Chapter 177: Shattered Plans
Before the Marines could even recover from their astonishment, something far more terrifying happened.
Several enormous sword waves burst from the ruined corner of the base.
They tore diagonally through the buildings in their path, cutting across the Marine structures with terrifying precision. The vast base was split apart like a cake beneath a clean knife, entire sections sliding away in slow, unnatural silence before gravity finally dragged them down.
Boom!
The collapse shook the ground.
Dust and debris surged into the air, but almost no one looked toward the fallen buildings.
Their eyes were fixed on the sky.
A cerulean slash filled their vision, brighter than the clouds overhead and sharper than the blue sea beyond the harbor. It was already massive, but what truly froze everyone in place was something even stranger.
It was growing.
Like a person tempering themselves through battle, the sword wave expanded as it flew. The farther it traveled, the larger it became. What had begun as a slash that destroyed only a corner of the base swelled several times over in the span of a breath, making it impossible to guess how large it would become before it vanished.
The pressure from it swept downward.
Powerful gusts pressed against the Marines below, forcing them to lower their heads and brace themselves. For a moment, even breathing felt difficult.
Then the other cerulean slashes expanded as well.
They dropped closer and closer to the ground, only a few meters above the drill ground. The Marines beneath them finally snapped out of their daze. Panicked cries erupted as men scattered in every direction, no longer daring to stand there and stare.
All of it happened in seconds.
The slashes screamed over their heads, crossed the wide drill ground, and raced toward the harbor.
There were no buildings between the drill ground and the sea. Everyone could clearly see the huge sword waves descend upon the ocean.
The sea split.
Several deep gashes tore across the water's surface, and the waves churned violently, as though the ocean itself had cried out in pain.
Only after the cerulean slashes disappeared into the distance did the Marines slowly drag their gazes back.
Whether those sword waves had finally dissipated or continued to grow somewhere beyond sight, no one knew.
The attack had come from the captain's quarters.
Was it Captain Axel?
Or was it someone fighting him?
Without realizing it, the Marines on both sides had stopped fighting.
Compared to those sword waves, their previous brawl suddenly seemed childish. Bruises, wooden blades, rubber bullets, pride between branches of the Marines, none of it mattered now.
Everyone wanted to understand what was happening first.
Then a figure shot out from beneath the collapsing structure and landed on the drill ground.
It was Lucci.
He had already returned to his human form.
The Enies Lobby Marines reacted first. After all, Lucci was their temporary commander for this mission. Temporary or not, he was still their superior under the Chief Judge's orders.
Captain T-Bone stepped forward, his expression still shaken.
"Sir, what happened?"
As a swordsman, T-Bone understood the meaning of those earlier slashes better than most.
He carried the title Ship Cutter. His sword could send out slashes capable of cutting through vessels. Yet compared to what had just crossed the sky, that title almost felt like a joke.
His slashes could cut ordinary wooden ships.
Those slashes could sever steel warships.
Lucci glanced at him but gave no answer.
He had not come down to explain himself to subordinates. He had come for a wider battlefield.
The room above had been too restrictive. Inside that narrow space, Axel's every movement produced countless blades. Dodging had been nearly impossible. Even while using Kami-e, Lucci had still suffered several cuts.
Fortunately, they were only shallow wounds. They did not hinder his movement.
By now, his body had mostly recovered, displaying the tenacious regeneration of a Zoan. The fatigue from the blow near his heart had also faded, which was why he had released his Kami-e Bushin form.
Seeing Lucci remain silent, T-Bone did not press him.
He noticed Lucci's attention was not on him, but on the ruined room above.
Those slashes had come from there.
But who could have produced them?
When had such a figure appeared in a small Marine branch like San Faldo?
T-Bone did not immediately think of Axel.
He had read the newspapers delivered by the News Coo. He knew the captain of this base was a child. Even if that child had trained from infancy, T-Bone found it impossible to believe he could possess such power.
Then, before anyone could react, another figure appeared on the drill ground.
Straight white hair framed his face neatly. A breeze swept across the field, lifting a few stray strands into the air. His crimson eyes carried a strange, demonic gleam, but behind them was a depth far beyond his age.
The Marines of San Faldo recognized him immediately.
Lieutenant Commander Levi rushed out from the crowd.
"Captain Axel!"
Axel did not answer.
His reaction was as cold as Lucci's had been.
He ignored Levi completely and focused all of his restrained destructive impulse on Lucci.
"Soru."
His body vanished.
In the blink of an eye, while everyone was still stunned, Axel collided with Lucci, who had already transformed back into his leopard form.
This time, Lucci did not dodge.
He met Axel head-on.
But even in a direct clash, Axel held the advantage.
Lucci's body was knocked backward, sent flying toward the harbor. Axel followed without hesitation, swinging his wooden blade and releasing a sword wave that streaked after Lucci through the air.
Lucci twisted his body mid-flight and used Moonwalk to evade.
At that instant, a white figure appeared above him.
Like a volleyball player spiking a ball, Axel struck downward in mid-air and smashed Lucci away again.
"Is that... our captain?"
The San Faldo Marines stared blankly.
They knew their captain was strong.
But this was absurd.
At their age, most of them had only just begun physical training. Many probably could not even defeat an adult. Yet the child in front of them was fighting a monster from Enies Lobby in mid-air and forcing him back.
And judging from the sword wave he had just released, the strange cerulean slashes from earlier had undoubtedly come from him.
Commander Eulia witnessed the scene as well.
His face turned ashen.
Everything was happening too quickly.
There had been no time to plan, no time to maneuver, no time to seize the moment he had been waiting for.
Not long ago, he had been calmly drinking tea in his room. Then several sword waves had sliced straight through the building, forcing him to leap away in a panic. The subordinate who had been speaking with him had collapsed to the ground, apparently overwhelmed by the strength Captain Axel had displayed.
"Useless," Eulia muttered under his breath.
That brat's strength was indeed shocking.
But strength and authority were not the same thing.
Within the Marines, rules and procedures still mattered. Power alone did not erase the hierarchy.
That meant he still had a chance.
At least, he should have had one.
Who could have expected such a reversal?
A training exercise.
Who would have imagined it would become this?
Eulia had planned to act before Axel appeared on the battlefield, or at least wait until the situation tilted in his favor.
He never expected the captain to tear the stage apart the moment he moved.
His carefully prepared plans had been shattered before they could even begin.
.....
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