Seize the opportunity and accumulate merits—this is your path to promotion."
A few days later, Morgans arrived at Fish-man Island. The moment he met Nereus, Morgans directed his reporters to start preparing the broadcast.
"Your Majesty Nereus, this time happens to be exactly noon on Fish-man Island. Whether it's the first half of the Grand Line or the half of the New World closest to Fish-man Island, it's daytime. This will ensure those who need to cross the border hear this news first. If you are ready, I'll start on my end."
Morgans rubbed his hands together, his face filled with anticipation, looking perfectly ready to witness this monumental piece of news.
"Begin."
"OK! Lights! Camera! Everyone ready, watch my hand signals!"
Morgans began counting down with his wings. As the eyes of the Transponder Snails lit up, this message from Fish-man Island surged toward the whole world like an erupting submarine volcano.
"Everyone, I am Nereus. I assume you are not too unfamiliar with me, especially some of my old friends.
Over the past three years, the Ryugu Kingdom and this sea have lived in relative peace. But not long ago, an audacious individual violated my ban and kidnapped citizens of my country on the Sabaody Archipelago."
At this moment, Nereus's tone seemed extremely calm, as calm as if he were declaring a trivial matter. Only those who understood Nereus well enough knew exactly how terrifying he was in this state.
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