Chapter 28: The Heavenly Group
Su Xiao stood on the railing of the Moby Dick, a mechanical eye flying out from his sleeve. This was the Apostle's Eye, which he planned to use to scout the defensive line the Navy had set up on the plaza.
The Apostle's Eye rose to about a hundred meters and stopped. Su Xiao activated shared vision, using the Apostle's Eye to get a bird's-eye view of the entire battlefield.
The Whitebeard Pirates' side was ignored for now. A large number of ships flying various pirate flags were blocking the U-shaped harbor. Only about a hundred pirates remained on these dozens of ships, responsible for guarding the outer sea to prevent the Navy's ships from encircling them.
The seawater inside the U-shaped harbor had frozen. Starting from the Moby Dick where Whitebeard stood, there was a vast expanse of ice ahead. Countless Navy soldiers and pirates were fighting on the ice. The wounded were wailing on the ground, and countless pirates were limping forward after being hit by stray bullets.
Skipping past this battlefield and continuing forward was the port. The Seven Warlords of the Sea stood on the port. Except for Hawkeye, who had just slashed out a strike to test the gap between himself and Whitebeard, the other Warlords hadn't made a move.
Past these Warlords, in the plaza within the port, there was another large group of Navy soldiers on standby. As they watched the battle on the ice below, they seemed eager to join. Participating in this kind of war was dangerous, but it was also an excellent opportunity for promotion.
Beyond these Navy soldiers stood the Giant Vice Admirals, lined up in a row. Behind them was the execution platform where Ace was located. Directly below the execution platform were several powerful Vice Admirals: Garp, Tsuru, Momonga, and Onigumo were all there.
And behind the execution platform were the three Navy Admirals. Two of the three seats were already empty. Aokiji and Kizaru had already joined the battle. Although they hadn't done much, their presence on the battlefield was a deterrent. Only Akainu remained guarding the rear of the execution platform.
The Apostle's Eye flew back into Su Xiao's hand. If he wanted to rescue Ace, he would first have to fight through the ice battlefield, then cross the Seven Warlords of the Sea, break through the Navy troops on the plaza, face the Giant Vice Admirals, and then deal with Tsuru, Garp, Onigumo, and the others. Even if he got past all that, the defensive line of Sengoku and Akainu was still a problem.
Therefore, it was fundamentally impossible for Su Xiao to directly fight his way through and complete the mission of rescuing Ace. His plan was to personally clear out a section of the Navy, create a breakthrough point, and then let the pirates under Whitebeard charge forward to fill the gap. This would both draw fire for him and hold back the Navy in that area. Su Xiao would then repeat this process until he pushed all the way to the execution platform.
As for whether the pirates under Whitebeard were willing to be 'used,' they wouldn't care at all. Right now, they also wanted to fight their way over, but there were too many Navy soldiers. If Su Xiao really helped them create a breakthrough, the pirates would charge over immediately without needing any reminder from him.
This plan seemed like a fantasy, but Su Xiao had assessed his own strength. His combat power was on par with an Admiral. If he fought for his life, he might be a cut above an Admiral.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao contacted Bubu Wang, instructing him to stand by near the execution platform. If the opportunity was right, he could directly rescue Ace and pull the rug out from under them.
Although Su Xiao's plan was simple and crude, if his strength was sufficient, the success rate wasn't low.
Jumping down from the railing, Su Xiao walked toward the bow.
Whitebeard, standing at the bow of the Moby Dick, heard the footsteps behind him. He knew who it was without turning around. That dense blood aura could only belong to the doctor who had performed surgery on him earlier.
"Kukulin, the Revolutionary Army won't let you get involved in this war. Go back."
Whitebeard turned his head to look at Su Xiao. Out of gratitude for Su Xiao healing his injuries, he wanted Su Xiao to leave Marineford.
"Go back? Go back where?"
Su Xiao smiled, gazing into the distance at the execution platform.
