"Charge with me! Fame! Glory! It's all right ahead!"
"Heads! Hand over your heads!"
Shimazu Toyohisa led the assault team down the slope, his wild nodachi held high at his side. He sprinted with such incredible speed that he even left the troops he was leading behind.
The Quincies, standing ready, immediately spotted the incoming assault force.
They also saw the bloodthirsty, maddened face of Shimazu Toyohisa.
"Attack!"
"Don't let the enemy break through our lines!"
The Quincies had already received orders to resist. Seeing the enemy approach, they raised their spirit bows and loosed a volley of spirit arrows!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
One arrow after another, glowing with a blue-white light, shot into the sky together. They were so dense that they brightened the dim space.
Tracing a perfect parabolic arc in the air, they rained down toward the troops led by Shimazu Toyohisa.
Shimazu Toyohisa looked up at the arrows falling like raindrops, his fanaticism undiminished and his hot-blooded excitement surging even higher.
His charging speed increased rather than slowed. The slender blade of his sword flashed with a cold luster, drawing an arc as he lunged forward.
"Toyohisa, be careful!"
Following behind, Yoichi saw the rain of arrows and unhesitatingly pulled a specialized arrow from his quiver, drawing his bow to fire.
Like those Kido warheads, the arrowhead was inscribed with a Kido number. After leaving the string, it transformed into a surging explosive force, flying like a cannonball while wreathed in roaring thunder.
Hado No. 63: Raikōhō!
Boom!
Upon contact with the rain of spirit arrows, the Raikōhō instantly detonated. The massive explosion created a shockwave that scattered all the nearby light arrows.
At the same time, the bluish-white lightning raged, destroying any arrows it touched and turning them into shimmering spirit particles that dissipated into the air.
Although Yoichi's single arrow blocked most of the attack, some arrows still leaked through, passing through the air currents formed by the explosion and falling with undiminished force.
"Hah!"
Shimazu Toyohisa swung his nodachi repeatedly, parrying the spirit arrows that targeted his vitals or cutting them down on the spot.
As for the remaining arrows he couldn't deflect in time, he let them fall. They struck his armor with a series of clangs before being bounced away, unable to cause any significant injury.
The Quincies' continuous attacks couldn't stop Shimazu Toyohisa's charge.
Coupled with Yoichi's coordination, the two of them soon broke through to the Quincy front lines despite the heavy rain of arrows.
"Our arrows were actually blocked!"
"The enemy is about to invade our position."
"Then engage in close-quarters combat! Front squad, draw your blades! Quench the enemy's momentum!"
The Quincies at the very front put away their bows and drew the blades at their waists, meeting the charging enemy head-on!
Meanwhile, the Quincies in the rear continued to draw their bows and fire, aiming at the assault team behind Shimazu Toyohisa.
"Hand over your heads!"
Facing the incoming Quincies, Shimazu Toyohisa suddenly accelerated his footwork, rushing forward like the wind.
The moment they collided, the nodachi in Toyohisa's hand flashed, decapitating the foremost Quincy in a spray of blood.
Feeling the sensation of the sharp blade cutting into flesh, his excitement grew. Without stopping, he continued his slaughter among the Quincy ranks!
Yoichi purposefully stayed a step behind, continuously drawing his bow to fire several arrows. He provided cover for the areas Shimazu Toyohisa couldn't see, sniping down dangerous enemies one by one.
By the time the two made contact, the assault force following them had also surged forward.
Seeing Shimazu Toyohisa's fearless charge, the soldiers' morale skyrocketed as they plunged into the Quincy position.
For a time, guns and cannons roared, interspersed with the flashes of blades and the rain of arrows.
The moment the two sides met, the battlefield situation immediately entered its most heated phase!
On the other side of the assault, Garp faced the incoming rain of arrows at the front, his fist swinging out violently.
With just a simple punch, he generated a powerful gale that blew away all the arrows in mid-air.
Kuzan, who had come along beside Garp, took this opportunity to exert force through his feet.
"Soru!"
Kuzan's figure vanished from the spot, leaving only a fragment of frost on the ground.
He instantly appeared within the Quincy camp ahead. A burst of cold energy erupted, turning his footing into frozen soil as frost extended across the entire position.
His eyes lowered beneath his sunglasses as he scanned the surrounding Quincies, his mouth opening slightly to exhale a puff of frigid air.
"Arara... Quincy boys, let me freeze you for a bit."
Kuzan's three-meter-tall physique stood out like a crane among a flock of chickens, appearing particularly striking.
