Marco advanced again like a war god, and the shadow of death hanging over Momonga grew heavier with every step.
At that critical moment, Momonga gritted his teeth and used the last of his strength to leap backward.
"Retreat! Fall back!"
His hoarse shout echoed across the battlefield, carrying equal parts resolve and helplessness.
Several loyal Marines immediately rushed forward and formed a wall of flesh between him and Marco, risking their lives to cover Momonga's retreat toward the rear.
"Run! These commanders are monsters!"
"We thought we'd gotten strong, but every last one of them has top-tier Haki!"
"Screw this! Retreat!"
Their figures darted through the flames and smoke, every step fraught with danger.
...
Elsewhere, Vice Admiral Yamakaji was facing an equally terrifying opponent—
Kingdew in his hybrid dragon form.
Kingdew radiated a fearsome presence, every movement carrying tremendous destructive force.
Yamakaji swung his sword, unleashing a fierce slash coated in dark energy. He had expected the attack to inflict serious damage.
Instead—
Kingdew smashed it apart with a single dragon claw coated in top-tier Armament Haki.
The sharp crack of the attack breaking apart sounded almost like fate itself mocking the Vice Admiral.
Before Yamakaji could recover from his shock, Kingdew seized the opening.
His enormous dragon tail whipped through the air like a steel cable and slammed into Yamakaji's side.
Yamakaji immediately hardened his body with Armament Haki.
It made little difference.
BOOM!
Several ribs snapped beneath Kingdew's crushing Dragon Tail Sweep.
The pain nearly robbed Yamakaji of consciousness as his entire body was launched backward like a leaf caught in a hurricane.
He crashed into a pile of rubble and disappeared beneath a cloud of dust.
The impact finally overwhelmed him.
Yamakaji lost consciousness.
His subordinates immediately charged through the crossfire, risking their lives to drag him back to safety.
...
Smoker's Logia abilities should have given him a considerable advantage.
His ability to freely transform into smoke normally allowed him to move through a battlefield with exceptional mobility, slipping through enemy formations before attacking from unexpected angles.
Unfortunately, his opponent was anything but ordinary.
As their battle intensified, Smoker immediately transformed into smoke.
His body dissolved into a swirling white cloud as he attempted to conceal his movements and launch a surprise attack.
He raced toward his target like a ghost, fully expecting to catch the enemy off guard.
But his opponent seemed to have anticipated everything.
The instant Smoker approached, a devastating blow wrapped in top-tier Haki erupted straight through the cloud of smoke.
BOOM!
The overwhelming strike blasted Smoker back into his physical body.
His jitte flew from his hand and spun away through the air.
Even the cigar clenched between his teeth dropped onto the dusty ground.
Smoker crashed down onto one knee, his battered body trembling slightly.
He raised his head and glared at the seemingly unstoppable opponent before him.
Defiance still burned in his eyes.
Even in such a miserable position, the stubbornness buried deep in his bones had not disappeared.
Smoker spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.
"Tch."
Then he activated his Devil Fruit again and dissolved into smoke, retreating rapidly in search of an opportunity to regroup and counterattack later.
...
At the same time, Hina was barely holding her own.
Her Cage-Cage Fruit should have been extremely useful in this kind of battle, but its effectiveness had fallen dramatically against opponents wielding such overwhelming Haki.
Recognizing the danger, Hina immediately used one of her strongest techniques.
Black iron bars erupted from the ground and rapidly intertwined into a dense cage around her opponent.
But the enemy was simply too strong.
Haki surged around his body.
He clenched both fists and tore through the seemingly sturdy bars as though they were made of paper.
Fragments scattered everywhere.
The counterattack followed immediately.
Hina relied on her mastery of the Six Powers to weave desperately through the incoming strikes.
Every dodge demanded everything she had.
Sweat covered her forehead as she forced herself to keep moving.
But the attacks were simply too fierce.
Even at full effort, she could not avoid them all.
A sharp flying slash cut across her arm.
Blood sprayed instantly, staining her once-pristine pink coat a vivid red.
A trace of frustration appeared in Hina's eyes.
She knew perfectly well that, under the current circumstances, defeating the opponent in front of her was no longer realistic.
She stomped the ground in frustration.
"Hina is very disappointed!"
Despite the frustration in her voice, she immediately changed tactics.
Hina ordered her troops to provide alternating cover as they began an organized retreat toward the rear.
...
On another part of the battlefield, Strawberry remained under enormous pressure.
Vista's devastating Hakai Flash had struck him before he could evade.
A horrific wound had been carved across his chest, blood pouring from it and rapidly staining the ground beneath him crimson.
His breathing had become weak and uneven.
He could barely remain standing, much less continue fighting.
Two loyal Marine officers hurried to his side.
One supported him from the left and the other from the right as they helped the badly wounded Vice Admiral retreat toward the fleet behind them.
Their steps were hurried yet heavy.
And with every wounded officer being carried away, the brutality of the battle became increasingly impossible to ignore.
...
The situation suddenly collapsed like a towering mountain giving way—
The Marines were being routed.
The battle-hardened Vice Admirals, officers who should have been pillars of the entire Marine force, had suffered an unprecedented defeat.
