When the sky began to brighten, the Domain of the Gods had already been almost completely overrun by the Revolutionary Army.
At this moment, Dragon stood before a massive castle. The structure was crawling with guards, packed densely along the walls and battlements.
Not long ago, the Revolutionary Army had organized several assaults, but they'd all been repelled.
Compared to the previous Celestial Dragon guards, the troops defending this castle were obviously stronger and far better organized.
This puzzled Dragon, though at the same time, he understood something important.
If nothing unexpected had happened, this castle likely contained the Celestial Dragons' core secrets. Mary Geoise hadn't sent sufficient reinforcements to support the battle in the Domain of the Gods. Perhaps they were extremely confident in this castle's defenses?
As long as this castle remained unbreached, the losses throughout the Domain of the Gods were acceptable?
At this point, Dragon genuinely wanted to break into the castle and discover what secrets lay hidden inside.
But there were also experts stationed within. He'd tested their defenses several times and found it definitely wasn't something that could be taken quickly.
Just as Dragon was contemplating countermeasures, a Revolutionary Army cadre hurried over. "Mr. Dragon, Lord Ivankov has observed a Marine fleet rapidly approaching from the sea. Twenty warships total, flying the flag of former Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr!"
"Zephyr?" Dragon murmured, then took one last long look at the castle before asking, "How's our operation progressing?"
"Nearly complete. There are still a few Celestial Dragon residences that haven't been captured, but massive amounts of wealth and supplies have been looted and transported. Lord Morley has buried everything in the Red Line," the Revolutionary Army cadre reported.
"Good." Dragon nodded, then said, "Prepare to evacuate."
After speaking, he looked at the towering castle once more. Even knowing valuable secrets must be hidden within, he didn't have enough time to explore it.
Under Dragon's command, the Revolutionary Army soon began withdrawing in an orderly fashion.
As the sky gradually brightened, Mary Geoise's defending forces quickly organized an effective counterattack.
Many slaves who'd been rampaging through the night were swiftly suppressed.
Dragon had no solution for this, but most of the ordinary slaves had already evacuated with the Revolutionary Army and Tiger during the night. Those still fighting in the chaos either had death wishes and wanted to battle the World Government to the bitter end, or were those insane pirate slaves—many of whom had once been famous pirate captains. As pirates who'd been captured and enslaved by Celestial Dragons, suffering unimaginable humiliation, now that they had a chance for revenge, how could they simply evacuate with the Revolutionary Army?
If you didn't turn Mary Geoise completely upside down, were you even a pirate?
Dragon had no way to deal with such people. Let them stay or go as they wished. He'd already done what he could. The rest was fate's choice.
When Dragon led the Revolutionary Army's retreat to the port, a fierce battle had already broken out. Marine warships had directly surrounded the harbor, and continuous artillery fire seemed intent on submerging the entire port.
The moment Dragon descended from the elevator, he saw Ivankov being knocked from the sky by Zephyr's punch. The Marine fleet was tightening its encirclement and attempting to land forces on the beach.
However, many defensive artillery batteries had been built into Mary Geoise's port, and now they were all under Revolutionary Army control. Return fire was fierce, making it difficult for the warships to approach. Only some officers, relying on their own strength, could forcibly break through to the port.
Without time to hesitate, Dragon transformed into a breeze and immediately intercepted Zephyr. Without even turning around, he shouted, "Iva! Arrange the evacuation!"
Ivankov didn't hesitate. He immediately ordered the ships in the harbor to begin diving. The vessels here were all coated for underwater travel. The Revolutionary Army had brought numerous ships. Following his orders, and despite several being sunk by warship fire, a large number successfully submerged into the deep sea.
"Dragon! You've done quite the deed!" Zephyr roared, his fist coated in Armament Haki as he hammered toward Dragon.
Dragon, using the same Haki, blocked Zephyr's strike and said softly, "Teacher Zephyr, what's done is done."
"If we capture you here, maybe we can still salvage the situation!" Zephyr shouted furiously.
And so, Zephyr and Dragon clashed at the port.
But ultimately it was meaningless. After covering the evacuation of most ships, Dragon had no intention of fighting to the death with Zephyr. He simply slipped away.
Zephyr truly couldn't do anything to stop Dragon.
Pursuit was impossible, and now wasn't the time for it anyway. The most correct choice was to quickly lead his forces to extinguish the fires and restore order in Mary Geoise.
Soon, under Zephyr's leadership, over twenty thousand Marines rapidly deployed to Mary Geoise. Under the Five Elders' orders, they took over the Holy Land's defense and began systematically extinguishing the fires.
When Dragon had been present, the flames couldn't be controlled. Now that Dragon had escaped and strong winds no longer affected the situation, the Marines took charge and quickly brought the fire under control.
This made the Five Elders acutely aware of the gap between the Marines and those bastard Army troops, as well as Mary Geoise's so-called defense forces.
But even so, it took Zephyr more than two days to completely extinguish the fire that had swept across the entire Holy Land.
In the original timeline, the Mary Geoise arson case caused by Tiger alone hadn't been nearly this catastrophic. The World Government had needed only one day to put out the fire.
Now, due to Dragon's intrusion and the Revolutionary Army's assistance, most of Mary Geoise had been reduced to ashes.
The economic losses totaled an unknown number of trillions of Berries. A large number of nobles and high-ranking World Government officials had died in the chaos. Even when the Revolutionary Army attacked the Domain of the Gods, more than a dozen Celestial Dragons had perished.
At this moment, the Five Elders stood on the top floor of the World Government's headquarters building. Looking around, they couldn't see any trace of Mary Geoise's former prosperity.
