Chapter 13: When Giant Wings Descend from High Heavens into the Forest!
"The G-51 Marine Branch located in Marster Port was attacked three days ago. Branch Colonel Aspert Campbell was killed, and Nismal Kingdom Royal Steward Mantel Das also died."
"Lieutenant Loy Amos of the Escort Unit, who was located in the nearby sea area, urgently returned to Marster Port. He led the branch's Marines in a nocturnal search for the attackers' tracks, but none have been found for now."
"Additionally, according to the World Government's assessment, Royal Steward Mantel Das might have leaked the location of the Heavenly Gold. Therefore, ships will be dispatched to relocate the Heavenly Gold from Alabasta Island."
On Alabasta Island, deep within the Arashit Great Forest.
A Marine, puffing on a pipe, was lying on a recliner, basking in the sunlight that filtered through the ancient, massive trees.
Leaning beside the recliner was a silver great katana.
And at this moment, the one reciting the intelligence was a subordinate standing before him.
"Leave."
At this moment, the Marine puffing on a pipe said in a deep voice.
"Yes, Commodore Lan Li."
The subordinate Colonel nodded: "We need to leave, but before that, you need to contact the warships coming to transport the Heavenly Gold to confirm the evacuation time."
But before he could finish speaking, he saw the Commodore in front of him glare at him irritably: "Idiot, I meant for you to leave *that spot*."
"You're completely blocking my sunlight, didn't you see?"
Hearing this, the Colonel was also stunned.
Only then did he realize that with the intelligence in his hand, he was indeed blocking the sunlight—especially in the Arashit Great Forest, where colossal trees often exceeded fifty meters in height, making the filtering sunlight incredibly precious.
So the Colonel hurriedly moved away from that spot, repeatedly chuckling: "My apologies, Commodore, I didn't notice."
"Next time, pay attention—in my hometown, blocking someone from basking in the sun is a serious crime."
Commodore Lan Li snorted coldly.
...
Upon hearing this, the Colonel inwardly thought, 'What kind of hellhole would have such a rule?' while outwardly nodding obediently in agreement.
However, immediately after, Commodore Lan Li let out a cold snort.
"As for relocating the Heavenly Gold—a bunch of cowards!"
The Commodore scoffed, clearly displeased with the World Government's judgment.
He turned his head and saw the massive building hidden within the forest behind him.
"This Golden House is located at the heart of Alabasta Island, an excellent stronghold concealed by the Arashit Great Forest."
"The four surrounding coastlines of the island have four bases responsible for guarding it. The nearby sea area is strictly prohibited for ordinary vessels, and it's extremely close to the Calm Belt, so there are massive whirlpools in the sea near the island, powerful enough to swallow even large ships."
"Who could possibly attack a place like this? What's more, it's less than a month until the Heavenly Gold is due to be transported. To relocate it at a time like this? Are the people at the top out of their minds?"
He grumbled like this.
"But it's an order, Commodore."
"Furthermore, the message was personally delivered by Vice Admiral 'Yamakaji'."
At this moment, the Colonel could only appeal to reason and emotion.
He knew very well that Commodore Lan Li was a Marine supernova, already holding the rank of Commodore at only thirty-five years old.
He had already mastered two types of Haki and was proficient in swordsmanship, possessing formidable strength. He was considered almost certain to be promoted to Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral within a few years.
And the only one who could persuade him, or even command him, was his master, the veteran Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral 'Yamakaji'.
It was strange to mention—known for his gentle yet powerful demeanor, Vice Admiral 'Yamakaji' unexpectedly had a disciple who was quite unruly.
And sure enough.
After hearing it was an order personally delivered by Vice Admiral 'Yamakaji', Lan Li's brow also furrowed.
Then
"So, I need to contact the warships, right? Bring me the Den Den Mushi."
He reluctantly raised his hand.
Thus, the Colonel, inwardly thinking 'It worked!', quickly picked up the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
"Commodore, there are a total of five warships coming to relocate the Heavenly Gold. You can use this Den Den Mushi to contact each one separately—this is a special Den Den Mushi from the World Government, capable of multi-channel communication, and it even has a voicemail function! There's already a message."
He said this, then noticed the Den Den Mushi had already started speaking.
"Commodore Lan Li, this is the 'Relocation Ship' coming to transfer the Heavenly Gold—but we encountered extremely strong winds en route, so the journey might be delayed by about half a day. We will enter the island from the south base port."
"Beep, the above message will exist for: three hours."
The Den Den Mushi simply reported the message and its expiration time.
Consequently, Commodore Lan Li's brow furrowed.
"Commodore, please don't be angry, it's seafaring after all—delays due to wind and waves are unavoidable."
