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Chapter 159: Enel's Preparations
Before long, an icy, arrogant voice echoed directly in his ear.
"Shura. Gather Satori, Ohm, Gedatsu, and fifty Divine Soldiers. Come to my shrine immediately."
Shura's heart lurched. He instantly lowered his head into a posture of deepest reverence. "By your command, Lord Enel!"
Not a single one of the Four Priests dared to openly disobey the will of the "God" whose power so vastly eclipsed their own. Even so, a glimmer of doubt flickered in Shura's eyes.
What on earth could have happened that was so severe it required Lord Enel to summon all four Priests and the entire elite force of the Holy Land simultaneously? Logically, even if they were dealing with the hidden Shandians—the only faction posing any real threat to them—such a massive mobilization was entirely unnecessary.
Before long, at almost the exact same time the Straw Hats were making Conis's acquaintance, the Four Priests and the soldiers of the Holy Land gathered at the shrine per God's decree.
Inside the magnificent stone hall, the atmosphere was so heavy it was suffocating.
The Four Priests had all arrived. They each held themselves differently, yet all shared the same perplexed, quietly apprehensive look in their eyes. Behind them stood fifty heavily armed Divine Soldiers, arranged in perfectly disciplined ranks. These elite warriors of Sky Island all kept their heads bowed, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
Everyone's gaze was fixated on the elevated throne at the center of the shrine.
Sitting there, cross-legged and remarkably casual, was a lone figure. Enel.
He was shirtless, his lean, muscular physique fully on display. His posture looked lazy; he propped his chin on one hand and rested a foot nonchalantly over the armrest of his throne. Yet, the look in his eyes was so freezing it chilled them to the bone.
"I called you here…" Enel finally spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in everyone's ears. "…because there is a task I need you to perform."
As the words settled, the suffocating tension in the hall loosened just a fraction.
The Four Priests exchanged glances, collectively sighing in relief. So he just had a job for them. It wasn't because God was furious and planning to punish them.
They all knew just how deeply terrifying God's power truly was. Having absolute mastery over lightning, it wouldn't even be a stretch to call him an "almighty god." To date, not a single soul had ever escaped his divine judgment—even the previous God of Sky Island had fallen to his might.
"But before I issue my orders, I must inform you of a grave crisis threatening God's Realm!"
!!!
Everyone jolted in shock. The Four Priests lost control, snapping their heads up to stare at Enel in sheer bewilderment.
They all suspected they'd misheard him. A crisis? Here? In the divine realm ruled by Enel himself? How was that even possible?!
"You heard me correctly." Noticing the utter disbelief on his subordinates' faces, Enel spoke again, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "Just moments ago, a monster with power rivaling my own illegally entered our holy realm from the Blue Sea! At this very second, they have already infiltrated Angel Island!"
An immediate uproar swept through the hall.
Shura couldn't hide his uncertainty. "Lord Enel… you… you must be joking, right?"
"Exactly! How could anyone possibly be as strong as Lord Enel?!" Ohm vigorously shook his head in denial.
The other two Priests rapidly nodded in agreement. They simply couldn't fathom the existence of a being equal to their master. In their eyes, Enel's might had transcended the realm of "human." They couldn't mentally digest the idea that someone on his level was currently breathing.
"Hmph!"
Enel let out a cold snort. Faced with his Priests' near-fanatical reverence, he felt zero satisfaction. Because he was dead certain that a true monster had entered his domain.
The exact moment they had entered the Cloud Canal and secretly observed him, he had sensed their presence using his Mantra. That overwhelming, indescribable aura—bearing down with the suffocating pressure of a prehistoric beast—was no hallucination!
It was undoubtedly an opponent so formidably powerful he had no choice but to take them seriously.
He didn't know why she had come to God's realm, nor had she shown any immediate intent to engage him in combat. But prideful as Enel was, how could he possibly tolerate a peerless rival casually touring his territory?
The moment she trespassed into his domain, she became his enemy. Even if she was a monster from the Blue Sea, she was still a "criminal" fated to suffer Enel's divine judgment!
Still, Enel wasn't stupid. He knew full well that executing a beast of that caliber wouldn't be simple. Even if he was confident he could defeat this Blue Sea invader, she hadn't come alone. She had brought several companions, all radiating power on par with his own Priests.
If he launched a solo assault, he risked walking straight into an incredibly disadvantageous ambush. Not to mention, they were currently situated right in the densely populated heart of his realm. If a battle broke out there, regardless of the victor, half of his divine nation would likely be obliterated in the crossfire.
Therefore, Enel had summoned his elite vanguard to devise a way to isolate the monster for a pure, undisturbed one-on-one duel. As long as there was no outside interference, he didn't believe he could lose to anyone.
Additionally, before addressing these foreign invaders, there was one more piece of housekeeping he needed to handle.
"Whether you four idiots believe it or not, you will execute my upcoming orders with absolute precision. Should you fail me in the slightest, I wouldn't mind letting you taste my divine judgment yourselves."
Enel locked his icy gaze on his four subordinates, tendrils of electricity crackling viciously in his eyes.
"Y-Yes, sir!!!"
"We will obey your command to the letter, Lord Enel!"
Terrified by his warning and realizing he was dead serious, the four of them scrambled to answer.
Enel stared coldly at them, enunciating his next words clearly.
"I order you to take every man you have and drag out… every last Shandian hiding in this divine land!"
The Shandians. The outcasts of this holy territory, whose land had been stolen by the Skypieans four hundred years ago. Yet over these past four centuries, they never truly left. They lay dormant in the shadows, constantly warring to reclaim their home from the ruling Gods.
Even when faced with Enel, the single most powerful "God" in history, these Shandian warriors stubbornly refused to surrender.
Previously, Enel hadn't bothered wasting his time on rats that scurried through the underbrush. He had merely dispatched his Priests and soldiers to swat them away. But the Shandians boasted remarkable combat prowess, with some warriors rivaling the Four Priests themselves. Consequently, several extermination campaigns had ultimately ended in failure.
However, things were different now. A truly matched adversary had stepped onto his soil.
In order to deliver his flawless judgment upon her, he would not permit a single variable to interfere.
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