The surrounding Quincies reacted quickly, hurriedly turning their weapons to aim at the massive figure in the center.
"The enemy! When did they break through—"
"Attack—"
Just as the Quincies were about to launch their attack, they suddenly felt a rush of cold air. They saw nothing but a sheet of ice covering their vision before losing consciousness.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The ice spread rapidly, dragging the entire camp into the depths of winter.
Whether it was the surrounding Quincies or the weapons in their hands, they were frozen instantly while still in their attacking stances. The entire area was transformed into a world covered in glittering ice.
The position fell in an instant, with only Kuzan's figure left walking across the ice with his hands in his pockets.
"I'll thaw you out once the war is over."
"Kuzan, well done!"
A vigorous and powerful shout rang out.
Garp arrived with a group of soldiers, his gaze sweeping over the glacier-like world as a wide grin spread across his face.
"Hahaha! You actually froze them all. That was fast!"
"Garp-san, being frozen is better than being killed in war."
Kuzan walked over to meet him, falling in behind Garp.
The tone of this war had been set from the start by those above as a war of annihilation.
Even though they were enemies, there were many elderly people and children among them. Leaving not a single soul alive seemed a bit excessive no matter how one looked at it.
That was why Garp and Kuzan had acted early, freezing the enemies first to leave a glimmer of hope for survival, leaving the final decision for after the war.
A flash of gloom crossed Garp's face before he immediately reverted to his usual carefree smile.
"I have some influence with Ren. Along with you and Sengoku, if we plead their case, we should be able to spare the innocent in this city."
"That's all we can do for now."
Kuzan sighed.
Although their current approach could preserve as many lives as possible, to some extent, it was also disrupting the original combat plan.
"Sengoku-san must be furious up there."
Hearing this, Garp picked his nose with a look of annoyance. "When is that guy Sengoku not angry? He's always acting so serious."
Kuzan glanced at Garp, feeling helpless in his heart.
'Isn't the main reason Sengoku-san gets angry because of you, Garp-san?'
"Stop nagging, Kuzan! If you have time to argue with me, then hurry up and get to fighting!"
"Yes, yes, I'm going."
With this position conquered, the group moved on to other areas.
On the high ground, Sengoku looked down at the enemy camp that had been turned into a field of ice.
The glacier on the ground was dazzlingly bright and extremely conspicuous.
Sengoku withdrew his gaze, unable to resist rubbing his temples.
"Kuzan and Garp have the same idea..."
He had been comrades with Garp for so many years, so he naturally knew exactly what Garp was thinking.
Kuzan was no exception; he was kind-hearted by nature and possessed a sense of mercy, unable to be as hardened as himself or Sakazuki.
Facing the "leave no survivors" tone of the war set by those above, even if they were forced to comply by military orders, no one could stop them from making small secret moves.
"Forget it. At least they took the enemy position, breaking a gap for the main army to drive straight in."
As for whether to kill the prisoners or not, he would let those above decide after the war ended.
For now, he had to focus on the war itself to ensure losses were minimized.
At this thought, Sengoku's expression turned solemn.
Walking to the edge of the roof, he looked down at the robust figure already prepared on the open ground below.
"Sakazuki, move out."
"Try not to accidentally hit our own forces."
Squads of soldiers ran toward the ground, leaving Sakazuki alone.
Hearing Sengoku's command, Sakazuki opened his eyes and looked into the distance, taking in the entire city built in the shadows.
His fists clenched, and rolling lava erupted from his arms, radiating high temperatures and heatwaves.
Sakazuki slowly raised his arms, aiming them at the dark clouds in the sky.
"Meteor Volcano!"
Clusters of magma erupted from Sakazuki's arms, shooting into the sky like artillery fire, one after another in a continuous stream.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
From a distance, Sakazuki looked like a continuous firing battery, venting his firepower to his heart's content.
The magma launched into the sky reached its peak before falling back down, turning the dark clouds a fiery red.
Boom!
One massive lava fist after another broke through the clouds, plummeting toward the ground below.
The range was so vast that it covered the entire Shadow City.
After casually freezing another Quincy position along with everyone in it, Kuzan suddenly looked up at the falling lava fists, his sunglasses obscuring his eyes.
"Arara... Sengoku-san and Sakazuki are following the plan after all."
Garp walked over with the soldiers behind him, his smile gone as he watched the fists falling from the sky.
"It looks like except for this high ground, the entire city is within Sakazuki's strike range..."
"He's as merciless as ever."
The Quincies in the city also noticed the anomaly in the sky immediately.
