Pirate: My Piltover technology is far ahead!

Chapter 409 Crisis Drill, Captain Kidd

What the higher-ups discussed in the meeting was unknown to ordinary people, but the changes happening in Piltover affected everyone.

Woo! Howl!

The piercing air raid sirens blared over Piltover, and bright electronic road signs guided the way forward. The island's inhabitants ran forward in an orderly fashion, following the arrows.

Residents of some large buildings also went directly to the basement of the building. These buildings were constructed according to the standards of civil defense projects from the beginning.

Aside from the power of ancient weapons that could annihilate an island in a single strike, conventional firepower couldn't harm them at all. Even if the Buster Call were used to plow through the area, it wouldn't cause any casualties. "Oran, you're 20 seconds faster than last time, and there's still a lot of room for improvement."

While the people sought refuge, Oran, atop the royal city, silently watched everything unfold, with Kate keeping time with a stopwatch.

Piltover is safe now; there have been no attackers, and everything that happened was just a drill.

In addition to these evacuation drills, recent propaganda slogans and school curricula have also undergone some changes, as if everything is moving towards wartime conditions.

For ordinary people in this situation, running is the best solution. Knowing where it is safe and running there is the most effective way to save yourself.

It's never a bad thing to let them get used to this kind of thing in advance.

In places unseen by ordinary people, countless production lines began producing one machine after another that had never been seen before, countless packages were sent from Piltover to the outside world, and the local army underwent a major re-equipment. Everything was in preparation for the future.

"Hmm, that's not bad, but we need to go even faster and maintain this practice frequency so they can get familiar with the road as soon as possible."

"Understood. Also... some people are quite resentful about this, feeling we're just making a fuss... Should we do something about it?"

"It doesn't matter, let them talk. But complaining is fine, but practice can't stop. They'll naturally find out what this is all about in the future."

Although they don't practice every day, they do have a small performance every three days.

The stated reason for the exercise was to prevent the increasingly rampant piracy and ensure the safety of the entire nation.

Piltover has been too safe these past few years. There are simply no pirates who can launch a strong attack on the island. At most, some pirates might cause some minor trouble after applying to land on the island for their own benefit, but such troubles can be quickly quelled.

Although the original intention was still for the good of the majority, it always gives people the feeling that it is overly cautious and thus wastes time and effort.

Oran doesn't care about such comments; to be precise, Oran hopes most people think he's just messing around.

Finally, through the help of some undercover agents, the message was leaked, temporarily reducing the area's visibility.

The plan can be considered a success. Spandam ordered several CP9 members to infiltrate the island in search of information about Pluto. Over the years, they successfully made contact with Tom, but failed to obtain any records about Pluto.

Spandam firmly believed that the blueprints were on Tom, so the undercover mission was never canceled, successfully delaying Lucci and the others' training time for several years, turning them into skilled technicians.

Boom!

A wine glass was smashed on the counter, splashing a lot of wine onto the table. Bruno, who was undercover as the tavern owner, picked up a rag and wiped all the stains off the table before refilling the glass.

"Gabra, are you in a bad mood?"

"Of course! Why are we having another drill for no reason? We've had so many drills lately! I finally got a day off..."

"You'll get used to it. Looks like it'll be going to last a long time."

This wasn't some secret hideout, and Bruno and Gabra weren't using any coded language; they were simply complaining.

Ordinary people also have their own social circles. It's normal for workers and tavern owners to be acquainted. This isn't like they've just arrived. Gabra and his group have also built their own interpersonal relationships, which are closely monitored by Piltover's intelligence department.

If there's any news to get out, the people in Piltover are actually able to contact their superiors much faster.

While Gabra and Bruno were complaining, Lucci reported back that everything was still going smoothly.

Meanwhile, in the military camp in Piltover, a group of soldiers were also looking at the new equipment in front of them.

The security level here is the same as that of the royal city. With such strict security measures, even agents of the World Government have been unable to plant any informants.

