Only at this moment did the war truly begin in full.
Whether it was the Sky Pirates or the Marines, nearly all of their main forces had now entered the battlefield.
From the very beginning, Yemu had understood this war clearly.
The ones who would truly decide the outcome of this war were never the top-level fighters represented by Yemu himself.
The reason was simple. This was not the Summit War of Marineford.
Whether it was the Sky Pirates or the Marines, their strongest fighters were all terrifyingly young and at the absolute peak of their strength, unlike Whitebeard, who had long been plagued by illness.
In that kind of prime condition, with the strength and toughness of these high-level monsters, it would be perfectly normal for them to fight for days and nights without deciding a winner. But ordinary Marines were different.
Even the elite Marine Vice Admirals would reach their limit after a full day of high-intensity battle.
And this war would not last that long.
Yemu would not allow it to last that long either.
After the repeated bombardments, the Marines had suffered heavy losses, but to be honest, it still was not enough to affect the entire battle, especially with so many high-level fighters protecting them. Compared to the Marines' terrifying firepower, the Sky Pirates' firepower was still somewhat lacking.
And so, at this moment, nearly fifteen Marine Vice Admirals leading more than eighty thousand Marines were about to face all the captains of the Sky Pirates' three great fleets, along with sixty thousand Germa Corps soldiers and twenty thousand pirates.
On the surface, this could absolutely be called a fair fight.
In terms of high-level combatants, the Sky Pirates were not inferior at all.
The First Fleet, the Thunder God Pirates, was led by High Priest Stuart Wiggins and the Twelve Priests.
The Second Fleet, the Sun Pirates, was led by Deputy General Jinbe and the three top officers.
The Third Fleet, the Sword Wind Pirates, was led by First Mate Doug Rice, along with ship's doctor Dr. Indigo and their pet, Scarlet.
Among them, Stuart Wiggins, Jinbe, and Doug Rice were unquestionably powerful. Their strength could already be said to be close to surpassing the Vice Admiral level, and if they continued to grow, becoming Admiral candidates would be a sure thing.
The others might be a little weaker, but with the help of Devil Fruits and fish-man physiques, they would not fall far behind.
Not to mention, there were also squad captains who had mastered Zoan Devil Fruit abilities.
This battle was absolutely evenly matched.
"Then let's go!"
"Everyone, charge!"
"Take down these Marines!"
In an instant, countless pirates from the fifteen pirate ships rushed forward under the lead of their captains. The dense crowds seemed ready to swallow the Marines completely. Behind the Marines, the Germa Corps also raised their weapons and charged across the re-formed ice.
Facing attacks from both front and rear, the Marines truly began to panic.
But at this moment, they had no choice.
"Don't panic! Now is the time to carry out the Marines' justice!"
"Kill them with me!"
"Take down these pirates!"
Compared to the earlier cannon fire, the slaughter that followed would be even bloodier.
...
Meanwhile, as the battlefield entered its most intense stage, Golden Crow Island, which should have been the center of the fighting, had instead become eerily quiet.
From the start of the war until now, every battlefield had remained on the frozen sea, while this place had been left untouched.
But no one would ignore it, because the enormous air door standing on the shore, with soldiers continuously emerging from it, told everyone that this island was far from empty.
Under the dazzling light, on the unfrozen sea behind the enormous island, something seemed to be moving across the surface through the refraction of the air, almost invisible.
Only after it approached the shore did the transparent world gradually reveal itself amid a roaring sound. Five Marine warships appeared there.
On their decks stood tens of thousands of CP soldiers in black suits, weapons in hand.
This sudden change drew everyone's attention, along with a sense that something was terribly wrong.
Because even a fool could see that at this moment, the Sky Pirates' rear was completely undefended.
With tens of thousands of densely packed CP soldiers appearing, the Sky Pirates, who had originally been attacking the Marines from both front and rear, were instantly the ones caught in a pincer attack.
And what surprised everyone even more was this.
Looking at them, these five warships and tens of thousands of CP soldiers clearly did not belong to the main battlefield before them.
In other words, had the Marines deployed not twenty-five warships this time, but thirty?
And their forces were not limited to one hundred and fifty thousand Marines plus ten thousand CP agents, but also included these CP soldiers who had suddenly appeared?
Judging from this, the number of soldiers the Marines had deployed this time was probably close to two hundred thousand.
Everyone watching the war was once again shocked by the sheer scale of it.
...
"Did it succeed?"
On the Marines' flagship, Sengoku looked at this scene, and his long-suppressed heart finally felt a trace of relief.
Wary of the Sky Pirates' intelligence capabilities, Sengoku naturally could not place all of his forces in plain sight for this war. But because there were far too many eyes on the Marines, the only way to make a surprise move was through CP.
And now, aside from Fire Dragon Yemu, the Sky Pirates could be said to have sent out all of their main forces.
Zephyr against Tiger, Borsalino against Enel, Sakazuki against Erik, the unnamed woman against Kuzan, the Marine Vice Admirals against the various captains, and the Marine soldiers against the Germa Corps and the pirates of the three great fleets.
All known and unknown forces of the Sky Pirates had appeared. Now was the time to close the net.
Still, even as Sengoku thought this, the unease in his heart kept him from relaxing. But the situation had already reached the point where the arrow was on the string and had to be loosed.
If they did not seize this opportunity and establish victory in one stroke, then the outcome of this war would truly slip out of the Marines' control.
With that in mind, Sengoku did not hesitate. He picked up the Den Den Mushi and issued the final order.
"All Marines, listen to my command! Attack!"
"Wipe out the Sky Pirates completely..."
But just then, ten nautical miles behind Golden Crow Island, CP0's Hammond, who had originally succeeded in carrying out the encirclement strategy against the Sky Pirates, had no time to feel pleased before an ugly scene appeared before him.
A man like an enormous black bear, holding a Bible in his hand, appeared in the path of the advancing CP soldiers.
"Bartholomew Kuma..."
"Why? Why are you here...?"
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