However, what Sengoku said next made the faces of the five highest authorities in the world change drastically!
"We just received an emergency frontline report from Admiral Borsalino! The battle situation at Lulusia's harbor has rapidly worsened!"
Sengoku then relayed everything Kizaru had reported to the Gorosei.
"W-What?!"
"The entire fleet was destroyed?!"
"The Celestial Dragons… are all trapped there?!"
The Gorosei instantly lost their composure! Vice admirals dead! The fleet wiped out! Celestial Dragons captured! Any single one of those was enough to shake the world!
"All nineteen Celestial Dragons are trapped—?!"
"What the hell was Garling doing?! What the hell was the God Knights doing?!"
"Trash! Every last one of them is trash!!"
After a brief, deathly silence, the Gorosei erupted in collective fury!
Nineteen Celestial Dragons! Not one or two—nineteen! The bloodline of the world nobles, the descendants of the Creators! And they'd all been left behind in that dangerous country!
They couldn't even bear to imagine what would happen next. If that person's wrath were provoked, then even they—Gorosei or not—would face the harshest punishment.
And if this news spread, what kind of terrifying chain reaction would it cause across the entire world?! The World Government would face its gravest crisis of trust and internal turmoil since its founding eight hundred years ago!
"That idiot Garling! Does he not understand that the first priority is ensuring the safe evacuation of Their Lordships?!"
"The God Knights actually let the enemy destroy every ship?! What were they even doing?!"
"And CP0?! Why wasn't there any advance warning?!"
"Nineteen! Those are nineteen exalted Lordships! If even one of them comes to harm… Garling's guilt will be beyond redemption!!"
The Gorosei could no longer maintain their usual dignity and calm. They roared in frustration, blamed one another, and dumped every bit of responsibility onto Garling and the God Knights—like they'd forgotten it was they themselves who approved this insane "hunt," and it was they who granted Garling the authority to make on-the-spot decisions.
Right now, their hearts were full of rage at Garling's failure to protect them properly. But even if they wanted to punish the God Knights, they had no chance—because they understood that Garling had likely already fallen into the enemy's hands as well.
Peter-sei slammed a palm onto the armrest of his chair. Forcing down his fury, he said coldly:
"Sengoku! I don't care what method you use! Immediately—at once—mobilize every force Marine Headquarters can deploy! Including the Science Unit! At any cost, rush reinforcements to Lulusia's harbor!"
"The primary objective is not annihilation. It is rescue! Ensure the absolute safety of every world noble Lordship! Bring them back without a single hair out of place!"
"If any Lordship meets with misfortune… then completely wipe out the Lulusia Kingdom!"
Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi. He had no way to ignore the Gorosei's order, but against an existence that even the God Knights and a marine admiral couldn't handle… only by gathering the Marines' entire top-tier fighting power could there be even a chance.
The connection cut.
Inside Pangaea Castle's council hall, the Gorosei looked at one another. Nineteen Celestial Dragons trapped in mortal danger—this responsibility was far too great!
"Lock down the information immediately! This must never leak!" the Gorosei ordered at once.
And yet, the very next day, brand-new newspapers—delivered by News Coo—flew toward every corner of the world.
The World Economy News Paper, front page headline!
That bold, enlarged title instantly seized the eyes of everyone who picked up the paper!
"Heaven-Shaking Upheaval! Nineteen World Nobles Perish in Lulusia! Marine Admiral Driven Back, God Knights Crushed!"
Beneath the headline was an ultra-clear black-and-white photograph!
In the photo stood the Lulusia Kingdom's King of Lulusia—Ronan! He stood atop a field of ruins. Behind him were nineteen hastily erected wooden stakes, looming like crosses, grimly towering skyward!
On each stake, a corpse was bound with iron chains—each wearing a shattered bubble helmet. The corpses' postures differed, but without exception, all had already lost the breath of life. Only the clothing that symbolized the "Descendants of the Creators" stood out with brutal clarity.
Nineteen Celestial Dragons! A full nineteen world nobles—executed right at the harbor of the Lulusia Kingdom.
The article's content was described in striking detail: how the King of Lulusia, Ronan, led his subordinates into battle against the World Government and the Marines; how he crushed the Celestial Dragons' guards; how he beheaded three marine vice admirals; how he even drove back Admiral Kizaru; how he captured the God Knights' commander, Garling; and how he successfully executed all nineteen Celestial Dragons.
Reading the account, it felt as if you'd witnessed it with your own eyes.
That single piece of news detonated across the entire world.
And at the same time, deep within Pangaea Castle in the Holy Land, Mary Geoise—
Inside the council hall, an unprecedented dead silence pressed down.
"How dare he? How dare that brat do this to the Celestial Dragons?!"
"This is a declaration of war against the World Government. We must respond!" Saturn-sei said through clenched teeth.
…
"Morgans, that damned filthy bird!!"
"We clearly issued the most severe lockdown order! How did he get the information?! And this photo—was he on-site the whole time?!"
"Nineteen world nobles executed, and photographed, and spread across the world…"
"This is the most thorough trampling of the World Government's eight-hundred-year authority! Our prestige—on this day—has been wiped away entirely!"
The Gorosei argued fiercely.
"Ronan, the King of Lulusia." Marcus-sei's eyes brimmed with pure killing intent. "He must be utterly destroyed. Along with every trace of that country—erase it from the map!"
"And the Marines! Kizaru, that piece of trash!" Topman-sei roared. "He actually brought the Marines back like that, completely ignoring the Celestial Dragons' safety!"
"Now is not the time to pursue blame!" Saturn-sei's voice crushed the clamor. "What matters is recovering the situation. What matters is revenge!"
Saturn-sei's gaze swept across the other four, and he issued his order word by word:
"First: immediately activate every World Government asset under our command. Hunt Morgans across the entire world—dead or alive! I want that loudmouthed filthy bird to pay for his actions with his life!"
"Second: issue the highest bounty to the entire world. Ronan, the King of Lulusia—and all of his core members—dead or alive…"
(End of Chapter)
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