Chapter 565: Chaotic Battlefield
In summary, the war between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates was a battle of encirclement and counter-encirclement.
The Marines' lineup was undeniably formidable, but the pirates also had a way to break through. A portion of their forces appeared on the surface, drawing the Marines' attention, while Little Oars Jr. and a large number of pirate ships suddenly emerged from beneath the sea, directly penetrating the Marines' formation. Once the advantage of long-range artillery fire was neutralized, the Marines immediately began to suffer losses.
"Charge! Brothers!"
"Brothers! Charge!"
On one pirate ship, two burly men who looked very similar cackled, swinging their swords and commanding the pirates to engage the Marines in close-quarters combat. They were the Decalvan Brothers, twin captains. Both wore captain's hats with a double-skull emblem, each with a scar on their face, but the scars were on opposite sides. When they spoke, they also liked to reverse the order of each other's sentences.
The Decalvan Brothers were trusted pirates under Whitebeard's command, and they were in charge of this rescue operation.
Facing the tidal wave of pirate attacks, the Marine soldiers on various warships fought back bravely. However, the Marines' tactics required coordination to be effective. Now that they were separated by the pirates and forced to fight individually, they immediately found it extremely difficult, because the individual combat strength of the pirates was superior to that of the Marine soldiers.
Pirates who could survive in the New World, even if they were under Whitebeard's banner, were not to be underestimated.
Blood and slaughter filled the battlefield. Marine soldiers were constantly being cut down by pirates wielding swords, axes, and hammers. Similarly, pirates were constantly being hit by Marine bullets. The agonizing screams and battle cries intertwined, making the entire battlefield resemble hell.
People were constantly being injured and falling into the water. The blood from these wounded individuals mixed into the sea, gradually dyeing the surface red. The strong smell of blood also stimulated some ferocious carnivorous aquatic creatures to gradually gather.
A Marine soldier, after falling into the water, struggled to climb back onto his warship. He finally swam to the side, grabbed a rope ladder, and tried to climb up. However, unexpectedly, just as he was halfway up, the sea surface below suddenly exploded with spray. A several-meter-long ferocious horned shark with two sharp horns on its head shot up from beneath the surface, opened its mouth full of sharp teeth, bit the Marine soldier's feet, and pulled him down into the deep sea, leaving only a patch of bloody red gradually spreading up from below...
Those who witnessed this scene then realized with horror that the surrounding sea was filled with the dorsal fins of horned sharks. In addition, large carnivorous marine life like tiger-striped whales and leopard-print octopuses could also be seen. Anyone who fell into the water, whether Marine soldier or pirate, became their prey.
Before the crowd could recover from their terror, something even more formidable appeared. A damaged Marine warship was slowly sinking. The Marine soldiers on board collectively jumped into the water, trying to swim to other warships for help. However, perhaps because they were too densely packed, a gigantic creature suddenly burst up from beneath the surface. It was a one-eyed sea serpent. It opened its huge mouth and lunged at the group of Marine soldiers. After a splash, dozens of Marine soldiers vanished! All of them were swallowed into its belly.
Even a Sea King had appeared!?
At this point, both sides of the battle became even more terrified. The Sea King that had just appeared was relatively small. It was probably because the seabed here was shallow, limiting the water depth, so no larger Sea Kings were seen. But undeniably, with one Sea King appearing, more would follow. The battle between the two sides had created an excellent hunting ground for the creatures in the sea, and more and more Sea Kings would appear.
After swallowing dozens of Marine soldiers in one gulp, the sea serpent was still unsatisfied. It raised its head again above the surface. This time, its gaze locked onto a Marine warship where hundreds of people were fighting. Delighted, it opened its huge mouth and lunged towards the feast...
Seeing the Sea King approaching, both the fighting Marines and pirates were greatly startled. They hastily stopped fighting and scattered in all directions. However, unexpectedly, just as the sea serpent lunged down, a flash of light suddenly streaked across its neck.
The sea serpent's movement immediately stopped. A second later, its head slid off its body. A large amount of blood sprayed into the air, and its massive carcass collapsed into the sea.
The giant serpent head crashed onto the Marine warship with a thunderous roar. Some Marine soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were crushed under the head, screaming in terror.
"Shut up!" a voice rang out. A figure appeared on top of the giant serpent head.
It was a man with a face full of scars, a rugged appearance, and two curved mustaches. His left hand held a dripping longsword, while his right wrist was empty.
"Ah! Is that Vice Admiral Doberman!?"
The Marine soldiers immediately recognized the newcomer and cried out in surprise.
With "Fighting Dog" Doberman killing this Sea King as the starting point, the figures of the Marine Vice Admirals also appeared one after another, joining the battle against the pirates. They sought out the famous figures among the pirates and began to engage them. As a result, the pirates' momentum of slaughtering everything in their path was immediately curbed.
