The shadow that covered the sky and moon was like a massive mountain of black ink, crashing down upon Denvers' head.
Its terrifying might caused everyone below to turn pale, their hearts trembling.
The shockwaves compressed from the falling black mass slammed Denvers, who had just leapt over ten meters high, straight back onto the pirate ship like a dead fish, pinning him to the deck.
No matter how red his face became from exertion, or how much strength he used, he couldn't break free.
Then, in the very next instant—
In the horrified eyes of Denvers, Philip, and the other pirates, a gigantic ship descended from the sky with a deafening boom, utterly crushing Denvers and the entire 30-meter-long pirate ship beneath him—splintering it into flying debris and smashing it deep into the churning sea.
The mighty shark-man Denvers didn't even have time to scream before the ship's keel struck him, exploding his body on the spot into a mess of pulp.
BOOM!
Towering waves surged around the ship that had fallen from the sky, crashing down upon the sea.
"Na… Navy!"
The turtle-man Philip's eyes bulged in disbelief as he stared at the Qilin, now within reach.
Cardaru and the remaining Navy soldiers gathered behind him were equally stunned, staring dazedly at the massive warship like a mountain.
"It's… it's a warship! Vice Admiral Cardaru, it's a warship!"
One naval officer shouted in excitement.
"A warship flew down from the sky!"
"It's not one of our G2 Branch warships—who's the officer aboard that ship? Did they respond to our distress signal?"
"Denvers and his ship were crushed like nothing by that warship! It dropped from that height and yet came through without a scratch!"
Before the massive Qilin had even stabilized, its gunports on both sides erupted with blazing fire, shelling the two remaining pirate ships that still stood stunned.
WHOOOSH!
A violent gale swept the sky and sea. A terrifying figure, like a demon god, flew out from the giant ship, extending a hand capable of crushing steel. Under the stunned gazes of Cardaru and the other Navy officers, he grabbed Philip's head like a chick, yanking him off the deck.
The 2.5-meter-tall turtle-man Philip looked like a child next to the seven-meter-tall monstrous figure.
"Sp... spare..." Philip felt his head gripped by an unfathomable force, rendering him completely unable to retract it into his torso.
CRACK!
Red and white splattered from between Rorschach's fingers, spraying across the shattered deck. The headless corpse of the turtle-man was casually tossed aside.
"Who is Vice Admiral Cardaru?"
He turned to the bloodied group.
"I... I am. I'm G2 Branch Vice Admiral Cardaru. May I ask who you are?"
Cardaru took a deep breath, his voice trembling with excitement, unconsciously using an honorific.
The man before him exuded a storm-like, terrifying aura—his strength was utterly beyond imagination.
Far beyond even the powerful Vice Admiral Gumir from Cardaru's memory.
That fearsome Denvers, captain of the Giant Shark Pirates, and his vice-captain Philip, were slaughtered like chickens without even the chance to resist.
The terrifying figure in front shrank rapidly, transforming into a tall youth with silver hair and blue eyes.
Before Rorschach could speak—
The moment Cardaru and the other Navy officers saw his face, they looked at one another in shared astonishment and intense emotion.
He brought dozens of wounded soldiers forward at a brisk pace, stopping before Rorschach and speaking with excitement in his voice:"You… You're Rear Admiral Rorschach!"
"That's me."
"I'm sorry I was late," Rorschach said, his expression darkening as he looked at the scattered bodies of Navy soldiers across the deck of the warship.
"No! Rear Admiral Rorschach, you were already incredibly fast. It hasn't been long since I sent out the distress signal. To be honest, we had already given up hope. We never expected to receive timely reinforcements. The G2 base is too far away, and for Vice Admiral Gumir to arrive, it would've taken considerable time."
Cardaru followed Rorschach's gaze to the corpses around their feet, and his own face showed a trace of sorrow.
"They died with honor! Sacrificed for justice—they were all the Navy's bravest and most unyielding warriors!"
Two streams of blood-red tears flowed from the corners of Cardaru's eyes.
Behind him, every wounded officer and soldier silently shed tears as well.
Rorschach clenched his fists, then suddenly turned toward the two remaining pirate ships—already blazing—and hurled two streaks of lightning with a fierce swing.
BOOM! BOOM!The twin bolts of lightning crossed dozens of meters in an instant and struck the burning ships, triggering massive explosions that sent twin pillars of fire soaring into the night sky above the dark sea.
Countless flaming fragments of wood scattered like fireworks across the sea.
A hemispherical dome suddenly dropped down, and Law, dressed in a white military medic uniform and carrying a medical kit, appeared in front of Cardaru and the others.
"Let me treat your wounds right away. The most seriously injured first!"
As he spoke, Law walked toward Cardaru, whose abdomen had been slashed open with gruesome wounds, intestines nearly spilling out.
"The warship is too damaged—it's sinking fast. We can't stay here. Let's go to your ship," Cardaru said weakly.
"It won't sink! Law, do it now—we're on the clock."
Rorschach grabbed at the air with his large hand. Within a radius of a thousand meters, the air howled inward, forming invisible chains that tightly bound the heavily damaged warship. He forcibly halted its slow descent, anchoring it steadily on the sea surface.
This sudden change left the gathered G2 naval officers completely shaken.
Their eyes toward Rorschach filled with even deeper awe.
Hibari, Pamela, and others ran over from the Qilin, helping Law treat and bandage the wounded G2 soldiers.
The remaining troops silently began recovering the corpses from the ship's deck.
Pirate corpses were thrown into the sea, while the bodies of the Navy soldiers were carefully arranged—these would be brought back to the G2 base island for a proper burial.
"What exactly happened? If the G2 base is so far from here, why did you sail out this far? And in the middle of the night, no less?"
Now that the situation was beginning to stabilize, Rorschach turned to a few less seriously injured naval officers and asked.
"It was Denvers. He had the fish-men on his ship plead with us for help while we were returning to base. They said a human pirate crew had captured their fish-man comrades and begged us to rescue them."
The officer's face showed bitter regret as he continued:"Although fish-men aren't human, as Navy, it's our duty to uphold justice. And in Paradise, fish-men are indeed favored targets of human pirate crews—often captured and trafficked. So, we didn't think too much about it at the time and set sail… We didn't expect it to be a trap. It was Denvers' scheme. We were too careless!"
"You did nothing wrong."
Rorschach reached out and placed a hand on the shame-filled officer's shoulder, fury rising uncontrollably in his eyes.
"The ones who are wrong are those damned pirates! Where did they get the audacity to deceive and ambush the Navy so brazenly?"
(End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Soul Land 2: Golden Dragon King]."
"If you want early access to nearly 35+ chapters, join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"