The arrival of the new equipment surprised many people, as its style was completely different from the previous humanoid mechs. Compared to the weapons they were equipped with before, this equipment appeared more ferocious, no longer considering the issues of authority or suppression, and was purely created for annihilation.

"Is this thing based on a scorpion?"

"It should be, maybe it's a land-based tank? Anyway, it looks really powerful, but where's the driver's seat?"

"There's no driver's seat; it's purely mechanically controlled. It's a new weapon that's just begun to be deployed under King Oran's orders. Get familiar with it as soon as possible. It's said that King Oran has made a new technological breakthrough, and there will only be more of these kinds in the future."

The outer armor is made of tungsten steel, the tracked all-terrain feet are replaced by a huge chainsaw in the position of the scorpion pincers, and the three scorpion tails are equipped with a gun and a special cannon.

The Battlefield Skarner can be considered the basic model in this series.

While its overall technological content is not high, its cost-effectiveness is extremely high. This type of unmanned weapon is purely a consumable item, and there is no need to consider recovery issues from the moment it is deployed. In the event of severe damage, it can even be considered to launch a self-destructive suicide attack.

Machines can be rebuilt if they are damaged, but once a person dies, there is nothing left. Using mechanical equipment to replace human casualties is the trend of development.

Wars are fought on the economy, and this situation has taken the burning of money to an even more thorough level.

Besides Piltover Island itself, some of the surrounding territories have also undergone some changes.

The level of drills here isn't as high as on the main island, but there is still targeted training.

Aside from exclaves like Flevance in the North Sea, Piltover also stationed its own troops on some islands along the Grand Line, effectively determining the ownership of these islands.

These islands usually serve as outposts, and during this time they are on high alert, preparing to receive the patrols from the main island.

On the island of Calian, in the first half of the Grand Line, some strange-looking people were sitting around the shore. A campfire was roasting several sea fish until they were charred, and the people around them looked very happy.

"Gentlemen! Once we complete this final mission, we will officially be considered as having joined Piltover!"

Then we will no longer be human rights deprived citizens of non-member states, and our descendants will have a bright future!

These individuals are members of the Piltover Foreign Legion, serving in the military in order to obtain full citizenship.

They are considered strange because they all bear traces of cybernetics, and the gleaming cybernetic structures are visible from a distance.

Some even gave up the opportunity to be closer to humanity in order to better integrate into the battle, and strengthened their combat power with all kinds of strange weapons.

Such people are not uncommon in the Piltover Foreign Legion, except that ordinary soldiers with prosthetic bodies who are still serving generally had disabilities before joining Piltover.

Because if you are injured in battle after joining, you can replace your basic prosthetic body for free and then retire directly.

All that's needed is for the palace's special agents to investigate and confirm that the injury wasn't intentional.

Those who have a large number of modified bodies but are still serving are basically disabled before they joined. They replaced their combat-type cybernetic bodies in advance and offset the cost of serving in the military.

Only by losing something can one truly appreciate it. These prosthetic bodies were chosen by the individuals themselves. Although their appearance is somewhat unusual, their effects are surprisingly good, and they have opened up a new chapter in their lives.

The person who was just encouraging his teammates was the team leader, but he didn't know that his words had inadvertently set many flags for the future.

After this battle, XXX will happen; after this operation, XXX will happen; XXX is still waiting for me to come home—these words all carry a kind of mystical power.

"Boss! Someone's here!"

"An inspection team from the main island?"

"No, they're pirates!"

A soldier standing on a high place had his left eye's mechanical components constantly changing, quickly gathering information about the pirates. A ship with a bow that looked like the skull of an ancient dinosaur was heading towards the island; its name was the Victoria Punk.

On a black pirate flag, a dagger pierces through a skull pattern, with flamboyant red hair adorning the back of the skull.

