Lord of the Stars of the Grand Line

"Fight and retreat, stay away from these islands, maintain distance as much as possible, don't get too close, and minimize losses!"

Seeing the two warships that had been sunk by the ferocious bird not far away, Smoker panicked and could no longer remain calm!

He had just exchanged blows with that monster and deeply felt its power; that monstrous strength was terrifying to them!

Moreover, the islands opposite are teeming with countless monsters, making them impossible to defeat and beyond the capabilities of a fleet of their caliber.

If they continue their attack, their fleet will likely be completely annihilated in no time!

This was something Smoker couldn't bear, so he immediately handed the command Den Den Mushi to Tashigi and shouted, "You take command, I'll contact headquarters!"

"This is too bizarre. There was nothing in this sea area before, so how did islands and so many monsters suddenly appear..."

"This kind of thing... requires headquarters to handle it personally!"

With that, Smoker turned and left.

"Yes, Colonel Smoker!"

Two hours later, the fleet was finally far enough away that the marines breathed a sigh of relief after repelling the last pursuing ferocious bird.

The scene just now was terrifying; it was like hell on earth!

Their once mighty and massive fleet suffered heavy losses, with only about a dozen warships remaining; the rest sank around the island.

"It's... a devilish sea! How could this be? Why are there so many monsters suddenly appearing?!"

"And what about those islands?"

　 6　7看着损失6灵过半的舰队，达斯琪歇斯底里的吼道苍，这2是难以承受9的小2战损9，当日8群在面对 克里克海说贼团的时8候，都没损失这么 大！

“Ah, yes, I’d like to know too.” Smoker’s expression was grave, a cigar dangling from his lips, and he was clutching the severed limb of a ferocious bird in his hand, showing that he was not at peace with himself.

"What did headquarters say? When will they send someone?" Tashigi asked, her voice trembling with tears.

"I think we should set off now."

Smoker discarded the severed limb and said, "Marshal Sengoku 0.8 was also shocked and has already dispatched reinforcements, who are marching rapidly towards here."

"The CP9 members were also with us, and the World Government is also paying attention and has sent people to assist in the investigation of what happened here."

"The marshal told us to keep our distance and not to provoke those monsters unless they come out..."

"Of course, if any monsters try to leave this area, we must do our best to stop them and prevent them from leaving, lest they cause chaos among the civilians."

Upon hearing this news, Tashigi remained silent for a long time before saying, "It will take at least a few days for reinforcements from headquarters to arrive."

"With the little strength we have left, are we enough to stop those monsters...?"

"Who knows?"

Smoker said gravely, "Headquarters orders that unless we are completely wiped out, we must stop all monsters attempting to leave before reinforcements arrive!"

Chapter Ninety-Six: Luo Feng is enjoying himself, while the Navy is suffering...

In the blink of an eye, seven days have passed...

Three days ago, Luo Feng and his group successfully set foot on Reverse Mountain and returned to the Grand Line.

Unlike when we came here, entering the Grand Line doesn't require the trouble of crossing the Calm Belt; we can just walk through the Reverse Mountain normally.

Moreover, this group was clearly not in such a rush as when they arrived. There were two more girls on the boat, and it's in a woman's nature to shop and buy things, so it's unavoidable.

So, on the way back, Luo Feng's boat traveled slowly, and every time it passed a populated place, it would dock and go ashore to explore.

When they encounter bustling places, the four girls will collectively turn on their shopping instincts; with the current wealth on their ship, they certainly don't lack a little money.

Luo Feng was the same. It was his first time going to sea in this world, so he was naturally curious about many things. When he went to the East Sea, he had things to do and didn't have much free time.

Now things are different. Everything has been resolved satisfactorily, and he's in a great mood, with plenty of time to stroll around.

Walking with several girls and being surrounded by beautiful women made Luo Feng feel quite pleased!

"Enjoying beautiful scenery, delicious food, and beautiful women – this is the ultimate pleasure in life!"

"What's with all this arguing about becoming the Pirate King? These guys are really pathetic!"

These were words spoken by Luo Feng while strolling through a small town, which he shamelessly regarded as a 'famous quote'!

The other two on the ship, Zoro and Bartolomeo, basically never landed anywhere and remained on the ship the whole time.

For Zoro, the most important thing right now is to intensify his training. He has now acquired the two famous swords, Sakuragi and Kuju, and also has the swordsmanship insights of Shiki.

He threw himself into it wholeheartedly, wanting to master both swords completely and to quickly grasp the basics of swordsmanship; he had no time to wander around.

Bartolomeo, on the other hand, saw Zoro's Versailles-like demeanor and was afraid of being left behind by this annoying green-haired guy, so he was just competing with him and refused to stop training. Otherwise, he would definitely be following his idol's mentor around like a puppy...

Luo Feng was naturally pleased with all of this. Regardless of what they did, as the captain, he would only support his subordinates who had such awareness.

On the same day, unlike the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere on Luo Feng's side, the area near the islands in the East China Sea was filled with bloodshed. Broken fragments of warships were everywhere, along with the floating corpses of marines and shattered military flags...

