One Piece: A Warlord's Path-Chapter 697: Literal Meaning

Shing—!

In the waters near Valanfort, four ships of the Chris Pirates lay at anchor, battered and scarred. The crews were working feverishly to repair the damage.

On the sub-ship of the Chris, Dimitri, Mina, Cavendish, and the Vito gang were gathered around a map of the Bivins Kingdom, their expressions grim.

"It’s chaos... total chaos," Mina muttered to herself, staring blankly at Dimitri. "How did it come to this? Marvi VIII is actually dead! Crofort has been occupied by those scumbags from the Church of the Night!"

Dimitri was equally dazed.

They had been invited by the Bivins royal family and nobility to suppress the rebellion. But now, the King was mysteriously dead, and nearly every noble in the capital had been wiped out. How were they supposed to complete the mission? More importantly, a large portion of their commission remained unpaid! 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Furthermore, Sriya and the others were still trapped inside Ronalfort. They couldn’t just abandon their comrades.

Because the port of Valanfort had become too dangerous, the surviving nobles and merchants had fled, allowing the Church of the Night to seize control of the coastal batteries. Though the pirates were loath to retreat, they had no choice but to pull back from the harbor under the threat of heavy artillery.

In the vast harbor, only the four ships of the Chris Pirates remained. Around nine o’clock that morning, Dimitri’s group had engaged in a fierce skirmish with the Church.

The Church of the Night, now in control of the coastal cannons, had initiated the attack. They had mobilized over ten thousand troops and a massive amount of artillery to coordinate a land-based assault on the harbor.

Facing the barrage from dozens of coastal batteries and an army of thousands, Dimitri and his men managed to destroy most of the batteries and inflict heavy casualties, but they paid a steep price. All four pirate ships were damaged, and they suffered three to four hundred casualties. It was a staggering blow.

If Dimitri hadn’t been a More-More Fruit user, capable of massively amplifying the power of their own cannons, one or two of their ships might have been sent to the bottom of the sea.

After a long silence, Dimitri spoke. "The death of Marvi VIII puts us at a severe disadvantage, while the Revolutionary Army remains largely unaffected." He paused, then continued, "Whatever happens, we have to get Sriya and the others out first. That batch of Warrior-T13 Offensive Exoskeleton Combat Suits and those six Dragonians absolutely cannot fall into the hands of the Revolutionary Army or CP0!"

"Then let’s contact them and punch a hole through their lines together!" Vito said in a low, heavy voice.

"We should have slaughtered those bastards in Valanfort from the start!" Cavendish shouted indignantly. "This time, I’m definitely going to take down that Razalo guy!"

"Hah! If Hakuba comes out, maybe you’d have a chance. As for you... forget it," Muir Marcus mocked, looking Cavendish up and down.

"What! What did you say?! You bastard!" Infuriated by the taunt, Cavendish exploded in rage, looking ready to scrap with Marcus then and there.

Ignoring their bickering, Fernal Rock pointed to the location of Ronalfort on the map. "Sriya and the others are surrounded. They’re in serious danger. Who knows what those nobles in Ronalfort are thinking now?"

Ronalfort was over 150 kilometers away from Valanfort. Between them lay several small castles, rugged mountains, and rivers—it was right in the heart of Dorona Island. If the nobles in Ronalfort or those intermediate castles defected to the Church of the Night and coordinated an interception, that journey alone would be a nightmare.

"I’ll order the External Affairs Department to scout for a landing point or a gap along the coast," Mina said softly, her finger tapping the table. "First, I’ll report the situation to the Captain and see what he decides."

The group fell silent for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"It’s settled then."

"Agreed."

"Report to the Captain!"

...

Clifford Kingdom.

6,000 meters above the Royal Capital, Nakor City — Alvis Island.

"Captain, according to the reports from Sriya and Andrei, the Warrior-T13 Offensive Exoskeleton Combat Suits performed excellently. Especially the integrated small-scale railguns; the power is staggering!"

In a laboratory at the ground base, Vade was gesturing excitedly toward a set of black exoskeleton armor, introducing it to the man before him.

"Good work, Vade," Aeridar praised with a light smile, watching the fanatical inventor.

The production cost of a single Warrior-T13 suit was five million Berries. With its impressive defensive capabilities, it was set to become standard gear for the combatants and elite warriors of the Chris Pirates, significantly boosting their mid-to-low-tier fighting strength.

"I must say, Enel-sama’s Rumble-Rumble Fruit abilities are a perfect match for mechanics!" Vade looked at Enel, his eyes burning with an almost literal flame of fervor.

"Oi, oi... stop looking at me like that, you freak," Enel muttered, shuddering slightly.

Pere pere pere... pere pere pere...

Suddenly, the sound of a Den Den Mushi echoed from Aeridar’s coat.

Aeridar raised an eyebrow, pulled out a small Den Den Mushi, and answered. "Mina, it’s me."

"Captain, we have a problem," Mina’s solemn voice came through.

The atmosphere shifted instantly. Aeridar, Enel, and even the eccentric Vade fixed their eyes on the snail. Mina quickly relayed everything that had transpired in the Bivins Kingdom.

"For all that to happen... Revolutionary Army, CP0... and some ’Church of the Night.’ There sure are a lot of jumping clowns lately," Enel mocked loudly from the side.

"So, what you’re saying is... we aren’t getting the rest of our payment?"

Aeridar narrowed his eyes, a trace of frost in his voice.

"Uh... yes, that’s correct," Mina replied, her voice faltering slightly. She hadn’t expected the Captain’s focus to be on the money, but she answered nonetheless.

"Then what should we do..." Aeridar pinched the bridge of his nose, sinking into deep thought.

"Captain, if you ask me, we should just wipe them all out—the Revolutionary Army, CP0, and that damn Church!" Enel barked impatiently.

Enel’s words were like a bolt of lightning clearing the fog. Aeridar looked up, a sinister, mocking smile spreading across his face.

"Heh... hehehe. We are pirates, after all. It’s been a while since we actually plundered a country."

He glanced at Enel and Vade. "The wealth of an entire nation... the taste of robbing a kingdom... it should be quite exquisite."

That single look sent a chill down the spines of both Enel and Vade.

"C-Captain, what do you mean?" Enel asked, swallowing hard.

"What do I mean?" Aeridar licked his lips with bloodthirsty intent. "I mean exactly what I said."

"We’re going to rob the Bivins Kingdom."

"This is a war of national extinction!!!"

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