Everything was charred black, vast expanses of ruins, like a vision of hell on earth.
Due to the high temperatures from the fire and the series of chaotic events, the Five Elders were anxious and furious. Stress blisters had formed at the corners of their mouths.
In the office, they stared down at the kneeling World Government officials, Army generals, the head of the CP agencies, and the Commander-in-Chief of the entire military, Pask.
The Five Elders' rage was beyond measure.
"Do you have anything to say?" Saint Saturn asked in a low, dangerous voice.
Pask quickly raised his head. "My lord, my lord! I have already—"
"You are the one who deserves to die the most!" Saint Nusjuro suddenly shouted. In front of everyone, without giving Pask, the Commander-in-Chief of the entire military, any chance to make excuses, he suddenly drew his long blade.
The next second, he slashed Pask's neck with one clean stroke and mercilessly beheaded the Commander-in-Chief on the spot.
Blood splattered across the floor and the Elder's robes. Pask's head, eyes still wide open, rolled twice across the ground before coming to rest.
The office fell silent.
Those Army generals, pampered sons of nobility who'd spent their lives waiting to inherit wealth, had never witnessed such a scene. They were terrified beyond words.
After directly beheading the Commander-in-Chief with a single blow, Saint Nusjuro looked at Zephyr standing to the side. "Zephyr, go contact Kong and tell him to rush to Mary Geoise as quickly as possible."
"Yes!" Zephyr stood at attention and saluted.
Zephyr hadn't encountered any difficulties upon arriving at Mary Geoise. After all, this matter had nothing to do with the Marines, and Marine rescue had been timely. If not for Zephyr, Mary Geoise would probably still be hosting an impromptu barbecue.
"Also, your Marines' Anti-Corruption operation should be ceased immediately. Recall all Marine officers involved in the operation and return them to Marineford quickly. During this period, you'll have to work hard leading the Marines currently in Mary Geoise and be responsible for the Holy Land's security," Saint Nusjuro continued.
Zephyr nodded again. "Yes."
"As for you scum!" Saint Nusjuro pointed his blade at those still kneeling on the ground, a flicker of disgust burning in his eyes. "You all deserve to die!"
After saying this, the Elder gave a subtle nod, and guards quickly escorted these usually high-ranking figures out of the office.
The Five Elders had made it very clear. These people must die.
No one paid any attention to the cries and pleas of these useless parasites. Zephyr quickly left the office as well.
Soon, only the Five Elders remained.
"It's been investigated thoroughly. The castle in the Domain of the Gods has not been breached, and that thing is intact..." Saint Peter spoke.
As soon as he finished speaking, the other four Elders visibly relaxed.
They could accept the economic losses Mary Geoise had suffered, the deaths of so many people, and even the deaths of more than a dozen low-level, useless Celestial Dragons. Those losses they could stomach.
The only thing that absolutely could not be harmed was the fortress deep within the Domain of the Gods.
Because that was the World Government's—no, it should be said, the Celestial Dragons'—most important trump card!
"Next, let's think about how to handle the aftermath," Saint Saturn said gravely.
"This matter can't be concealed. So many slaves escaped, and the Revolutionary Army was involved..." Saint Warcury said.
Moreover, how could they possibly hide the fact that Mary Geoise had burned to such a terrible extent? They couldn't just claim it was an accidental fireworks display by the Celestial Dragons, could they?
"Don't mention the slave issue," Saint Peter said after thinking for a moment. "Announce to the public that the Revolutionary Army launched a conspiracy against Mary Geoise and set fire to the Holy Land, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of people and trillions of Berries in economic losses. The entire Mary Geoise Army Corps was sacrificed, including Commander-in-Chief Pask, who died heroically in Mary Geoise... If we can't hide this news, at least make it sound tragic."
Anyway, the general direction had to be established. This matter couldn't be concealed, but it did need to be carefully polished.
"Hold them accountable! These damned parasites must be held accountable!" Saint Warcury suddenly said furiously.
He was genuinely enraged.
Such a holy place had been burned to the ground?
Those damned Revolutionary Army forces, showing off their might here, looting the Domain of the Gods, and then withdrawing calmly?
This was the greatest humiliation the World Government had experienced in the past eight hundred years!
What was more critical was that these consequences weren't caused by the enemy being too cunning or difficult to deal with.
It was entirely the fault of Mary Geoise's defense forces. They'd brought this upon themselves.
These bastards had been corrupt and neglectful in their duties, which ultimately led to such a catastrophic problem that the Five Elders had to clean up the mess.
It would be strange if the Five Elders were in a good mood. Unless they caught these bastards and executed them all, they'd never be able to let go of the hatred in their hearts!
It was no wonder that although Mary Geoise's fire had burned the Holy Land to ashes, it had actually eliminated much of the World Government's corruption.
A blessing in disguise, perhaps?
"Of course those people must be dealt with mercilessly, but what should we do about the positions they leave vacant? Let the Marines fill them?" Saint Saturn asked.
"No. Power can't be concentrated in the Marines' hands like that. We still need the CP agencies to fill the gaps," Saint Peter said. After a brief pause, he continued, "But the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Army can be given to Kong. It's time to give the Marines some benefits. We can't let our relationship continue deteriorating like this. Didn't that Finn also submit an application? When he returns to Marineford, have him meet us in Mary Geoise."
Until now, the Five Elders still believed that Finn had been "giving in" by submitting an application for anti-corruption action to them.
"Then let's recall Stussy first. She's a capable one," Saint Nusjuro said after thinking for a moment.
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