Seeing this, the Colonel thought the Commodore was angry again and quickly tried to reassure him: "What's more, it's only been three days since the Marster Port attack—the fastest ship from Marster Port to here would still take at least a week, so there's no need to rush the Heavenly Gold relocation."
But he was cut off halfway by Commodore Lan Li's sharp shout.
"Idiot! Something's wrong with the situation!"
Lan Li said this, sitting upright from his recliner.
He was a perceptive person; at this moment, he had already sensed that something was amiss.
"This is Alabasta Island, an island near the Calm Belt. The nearby sea area might not even experience strong winds once a year."
He looked at the Colonel: "Contact the South Base, confirm the weather conditions in the southern sea area!"
"Yes, yes!"
Thus, the Colonel immediately saluted, then hurriedly took out a Den Den Mushi and dialed.
"Buru-buru-buru!" "Buru-buru-buru!" "Buru-buru-buru!"
The Den Den Mushi's ringing echoed through the quiet forest.
But until the very end, no one answered.
Consequently, the quiet forest seemed to grow even gloomier.
"Call the Den Den Mushi of the other three bases."
It wasn't until Commodore Lan Li's voice broke the silence that the Colonel hurriedly acknowledged the order and continued to pick up the remaining three Den Den Mushi to dial.
And likewise.
The three Den Den Mushi still rang 'Buru-buru-buru', but there was no response.
"Co... Commodore, this... this is."
Thus, even the Colonel, at this moment, had realized that something was seriously wrong.
"Contact the watchtower."
Commodore Lan Li had already picked up the great katana, gripping it with both hands as he stood up.
Consequently, the Colonel's face changed drastically again.
The watchtower—that is, the second-to-last line of defense for this 'Golden House', located outside the Arashit Great Forest.
But although he couldn't believe in his heart that the situation had deteriorated to this extent, he still followed the order and dialed the Den Den Mushi.
"Buru-buru-buru!" "Buru-buru-buru!" "Buru-buru-buru!"
The Den Den Mushi rang as usual.
With each ring, the Colonel felt as if his own heartbeat was roaring.
And until the very end...
"Haa... haa..."
The Den Den Mushi finally connected.
But from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, there was only a weak panting sound.
"Who is it? What happened?"
So the Colonel immediately asked loudly.
From the other end of the Den Den Mushi came a broken, intermittent voice: "I'm the wa... watchman haa... haa..."
The other party was clearly at their limit of weakness; at this moment, their voice was somewhat muddled and unclear.
"Attack... a wind monster from the sky..."
His words stopped there, and the Den Den Mushi suddenly fell silent.
Just like this quiet Golden House.
Then
"Commodore, I'll immediately go confirm the situation! Oh, right, there's also the defensive wall, I'll immediately go raise this forest's defensive wall!"
The Colonel immediately said.
Yes—as the storage location for the Heavenly Gold, defensive structures were specially built around the Golden House.
That was a colossal structure that, once activated, would be difficult for even a thousand armies to breach.
"Commodore?"
But soon, the Colonel noticed that Commodore Lan Li did not answer him directly.
Quite the opposite, the Commodore merely carried his nodachi, letting the blade hang slightly by his side.
He took a few steps forward.
The Colonel recognized it—that was the Commodore's combat stance.
And this stance was only used when facing a truly formidable foe.
Then
"No need."
The Colonel heard Commodore Lan Li's reply, and at the same time, he saw the Commodore raise his head towards a certain direction.
"They're already here."
"And this aura!"
Already here?
After hearing Commodore Lan Li's words, the Colonel also subconsciously raised his head and looked in the direction the Commodore was looking.
But it was precisely in the instant he looked up that he noticed something was wrong.
The Wind, it came.
It wasn't the gentle breeze common in the forest, nor was it a violent yet understandable hurricane.
It was a destructive airflow, accompanied by a colossal sound!
"Boom!"
That was the sonic boom produced by some colossal creature rapidly flapping in the air.
The immense strong wind made the Colonel feel almost completely unstable, and his face was stung by the sand and rocks in the wind.
And accompanying the wind was darkness.
Yes—at this moment, the precious sunlight that originally filtered through the gaps in the leaves of the forest had completely vanished.
Of course, the sunlight hadn't truly vanished; rather, it was being blocked.
By some colossal entity.
"What is that?"
Yes, at this moment, the Colonel had already seen it.
In the sky above the colossal forest, above the countless trees, a gigantic silhouette appeared.
That was a creature that should have disappeared in this era.
Its outstretched wings seemed to blot out the sky, and its wing membranes displayed a rock-like blue-gray color.
"What is that? Does that even need to be asked?"
But compared to the Colonel, Commodore Lan Li was smiling at this moment.
He gripped the great katana tightly, his eyes flashing with fervent fighting spirit.
"That's a monster!"
Three chapters today, please follow and read.
(end of chapter)