Their collapse was like the first domino falling.
The chain reaction spread almost instantly.
The once-orderly formations descended into chaos, while the fearless determination that had filled the Marines' eyes was replaced by panic and despair.
The remaining Vice Admirals had still been gritting their teeth and desperately holding their ground, but after seeing the strongest among them fall back one after another, their fighting spirit shattered completely.
Morale plummeted.
The confidence and pride they had carried into the war disappeared, replaced by helplessness and frustration.
At such a critical moment, they could no longer rely on their authority or strength to organize an effective defense.
The Marines' once-disciplined command structure began to break down as well.
Orders failed to reach their destinations.
Units lost direction.
"The Vice Admirals have been defeated!"
No one knew who shouted it first.
But that cry of despair struck the battlefield like a thunderbolt.
Then came another.
"RETREAT!"
Soon, cries of retreat spread through the Marine ranks like a raging tide.
Panic moved through the soldiers like a disease.
Without the Vice Admirals holding everything together, the entire force suddenly found itself without clear leadership.
The Divine Kingdom commanders immediately seized the opportunity.
They unleashed their full strength and charged like tigers descending from the mountains, tearing into the Marines with overwhelming momentum.
The Guard Corps, having finally stabilized its formation, followed close behind.
Working alongside the commanders, they formed a powerful offensive that the Marines could no longer contain.
The carefully planned Marine assault collapsed completely.
Their once-sharp offensive edge snapped apart, replaced by a full-scale retreat.
Soldiers began abandoning equipment and fleeing in disorder.
Some thought only of saving their own lives and ignored the comrades around them.
Others became so confused that they simply followed the crowd without even knowing where they were running.
At the center of the battlefield, the Divine Kingdom alliance's morale surged.
Their fighters raised their weapons and roared in excitement, their voices shaking the sky.
Then they launched a full counterattack.
Steel flashed.
Blood sprayed.
Battle cries mingled with screams, transforming the battlefield into a scene of absolute carnage.
The Marines, meanwhile, were left in miserable condition.
The ground behind them was littered with wounded soldiers and corpses, the earth soaked dark red with blood.
Those still capable of moving fled desperately toward the waiting ships.
Their footsteps were hurried and disorderly, as though some enormous beast were chasing close behind them.
The collapse of the Vice Admiral battle line had dealt the Marines an enormous blow.
It marked the first time during this supreme confrontation that their forces had suffered such devastating damage.
The losses were severe.
Their morale was shattered.
And their pride had taken an even greater beating.
...
The situation continued deteriorating.
The entire section of the battlefield commanded by the Vice Admirals collapsed like a row of dominoes.
What had once been a rock-solid defensive structure became nothing more than scattered troops, shattered positions, and fleeing soldiers.
Morale had fallen to rock bottom.
At that critical moment, Marco, Vista, and the other Divine Kingdom commanders did not hesitate.
Their gazes immediately shifted toward the endangered main battlefield.
The fighting there remained brutal.
Battle cries shook the sky.
Blood sprayed through the air, staining nearly every patch of ground crimson.
They all understood the same thing.
Every second mattered.
They had to reinforce the Guard Corps immediately and reduce their losses as much as possible.
"Guard Corps! Hold on! We're coming!"
Marco threw back his head and roared.
Blue flames exploded around his body, blazing so fiercely they seemed ready to set the sky itself on fire.
Then he shot forward.
Marco became a brilliant streak of blue light, racing toward the most intense part of the battlefield.
His figure flickered through the smoke and flames, carrying an unstoppable determination.
Vista, Kingdew, Squard, and the other commanders followed close behind.
Their expressions were resolute as they charged after Marco like a group of sharpened blades plunging directly into the Marine formation.
Wherever they passed, Marine soldiers turned pale with fear.
The arrival of the commanders immediately changed the balance of power on the main battlefield.
Until now, the Guard Corps had only barely managed to contend with the elite Marines through the sheer variety of their strange Devil Fruit abilities.
Once the Marines began using Black Vortex on a large scale, however, the Guard Corps found itself at an enormous disadvantage.
Their defensive line had steadily contracted.
Fighters fell one after another.
The situation had become desperate.
But now—
Everything changed.
The commanders possessing top-tier Armament Haki had arrived.
Their overwhelming auras swept across the battlefield like war gods descending from the heavens.
The weak dark gravitational fields produced by ordinary Marine soldiers barely affected them at all.
They simply ignored the attacks and continued advancing.
Marco plunged straight into the panicking Marine ranks like a tiger crashing into a flock of sheep.
His fists were coated in top-tier Armament Haki, every strike carrying overwhelming force.
Whenever he spotted a Marine attempting to use Black Vortex, Marco immediately drove a fist into them.
BOOM!
The unfortunate soldier was sent flying like a broken doll, crashing into the ground and throwing up a cloud of dust.
The dark energy they had been producing collapsed instantly beneath Marco's overwhelming strength.
One after another, the Marines' greatest countermeasure against Devil Fruit users was being smashed apart.
And with the Divine Kingdom commanders now tearing through their lines, the retreat only grew more desperate.
...