BOOM!
The thunderous sound of a violent explosion erupted, as scorching flames and thick, roiling black smoke swallowed Arlan and Smoothie. A savage shockwave swept outward, making the earth tremble and splitting the ground into a dense, spiderweb-like network of fissures.
Immediately after, a chain of intense detonations tore through the black smoke. Powerful gusts of wind expanded in ring after ring, dispersing the clouds of soot again and again, only for them to reform moments later.
"Punch Burst!"
Arlan let out a sharp shout as he swung his fist. A terrifying gale of pressurized air erupted from his knuckles, laden with explosive force. It crashed into the ruins of a house several dozen meters away, blowing the entire structure to pieces.
The massive blast sent a hailstorm of brick and stone debris flying into the sky, which then plummeted to the ground like deadly rain.
Smoothie dodged Arlan's explosive wind, weaving deftly through the debris rain. With a thunderous "Haa!" she raised her longsword high and slashed downward toward Arlan with all her might.
WHOOSH!
The sword wind whistled, slicing through the air. A colossal blade of energy erupted, cleaving the ground like a hot knife through butter. The strike extended forward, carving through building after building until it vanished at the edge of the horizon.
A deep, narrow trench, two to three meters wide, remained on the earth, stretching for several miles like a natural canyon.
Arlan lunged, unleashing the Soru from the Rokushiki arsenal. He arrived before Smoothie with near-teleporting speed. Without a word, Smoothie swung her longsword at him, the meter-long blade enveloped in a sharp, wind-edged aura that seemed capable of splitting the very heavens.
Arlan did not evade. He hardened his fist with Armament Haki and met her steel head-on. Every impact triggered a violent explosion, either pushing his opponent back or sending him sliding across the dirt.
Due to the nature of his Devil Fruit ability, Arlan's combat was inevitably loud; every punch and kick acted like a detonated crate of high explosives, resulting in massive, thunderous blasts. As for Smoothie, perhaps inheriting the sword techniques of Big Mom herself, her sword waves were like the attacks of the Giants, colossal and brimming with raw power. Every swing cleaved the earth, leaving behind a bottomless, jagged ravine.
One was a high-ranking executive of the Chris Pirates; the other, a Sweet Commander of the Big Mom Pirates. Their battle raged like a forest fire, earth-shaking and violent, to the point where ordinary soldiers dared not come near.
"Perorin~"
Perospero stood atop a four-story-tall ruin, licking his long tongue as he watched the fierce duel taking place three streets away.
Below the tower, at a busy intersection, thousands of Big Mom Pirates and Chess Soldiers gathered. They had established a temporary stronghold, setting up batteries of cannons on surrounding buildings to control the nearby streets.
"Perospero-sama, shouldn't we go and help Smoothie-sama?" a pirate asked, confused.
"Do you have any idea who Smoothie is? She is one of the Sweet Commanders! Perorin~" Perospero glanced at the pirate, his tone dripping with absolute confidence in her.
Nearby, however, Mont-d'Or stared intensely ahead with a sinister expression, occasionally looking down to scribble something into the book tucked under his arm.
Suddenly, Mont-d'Or looked up, his face grim. "We must find a way to break through the Chris Pirates' defensive line, or at least ensure our own isn't broken."
"I have a terrible feeling about this. It feels like we've overlooked something crucial!"
The battle in Unzan Port had devolved into urban street fighting, a far cry from a skirmish on an open plain. It was a brutal, room-by-room, street-by-street struggle for control. Both sides were locked in a constant race to dominate the city's arteries and key terrain, especially high-ground positions and bridges. Possession of these meant the ability to set up crossfire, isolate enemy units, and annihilate them one by one.
The intersection where Perospero stood was one of the main thoroughfares of Unzan Port. Being elevated and surrounded by high buildings, even if they were mostly ruins, made it a prime strategic point to shell the surrounding areas.
More importantly, just one kilometer ahead lay the inner keep of the port city's governor. That was the forward command post of the Chris Pirates. If the Big Mom Pirates took the inner keep, the Chris Pirates' command system would be paralyzed.
However, Mont-d'Or noted that the offensive had been suspiciously smooth. The Big Mom Pirates had broken through three defensive lines in a row, marching straight into the city center. Beyond this point lay the heart of the Chris Pirates' main encampment.
He didn't recall the Chris Pirates being this weak. It felt as if... they were intentionally baiting them, drawing their battle line further and further forward, and luring them into committing more and more of their troops.
"Let's go, Perospero-sama! We guarantee we'll break through their lines!"
"That's right! Mont-d'Or-sama, they're just the Chris Pirates!"
"I'll take the commander's head myself and offer it to Mama!"
The pirates nearby began to scream and howl, brandishing their weapons with savage, bloodthirsty glints in their eyes.
Mont-d'Or frowned at his subordinates' arrogance. He remained silent, preparing to call the rear to check for any anomalies.
ROAR—
"Advance! Charge!"
"Kill every last one of those Big Mom Pirates bastards!"
At that moment, from the street ahead, a sound like a tidal wave of war cries erupted, growing closer by the second. Several bipedal Dragonians appeared on the street, standing face-to-face with the front-line guards of the Big Mom Pirates.
Behind them surged an endless tide of animated constructs, creatures running on the ground and flying through the air, interspersed with hundreds of mechanical spider-monsters and metal wolf-automatons.
Behind them all, ten thousand strong, came the main force of the Chris Pirates and the Kingdom Army.
Hundreds of gargoyles, strange birds, giant eagles, griffons, and pegasus-knights launched the first strike from the skies. These stone and metal constructs were fearsome, immediately launching a power-assault on all surrounding high-ground positions.
"Get out of the way!"
Marcus roared as he leaped off the back of a giant metal eagle, landing on the ruins of a collapsed building. He gripped a massive ringed blade and slashed repeatedly, sending a squad of pirates reeling back, leaving a dozen corpses in his wake.
"Don't get cocky, Muir Marcus!"
A booming shout echoed through the air.
A hulking man in full armor, wearing an airplane-style helmet, charged forward and threw a crushing punch at Marcus.
Charlotte Saint-Marc, the 22nd son of the Charlotte Family!
BOOM!
Suddenly, a cannonball whistled from the sky, detonating right in front of Saint-Marc, blowing him backward before he could dodge.
A metal griffon flew overhead. Fernal Rock poked his head out from behind the creature's neck and shouted downward: "Marcus, don't get tangled up! Focus on taking out the cannons on the high ground!"
"I know that! You don't need to remind me!"
Marcus grumbled, his voice thick with irritation.
The air was soon filled with the roar of gunfire and the sounds of brutal slaughter as the fight intensified across the ruins of the city.