Deep beneath the city of Sabac, a hundred meters underground, the massive pyramid palace still stood prominently. However, the once bustling stone corridors were now eerily empty.
Only pairs of slave guards could be seen patrolling, whips hanging at their waists and battle axes in hand, as they inspected the numerous cells filled with slaves on either side.
Although this place was underground, it was not dark. Numerous electric lights provided ample illumination, creating an atmosphere akin to late afternoon.
"Hey, how do you think the battle above is going? I have this bad feeling..."
"What are you talking about? You know how powerful His Majesty is. I heard the Navy only sent two Rear Admirals this time. What could possibly go wrong?"
"But His Majesty has been up there for so long, and there's been no news. I thought he'd come back soon and lead us in the evacuation."
"Instead, they've been sending batches of slaves to the battlefields on all sides."
After listening to his companion, the other slave guard, who had initially been confident in their side, also began to hesitate. He no longer paid attention to the slaves in the cells.
"This..."
Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air. The two instinctively went on alert, but before they could turn their heads, they felt a sharp pain in the back of their necks. In the next moment, a finger pierced through their throats with a sickening squelch.
"Ugh!"
With a dull thud, the two collapsed to the ground. Driven by the instinct to survive, they desperately clutched the bloody holes in their necks, but they couldn't stop the warm blood from seeping through their fingers.
Behind them stood a Navy Commander, clad in a Justice Coat and unarmed. He slowly curled the fingers on both hands.
"Ah! It's... it's the Navy!"
"Has the Navy come to save us?!"
The slaves in the cells on either side of the corridor, upon seeing this Commander, immediately showed a glimmer of hope in their previously despairing, hollow eyes.
"That's right, we're here to save you all. However, there are too many of you, and to avoid chaos and ensure proper management, please remain calm inside for now. Once we've dealt with all the criminals, government personnel will come to take care of you!"
The Commander seemed completely unfazed by the three groups of slave guards charging toward him. Instead, he calmly reassured the surrounding slaves.
At the same time, he noticed that most of the slaves locked in the cells were young women, along with some young girls and boys.
The absence of elderly people was understandable, as they held no value as slaves. But the lack of able-bodied men was strange.
At that moment.
A girl in the cell on the left, seeing the ferocious slave guards rushing toward them with blades in hand, urgently called out to the Commander in the corridor, "Be careful, Navy sir!"
"Heh, thank you for the warning, beautiful lady."
The Commander flashed her a charming smile. In the next second, he raised his right index finger, curled it, and then struck out at an incredible speed, creating afterimages as he aimed at the six steel axes coming down on him.
"Shigan: Yellow Lotus!"
This was a common advanced technique of the Navy's Six Styles Shigan. The basic Shigan was a single strike in a fixed direction, but this technique allowed for rapid consecutive strikes, with the ability to change direction up, down, left, or right during the process. The number of consecutive strikes varied depending on the user's mastery of the technique.
With his current strength, Kong could unleash twelve Shigan strikes in a single second.
Almost instantly, the axes surrounding the major were effortlessly shattered, followed by the brutal piercing of their owners' throats. In no time, six more Slave Keepers lay dead on the ground, clutching their throats.
"Ah!"
Witnessing this scene, the women and girls in the cages on both sides turned pale with fear. Some boys buried their faces in the arms of the women beside them, trying to escape the harsh reality.
At the same time.
From a bird's-eye view of the underground space, one could see numerous white shadows darting at high speed, slaughtering the patrolling Slave Keepers.
Screams of surprise turned into agonizing wails within seconds, followed by cheers and cries for help from the various cells.
At this moment, all the slaves were moved to tears. The white coats emblazoned with the word "Justice" became the most beautiful sight.
Especially the young boys, who clung tightly to the bars of their cells, staring intently at the heroic figures of each Marine officer. Their eyes sparkled with a light called aspiration.
However, the battle came and went quickly.
The remaining Slave Keepers numbered less than three hundred, and this meager "meat" was far from enough to satisfy the fifty elite Marines from the Marine Headquarters.
But they didn't kill everyone; they casually captured a few to use as "tongues." After some rough interrogation, they roughly understood the situation here.
"So those Black Marked Death Warriors were guards who drank Hero Water!" A lieutenant colonel pinched his chin, showing no surprise, then crouched down and tapped the green light collar around the "tongue's" neck.
"And this thing, a creation of the Pet-Pet Fruit's ability, allows the body to exert 100% of its power without restraint under King Taklama's command. Combined with the effects of Hero Water, the Slave King really doesn't care about you."
Hearing this, the captured Slave Keeper warrior's face showed a bitter smile. He had originally been captured as a slave, and after being collared, he became a Slave Keeper who had no choice but to be loyal.
A colonel next to him said with a serious expression, "Besides that, what concerns me more is that the Slave King has used his ability to control all the male slaves and sent them to the four battlefields. With their bodies capable of exerting 100% of their power and their absolute numerical advantage, I can already imagine the pressure the Marines there are facing!"
Another lieutenant colonel nodded and said, "We must hurry to support them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, another major stepped forward, crouched down, and asked the captured Slave Keeper, "Since you've lived here for a long time, there must be a quick way in and out."
"This..."
Just as the Slave Keeper worried that he would lose his value if he revealed everything, a boy of about seven or eight years old with a reddish-brown complexion shouted from a nearby cell.
"I know! I know!"
"Oh?"
The fifty Marine officers turned their heads in unison, startling the boy. Fortunately, the major walked over and smiled gently, "Little friend, are you willing to help?"
"Yes!"
The boy, despite wearing handcuffs, reacted with excitement and shouted, "I want to join the Navy in the future!"
"Hahaha, that's great! It seems our Navy will have another excellent talent joining us," the major said, reaching out to ruffle the boy's hair. He then asked, "So, what do you know?"
"Those bad guys brought us here using a railcar, in that direction!" the boy shouted, pointing in a direction based on his memory.
"Is that so? That's fantastic, you've been a great help!" the major exclaimed with joy, then asked, "Child, what's your name, and how old are you?"
"My name is Shuzo, and I'm eight years old!"
"Good, my name is Amos, currently a major in the headquarters. If you ever join the Navy, you can contact me." With that, Major Amos took out a pen from his coat pocket and wrote a series of numbers on the boy's sleeve.
"This is my Den Den Mushi number!"
Immediately after, Major Amos stood up and turned to his colleagues, proposing, "I suggest leaving ten people here to guard the place, while the rest split into four teams and head to various battlefields. How does that sound?"
Even though only ten headquarters officers and soldiers could support each location, it was still a formidable force against the Slave Guard Legion of the Tuthmose Kingdom.
"Agreed!"
Five minutes later, after a quick discussion, ten people who had been most exhausted or severely injured in the previous battles were chosen to stay behind, while the other forty disappeared in the sound of rushing air.
This scene deeply impressed the red-skinned boy, and his eyes grew even brighter.
"I must join the Navy, I must!"