"W-what is this?!"
"Lava! Is this the enemy's attack?"
"It's actually covering the whole city..."
"Counterattack quickly! Block these fists!"
After the initial horror, the Quincies in the city sprang into action, raising their spirit bows to aim at the falling magma.
Even as volleys of spirit arrows were fired, they couldn't stop the magma from crashing down.
Even if they successfully hit the fists in the air, the fists would explode upon impact, splashing lava in all directions and actually increasing the range of destruction.
"Damn it! Our attacks are completely useless!"
"Where are the Lords of the Knights? Why haven't they acted!"
"It's over... we're all finished..."
"Waaaaah! Damn it! What did we do wrong? Why must we suffer such an attack!"
Seeing that their own attacks were ineffective, the Quincies in the city fell into chaos—some fought back desperately, some were lost in confusion, and some wailed in despair...
Quite a few strong individuals stepped forward to knock down the lava fists, but what they could do in this moment was ultimately limited.
The coverage of the magma was too vast, almost enveloping the entire Wandenreich. What they could save was only a small fraction.
In the blink of an eye, the sky full of magma slammed into the ground.
Boom! Rumble!
The ground shook violently from the impact.
The magma landed, ruthlessly crushing the buildings. Explosions erupted everywhere as flames burned fiercely, accompanied by thick black smoke, swallowing everything they touched.
No matter the architecture, or whether it was man, woman, old, or young, all appeared incredibly fragile before this natural disaster.
The entire city was instantly transformed into scorched earth.
The wails of people in agony echoed everywhere, turning the Wandenreich into a living hell on earth.
Sengoku looked into the distance, his round lenses reflecting a white light as they mirrored the city now reduced to ruins.
The city was burning, a sea of red with black smoke rising everywhere.
Even from such a distance, Sengoku could almost feel the heatwaves blowing against his face.
Looking at this scorching hell he had ordered into existence, Sengoku's face showed neither joy nor sorrow. He simply looked back at Sakazuki on the open ground.
"Continue! Don't stop!"
"There are still survivors. Eliminate the enemy's effective strength as much as possible!"
Sakazuki nodded slightly upon hearing this.
The magma on his arms surged frantically as he launched it back into the sky!
While the screams of the people below continued, Kaido felt the heat in the air. He twisted his long body, rolling through the clouds.
His wanton laughter spread in all directions.
"Worororo! Akainu has made his move. It seems the combat plan has truly begun."
After his laughter subsided, Kaido poked his massive dragon head out of the black clouds, his vertical pupils locking onto the man with the mohawk below the palace.
Even from far away, his gaze was firmly fixed on that man.
"Kid, you're the one who blocked my Boro Breath."
"You seem to have some skill. Why don't you play with me?"
Before the war began, they had read the general intelligence regarding the Quincies.
Ren had provided it.
Although some parts were vague, the information regarding the abilities of the Quincy powerhouses was quite detailed.
The man with the mohawk below was a member of the Sternritter and possessed fire-based abilities.
Kaido still remembered the exact words Ren had said while holding his forehead when introducing this person:
"This mohawk-head's ability is playing with fire. His name is... forget it, it's not important. He's friends with the Captain of the Quincy Knights, and his strength is decent, especially in internal conflicts..."
In front of the palace below, Bazz-B looked at the destroyed city, his expression becoming incredibly grim.
"To think they've turned our city into this state... damn it!"
Immediately following this, he heard the earth-shaking voice of the Azure Dragon in the sky. Bazz-B looked up, meeting its gaze without showing any weakness as flames ignited on his fingertips.
He seemed to think of something and suppressed his anger, extinguishing the flames on his hand.
"Damned worm! I'll slaughter you after I finish my business!"
Leaving behind those harsh words, he ignored the giant dragon in the sky and turned to run toward the city.
"Running? You can't escape!"
Kaido watched Bazz-B suddenly change direction. Although he was confused, it didn't stop him from continuing his attack.
His mouth opened, revealing sharp teeth, and flames began to glow in his throat once more.
But just then, a bolt of lightning erupted from below, shooting into the sky.
Rumble!
Taking advantage of the time Kaido spent charging his Boro Breath, the lightning slammed into his face, knocking the massive dragon head to one side and forcibly interrupting the charging breath.
"Hmm?"
One side of the Azure Dragon's face was charred black. He moved his head, his vertical pupils looking toward the direction the lightning had come from.
Five silhouettes of young girls came into view.
The girls were dressed in Quincy uniforms, standing atop a roof while looking up at the dragon in the sky.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]