Chapter 36: Stalemate
Jack returned to Dressrosa in a fury, and after acquiring six Apollos, he hurriedly left again, indicating that Kaido's territory was definitely facing no small problem.
Doflamingo naturally noticed this as well. Jack's departure from Dressrosa meant he could only rely on his own forces to resist the Big Mom Pirates.
The Big Mom Pirates had attacked Dressrosa twice. The first time left the Don Quixote Family with heavy casualties, and the second time they were driven back by the Apollos.
When the Big Mom Pirates launched their third assault, it might not be something that could be repelled by Apollos alone. Katakuri's next arrival at Dressrosa would surely be with thorough preparations, at least with a strategy to counter the Apollos.
Inside the villa's living room, a gaunt old pirate stood beside Doflamingo, speaking in a low, respectful tone.
"You may withdraw now."
Doflamingo's expression remained calm. After the old pirate left, he sighed. There were some things he couldn't share with anyone, such as the fact that the Don Quixote Family's casualties had already exceeded 60%.
Doflamingo took out a Den Den Mushi from his bosom. Usually decisive, he now hesitated. He was hesitating whether to summon an old partner back to Dressrosa. That person had infiltrated the Marines and risen to the rank of Rear Admiral. If he recalled him, all those years of effort would go to waste.
After the brutal landing battle, the Don Quixote Family had not only suffered heavy losses among its pirates but also among its officers. Aside from the severely wounded, only five were still fit for combat: Pica, Baby-5, Buffalo, Senor Pink, and Dellinger.
Among these five, Doflamingo trusted Pica, Dellinger, and Senor Pink more. The remaining two he found unreliable.
Baby-5 had a serious personality flaw and couldn't be entrusted with important tasks. Buffalo wouldn't betray him, but his abilities were limited, and his strategic thinking was lacking.
At this moment, Doflamingo suddenly realized he had few capable people at his disposal. His only 'reliable' ally was also extremely dangerous.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Doflamingo always had a strange feeling that Su Xiao was deliberately prolonging the war, but he had no solid evidence.
Just as Doflamingo was deep in thought, hurried footsteps approached.
"Young Master, something terrible has happened! The Big Mom Pirates have arrived in the coastal waters again."
The newcomer was Buffalo, panting heavily as if he had rushed back from the sea.
"Which landing point are they preparing to use?"
Doflamingo remained much calmer. The Big Mom Pirates' attack was inevitable.
"I... I don't know."
Buffalo's voice trailed off.
"You don't know?"
Doflamingo eyed Buffalo suspiciously, causing him to shudder.
"Young Master, they came with over fifty ships. After entering Dressrosa's coastal waters, they scattered, seemingly not planning to land at the designated points."
"..."
Doflamingo waved his hand, signaling Buffalo to continue scouting. Buffalo hurried out of the villa, the propeller on his neck spinning as he quickly ascended into the sky.
"Troublesome."
After Buffalo left, Doflamingo clenched his fist. He had already figured out the Big Mom Pirates' strategy.
Dressrosa was almost entirely surrounded by massive rock formations. Including the harbor, there were only seven viable landing points. Attacking from any of these would invite Apollo strikes.
Now, the Big Mom Pirates weren't approaching the landing points, meaning they planned to land from the rocky cliffs.
The rocky cliffs were easy to defend and hard to attack. Under normal circumstances, the Big Mom Pirates wouldn't land there unless they were willing to suffer several times the casualties.
But under the threat of the Apollos, Katakuri chose to attack from the cliffs. This meant the Big Mom Pirates would surround Dressrosa, then split into squads of three to five, stretching the front line into a ring.
Left with no choice, Doflamingo ordered his pirates to climb the cliffs. Members of the Don Quixote Family lay prone on the rocks in small groups, waiting for the Big Mom Pirates to attack. Why prone? Standing at such a height would make them easy targets.
Half an hour later, sounds of battle erupted along the coast. The Big Mom Pirates used grappling hooks to scale the cliffs, while the stronger ones climbed bare-handed.
Katakuri didn't act. He stood at the bow of a ship, preparing to end the war in the safest way, even if it meant the greatest losses to his own side.
If it came to a numbers game, Doflamingo was no match for Big Mom. The only reason the fight had lasted this long was that Kaido was keeping Big Mom occupied.
In truth, compared to the Dressrosa battlefield, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido were more troubled by their own territories. An unknown force had appeared in their domains—small in number, but killing people and destroying buildings.
Jack's sudden departure from Dressrosa was due to this very reason.
The sounds of battle and explosions were incessant. The rocky cliffs around Dressrosa had become a battlefield, with pirates fighting atop the rocks. The good news was that the Big Mom Pirates couldn't break into Dressrosa in the short term.
Since Katakuri wasn't acting, Doflamingo naturally wouldn't appear on the battlefield either. Both sides were watching, waiting for an opportunity.
Su Xiao sat on the villa's rooftop, surveying the coastal battlefield. After Cracker was shot in the head by Su Xiao, the Big Mom Pirates' commanders had become noticeably more cautious, no longer daring to expose themselves easily.
What had started as a landing battle had turned into a stalemate, which was good news for Su Xiao. His pirate reputation was steadily increasing. Two hours into the stalemate, his pirate reputation ranking had once again reached first place.
[First Place: Bai Ye (Third Rank), Pirate Reputation 9906 Points.]
[Second Place: Kutu (Fifth Rank), Pirate Reputation 9872 Points.]
[Third Place: Qianmeng (Fifth Rank), Pirate Reputation 6825 Points.]
...
Su Xiao only checked the top three. The gap between third-place Qianmeng and fourth-place Player was nearly double. Even if Su Xiao did nothing and let the fourth-place Player catch up, it was uncertain whether they could surpass him before the derivative world ended.
As long as no major upheaval occurred, the contractors below Qianmeng posed no real threat to Su Xiao. However, Qianmeng's pirate reputation was skyrocketing, seemingly faster than Kutu's.
This was because Qianmeng and Kutu had split up, or rather, Qianmeng had begun to let loose. Normally, Kutu wouldn't dare let Qianmeng run wild. In her normal state, Qianmeng was a gentle and refined lady, but when she switched to another personality, she became a madwoman no one wanted to provoke.