On the execution platform, Sengoku, who was directing the battle through several messengers, immediately noticed Su Xiao.
"This bastard."
"Huh? Marshal, what did you say?"
The messenger behind Sengoku was stunned, clearly not understanding what 'this bastard' meant as an order.
"Send word to Borsalino. Have him monitor Kukulin Bai Ye. If he enters the battlefield, kill him without mercy."
"Yes, sir!"
The messenger hurried away. Sengoku's expression gradually darkened. Su Xiao had appeared on the Moby Dick, and from the looks of it, he seemed to be talking with Whitebeard about something. Judging by their stances, the two were clearly not in a superior-subordinate relationship, but more likely in a cooperative one.
Thinking of this, Sengoku clenched his fist. He knew what kind of person Su Xiao was. Having such a weapons expert on the side of the Whitebeard Pirates meant it wouldn't be strange for those pirates to pull out any kind of weapon. Or even... blow Marineford to pieces.
This thought had just appeared when it became stuck in Sengoku's mind. He had witnessed the explosive power of Apollo. Five, no, at most three would be enough to sink Marineford to the bottom of the sea.
"This bastard."
Sengoku repeated his earlier words. Ace, kneeling on the execution platform, looked up. He was ready to die or be rescued. Whatever the outcome today, he could accept it calmly. But... the Navy Marshal, Sengoku, had been personally insulting him, which left Ace somewhat puzzled.
As soon as Ace looked up, he saw a scene on the Moby Dick. A man he had never seen before was talking with his old man at the bow.
At the bow of the Moby Dick, Su Xiao ended his brief conversation with Whitebeard and stepped forward. He felt many prying eyes. This feeling was familiar—it was the sensation of being probed by detection-type equipment.
Su Xiao's gaze swept across the battlefield. On both sides of the ice battlefield were frozen giant waves. Behind these ice walls on either side were at least several hundred Contractors. Their ranks weren't high, probably those 1st to 3rd rank Contractors. The current battle situation wasn't chaotic enough yet, so they didn't dare show themselves.
Behind the ice wall, a girl wearing a thick cloth hat crouched down. Her hand was pressed against the ice wall, as if sensing something. Near her were dozens of Contractors, their eyes full of vigilance. This was a medium-sized adventure group called the Howling Heaven Group.
Initially, the members had objected. The name Howling Heaven Group seemed chuunibyou at first glance, but if you thought about it carefully, it was even worse than chuunibyou, making one think of an asthma group, a bunch of sickly people.
Unfortunately, the leader of the Howling Heaven Group overruled all objections, saying, "I'm the leader. Only I have the authority to name the adventure group. If you have a problem, try hitting me."
The result was that the female neurotic leader of the Howling Heaven Group, under the 'loving whipping' of her members, reluctantly accepted the name for the adventure group.
"Basically confirmed to be a 5th rank Contractor, and the kind so strong it makes your spleen explode."
The reconnaissance girl from the Howling Heaven Group spoke. The members nearby showed no change in expression.
"Exactly how strong?"
A woman wearing a white shirt and ultra-short denim shorts spoke. She was the leader of the Howling Heaven Group, calling herself Elsa, but the members called her the female neurotic. She had no authority but was deeply loved.
"I won't send you the specific data. Over a dozen strings of question marks. No need to look. The only thing I can detect is the Charm attribute... only 2 points."
The reconnaissance girl reached up and pressed her forehead. She couldn't understand how this was possible. A 5th rank Contractor with 2 points of Charm. Assuming the initial value was 5 and it only increased by 1 point per rank, it should have reached 10 points.
"This is a weakness!"
The female neurotic pressed her hand against the ice wall, her expression serious. Apart from her personality, this woman's appearance and figure were definitely at the level of a sexy goddess.
"Weakness my ass. We're only 3rd rank. Even if all of us charged at him, we probably wouldn't last a few minutes under his blade."
The reconnaissance girl slapped the female neurotic leader on the back, producing a crisp sound.