The flag and ship belong to the Kid Pirates, a pirate crew from the South Blue, who arrived in 1520.

In 1949, the pirates of the Worst Generation in the original timeline began to set sail and embark on their pirate careers.

The seven routes of the Grand Line take different amounts of time, so the time it takes for these Worst Generation members to set sail also varies slightly. The captain of the Kid Pirates is Eustagy Kid.

Born in the South China Sea, he was originally a delinquent youth who became the boss in the local troubled neighborhood.

As time went by, Kidd's power continued to grow and become stronger, eventually making him one of the leaders of the four "bad neighborhoods" in the four districts of the local kingdom.

One day, his childhood sweetheart and secret crush died because of gang activity. Enraged, Kidd fought his way through four city blocks and became a real gang leader.

His reason for setting sail was that he "didn't want to stay in such a small world," and eventually, influenced by the Great Pirate Era, he became a pirate.

Despite his ideals and ambitions, Kidd is cruel and has a volatile temper, causing a lot of trouble during his voyage.

Kidd gets angry over the smallest things, mocking his desire to find the "non-existent" OnePiece.

Kidd killed all of their men, so not long after entering the Grand Line, Kidd's bounty rose.

"Captain Kidd! There seem to be enemies on the island ahead, and they look ready for battle!"

"Then sink them! Anyone who stands in our way is our enemy!"

This has always been Kidd's style of doing things; he's almost always fought his way through, and he's been very lucky.

Due to cost considerations, the Navy did not deploy many Pacifistas across the four seas. Weapons of this caliber were unnecessary for dealing with pirates across the four seas, and in the end, only some cheap, bow-mounted Pacifistas were left.

There were no extra weapons, and even the body material was made of more ordinary metal. Rather than a combat weapon, it was more like a moving iron shell.

Weapons of this caliber are more than sufficient in the Four Seas. There are virtually no strong individuals there capable of cutting through iron. As long as one is strong enough and wears heavy enough iron armor, one can easily lord it over others. Before encountering Kid, even the bow version of Garp wouldn't have had any problems.

The problem lies with Kid, who is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user with the Magnet-Magnet Fruit. He can control magnetism and electricity to manipulate metals such as iron, making him a rare ability that can be used against the Bow Plate.

A series of victories made him extremely arrogant, and he entered a reckless stage where he dared to fight anyone.

The Victoria Punk adjusted its sails and accelerated forward. This was the Kid Pirates' usual tactic: first, they would bombard the ship with their cannons, then board it for close combat. And unsurprisingly, they experienced the intensity of the Grand Line.

The offensive that had been invincible in the past, which even military aircraft could not withstand, now encountered an impenetrable wall of defense.

The cyborgs in the foreign legion may look strange, but they are truly elite.

Ordinary combatants are no match for them.

Kidd hasn't joined the battle yet, but among those who could, only Kira could cause any trouble; the others are no match for him.

Seeing the strange metallic structures on these people's bodies, Kidd wanted to use magnetism to control them.

But it had no effect at all.

Those special materials are not ordinary iron; they have already undergone antimagnetic treatment.

"So this is the Grand Line? This is more interesting!"

Magnetism surged through Kid's arms, and the surrounding metal objects, influenced by the magnetism, began to coalesce towards Kid, eventually forming two enormous steel arms that slammed forward.

Currently, his application of the Magnet-Magnet Fruit is still very rudimentary; it has not yet been developed to the point of being a railgun, let alone being able to impart magnetic poles.

They were simply using the fruit in the most basic and crude way.

Kidd didn't know why he couldn't control the metal, nor did he have the mind or intellect to think about it, so he directly changed his fighting style.

boom!

Kidd tried to throw a punch forward, but the metal fist hit the ground halfway and couldn't move an inch. A terrifying pressure came from behind Kidd.

"Oh dear, even I, a blind man, can see that fist is huge. If you let it smash down like that, we'll face unnecessary casualties. That won't do."