It wasn't just the Marine Vice Admirals. Other famous elite Marines also joined the battle at this moment. Hina and Smoker, one with a cigarette and the other with a cigar, used their Devil Fruit powers to trap and suppress the pirates charging at them, one by one. Although both were only Captains, due to their abilities, their efficiency in dealing with pirates was astonishing, even higher than some Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals.
Koby and Helmeppo were also there. The two had been taken under Vice Admiral Garp's wing and had become Marines. They had come along for this war. Unfortunately, the warship they were on was also caught up in the battle with the pirates. When they saw ferocious-looking pirates leaping onto the ship with swords and attacking the Marines, both of them trembled with fear.
They hadn't been Marines for long. Although they had undergone strict training and improved their strength, this was their first time participating in such a large-scale war. They couldn't help but feel panicked. Although they mustered up the courage to fight alongside the Marines, they were terrified inside.
In fact, their mentality represented the mentality of most Marine soldiers. Not to mention them, even some Marine Lieutenants Junior Grade and Lieutenants who had participated in a few battles felt weak in the face of such a brutal and cruel fight. How to put it? The Marines belonged to the order faction, and most of the time was peaceful. But pirates were different; they belonged to the chaos faction, especially the pirates of the New World. They lived in battle every day, not only fighting other pirates but also struggling against the climate and environment of the sea. The gap between the two sides in this regard was enormous.
Koby and Helmeppo fought back-to-back. But when a group of pirates noticed them and surrounded them, the two immediately found themselves in danger. Helmeppo was first cut on the arm, and he could no longer hold his sword with that hand. Seizing the opportunity, a pirate with explosive muscles all over his body grinned maliciously and swung a huge iron hammer at them.
If they were hit, they would either die or be seriously injured. However, just as Koby and Helmeppo thought they were finished, a figure suddenly darted out from the side. A slender figure swung a sword, and the tip of the blade pierced the hammer that the pirate was swinging.
A surprising scene unfolded. The pirate wielding the hammer looked like a strong and powerful brute. No one would doubt the force behind his hammer. But his huge hammer was easily pushed aside by the seemingly fragile sword tip. With a crisp *clang*, the pirate was actually sent flying backward by the rebounding force, sliding far across the deck...
Koby and Helmeppo finally came to their senses and looked at the figure who had saved them. Then they also cried out in surprise: "Commander Kuina!?"
However, Kuina did not respond to their surprised shouts. She had only saved these two Marine soldiers because she saw they were in danger and helped them on a whim. In fact, she didn't even know their names.
Kuina was now a famous figure at Marine Headquarters. Many people knew her, but she didn't recognize others...
She wore a Marine coat over her Marine uniform. Holding her sword with both hands, she delivered a swift and fierce slash, cutting down another pirate. As she moved, her Marine coat fluttered high in the air. Koby and Helmeppo watched this scene, thinking it was incredibly cool!
On the other side, a pirate ship had just destroyed a Marine warship. They set the warship on fire, then jumped back onto their own ship, looking for the next target.
However, at that moment, their pirate ship suddenly split apart without any warning, and it split cleanly into two halves!
"What's going on!?"
"Nick is dead!?"
"Damn it, someone save me! I'm falling!"
"Help! Help!"
The pirates on the ship were in chaos. Some unlucky ones, who were standing right on the split line when the ship broke apart, were also cut in half, their bodies falling in two pieces, blood gushing out like water. Other pirates fell into the water when the ship split. Knowing there were man-eating sharks in the water, they frantically called for help from those still on the ship. Some were luckier; they reacted quickly when they fell, managed to grab the edge, and were hanging on, also desperately begging for help.
After the pirate ship split, it slowly tilted to both sides, revealing a gap in the middle. The surviving pirates on the ship watched in terror as a coffin boat with a lit candle sailed through the gap.
On this coffin boat sat a man wearing a black hat and a cross hanging from his neck, sitting cross-legged. Behind him, a huge black sword stood upright, forming an even larger cross behind him.
"Hawk-Eye Mihawk!?"
The pirates on the ship immediately recognized him. One pirate, still hanging on the edge, couldn't help but ask indignantly: "Hawk-Eye! You're a pirate too, why are you helping the Marines!?"
Raising his sharp, blade-like eyes to glance at the pirate, Hawk-Eye Mihawk said expressionlessly: "Don't get it wrong. I'm not helping either side!"
"Then why did you cut our ship!?" the pirate asked, stunned.
"Because your ship was in my way!" Hawk-Eye Mihawk dropped an answer that left the pirates dumbfounded, then sailed through the gap between the pirate ship halves without looking back. The pirates could only watch him leave, filled with both fear and resentment...