Of course, there were also the corpses of those ferocious birds, but compared to the naval wreckage that was everywhere, they seemed so insignificant.

"The people from headquarters... cough, haven't they arrived yet?"

On the damaged flagship, Tashigi coughed up blood twice, her body covered in blood, and asked with difficulty.

Of the massive naval fleet of nearly thirty ships, only this one flagship remained!

The rest were mostly sunk here, and that was only because many marines fought desperately to defend it; otherwise, this flagship would probably have been gone long ago...

Even so, the main ship was not much better off; half of the stern had fallen off, and only a few dozen marines remained on board, most of them bearing wounds and looking utterly wretched.

"We should be almost there. If we march at full speed, we should be able to get there today. Hang in there, Tashigi!"

Smoker stared coldly at a ferocious bird in the distance, his anger reaching its peak.

These were all his men, and he had only brought them out once. In just one week, almost the entire army was wiped out, which filled him with great hatred!

If he weren't so weak right now, he would have rushed to the island long ago and personally killed those bloodthirsty monsters!

Sengoku's prediction was correct. Although these monsters had lost their minds and acted solely on their berserk instincts, it was inevitable that some of them would accidentally stumble upon leaving this place.

It was because of this that Smoker's fleet fought back with all its might, resulting in the current situation where the entire fleet was almost wiped out!

This is thanks to the fact that the island is surrounded by the sea. You know, there are many more ferocious beasts on the island that can't get over. They can only deal with the flying birds of prey. Otherwise, the situation would be much worse!

Even Smoker himself might have already perished here!

"These beasts!" Smoker cursed, spitting out his cigar before preparing to strike again.

The ferocious bird in the sky naturally noticed them and immediately swooped down to launch a mindless attack.

"Ara ara, long time no see, Smoker."

"Grinning Mouth Cone!"

Just then, a casual voice rang out, followed by a cold gust of wind.

The sailors on the ship felt a chill run through their bodies and then saw a huge ice bird appear in the distance, hurtling towards them at high speed!

boom!

The ice bird crashed precisely into the giant ferocious bird. With a mournful cry, the bird was instantly frozen and then pulverized into dust by the terrifying impact of the ice bird!

"...I didn't expect it to be you, Kuzan."

Hearing the familiar voice, Smoker walked to the bow of the ship and looked at the approaching figure in the distance. A navy officer wearing a cloak of justice was riding a bicycle toward them.

The person who arrived was none other than Aokiji, one of the admirals of the Marine Headquarters!

This is one of the Navy's strongest forces today, directly comparable to the Four Emperors, and yet it was sent to carry out the 987 mission!

It's easy to imagine how much Sengoku and other high-ranking officials at the Navy Headquarters were concerned about this matter!

"General, General Kuzan, you've finally arrived!"

"Our savior has arrived! We no longer have to face those terrifying monsters!"

Upon seeing Aokiji board the ship, dozens of sailors, disregarding their injuries, began to cry and cheer.

The Admirals represent the absolute fighting power of their navy and are the objects of worship for these marines. Aokiji's arrival means that they won't have to face the same fate as their predecessors, being torn apart by monsters...

The feeling of surviving a desperate situation is enough to drive them wild with excitement!

Seeing this, Smoker did not reprimand the marines. After fighting for so long, as their leader, he naturally knew how much psychological pressure these marines were under!

"Smoker, you've worked hard."

Seeing the horrific scene and Smoker covered in blood, Aokiji, unusually, abandoned his usual carefree demeanor, patted his old classmate on the shoulder, and said, "Leave the rest to me!"

After saying that, Aokiji leaped into the air, crossed his arms, and an extremely cold aura emanated from his palms...

Immediately afterwards, two ice pillars shot out from his palms and hurtled toward the archipelago.

"The Ice Age!"

Chapter 97 Aokiji Takes Action, the Navy's Imagination!

Faced with this situation, even the usually lazy Aokiji was not calm and became somewhat angry. He immediately used his signature move - Ice Age!

As the icicles fell, the sea in the middle of the archipelago was instantly frozen over!

Then, the ice sheet spread rapidly towards the surrounding islands...

In just a few seconds, the archipelago and the waters connecting them were frozen solid!

The roars of beasts on the islands vanished instantly, leaving only utter silence!

All the ferocious beasts, along with the island's scenery, were frozen and transformed into ice islands and animal-shaped ice sculptures!

One move, just one move! And all the problems here were solved!

Although those islands were not large, many times smaller than normal islands, there were so many of them—more than a dozen in total—that they were all frozen solid...

This is the terrifying combat power of a general-level commander; when he does strike, it's a decisive blow!

Seeing this, Smoker finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's over, Tashigi. Take them to heal their wounds first. They need to rest."

"Once we've recovered, we'll go ashore to investigate. Whatever strange things might be on those islands, they're all frozen in place now and can't escape."

Upon hearing this, Tashigi nodded, then left in silence to settle the marines.

Such a tragic scene would have been too much for her, a female soldier, to bear. If she weren't the commander of these soldiers and needed to lead them, she probably would have broken down long ago!

"Why are you all alone, Kuzan?"

Looking at the Aokiji standing on the ice, Smoker asked a question.